Layemi
Unfortunately this book is so boring. I really wanted to like it, but all three characters are some of the most unlikable characters I’ve ever read about in a book. Temi is a mean, selfish friend, the main character seems to have no direction in her life except marrying a man who will make money so she can stay home and do nothing, whom she doesn’t even seem to love. I’d even go as far as to say she doesn’t even like him. The whole book seems to be about three rich people frolicking about pointing fingers at each other. I couldn’t care less about any of them. DNF so maybe it gets better, but from other reviews I don’t think so.
Also, there’s absolutely no speech/quotation marks? This makes it SO hard to read and realize who’s talking. What the point of this could be I have do idea, it adds nothing to the story. I’ve read a lot of the books by the same publisher, Masobe, and I’ve never seen any errors in their books, so I assume this was an inexplicable choice by the author.
I read this book in a 4.5 hour stretch, plus 20 minutes the next day. I wasn’t quite sure at the end what I thought of it, and had to think through if I think it’s a 4 or 5 star book.
I liked most of the things about the book, the stories of the characters are realistic and seem to reflect well the situation in Nigeria at the time, some of the factors of which still last till today. Tolani’s relationships with Rose and her neighbours are relatable. I don’t want to give to much away, but though the ending of the first part was foreseeable, it still had the intended effect on the reader, and you keep reading to see how things go.
The part that I am conflicted on the most is the sections on Tolani’s mother’s life. The first time, I thought we were just going to hear her story once, but as we kept going back more and more times I realized it was part of the novel (and re read the back which confirmed it). To be honest, at first I was not interested in her mother’s story and considered glazing over it whenever it came up, but I am glad I read it as well because it was interesting, and her defiance and confidence was a welcome feature in a story about the times she lived in.
By the end though, I was still not quite sure on the connection between Tolani’s story and her mother’s. The two are related and reflect two women living through different times, but something in the connection of the two stories was just missing for me.
However, I’m still giving the novel 4.5 stars rounded up to five because I think not seeing the connection is my fault, not the author’s. It’s almost like I know something is there but I’m not thinking of the story in the right way to understand it. It still deserves five stars because it’s beautifully written, engaging, and as I mentioned an accurate reflection of a period in time.
Overall, I enjoyed this book. I was concerned before I read it that it would be just story after story of men cheating. While about half of them were that, there were other types of stories too that were a nice break. For one of the stories, to be honest I don’t see what the guy did wrong, the woman didn’t do anything wrong either so I wondered a bit what what the point of the story was.
The stories were interesting and engaging, not as funny as Only Big Bum Bum Matters Tomorrow, but still a good read. 3.5 stars rounded up to 4, 3.5 because I think some of the stories could have been funnier instead of just about the guy cheating on his parter, at a point listening to his thoughts on why he’s deceiving his partner or being asshole being funny got old fast. But 4 stars for the pacing and how entertaining the stories are.
I couldn’t finish this book, it was so boring. I loved Daisy Darker so I’ve been trying other books by Alice Feeny, but unfortunately none of them hooked me. The main detective has been through some things for sure, but the whole knowing the victim (this isn’t a spoiler, it’s revealed early) and not saying anything was annoying, I couldn’t care less what happens to this guy. It was just slow and sad, and I don’t care what happened to the victim either. None of the characters are particularly interesting. Really wanted to like this one but I didn’t.
This book was a quick and entertaining read, I read it in 45 minutes in one go. It was funny in parts, but a little sadder than I expected as well. The story was almost unbelievable but very human at the same time, the author managed to weave in a couple of interesting and important themes into this novella. Three stars rounded up to four for hour entertaining it was. This is my second book by Oyinkan Braithwaite, I’ll definitely be reading more!
I really enjoyed this book, a lot more than I expected to, 4.5 stars rounded up to 5. All the characters were really well done, and realistic. The main character is definitely not a hero, but you root for him anyway because despite his many issues and infidelities, he still come across somewhat as a good person which can't have been easy to do for the writer. The book is hilarious in so many places, I had to take breaks to finish laughing and wipe my tears before continuing. The ending felt a tiny bit rushed, but at the same time it fit the fast paced nature of the book, and thinking it through I don't think there was a better way to end it. I devoured this book in probably 4-5 hours total, I thoroughly enjoyed it and will read more books by the author!
