Reviews tagging 'Emotional abuse'

The Lagos Wife by Vanessa Walters

7 reviews

unmistakablyphoenix's review against another edition

challenging tense slow-paced

3.75

This is one of those books that is well written with an important story to tell, but it’s not for me. As in, it literally was not written for me.

I’m glad I read it, I feel I gained something from learning about such interesting cultures and perspectives so far removed from my own. It was difficult for me to read at points, but I still felt compelled to see how the story ends and it didn’t disappoint.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Slavery, Infidelity, Misogyny, Colonisation, Grief, Emotional abuse, and Classism

Moderate: Death of parent, Gaslighting, Self harm, Rape, Pedophilia, and Murder

Minor: Drug abuse

bluerskies's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional mysterious reflective tense medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.25

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Infidelity

Moderate: Emotional abuse, Vomit, Sexual harassment, Toxic friendship, Rape, Child abuse, Domestic abuse, Suicidal thoughts, and Toxic relationship

Minor: Mental illness, Vomit, Grief, and Death of parent

minimicropup's review against another edition

dark emotional hopeful mysterious sad medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

4.5

Perceptive. Philosophical. Eloquent.  
🇳🇬☀️🌧️ Set in the Victoria Island region of Lagos, Nigeria. The story unfolds during summer and the rainy season. 
POV: We alternate between the perspectives of one character before their disappearance and that of their relative travelling to Nigeria from the UK to find them. 
 
Mood Reading Match Up: 
-Deep dives into family dynamics, exploring different aspects of African identity, expatriate experiences, and cultural contrasts 
-True crime-style mystery centred on a missing person 
-Complex romantic drama with themes of secret lives and mismatched relationships 
-Rich exploration of themes like ‘behind closed doors’, femininity, motherhood, marriage, tradition versus rebellion, love, freedom, and sacrifice. 
 
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🐺 Growls, Howls, and Tail Wags 🐕 
✏️ Writing: The prose is beautifully crafted. It has a heavy reliance on dialogue to drive the plot and scenes, so if that’s not your favourite it could be more difficult to stay engaged. 
 
🫥 Characters: All the characters are intriguing to learn about, gradually becoming relatable and evoking empathy or frustration. 
 
🗺️ Worldbuilding: The description of Lagos is atmospheric and experiential, offering in-depth insights into the sounds, smells, sights, and local culture. 
 
🔥 Fuel: The story is character-driven, focusing on Nicole’s life leading up to her disappearance and the subsequent search to uncover the truth. 
 
🐢 Pacing: The narrative is dialogue-heavy, interspersed with monologues recalling past conversations. It feels like a drama, with distinctive character voices and opinions. It sometimes feels slow, particularly when characters are philosophical or exploring commentary, but I never found it uninteresting or lazy. I can see how it can  be tiresome if you are here mainly here for the mysteries and thrills though!  

That ending…I need to know more! Hoping for a follow-up novel!  
 
🤔  Random Thoughts: The novel excellently portrays the complexities of gender roles and expectations, showing how these can be both protective and destructive. It delves into the reasons behind the enforcement of traditions and their impacts on modern society. 
I think it was a thought-provoking and immersive read, offering a multifaceted view of Nigerian life and the complexities of interpersonal relationships. 
 
🎧 Audio: The audiobook narration is outstanding, with clear distinctions between characters and accents. Narrators brought the characters to life and despite the timeline switching and large-ish cast of characters I never felt lost or confused. 
 
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Content Heads-Up: Death. Missing spouse. Loss of adult child. Infidelity. Domestic violence. Gaslighting, mental abuse. Slavery (recalled, character opinions). Sexual content (consentual; mentioned, insinuated). Infidelity (on page; descriptive). Toxic gender dynamics. Racism (internalized, externalized; colourism). 
Rep includes: Nigerian and Carribean immigration, history, and cultural outlooks; foreign wives of Nigerian men. 
 
Format: Library Audio via Libby. 
 
“Reviews are my musings 💖 powered by puppy snuggles 🐶 refined by my AI Bestie ✨” 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Infidelity

Moderate: Domestic abuse, Emotional abuse, and Racism

Minor: Slavery

foldingthepage_kayleigh's review against another edition

adventurous challenging emotional mysterious slow-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? It's complicated
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.5

This was so good, it was like watching a soap opera! The high-level emotional drama, gossip, toxic relationships, and desire to save face over everything was absolutely thrilling.

