A contemporary novel about three young mixed race women living in London, friends since university but each living different lives.
The book starts with a drastic opening, something awful has happened before going on to four months earlier......
Ronke is a dentist, set on finding herself a Nigerian husband, her previous boyfriends being disastrous but hoping that her current boyfriend Kayode is 'the one'.
Simi seemingly successful in her job and wanting to concentrate on her career is happily married to Martin who is desperate for a baby not realizing that Simi does not feel the same.
Boo, is a stay at home mum and not enjoying it.. She is married to Frenchman Didlier and they have four old daughter Sophie who she resents but to be honest, her daughter also seems to resent her too.
Despite their different lives, the three women still find the time to meet up for food and enjoy each others company.
Then Isobel arrives, Isobel is an old school friend of Simi's. She is newly divorced, outrageously rich and has the personality type that persuades people to confide their secrets to. Unfortunately, Isobel then uses the secrets to help her befriend others by gossiping.
Each chapter (nice length for putting the book down) is written in the narrative of either Ronke, Simi or Boo. Isobel's influence on the group wreaks havoc and only Ronke can see this. Although each friend has a lifestyle that another really craves, they all have their own insecurities and don't have it together as all the others might think..
Each character is so well devolved and continues to develop as the drama unfolds.
The book is written with humor, strong female leads and focusses on female friendship.
This book is interesting though with the Anglo-Nigerian culture becoming part of the plot and highlighting how some may have internal struggles growing up in Britain whilst others embrace their culture or indeed mix the two to the full. If everyone had mixed race children- would their be racism at all.? It's about food -particulary Nigerian, class, family, power struggles and friendship.
Wahala is full of twists and turns and is more gritty and true to life than Sex In the City middle class white women (this reviewer is middle aged, white and middle class) and bang up to date.
A book that I enjoyed reading to unwind to after a hard day in work, last thing at night and first thing in the morning.
Cracking debut novel and an author to look out for.
#Wahala #NetGalley

What a great book!

Ronke, Simi & Boo are all of English/Nigerian heritage; they are best friends & live in London. Isobel & Simi went to school together in Nigeria. Isobel’s family is obscenely rich & they lost touch until Isobel’s marriage breaks down & she traces Simi through Facebook reuniting in London. Her arrival has devastating consequences on the three friends & those close to them.

At points the writing is hilarious & others unbearably sad. Their chatter pervaded by Nigerian slang when happy but at other times, when discussing skin colour in particular, you can taste their vitriol & determination. I have to say at this point that the three friends outlook on colour often surprised me. Not what they said or did but the reason for it. Their backgrounds & personal circumstances obviously play a part but the cultural expectations are a powerful influence too.

Each character is well drawn, whether you like them or not. The trio’s closeness is tangible. Except Isobel; her scheming is blatant to the reader & she is vile.

Every chapter is written from a main character’s POV, so a well-observed portrait is provided of their lives & thoughts. The writing is concise, although the longer descriptions of Nigerian cookery had my mouth watering.

A fabulous read. Highly recommended.

My thanks to NetGalley & Random House for an arc copy to read & give my unbiased review.

Wahala is an engaging novel that I’m so excited is being turned into a TV series. The richness of Nigerian culture threaded throughout was brilliant and every character was perfectly fleshed out, flawed and believable. What I especially loved were the subtle ways that Isobel disrupted the friendship group and how those cracks gradually got bigger and bigger. The writing did this so deftly and it was so interesting to read. I was intrigued by Isobel - did she have a motive? Did she know what she was doing? The novel without the mystery twist would have been almost good enough on its own, if perhaps a bit slow. I do think the twist/reveal came far too late - the first chapter alludes to what is to come, but I had completely forgotten that this insight is given as I had read on and there really wasn’t much rising tension. That being said I did really enjoy it and can see this book becoming popular because of its representation and examination of female friendship.

Wahala tells the story of three British-Nigerian women who are best friends until the childhood friend of one of them makes contact with her and starts creating havoc.
The story is told with different chapters focusing on one of the three friends at a time, which gives us a better insight into what it is to live in their (very different) lives and the effects of the newcomer in each of them. It reminded me of my high school years where gossip was rampant and stories got distorted and twisted to no end.