4.5 stars rounded up to 5. The book is definitely about more than what the premise implies, it's not just about Temi and her quest to have a BBL. It's also about the women in her life and all they have been through that makes them who they are today, and in turn sort of helps to form their perspective on what she wants to do. It's more serious and somber in places than I expected, but overall it was a funny, quick, entertaining read that I couldn't put down till I was finished. There's quite a bit of back and forth in terms of timeline, but it's very well done and really adds well to the perspective of who everyone is today. Very relatable for anyone that grew up in Nigeria or a world in general where women are judged by their bodies.
This book was extremely engaging, I was hooked from the start and finished it in less than 24 hours. I would've given it five stars, but I guessed the ending within something like 5 chapters. I think anyone who has read a couple thriller books and watched some TV shows would. I kept going because I almost thought it wouldn't be the answer because it was too obvious, but lo and behold it was. However I still enjoyed the book, there were some surprising twists along the way, and despite knowing what was going to happen I still thoroughly enjoyed the final scenes. Would totally recommend.
I really really wanted to love this book. I read the longest walk also by Stephen King, and it is now one of my favourite books of all time, so I was really looking forward to reading another one of his dystopian future books.
It started out great, as usual just the writing skill itself is amazing in this book. Reading it felt like I was watching an action packed movie, and I was thinking how it has to be made into a movie if it hasn't been yet (it has).
When the main game started and the conspiracies started coming to light it was interesting then too, but as he started going from place to place with basically the same thing happening everywhere, it started to get really boring and tedious, and just felt like it was going nowhere.
I understand where King (Bachman) was trying to go with the plot, and I understood that it was building up to something, but it was just taking way way WAY too long to get there.
The ending wasn't necessarily disappointing, but I can't say that I didn't see it coming. I saw the end of the long walk coming too, but in that novel the build up to what I knew but didn't want to believe would happen was written and described so beautifully, the ending left me nearly in tears.
With this novel however I was just glad I was finally done with the book.
How well written this novel was and how much I enjoyed for the long walk will keep me still reading his novels, but this one definitely let me down a little bit.
After An Unwanted Guest', I was worried I wouldn't like any more books Shari would release. However, I loved the couple next door and a stranger in the house, so I decided to give this one a try.
OMG. I LOVED this book. It is as good as The Couple Next Door, and definitely better than A Stranger in the House.
I don't want to give too much away but it is definitely worth reading. I will say that I rightly figured out the culprit about two chapters before it was revealed, but that isn't because it was obvious, I just really took my time to think about it as logically as possible, and I'd been paying attention to absolutely everything that had been happening since the beginning of the book.
This is a great read for anyone that loves a great mystery novel!
Fantastic writing, a very well thought out story, and an ending that will leave you nearly in tears.
If I had a favourite books I read this year list this would be number 1, and it's definitely one of my favourite books I've ever read now, and definitely my number one dystopian future book.
It was my first Stephen King novel, and definitely the first of many to come.
Just fantastic. I don't think I've read a book of this length as quickly as I did this one. When I wasn't reading it I was going over the story in my head all day trying to figure out what would happen next. Read it in a four and three hour stretch.
This book was very engaging from beginning to end, with lots of twists and turns that kept the story fresh and exciting, I spent a lot of my time not reading it trying to figure out what the heck was going on.
However the ending just didn't do it for me. Some aspects of it were incredible and there was an Agatha Christie level plot twist, but the whole time travel thing just because a bit much and too sci-fi. Took off one star because of that, but it really was overall a fantastic book, and I'll be looking out for more books the author writes.
3.5 stars rounded up to 4 just because it's Shari Lapena, I'm biased. Good writing, plot, etc. the mystery was revealed a bit earlier than I would have liked, it made sense in the context, but at a point there was no more mystery and just ‘I guess I'll keep reading to see how this ends'. Was a good book overall but not my favourite by Shari Lapena.
