Review: 4 out of 5 stars - Introductory story
Rating: 4 out of 5
Date: 05 31, 2014
Although this was released after the first story in the series, it's meant to provide prefatory information about the characters that Hall intends to include in her four part series. Basically, this novella guides readers in the direction that Hall is going and we the readers get a snippet in the background of the characters in Deanndra Hall's Love Under Construction Series. If you're hoping that there's any sort of romance in this one, there's isn't - it’s gritty and in some places dark and violent. One of the things I'm looking forward to in this series is that, I think, the majority of the characters are over 40 and they’re all somehow connected to the Walters family.Running his local family owned construction and contracting business, Tony Walters is okay with his life. He's by no means happy but he's content with where he is in life because he just can't get involved in another relationship after his last one. I can already tell he's going to be a hard nut to crack because the shell around him is hard like a rock.Nikki is literally heartbroken. Her husband of thirty years is dead along with her son and daughter - all killed in a tragic car accident. After being kicked out of her parents’ home the night of her family's funeral; Nikki's back home in Kentucky to continue on with life. She's not living, but she is waking up every day and making an effort of it.Tony's cousin, Vittorio Caprizzi, is a giant (around 6'8") of a man. He's close to his cousin - best friends - and has had a rough start but he's making the most of what he can. There's something about either his temper or his preference in the bedroom that has me fascinated about why his old girl-friend ended up in the hospital and the police knocking on his door.Laura Butler is former military. She served as an explosive specialist during her time because that's all she's every wanted to do. Serve. The only thing about her service is that she didn't come back from Bosnia because of war. She came back because some members of her team decided that they knew best and wanted her gone. Her story picks up about 14 years after her time in the service but after what those guys did to her - I cannot wait to read how Hall is going to handle that.Steve is a man who's had a very bad marriage. He and his ex-wife started their life together after a teenage pregnancy where the baby didn't survive. I'm already saddened by his tale. It turns out that Steve's ex didn't think he was going to live up to much so she went looking elsewhere - turns out she forget to tell Steve until it was too late. So after she left him and his time finally came, Steve's out to prove that no woman is worth the trouble.The further the story goes, the more the characters get interesting. By the time I made it to Kelly I was sure things were looking up but nope. Kelly's been out on the streets since she was 13. At 19, she's considered a professional with a pimp and everything. Hall doesn't pull any punches when it comes to the life of a street hooker. Getting off the streets was easy enough but the life after that is when the story seems to get interesting.Peyton is former military. After an IED took one of his legs back in Afghanistan Peyton is back stateside. He's looking for job after getting his college degree and the only thing he can find is working for Steve as a security expert for his questionable clients.Cage fighter Jose won his last fight but the way he won it leaves him unsettles enough to stop fighting. His boyfriend just broken up with him and Jose is back living with a friend until he can pull himself together. Offered the opportunity by his cousin to go to work for Steve, Jose jumps at the chance.Molly Walters is in a pickle. Her husband, one of Tony’s brothers, and father of her four children is sleeping with the 16 year- old neighbor babysitter. Then after 10 years of carrying on with the neighbor, he decides that he wants a divorce. Good riddance to bad rubbish I say. The only thing there is that Molly has only every worked in the Walters's boutique and she wants that boutique. The bad news is that the husband has already promised that to his girlfriend. Oh, what a tangled web we weave. Molly’s story should be an interesting read if it can live up to what Hall started here.All of these characters sound pretty interesting to me and I'm looking forward to sinking my teeth into each bookThe character combinations and their stories are:Laying a Foundation (Book 1, release  date 07/31/2013) - Tony/NikkiTearing Down Walls (Book 2, release date 10/31/2013) - Laura/VicRenovating a Heart (Book 3, release date 05/19/2014) - Steve/KellyPlanning an Addition (Book 4 - fall 2014) - Peyton/Jose/Molly?Happy Reading Folks!Rating: B*Book provided by authorReview posted at wwww.redhotbooks(dot)com