The audiobook narrators also made the book, the two reflecting dual perspectives of Nicole and Claudine so well, and accent work and almost musical emphasis on the delivery of certain parts of the dialogue was phenomenal.

I hear this is going to be made into a tv series, which I definitely will be watching—this story will transition over so well to the screen in my opinion.

This book is for you if you:

• Enjoyed Wahala by Nikki May and are looking for more books set in Nigeria
• Want a thriller that tackles cultural merging, isolation, and dissonance
• Are looking for a book with a warm weather setting to match the summer reading season 

Thank you Netgalley & Simon & Schuster Canada for a gifted copy of this book!

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Toxic friendship, Sexism, Sexual content, Infidelity, Injury/Injury detail, Toxic relationship, Child abuse, Death of parent, Gaslighting, Classism, Emotional abuse, Violence, Vomit, and Slavery

Moderate: Drug abuse

Minor: Alcohol

heather667's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional mysterious medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? No
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Violence, Blood, Body shaming, Classism, Death, Domestic abuse, Emotional abuse, Gaslighting, Infidelity, Injury/Injury detail, Physical abuse, Misogyny, Pedophilia, Racism, Self harm, Sexism, Slavery, Suicidal thoughts, Toxic friendship, and Toxic relationship

Moderate: Alcohol, Excrement, Adult/minor relationship, Abandonment, Child abuse, Death of parent, Fatphobia, Murder, and Rape

Minor: Deportation, Kidnapping, and Vomit

mysterymom40's review against another edition

adventurous challenging dark emotional mysterious reflective sad tense medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
• Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

4.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Emotional abuse, Sexism, Violence, Slavery, Domestic abuse, Chronic illness, Toxic friendship, Gaslighting, Pedophilia, Sexual content, Infidelity, Self harm, Toxic relationship, and Grief

Moderate: Self harm, Blood, Injury/Injury detail, Rape, Murder, Alcohol, Physical abuse, Misogyny, Body shaming, Child death, and Death of parent

Minor: Religious bigotry, Pregnancy, Drug abuse, and Vomit

starrysteph's review against another edition

dark emotional mysterious sad tense medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? It's complicated
• Loveable characters? No
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.5

An uneasy dive into familial pressures, hierarchies, and trauma that highlights cultural isolation - and a slow-burn mystery. 

Claudine’s niece Nicole has disappeared, and she’s determined to uncover the truth. So she steps into Nicole’s seemingly-perfect life in Nigeria, with a wealthy family, two young kids, and a mansion overlooking beautiful waters. But the deeper she digs - combating the detached family of Nicole’s husband and the tight lips of those who surround them - the more disturbing elements come to light.

Claudine’s current day search is woven side-by-side with Nicole’s timeline from the past. We watch Nicole slowly unravel amidst her difficult marriage and complicated friendships (many with fellow ‘Nigerwives’, foreign women who moved to Lagos after their marriage), and the two stories slowly come together as past secrets are revealed.

I wouldn’t quite call it “twisty and electrifying” per the blurb, but it held my attention with a slowly-mounting sense of dread. The cultural elements were detailed & fascinating (from the fabrics to the food to the strict hierarchies and pressures around social images), but occasionally the dialogue & writing in general were a bit too meandering and dry for my taste.

I could really feel Claudine’s frustration & guilt, and although some ‘twists’ were predictable, I still thought the reveals were well-executed. It was less about the surprise element and more about seeing the reveal through the eyes of the person narrating at the time.

It was also not my favorite type of ending - but there was at least some resolve and satisfaction.

CW: violence, death (incl. child death), murder, sexism, misogyny, rape, pedophilia, domestic abuse, toxic relationship, self harm, animal death, addiction, body shaming, classism, colorism, racism, slavery (discussed), infidelity

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(I received an advance reader copy of this book; this is my honest review.)

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Death of parent, Misogyny, Sexism, Slavery, Violence, Pregnancy, Rape, Self harm, Sexual content, Body shaming, Child death, Emotional abuse, Grief, Pedophilia, Physical abuse, Racism, Addiction, Classism, Infidelity, Murder, Animal death, Suicidal thoughts, Toxic friendship, Toxic relationship, Death, Domestic abuse, and Sexual assault