Official Review: The Assignment by Don Chance

[Stephanie Elizabeth]

[Following is an official OnlineBookClub.org review of "The Assignment" by Don Chance.]

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4 out of 4 stars

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CJ McCarter is a well-respected economist who has recently become the president of Ryson-Scott University. With her strong work ethic and ability to provide innovative programs to the school, she is truly a powerhouse. While her professional life is brimming with success, the same cannot be said for her marriage. Her husband, Trey, is immersed in his work as a biochemist, and they have been living separate lives for several years. Feeling pressured to salvage what is left of her marriage, CJ devises a plan to seduce her husband. When her feelings are not reciprocated, she suspects something more is going on. She has a feeling it has something to do with the attractive graduate student Trey is working alongside.

Instead of confronting her husband, CJ throws herself into her work. She is on the cusp of developing a program that could mean big things for the university. Still, new projects bring on challenges and temptations. When her personal life begins overflowing into her professional life, CJ is faced with a huge ethical dilemma that could ruin her reputation. What will she do?

The Assignment by Don Chance is a character-driven book about choices, secrets, and professional integrity. The book is written from the third-person perspective. It follows CJ McCarter as she is forced to deal with infidelity and personal demons while trying to uphold her professional reputation. I was immersed in The Assignment from the get-go as the author had a distinct way of holding my attention and putting me into CJ’s shoes.

My favorite part of The Assignment was CJ’s character. She was challenged personally and professionally throughout the book. She was at the top of her game in her career but lacked the necessary skills to revive her dying marriage. I thought it was fascinating how such an intelligent woman could be so clueless in regards to relationships. The inner turmoil that she experienced drove her to make some pretty destructive choices, such as acting promiscuous and driving under the influence.

While I loved experiencing the evolution of the main character, several supporting characters are worth mentioning. Madelyn Collins was the provost that worked alongside CJ, and she played an integral role in her life by offering support and counsel when CJ began unraveling. Her sense of humor and quirky stories had a way of pulling CJ out of her proverbial rut. Ricardo was the charming graduate student, who proved to be a little too charming. I thought the author did a great job of conveying the sexual tension between Ricardo and CJ. Finally, the book wouldn’t be complete without the presence of CJ’s estranged husband, Trey. He proved to be a worthy antagonist with his arrogance and disparaging comments towards her. While his character annoyed me to no end, I did enjoy the banter between him and CJ; it was a guilty pleasure, I guess!

The book was professionally edited, and I only noticed one small error, which I thought was quite impressive. I happily chose to give it a rating of 4 out of 4 stars; the writing was impeccable and contained a colorful cast of characters!

I would recommend this book to readers who love dramatic character-driven stories. The Assignment also uncovers the administrative side of university life. I would not recommend this book to young readers as it contains violence, explicit sex, and profane language.

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The Assignment
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[Laura Ungureanu]

The sacrifices for a successful career are sometimes unbelievably hard to make. I think that I would enjoy this sort of a character-driven story. Thank you for this detailed review!

[Stephanie Elizabeth]

The sacrifices for a successful career are sometimes unbelievably hard to make. I think that I would enjoy this sort of a character-driven story. Thank you for this detailed review!

Thanks for your comment! I hope you enjoy the book as much as I did!

[Letora]

First off, I love the cover! Second, this hits home for me. The balance between work and career is hard to maintain, let alone having the personal problems CJ is dealing with. I am adding to my list for sure. Great review!

[Rayasaurus]

I love character-driven books! I also love reading about people dealing with sticky moral problems. This one might be a good one for me to pick up. Thanks for the review!

[Irene_A]

Love the theme of the story already!! It seems to show the struggle for balance in our professional and personal lives, often atimes one or the other suffers. Would love to read it. Thanks for the review.

[Anon_Reviewer]

Oh, the drama! CJ has got a lot on her hands while Trey has some explaining to do. An intriguing plot and great characterization always make a book worth checking out. Thanks for the review.

[mmm17]

I enjoy character-driven books, which seems to be the case with this one. Your review was wonderful!

[Cecilia_L]

Thanks for your excellent review of this character-driven story.

[gwynnesigel-1]

Thanks for this review. As a reader and writer, I'm especially interested in seeing how characters grow and change through the course of the novel. So your review has piqued my curiosity!

[Lisa A Rayburn]

Balancing career and marriage is tough enough with adding in adultery and DUIs. I hope she gets it all straightened out. Great review!

[MsH2k]

This sounds like a character-driven book that I would enjoy. Thanks for your review!

[Stephanie Elizabeth]

First off, I love the cover! Second, this hits home for me. The balance between work and career is hard to maintain, let alone having the personal problems CJ is dealing with. I am adding to my list for sure. Great review!

Agreed; the balance is difficult! Thanks for your comment.

[Stephanie Elizabeth]

I love character-driven books! I also love reading about people dealing with sticky moral problems. This one might be a good one for me to pick up. Thanks for the review!

Me too! I knew I had to read this book! Thanks for your comment.

[Stephanie Elizabeth]

I enjoy character-driven books, which seems to be the case with this one. Your review was wonderful!

Thank you!