Customer Reviews

His First Wife

5 star:		(6)
4 star:		(1)
3 star:		(1)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

Kerry Jackson was living a picture perfect life. Her mother poured in everything high society had to offer and sent Kerry to Spelman. It was college where she meet Jamison Taylor (a Morehouse student) he had a different upbringing but he was perfect. Both had plans to attend medical school but when things didn't work out for Kerry their plans changed. The ultimate romantic, Jamison went all out on his proposal for marriage. Kerry accepted against her mothers protest. Their marriage, lawn care business, and lavish lifestyle altered their dreams causing a rift in their relationship. Like they say "love can make you do crazy things".

Flash forward ten years, Kerry is pregnant and discovers her seemingly dedicated husband is cheating. In a late night intervention, Kerry drives to the other woman's house to get her man. The actions of that night get out of control and Kerry is arrested. The details that come to light will free Kerry from the strongholds that have held her back all these years. During these difficult days Kerry re-evaluates her life and recognizes her purpose.

Octavia continues to write stories about strong, educated women. In her sophomore project, the characters are endearing and well-developed. The emails and IM offer a humorous view of the how easy it is for something innocent to turn into betrayal. Octavia also incorporates the power of a mother's love and how it can easily be tainted. There are times when the flashbacks cause confusion in the storyline but they don't distract much from the reading. His First Wife is a romance readers dream.

Deltareviewer
Reviewing for Real Page Turners

Kerry Jackson has it all! She grew up on the right side of town, has the right name, and is surrounded by the right people. Well that is what society says. But she has all of that and no one to share it with. When she meets Jamison Taylor, at a Spelman College dance, her whole life changes. Even though they come from different backgrounds (Jamison was not born with a silver spoon), their love for each other grows. They both are on their way to becoming doctors. They were perfect together. Despite each of their mother's dislike for their choice in partners, the two wed.

Now married for ten years and pregnant with their first child, Kerry discovers that Jamison is having an affair. She confronts the situation head on. Now the picture-perfect marriage is in shambles. Everyone knows her as Miss Black Barbie. What will they think when they find out her husband is cheating? How will her mother react when she did not want Kerry to marry him in the first place? With all of these questions going through her mind, Kerry has to decide the new life she will lead.

His First Wife by Grace Octavia is her second novel. Take Her Man was exciting and she did not disappoint with this one. I love the use of the e-mail and IM conversations. The characters are hilarious. You immediately connect with them. You feel for the wife, the cheating husband, AND the mistress. You get to see the different point-of-views. The same story told by different people. The pace of the novel is set from page one. You will not be able to put this down. Octavia creates a wonderful story of love, betrayal and LIFE. I am looking forward to more from her.

Donnica Copeland
APOOO BookClub
Sista Talk Book Club

Kerry Jackson met Jamison Taylor while she was attending Spellman and he was attending Morehouse. They both had dreams of becoming doctors, but they somehow veered off that path. Jamison now owns a very profitable lawn care service and Kerry helps with the marketing. Ten years into their marriage Kerry is eight months pregnant and she discovers he is cheating. After a confrontation with him and his mistress, Kerry is sent on a tailspin, which causes her to evaluate her life and the decisions she's made.

HIS FIRST WIFE chronicles the journey of one woman who awakens and decides to take back her life. Setback by dreams deferred and her husband's infidelity, Kerry makes a discovery back to self. The book was very well-written, but I did have trouble with the flashbacks. Octavia juggled three time periods - the beginning of their relationship, the beginning of Jamison's affair and the present. I had to read a few paragraphs to find what point the story was being told from. Other than that, Octavia pens a great tale that spotlights a couple trying to make it through their issues.

Reviewed by Paula Henderson
of The RAWSISTAZ(tm) Reviewers

I loved this book. My first time reading this author and it was great.

I loved the love Kerry and Jamison had for each other but I hated how dramatic their mother's were. The mistress was pitiful and I felt no sympathy for her. I wanted Kerry to strangle her lol.

Over all it was a nice weekend read.

NOVEL SYNOPSIS:
HIS FIRST WIFE BEGINS WITH TWO INNOCENT EMAILS:

"If this email works and it's Jamison Taylor, I think I found your Palm Pilot in front of my house this morning."
"Can I come pick the planner up? Or would you like to meet me somewhere?"

From there, everything about an ordinary Atlanta marriage goes extraordinarily out of control....Kerry Jackson never thought her dream marriage, which began when her Morehouse beau proposed on a picture-perfect bridge over a lavish pool filled with rose petals and floating candles, could be pulled apart by a harmless email. But ten years later, Jamison is having an affair and a pregnant Kerry finds herself in her car at five in the morning, dead set on busting up the secret romance. Angry, confused, and in the backseat of a police car, she realizes that she needs a new plan for her life and her unborn child ... fast. But trouble at home quickly turns to trouble everywhere, and a desperate Kerry searches for the strength to pick up the pieces of her life. Now, she is going to have to throw out the game plan, find out who she really is-and take the biggest gamble ever. A sparkling, sexy novel, HIS FIRST WIFE is all about facing what is real and getting it all on your own terms.

REVIEW QUOTES:
"Octavia's second novel is a truly wonderful story with wide appeal about love and what it takes to make a marriage in modern African American society." -Patty Engelmann, Booklist, Sept. 2008

"Octavia weaves an extraordinary tale. The characters are believable and extremely entertaining, and the final revelation is shocking. This fantastic novel should fly off shelves!" -Eleanor S. Shields, Romantic Times, Oct. 2008

In the beginning, innocent e-mails, non-communication between the marrieds, sparring with the in-laws, telling too much of your business to anybody other than your spouse and agreeing to lunches to just "get away", all leading up to the infidelity commited and the commitment to fight to get it all back. Kudos to Grace Octavia for creating multi-dimensional characters that I found myself rooting for and being dissapointed in. It's easy to choose a hero and a villian in any story, but when all the parties are guilty to some degree, then it's always gonna be easier said than done. Loved this book!

This is a very exciting intriguing book. It will keep your interest throughout. It is also an enlightening book that explores love, deceit, and forgiveness.

His First Wife was our book club selection for November 2008. I am very happy we chose this book. Grace Octavia is a superb story teller. The plot is interesting from the opening scene where the very pregnant main character confronts her cheating husband at his girlfriend's home. The pace of the novel is very fast with minimal narrative and lots of hilarious dialogue. The subplot of the meddling mother-in-laws provoked a lot of discussion in our group. What I loved the most, however, was the comedic relief. Octavia's voice reminds me a lot of Mary Munroe.

Some of our members found the conclusion to be a bit too neat and tidy but it worked for me. I highly recommend this book for a quick, light read that will leave you smiling.
mOe Anderson
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