Overall it was an enjoyable read. I started a bit slow at the beginning (not the book's fault: I was reading at least 3 books at the same time), but eventually I started to pick it up more often and by the end I couldn't put it down. The depth of the characters is such that, even though you don't necessarily agree with their decisions and/or actions, you understand them, and they are "in character" in a way that I don't frequently experience in books.

My only complaint is in the blurb of the book, which keeps you waiting for the new friend to do something horrible or show her true colors. It primes you to double-guess everything she says, so to some extent it spoilt the experience. I think going in blind would have resulted in a better experience.

Many thanks to NetGalley for a free eARC of this book in exchange for an honest opinion.

A phenomenal debut about the intertwined lives of three British-Nigerian friends in London and the strain it puts on their friendships and wider lives when a new friend becomes involved with the group.
I didn’t quite know what I was getting into with Wahala as the blurb didn’t give too much away, but I absolutely loved that about it and ended up being an engrossing read about secrets and identity. Ronke, Simi and Boo all felt incredibly real and very relatable so I sympathised with them even at their lowest moments.
As an extra bonus I totally loved that some of Ronke’s recipes were included at the end!

Wow! Just wow! What an amazing book to start my reading in 2022. Wahala, by Nikki May, is outstanding and I simply loved it, staying up way past my bedtime to finish it!

Wahala is set in London and centred around three, Anglo-Nigerian friends. Ronke, Boo and Simi have been inseparable since they met at University and are constantly in and out of each other's lives, godmothers to one another's children, and shoulders to cry on when necessary. Until Isobel appears on the scene, causing chaos wherever she goes and with whoever she meets. Everyone's lives are turned upside down and no one can understand what is happening.

I'm not giving too much of a synopsis to this book, it will spoil it for you but read it, read it, read it! It's a romance, a thriller, and a mystery all rolled into one.

I understand that they are making Wahala into a television series later this year, and I'm so excited to hear this. I'm sure it will be awesome.

I'm off to make some jollof rice for dinner!

Thank you to NetGalley and Random House UK for the opportunity to read and review an ARC of Wahala by Nikki May.

The publicity campaign around this book towards the end of last year was pretty big and a lot of people were raving about how incredible it was. I was delighted to be approved for it on NetGalley and am even more thrilled that I can now sing its praises with everyone else.

Ronke is now ready to settle down with Kayode but her friends are skeptical as to whether he really is The One. Boo has a wonderful French husband in Didier and a smart, gorgeous daughter Sofia but satisfaction still deserts her. Simi has a glamorous career and a happy, long-distance marriage with Martin but she’s got a secret and is terrified it could all come crashing down in a moment. These three Anglo-Nigerian women are the best of friends but mysterious, successful Isobel is about to shake everything up. Who even is she really?

The friendship between Boo, Ronke and Simi is really lovely to witness. They’ve clearly got so much common history and heritage and there’s nothing more beautiful than seeing them share that. It seems that they’ve gone through all of the ups and downs of life together and come through it as a tight, almost unbreakable unit. I think almost every woman still has at least one or two friends, who they have this kind of unique relationship with and would probably like to think that no one could ever destroy that.

Of course, all of our heroines are mixed-race and that has a profound effect on how they identify and perceive themselves. I have no doubt that many mixed-race readers will be able to see themselves in their formative memories. However, the idea of having to find where you belong and where you fit in is something that isn’t exclusive to having multiple heritages, so that feeling of displacement is something that resonates with so many readers.

Similarly, the idea of fetishising mixed-race or Black women is visited several times in the book. There are men who will exclusively date women because of their skin colour or cultural heritage and our heroines all have to run background checks on their partners to try and figure out their intentions. As a white woman, I have never even considered checking for things like that in a partner’s dating history, so that opened my eyes even further to an issue I’d never thought much about.

Impostor syndrome is a condition that affects a lot of successful people and for some of us, it even hits when we get a little taste of success or happiness. Simi is dealing with a lot of guilt throughout the book with regard to secretly taking the pill while Martin thinks they’re trying for a baby. Carrying something that potentially devastating around is a heavy burden and it’s no wonder that she feels so anxious all the time.

