Reviews with content warning for Sexual content - Wahala

Billed as Sex and the City meets My Sister, the Serial Killer, Nikki May’s debut novel Wahala is certainly bursting onto 2022’s bookish scene with a bang – I mean, just look at that striking cover for starters!!

Fortunately the contents more than live up to the hype – although I’d agree with a number of other reviewers in saying that Wahala‘s vibe is more Big Little Lies than Sex in the City. The book focuses upon the friendship between three Anglo-Nigerian women in their thirties: Simi, Ronke, and Boo, and examines what happens when a fourth woman, Isobel, upsets the balance of their carefully curated lives and seemingly solid friendship group.

From the moment she steps onto the page, it is clear that Isobel is wahala (which means ‘trouble’ in Nigerian) and that her ‘friendship’ can bring nothing but chaos into Simi, Ronke, and Boo’s lives. But do their lives need a little chaos? After all, Simi is concealing the fact she’s not sure about having children from husband Martin, Boo feels overlooked and unappreciated by her husband Didier and their daughter Sophia, and Ronke can’t get boyfriend Kayode to keep his commitments. Maybe they need a bit of wahala in their lives? But who is Isobel really? And what are her motives for trying to fix their futures?

Wahala is a brilliant portrayal of the complexity of female relationships and female friendship. Ronke, Boo, and Simi come alive on the page and I felt drawn into the evocative details of their lives – from catching up over jollof rice and pounded yam at Buka, to clicking ‘buy’ on a Net-a-Porter order that really shouldn’t be added to the credit card, each of them is relatably fallible and sympathetic, even if they’re not always wholly likeable.

Despite being long-time friends, each of the women has very different personalities and I suspect different readers will warm to different members of the group. I really like honest and reliable homebody Ronke, with her passion for food, and her penchant for unreliable men. Others may prefer career-girl Simi, who suffers with a severe case of imposter syndrome beneath her picture-perfect lifestyle, or put-upon mum Boo, struggling to find herself underneath the labels of ‘wife’ and ‘mother’.

Indeed, the only person it was hard to warm to in any way was Isobel – glamorously lethal and oozing toxicity from the moment she appears on the page. At times, I did wonder why Simi, Boo, and Ronke – all seemingly intelligent and independent women – ‘buy into’ Isobel despite the (many) warning signs. Then I realised that they’re all seeking something in their lives – something that Isobel, however dangerous, seems to be able to provide. As a study in womanhood, Wahala doesn’t always do its characters any favours but, as a study in fractured psychologies and the reasons why competent women make poor life choices, it’s a work of genius.

Without giving away any of the plot, I did find the ‘twist’ at the end to be a bit of a disappointment – a sudden veer into thriller territory in a novel that, up to that point, had relied on psychological nuance and human relationships as its primary appeal. It was also a very sharp turn into tragedy in a novel that, for the most part, never took itself too seriously and sprinkled plenty of humour (albeit quite dark humour) amidst the angst.

The ending is, however, a very minor quibble amidst an otherwise brilliantly evocative and engaging read. Wahala had me hooked from the off! I particularly loved the way that Anglo-Nigerian culture is depicted in the novel (which frequently makes use of Nigerian words and phrases as well as centring many conversations around delicious and evocative depictions of food) and the way that the three women’s identities are informed – but never defined – by their mixed heritage. Having finished the book, I’ll definitely be giving the included recipes for Ronke’s jollof rice and chicken stew a go – as well as Aunty K’s moin-moin. Nikki May has also curated a Spotify playlist so you can listen to songs that inspired the book whilst you read!

Overall Wahala is an unputdownable tale of female life and friendship, told with verve and humour. More of a contemporary drama than a thriller, it’s sure to appeal to fans of Liane Moriarty and gave me similar vibes to Anna Hope’s Expectation. With it’s sharply observed humour and evocative depiction of contemporary life, friendships, and relationships, its the perfect riveting read for blowing away the January blues – or for picking up and making a start on your summer reading pile for 2022!

