Book Reviews for Edwardo Jackson
Reader Reviews
I Do?
Jackie Phillips, London, U.K.
In EVER
AFTER Nick proposed to Jasmine. They were in love. I wanted them to be together
forever. However, Jasmine turned him down. Not sure, not ready, whatever! Nick was devastated, and frankly, so was I. In
NEVA HAFTA, Nick kinda lost his mind and went on a mad search to find a wife
before his mother passes. (She is diagnosed with a life threatening illness)
NEVA HAFTA left us (hanging for the longest time), with Tabitha (Nick’s wife to
be), fighting with Jasmine in the church over who deserves and loves Nick
more…
The
conclusion to this “who love’s who tale,” is, I DO. It’s a gripping tale, which
really defines Jasmine’s intriguing character, along with all the in’s and out’s
that brought her to that Desperate,
DEPARATE moment in the church--begging Nick not to make the biggest mistake of
HER life by marrying someone else, of questionable character,
INDEED!
I DO is an
emotionally thrilling novel. Hitherto
Jasmine had no idea who she loved. In I DO she established that Nick deserved
her love more than anyone else--she became beastly and almost psychotic in her
quest to win back his affections. She chose the most inappropriate moments to
invade Nick’s life--and she wasn’t subtle about it. I must admit I didn’t have
any sympathy for her. I mean really…how many No’s does a girl need to realise
it’s all over?
In a passionate scene of
misguided intentions, Jasmine drove Nick to respond to her in a brutal
fashion--this left her in a distraught state of mind. At this point I just
wanted her to leave Nick alone---go home, go back to work, hideaway, do
anything. JUST STOP! harassing this man. I didn’t want to understand her
insanity especially since, her world is full of men professing their undying
love for her. I felt emotional but found it difficult to shed any tears for her;
until the rich advice of her eloquent mother came forth. It was only then her
character really started to unfold for me. Jasmine is an intriguing and
interesting character, because she wasn’t afraid or ashamed of showing all
aspects of herself. (The good, the bad and all the ugly) She carried out the meaning of her love for
Nick in all its forms--from her selfish perspective. Her antics kept me gripped to an almost (I
thought) anti-climatic end---where I assumed the obvious, however the conclusion
to this emotional journey left me gob smacked and moved beyond all my
imaginings. I DO was well executed right down to the last word, therefore, worth
the wait and the read to the very end--if only to discover what a great and
comforting conclusion transpired. Very Smart!
Autumn, a reviewer, July 3, 2006,
Awesome....... Edwardo did it again
I
must say that this book is now my all time favorite. I enjoyed every
minute of it. It took me all of 2 days to finish the book, and I was
trying to pace myself, but it was so good. I laughed and cried.
Everyone must read this book... Good job Edwardo...... good job!!!!!
Book Reviews from Amazon.com
Editorial Reviews
From Booklist
Nick is a Seattle-bred, Morehouse College graduate. While employed in New York at his first job after college, he meets his first true love, Jasmine, as beautiful on the inside as she is on the outside. But when Nick asks Jasmine to marry him, she declines, and this rejection and perceived personal failure prompt him to leave New York and head to Chicago to make a fresh start and pursue a graduate degree. His determination to move past his failed relationship with Jasmine has him comparing every woman he meets to her. After five years in Chicago, Nick is ready to move on to another career opportunity in California, but just as he is about to head out of town, he is forced to pause and reflect on whether he could truly live happily ever after without Jasmine. A very believable love story. Lillian Lewis
Copyright © American Library Association. All rights reserved --This text refers to the Hardcover edition.
Review
“Perfection is an ideal, not a person. But if perfection ever were personified, it would be Jasmine.”
--Nick
"Edwardo Jackson is a writer with something to say and the skills to say it. The search for true love may never be the same!"
--Pearl Cleage
Nick is a Seattle-bred, Morehouse College graduate. While employed in New York at his first job after college, he meets his first true love, Jasmine, as beautiful on the inside as she is on the outside. But when Nick asks Jasmine to marry him, she declines, and this rejection and perceived personal failure prompt him to leave New York and head to Chicago to make a fresh start and pursue a graduate degree. His determination to move past his failed relationship with Jasmine has him comparing every woman he meets to her. After five years in Chicago, Nick is ready to move on to another career opportunity in California, but just as he is about to head out of town, he is forced to pause and reflect on whether he could truly live happily ever after without Jasmine. A very believable love story. Lillian Lewis
Copyright © American Library Association. All rights reserved --This text refers to the Hardcover edition.