Isobel unsettled me almost as soon as I met her. She seemed to be constantly changing her appearance, which might not seem overtly strange for some people, but something about it coupled with her enigmatic past didn’t sit right with me. She was running and hiding from something and the powerful stench of dishonesty around her told me it wasn’t the abusive ex she claimed to have on her back. The way that she operated was so creepy and I was genuinely scared of her.

Wahala translates from Yoruba as ‘trouble’ and that’s undoubtedly the overall feeling throughout the entire novel. It is a incredibly addictive, exciting time that had my mind frantically trying to piece everything together. I audibly gasped at the shocking events towards the end and my heart was willing the heroines to sit down together, talk and figure out the common denominator in all of their collapsing lives. I can’t recommend Wahala enough, if you love sharp, clever contemporary books with a delicious air of wickedness.

Wahala by Nikki May is a compelling page-turner of a novel from the very beginning. It’s a strong debut – dark and thrilling while also appealing to fans of contemporary fiction. One of its greatest strengths is how character driven it is. Multiple POVs don’t always work for me but this felt so flawlessly natural as it alternated between Ronke, Simi and Boo’s perspectives. I absolutely adored Ronke and felt a deep attachment to her from the start.

I thought that it was a fantastic choice to not show Isobel’s POV. That really helped ramp up the suspense. Who is this newcomer? What are her true intentions and motivations? And when those pieces finally come together… Wow.

In regards to those comparisons that I mentioned earlier, I don’t see the SATC ones beyond this being a story about a tight-knit group of friends. However, I can see why it’s compared to My Sister, the Serial Killer. They’re very different stories so while it’s not a strict readalike, there’s enough similarity in the underlying themes – especially since sisterhood and friendship aren’t too far detached.

Overall, I absolutely loved this book. I can’t wait to see what the author comes out with next and I am so excited to watch the TV adaptation when that’s released because I’m sure it will be equally fantastic.

Wahala (which means trouble) is the story of three, mixed-race, best friends whose lives are disrupted when glamorous Isobel threatens to tear them apart. Because Isobel has an agenda, only none of the women can see it.

Ronke is definitely my favourite character. You could say she’s a bit of a doormat – all her previous boyfriends have walked all over her and her friends Simi and Boo are convinced that her current partner Kayode will do the same. But Ronke adores him and besides, he’s Nigerian, and Ronke wants a Nigerian husband. She’s a great cook, a good friend and she adores children, especially Boo’s daughter and at times you wonder if she loves her more than Boo does.

I’m sorry but I really didn’t like Boo. She has a French husband Didier, who can’t do enough for her, and a gorgeous (if a tad precocious) daughter Sofia who can swear in French, but Boo is never satisfied. She often wishes she’d never got married and had a child. She feels trapped. Her constant sniping was very annoying.

Simi is married to wealthy Martin, who desperately wants a baby, except she doesn’t. That means a lot of lying, but one day she’ll get caught out. Martin is currently working overseas for nine months and they only get together once a month.

Isobel was Simi’s friend at school. Disgustingly rich and ostentatious, her family was the type that could buy themselves out of anything. Unfortunately, the two girls fell out over something to do with their parents and haven’t seen each other since. Until now that is. And that’s when the trouble starts.

Isobel is a total bitch. As the reader we can see it, but they can’t. I was almost screaming at the page ‘don’t tell her your secrets, don’t trust her!’ She’s manipulating all of you.

This is one of those stories you can’t put down. It’s exciting, frustrating, sad, funny, everything you would expect from a great book. But there’s also racism, jealousy, obsession and even murder, all mixed in with Nigerian culture and fantastic recipes for Nigerian food. And it’s not every day you get a murder mystery combined with a recipe book.

Many thanks to @annecater for inviting me to be part of #RandomThingsTours, NetGalley for an ARC and to The Pigeonhole and my fellow Pigeons for making this such an enjoyable read.

I absolutely inhaled this read, completing it in three sessions! I was addicted to this rollercoaster tale of female friendships, deceit, revenge, and love from the first few chapters.

