I feel like I have read many similar stories in the last year. I am not sure that I can give an honest review since the characters and situations feel like they have been done before.
Thank you to the publisher and NetGalley for the ARC.

This is a well-written book that tells the stories of two different economic classes in Nigeria, with characters whose lives slightly intersect. It was a bit hard to get into at first, but did pick up, and by the end, I was thoroughly hooked to see what happened to the main characters. It’s worth the time investment! I agree with another reviewer who warned that it is not a light read. I appreciated the story and am a fan of this author since reading Stay With Me.

Thank you very much to NetGalley and Knopf, Pantheon, Vintage, and Anchor for the advanced reader’s copy of this book in exchange for my honest review.

I was excited to get the ARC for this book! I started reading and had to go back to the blurb a few times to make sure I was reading the right book. Then I started looking at reviews to make sure that something was eventually going to happen. I’m glad I kept going because the second half definitely picked up and was more of what I expected from the author. I hope people will stick with this book if they find themselves struggling at the start. It is a story worth reading about social structures and the differences of lived experiences in Nigeria. I look forward to the author’s next book!
*Thanks to Knopf and NetGalley for this advance review copy

We were delighted to feature this title in our live Spring Book Preview event on January 10, 2023, recommending this book at long last both to new readers and those who fell in love with Adebayo's work back when our Modern Mrs Darcy Book Club community read Stay With Me in 2017 (and had the exquisite pleasure of speaking with Adebayo about her work). This book felt darker than Stay With Me but packed just as large a punch. Highly recommended.

The novel hand 2 Stories To Together. Talking about the upper class and how the poor people got involved in this as well. ENIO LA What was the boy who was going to school but his father lost his job. You have a sister who is very smart as well. They had to move t A new place Could not Pay for the Schooling for the children. There was a wealth Me Who wa people i Involved. That's Was a Woman named YER Zion. She was married to a political. Daughte Named WARHORN. She was a doctor at the hospital And she was Supposed to MARRED KUNTE. He was not a really good match for her And she loved M a n Kingston KINGE. KUNTIE Was very Do I look toward her. Her sisters are right through it. EN I I O l a It was going to be a tailor. Things got really crazy because somehow He got involved in a gang when he went to the lesser School You're happy to have food and money. I You can see how Poor people were really desperate and they had to go out on a date. End of this book has a lot of tragedy but you'll find out why these 2 stories were connected

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for granting me a copy of this book in return for my honest opinions.

The Nigerian setting is what pulled me in to this book. I haven't read the authors previous book, so had no expectations going into this one.

There were a host of characters with a lot going on, but once I had them set in my mind it was easier to follow

I enjoyed the story,nthe setting and the characters. There did seem to be an overabundance if needless information, but perhaps that is setting us up for a future novel.

The story is a good one. Worth the read

I’m always excited to try new authors and especially to delve into the experience of a foreign land, to view life through the eyes of another. To learn from their characters' plight, many compelling lessons of hardships, bravery, and grace.

This was a story of Nigerian families struggling with gender inequality, political oppression, shame, depression, domestic violence, and poverty. There were sections of this novel that were somewhat stirring and insightful.

I really wanted to like this narrative way more than I actually did. Many others have stated a much fonder impression of the overall character depictions, so it may have been that my expectations were just too high. I am still quite interested in reading this author’s first novel, Stay With Me, as it has good feedback and is the main reason why I was truly excited to receive an early copy of this book.

I'd like to thank NetGalley for an advanced copy of A Spell of Good Things for my unbiased evaluation.  3 stars

This is an epic story set in Nigeria contrasting the lives of a boy from an extremely poor family and a junior doctor from one of the wealthiest families. Despite their different lifestyles, their paths cross. The story moves slowly with a lot of character development, that at times seemed confusing, but then barrels a little too quickly to the conclusion. The first part of the book is tough to get through at times as it builds the story and I much preferred when the story centered on the main characters rather than the secondary ones. Overall a good debut novel, that with refining will be a great read.