Review
“Perfection is an ideal, not a person. But if perfection ever were personified, it would be Jasmine.”
--Nick
"Edwardo Jackson is a writer with something to say and the skills to say it. The search for true love may never be the same!"
--Pearl Cleage
Book Review from http://www.curledup.com/everaft.htm
Nick and Jasmine are the perfect couple; they have been dating for over two years and everything seems perfect. But Nick is thrown completely when Jasmine rejects his marriage proposal and is so humiliated that he decides to move to Chicago and make a fresh start in Ever After by Edwardo Jackson.
Nick is king of the world when he first arrives in the Windy City
and quickly begins dating a succession of potential Jasmine fill-ins.
Soon enough, however, Nick sinks to the depths of despair when the
dates stop coming and the nights get very, very lonely. In desperation,
Nick breaks all of his dating rules as he attempts to replace Jasmine
(even the one about married women). The only good thing to come from
all the upheaval is Nick’s discovery of a passion for acting.
Nick decides to go after a degree in acting to further his chances
of find work when he moves to California to pursue acting full time.
Just as he’s walking out the door to drive to San Diego and leave
Chicago behind for good, the phone rings; it’s Jasmine. Nick has yet to
find another woman to replace her in his heart, is this Nick’s chance
to find happily ever after?
Ever After was really quite surprising to me; I’ve recently
started reading "Black" fiction after many years of avoiding it for the
most part. Most black authors put in too much detail for my taste and
seem uncomfortable on paper with expressing themselves. They try too
hard to sound grammatically correct, and end up sounding too uptight
and using phrases that few people use in real life. This book does have
all of those problems, which hopefully Jackson will have toned down or
erased completely in his next work; however, it does have something
else. That something is a look into the maturation of a black man.
This is not a sociology book in the least, but within this romance
story there is a young black man trying to figure out life and how to
be happy living it. It’s very interesting watching Nick stumble into
the facts of life and how he interprets them. You become so involved
that after finishing the book you still think about Nick and wonder how
he’s dealing with the new situations in his life, which is exactly what
any good author would want.
Neva Hafta
Book Review from Black Issues Book Review (http://www.findarticles.com/p/articles/mi_m0HST/is_6_4/ai_94224170#continue)
Los Angeles-based novelist Edwardo Jackson returns with an
entertaining follow-up to his debut novel Ever After. Set in
California, Nick (whose last name is not disclosed in this novel
either) continues his saga in Neva Hafta, promulgating the notion that
men suffer from flame-out love affairs and broken hearts just like
women do.
Tall, good-looking and well educated, with a big bank account,
Nick is every woman's dream. Better yet, their ideal husband, or so it
would seem. But Nick keeps falling in and out of love with the wrong
women. Still carrying a torch for his ex, Jasmine, a beautiful, cold
and fiercely independent woman with a chip on her shoulder, Nick
struggles with how to move on with his life. He considers himself a
rarity--a black man who really does want to get married. And he doesn't
hesitate to share his intentions with the women he meets.
However, in the midst of all the trite pickup lines, boot knockin'
and bed hopping, Nick suffers a hefty emotional blow when his mother is
diagnosed with cancer and given just two years to live. After he
receives the somber news, Nick becomes obsessed with meeting Ms. Right
and marching down the aisle before his mother dies.
In an interesting twist, Nick and his best buddy, Craig, concoct a
plan to lure prospective soul mates by penning a weekly newspaper
column called, "Marriage-Minded." In the process, the two receive
hundreds of responses from women, some of who meet the wife criteria
and others who don't--but look good in heels and a tight, miniskirt.
Jackson's sophomore novel reads more like an autobiography of a
thirtysomething, straight, single, educated black man in the Big City
rather than a work of fiction. Neva Hafta is more than just another
book about dating, relationships and love gone wrong, it's a story
about life. The dialogue and characters are believable and Jackson's
writing is sharp and clear. The message is simple yet
provocative--marry for love and never settle for anything less.
--Glenn Townes is a New Jersey based journalist and regular contributor to BIBR.