Ronke, Boo, and Simi have been friends since university, when the three Anglo-Nigerian women bonded over their multiracial backgrounds. Each has a good life but wants more—Ronke is a successful dentist but wants to find the perfect man, Boo has the perfect man and an impish daughter but wants to work more and be taken seriously, and Simi often feels like an imposter in her own life, and while her husband thinks they’re trying to get pregnant, she’s not.
Into this tight-knit group comes Isobel, Simi’s childhood best friend whom she hasn’t seen in years. Isobel is glamorous, tremendously wealthy, and desperate for friends, so she ingratiates herself into the trio. It’s not long before she’s jogging with Boo, giving Simi marriage and career help, and trying to find a new man for Ronke (despite the fact that Ronke loves her current boyfriend).
But the deeper Isobel works her way into the group, the more trouble she causes among the friends. She spills their secrets to one another, spreads lies, and is always just on the search for fun, debauchery, and drama.
Ronke isn’t a fan of Isobel’s but Simi and Boo seem to have fallen under her spell. But who is Isobel, really? Are best friends all she wants, or does she have another motive? And will her own secrets be discovered before it’s too late?
The drama came fast and furious with this one. While the book markets a Sex and the City-type feel, it definitely felt more Big Little Lies-like to me. These are women so desperate to have what they think they want that they don’t see what they’re missing.
This was a soapy read—not really a thriller as some have tried to position it—and it was both funny and thought-provoking in its look at racism in the business world and elsewhere. I enjoyed it but unlikeable characters tend to wear on me after a while.
Thanks to Custom House Books for the complimentary advance copy of the book in exchange for an unbiased review!!
Wahala publishes 1/11/22.
No comments:
Post a Comment