4.5 stars rounded down to 4. I read this after Wrong Place Wrong Time, and the things I loved about that book are here as well. Gillian's writing style is exactly what I prefer in that we get a good introduction to the characters, the story starts quickly and is well paced, and the twists make sense but are hard to see coming. I didn't give this 5 stars because it was all a bit too fantastical in the end (which was the same and only thing I didn't like about Wrong Place Wrong Time), but it was very well written. For one of the twists, I went back to earlier chapters many times so sure I had seen something but I was wrong. Really well done, I'll definitely be reading more of her books.
Loved this, this is the kind of messaging we need to get to little black girls everywhere, I wish I had a book like this when I was little. Read it on Apple Books but buying a physical copy to have ❤️
I haven't even finished this book yet, but 4 stories in I had to come write a review. If you're Nigerian, this book is like eating a warm plate of pounded yam and okro soup on a cool rainy day on a veranda. All the stores are delightful (thought not necessarily happy, some even sad but not overly so) and remind me of living and growing up in Nigeria in little ways I had forgotten.
If you're not Nigerian, this book would still be an enjoyable, read.
At its core, it's about the very well-written book about the human experience we all experience everywhere. I am thoroughly enjoying this, and I'm looking forward to more books by the author.
A very good book that was very tough to read, it should almost come with a trigger warning for abuse. The summary hints at it, but what is happening to the girls and how it affects them is described so well and explicitly, it is heartbreaking. Read it in a couple sittings and could be an even quicker read, but I needed to take breaks. Definitely one of the most heartbreaking and gut-wrenching books I've ever read, second only to perhaps Beartown.
Slow start, but halfway through the book I was engrossed and couldn't put it down. Fantastic ending as usual, I felt as scared and horrified as each character in the book. Another great novel by Laine Moriarty.
3.5 stars rounded down to 3 stars. I loved this book right up till the end. There was a lot of suspense throughout the whole book, I may have even missed some lines towards the end because I was to anxious to find out what happened and conclude the story. Unfortunately once everything was revealed it all fell a bit flat for me. If people had made certain fairly obvious considerations/checks at the start the whole thing could have been over in a couple of minutes. The solution was just a bit obvious. Another issue I had the fanatical crazy ending. My first book by this author was Everything She Feared, and this was the only problem I had with that book too. It seems like a theme to have a crazy wild ending just to end the books with lots of drama, but it's taken a bit too far where it seems so unrealistic. The ending for this felt a bit much. But overall a good book, and worth the read for how thrilling it is up till the end.
A captivating read, but anyone who's read a couple mystery books could've guessed the ending halfway through the novel. I was hoping for something more complicated and unexpected but the ending fell flat.
I have some seriously mixed feelings about this book.
It opens with the big event that from the description of the book and reviews I read before buying it, was the mysterious day the whole book is about. It was strange to me to give us such intense details about the first half the day, then switch to the present and act like we don't know anything about the terrible day, and what happened. Obviously we didn't know everything, but I felt we knew enough that all the mystery surrounding that day was a bit much.
After the intensely exciting description of the terrible day, the book went downhill for me. Even the second terrible day in the present, somehow fell flat in my mind. Maybe I've read too many books and watched too many films about that type of situation, but I felt it could have been written in a more captivating way.
After that, even though things were slowly being revealed to us, I couldn't take it anymore. The conversations and characters' actions felt long and drawn out, it felt like watching a movie in slow motion. Other reviews had noted that the story goes slowly so I had prepared for that but it was too slow for me. Eventually I gave up.
However, the reason I am giving this book 4 stars and not 2 or 3 is because, out of curiosity, I found a thread that discussed the ending and I was shocked. I skipped ahead to about the last 2 chapters of the book, and I have to say that the story concludes in a satisfying and surprising, though heartbreaking (which was to be expected) way.
All in all I think if I'd had the patience I would've rated this book a confident 4 stars or maybe even 5, but the story was way too slow for me, though the ending was great.