Reviews with content warning for Sexual content - His Only Wife

afi’s story made me cry by the end. the author manages the balance between evelyn’s wishes and afi’s perfectly. medi brings up an issue not talked about enough in western feminism - even if your husband can provide for you, it does not mean you have to tolerate his lack of love. a man can only give you everything when he meets more than your material needs. the scene in which afi brings up the double standards - that eli, her husband - can have multiple wives without it being called cheating but she cannot so much as flirt with another man really moved me. it is not often than in narratives such as this, the woman stands up for herself on this level and furthermore, the couple doesn’t get a happy ending. medi’s writing makes for swoon worthy moments between eli and afi that made me forget his wrongdoings even as a reader. but she still grounds us in the reality that being sweet only in crisis is empty love. i do not know if this author has other works available right now, but i would love to read more from her. i have not been so captivated by a book in a long time!

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espressoreader's review against another edition

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tense slow-paced

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

3.75

I was surprised to like this book. I decided to read it as part of the challenge and I basically just chose it because of the location. It turned out I liked the main character, though none of the others.

I had mixed feelings about the storyline. The main character is upset because she wants to be the wife, but like it or not, she is the second woman, the one the man did not want. The man is a coward. He should have told his mother to pound sand, but instead he cheated on the first woman with the second one. The whole thing is manipulative and cowardly. The first woman should have left him and taken him to the cleaners.

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adora_diaries's review against another edition

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challenging dark emotional sad medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.25

I really felt for Afi in this book,LOVE can be so complicated😣

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mscalls's review against another edition

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emotional reflective tense 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? Yes

3.25

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mommarex1221's review against another edition

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challenging emotional informative inspiring tense medium-paced

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

3.5

There's so much to unpack in this novel about an arranged marriage that follows an unexpected course. I found Afi to be extremely relatable, despite the fact that she often acted as a very spoiled teenager. There's a heavy dose of frustrating supporting characters in which we, along with our heroine, must endure along the way. It's always very enlightening to read about different cultures and traditions, especially getting to see things from a different viewpoint. Ultimately, I enjoyed going on this journey with Afi and find myself thinking of the other women in the story and their perspective of the events as they unfolded. I'm glad this book was recommended to me, and I pad on the recommendation to you!

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amandalorianxo's review against another edition

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emotional hopeful reflective medium-paced

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

4.5

e As the title suggests, it does revolve around marriage but it’s told from the voice of Afi, a young woman in her twenties who marries a man she hasn’t actually encountered in her personal life. Eli Ghanyo is a rich man and his family is also well known in their home country of Ghana (where the story takes place.) Except, Eli’s mother is not a fan of Eli’s girlfriend Muna who he shares a daughter with. The matriarch thinks marrying Afi will make Eli want to leave Muna. We follow Afi for roughly two years as she comes to terms with the situation she finds herself in and the courage to do what is right for her. I definitely saw sparks of Deepti from Love is Blind in Afi because this a woman who chose herself ultimately over what other people wanted her to do. Afi knows she, nor any woman, should stick around with someone who won’t give 100% of themselves to their spouse/partner. I enjoyed this semi short novel in addition to the fact that the setting is wonderfully depicted. Ghana isn’t a country that we normally hear about in fiction so I’m happy the author was able to highlight the culture and food(the most important😜) Even though I learned a lot internally and externally from Afi, I think this book might have been a little bit more enticing if we were able to get Mina’s POV in this as well, since Afi gets a variety of opinions about her that seem to only taint, not improve any thoughts about her.

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greatexpectations77's review against another edition

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emotional reflective sad 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

4.5

I am really excited to read more by this author. I felt like the narrator made the audiobook version of Afi more whiny and pleading than I think I would have read her, so I might have to read this over again. But I really loved entering into the Ghanaian culture, which with I'm so unfamiliar.

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hotkoolaidpotato's review against another edition

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emotional sad tense fast-paced

Loveable characters? It's complicated

4.0

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