Review: 4C's of a Meaningful and Lasting Romance - An in depth 11 point review
Rating: 4 out of 5
Date: 10 22, 2013
Please note: The `review' of this book (which was donated to The Magnolia Blossom Review for the sole purpose of a review) was completed by the owner of The Magnolia Blossom Review, L. Avery Brown based on the Rubric she designed. If you would like to read the entire review which includes an in depth author interview - please visit The Magnolia Blossom Review's site online today!And Now for the Review...1. Book Title 5 of 5For the Reviewer: Did it grab your attention right away? (5) Was it ho hum? (3) Would you glance at it and then forget it? (1) What do you think the author might consider for future book titles? (You should have plenty of space for each item on the form as I think I set it up for the boxes to 'grow'.)Response: It's a tad bit long. And honestly, as soon as I read the phrase 'The 4C's...' I immediately thought 'color, cut, clarity, carat'! Perhaps it's just because I'm a woman and I rather enjoy sparkly things - nonetheless on first glance, that is what popped into my head. Altogether it does make sense.2. Book Cover 4 of 5For the Reviewer: Did it grab your attention? (5) Was it ho hum? (3) Did it look like it was haphazardly thrown together? (1) What do you think the author might consider for future book covers? Did it help make the title more effective?Response: It's an attractive cover...calming color palate, nice font, and an attractive photo of the author. But there's nothing that's really 'HEY, LOOK AT THIS BOOK' about it. I suppose it's because at first glance, it's got a bit of a 'biography' or 'autobiography' vibe to it. And honestly, I think the that calming tangerine-ish color is a tad too sedate. When one throws the word 'Romance' into a title - there needs to be something almost 'swashbuckling' romantic about it...and that's something that could easily be dealt with by changing the color from that tangerine to a deep red. As they say though, hindsight is 20/20!3. First 500... 8 of 10For the Reviewer: Thinking of the first 500 (usually about 2 pages) words of the book, do you think the author provided enough incentive to urge the reader to continue? What stood out to you the most? Were you captivated after a couple of paragraphs? Did the 1st sentence grab you? Did you get to around the 500 word mark and didn't have a clue where the story was going?Response: For this particular title, I had to take off my 'fiction' cap and don my academic mortar board. That part was easy. However, determining which 'First 500...' to examine for this particular review was a bit difficult as the entire book is essentially one giant 'How to...' book including the introductory section. I decided to focus on the entire Introduction as it sort of laid the groundwork for the rest of the text. There are moments when it is very cut and dried but then every now and again - there are moments dedicated to the person behind the words. That's a good thing. I really wish there was a bit more about it 'I' behind the introduction as it's a little too academic. Basically, in my opinion - and please remember it's just my opinion - I think Introductions should stop after the first two to three (maybe four - but that's pushing it) paragraphs...anymore than that and it's no longer an intro, it's a chapter, plain and simple. And no matter if you're writing a fiction book with a prologue or a nonfiction book with an introduction - they really ought to be treated as 'extended blurbs' to draw the reader in and remind them why they decided to read the book in the first place. But instead of feeling compelled to keep reading - I had to take a mental break.4. Blurb 10 of 10For the Reviewer: Now that you've finished the book, please take a moment to look back over the blurb. How effective do you think the blurb will be to potential readers? Did the author write a blurb that was enticing and went along with the story? (10) Was the blurb lacking? (5) Was it entirely too long or too short? (1) Do you have any suggestions for the author to make it more effective?Response: This is what I got out of the blurb: If you're looking for a text you can peruse to help you navigate the waters of romance and how to make what you have (or wish to have) so far as a relationship goes stronger - no matter what your current 'love status' may be, this book is for you. And that's a pretty darn good blurb!5. Age Recommendation/Genre Classification 10 of 10For the Reviewer: Age Recommendation - If the book is entirely too young/juvenile for the intended age group? Is it entirely too mature? (Please take into account swearing/sexual scenes/drug use, etc... Please rank this from 1 -5 then add that to the GENRE total.Genre Classification - Was the book listed as a thrill ride of a read but was more of a bumper car ride (sort of all over the place)? Was it listed as a mystery and you simply had to turn the page to find out 'who did it'? Please rank this from 1 - 5 then add that to the AGE RECOMMENDATIONResponse: This is 100% a self-help, nonfiction title intended for adults in the 30ish to about the 50ish age range. Not that it's riddled with sexual things - it's not. It's just that for most younger readers they've not experienced enough of life to make it a title with which they can readily identify. Granted there really isn't a ceiling of 'people over 59 cannot read the book' it's just that, typically folks in the 60+ range already have a pretty solid grasp on how to move through the ups and downs of a lasting romance. Of course, I'm sure there are some 75 year olds out there who find themselves rockin' the single life and would like to a refresher course on how to jump back into the romance game.6. Presentation/Format 7 of 10For the Reviewer: Did the 'innards' of the book follow a clear, concise, standard format throughout the book? Or did you have a hard time keeping up with paragraphs or dialogue? Were multiple fonts used? Were they distracting?Response: For the most part, The 4C's of a Meaningful and Lasting Romance is neatly put together with nifty check lists and whatnot. However, there were a couple of issues I had with the book with the chapters and subheadings within the chapters. Perhaps it was simply the eBook I had, but aside from seeing the actual word 'Chapter...' I didn't really know when a chapter ended and another one began because the font never changed and there was no significant break between chapters.Take for example the example below - aside from the fact that the original font is standard palatino this is EXACTLY how the book looked...