Four Stars.

Listen to the audiobook! The accents add to the reading experience. Also read this if you loved Eleanor Oliphant Is Completely Fine

I really enjoyed this book, I think Yinka's travails will be recognizable to women of all different backgrounds. Told with humour and empathy, this was a great summer read.

What fun! I enjoyed the glimpse into Yinka's life - her friends and family, relationships, and watching her navigate the various pressures in play. We need more voices like hers! The perfect summer read. Thank you

I can see this doing better in General Fiction rather than Romance. It’s about Yinka’s self journey and relationships with family and friends. Her search for a partner factors into the story, but really isn’t the focus.

My heart went out to Yinka so many times throughout this book! A British born Nigerian woman who is single and dealing with being made redundant at work, while also watching all her friends get married or have babies. Yinka pulls out all the stops to try to find a boyfriend while dealing with familiar and societal pressures. I was so angry on Yinka's behalf when a potential love interest rejects her based on the darkness of her skin!! Touted as a Bridget Jones'esque #ownvoices story, this was equally funny and heartbreaking. Highly recommended, especially for fans of Jane Igharo's Sweetest remedy or Butter, honey, pig, bread by Francesca Ekwuyasi. Much thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for my advanced review copy!

I received an eARC from Netgalley.

I enjoyed this book. It's kind of a contemporary story/romance. Not really heavy on the romance. Yinka is British Nigerian and has family/cultural pressure to get married. She has insecurities about her appearance and preconceptions of what success means in terms of her career and life and what type of man would be a good choice.

When her friend has an upcoming wedding, she has pressure to find a new boyfriend to take with her. Yinka makes some bad choices, tells some lies but in the end learns more about her family and friends and their challenges and also sorts out what she truly wants and needs in her life.

Overall an enjoyable book.

Thank you NetGalley, Penguin Random House Canada and the author Lizzie Damilola Blackburn. This book just so a nice read that highlighted many different backgrounds on how people grow up and how parents have an expectation for their children lives. It was just a fun read and I really loved to hear the family members interact. It felt very real.

This book was a lot of fun. I loved learning a bit about Nigerian culture and the values that go along with it. I found it so interesting to compare them with North American culture. I loved that Yinka was a strong, female MC and that all her aunties helped her become that person. There was one time when a man had to tell her that women should never have to feel like they have to compromise themselves, and that irked me, so I took a star off for that reason. I wish she had discovered that on her own or that one of her aunties had taught her, rather than a man. Thank you to NetGalley and Penguin Random House Canada for an e-ARC of this novel in exchange for my honest review!

Yinka, Where is Your Huzband? is a book about Yinka trying to reconcile the different facets of her life that all demand different things of her: her friendships, her job, her family, and herself. Primarily, her goal is to find a date to her cousin Rachel's wedding, after an unfortunate run-in with her ex-boyfriend and his fiancée.

My biggest takeaway from this novel is that it was written with SO much heart and care. Yinka rang very true on the page to me, and even though she goes through a lot of changes in the novel, it's all so believable and gradual and beautiful. I loved hearing about Yinka's Nigerian family's culture, and especially loved all the food and recipes! It speaks to issues of racism and intergenerational trauma while holding those issues with care and love. What a joy it was to read!

This is a debut novel for Blackburn who was born in the UK and considers herself to be British-Nigerian. The book is set in the UK and features 31-year-old Yinka, who is Oxford educated and works at an investment bank. In spite of this it is her status as a single lady that is foremost on her mother's mind. Her younger sister is married and pregnant and now her cousin has announced her engagement with a wedding date six months away. Yinka gives into pressure and develops a plan to find a significant plus one for the wedding. Not surprisingly, nothing goes as planned. The book has a romantic comedy feel, but really does not have a lot of actual romance. It is about friends, family and accepting yourself. It is a great recommendation for readers looking for something lighter.

Yinka, Where is Your Huzband is a sassy debut novel by Lizzie Damilooa Blackburn to be released 18 January 2022. Thanks to Penguin Random House Canada for providing a digital ARC via Netgalley in exchange for an honest review.

The book cover is gorgeous and apt, centering on British Nigerian Yinka and the close female friends and family that are her support network. Yinka's life is going haywire: the promotion she was expecting at work fails to materialize and she is given the pink slip instead, her close friend Rachel just announced her engagement putting immense pressure on her to produce a boyfriend to attend the ensuing festivities, her younger sister is pregnant, her mom and aunties keep setting her up with blind dates.