I don’t want to give away too much about the plot as I don’t want to add spoilers, but there were moments when each character made me giggle like a schoolgirl but also made me so frustrated I wanted to shake them.

This is an absolute blinder of a book; modern, captivating and relevant. I’m sure many readers will be able to relate to at least one of the main characters if not multiple. I am sure some will have come across certain people with characteristics and flaws that are displayed within this book. I know I have and this added to the enjoyment.

I can not wait for the TV series, which I believe is coming soon, I will definitely be tuning in to this!

Highly recommended and a must-read in 2022.

This was a really entertaining ride for the most part and I devoured it in one day. A really easy to get into and accessible read with a focus on biracial characters, it was a really interesting perspective on identity, friendships and relationships.

Where this book fell down for me was with the constant casual colourism that the lead characters portrayed. It felt like a missed opportunity to have a nuanced interaction with the subject.

I’d give it a 3 out of 5 stars.

Fresh and original, Wahala by Nikki May is a book about shared cultures, female friendships and revenge.

Friends Ronke, Simi and Boo are friends living in London, with the gift of two cultures, Nigerian and English. 

Entering their mid-thirties, they are starting to question where their lives are going. Boo feels trapped by doting husband and energetic daughter, whilst Ronke wants nothing more than a husband and family of her own after a string of failed relationships. Simi is striving to advance her career whilst avoiding the ‘urban’ label and her husband, who constantly talks about trying for a baby.

When Isobel, a friend from their past, arrives in town, she does all she can to fix their futures for them, but instead cracks in their friendships begin to show.

I found this book absolutely gripping and flew through it over the course of a day. The friendships are a true reflection of modern women with different lifestyles, and I related to them all in different ways. Pressures to have a family, have a career, please your family and impress friends with your lifestyle are factors we can all empathise with.

I am not very familiar with Nigerian culture so I particularly enjoyed reading from a perspective different to my own. I have yet to attempt any of ‘Ronke’s’ recipes!

The story itself is addictive; you know things are going from bad to worse and you can’t wait to find out what happens next. A modern novel with a perfect combination of friendship, humour, drama and nail biting tension.

A fantastic and refreshing debut; I cannot wait to read what Nikki May writes next.

This is a story of friendship, relationships, and their ups and downs.

Ronke grew up idolising her father – he died in carjacking when she was young – and she wants her future husband to be just as perfect. Her love life has always been a disaster, she has a penchant for attracting men who treat her badly. She is adamant she won’t date a man unless he is Nigerian. When we meet her in the book, she is with Kayode, who has commitment issues, however, Ronke adores him and is sure he is ‘the one’. Ronke loves food and children; she is warm and funny. She was my favourite character in this book, I found myself sympathising with her a lot. I wish I had a friend like Ronke in my life!

Simi works in the fashion business. She loves designer clothes and accessories, and is always wearing something swanky. She is married to Martin, who is currently working away in New York. As Martin is approaching forty, he really wants to a child, and Simi agrees, however she isn’t very keen. Will she be able to tell him the truth?

Boo is married to a Frenchman Didier, and they have a daughter called Sofia. To an outsider, Boo has it all – a part-time job, a fantastic husband and daughter. Sure, little Sofia is a bit full on, all children are, but Boo finds it all irritating. To make her ‘dull’ life a bit more interesting, she flirts with her boss, Neil. Will she cheat on her husband? Throughout the book, Boo appeared angry and resentful of her life, she was a character I liked the least (apart from Isobel, of course!)

The lives of three Nigerian women living in London are thrown into disarray with the arrival of glamorous and vivacious femme fatale Isobel. She is single and very rich. She keeps inviting the women for drinks, nights out, and buys them gifts. Simi and Boo are immediately smitten, but Ronke remains wary. Underneath Isobel’s alluring demeanour, there is a slice of deviousness and cruelty.

I loved everything about this book: the characters and the plot. I don’t know much about Nigerian culture or food, so I found myself googling some phrases and dishes (I like the idea of pounded yam, must make it myself!). I found this book very refreshing.

It is an outstanding debut, a must read for 2022.

