Working on a construction site, not only constructing a building but also a life back into shape

Synopsis

It’s a relationship under construction, and there are no warning signs…

Project Manager Ella Mackenzie thought she had her whole life perfectly mapped
out – just like one of her colour-coded spreadsheets.  She is the last person to do anything
reckless or impulsive.

But when her and her terrible boyfriend split, she is left single, homeless and without a backup plan.

Suddenly, her whole worldly belongings are crammed into the back of her little Fiat, and she’s driving two-hundred-and-fifty miles across the country to start a new job that she should never have accepted in an industry she knows nothing about. What could possibly go wrong?

Ella doesn’t know the first thing about building sites, but thankfully Noah Harris is an expert in construction and is there to show her the ropes (and the ladders).

And, as Ella is about to find out, he’s an expert in a few other things too…

My review

Ella and Lee are happily living together, even if their relationshiphas to be a secret due their employer’s  policy of not dating colleagues.
While they both think they are getting away with it, Ella discovers that their secret is not so secret at all, after Lee quits the job to join a competitor. And with Lee acting rather dismissive about Ella losing her job, Ella sees that her perfect boyfriend isn’t so perfect all.
Ella needs a job to have a fresh start, and when the offer arrives for a job on a construction site, despite her non – existing knowledge, she accepts. But the construction world is truly a man’s world, and Ella has to fight to stand her ground. Yet with an ally in the form of foreman Noah, Ella slowly finds her feet in a new place where perhaps she can find what she has been missing in her life. 

I truly enjoyed reading this story, as there were many things I liked but also a few that I didn’t. Now, before I give this great author a heart attack, what I didn’t like was completely to blame on a few characters and their awful behaviour. It has absolutely nothing to do with the author, her style, her story or the main characters. 

At the start of the book, Ella is in a “secret” relationship with Lee, as their employer has a strict rule about dating colleagues.
And this is already the first thing I didn’t like… because why would an employer have the power to dictate who to date and who not? Yes, of course there is history behind that rule, but couldn’t they have made up some clear directions for dating colleagues? Wouldn’t that all have been easier for everyone and everything? 

But I could get over this issue and was happy to put my frustrations aside. Until we got to know Lee better…
Can I say he is a total a**hole, d*ckhead, and all other possible nasty words you can come up with? How obnoxious, selfish, conniving can someone be?
I understand that someone needs a new challenge career – wise, but acting the way Lee did is simply nasty…
And keeping Ella out of it, stating that private and work should be separated??? THEY WORK FOR THE SAME BUSINESS!!!
So yes, I was glad to see Lee exit the story! 

However, this isn’t about Lee, as it’s about Ella and starting all over again… 

Ella is the kind of woman who takes matter in her own hands when things in a wrong direction. Not only does she show that with the Lee – situation, but also with the many issues at the construction site.
Even if her knowledge is lacking, she wants to understand what is going on, so that she can figure out how to make it go right again.
She is also not one to sit down and cry over her sad life, but also here she takes matter in her own hands. Every situation she tries to make it better. 

On the construction site we see many clichés being confirmed, but Ella is also able to wipe them all away, by showing that woman for sure can have a place there too!
I found it great to see how slowly she is gaining every workman’s respect! 

Every workman, and also Noah’s…
What is it with men that work with their hands that make them so attractive? Even just from the words on paper I fell in love with Noah. 

He shows patiently Ella around, explains her how everything works, and even helps her after hours. But he also is welcoming Ella during the weekends, having again the patience of an angel, letting Ella help around on his own personal project. 

This book isn’t only about starting over, but it’s also about doing the right thing. With a smile and with a frown, we see how Ella is finding her own voice and even courage again. She discovers that unknown isn’t always unloved. And even in the most manly work environment, women can, or even must have a well – deserved spot. 

I truly enjoyed reading this book, filled with funny moments, odd nicknaming but mostly great and kind characters, just doing their best at their job but also in their lives.
And while it is a light story, it’s easy to also intercept the reality that not all people we know are the right kind of people. But it’s up to us to let the right people surround us and make us see that love and happiness can be found at the least expected place!