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lianne_rooney's review against another edition
dark
funny
mysterious
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
3.0
Ronke, Simi and Boo are Nigerian-English friends in their mid 30's living in London. Isobel, a childhood friend of Simi's abruptly reappears in her life and has soon inserted herself into their lives and begins to exploit the tensions in their relationships leading to all kinds of drama and heartache.
This was a fairly quick, easy read and I was invested enough in the relationships to want to keep reading on. I particularly liked Ronke and her assistant Rafa but I felt frustrated with most of the other characters. I wasn't convinced they could be so easily influenced by Isobel and that it would take them so long to work out what was going on. From the description of the book I was expecting a thriller and that's not really what this is. I enjoyed the depiction of the Nigerian community in London - the food, the clothing, the family dynamics - and it was refreshing to read a book focused on three smart, capable mixed-race women in their 30's but this didn't really meet my expectations.
With thanks to Netgalley and the publisher for this advanced review copy.
This was a fairly quick, easy read and I was invested enough in the relationships to want to keep reading on. I particularly liked Ronke and her assistant Rafa but I felt frustrated with most of the other characters. I wasn't convinced they could be so easily influenced by Isobel and that it would take them so long to work out what was going on. From the description of the book I was expecting a thriller and that's not really what this is. I enjoyed the depiction of the Nigerian community in London - the food, the clothing, the family dynamics - and it was refreshing to read a book focused on three smart, capable mixed-race women in their 30's but this didn't really meet my expectations.
With thanks to Netgalley and the publisher for this advanced review copy.
Content Warnings
Moderate: Abortion, Alcohol, Body shaming, Death, Death of parent, Fatphobia, Gaslighting, Grief, Suicide, Rape, Racism, Murder, and Infidelity
Minor: Stalking, Violence, and Infertility
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