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Wahala
An incisive and exhilarating debut novel of female friendship following three Anglo-Nigerian best friends and the lethally glamorous fourth woman who infiltrates their group—the most unforgettable girls since Carrie, Samantha, Charlotte, and Miranda.
Ronke wants happily ever after and 2.2. kids. She’s dating Kayode and wants him to be “the one” (perfect, like her dead father). Her friends think he’s just another in a long line of dodgy Nigerian boyfriends.
Boo has everything Ronke wants—a kind husband, gorgeous child. But she’s frustrated, unfulfilled, plagued by guilt, and desperate to remember who she used to be.
Simi is the golden one with the perfect lifestyle. No one knows she’s crippled by impostor syndrome and tempted to pack it all in each time her boss mentions her “urban vibe.” Her husband thinks they’re trying for a baby. She’s not.
When the high-flying, charismatic Isobel explodes into the group, it seems at first she’s bringing out the best in each woman. (She gets Simi an interview in Hong Kong! Goes jogging with Boo!) But the more Isobel intervenes, the more chaos she sows, and Ronke, Simi, and Boo’s close friendship begins to crack.
A sharp, modern take on friendship, ambition, culture, and betrayal, Wahala (trouble) is an unforgettable novel from a brilliant new voice.
Ronke wants happily ever after and 2.2. kids. She’s dating Kayode and wants him to be “the one” (perfect, like her dead father). Her friends think he’s just another in a long line of dodgy Nigerian boyfriends.
Boo has everything Ronke wants—a kind husband, gorgeous child. But she’s frustrated, unfulfilled, plagued by guilt, and desperate to remember who she used to be.
Simi is the golden one with the perfect lifestyle. No one knows she’s crippled by impostor syndrome and tempted to pack it all in each time her boss mentions her “urban vibe.” Her husband thinks they’re trying for a baby. She’s not.
When the high-flying, charismatic Isobel explodes into the group, it seems at first she’s bringing out the best in each woman. (She gets Simi an interview in Hong Kong! Goes jogging with Boo!) But the more Isobel intervenes, the more chaos she sows, and Ronke, Simi, and Boo’s close friendship begins to crack.
A sharp, modern take on friendship, ambition, culture, and betrayal, Wahala (trouble) is an unforgettable novel from a brilliant new voice.
384 pages, Hardcover
First published January 6, 2022
About the author
Nikki May
3 books475 followersBorn in Bristol and raised in Lagos, Nikki May is Anglo-Nigerian.
Her critically acclaimed debut novel WAHALA won the Comedy Women In Print New Voice Prize, was longlisted for the Goldsboro Glass Bell Award and the Diverse Books Award, and is being turned into a major BBC TV drama series.
THIS MOTHERLESS LAND is her second novel.
Nikki lives in Dorset with her husband, two standard Schnauzers and way too many books. She should be working on her third book but is probably reading.
You can follow Nikki on Twitter: @NikkiOMay
Or Instagram: @nikkimaywriter
Her critically acclaimed debut novel WAHALA won the Comedy Women In Print New Voice Prize, was longlisted for the Goldsboro Glass Bell Award and the Diverse Books Award, and is being turned into a major BBC TV drama series.
THIS MOTHERLESS LAND is her second novel.
Nikki lives in Dorset with her husband, two standard Schnauzers and way too many books. She should be working on her third book but is probably reading.
You can follow Nikki on Twitter: @NikkiOMay
Or Instagram: @nikkimaywriter
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 2,574 reviews
January 22, 2022
I'm so confused by parts of this book because 1) they're unnecessary and 2) WTF lady? There are no real spoilers here but if you want to read the book blindly, you should probably stop here.
Ok, still here? Good. There is so much colorism and antiblack sentiment that I had to keep checking the author's picture to ensure that she was indeed black. All of the female characters are biracial: Nigerian and Russian or Nigerian and British. There are degrading comments about textured hair and praise for "good" hair. Nigerian men are talked about as if they're second citizens not good enough to be with any of the women. All of the women are married to white men, with the exception of one who is dating a Nigerian man and her friends look down on their relationship. It was just weird as fuck, honestly.
The storyline was somewhat predictable and I peeped early on what the new member of the friend group was up to, though it took longer to realize her motivation. However, the story could have very well been played out without ever bringing in race or the nationality of the male characters or the skin tone and hair texture of female characters into the picture. If the author has colorism and anti-Nigerian men issues, she should have worked them out in therapy because it doesn't play out well here and it's offensive.
Ok, still here? Good. There is so much colorism and antiblack sentiment that I had to keep checking the author's picture to ensure that she was indeed black. All of the female characters are biracial: Nigerian and Russian or Nigerian and British. There are degrading comments about textured hair and praise for "good" hair. Nigerian men are talked about as if they're second citizens not good enough to be with any of the women. All of the women are married to white men, with the exception of one who is dating a Nigerian man and her friends look down on their relationship. It was just weird as fuck, honestly.
The storyline was somewhat predictable and I peeped early on what the new member of the friend group was up to, though it took longer to realize her motivation. However, the story could have very well been played out without ever bringing in race or the nationality of the male characters or the skin tone and hair texture of female characters into the picture. If the author has colorism and anti-Nigerian men issues, she should have worked them out in therapy because it doesn't play out well here and it's offensive.
July 5, 2022
Wahala indeed!
Wow, ummmm..…goodness this was bad….OMG! I really don’t want to say it like that but come on, it just wasn’t great. This is a really popular argument I hear about some books: “Authors write problematic characters on purpose.” And I really agree but isn’t there usually a point?
I guess the storyline is trying to say Isobel is basically the one who starts a lot of the mess that comes after she joins their group, but girrrll, the girls had way too many issues before she came. And that unrealistic ending was not right at all!!!
Maybe there is a lesson from this book that I’m supposed to grasp, but unfortunately, I’m not getting anything out of this. Hey, at least the girls were kinda relatable in this one. I just prefer my books to have at least one girl friendship that is healthy.
Wow, ummmm..…goodness this was bad….OMG! I really don’t want to say it like that but come on, it just wasn’t great. This is a really popular argument I hear about some books: “Authors write problematic characters on purpose.” And I really agree but isn’t there usually a point?
I guess the storyline is trying to say Isobel is basically the one who starts a lot of the mess that comes after she joins their group, but girrrll, the girls had way too many issues before she came. And that unrealistic ending was not right at all!!!
Maybe there is a lesson from this book that I’m supposed to grasp, but unfortunately, I’m not getting anything out of this. Hey, at least the girls were kinda relatable in this one. I just prefer my books to have at least one girl friendship that is healthy.
February 21, 2022
Fantastic debut novel from Nikki May!! I enjoyed this one so much and the storyline was interesting and kept you hooked. I thought the ending was great and unexpected. This book is definitely drama filled for sure but I didn’t get the Sex and the city vibes like the description suggests. It does have a modern, fun feel to it though and I learned a little about Nigerian culture too. Overall, a great book and I would recommend.
September 25, 2021
I received a copy of this book from NetGalley as a Read Now selection.
First, I wish the description on NetGalley matched the description on Goodreads, had I read the Goodreads description, I would have given this a complete miss. The NetGalley description made this sound like your run of the mill pool or car trip read. Something light and fun with a little wtf on the side. Goodreads description is bit more apt.
NetGalley claims the book is "inclusive" (clue #1 that something was amiss, but it's a mass published book so I generally glaze over and ignore publishers that decide inclusive is something you should describe a book as) whereas Goodreads tells us "Boldly political about class, colorism and cooking, here is a truly inclusive tale that will speak to anyone who has ever cherished friendship, in all its forms" (this would have been where I departed the train had NetGalley given me this description).
The first bit of colorism popped out at me with no warning and I did have to put the book down often because it kept happening. Then I finally looked up the GR description after someone on Twitter mentioned not liking what they read.
This will contain spoilers so please do not read any further if you plan on reading or completing the book. There's a not so surprise ending which I am going to include so continue at your own risk. This way be spoilers!!!!!
Boo - is a fucking racist bitch, why she has friends who are anything other than white? I can't say. She's the worst of the friends, she's married to Didier (her safe, white hubby) and hates being a mum and wife and feels bored. For no reason other than she wants to be bored. Her kid is in school, she's gone back to work twice a week but suffers from you made your bed syndrome. She's spent her marriage cocooned in the safety of having a boring husband who treats well enough but is used to her not putting up a fuss because she's been raised by her white mother, stepfather and white stepbrothers in Whiteland (I think York was mentioned) to be invisible and not draw attention to her nonwhiteness. There's brief mention of her school days and how wretched they were because she was not fully white. Her only interaction with black people (as a whole, lets not even speak of Nigerians) seems to have been going away to university and meeting the other two characters.
She has deep hatred for black men because her father left before she was born and ergo all black men are dodgy. She's almost a caricature of the tragic mulatto. She's the most taken by Isobel and ends up having an affair with her boss, talking too much of everyone's business because Isobel keeps plying her with the attention she so desperately wants. There's zero growth for her character, she spends the entire book being a racist twat and when she finds out the extent of what Isobel has done (including the fact that they are half sisters), her takeaway is "you guys are Nigerian, you're used to this craziness (paraphrasing but crazy and Nigerian were in there), I'm going to France (to get back the safe white husband who took the kid because his wife is a cheat and a twat) where there are safe, sane, normal white people).
Simi - Dear Simi is a toned down version of Boo, slightly less tragic, no less annoying. Isobel and Simi grew up together in Nigeria and were friends while their fathers worked together. It all came to a sad end and Simi's dad lost his business, no more country and no more white wife etc etc etc (this will become mildly important later). Simi is focused on living her best childfree life but her husband is 40 and ready to pop out a few, he's unaware that Simi is still taking her birth control pills and immediately aborted the successful pregnancy. Simi loves Martin because Martin liked white women. After dating black men who only wanted her because she was mixed and white men who would have sex with anyone that failed the paper bag test.