Content Warnings

soundlysmitten's review against another edition

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dark emotional funny 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

3.0

Wahala spills the tea on three longtime friends and the secrets they keep. None of them are quite satisfied with their thirty-something lives, but while Simi is loath to admit it, Boo cannot seem to get enough commiseration, and the two have nothing but negativity for Ronke. So when an old friend of Simi’s arrives in London, all ears and bottles of Cristal and f*ck everyone advice, they seem mostly appreciative of the way she starts to shake things up. Little do they know, Isobel’s endgame involves turning drama into destruction.

I would agree that Wahala has a bit of Sex and the City charm in that it’s fiercely transparent and largely entertaining—personally, I found Boo’s catty little daughter most hilarious—but it does better than the ‘white women in their all-white circle’ premise, for sure. Coming from more than one background myself, I was intrigued by the way these women identify and connect with their heritage. Although my ancestry is different, I found I could relate to certain experiences, especially where issues of identity and family are concerned. I learned a lot about Nigerian culture, too, and I can’t wait to try Ronke’s Jollof Rice & Aunty K’s Moin-Moin recipe cause this book had me craving.

Alternating between Simi, Boo, and Ronke’s point of view, I found each section (narrated in third person limited, if you’d like to know) interesting but easy enough to digest. Still, I took my time with it. It wasn’t a book where I felt a dire need to know what happens next, but when I did have free time I’d often find myself thinking about Ronke, specifically, and feeling compelled to pick the story back up.

However, the biggest draw for me was that I didn’t actually love what lies beneath Simi, Boo, and Ronke’s friendship. It’s clear that the three women are closer to each other than any other friends they may have, but they seem judgmental and guarded from the start. And of course, all the talking smack and breaking trust gets worse as things progress. Makes sense for the story, and probably mirrors a common real life dynamic, but it’s not the type of friendship I like to read about. The best thing about friends is knowing they have your back and you don’t have to go through the messy stuff alone, no?

As for individual character development… Boo is clearly miserable and it’s sad, but it’s also frustrating because she jumps at every opportunity to bring her loved ones down, even as they’re genuinely trying to be there for her. And while Simi surely experiences some debilitating emotions, the way she treats her friends is still disappointing. Even though Ronke isn’t perfect, I ended up caring for her the most, which is surprising considering I thought she was standoffish in the beginning. But truthfully, even she does some things that aren’t cool. Ironically, I also ended up liking Didi despite the fact that I initially found him annoying and thought he was super out of line at one point, too. But Martin inexcusably loses his temper in one instance, as well. And Kayode…

he really was a sh*tty boyfriend—I wanted Ronke to break up with him for acting like she owed him sex, and a bunch of other things—but I didn’t want him to die!

I can deal with flawed characters—there’s no story without them—but obviously I like to see them track growth. And most of the time, I grow to care for them more deeply because of it. The opposite happened here, though. I felt for Boo & Simi in the beginning, but ended up caring much less by the end because of all the ugly things they say and the narcissistic way they tend to act. It seemed to me like neither of them feel a real need to change until about 80% in and they barely have their heads on straight by the end. That may be realistic, though. And it may be foolish to pick up a book called Wahala and expect it to be idyllic, anyway.

But speaking of trouble, even though I knew Isobel was no good and plenty of instances triggered that awareness, there’s so much every day frustration in this book that I completely forgot how the beginning foretells such a gruesome end.

I thought for sure Ronke was recording their final confrontation, and that Isobel would be arrested. How can she just go free??

I would’ve liked more content from Isobel’s perspective on that front because we only get a vague idea of what sorts of things go on in her mind.

Ultimately, while this wasn’t my absolute favorite read, I’m still glad I picked it up and would recommend others do the same!

Thank you NetGalley & Nikki May for providing me an eARC in exchange for my honest review.

Content Warnings

cerilouisereads's review against another edition

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challenging dark emotional funny hopeful mysterious 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

4.5

Content Warnings

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