Review of The Power of Love

[Mtibza eM]

[Following is an official OnlineBookClub.org review of "The Power of Love" by Dorma Hunter-Mattis.]

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1 out of 4 stars

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Dorma Hunter-Mattis, a Jamaican who has been teaching for over 20 years, is the author of this inspiring, feel-good novel titled, The Power of Love. This book is about a girl named Pela, who faced many hardships and losses in her life, but with the strong faith she has in God, she has managed to pull through them and has made something better with her life. This book is short and fine.

The book opens up with a prologue where we are introduced to a woman named Pela. She is in a workshop, and she gets attracted to this man called Pete while he is giving his presentation. She doesn’t tell him, though, about her feelings for him until it is too late as his tenure at the institution ends.

The first chapter is titled “Love is Kind.” It opens up with a Bible quote of John 3: 16-17. Here, we are taken back in time when Pela was still a teenager in her school days. We are introduced to her grandmother Fastina, who is an avid churchgoer, and a devout Christian. She instils a lot of Christian values in Pela, and she makes sure that Pela reads her bible and makes it her friend. The second chapter is titled “Love Endures,” and it also opens up with a Bible quote, but of Philippians 4:8. In this chapter, Pela is now in College. She meets Bernard, a youth pastor, whom most girls want, but he wants her. They fall in love, and he proposes to her. While she asked for time to think things through, Bernard breaks up with her, breaking her heart.

The third chapter is titled “Love hopes in All Things,” and the Bible quote it opens up with is the one of Isaiah 54:17. Pela is now in university, studying languages. She meets and falls in love with a man called Studdart. Not long after they have been dating, he proposes, and she says yes. They get married, and all seems to be well until something bad happens that tears her life apart. The rest of the book details how Pela moves on from this heartbreak and how she pieces her life together. She moves to the States and starts a new life there. From nearly getting entangled in a life triangle to having a family of her own, this book will surely keep you on your toes.

I didn’t enjoy reading this book. It was filled with narration more than dialogue. The story was told, not shown. Everything was revealed prematurely before I could even try to make sense of it all, and as a result, the book lacked suspense. I wasn’t journeying with Pela in everything she did. I felt detached from her as a character.

The speed the book was moving in was unsatisfying fast. As you must have noticed in my summary above, the first chapter is when Pela is in high school, then the second one is when she is in college, and the third one is when she is in university and is about to get married. There was no build-up whatsoever that could make lookout for certain things.

And, although the book is categorised as romance, to me, it felt like fiction disguised as nonfiction about one’s love with her faith in God. It was all about God’s love most of the pages that I couldn’t tell if I was reading a religious book or a romance.

Another thing that made me furrow my brow was how the book was disorganised. The prologue came first, then next, when it was supposed to be followed by the first chapter, the table of content followed instead. This was unusual as it is usually a table of content, prologue, chapters, epilogue, then the author’s bio.

There is nothing I could say I liked about reading this book. Although it is 133-paged, I couldn’t finish it in one sitting because of how badly it was written.

I came across more than ten errors, so the book could definitely do with another round of editing. There are no explicit sexual contents or usage of profane language. And although the book can be enjoyed by Christian mostly, it doesn’t discriminate against any religion or any group of people. So, with all things considered, I have no choice but to rate it 1 out of 4 stars. I wouldn’t, at all, recommend this book to anyone, as I didn’t enjoy it myself.

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The Power of Love
View: on Bookshelves | on Amazon

[Edit_or]

Oh wow!. This is actually a must read for me. Nice review. Thank you.

[Elisa Joy Ocasla]

Pela seems to be a great woman of power. I’m going to considering reading this. Thanks for this captivating review!

[Luchris_michael]

Love is a crucial factor for existence. God is love. Thanks for the review.

[Gabriella Smith]

I share in your disappointment in the pace, when the story moves too fast there's not as much character development and at the end, you're left feeling like you haven't read anything. Thank you for your review.

[Clare Jose]

It seems to me that the way the story was presented is at fault here. The book could have been something I enjoyed if it weren't this.
Thank you for your review.

[Olusegun_39]

I see this book as Chronicles of the Struggles for Love. Nothing more. Nothing less.

[Pearl Thomas]

It's funny how reading your review makes me want to read the book just to see how bad it is. Anyway, thanks your honest and thorough review.

[Unosthetic]

If the author tries to edit and organise it, the book will be greater. Great review though.

[Kaushiki Parihar]

It's awful that the book is disorganised and is full of flaws. However, you wrote an excellent review.

[Mtibza eM]

It's awful that the book is disorganised and is full of flaws. However, you wrote an excellent review.

That was a big let down for me. Thank you.

If the author tries to edit and organise it, the book will be greater. Great review though.

Yes, it will score some points if she did that.

It's funny how reading your review makes me want to read the book just to see how bad it is. Anyway, thanks your honest and thorough review.

Oh wow! thank you for coming though, I appreciate your time and kind words.

I see this book as Chronicles of the Struggles for Love. Nothing more. Nothing less.

I am not sure I know what you mean.

It seems to me that the way the story was presented is at fault here. The book could have been something I enjoyed if it weren't this.
Thank you for your review.

Yes, it could have, but unfortunately....

I share in your disappointment in the pace, when the story moves too fast there's not as much character development and at the end, you're left feeling like you haven't read anything. Thank you for your review.

I am glad I am not weird. Thank you for sharing your comment with me.

Love is a crucial factor for existence. God is love. Thanks for the review.

No, thank you.

Pela seems to be a great woman of power. I’m going to considering reading this. Thanks for this captivating review!

Yeah, she was, hey. I appreciate your kind words.

Oh wow!. This is actually a must read for me. Nice review. Thank you.

Wow! Go for it, and be sure to share your thoughts.

[Ruchi Raina]

From your description of things, I agree that the story is a bit too fast-paced. Not feeling a connection to the character tends to take the enjoyment out of reading a book. Thanks for the great review.

[Gabriella1997]

Love is a beautiful thing, am a lover of love, I would love to read more about this book, beautiful review.

[Medhansh Bhardwaj]

This book has so much potential, but it's fast-paced nature has put it down. I really want to see immense detail into character development, and this book doesn't have it. So I will skip this one. Great review!

[Ayomid]

I wished the plot had been developed with little biblical influence and more suspense. I might pass on this one. Thanks for a thorough review.