Simi has daddy daddy issues in that her dad expects her to foot the bill for the family (especially her useless older brother) and his jaunts to London with his super religious wife who burns Simi's pots, turns her house into chaos and this is where the book became Nollywood like and I admit I glazed over and rolled my eyes through most of it. Simi latches onto Isobel due to nostalgia and loneliness because Martin is in Manhattan working. Initially she's the catalyst for bringing Isobel into the group, Isobel finds a picture of Simi on Facebook and gets her information through the NNN.
Ronke - Dear, dear Ronke is the only likable person in this clusterfuck. She's not perfect by any means and needed only slightly less therapy than the other two. Ronke and Simi both spent time in Nigeria as kids and she's the only one who fully embraces herself. She hangs onto Nigeria and practices the customs as homage to her dead father who she has built up in her head as a saint (spoiler alert, he ends up being a cheating twat *shocker* ) and her Auntie Kehinde (aka Auntie K who is the only decent character in the whole damn book) who dotes on Ronke. Ronke's mother brings the kids back to England after her husband dies and has to endure the suffering of her racist parents before she can move out (thanks to Auntie K) and get their own flat. Ronke only dates Nigerian men (looking for daddy) but she always manages to pick losers, currently dating Kayode who is to be fair, lackadaisical when it comes to dating, puts out very little effort and expects big returns. I'd ward my sisters, nieces, friends off him but Simi and Boo make sure to let Ronke know (even before Isobel) that she has absolute shit taste. Which, fair. Shit partners are shit partners. Ronke ends up suffering the most of the lot when she disliked Isobel from jump and tried her best to avoid her. Ronke is the mother hen of the group, babysitter for Boo, will cook and bake and be your shoulder but is a bit judgy.
Isobel - the biggest caricature of them all. She was just messy and see through with zero rhyme or reason. Anyone with an ounce of sense could tell she was winding everyone up and splashing money just because. The last few chapters are dedicated to being full Nollywood, Isobel pulls off this infiltration because Ronke's dad had an affair with Isobel's mum back in Nigeria and Isobel found out and told her dad who promptly had Ronke's dad murdered. The fact that she gets to murder Kayode without so much as a slap on the wrist, is just happy luck. Kayode left her when they had a fling in South Africa. Isobel never gets her own chapter so she has no voice, she's just there to move the plot of ruining everyone's life along.
If you're still here, bless you.
Now, the goodreads description of this book claims that there is to be subversion, readers, there is zero subversion. None. Just antiblack rhetoric, colorism and tasty recipes. I am honestly baffled on why this couldn't have been a domestic thriller, it is literally RIGHT THERE. Revenge mad Isobel, poor unsuspecting Ronke living in her bubble. None of the backhanded mentions towards blackness were necessary. They served no purpose. There's no lesson to be learned, unless the lesson the author wanted to convey is that God bless whiteness? The Nice White Ladies will love this book, it plays up a lot lies. I guess this was the supposed subversion? I can't say. There are no instances of any systems being bucked here. Ronke ends up with a murdered black boyfriend (who is harassed by the police after trying to protect Ronke from a stalker), Simi ends up back with Martin and Boo, fuck her, I hope her plane crashed on the way to Paris, worthless twat.
I was so excited to read this book when I initially added it after the cover reveal and the original blurb made it sound like something else. I was completely let down and to be transparent, a lot hurt. I think we can handle a lot of the topics brought up in this book without being so careless. There was so much wasted potential for what really should have been at least a good story.
Please excuse any typos, I don't care enough to reread this.
Thanks to NetGalley for saving me from wasting my money on buying this.
First, I wish the description on NetGalley matched the description on Goodreads, had I read the Goodreads description, I would have given this a complete miss. The NetGalley description made this sound like your run of the mill pool or car trip read. Something light and fun with a little wtf on the side. Goodreads description is bit more apt.
NetGalley claims the book is "inclusive" (clue #1 that something was amiss, but it's a mass published book so I generally glaze over and ignore publishers that decide inclusive is something you should describe a book as) whereas Goodreads tells us "Boldly political about class, colorism and cooking, here is a truly inclusive tale that will speak to anyone who has ever cherished friendship, in all its forms" (this would have been where I departed the train had NetGalley given me this description).
The first bit of colorism popped out at me with no warning and I did have to put the book down often because it kept happening. Then I finally looked up the GR description after someone on Twitter mentioned not liking what they read.
This will contain spoilers so please do not read any further if you plan on reading or completing the book. There's a not so surprise ending which I am going to include so continue at your own risk. This way be spoilers!!!!!
Boo - is a fucking racist bitch, why she has friends who are anything other than white? I can't say. She's the worst of the friends, she's married to Didier (her safe, white hubby) and hates being a mum and wife and feels bored. For no reason other than she wants to be bored. Her kid is in school, she's gone back to work twice a week but suffers from you made your bed syndrome. She's spent her marriage cocooned in the safety of having a boring husband who treats well enough but is used to her not putting up a fuss because she's been raised by her white mother, stepfather and white stepbrothers in Whiteland (I think York was mentioned) to be invisible and not draw attention to her nonwhiteness. There's brief mention of her school days and how wretched they were because she was not fully white. Her only interaction with black people (as a whole, lets not even speak of Nigerians) seems to have been going away to university and meeting the other two characters.
She has deep hatred for black men because her father left before she was born and ergo all black men are dodgy. She's almost a caricature of the tragic mulatto. She's the most taken by Isobel and ends up having an affair with her boss, talking too much of everyone's business because Isobel keeps plying her with the attention she so desperately wants. There's zero growth for her character, she spends the entire book being a racist twat and when she finds out the extent of what Isobel has done (including the fact that they are half sisters), her takeaway is "you guys are Nigerian, you're used to this craziness (paraphrasing but crazy and Nigerian were in there), I'm going to France (to get back the safe white husband who took the kid because his wife is a cheat and a twat) where there are safe, sane, normal white people).
Simi - Dear Simi is a toned down version of Boo, slightly less tragic, no less annoying. Isobel and Simi grew up together in Nigeria and were friends while their fathers worked together. It all came to a sad end and Simi's dad lost his business, no more country and no more white wife etc etc etc (this will become mildly important later). Simi is focused on living her best childfree life but her husband is 40 and ready to pop out a few, he's unaware that Simi is still taking her birth control pills and immediately aborted the successful pregnancy. Simi loves Martin because Martin liked white women. After dating black men who only wanted her because she was mixed and white men who would have sex with anyone that failed the paper bag test.
Simi has daddy daddy issues in that her dad expects her to foot the bill for the family (especially her useless older brother) and his jaunts to London with his super religious wife who burns Simi's pots, turns her house into chaos and this is where the book became Nollywood like and I admit I glazed over and rolled my eyes through most of it. Simi latches onto Isobel due to nostalgia and loneliness because Martin is in Manhattan working. Initially she's the catalyst for bringing Isobel into the group, Isobel finds a picture of Simi on Facebook and gets her information through the NNN.
Ronke - Dear, dear Ronke is the only likable person in this clusterfuck. She's not perfect by any means and needed only slightly less therapy than the other two. Ronke and Simi both spent time in Nigeria as kids and she's the only one who fully embraces herself. She hangs onto Nigeria and practices the customs as homage to her dead father who she has built up in her head as a saint (spoiler alert, he ends up being a cheating twat *shocker* ) and her Auntie Kehinde (aka Auntie K who is the only decent character in the whole damn book) who dotes on Ronke. Ronke's mother brings the kids back to England after her husband dies and has to endure the suffering of her racist parents before she can move out (thanks to Auntie K) and get their own flat. Ronke only dates Nigerian men (looking for daddy) but she always manages to pick losers, currently dating Kayode who is to be fair, lackadaisical when it comes to dating, puts out very little effort and expects big returns. I'd ward my sisters, nieces, friends off him but Simi and Boo make sure to let Ronke know (even before Isobel) that she has absolute shit taste. Which, fair. Shit partners are shit partners. Ronke ends up suffering the most of the lot when she disliked Isobel from jump and tried her best to avoid her. Ronke is the mother hen of the group, babysitter for Boo, will cook and bake and be your shoulder but is a bit judgy.
Isobel - the biggest caricature of them all. She was just messy and see through with zero rhyme or reason. Anyone with an ounce of sense could tell she was winding everyone up and splashing money just because. The last few chapters are dedicated to being full Nollywood, Isobel pulls off this infiltration because Ronke's dad had an affair with Isobel's mum back in Nigeria and Isobel found out and told her dad who promptly had Ronke's dad murdered. The fact that she gets to murder Kayode without so much as a slap on the wrist, is just happy luck. Kayode left her when they had a fling in South Africa. Isobel never gets her own chapter so she has no voice, she's just there to move the plot of ruining everyone's life along.
If you're still here, bless you.
Now, the goodreads description of this book claims that there is to be subversion, readers, there is zero subversion. None. Just antiblack rhetoric, colorism and tasty recipes. I am honestly baffled on why this couldn't have been a domestic thriller, it is literally RIGHT THERE. Revenge mad Isobel, poor unsuspecting Ronke living in her bubble. None of the backhanded mentions towards blackness were necessary. They served no purpose. There's no lesson to be learned, unless the lesson the author wanted to convey is that God bless whiteness? The Nice White Ladies will love this book, it plays up a lot lies. I guess this was the supposed subversion? I can't say. There are no instances of any systems being bucked here. Ronke ends up with a murdered black boyfriend (who is harassed by the police after trying to protect Ronke from a stalker), Simi ends up back with Martin and Boo, fuck her, I hope her plane crashed on the way to Paris, worthless twat.
I was so excited to read this book when I initially added it after the cover reveal and the original blurb made it sound like something else. I was completely let down and to be transparent, a lot hurt. I think we can handle a lot of the topics brought up in this book without being so careless. There was so much wasted potential for what really should have been at least a good story.
Please excuse any typos, I don't care enough to reread this.
Thanks to NetGalley for saving me from wasting my money on buying this.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
May 27, 2022
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The cover and premise for Wahala made me think that this novel would be a beach thriller, something in the realms of Liane Moriarty. While the unfolding drama between a trio of ‘friends’ was fairly amusing to read of, Wahala wasn’t quite the suspenseful domestic thriller I’d hoped it to be. Still, this was, for the most part, an entertaining read and Ronke alone kept me turning pages.