An intense and dramatic look at the life of two different families living in Nigeria. One family is wealthy and well connected and the other is poor. This disparity does not prevent their paths from crossing or from them experiencing violence and hardship. Politics, power, and wealth all become currencies to be used and manipulated within the society that leaves people deeply unhappy. The author has done a great job of shedding light on several relevant topics.

This is a slow burn literary fiction focussing on the opportunities or lack there of, of two families in Nigeria.

For most of the novel we move between Wuraola’s POV, a star medical doctor in training, coming from a wealthy family and with plans to marry her boyfriend, Kunle, and Eniola’s POV, a taller than normal young boy, going to the cheapest private school, where he is being told he will have to drop out if his parents can’t pay the tuition, as well as a family struggling with rent and food. Eniola’s father has fallen on bad times after losing a job and has sunken into a depression that hinders him from making any efforts to get money, including begging in the street.

Eniola is also training as an apprentice /runner boy for a local tailor named Caro. Wuraola’s mother Yeye is a client of the shop and it is here where the two unrelated characters cross briefly.

It is not until 80% into the book that something alluded to in the synopsis happens and culminates in a climax at 90%. Loving literary fiction, character and world building, and family stories, I wasn’t overly bothered by this structure or set up for the climax but others expecting things to happen more quickly may be disappointed.

I also adored learning a little more about a place I know very little to nothing about-in this case Nigeria. There is a level of respect for elders and a practice of celebrations to mark milestones. Some of the tension points complicated these traditions and made me think about how things might have been handled differently in the country I live in and how our experiences are so tied to individuals in Canada/America and often tied to families in other regions of the world.

Thank you to @netgalley and @knopfca / @aaknopf for this ARC in exchange for my honest opinions. A Spell of Good Things comes out February 7, 2023.

Two riveting parallel stories set in Nigeria of a young man living in poverty and a young doctor for a rich family, who are connected by political corruption and societal pressures.

Set in Nigeria, this book greatly contrasts the have and have nots.
From the poorest... a handful of rice for the family dinner to the wealthy- loads of food going into the "spare" refrigerator and pantry the two main characters have their lives entertwine...eventually... and not in the way you might expect.
Set in modern times,, Eniola and Wuraola live very different times but both meet tragedies that come to light because of politics.
A long, descriptive book, that seemed to wander at times.

Thank you Netgalley and publisher for e-arc!

A Spell of Good Things is about the haves and have-nots in Nigeria. Our main character Eniola a secondary school boy whose father lost a job and spends his days running errands for a local tailor, collecting newspapers, and begging when he must. Wuraola is an exhausted young doctor who comes from a wealthy family, she is beloved by Kunle, the volatile son of an ascendant politician. When a local politician takes an interest in Eniola and sudden violence shatters a family party. Wuraola’s and Eniola’s lives become intertwined.

Let me tell y’all Adebayo does not disappoint! I enjoyed the pacing of the books and getting to know our main characters and their familial backgrounds. I would caution that this is not a light-hearted read so if you decide to pick up this book, be prepared.

There were many side main characters which made it hard to follow the storyline sometimes and I don’t think it was needed to go into so much in-depth about them. I wish the focus was more on Eniola and Wuraola. Also felt the ending was a bit rushed, if the pacing was the same throughout the book it wouldn’t be an issue. Regardless, I still very much enjoyed this book and can’t wait to read more of Adebayo’s works in the future.

Rating: 4.25/5

A Spell of good things is family and how the ties take you into directions that you might not have anticipated. Choices made truly affect those around you and the cascade of life continues and sometimes the ripples you make may not be what you want. This is an intense read and holds you to the end Thank you NetGalley for this bit of enlightenment.