Thank you to Anne Cater of Random Things Tours for having me along on the tour and to Nikki May & Double Day Books for my gifted copy of the book in exchange for an honest review!

I really enjoyed the Nigerian details in this book and found my mouth watering at the descriptions of the food/recipes. I’m not sure whether I am brave enough to try the recipes myself

I loved that each of the main characters are of mixed descent and wear the dual heritage with pride!

I definitely felt a connection with each of the trio for different reasons and could see myself in each of them.

Isobel is the epitome of Wahala - TROUBLE. And boy does she bring it!

This book is Nikki’s debut which after reading blew my mind a little bit!! Because the writing reads like a well honed author. It’s rich and descriptive and really does swallow you whole.

I really enjoyed this book and it is one I will be buying on audio to listen too as I think it will be one I will read again and again.

Wahala releases in 6th January and I highly recommend you pick a copy up 😍

As a fan of Sex and the City (TV series, not the book) and having loved Queenie and My Sister the Serial Killer I just had to read this book and I was not disappointed. No wonder it is set to soon be a BBC TV serial. I can't wait to meet these women all over again.

The story centres around three mixed-race friends who met at Uni and now all live in London. They all have careers, one has a child and they are strong women. Yet somehow that begins to be undermined for each of them by something they've done/will do that they are not proud of.

Enter Isobel childhood friend of Simi. One by one she reinvents for them either, their outlook, fashion taste or life. Isobel is the life and soul of the party and knows how to have a good time and she's got the money to back it up to. But as she begins to divide and conquer the friends will things ever be the same again between them and their loved ones?

This is not chick lit - although it does have some great shopping parts that had me wondering about doing some online shopping myself! But it also has a physiological thriller aspect to it that had me turning the pages so fast. I couldn't wait to get back to read what would happen next.

When I got to the end of the book I had to go back and re read the very beginning. It was so cleverly written that I had to read it twice more before I really understood. I loved all the characters (even Isobel at times) they were so well drawn and lifelike. So many references to Nigerian food I was beginning to think I needed to find out about some of these dishes. When I reached the end and there were the recipes too!

Wahala by Nikki May
Pub Date 6th Jan 2022
Sex in the City with a Killer Edge
Ronke, Simi, Boo are three mixed-race friends living in London. They have the gift of two cultures, Nigerian and English.
Not all of them choose to see it that way.
Everyday racism has never held them back, but now in their thirties, they question their future. Ronke wants a husband (he must be Nigerian); Boo enjoys (correction: endures) stay-at-home motherhood; while Simi, full of fashion career dreams, rolls her eyes as her boss refers to her urban vibe yet again.
When Isobel, a lethally glamorous friend from their past, arrives in town, she is determined to fix their futures for them.
Cracks in their friendship begin to appear, and it is soon obvious Isobel is not sorting but wrecking. When she is driven to a terrible act, the women are forced to reckon with a crime in their past that may just have repeated itself.

Nikki May was born in Bristol, raised in Lagos; she is Anglo-Nigerian, and I cannot believe this is her debut novel.
Nikki May has certainly brought her A-Game to the fore in this well-written, funny, witty, vibrant, unique story. It also offers an intriguing educational insight into British-Nigerian culture.
It is a tale of love, betrayal, revenge, jealousy, race, class, friendship, family, and oh did I mention food. The plot was terrific, and the food sounded amazing; who could ask for more?
Included in the book are some scrummy sounding recipes, aunty k's moin-moin, ronke's chicken stew and ronke's jollof rice, which I am definitely going to try.
I understand that Wahala is being turned into a major BBC TV drama. I will certainly be looking out for it.
I want to thank NetGalley, Random House UK, Transworld Publishers and author Nikki May for a pre-publication copy to review.

I really loved this book. The three central characters were distinct, well drawn and very likeable - even when they were making really bad choices I was rooting for them to figure things out. I loved the exploration of British Nigerian culture and how it influenced their lives to different extents. The family relationships were explored intricately and showed how their experiences had shaped each of the women and their friendships. Even if the story had just been about this simple friendship it would have been enjoyable but bringing in Isobel with her flair and drama took this book to the next level. Her subtle scheming was so carefully constructed that I was questioning her motives the whole time and couldn't work out if she was for against the three friends for most of the book.
It was a lovely touch that some of Ronke's favourite recipes were included at the end of the book.
I'm not surprised that this has already been optioned for TV and I look forward to watching the adaptation.
This book was really excellent and I highly recommend it.

