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3.71 AVERAGE
3.71 AVERAGE
I should be studying for my exams but instead, I just finished this book. If there's one thing I love it's being able to hear stories from people with different cultures/from different ethnicities because it teaches me things about the world and introduces me to ideas I haven't before explored. This brings me to this book in particular, about a Nigerian-Canadian woman struggling with her identity, her promise to her father to honor her culture, and her love for Rafael, a man who isn't Nigerian, whom her mom would never approve of.
I liked it because of its representation of being an immigrant, trying to satisfy your parent's expectations, and keeping in touch with your identity, and other like themes that we see in the story. The author's own voice breaks through this story and gives us emotional scenes between Azere and her mother, and a beautifully written story with a satisfying ending, but since it's a debut novel it also has some issues.
One, I felt like the book was doing a lot of telling not showing which took me out of the story at times. I didn't appreciate how sometimes it felt like Azere was telling a story to us, there were time skips where we would come back to Azere just telling us what happened, she told us how she felt, she told us what she thought, she explained references to Nigerian things and movie references, and it all felt unnatural. I wish I could SEE how much she loves Rafael because besides fighting her mom for him and SAYING that she does I didn't feel it in her actions, which is why it surprised me when it came along. Another thing is that Rafael took too long to explain his trauma and it turned out to be something major and we kinda just moved on; I feel like their romance was a bit speedy so a date that ends with them being vulnerable and getting closer to each other at the beginning of the book was needed but didn't happen.
Lastly, I was excited to see more of their moms interacting and how Azere and Rafael's cultural differences would clash, but we didn't get any of that even though that's what they were worried about the whole time. I wanted to see Rafael more immersed in Nigerian food. I wanted to see them name their kid something that falls perfectly in between both of their languages. I wanted to see his grandma who had a deep impact on him approve of Azere and introduce her to their family's traditions OR SOMETHING YOU KNOW ANYTHING, but I guess the story's ending was sweet either way. I'm a sucker for romance movies like Azere so I loved the ending, and still appreciate the attempts at references.
I know it may seem like the things I found negative about this book outweigh the positives but it truly was a great book: it was entertaining, the romance was sweet, and the representation was superb you can tell the author tried to make everything sound as genuine as possible to the point that it resonated with me as well, as another immigrant. I'll try to tune in to Jane Igharo's other books, but for now peace <3.
I liked it because of its representation of being an immigrant, trying to satisfy your parent's expectations, and keeping in touch with your identity, and other like themes that we see in the story. The author's own voice breaks through this story and gives us emotional scenes between Azere and her mother, and a beautifully written story with a satisfying ending, but since it's a debut novel it also has some issues.
One, I felt like the book was doing a lot of telling not showing which took me out of the story at times. I didn't appreciate how sometimes it felt like Azere was telling a story to us, there were time skips where we would come back to Azere just telling us what happened, she told us how she felt, she told us what she thought, she explained references to Nigerian things and movie references, and it all felt unnatural. I wish I could SEE how much she loves Rafael because besides fighting her mom for him and SAYING that she does I didn't feel it in her actions, which is why it surprised me when it came along. Another thing is that Rafael took too long to explain his trauma and it turned out to be something major and we kinda just moved on; I feel like their romance was a bit speedy so a date that ends with them being vulnerable and getting closer to each other at the beginning of the book was needed but didn't happen.
Lastly, I was excited to see more of their moms interacting and how Azere and Rafael's cultural differences would clash, but we didn't get any of that even though that's what they were worried about the whole time. I wanted to see Rafael more immersed in Nigerian food. I wanted to see them name their kid something that falls perfectly in between both of their languages. I wanted to see his grandma who had a deep impact on him approve of Azere and introduce her to their family's traditions OR SOMETHING YOU KNOW ANYTHING, but I guess the story's ending was sweet either way. I'm a sucker for romance movies like Azere so I loved the ending, and still appreciate the attempts at references.
I know it may seem like the things I found negative about this book outweigh the positives but it truly was a great book: it was entertaining, the romance was sweet, and the representation was superb you can tell the author tried to make everything sound as genuine as possible to the point that it resonated with me as well, as another immigrant. I'll try to tune in to Jane Igharo's other books, but for now peace <3.