Set in London, Wahala is centred around three mixed-race friends, Ronke, Simi, Boo. They met in Bristol and their shared experiences drew them together. Over the years they have all embarked on different paths but they remain close friends, eating out together or meeting up to vent about their partners or lives. Ronke, a dentist, doesn’t have the greatest dating history but she hopes that her current boyfriend, Kayode, is ‘the one’. Simi, married to Martin who lives and works in New York, is tired of putting up with her boss’ microaggressions. Boo is growingly dissatisfied with her life as a stay-at-home mum. She begins to resent her husband, Didier, and even her four-year-old daughter.
And then Isobel arrives. She’s hideously wealthy and an old acquaintance of Simi. Soon enough she inserts herself in the group, spoiling them with expensive gifts and seems more than willing to let them vent about their lives. While Boo falls completely under Isobel's wing, and Simi too, finds herself confiding her secrets to her, Ronke remains suspicious of her motivations.
Each chapter switches between Ronke, Simi, Boo, so that we get to see their perspectives equally. We also begin to sense that Isobel is up to no good as she seems intent on stirring trouble, and soon enough cracks begin to form in the bond between Ronke, Simi, and Boo.
I liked the author’s sense of humor as well as her commentary on race, marriage, motherhood as well as her insights into Nigerian culture (her descriptions of Nigerian food are *chief’s kiss*).
Ronke, Simi, and Boo have very different personalities and, while they do share many similar experiences, backstories. Boo, for example, grew up not knowing her Nigerian father and because of this seems to distrust Black men like Kayode (her friends do call her out on this). Ronke, on the other hand, loved her father, who passed away when she was young and does not see herself dating a man who isn’t Black. Simi doesn’t want children, Ronke wants to start a family, and Boo has a child she seems to hate.
There were things that prevented me from truly loving this book. For one, the story could have benefited from an extra dose of suspense as the ‘thriller’ aspect comes into play at the very end. The narrative seems mostly driven by the miscommunication between the various characters (couples & friends alike) and after a while it became repetitive.
I also hated, and I mean it, Boo and Simi. They were awful, to their partners and Ronke. Ronke, who was honest, kind, funny, I loved. But seeing her remain friends with these two horrible people��? Why would she do this to herself?
Boo’s chapters were a chore to get through. She complains constantly about her husband and daughter, both of whom are actually far more likeable than she is. She’s also really stupid in that she jumps to idiotic conclusions without using any common sense.
Simi was more of a cypher and I did not feel particularly sympathetic towards her.
Isobel was very hard to believe in. Those ‘twists’ towards the end managed to be both predictable and totally OTT. Isobel seemed just to exist as the bad guy and maybe I would have found her more credible had she had her own chapters.
All in all, while Wahala is not exactly a riveting read, it was for the most part an amusing read that doesn’t take itself too seriously (the author pokes fun at her characters’ histrionics). I do think that Ronke deserved better and that Simi and Boo had it too easy...
ARC provided by the publisher in exchange for an honest review.
The cover and premise for Wahala made me think that this novel would be a beach thriller, something in the realms of Liane Moriarty. While the unfolding drama between a trio of ‘friends’ was fairly amusing to read of, Wahala wasn’t quite the suspenseful domestic thriller I’d hoped it to be. Still, this was, for the most part, an entertaining read and Ronke alone kept me turning pages.
Set in London, Wahala is centred around three mixed-race friends, Ronke, Simi, Boo. They met in Bristol and their shared experiences drew them together. Over the years they have all embarked on different paths but they remain close friends, eating out together or meeting up to vent about their partners or lives. Ronke, a dentist, doesn’t have the greatest dating history but she hopes that her current boyfriend, Kayode, is ‘the one’. Simi, married to Martin who lives and works in New York, is tired of putting up with her boss’ microaggressions. Boo is growingly dissatisfied with her life as a stay-at-home mum. She begins to resent her husband, Didier, and even her four-year-old daughter.
And then Isobel arrives. She’s hideously wealthy and an old acquaintance of Simi. Soon enough she inserts herself in the group, spoiling them with expensive gifts and seems more than willing to let them vent about their lives. While Boo falls completely under Isobel's wing, and Simi too, finds herself confiding her secrets to her, Ronke remains suspicious of her motivations.
Each chapter switches between Ronke, Simi, Boo, so that we get to see their perspectives equally. We also begin to sense that Isobel is up to no good as she seems intent on stirring trouble, and soon enough cracks begin to form in the bond between Ronke, Simi, and Boo.
I liked the author’s sense of humor as well as her commentary on race, marriage, motherhood as well as her insights into Nigerian culture (her descriptions of Nigerian food are *chief’s kiss*).
Ronke, Simi, and Boo have very different personalities and, while they do share many similar experiences, backstories. Boo, for example, grew up not knowing her Nigerian father and because of this seems to distrust Black men like Kayode (her friends do call her out on this). Ronke, on the other hand, loved her father, who passed away when she was young and does not see herself dating a man who isn’t Black. Simi doesn’t want children, Ronke wants to start a family, and Boo has a child she seems to hate.
There were things that prevented me from truly loving this book. For one, the story could have benefited from an extra dose of suspense as the ‘thriller’ aspect comes into play at the very end. The narrative seems mostly driven by the miscommunication between the various characters (couples & friends alike) and after a while it became repetitive.
I also hated, and I mean it, Boo and Simi. They were awful, to their partners and Ronke. Ronke, who was honest, kind, funny, I loved. But seeing her remain friends with these two horrible people��? Why would she do this to herself?
Boo’s chapters were a chore to get through. She complains constantly about her husband and daughter, both of whom are actually far more likeable than she is. She’s also really stupid in that she jumps to idiotic conclusions without using any common sense.
Simi was more of a cypher and I did not feel particularly sympathetic towards her.
Isobel was very hard to believe in. Those ‘twists’ towards the end managed to be both predictable and totally OTT. Isobel seemed just to exist as the bad guy and maybe I would have found her more credible had she had her own chapters.
All in all, while Wahala is not exactly a riveting read, it was for the most part an amusing read that doesn’t take itself too seriously (the author pokes fun at her characters’ histrionics). I do think that Ronke deserved better and that Simi and Boo had it too easy...
ARC provided by the publisher in exchange for an honest review.
April 17, 2022
I admit it. This cover got me. I love love love it. The story inside really surprised me, too.
About the book: “An incisive and exhilarating debut novel of female friendship following three Anglo-Nigerian best friends and the lethally glamorous fourth woman who infiltrates their group—the most unforgettable girls since Carrie, Samantha, Charlotte, and Miranda.”
Each of the three friends (well, make that four, once Isabel pushes herself into the group!) has a different personality; but they are bonded despite their differences.
The word Wahala means trouble in Yoruba, and the friends certainly find that along with drama and lots of fun. It deals with important issues, too, including race and class, as well as imposter syndrome. What I loved most about the story is how real everyone was. Good communication, vibrant personalities, true friendship- along with the waxing/waning trials and tribulations, and also all the growth.
Overall, Wahala is a refreshing and juicy story from a talented debut author that I can’t wait to hear from again.
I received a gifted copy.
Many of my reviews can also be found on my blog: www.jennifertarheelreader.com and instagram: www.instagram.com/tarheelreader
About the book: “An incisive and exhilarating debut novel of female friendship following three Anglo-Nigerian best friends and the lethally glamorous fourth woman who infiltrates their group—the most unforgettable girls since Carrie, Samantha, Charlotte, and Miranda.”
Each of the three friends (well, make that four, once Isabel pushes herself into the group!) has a different personality; but they are bonded despite their differences.
The word Wahala means trouble in Yoruba, and the friends certainly find that along with drama and lots of fun. It deals with important issues, too, including race and class, as well as imposter syndrome. What I loved most about the story is how real everyone was. Good communication, vibrant personalities, true friendship- along with the waxing/waning trials and tribulations, and also all the growth.
Overall, Wahala is a refreshing and juicy story from a talented debut author that I can’t wait to hear from again.
I received a gifted copy.
Many of my reviews can also be found on my blog: www.jennifertarheelreader.com and instagram: www.instagram.com/tarheelreader
April 24, 2022
You are going to laugh, cry, get enraged and fall madly in love with Ronke, Simi and Boo! This book is not just a pretty cover! It is engaging , truly unputdownable you wont want to leave your new friend behind!
I am a little annoyed that the publishers choose to compare these amazing ladies to those other characters because I feel like I relate more to them than four white women living in New York City… but I digress. In Wahala we meet three Nigerian women Ronke, Boo, and Simi who are all living in London. They all met while in University and bonded because of their Nigerian background. Years later and their friendships are strong as ever even though they are all in different stages of their lives.
Ronke is still searching for her happily ever after and thinks she’s found it with Kayode who can be a bit sketchy, added to that, her friends don’t really like him but he’s been showing up and doing better- that counts for something right? On the outside Boo seems to have everything going for her, a wonderful husband, rambunctious daughter and a job she gets to go into when she feels like. Even with all of this, she still feels unfulfilled and like something is missing. Simi is that friend who just seems to shine- you can never catch her faltering…but what happens when the shine wears off and she let her hair down?
Simi introduces her two friend to her long time childhood friend Isobel… Isobel swoops in and charms everyone excluding Boo… Boo thinks something is “off” about her, but everyone tells her she is being ridiculous… will they see what Boo is talking about before it’s too late?
Y’all I LOVED this one. I ate is up! I truly enjoyed being in the lives of these three women- they felt real and truly relatable. I could pinpoint exactly which friend was who and that is what I exactly why I was enamored with this book. The writing is fresh, engaging and I could not get enough of the pop references.
Nikki May does a great job of showcasing Black Women and friendship in a way that was not overdone and eye-rolling and I want more persons to experience this. Truly an experience you won’t forget!
