This is absolutely not your average romance! It’s a book about important topics like self-love, colourism, grief and defining your own success. I would recommend this to anyone looking for a refreshing, moving and hilarious read. Excited about its paperback release!

Yinka wants to find love. Her mum wants to find it for her.

How can Yinka find a husband when she is surrounded by her aunties who frequently pray for her delivery from singledom, has a preference for chicken and chips over traditional Nigerian food, and a bum she’s sure is far too small as a result? Oh, and the fact that she is a thirty-one-year-old South Londoner who doesn’t believe in sex before marriage is a bit of an obstacle too.
When Yinka's cousin gets engaged, she commences an ‘operation to find a date for Rachel's wedding’. Will Yinka find herself a huzband? Or what if the thing she really needs to find is herself?

4 stars!!
I thought it was gonna be a cute rom-com/ romance book where Yinka finds herself a man for her cousin's wedding, but it's not in the way I thought it was going to go, but regardless I really enjoyed and loved it !!! I really liked the writing style and how we can see things that Yinka was searching on the internet, idk I felt more connected to her thoughts in a way.
I loved seeing Yinka navigate and trying to figure out what she really needed and discovering herself, yes at times Yinka did make me roll my eyes at her because what are you doing???
It also talks about some very important themes/issues such as family, colourism, and cultural pressures.

Can't wait to read more from this author and I would definitely recommend this book!!

Yinka is sick and tired of her Nigerian family constantly praying (yes, literally praying) about her lack of huzband. And so she sets herself a goal: to find a date to her sister's wedding. Surely it can't be that hard, right?

Although this has a light premise, the book is elevated by exploring the concept of singledom and partnership through the lens of Yinka's Nigerian cultural heritage as well as her upbringing as a black woman in Britain. And so while comparisons to Bridget Jones' Diary are apt, it was nice to get a fresh perspective on the pressures placed on women from a non-white point of view. The novel also delivers the narrative with great humour, and a great supporting cast who felt interesting in their own right.

There are areas of the novel that I wish were a little more in depth as I think this novel was perfectly positioned to explore these - the fear of being alone, the value placed on women who are wives and mothers as opposed to those who aren't - but I appreciate that given the fast-paced and humorous tone of the novel, this might not have worked with the overall style of the narrative.

Throughout, although you sometimes wish Yinka would make different choices, you can't help but want the best of her. There were moments when I wanted to shake her, and others when I was cringing on her behalf. But to me that is a sign of an interesting protagonist and overall I found the story really engaging and easy to immerse myself in.

Also, what an amazing title, right?

Absolutely LOVED this book. Yinka is such a wonderful character and this story was a refreshing addition to the romance genre. I loved the way religion was explored within dating and the way the whole story was resolved. Can't wait for my books by this author.

This was very well written and I liked the invite into Nigerian life and family structure. I didn’t really like the main character and found her irritating at times. She didn’t need anyone sabotaging her life as she did a great job on her own.

Yinka's search for a date for a wedding to ease the familial pressure to get a husband is a fresh take on a well known trope and her anxiety to be what her loved ones expect is very relatable. This would make a great rom-com for a movie or series.

This is a novel about finding the person you are and loving that person, no matter what.

Yinka is constantly being told by her British Nigerian family that she needs to get herself a 'huzband' when that's the last thing she is looking for. Until, that is, she is made redundant from her banking job.

Wanting to come across as vibrant and sassy, Yinka is inwardly insecure. She avoids difficult conversations, embarrassed about being paraded as a single woman when her younger sister is already married and pregnant.

Yinka thinks she has to reinvent herself as she strives to find her ideal man in time for her cousin Rachel's wedding, when all she really needs to do is find herself.

Her search leads Yinka to places she doesn't want to go and conversations she would prefer not to have, until the penny drops and she accepts what her best friend Nana has been telling her all along.

I enjoyed this book and found myself rooting for Yinka, willing her to ditch the props and trust her own judgement. Which she eventually does do, of course.

This is an uplifting read from an author that is new to me. The characters were all relatable and I particularly loved Nana.

I received a digital ARC of this book from Penguin General UK, in return for an honest appraisal.

“Yinka, where is your huzband?” isn’t just a snappy title, it’s the refrain of Yinka’s life. As her married sister’s due date gets closer and her cousin announces her engagement, all the aunties in Peckham turn their prayers to Yinka and the pressure is on!

Yinka, a British-Nigerian, early thirties, Oxford graduate, who, after a shattering break up, has been single for two years, concocts: Operation Wedding Date. A plan to land herself a man in time for the wedding, but will she stay true to her beliefs on her search for love?