*******************...believe, in many ways, the principles contained herein havemade a positive and lasting impression on mine.Chapter 1Defining Core ValuesBefore we delve into the 4Cs, let's take a moment toreview some core values required to sustain a meaningful...********************Notice how the word 'Chapter 1 is directly beneath the line above it? Notice how it's not a larger font or even in bold? Notice how the chapter title below that also isn't bolded or italicized? The eye needs those visual cues to signal to the reader - 'Okay, time to shift gears...' (As a former teacher who actually critiqued textbooks for consideration within a couple of the school districts where I worked - that sort of thing would've been the proverbial 'kiss of death' for an instructional/informative text)And apparently there are supposed to be figures in the book - only I never found any. Not sure if that's the case with other versions of the book or if I got a preview version or what...but it needed to be pointed out.7. Theme/Originality 10 of 10For the Reviewer: Was this book something you'd never read? Or was it formulaic and a 'rehash' of a popular tale/current 'pop' genre? If it was a retelling - did the author make it feel fresh and just different enough that it kept you involved?Response: Honestly, I'm not huge into 'serious self-help' sorts of books. Especially ones on romance. (I did actually write a humorous book called 'Kissing 101: A Guidebook for Men' which is sort of self-helpish - it does make people laugh which is good, right?)  So I'm going to just say 'Jason Melby's The 4C's of a Meaningful and Lasting Romance offers a fresh breath of air in a difficult to tackle arena - love, romance, and all the things that go with it.'8. Description/Enhancement 9 of 10For the Reviewer: Did the author use descriptive language and 'all those extra little things' to make it the best it could be? Did you feel it was too sparse in description? Did the author go OVER board with the description?Response: For a nonfiction piece, The 4C's of a Meaningful and Lasting Romance relied heavily on the research of others as well as Melby's interpretation of that research. For the most part it read as one would expect which is - unfortunately, a bit dry. However, it Melby was able to throw in enough personal reflections as well as fairly humorous examples to add some much needed vibrancy amid the sometimes heavily research focused portions of the book.9. Intrigue 8 of 10For the Reviewer: Did you want to turn the next page because it was SO good? (10) Was it interesting but you didn't quite have an urge to keep reading? (5) Did you think 'I wonder if we have Twinkies in the pantry? Mmmmm, Twinkies' while you read? (1)Response: Honestly, I don't know how to 'grade' intrigue for this particular book as it's essentially a self-help book and for folks who opt to read this style of book they're specifically 'looking' for some sort of guidance - and in that way, the book has merit. Perhaps because I've been in a loving, romantic relationship for nearly 30 years (yes - my husband and I were high school sweethearts) it's difficult to say if it was 'intriguing' or not. I'm more of a 'biographical nonfiction reader'! But just because I feel in a quandary over my personal preference doesn't mean I ought to mark Melby down a great deal. Therefore, I'll just say that the score I'm giving is based on the fact that I felt like there were moments that just went on and on and on...and that is not intriguing at all.10. Grammar/Mechanics 8 of 10For the Reviewer: Was the book pretty darn flawless? (10) Did you see more that 5 or 10 'jump out' at you mistakes in grammar or the actual mechanics (verb tense, noun/pronoun agreement, misued words) ? (5) Did you feel it was a chore to read because it was riddled with errors? (1)Response: The editing for this book was done very well.  However, there were a couple of issues that jumped out at me immediately (as I spend much of my days looking for 'issues to jump out at me' when I edit!) First, Chapter 1 is written as a standard numeral (1) whereas the following chapters are presented in Roman numerals (II, III, etc...) that's the sort of thing that drives me nuts. Also, on page 126 (of the version I have) there's a list of 'types of women' (I'm pretty sure that's what it was) where Melby or his editors didn't notice a glarring boo-boo...the error is The Read Deal  Yes, the reaD deal. It's supposed to be The Real Deal. One word, yes. But it's in a short, vital phrase - an editor should have caught that like a flea catches the plague.11. Overall Impression 8 of 10For the Reviewer: When all is said in done - did you enjoy the book? Would you recommend it to others?Response: I don't know if The 4C's of a Meaningful and Lasting Romance would be the first thing that pops into my head when I'm chatting with my male and female friends about their relationship woes and ways to improve upon the 'place' where they currently are...but if I were asked specifically 'Do you know of any book you can suggest to help me? I do believe this title would pop into my head. As even as I read the book I remember many times where I went 'Yes, yes...I knew that', 'that's interesting' and 'I didn't know that'.For readers who are looking specifically for the insights it offers, they will no doubt enjoy this title. It does require a good bit of time to truly go through it so that one can fully digest the information in it as it's a bit long winded in places - yet, there's a sense that Melby has consciously made and effort to provide his readers with the most thorough 'one stop shop' of things to ponder as he could. And for that, he deserves kudos.The Bestowing of the Blossoms...If I added everything up properly - Jason Melby's The 4C's of a Meaningful and Lasting Romance has earned 87 points out of 100.  That gives it a very strong 4.75 Blossoms (close enough that you'd probably win a round of horseshoes!) - and that's something to shout about! These sorts of books can be hits or misses - thankfully, Melby's book is a 'hit'! What's more The Magnolia Blossom Review hopes it's a hit with readers, too as it's chock full of information that can help make a little sense out of that Crazy Little Thing Called Love (To quote Queen, the greatest rock band ... ever!)