I am a little annoyed that the publishers choose to compare these amazing ladies to those other characters because I feel like I relate more to them than four white women living in New York City… but I digress. In Wahala we meet three Nigerian women Ronke, Boo, and Simi who are all living in London. They all met while in University and bonded because of their Nigerian background. Years later and their friendships are strong as ever even though they are all in different stages of their lives.
Ronke is still searching for her happily ever after and thinks she’s found it with Kayode who can be a bit sketchy, added to that, her friends don’t really like him but he’s been showing up and doing better- that counts for something right? On the outside Boo seems to have everything going for her, a wonderful husband, rambunctious daughter and a job she gets to go into when she feels like. Even with all of this, she still feels unfulfilled and like something is missing. Simi is that friend who just seems to shine- you can never catch her faltering…but what happens when the shine wears off and she let her hair down?
Simi introduces her two friend to her long time childhood friend Isobel… Isobel swoops in and charms everyone excluding Boo… Boo thinks something is “off” about her, but everyone tells her she is being ridiculous… will they see what Boo is talking about before it’s too late?
Y’all I LOVED this one. I ate is up! I truly enjoyed being in the lives of these three women- they felt real and truly relatable. I could pinpoint exactly which friend was who and that is what I exactly why I was enamored with this book. The writing is fresh, engaging and I could not get enough of the pop references.
Nikki May does a great job of showcasing Black Women and friendship in a way that was not overdone and eye-rolling and I want more persons to experience this. Truly an experience you won’t forget!
January 4, 2022
A really entertaining book for the most part and it would’ve been a 4 or 5 stars if not for the constant colourism propagated by the lead characters.
December 27, 2021
I really thought that Nikki May's debut novel,
Wahala
was going to be my last read for 2021, but I just couldn't put it down during my post-Holiday commute back into NYC. The cover is spectacular and it may be a contender for best covers of 2022, and it's still 2021!
Picking up this book, I thought that it would be geared more towards a Nigerian Sex and the City, as the blurb hints at the main characters resembling them, but what we really get is a Anglo-Nigerian Big Little Lies, and I'm not mad about it!
The story focuses on three Anglo-Nigerian women in London—Ronke, Boo, and Simi, three women with different lives, but a core friendship nonetheless. Ronke is dating and feels like she's ready for a bigger commitment, Boo is married to a dedicated French husband with a child already, and Simi is the one that everyone gravitates towards. Simi appears to have the perfect life, but she has her own secrets that she isn't sharing. The trio soon meets Isobel, a woman who appears to also have everything handed to her. But when an outsider joins the group and changes everything, what does that really mean about the strength of their friendship?
This book had mystery/thriller undertones, but is mainly a women's fiction drama. PLEASE do not go into it thinking you'll be reading anything other than that. I was disappointed in thinking that we would get something a bit more twisty. That being said, I really enjoyed the power dynamics between Ronke, Boo, Simi, and Isobel. Each woman has a real influence over the narrative and their own personality. For example, Ronke was my favorite! Everyone will find a character to support and everyone will find a character to love to hate.
This book talks about many different topics that really drove my interest. Not only does the book talk about female friendship, socioeconomic power struggles, and relationships; but I also really enjoyed the conversations of what it means to be Anglo-Nigerian. Both the struggles and privilege, living in both London and Lagos. I really think this book will be a hit for readers, so let me know what you think when you finish!
Picking up this book, I thought that it would be geared more towards a Nigerian Sex and the City, as the blurb hints at the main characters resembling them, but what we really get is a Anglo-Nigerian Big Little Lies, and I'm not mad about it!
The story focuses on three Anglo-Nigerian women in London—Ronke, Boo, and Simi, three women with different lives, but a core friendship nonetheless. Ronke is dating and feels like she's ready for a bigger commitment, Boo is married to a dedicated French husband with a child already, and Simi is the one that everyone gravitates towards. Simi appears to have the perfect life, but she has her own secrets that she isn't sharing. The trio soon meets Isobel, a woman who appears to also have everything handed to her. But when an outsider joins the group and changes everything, what does that really mean about the strength of their friendship?
This book had mystery/thriller undertones, but is mainly a women's fiction drama. PLEASE do not go into it thinking you'll be reading anything other than that. I was disappointed in thinking that we would get something a bit more twisty. That being said, I really enjoyed the power dynamics between Ronke, Boo, Simi, and Isobel. Each woman has a real influence over the narrative and their own personality. For example, Ronke was my favorite! Everyone will find a character to support and everyone will find a character to love to hate.
This book talks about many different topics that really drove my interest. Not only does the book talk about female friendship, socioeconomic power struggles, and relationships; but I also really enjoyed the conversations of what it means to be Anglo-Nigerian. Both the struggles and privilege, living in both London and Lagos. I really think this book will be a hit for readers, so let me know what you think when you finish!
January 20, 2022
This book was entertaining, no doubt about that. The title, 'wahala' is the Yoruba word for trouble, and there was no shortage of trouble for the main characters. There was enough messiness, drama, and gbas gbos to go around. Heavy on the mess, heavy on the shock value.
Many things make a book, and that's why even with all the ways this book was entertaining and had me reading the entire thing in basically one sitting, it didn't do it for me.
I enjoyed some of the themes explored in this book, such as colorism and growing up biracial. The main characters are three biracial women with three different backgrounds and childhoods. This book also dives a bit into women's experiences in the workplace. The pressure on women to be married and have a family at a certain age are also explored in various angles through Simi and Ronke.
My favorite characters in this book were Ronke, Didier, and Sofia. Didier def deserves better than Boo lol.
Ronke, Simi, and Boo are supposed to be best friends but honestly I didn't buy into the friendship. They are spiteful and petty, and they keep a lot of secrets from each other. I understand that in the story the author was trying to create, secrets fueled the narrative and kept the plot moving along. However, some of the secrets the women keep from each other just shows that while they might have been friends to some extent, they aren't so close.
What happened to sitting down and talking things through with your best friends? It was too easy for Isobel to worm her way into this friend group and sow seeds of discord.
Another thing that made this book exasperating for me was the ending. The author tried a bit of genre-bending there. The big reveals and the coincidences required too much suspension of disbelief, and I just couldn't deal. I mean I guessed on the reveals early on and I laughed at myself for being so ridiculous but alas. The plot holes were also too much and the math wasn't mathing.
Also Kayode's character. It pained me that his intentions were never really made clear. He was an asshole to Ronke and she deserved better.
Bingeable, entertaining, it also ultimately fell flat. I have also read a lot of reviews for this book and definitely see how it's appreciated in different ways by different readers.
Many thanks to Libro FM for my ALC 💕
----
#Wahala #WahalaNikkiMay #LibroFMALC
Many things make a book, and that's why even with all the ways this book was entertaining and had me reading the entire thing in basically one sitting, it didn't do it for me.
I enjoyed some of the themes explored in this book, such as colorism and growing up biracial. The main characters are three biracial women with three different backgrounds and childhoods. This book also dives a bit into women's experiences in the workplace. The pressure on women to be married and have a family at a certain age are also explored in various angles through Simi and Ronke.
My favorite characters in this book were Ronke, Didier, and Sofia. Didier def deserves better than Boo lol.
Ronke, Simi, and Boo are supposed to be best friends but honestly I didn't buy into the friendship. They are spiteful and petty, and they keep a lot of secrets from each other. I understand that in the story the author was trying to create, secrets fueled the narrative and kept the plot moving along. However, some of the secrets the women keep from each other just shows that while they might have been friends to some extent, they aren't so close.
What happened to sitting down and talking things through with your best friends? It was too easy for Isobel to worm her way into this friend group and sow seeds of discord.
Another thing that made this book exasperating for me was the ending. The author tried a bit of genre-bending there. The big reveals and the coincidences required too much suspension of disbelief, and I just couldn't deal. I mean I guessed on the reveals early on and I laughed at myself for being so ridiculous but alas. The plot holes were also too much and the math wasn't mathing.
Also Kayode's character. It pained me that his intentions were never really made clear. He was an asshole to Ronke and she deserved better.
Bingeable, entertaining, it also ultimately fell flat. I have also read a lot of reviews for this book and definitely see how it's appreciated in different ways by different readers.
Many thanks to Libro FM for my ALC 💕
----
#Wahala #WahalaNikkiMay #LibroFMALC
January 14, 2022
I listened to the audiobook and I think the narrator did a fantastic job with the characters. It added so much enjoyment and dimension to the story.
Three best friends with an unbreakable bond until the a fourth joins the group and changes everything.
Ronke is desperate for her fantasy of happily ever after. She wants marriage and the 2 kids. Ronke has a boyfriend who she thinks is “the one”. Her friends think she can do better. Boo has the life Ronke wants. She has the perfect marriage, the baby. However, despite seeming to have it all, Boo feels unfulfilled. She desperately wants to know who she is as a person beyond wife and mother. Simi is the one they all admire but she has many secrets not even her friends know.
When Isobel joins the group things really get interesting. She brings out things in these women both good and bad that definitely impacts their friendship.
I thought the story was entertaining and I enjoyed the toxic friend storyline.
Three best friends with an unbreakable bond until the a fourth joins the group and changes everything.
Ronke is desperate for her fantasy of happily ever after. She wants marriage and the 2 kids. Ronke has a boyfriend who she thinks is “the one”. Her friends think she can do better. Boo has the life Ronke wants. She has the perfect marriage, the baby. However, despite seeming to have it all, Boo feels unfulfilled. She desperately wants to know who she is as a person beyond wife and mother. Simi is the one they all admire but she has many secrets not even her friends know.
When Isobel joins the group things really get interesting. She brings out things in these women both good and bad that definitely impacts their friendship.
I thought the story was entertaining and I enjoyed the toxic friend storyline.
February 22, 2022
In
Wahala
(Nigerian for "trouble"), three’s company, four’s a mess.
Ronke, Boo, and Simi have been friends since university, when the three Anglo-Nigerian women bonded over their multiracial backgrounds. Each has a good life but wants more—Ronke is a successful dentist but wants to find the perfect man, Boo has the perfect man and an impish daughter but wants to work more and be taken seriously, and Simi often feels like an imposter in her own life, and while her husband thinks they’re trying to get pregnant, she’s not.