‘Yinka, Where is your Huzband?’ is a stunningly relatable debut novel. Yinka joins literary heroines such as Bridget Jones and Candice Carty-Williams’ Queenie in the lovable pantheon of dodgy dates, cringe worthy encounters, and the endurance of sisterhood and self worth. The plot is mainly driven by Yinka's actions, some of which most millennial women will empathise with, and I enjoyed the levels of personal growth and journeys that the main cast go through - singularly and as a family/friendship unit. Blackburn is certainly an author I'd keep an eye out for in the future, and I dearly look forward to her next novel. A hearty four out of five stars, and rated 4 on StoryGraph and Goodreads, I will be posting a review to Twitter and Instagram. Thank you very much to NetGalley, Penguin, and Viking for the EPUB.

Yinka, Where is your Huzband is on sale now.

I mostly enjoyed this book and particularly appreciated the way Yinka’s faith was so naturally woven into the plot. I enjoyed the humour and the insight into Nigerian culture. My only complaint was it felt a bit too long - a bit of editing would have helped as I felt it dragged on a bit. A solid 3.5 stars.

What a joy to read this book.
I was fully invested in this book , such a lovely warm fun read ,loved the main character and the comedy that came with it as well.Loved the writing of the culture as well,would highly recommend to any reader.
5* plus for me

I enjoyed aspects of this, but overall was left wanting. Will absolutely read Blackburn's next book, as I think I'll connect better with a future title.

Reasonably well written and believable characters but the subject matter was not of interest to me. I'm interested to read about the experiences of characters from other races, and frequently do, but I lost all interest in the religious aspects of the book. Perfect for readers with a strong faith but not for me.

The concept of this one sounded fun and full of frolics and it was. I loved reading it and the brightly coloured jacket makes it a perfect one to read at the beach

This was fun and easy to read. I didn’t fully connect t to the characters but might have been my mood at the time

🥳 A lovely, light-hearted fun read. I can see why people are describing this as having Bridget Jones vibes. It certainly runs on a similar thread of accepting oneself and finding confidence while juggling the challenges of single life/careers/family.

Would recommend this to people who enjoy women's fiction. I wouldn't call it a romcom however as the romance isn't the central theme.

❤️

Thanks to NetGalley and The Publisher for this eARC in exchange for an honest review.

3.5 stars

This book was a cute and funny. Nothing groundbreaking and a little bit too obvious (for me) in how it would all plan out but still an enjoyable, well written read. One for fans of chick lit.

I’m not quite sure what I was expecting from Yinka, but I really enjoyed reading about her quest (or rather, her family’s quest) for a husband. And it’s probably because it’s not just about that. As Yinka’s family become more pushy about her lack of a life partner, she becomes more unsure about the direction her life is taking. Probably triggered by her losing her boyfriend and then her job, and feeling the need to keep that last piece of news from her family, causes her untold problems.

I loved all the Nigerian culture, and I feel as though I’ve learnt a lot.

The relationship between Yinka and her friends was a bit puzzling at times, and she seemed to struggle to relate to them - and I think that may have been because she was struggling with her mental health, as well as the cultural expectations. Hence Yinka’s pressing need to find a date for her friends wedding (which sounds spectacular, by the way!).

I loved how Yinka grew up as a person as this book went on, and how the ending showed that this was a long term process.

Recommended!

Loved loved this book and fell in love with Yinka! Its written so well, with piles of pathos. And while its written from a Nigerian perspective (which in itself was really interesting), transcends all cultures.

Yinka is over 30 and under pressure to settle down, get married and provide some grandchildren. Her sister, cousins and most of her friends are partnered up, and her family highlight her singledom by getting the community to pray for her....regularly. The hard part is Yinka would like to find her person too. So she makes a plan.

So many relatable questions and messages, and many of us (myself included) have felt the social pressures to get married, especially once you hit 30. This plight is not unique to the Nigerian culture. I was completely absorbed in Yinka's journey, loved her humour and practicality, enjoyed her culture and would happily have joined her circle of friends. She is real, warts and all, and the Next Bridget Jones.

This was a funny, light-hearted tale in the spirit of Bridget Jones. There are some excellent discussions of colourism and racism. I found some of the fears of singledom a little surface level and found it a little difficult to relate when all the characters did get a happy ending in the end. I also found the mixed media elements a little off-putting at times but I wonder if that was more the medium of the E-book. What I did really love was the great exploration of female friendships and female relationships in this book.

Loved this book!!! What a debut! Every chapter was gripping and I loved Yinka. A really fun and moving read