≫ Read Free Laying a Foundation Bonus volume Includes The Groundbreaking Love Under Construction series Book 1 edition by Deanndra Hall Romance eBooks

Laying a Foundation Bonus volume Includes The Groundbreaking Love Under Construction series Book 1 edition by Deanndra Hall Romance eBooks

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Laying a Foundation Bonus volume Includes The Groundbreaking Love Under Construction series Book 1 edition by Deanndra Hall Romance eBooks

First off, I would not recommend reading the prequel The Groundbreaking first. It’s basically a vignette of scenes, introducing characters that appear in the Love Under Construction series. They are not necessary, and, to me, they were just a confusing mish-mash of characters, with no context to place them into. As they would come up in Laying A Foundation, I would read the name and say to myself, ‘Who is that? I’ve read that name, but what did they do?’ thinking they’d done something pertinent to the plot, when actually they were only in the prequel. Thus I was jerked out of the story many times and kept out of the story, as I struggled to remember what I’d read about them in The Groundbreaking. This wouldn’t be so bad, if there were five, six, seven characters, but there’s like a dozen or more, and some of them play very minor parts in Laying A Foundation.

As for Laying A Foundation, I absolutely loved some things about it, and I absolutely loathed some parts of it, which is why I’m splitting the difference and giving it a three-star rating. ***There will be spoilers, because I can’t explain what put me off the book, without them, but they are minor and shouldn’t keep you from enjoying your reading of the story.***

Very basic summary: Nikki lost her family in a tragic accident, and Tony has a crazy (literally) ex-wife, who made his life a living Hell. Both of them doubt they will ever find happiness or love.

What I loathed: The sheer sappiness. There are sweet, clean reads, then there are books of such sugary, treacly sentimentality that it makes your teeth ache. Foster kids adapt and integrate into the family with no drama. Tony’s adult children call Nikki ‘Mom’ within a very short amount of time and never think she might be a gold-digger. Tony and Nikki are just sooooo perfect together, right down to their kinks. Not a single thing that one of them is like, ‘Meh, not really into that.’

What I also loathed: Nikki. She’s TSTL, but still always does the bestest, rightest, most wonderfullest thing every, single time. She’s so bestest and wonderfullest that Tony’s cousin falls completely in love with her after meeting her twice. Nikki is also the bestest, most wonderfullest cook, but she doesn’t know that you can’t refrigerate homemade rolls that haven’t risen yet. Then, this 50-year-old woman has a meltdown and thinks that Tony is going to dump her, because of this mistake, because she ‘ruined’ the Fourth of July with this grotesque oversight, even though he laughs it off and kisses her on the cheek. Nooo, he must be furious with her. She literally begs him not to break up with her. Over rolls. Which were replaced with even better rolls. Her complete breakdown would have been something you might expect from an abused, battered wife, not the partner in a loving, successful marriage for 30 years. Also, I don’t care how sexually-withholding and denigrating Tony’s ex-wife was, there’s no way that the guy, who was featured as Bachelor of the Year in a magazine and is mega-rich and mega-hot, has no idea that he’s desirable.

Another thing I loathed: The mystery. One part of it I figured out. There was no way the reader could guess or figure out the second part, though, because vital information was withheld from the reader. So, don’t read this expecting a great mystery; it’s more of a shocking reveal. And, OMG, the shocking reveal after shocking reveal…! One of the characters says he feels like a character in a soap opera, and, yes, it’s that bad.

What was okay, but kind of threw me: Without the sex scenes (and the references to paganism) this would have been a sweet, clean read. I mean, Nikki is so sweet and kind and generous, and Tony is so patient and understanding and tender. Then they get into the bedroom (or the balcony or the gazebo or the stable), and she’s his dirty, little sl*t, and he’s bringing out the kink implements. I’m not saying real couples can’t be like this, but that’s the catch with literary characters—they have to be well-rounded and complex to capture the reader, but they also have to ‘stay in character.’ Tony and Nikki’s bedroom shenanigans seemed out of character, based on everything else the reader is shown about them.