I appreciate that the author wanted to portray female support relationships in a positive light but Auntie Debbie, Ola and Yinka's moms' behaviour are quite obnoxious at times. Aunt Debbie loudly leading a group prayer that Yinka will find a huzband soon causing Yinka immense mortification, cousin Ola laughing in schadenfreude when one of Yinka's dates goes wrong, mom's incessant and unrelenting demands for Yinka to get married and produce grandkids for her. Many times I winced on Yinka's behalf at this ongoing harassment from family members, friends, church and wished she could shield herself from this toxicity by going low contact or no contact. She is forced to deal with the disappointments in her life such as her job dismissal and lie/pretend to these people that all is going swimmingly in her work and love life. I did like her bestie friend and roommate Nana who is refreshingly an aromantic and Auntie Blessing who helps Yinka with weaving her hair and using her high-powered contacts to help Yinka in her job search.

Much respect to author for portraying a Christian heroine who wants to save her virginity for after marriage and attempts to be a light alcohol drinker. This puts her at odds and makes her puzzling in her white British social circles. I also appreciated some highlighting of Black conundrums such as weave vs natural hair and issues such as colourism. My heart just broke for Yinka when a potential date rejected her on the basis of preference for lighter skinned females.

For the romcom part, I don't think I was too invested in who Yinka ultimately chose - easygoing Alex, supportive Derek, needling Donovan, ex-boyfriend Femi. Yinka gamely trying to acquire skills in both Yoruba and Nigerian cooking to impress Alex rang true - as descendants of immigrants, some of the culture and heritage will be invariably lost/diluted. The side detail of Alex's deceased twin sister didn't really go anywhere despite some tantalizing clues, my guess had been that both Alex and his mother took to Yinka because of the resemblance with his sister. Also, I wish that the author had explained that in Yoruba culture, twins are traditionally named Taiwo (firstborn) and Kehinde (second-born), instead of just calling it Alex's 'Nigerian name.'

Everything tied up a little too neatly at the end though I very much applaud the rousing speech Yinka gave, giving thanks to her singledom. However the road to get there is rocky; when she asserts her boundaries and stands up for herself, her surrounding people tell her she's changed and stage an intervention for her to go for therapy. Yinka's innumerable pressures on being a good daughter, sister, friend, job candidate, date, bridesmaid, Christian come to a head and I really wished for her to just take some time for herself and live for herself outside of the expectations and demands of others.

Yinka, Where Is Your Huzband? is a warm-hearted story of a 30-something British woman of Nigerian heritage who is trying to find her way in life while dealing with her mother’s expectations for her to marry and have children. Yinka is a plucky, likeable character who faces many challenges - straddling two cultures, struggling with self worth, dealing with well-meaning but over-bearing relatives, determining her career path, and navigating female friendships and sibling relationships. The story is told in an easy to read style which really pulls the reader in; the plot also unfolds at a good pace. I did find that the ending came together a bit too neatly and quickly. This is one of those novels that leaves you with a warm, satisfied feeling after reading the final page. I enjoyed spending time in the world that the author created. Solid 4 stars.

Thanks to Penguin Random House Canada and Netgalley for an advance reader copy in exchange for an honest review.

3.5 stars. This was a wholesome read. The main character was a little frustrating at times but I think pretty relateable, especially in the context of her family culture and life.

I really enjoyed this book but it definitely doesn’t fit in the rom-com category. While Yinka is focused on finding a boyfriend (partly because of family and community expectations), the book is really more about her personal growth and her relationships with the women in her life—her mother, sister, cousin, and friends. I loved the peak into the Nigerian culture Yinka comes from as well as the way the author handles her Christian faith, deftly incorporating it as an important part of who she is without being either heavy-handed or overly simplistic. Yinka makes a lot of poor choices, and needs to do a lot of learning and growing before finally finding contentment in herself. So while not exactly what I was expecting, this was definitely a satisfying book.

I was so looking forward to reading this title!! It looks like an absolute riot. Unfortunately I was unable to as the only format provided was a pdf where the text cannot be enlarged. I look forward to reading it when it is released.

3.5 but rounding up.

If you have ever watched Chewing gum and loved it, add more personal journey, pain and drama to the show, and you will get Yinka, Where is your husband!

Yinka begins this story with the small problem of everyone wanting her to get married, which she would also like one day, but this is just a tiny problem because, after all, everything else but her love life is going great. So unless it no longer is, suddenly made redundant, falling into lie after lie and losing who she is to get to her goal of having a boyfriend by her cousin's wedding, Yinka is struggling.

This book is a more personal journey than a romance. It is coursed with faith and losing it in oneself and the pressures of an idea that family forces on you! This book also reminded me of living in the UK and the everyday world, the culture, the setting and how different things happen for families there. I also noticed that I related to Yinka in her spiral and saw some of my downfalls and shortcomings and when a character makes you self identify, that is a powerful thing!

The thing that held back the story was how quickly that resolve was, as I was looking at how much of the book was left when Yinka reached the bottom, and I was like, you can't change things around this fast. I wish I could have had more of her healing and getting better. Also, I know it was a story element, but Yinka's childishness with lying all the time was just annoying, and I couldn't handle how MUCH it happened.

However, it has an incredible personal journey, great family emotional breakdowns, and I love seeing the world through another person's eyes and experiences.