I was delighted to receive this ARC from DoubleDay & NetGalley.
Ronke, Simi & Boo are three mixed-race friends living in London. Now in their 30s they question their future; Ronke wants to settle down, preferably with a Nigerian husband; Boo is unhappy with her role as a mostly stay-at-home mother; Simi’s husband wants to try for a baby - Simi is not so sure she wants kids at all. When Isobel, a friend from Simi’s past arrives, she is determined to fix their futures for them. Cracks begin to appear, & it is soon obvious Isobel is not sorting but wrecking. When she is driven to a terrible act, the women are forced to reckon with a crime in their past that may just have repeated itself.
I loved how May delved into Nigerian culture and how she even included recipes in the book. The way she explored dual heritage within the three characters with different perspectives was really thought-provoking and executed brilliantly.
This was also much more gripping than I had anticipated it to be. While the premise made me request this book, I still wasn’t sure what I was expecting. However, as the book progresses, the drama certainly increases with it. I thought the plot was clever, how Isobel slowly but surely makes herself the centre of the friend-group. It really highlights the idea of a toxic friendships very well (even before throwing the twist in the plot). This book had me hooked from start to finish. I read 75% of this in a day, so that’s a marker of a compulsive read. It’s being described as Sex And The City meets My Sister The Serial Killer, so that’s kind of telling in itself. One to keep an eye out for in the coming days.
Thank you to NetGalley & publisher for letting me read this ARC for an honest review.

I read this in one sitting I was so gripped by it! I don't know why, it was full of characters making bad decisions, not communicating and being manipulated. But in some ways I empathised with them. Ronke, Simi and Boo are three mixed race women in their thirties, all in different circumstances. Simi works in fashion and is married to Martin who is on secondment in Manhattan, he wants babies but she isn't ready yet. Ronke is an unmarried dentist, dating Kayode, wants to settle down and have a family but keeps picking the wrong guys. Boo is married to Didier and has a four year old daughter, but seems dissatisfied with her life even if her friends think it's perfect. She works in science communication, and is flirting with her boss.

Then Simi is re-united with an old friend, Isobel, who she was friends with as a small child. Isobel is from a rich family and inserts herself into the friendship group, collecting their secrets and using them to push the women apart. Isobel brings drama to a group that have been best friends since they attended Bristol university together.

I liked that this book tells a story about mixed race women all of whom have a different relationship with their Nigerian roots. I was really drawn to the characters as they were so well-rounded, though flawed (so many secrets and lies). The plot becomes more and more tense as it progresses, and I was so intrigued to see how all the reveals would play out.

Overall, a great book that really appealed to my love of stories about real, flawed people and their ordinary lives. It takes skill to make that unputdownable!

I found Wahala very readable, and while reading, different aspects reminded me of books I read in 2021: Such a Fun Age by Kiley Reid, Greenwich Park by Katherine Faulkner, Magpie by Elizabeth Day.

I loved learning about Nigerian culture, and there is so much detail included by the author around food and traditional clothing that I really enjoyed (see the quote above as an example).

I also thought that through the female friendships, May interestingly explored the pressures of fitting in, knowing what you want, and how we can tend to compare ourselves to others – what do you see as “being successful”? Wealth? Beauty? Happiness?

But where this book fell down for me is the way in which the thriller element is stitched into the story. The book opens with a flash forward to a crime taking place and so you know that at some stage the story is going to come back to that. The problem is that for a while, the dread and the little clues as to what you think is going to happen is fun, but when it finally all kicks off it happens so quickly and then, suddenly, it’s over. It just felt so out of place when compared to the detail and care with which the author wrote the rest of the book that it left it sort of lacking for me. I think the story overall would have been better served if it was either tightened up or the “twist” was introduced a little earlier.

Overall, an interesting premise but the execution just wasn’t right for me.