What I loved: Tony and Nikki’s relationship. When Nikki wasn’t being a total spazz. This was one of the most realistic relationships I’ve ever read about, when the author concentrated on the normal, day-to-day aspects. The way lovers tease one another, the shared jokes, the tender moments, the frustrating times. I liked that they were old enough and mature enough to just come out and discuss their wants and needs and fears. However…. Nikki is so shy that she can’t look Tony in the eye for four years, before he asks her out, but they’ve been going out for like two weeks, and she’s discussing fisting with him.

What I also loved: Tony worked for his money; he wasn’t a bajillionaire with a vague job to kind of explain why he was a bajillionaire. The construction company wasn’t solely there as background to provide cute titles for the stories. We see Tony working, and there was enough detail to make it realistic.

Overall: I kept reading to the end, and it kept my interest until the end, and I would read the other books in the series; however, I’m not going to make an effort to go out and get them. There are other series/books on my ‘Want’ list that I’d rather spend my allowance on.


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Laying a Foundation Bonus volume Includes The Groundbreaking Love Under Construction series Book 1 edition by Deanndra Hall Romance eBooks Reviews

This book left me speechless! When I started this book I was not sure what to expect since the lead characters are so much older than me and knowing that Deanndra's stories are never short of steamy scenes I was almost scared that it would be like reading about my parents. However that was not the case. There was plenty of steamy scenes that were pretty awesome but I was so into the characters that age did not really factor in for me. This book caught my interest from the very first page and I could not put it down or quit turning pages. I fell in love with not only the lead characters but several of the secondary characters also.

Nikki and Tony have both had their fair share of tragedy in their lives and both have pretty much given up on love. When these two meet things become explosive quickly and the chemistry is intense. The ride that their relationship will take you on is one heck of a rollercoaster and will throw many curve balls your way keeping you on the edge of your seat as these two fight too keep their relationship going. There is someone out to hurt Tony and his company, Nikki had to try and gain the acceptance of Tony's huge family including his mother and kids. There is crazy exes also! This book has it all humor, sadness, love, happiness, mystery, tragedy. I loved this book and can not wait to read more. I highly recommend this book to anyone over the age of 18.
After reading the setup of these characters in the Groundbreaking I wasn't sure what to expect from the series but I was blown away all these people became friends and family and as they fought for each other you are there too, fighting so that the love stays alive, you are so much part of the action that do not be surprised if you duck as a bullet whizzes past you.
One thing I really enjoyed about these books is that the main characters are not teeny boppers or even twenty/thirty something but mature adults and boy does it put some of the action of the young ones to shame, this proves once and for all that just because you're older it doesn't mean you're dead.
I fell in love with Tony, who wouldn't fall for a guy who goes into a florist and orders flowers to be sent to ... the florist, just to ask them out on a date.
And Nikki I could relate too, she has been hurt and didn't think that anyone could ever love her again, but she had such a strength and inner goodness that shone through it was easy to see why not only Tony but the whole family fell for her.
And the family, I felt that along with Nikki I was being accepted into this wonderful family that was full of love,not judgement but pure love. From the matriarch Raffaella to Little Tony you also will fall in love not only with Tony and Nikki but ever member of this extended family.
Including Cousin Vic who I'm sure we are going to see more of because you only want to see him happy, Laura who never seems happy, Steve, Peyton, Molly each and every one of them adding to the richness of this story that will hold you entranced from beginning to end.
I received a free copy for an honest review.
First off, I would not recommend reading the prequel The Groundbreaking first. It’s basically a vignette of scenes, introducing characters that appear in the Love Under Construction series. They are not necessary, and, to me, they were just a confusing mish-mash of characters, with no context to place them into. As they would come up in Laying A Foundation, I would read the name and say to myself, ‘Who is that? I’ve read that name, but what did they do?’ thinking they’d done something pertinent to the plot, when actually they were only in the prequel. Thus I was jerked out of the story many times and kept out of the story, as I struggled to remember what I’d read about them in The Groundbreaking. This wouldn’t be so bad, if there were five, six, seven characters, but there’s like a dozen or more, and some of them play very minor parts in Laying A Foundation.

