Reviews tagging 'Pregnancy'

Wahala by Nikki May

12 reviews

jtpgdavey's review against another edition

medium-paced

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

2.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Toxic friendship, Gaslighting, and Toxic relationship

Moderate: Classism, Fatphobia, Alcoholism, Body shaming, Murder, and Death of parent

Minor: Police brutality, Pregnancy, Car accident, Blood, Grief, Panic attacks/disorders, Xenophobia, and Stalking

bookishkellyn's review against another edition

• 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

3.0

Simi daftly reconnects with her former childhood best friend–her alobam–and brings her into the fold. It was obvious from the beginning that Isobel was a weirdo and that a friend group established from being mixed race was already a shaky foundation, so the chaos she cooked up was light work. The way Boo & Simi downrated Ronke was infuriating, because she was truly the most likeable character. She was the only one satisfied with her life but suffered the most. I liked the first half of the book, but the plot got more unbelievable as it went on. I didn’t like the ending at all.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Gaslighting, Toxic friendship, and Murder

Moderate: Classism, Emotional abuse, Xenophobia, Infidelity, Toxic relationship, Death of parent, Racism, and Body shaming

Minor: Pregnancy, Abandonment, Abortion, Bullying, Violence, Stalking, Domestic abuse, and Infertility

graceev's review against another edition

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Toxic friendship, Sexual harassment, Car accident, Emotional abuse, and Sexual assault

Moderate: Death of parent, Pregnancy, Racism, and Toxic relationship

Minor: Stalking and Abortion

Abusive relationship

mayahill22's review against another edition

dark emotional funny mysterious tense slow-paced

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

4.5

OMG i looked this book. Usually I don’t go for a slow paced book but once it picked up it was riveting. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Violence, Toxic friendship, Infidelity, and Murder

Moderate: Violence and Pregnancy

Minor: Suicide

zara89's review against another edition

dark emotional slow-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

2.0

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Murder, Toxic friendship, Abandonment, Body shaming, Abortion, Death of parent, Violence, Infidelity, Alcohol, and Toxic relationship

Minor: Infertility, Physical abuse, Stalking, Pregnancy, Racial slurs, and Police brutality

ramreadsagain's review against another edition

dark medium-paced

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

3.75

Not as much of a thriller as I was hoping and I had some issues with the ending and the many unchecked biases of the main characters. However this was still very readable and I really enjoyed the plot and characters, I look forward to more from Nikki May.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Toxic friendship and Racism

Moderate: Death of parent, Death, and Abortion

Minor: Infidelity and Pregnancy

abzster53's review against another edition

emotional mysterious tense fast-paced

• Diverse cast of characters? Yes

3.5

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Abortion, Pregnancy, and Toxic friendship

Minor: Police brutality

ashyyy's review against another edition

dark emotional funny mysterious tense medium-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

3.5

The writing was easily digestible and I loved the three main friends' dynamic. Although the ending was incredible and made me want to yell at the characters for their choices, I found the beginning a little slower than I'd have liked.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Death, Emotional abuse, Gaslighting, Infidelity, Murder, Toxic friendship, and Toxic relationship

Moderate: Sexual harassment, Grief, Violence, Abortion, Death of parent, and Pregnancy

Minor: Panic attacks/disorders

peachani's review against another edition

challenging emotional tense 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

3.5

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Racism, Violence, Death, Blood, Infidelity, Murder, Toxic friendship, and Grief

Moderate: Classism, Death of parent, Panic attacks/disorders, Sexual content, Alcohol, Stalking, and Gaslighting

Minor: Bullying, Abandonment, Fatphobia, Abortion, Body shaming, and Pregnancy

shelfofunread's review

emotional funny hopeful lighthearted sad tense fast-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

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! 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Toxic friendship

Moderate: Sexual violence, Pregnancy, Abortion, Racial slurs, Racism, and Toxic relationship

Minor: Murder, Sexual content, and Sexual harassment