Wahala by Nikki May

The importance of friendships cannot be overrated.  They can boost your happiness, reduce your amount of stress and improve your level of confidence.  Wahala is a highly engaging story of three female friends and the disequilibrium that occurs when a fourth member is introduced to the group. The book is available now.

From The Publisher:

Ronke wants happily ever after and 2.2. kids. She’s dating Kayode and wants him to be “the one” (perfect, like her dead father). Her friends think he’s just another in a long line of dodgy Nigerian boyfriends.
Boo has everything Ronke wants—a kind husband, gorgeous child. But she’s frustrated, unfulfilled, plagued by guilt, and desperate to remember who she used to be.
Simi is the golden one with the perfect lifestyle. No one knows she’s crippled by impostor syndrome and tempted to pack it all in each time her boss mentions her “urban vibe.” Her husband thinks they’re trying for a baby. She’s not.
When the high-flying, charismatic Isobel explodes into the group, it seems at first she’s bringing out the best in each woman. (She gets Simi an interview in Hong Kong! Goes jogging with Boo!) But the more Isobel intervenes, the more chaos she sows, and Ronke, Simi, and Boo’s close friendship begins to crack.

Book Review:

I enjoyed this book.  Written in OwnVoices, the author does a great job in bringing in the women’s Nigerian culture to their UK setting. The descriptions of Nigerian food, clothing and art provide a vision for the reader that sets the tone for the book.

Ronke, Boo and Simi are likeable women who share a common past.  This trio is solid and shares almost every personal development in their lives with one another.  When Isobel arrives on the scene after finding Simi on Facebook, she instantly changes the dynamics of the group.  She’s aggressive, overbearing and dominates the conversation.  Isobel was not a woman I would want to associate myself with right from the very beginning.

The author does a great job of unfolding history for the original three women and eventually links them all to a past with Isobel.  Family are warning the women that Isobel and her family are Wahala – trouble.  But somehow they’ve each developed a friendship with her that dismisses these warnings and has them questioning their own relationships with the other women in the group. Isobel, on the other hand, is using each of these women to provide her with her ultimate goal.  You’ll have to read the book yourself to find out what this is.

The book is both character-driven and plot-driven.  I felt immersed in the story and engaged throughout.  Although the ending is not what I had hoped for, it was absolutely satisfying.  I can’t wait to read more from this author.

Audiobook Review:

The book was narrated by Natalie Simpson who was well cast for this role.  Her performance was riveting and added to an already great book.  I have no hesitation in recommending this version of the book to those who appreciate this format.

What I Liked:

• The detailed character development
• The engaging and highly-entertaining plot
• The Nigerian/UK fusion of cultures written in OwnVoices.

I Recommend This Book To:

Those readers who enjoy General Fiction, Literary Fiction or Thrillers with strong female characters.

My Rating:

⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

Add Wahala to your Goodreads shelf

Acknowledgments:

Thank you to HarperAudio and Libro.fm on the ALC of this book in exchange for the honest review provided here.

Similar Books I’ve Reviewed:

The Husbands by Chandler Baker

Just My Luck by Adele Parks

The Good Sister by Sally Hepworth

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