I loved Adebayo's debut novel and was excited to read A Spell of Good Things. While the writing is phenomenal just as it was in the predecessor, I found the story to be not as engaging. Ayobami Adebayo is a masterful storyteller and has exquisite writing ability. A Spell of Good Things told two stories, an introspective look at poverty, class, politics and culture of Nigeria. The two stories blended together towards the end of the book, but I never felt any real closure for the main characters. The title is ironic as I don't think the characters didn't experience many good things throughout the book. It was a rather sad and depressing read, 2/3 of the book was heavily character building, with little movement in the storyline, and the last third is when things started to happen and engaged me more as a reader to see how things would ultimately turn out for the main characters.

Thank you to netgalley and the publiser for an oppotunity to read and honestly review an early advance digital copy.

A decently written depiction of small town life in Nigeria which I found a little confusing (so many characters) and a little (actually a lot) depressing as it seems that there is one terrible problem after another without a lot of resolution. I try not to read books like this as there is little I can do to make people behave better.

Overall, the writing in this book was well written and kept me engaged. I didn’t know what to expect from the story since the chapters go back and forth between the main characters, and then minor characters, but I got used to it as the story went on. However, as I got further into the book, I felt as if there were too many characters to keep track of. I think if this was a story exclusively about Wuraola OR about Eniola, it would have flowed better. I loved the chapters specifically about these two main characters, but didn’t care for the chapters about the side characters. Also, Part I is the book was hard to get through. There was a lot of explanation and set up that I don’t think was needed. For example, I didn’t care that Eniola’s mother went to her brother’s house and then to the gas station and saw the beggar. I don’t think that added to the story at all. There seemed to be a number of themes, side stories, and backstories that took away from the Wuraola and Eniola storylines. Finally, I would have changed the ending to provide definitive answers to the reader about a number of things that were left unanswered, such as if Wuraola really end her engagement, what happened with Eniola’s sister, if Kunle’s dad ended up running for office, if Yeye ever found out about the abuse, if Eniola’s dad found a job, etc. I felt as if every story I was wrapped up in didn’t have a complete ending or even any type of resolution. After reading hundreds of pages, I would have liked at least one of these questions answered. Again, I feel as if the story was focused on one of the main characters, not both, it would have been a much better book. I know this isn’t the final version that will be printed, so I hope a few charges are made before it goes to print. Thank you for the advance copy.

Set in Nigeria, this story is primarily about a poor teenaged boy, Eniola, and a 30-yo woman, Wuraola. (Apologies for not including diacritical marks for the names.) Eniola's father has been swept up in a mass government firing of teachers. Massively depressed, he can't help his long-suffering wife as she desperately struggles to support the family. This is a long, painful downhill journey, including her and the children going out on the streets, pretending to have physical maladies as they beg passersby for money. Eniola and his sister are beaten by the principal (to the point of bloody welts) every day they appear at school without having paid their tuition. This downhill slide continues until a point of unspeakable tragedy.

Meanwhile, on the other side of the economic scale, Wuraola, daughter of a wealthy family, is an exhausted new physician. Recently engaged to a man who is becoming increasingly possessive and violent, she rationalizes until a point where Eniola's life and hers dovetail in a devastating criminal act.

The publisher refers to this book as a dazzling story, but I would call it more of a skillful depiction of life in a small town in Nigeria. The only thing that dazzled me was the degree to which the suffering continued relentlessly without the two main characters undergoing any discernable character arc. As regards the setting, other characters, and emotional battleground, the descriptions were resonant and colorful. Although I found this book dispiriting, I was interested in the characters' journey, a reflection of the author's skill. So, a conflicted three star review.

I adored Adebayo's debut novel, so A SPELL OF GOOD THINGS immediately landed on my most anticipated books of 2023. I found this book to be quite different from her debut, yet it excelled in two shared aspects: 1) Exploring complicated and nuanced relationships and 2) Illustrating daily life in a Nigerian city. The themes of family obligation and societal expectations weighed heavily on all the relationships in this book, and I think the story would make for a great book club discussion. Recommend.