As for Laying A Foundation, I absolutely loved some things about it, and I absolutely loathed some parts of it, which is why I’m splitting the difference and giving it a three-star rating. ***There will be spoilers, because I can’t explain what put me off the book, without them, but they are minor and shouldn’t keep you from enjoying your reading of the story.***

Very basic summary Nikki lost her family in a tragic accident, and Tony has a crazy (literally) ex-wife, who made his life a living Hell. Both of them doubt they will ever find happiness or love.

What I loathed The sheer sappiness. There are sweet, clean reads, then there are books of such sugary, treacly sentimentality that it makes your teeth ache. Foster kids adapt and integrate into the family with no drama. Tony’s adult children call Nikki ‘Mom’ within a very short amount of time and never think she might be a gold-digger. Tony and Nikki are just sooooo perfect together, right down to their kinks. Not a single thing that one of them is like, ‘Meh, not really into that.’

What I also loathed Nikki. She’s TSTL, but still always does the bestest, rightest, most wonderfullest thing every, single time. She’s so bestest and wonderfullest that Tony’s cousin falls completely in love with her after meeting her twice. Nikki is also the bestest, most wonderfullest cook, but she doesn’t know that you can’t refrigerate homemade rolls that haven’t risen yet. Then, this 50-year-old woman has a meltdown and thinks that Tony is going to dump her, because of this mistake, because she ‘ruined’ the Fourth of July with this grotesque oversight, even though he laughs it off and kisses her on the cheek. Nooo, he must be furious with her. She literally begs him not to break up with her. Over rolls. Which were replaced with even better rolls. Her complete breakdown would have been something you might expect from an abused, battered wife, not the partner in a loving, successful marriage for 30 years. Also, I don’t care how sexually-withholding and denigrating Tony’s ex-wife was, there’s no way that the guy, who was featured as Bachelor of the Year in a magazine and is mega-rich and mega-hot, has no idea that he’s desirable.

Another thing I loathed The mystery. One part of it I figured out. There was no way the reader could guess or figure out the second part, though, because vital information was withheld from the reader. So, don’t read this expecting a great mystery; it’s more of a shocking reveal. And, OMG, the shocking reveal after shocking reveal…! One of the characters says he feels like a character in a soap opera, and, yes, it’s that bad.

What was okay, but kind of threw me Without the sex scenes (and the references to paganism) this would have been a sweet, clean read. I mean, Nikki is so sweet and kind and generous, and Tony is so patient and understanding and tender. Then they get into the bedroom (or the balcony or the gazebo or the stable), and she’s his dirty, little sl*t, and he’s bringing out the kink implements. I’m not saying real couples can’t be like this, but that’s the catch with literary characters—they have to be well-rounded and complex to capture the reader, but they also have to ‘stay in character.’ Tony and Nikki’s bedroom shenanigans seemed out of character, based on everything else the reader is shown about them.

What I loved Tony and Nikki’s relationship. When Nikki wasn’t being a total spazz. This was one of the most realistic relationships I’ve ever read about, when the author concentrated on the normal, day-to-day aspects. The way lovers tease one another, the shared jokes, the tender moments, the frustrating times. I liked that they were old enough and mature enough to just come out and discuss their wants and needs and fears. However…. Nikki is so shy that she can’t look Tony in the eye for four years, before he asks her out, but they’ve been going out for like two weeks, and she’s discussing fisting with him.

What I also loved Tony worked for his money; he wasn’t a bajillionaire with a vague job to kind of explain why he was a bajillionaire. The construction company wasn’t solely there as background to provide cute titles for the stories. We see Tony working, and there was enough detail to make it realistic.

Overall I kept reading to the end, and it kept my interest until the end, and I would read the other books in the series; however, I’m not going to make an effort to go out and get them. There are other series/books on my ‘Want’ list that I’d rather spend my allowance on.