Into this tight-knit group comes Isobel, Simi’s childhood best friend whom she hasn’t seen in years. Isobel is glamorous, tremendously wealthy, and desperate for friends, so she ingratiates herself into the trio. It’s not long before she’s jogging with Boo, giving Simi marriage and career help, and trying to find a new man for Ronke (despite the fact that Ronke loves her current boyfriend).
But the deeper Isobel works her way into the group, the more trouble she causes among the friends. She spills their secrets to one another, spreads lies, and is always just on the search for fun, debauchery, and drama.
Ronke isn’t a fan of Isobel’s but Simi and Boo seem to have fallen under her spell. But who is Isobel, really? Are best friends all she wants, or does she have another motive? And will her own secrets be discovered before it’s too late?
The drama came fast and furious with this one. While the book markets a Sex and the City -type feel, it definitely felt more Big Little Lies -like to me. These are women so desperate to have what they think they want that they don’t see what they’re missing.
This was a soapy read—not really a thriller as some have tried to position it—and it was both funny and thought-provoking in its look at racism in the business world and elsewhere. I enjoyed it but unlikeable characters tend to wear on me after a while.
Thanks to Custom House Books for the complimentary advance copy of the book in exchange for an unbiased review!!
Wahala publishes 1/11/22.
Check out my list of the best books I read in 2021 at https://itseithersadnessoreuphoria.blogspot.com/2022/01/the-best-books-i-read-in-2021.html.
See all of my reviews at itseithersadnessoreuphoria.blogspot.com.
Follow me on Instagram at https://www.instagram.com/the.bookishworld.of.yrralh/.
Ronke, Boo, and Simi have been friends since university, when the three Anglo-Nigerian women bonded over their multiracial backgrounds. Each has a good life but wants more—Ronke is a successful dentist but wants to find the perfect man, Boo has the perfect man and an impish daughter but wants to work more and be taken seriously, and Simi often feels like an imposter in her own life, and while her husband thinks they’re trying to get pregnant, she’s not.
Into this tight-knit group comes Isobel, Simi’s childhood best friend whom she hasn’t seen in years. Isobel is glamorous, tremendously wealthy, and desperate for friends, so she ingratiates herself into the trio. It’s not long before she’s jogging with Boo, giving Simi marriage and career help, and trying to find a new man for Ronke (despite the fact that Ronke loves her current boyfriend).
But the deeper Isobel works her way into the group, the more trouble she causes among the friends. She spills their secrets to one another, spreads lies, and is always just on the search for fun, debauchery, and drama.
Ronke isn’t a fan of Isobel’s but Simi and Boo seem to have fallen under her spell. But who is Isobel, really? Are best friends all she wants, or does she have another motive? And will her own secrets be discovered before it’s too late?
The drama came fast and furious with this one. While the book markets a Sex and the City -type feel, it definitely felt more Big Little Lies -like to me. These are women so desperate to have what they think they want that they don’t see what they’re missing.
This was a soapy read—not really a thriller as some have tried to position it—and it was both funny and thought-provoking in its look at racism in the business world and elsewhere. I enjoyed it but unlikeable characters tend to wear on me after a while.
Thanks to Custom House Books for the complimentary advance copy of the book in exchange for an unbiased review!!
Wahala publishes 1/11/22.
Check out my list of the best books I read in 2021 at https://itseithersadnessoreuphoria.blogspot.com/2022/01/the-best-books-i-read-in-2021.html.
See all of my reviews at itseithersadnessoreuphoria.blogspot.com.
Follow me on Instagram at https://www.instagram.com/the.bookishworld.of.yrralh/.
February 12, 2022
Do not waste your time with this book. A random book club picked this for february so I thought.. sure, why not? Turns out... not. Definitely not.
Even if you put aside the pacing issues, my biggest issue here is the anti-black rhetoric. Why???? This is not ok! I looked up the author, who herself is anglo-nigerian. Why would the author not write about her Nigerian culture in a positive way? I am honestly shocked that this book was published.
More reasons to dislike it, as if you needed more..
-The characters are so unlikeable. The only semi likeable one (poor Ronke) is a total doormat. The more you found out about all characters, the more you dislike them.
-the characters biraciality was mentioned constantly. We get it. No need to remind us all the time.
-barely anything happens.
There are a lot of food descriptions, which were nice. I also enjoyed some of the humour but it was definitely not enough to keep this going. I could see this being much better as a show, but only if the anti-black rhetoric is changed.
Even if you put aside the pacing issues, my biggest issue here is the anti-black rhetoric. Why???? This is not ok! I looked up the author, who herself is anglo-nigerian. Why would the author not write about her Nigerian culture in a positive way? I am honestly shocked that this book was published.
More reasons to dislike it, as if you needed more..
-The characters are so unlikeable. The only semi likeable one (poor Ronke) is a total doormat. The more you found out about all characters, the more you dislike them.
-the characters biraciality was mentioned constantly. We get it. No need to remind us all the time.
-barely anything happens.
There are a lot of food descriptions, which were nice. I also enjoyed some of the humour but it was definitely not enough to keep this going. I could see this being much better as a show, but only if the anti-black rhetoric is changed.
March 4, 2022
I just couldn't go beyond 55% of the book.
The unwanted drama and soap opera kinda feels was just not what I wanted or expected from this book.
I could not even care about any of the characters or give a damn for that matter. I was lost and the story felt direction less winding in circles.
The unwanted drama and soap opera kinda feels was just not what I wanted or expected from this book.
I could not even care about any of the characters or give a damn for that matter. I was lost and the story felt direction less winding in circles.
December 5, 2021
This book is unputdownable! A story following a friend group made up of 3 British/Nigerian girls who met in grade school and bonded over their shared heritage. Ronke, Simi and Boo are the kind of friend group that make others jealous. They have grown up together as close as sisters - sharing their successes, their dreams and also their failures. Until now. With the introduction of Isobel (a childhood friend of Simi), things start to take a turn for the three close friends. A turn which has the potential to tear this group apart for good.
Ronke, the kind of friend we all yearn to have. She loves to cook, she loves children, she always worries about others before herself, and her only weakness seems to be that her relationship radar is a little off. Bad boyfriend choices in her past make Simi and Boo doubtful of her ability to choose a suitable man.
Simi, the kind of beautiful, fashionable and “has it all together” friend we all are jealous of. She has a successful marriage with Martin, who worships the ground she walks on. Privileged in Nigeria as a child, her self-absorbed and vain father lost it all and caused Simi’s British mother to leave and return to her parents. Simi suffers from the same ailment – an unhealthy focus on what others think of her.
Boo, the kind of chill friend who doesn’t take herself too seriously. Married to a Frenchman, she has a daughter, Sophie, who makes her question her abilities as a mother. She struggles with the easy relationship that her husband and Ronke have with her daughter. It feels like she sometimes questions whether she was meant to be a mother at all. She feels stuck in a rut. She rejoins the workforce in an attempt to escape the rut.
Isobel, the kind of friend who is rich, beautiful and always ready for a good time. Born into a wealthy Nigerian family, she has only ever known privilege and attention. From the start of her introduction to the friend group, the vibe of the group shifts. All of a sudden jealousy between the friends rears its head, and loyalties are tested.
Told in alternate points of view, each friend’s voice is heard. I love this kind of writing – where we as the reader are privy to the private thoughts of the characters, and can see where their perceptions are skewed. We see the manipulation that the friends themselves cannot. Each of the characters is dealing with her own insecurities and relationship issues. I found each character to be well developed and I was vested in all of their relationships. This story pulled me in immediately and never let up.
I loved the insertion of Nigerian culture and words I had to look up. I loved that each woman had different strengths and weaknesses, and that I could see a little of myself in each one of them. I loved that the book showed the gritty honest parts of friendships, marriage and motherhood. I loved the way the drama unfolded and I loved the portrayal of each of these characters as strong independent women.
Highly recommend this one and I expect it to be very popular!
Thank you to NetGalley and William Morrow/Custom House for the advance copy to read and review. Pub date: 1.11.2
Ronke, the kind of friend we all yearn to have. She loves to cook, she loves children, she always worries about others before herself, and her only weakness seems to be that her relationship radar is a little off. Bad boyfriend choices in her past make Simi and Boo doubtful of her ability to choose a suitable man.
Simi, the kind of beautiful, fashionable and “has it all together” friend we all are jealous of. She has a successful marriage with Martin, who worships the ground she walks on. Privileged in Nigeria as a child, her self-absorbed and vain father lost it all and caused Simi’s British mother to leave and return to her parents. Simi suffers from the same ailment – an unhealthy focus on what others think of her.
Boo, the kind of chill friend who doesn’t take herself too seriously. Married to a Frenchman, she has a daughter, Sophie, who makes her question her abilities as a mother. She struggles with the easy relationship that her husband and Ronke have with her daughter. It feels like she sometimes questions whether she was meant to be a mother at all. She feels stuck in a rut. She rejoins the workforce in an attempt to escape the rut.
Isobel, the kind of friend who is rich, beautiful and always ready for a good time. Born into a wealthy Nigerian family, she has only ever known privilege and attention. From the start of her introduction to the friend group, the vibe of the group shifts. All of a sudden jealousy between the friends rears its head, and loyalties are tested.
Told in alternate points of view, each friend’s voice is heard. I love this kind of writing – where we as the reader are privy to the private thoughts of the characters, and can see where their perceptions are skewed. We see the manipulation that the friends themselves cannot. Each of the characters is dealing with her own insecurities and relationship issues. I found each character to be well developed and I was vested in all of their relationships. This story pulled me in immediately and never let up.
I loved the insertion of Nigerian culture and words I had to look up. I loved that each woman had different strengths and weaknesses, and that I could see a little of myself in each one of them. I loved that the book showed the gritty honest parts of friendships, marriage and motherhood. I loved the way the drama unfolded and I loved the portrayal of each of these characters as strong independent women.