Where to begin? What do you do when your father is on his death bed and makes you promise to marry an Edo Nigerian man? I mean Azere is only 12 at the time of this promise. Now fast forward 13 years later and her mom is setting her up on dates with any Edo man she can think of. Azere is not fond of any of them. In this book the author unpacks the difficulty of not wanting to disappoint your parents, but also trying to find peace and comfort in your own decisions. Azere seemingly falls for a white man but has to keep it a huge secret because she knows that her family will disown her. To follow her heart or to follow tradition? That is the question. I instantly fell in love with the back and forth banter of the characters and enjoyed Azere coming into her own. Please read so we can discuss further. I dont want to write any spoilers, but this was a page turner. I read it in less than 24 hours. ENJOY!
emotional
hopeful
sad
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
emotional
hopeful
sad
tense
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Plot
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
No
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
emotional
funny
hopeful
reflective
sad
tense
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
I truly enjoyed this book so much and often caught myself audibly gasping or laughing in public while reading. Personally, it felt very lighthearted and dreamy which was much needed after some heavier reads lately.
I think it was very well written and you can see how the author’s personality shined through her protagonist Azere and relationships with other characters as well. Loved this one!
I think it was very well written and you can see how the author’s personality shined through her protagonist Azere and relationships with other characters as well. Loved this one!
hopeful
lighthearted
relaxing
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
I was really looking forward to reading the book. I loved that the author was a POC woman writing POC characters and non-native experiences. I also appreciated that the characters were all pretty distinct and diverse. The writing style drove the plot further with every page turn and it was easy to keep up with. I loved that Azere was powerful at work and the distinction of the way she carried herself at work vs how she did with her mom was a nice juxtaposition. I appreciated that. I love that her best friend, Christina, is only occasionally clairvoyant. And I loved her little sister for being displayed as a typical little sister.
That being said. It felt like a YA novel with a half open door. The spice was mild at best.
I wasn’t really a fan of the trope, nor was I really a fan of the spineless grown up FMC, Azere. In its own way, I understand that that was the whole point, but it got really tiring to read over and over again about her waffling, the back and forth etc. The whole story could’ve been condensed to 50 pages if, with every confrontation of tradition, came a small realization of “huh maybe this doesn’t have to be this way”. It would’ve built up to the larger realization in a much more natural way. And because of that it kinda makes sense why she had the realization the way she had it - because there was no other catalyst for it to come about naturally. The whole thing aboutmom and uncle sleeping together was weird. The build up had to be forced and out of nowhere (literally there were 0 signs of this “romance” between mom and unc) , and rather than challenging the thoughts of tradition, Azere instead clung to her rigidity and nonconformity, which makes it very difficult for me to believe that she suddenly had a turn of worldview and completely away from tradition. Why couldn’t she pull on her no-nonsense ways at work? Why couldn’t she have seen that the commercial and ad she was creating could be dually applied? What the heck happened to that commercial anyhow? It jumped to 4 years later and I wanna know what happened with the commercial!
In addition, Rafael’s story felt like a cake removed from the oven 5 minutes into baking. It was teased several chapters before and was “kept up” due to a look in his eye. Come to him admitting what happened took less than half a page and - again - his entire thought process and probably what should’ve been 3 years of therapy was magically resolvedwith Azere holding his face and repeating “it’s not your fault”? Again, the build up could’ve been something more grand and at a time where things didn’t seem as precarious. Did he ever try therapy? Is he better by the end of the book? Did Azere nearly dying on the table bring back memories of his past life? ? I have many questions.
That being said. It felt like a YA novel with a half open door. The spice was mild at best.
I wasn’t really a fan of the trope, nor was I really a fan of the spineless grown up FMC, Azere. In its own way, I understand that that was the whole point, but it got really tiring to read over and over again about her waffling, the back and forth etc. The whole story could’ve been condensed to 50 pages if, with every confrontation of tradition, came a small realization of “huh maybe this doesn’t have to be this way”. It would’ve built up to the larger realization in a much more natural way. And because of that it kinda makes sense why she had the realization the way she had it - because there was no other catalyst for it to come about naturally. The whole thing about
In addition, Rafael’s story felt like a cake removed from the oven 5 minutes into baking. It was teased several chapters before and was “kept up” due to a look in his eye. Come to him admitting what happened took less than half a page and - again - his entire thought process and probably what should’ve been 3 years of therapy was magically resolved
emotional
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Plot
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
No
Not for me
Content Warnings
Moderate: Death, Car accident, Death of parent, Pregnancy
emotional
hopeful
lighthearted
medium-paced
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
I really love how Jane depicted her Nigerian culture in this book. From joy to humor to heartbreak, this book truly was a page turner for me and I couldn’t put it down. I really enjoyed it!
challenging
funny
lighthearted
reflective
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Complicated