Against All Odds

by Gwynne Forster

Against All Odds by Gwynne Forster released on Feb 22, 2001 is available now for purchase.

Genres: African American Romance, Romance, Contemporary Romance

352 pages, Mass Market Paperback

First published January 1, 1996

About the author

Gwynne Forster (1922-2015) was the pseudonym of American novelist, short fiction writer, demographer, and sociologist Gwendolyn Johnson-Acsadi. Forster was best known as an early innovator of the African American Romance fiction tradition. Forster was a prolific writer who authored more than 50 books, as well as multiple studies in the field of demography. Forster won a wide readership with her novels and garnered awards, including the Romantic Times Career Achievement Award and the Black Writers Alliance Gold Pen Award.

Reviews

[Elvenjen · Rating 1 out of 5]

I do not understand how this book was published. There must have been no editor. It's fine grammatically (mostly) and the story is alright but the writing is absolutely terrible. One minute they are one place and two sentences later they are someplace completely different - geographically, i.e. they went from going into a concert to having coffee afterwards - with hardly any explanation of how they got there! There is no "middle", there's no realistic timeline of events. Things just magically happen, no discussions between the characters. Those real-life decision making moments are key!

The writing needs to be fleshed out. She just needed an appropriate editor/publisher. But it's so awful, I cannot finish it.

[Gwen · Rating 3 out of 5]

Good book but could have condensed some of the unnecessary dialogue.

[Celeste · Rating 3 out of 5]

Love requires work

Talk about a hard road. Family feuds can be the detriment to all involved. Yet one that last over thirty years is paramount. What we see with Adam & Melissa is that regardless of the past, if one truly desires a positive outcome one must work. My only drawback is it had several subplots that lead itself to intertwine with the main plot. Examples: Emily and Billy Henry's saga. Mary and Roundtree's saga. The ease of Timothy and Mack to be discovered. It was often weird how Flower showed up in the story. Thus three stars

[KAREN MCCRAW · Rating 5 out of 5]

Great love story

A ridiculous family feud that ended happily. I loved BH and Emily's story of finding their way back to each in spite of the obstacles.

[Carol · Rating 5 out of 5]

Adam Roundtree and Melissa's Story - Is Romance enough to overcome a decades-long family feud?

I love the strength and intelligence of Ms. Forster's characters, and this book did not disappoint in this regard. Ms. Forster is an author who makes me use the dictionary feature on my kindle, and I love that! I get a chance to live vicariously through the characters and stretch my mind to learn new words at the same time. Also, in addition to the beautiful and sweet romance, there are several mysteries running through this book which affect choices and decisions made by the characters. These mysteries keep readers guessing until the end. This is another novel to add to my list of favorites.

[Sos · Rating 5 out of 5]

I love this book. It was very emotional and full of many surprises. It was a romantic and modern view of Romeo and Juliet. The difference is the two main characters - Melissa Grant and Adam Roundtree were actually in love. It took them a while to admit it to each other because they both didn't want to be hurt. This book is definitely worth the read. It is about Melissa and Adams work relationship blossoming into love. Their families have a feud that goes back about three generations. This nearly end their relationship, but love conquers all in the end.

[Vicci Divine · Rating 2 out of 5]

Made myself finish it which is the only reason I gave it 2 stars instead of 1. I was not a fan of Adam, he wasn't lovable at all. It was also a bit difficult reading because the cues of who was talking were a bit delayed. The scene changes weren't abrupt and not smooth. It almost read like a 2nd draft versus a final. The story dragged out so long, I didn't care that I fell asleep with 10 pages left to read.

[Vhope · Rating 1 out of 5]

This is the first book I have read by this author. The book was not clearly plotted to give the reader a flow. It was hard to follow due to jumps in time. Also, there was not much detail to lead into new scenes or situations. Overall, just very hard to follow. Maybe it's just this book as the author does have other books widely read.

[Jean · Rating 2 out of 5]

Took too long for Adam and Melanie to realize they should be together; liked Emily and B-H's story,

[Debra Odom · Rating 3 out of 5]

Decent book. Not the bedt I have read. A man and woman whose families hate each ither fall in love.

[Angel · Rating 5 out of 5]

Definitely a good read.

[Sharyn · Rating 3 out of 5]

3.5

[Ttw]

Terribly slow.

[Amber · Rating 3 out of 5]

Solid and well written story.

[Angela · Rating 2 out of 5]

This book took forever. I appreciated that it was clean but it was a little long-winded

[kristen · Rating 1 out of 5]

Not for me: too confusing at the beginning, did not establish character or world.