Highly recommend this one and I expect it to be very popular!
Thank you to NetGalley and William Morrow/Custom House for the advance copy to read and review. Pub date: 1.11.2
September 22, 2022
3.5
this book could have been GREAT. the girls are so good and their stores are so good. BUT they lack depth. the outline is there just none of the details. We knew no ones motives or reasons and it just felt shallow. this book was so committed to being a mystery I guess that it missed the better story of 3 women so caught up in their own their own prejudices and judgements it leads to their timely demise. these women are insufferable int he best way yet the book does not show you why you should still sympathize with these women. it lacks humanity
this book could have been GREAT. the girls are so good and their stores are so good. BUT they lack depth. the outline is there just none of the details. We knew no ones motives or reasons and it just felt shallow. this book was so committed to being a mystery I guess that it missed the better story of 3 women so caught up in their own their own prejudices and judgements it leads to their timely demise. these women are insufferable int he best way yet the book does not show you why you should still sympathize with these women. it lacks humanity
February 21, 2022
Whew! Many thoughts about this book whirl through my head.
Let's begin.
Cons
1. Three of the women are incredibly unlikeable. If their names aren't Ronke, they get a significant side-eye from me, maybe a slap across the face. Suspend your disbelief for this tale because I often sought clues to these women's ages. The immaturity levels. The naivete. They're near forty and acting like this? None of them are best friends, let alone friends. Frenemies? Yeah. Let's go with that term. I could not find anything more profound for their friendship other than their complexions, biracial identity, and problematic mindsets towards one of their cultures. But, more on that later. Mind you, I love unlikeable characters, but I could not buy one iota of friendship in the prominent three women, and I think that's why the fourth weave wahala (trouble) wherever she ventured. If these women were in their twenties, I would buy their behavior.
2. Uneven Pacing. Granted, snark and toxicity wrecks havoc throughout the tale, but the meat comes in the final three chapters and feels incredibly rushed with a cheap payoff.
3. The Ending. Seriously? In what world? I won't leave any spoilers, but the wrap-off comes off as Pollyannaish, and I cannot buy it. Like, that's it?
4. The Twist. It does not pay off with the weight that a great lead-up would have presented. In better hands, it should have been terrifying instead of eye-roll worthy. Please give me some clear and present danger by the 100th page, not in the final twenty.
5. The Elephant in the Room For Those Paying Attention. So many problematic situations. Colorism. Racism. Xenophobia. Obsession with straight hair. The one with the has the troublesome relationship after many disparaging remarks about Nigeria/Nigeria people, especially men? WHAT?! The one with the more "the ethnic" body deals with the fatphobic distaste of her friends.
Really?
None of these aspects receive a decent kickback. They're dealt with throwaway lines or laughed off slightly without real meat. Sometimes I felt these women served as backdoor author avatars because the comeuppance does not exist, which makes me uncomfortable (hence, taking five days even to break the 100th-page mark). I often wonder who serves as this book's primary audience.
6. This is Not a Thriller. Contemporary fiction? Yes. But, a few chapters with thrilleresque notions does not make a thriller.
7. Sex and The City, It Is Not. Four women that are "friends" hold that marketing comparison, but that's it. Maybe "Girfriends" with some of the toxicity/frenemy aspects. But, given the possible primary audience, the former's works as the go-to.
Okay. Okay. There are three pros.
Ronke does not deserve these women in her life. She loves her culture and has a good spirit, so why befriend these devils in blue dresses? After the events of this book, I tap out for asking myself to believe the unbelievable, even in fiction. Just no! Oh, we get recipes (Odd, given the book's nature), and the cover's pretty.
So, do I recommend this book? Like a cup of tepid English Breakfast tea, I welcome this book to anyone's bookshelf. The hype machine deserves a raise.
2.5/5
Nine days to read this book!!!
Let's begin.
Cons
1. Three of the women are incredibly unlikeable. If their names aren't Ronke, they get a significant side-eye from me, maybe a slap across the face. Suspend your disbelief for this tale because I often sought clues to these women's ages. The immaturity levels. The naivete. They're near forty and acting like this? None of them are best friends, let alone friends. Frenemies? Yeah. Let's go with that term. I could not find anything more profound for their friendship other than their complexions, biracial identity, and problematic mindsets towards one of their cultures. But, more on that later. Mind you, I love unlikeable characters, but I could not buy one iota of friendship in the prominent three women, and I think that's why the fourth weave wahala (trouble) wherever she ventured. If these women were in their twenties, I would buy their behavior.
2. Uneven Pacing. Granted, snark and toxicity wrecks havoc throughout the tale, but the meat comes in the final three chapters and feels incredibly rushed with a cheap payoff.
3. The Ending. Seriously? In what world? I won't leave any spoilers, but the wrap-off comes off as Pollyannaish, and I cannot buy it. Like, that's it?
4. The Twist. It does not pay off with the weight that a great lead-up would have presented. In better hands, it should have been terrifying instead of eye-roll worthy. Please give me some clear and present danger by the 100th page, not in the final twenty.
5. The Elephant in the Room For Those Paying Attention. So many problematic situations. Colorism. Racism. Xenophobia. Obsession with straight hair. The one with the has the troublesome relationship after many disparaging remarks about Nigeria/Nigeria people, especially men? WHAT?! The one with the more "the ethnic" body deals with the fatphobic distaste of her friends.
Really?
None of these aspects receive a decent kickback. They're dealt with throwaway lines or laughed off slightly without real meat. Sometimes I felt these women served as backdoor author avatars because the comeuppance does not exist, which makes me uncomfortable (hence, taking five days even to break the 100th-page mark). I often wonder who serves as this book's primary audience.
6. This is Not a Thriller. Contemporary fiction? Yes. But, a few chapters with thrilleresque notions does not make a thriller.
7. Sex and The City, It Is Not. Four women that are "friends" hold that marketing comparison, but that's it. Maybe "Girfriends" with some of the toxicity/frenemy aspects. But, given the possible primary audience, the former's works as the go-to.
Okay. Okay. There are three pros.
Ronke does not deserve these women in her life. She loves her culture and has a good spirit, so why befriend these devils in blue dresses? After the events of this book, I tap out for asking myself to believe the unbelievable, even in fiction. Just no! Oh, we get recipes (Odd, given the book's nature), and the cover's pretty.
So, do I recommend this book? Like a cup of tepid English Breakfast tea, I welcome this book to anyone's bookshelf. The hype machine deserves a raise.
2.5/5
Nine days to read this book!!!
September 19, 2021
This book is unputdownable! A story following a friend group made up of 3 British/Nigerian girls who met in grade school and bonded over their shared heritage. Ronke, Simi and Boo are the kind of friend group that make others jealous. They have grown up together as close as sisters - sharing their successes, their dreams and also their failures. Until now. With the introduction of Isobel (a childhood friend of Simi), things start to take a turn for the three close friends. A turn which has the potential to tear this group apart for good.
Ronke, the kind of friend we all yearn to have. She loves to cook, she loves children, she always worries about others before herself, and her only weakness seems to be that her relationship radar is a little off. Bad boyfriend choices in her past make Simi and Boo doubtful of her ability to choose a suitable man.
Simi, the kind of beautiful, fashionable and “has it all together” friend we all are jealous of. She has a successful marriage with Martin, who worships the ground she walks on. Privileged in Nigeria as a child, her self-absorbed and vain father lost it all and caused Simi’s British mother to leave and return to her parents. Simi suffers from the same ailment – an unhealthy focus on what others think of her.
Boo, the kind of chill friend who doesn’t take herself too seriously. Married to a Frenchman, she has a daughter, Sophie, who makes her question her abilities as a mother. She struggles with the easy relationship that her husband and Ronke have with her daughter. It feels like she sometimes questions whether she was meant to be a mother at all. She feels stuck in a rut. She rejoins the workforce in an attempt to escape the rut.
Isobel, the kind of friend who is rich, beautiful and always ready for a good time. Born into a wealthy Nigerian family, she has only ever known privilege and attention. From the start of her introduction to the friend group, the vibe of the group shifts. All of a sudden jealousy between the friends rears its head, and loyalties are tested.
Told in alternate points of view, each friend’s voice is heard. I love this kind of writing – where we as the reader are privy to the private thoughts of the characters, and can see where their perceptions are skewed. We see the manipulation that the friends themselves cannot. Each of the characters is dealing with her own insecurities and relationship issues. I found each character to be well developed and I was vested in all of their relationships. This story pulled me in immediately and never let up.
I loved the insertion of Nigerian culture and words I had to look up. I loved that each woman had different strengths and weaknesses, and that I could see a little of myself in each one of them. I loved that the book showed the gritty honest parts of friendships, marriage and motherhood. I loved the way the drama unfolded and I loved the portrayal of each of these characters as strong independent women.
Highly recommend this one and I expect it to be very popular!
Thank you to NetGalley and William Morrow/Custom House for the advance copy to read and review. Pub date: 1.11.22
Ronke, the kind of friend we all yearn to have. She loves to cook, she loves children, she always worries about others before herself, and her only weakness seems to be that her relationship radar is a little off. Bad boyfriend choices in her past make Simi and Boo doubtful of her ability to choose a suitable man.
Simi, the kind of beautiful, fashionable and “has it all together” friend we all are jealous of. She has a successful marriage with Martin, who worships the ground she walks on. Privileged in Nigeria as a child, her self-absorbed and vain father lost it all and caused Simi’s British mother to leave and return to her parents. Simi suffers from the same ailment – an unhealthy focus on what others think of her.
Boo, the kind of chill friend who doesn’t take herself too seriously. Married to a Frenchman, she has a daughter, Sophie, who makes her question her abilities as a mother. She struggles with the easy relationship that her husband and Ronke have with her daughter. It feels like she sometimes questions whether she was meant to be a mother at all. She feels stuck in a rut. She rejoins the workforce in an attempt to escape the rut.
