cover image NEVA HAFTA

NEVA HAFTA

Edwardo Jackson, . . Villard, $22.95 (368pp) ISBN 978-0-375-50637-6

Jackson takes his young, horny African-American protagonist from Ever After for another dip in the dating pool in this shallow sequel, which features plenty of booty calls and little else. The conceit this time is particularly far-fetched: after relocating to San Diego to pursue an acting career, Nick learns that his mother is dying of breast cancer. Rather than returning to be with her in Seattle, he conducts a series of auditions for Ms. Right so that mom can see him married off before her demise. A journalist friend then suggests that Nick write a weekly column about his dating adventures as an anonymous bachelor who wants to get married within a year. The column is wildly successful—never mind that it makes Candace Bushnell sound like Henry James ("Life is made up of many, many moments, special and otherwise"). In short order, Nick dates a co-worker at his bank, a commitment-phobic model, an actress, a sexy single mother and several former girlfriends. After an online date turns out to be a transsexual, Nick finally encounters his dream girl at a poetry reading, but the endless sequence of dating scenes is more mind-numbing than it was in Ever After, and the preening, self-absorbed Nick is even less appealing this time around. Alas, the reappearance of an old flame at his wedding is a blatant setup for yet another entry in this ham-fisted series. Agent, Janell Walden Agyeman of Marie Brown. (Oct.)