Isobel, the kind of friend who is rich, beautiful and always ready for a good time. Born into a wealthy Nigerian family, she has only ever known privilege and attention. From the start of her introduction to the friend group, the vibe of the group shifts. All of a sudden jealousy between the friends rears its head, and loyalties are tested.
Told in alternate points of view, each friend’s voice is heard. I love this kind of writing – where we as the reader are privy to the private thoughts of the characters, and can see where their perceptions are skewed. We see the manipulation that the friends themselves cannot. Each of the characters is dealing with her own insecurities and relationship issues. I found each character to be well developed and I was vested in all of their relationships. This story pulled me in immediately and never let up.
I loved the insertion of Nigerian culture and words I had to look up. I loved that each woman had different strengths and weaknesses, and that I could see a little of myself in each one of them. I loved that the book showed the gritty honest parts of friendships, marriage and motherhood. I loved the way the drama unfolded and I loved the portrayal of each of these characters as strong independent women.
Highly recommend this one and I expect it to be very popular!
Thank you to NetGalley and William Morrow/Custom House for the advance copy to read and review. Pub date: 1.11.22
March 2, 2022
3.5 Stars
Wahala was all over the ‘Gram and people kept saying it was reminiscent of a new twist on an old fave . . . .
And even though I never watched the SATC movies or the new “and just like that” actual revamp of the oldie but goodie, I was a fan back in the day and I’m all about reading about those types of ride or die friendships. I’m here to tell you, though, . . . .
Since these gals were based in London I think it’s okay to go ahead and say they were right twats nearly all of the time. So be forewarned before starting that you may not like all of them (or any of them) at any given moment. That ended up being okay for me. I read a lot of actual turrrrrrible characters on the regular so having a few who just needed a good shake to get them back on track was perfectly fine for me. And I had no idea where this story was going to end up going so color me SHOOK by the time it was over. Not to mention all the food talk!!!!
Get. In. My. Belly. I'm rounding up instead of down simply for the culture and the food.
Wahala was all over the ‘Gram and people kept saying it was reminiscent of a new twist on an old fave . . . .
And even though I never watched the SATC movies or the new “and just like that” actual revamp of the oldie but goodie, I was a fan back in the day and I’m all about reading about those types of ride or die friendships. I’m here to tell you, though, . . . .
Since these gals were based in London I think it’s okay to go ahead and say they were right twats nearly all of the time. So be forewarned before starting that you may not like all of them (or any of them) at any given moment. That ended up being okay for me. I read a lot of actual turrrrrrible characters on the regular so having a few who just needed a good shake to get them back on track was perfectly fine for me. And I had no idea where this story was going to end up going so color me SHOOK by the time it was over. Not to mention all the food talk!!!!
Get. In. My. Belly. I'm rounding up instead of down simply for the culture and the food.
January 13, 2022
I finished this about a week ago, and I’ve been thinking about it ever since, trying to figure out what I’d like to talk about 😌. Every now and then I read something that falls outside of my top 3 genres and this is one of those instances. Y’all already know that I have a fragile heart and you might have seen my mini breakdowns on Twitter 😂
Not that it was planned but I ended the year with a book about friendship and happened to start with one too, it felt like a full circle moment. But the last thing I expected was it being so messy 😂 one thing about the women Nikki May writes is that they’re FLAWED (like if I could meet Boo, it would be on sight 😤). The frustrations were running so high I’d audibly voice them - think the New York Pollard “Not you” meme 😂
All in all, I think it achieved what it sought out to do - be entertaining 🤷🏾♀️ . There were times when I couldn’t put it down, I even forfeited some sleep and you guys know how I yearned to sleep these past holidays 😫. I was a wee bit disappointed when I got to the end, it just felt so rushed but at the same time I don’t care? Endings are such strange things that are often misses more than they’re hits 💀
If you’re looking for something that will cause you to let out a little squeal, this might be the book for you ✨ Similarly if thrillers and dramas are your thing, you might just be a little disappointed but I’m a firm believer in trying something out yourself 🥰
Not that it was planned but I ended the year with a book about friendship and happened to start with one too, it felt like a full circle moment. But the last thing I expected was it being so messy 😂 one thing about the women Nikki May writes is that they’re FLAWED (like if I could meet Boo, it would be on sight 😤). The frustrations were running so high I’d audibly voice them - think the New York Pollard “Not you” meme 😂
All in all, I think it achieved what it sought out to do - be entertaining 🤷🏾♀️ . There were times when I couldn’t put it down, I even forfeited some sleep and you guys know how I yearned to sleep these past holidays 😫. I was a wee bit disappointed when I got to the end, it just felt so rushed but at the same time I don’t care? Endings are such strange things that are often misses more than they’re hits 💀
If you’re looking for something that will cause you to let out a little squeal, this might be the book for you ✨ Similarly if thrillers and dramas are your thing, you might just be a little disappointed but I’m a firm believer in trying something out yourself 🥰
January 12, 2022
If I can convince you to pick up any new releases this month, Wahala by Nikki May would be it.
The book focuses on Boo, a research scientist, Ronke, a dentist and Simi, a successful fashion marketer, who have been friends for decades. All three women are biracial Anglo-Nigerians (Nigerian fathers and English mothers). These women have a great bond due to all the things they have in common (daddy issues, etc), but that all changes when rich girl Isobel Adams appears on the scene.
EVERYTHING about this woman is flashy, her trust fund, how she presents herself and she LOVES being the center of attention. Well, Isobel manipulates her way into this group and…. Y’all see where this is going right?!
Bring on the mess!!!!!
This book doesn’t come without its faults but it wasn’t enough to move forward with the reading. All the twists & turns and the unexpected ending had me hooked to the last page.
If you are looking for a fun read, then I recommend this one, also a great book for book clubs. There is so much to discuss.
The book focuses on Boo, a research scientist, Ronke, a dentist and Simi, a successful fashion marketer, who have been friends for decades. All three women are biracial Anglo-Nigerians (Nigerian fathers and English mothers). These women have a great bond due to all the things they have in common (daddy issues, etc), but that all changes when rich girl Isobel Adams appears on the scene.
EVERYTHING about this woman is flashy, her trust fund, how she presents herself and she LOVES being the center of attention. Well, Isobel manipulates her way into this group and…. Y’all see where this is going right?!
Bring on the mess!!!!!
This book doesn’t come without its faults but it wasn’t enough to move forward with the reading. All the twists & turns and the unexpected ending had me hooked to the last page.
If you are looking for a fun read, then I recommend this one, also a great book for book clubs. There is so much to discuss.
February 2, 2022
This book starts as one thing and finishes as another but it keeps you interested the whole dang time. 4.5 stars.
June 17, 2022
Here is the truth: Wahala stressed the hell out of me but I really, really, really enjoyed it.
Wahala is relatively a light read but there is so much ground covered here from dealing with self worth, unfulfilled life, fraying friendship to everyday racism, cultural clashes and conflict of identities. Set in London, the novel introduces us readers to a tight-knit group of Anglo-Nigerian bestfriends: Ronke, a successful dentist who wishes for a perfect domestic life; Boo, a housewife who secretly despises her husband and daughter; and Simi, a brand fashion executive who juggles work pressures and long-distance marriage. However, there has been nothing but wahala (trouble in Yoruba language) since Isobel, Simi’s childhood friend, joins their group.
Amid the centralising of female experience and women friendship in this book, there is also a creeping awareness that something sinister is going to happen since Isobel arrived. Girl is shady as hell and boy, do I hate her. What made Wahala particularly riveting read for me was the distinct, diverse cast of characters. They are all messy, flawed and unlikable that I felt like grabbing their shoulders and shake some sense into them (especially Boo and Simi) yet also wanted to root for their happiness (maybe not Boo hahaha sorry not sorry) and their friendship to be mended again. Wahala is also highly rich in Nigerian cultural references: cuisine, culture, language, making the overall reading experience much more authentic and immersive for me.
Also, it’s funny how reading a book about women struggle and friendship made me feel sorry for the male characters. This was definitely a first, LOL. If you are looking for a juicy, drama-filled, entertaining, anger-inducing read, Wahala is the perfect book for you. Highly recommended. Many thanks to Times Reads for the opportunity to review this novel. I appreciate it so much.
Wahala is relatively a light read but there is so much ground covered here from dealing with self worth, unfulfilled life, fraying friendship to everyday racism, cultural clashes and conflict of identities. Set in London, the novel introduces us readers to a tight-knit group of Anglo-Nigerian bestfriends: Ronke, a successful dentist who wishes for a perfect domestic life; Boo, a housewife who secretly despises her husband and daughter; and Simi, a brand fashion executive who juggles work pressures and long-distance marriage. However, there has been nothing but wahala (trouble in Yoruba language) since Isobel, Simi’s childhood friend, joins their group.
Amid the centralising of female experience and women friendship in this book, there is also a creeping awareness that something sinister is going to happen since Isobel arrived. Girl is shady as hell and boy, do I hate her. What made Wahala particularly riveting read for me was the distinct, diverse cast of characters. They are all messy, flawed and unlikable that I felt like grabbing their shoulders and shake some sense into them (especially Boo and Simi) yet also wanted to root for their happiness (maybe not Boo hahaha sorry not sorry) and their friendship to be mended again. Wahala is also highly rich in Nigerian cultural references: cuisine, culture, language, making the overall reading experience much more authentic and immersive for me.
Also, it’s funny how reading a book about women struggle and friendship made me feel sorry for the male characters. This was definitely a first, LOL. If you are looking for a juicy, drama-filled, entertaining, anger-inducing read, Wahala is the perfect book for you. Highly recommended. Many thanks to Times Reads for the opportunity to review this novel. I appreciate it so much.
January 11, 2022
Did not enjoy this book.
It was full of over the top characters that were so unbelievable. I didn’t care for anyone (Auntie K is probably the only likable one). For being advertised as a Sex and the City with Nigerian women, it read very over the top and petty. I do not care for books when the villain is SO OBVIOUS (Isobel!!!!) and I just kept screaming at Boo, Ronke, and Simi to face the music about their trouble maker friend.
I may be in the small percentage who didn’t love the book, so check out the mega fans and decide for yourself!
It was full of over the top characters that were so unbelievable. I didn’t care for anyone (Auntie K is probably the only likable one). For being advertised as a Sex and the City with Nigerian women, it read very over the top and petty. I do not care for books when the villain is SO OBVIOUS (Isobel!!!!) and I just kept screaming at Boo, Ronke, and Simi to face the music about their trouble maker friend.
I may be in the small percentage who didn’t love the book, so check out the mega fans and decide for yourself!
January 22, 2022
A really really solid novel! If GR had half stars this would be a 3.5 for me. The beginning felt incredibly slow and honestly I didn’t really feel interested in the characters. But I stuck with it and the ending really brought everything together so well. Definitely would recommend this if you are looking for a solid thriller. It’s thriller-ish but not all the way a thriller in my opinion.
January 19, 2022
This is a twisty story that manages to fit a whole lot of drama into just a few characters. Intricately plotted but always staying close to our characters. It is one of those books where every character brings their own perspective to the story and part of the pleasure is seeing them see each other.
Ronke, Boo, and Simi have been best friends for years. They are all biracial, half British and half Nigerian, living in Britain. They all have complicated family histories. They are a group that has always been in sync even when their lives are in different places. Boo already has a husband and daughter, Simi dropped out of college but bounced back into fashion, and Ronke is single and a practicing dentist. Things get thrown when Isobel appears, a girl from far in Simi's past. Isobel immediately makes waves and sends up hackles, but slowly they accept her as a new part of the group.
But it's clear to us that Isobel is Up To Something. Especially when we see things from different points of view and start to see the cracks in Isobel's story. Isobel nudges them all in different ways, giving them each a little push here and there, and soon their friendship is on the rocks and old grudges resurface.
Our characters here are not perfect but all distinctive and I really appreciated how May got us to care about them while still making it pretty clear what their flaws are. I really could have read this for ages, I loved going back and forth between the three women and seeing just how they were going to mess things up next.
I am very very tempted to deduct half a star because the ending to this book is all wrong. Too fast and also suddenly ramps things up way too many notches. Felt like we jumped genres, almost. I wanted us to get to have some real time to work on resolution here just like we'd had so much time to get so deep into the mud.
I listened on audio and the reader was great, easily moving between British, Nigerian, American, and French accents and really bringing all the characters to life.
Ronke, Boo, and Simi have been best friends for years. They are all biracial, half British and half Nigerian, living in Britain. They all have complicated family histories. They are a group that has always been in sync even when their lives are in different places. Boo already has a husband and daughter, Simi dropped out of college but bounced back into fashion, and Ronke is single and a practicing dentist. Things get thrown when Isobel appears, a girl from far in Simi's past. Isobel immediately makes waves and sends up hackles, but slowly they accept her as a new part of the group.
But it's clear to us that Isobel is Up To Something. Especially when we see things from different points of view and start to see the cracks in Isobel's story. Isobel nudges them all in different ways, giving them each a little push here and there, and soon their friendship is on the rocks and old grudges resurface.
Our characters here are not perfect but all distinctive and I really appreciated how May got us to care about them while still making it pretty clear what their flaws are. I really could have read this for ages, I loved going back and forth between the three women and seeing just how they were going to mess things up next.
I am very very tempted to deduct half a star because the ending to this book is all wrong. Too fast and also suddenly ramps things up way too many notches. Felt like we jumped genres, almost. I wanted us to get to have some real time to work on resolution here just like we'd had so much time to get so deep into the mud.
I listened on audio and the reader was great, easily moving between British, Nigerian, American, and French accents and really bringing all the characters to life.
May 27, 2023
Oof the anti-blackness, colorism, xenophobia, and fatphobia were extremely off putting. I was waiting for it to make sense why this book was riddled with them but it never happened.
Plus this is the worst friendship group I’ve ever read about. I don’t believe they were real friends even before all the mess. And Boo is the fucking worst.
2 stars for good writing and the cover.
thank you to libro.fm, the author, and the publisher for an alc of this book
Plus this is the worst friendship group I’ve ever read about. I don’t believe they were real friends even before all the mess. And Boo is the fucking worst.
2 stars for good writing and the cover.
thank you to libro.fm, the author, and the publisher for an alc of this book
January 11, 2022
Hello there, and welcome back to That Introvert Reader! Recently, NetGalley sent me an ARC of Wahala, by Nikki May.
https://thatintrovertreader.wordpress...
i have laughed, i have cried, i have sat on my sofa staring at the squirrel in the garden in shock....
review to come
https://thatintrovertreader.wordpress...
i have laughed, i have cried, i have sat on my sofa staring at the squirrel in the garden in shock....
review to come
January 31, 2022
Truly hated it.
January 19, 2022
GoodReads needs to stop classifying things as thrillers that aren't really thrillers. You'd think that a book with a title that literally means "trouble" in Nigerian would mean there'd be some shady, fast-paced stuff going on, but nope! That wasn't the case with Wahala.
I think I read somewhere that this book gave off Sex and the City vibes and it pretty much does. It follows the lives of three, tight-knit Anglo-Nigerian friends--Ronke, Boo, and Simi--and what happens to their friendship and personal lives when an old friend of Simi's from childhood, Isobel, makes an appearance and upends everything.
Although the issues the Ronke, Boo, and Simi were somewhat relatable--Ronke's desire to find a boyfriend that lives up to the picture-perfect role model she believed her late father to be, Boo wanting a life beyond her husband and young daughter, and Simi trying to make it in her career--I felt like all of them were somewhat unlikeable in their own ways. Ronke was very pessimistic and cynical at times (even though I will say that looking back after finishing the book, she had somewhat of a reason to be), Boo was very self-centered and constantly complained about her husband and daughter, and seemed like she wanted nothing to do with them , and Simi lowkey felt disgusted that her friends don't seem to be on the same level as her in terms of her lifestyle and career. I will give credit where it's due and say that even though they all lashed out at each other multiple times, they seemed to be pretty quick to apologize and attempt to make things right.
The majority of the book wasn't really "thriller" material, it read more like a contemporary women's fiction story as the characters struggled through their friendship and Isobel infiltrating their group. The closest thing I'd say the book even got to a thriller (and even this is a stretch) were the last 3 chapters or so, with one of the reveals being in the very last pages of the book. I feel like the reveals at the end were supposed to be these jaw-dropping, shocking events, but I personally felt indifferent to all of them. It's not like I saw them coming at all (because I didn't), I was just like, "Oh. Okay." and moved on. There was also an epilogue that took place 9 months later that seemed to wrap everything up in a tidy bow as if nothing really happened despite the friend group borderline breaking up in the main plot.
Despite all of this, even though the writing isn't this sort of crazy, eloquent writing style (it's contemporary fiction that takes place in modern-day England), it was very easy to follow along with. I appreciated the topics that Nikki May brought up throughout the story like racism and the struggles a person can face with being mixed race and not feeling like they belong (this was especially explored with Boo's POV). I also love the aspects of Nigerian culture all throughout the story: the food, the traditional clothing, the language, and even the atmosphere of Nigeria's cities!
Overall, this was a solid debut by Nikki May and I couldn't put this book down; my 3.5-star rating has nothing to do with the writing style but rather the characters' unlikeable personalities and the fact that I personally didn't see this as a thriller. If you plan on reading this book, don't go into it expecting a fast-paced thriller, but rather a story about female friendship and the bonds it has created among the women in the story.
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3.5 stars (rounded down to 3)
Trigger warnings:
I think I read somewhere that this book gave off Sex and the City vibes and it pretty much does. It follows the lives of three, tight-knit Anglo-Nigerian friends--Ronke, Boo, and Simi--and what happens to their friendship and personal lives when an old friend of Simi's from childhood, Isobel, makes an appearance and upends everything.
Although the issues the Ronke, Boo, and Simi were somewhat relatable--Ronke's desire to find a boyfriend that lives up to the picture-perfect role model she believed her late father to be, Boo wanting a life beyond her husband and young daughter, and Simi trying to make it in her career--I felt like all of them were somewhat unlikeable in their own ways. Ronke was very pessimistic and cynical at times (even though I will say that looking back after finishing the book, she had somewhat of a reason to be), Boo was very self-centered and constantly complained about her husband and daughter, and seemed like she wanted nothing to do with them , and Simi lowkey felt disgusted that her friends don't seem to be on the same level as her in terms of her lifestyle and career. I will give credit where it's due and say that even though they all lashed out at each other multiple times, they seemed to be pretty quick to apologize and attempt to make things right.
The majority of the book wasn't really "thriller" material, it read more like a contemporary women's fiction story as the characters struggled through their friendship and Isobel infiltrating their group. The closest thing I'd say the book even got to a thriller (and even this is a stretch) were the last 3 chapters or so, with one of the reveals being in the very last pages of the book. I feel like the reveals at the end were supposed to be these jaw-dropping, shocking events, but I personally felt indifferent to all of them. It's not like I saw them coming at all (because I didn't), I was just like, "Oh. Okay." and moved on. There was also an epilogue that took place 9 months later that seemed to wrap everything up in a tidy bow as if nothing really happened despite the friend group borderline breaking up in the main plot.
Despite all of this, even though the writing isn't this sort of crazy, eloquent writing style (it's contemporary fiction that takes place in modern-day England), it was very easy to follow along with. I appreciated the topics that Nikki May brought up throughout the story like racism and the struggles a person can face with being mixed race and not feeling like they belong (this was especially explored with Boo's POV). I also love the aspects of Nigerian culture all throughout the story: the food, the traditional clothing, the language, and even the atmosphere of Nigeria's cities!
Overall, this was a solid debut by Nikki May and I couldn't put this book down; my 3.5-star rating has nothing to do with the writing style but rather the characters' unlikeable personalities and the fact that I personally didn't see this as a thriller. If you plan on reading this book, don't go into it expecting a fast-paced thriller, but rather a story about female friendship and the bonds it has created among the women in the story.
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3.5 stars (rounded down to 3)
Trigger warnings:
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