Stevie‘s review of The Sweetest Remedy by Jane Igharo
Contemporary Multicultural Romance published by Berkley 28 Sep 21

I really wanted to like this book, because I’m always keen to read around different cultures and to find new authors across the spectrum. The blurb drew me in; however, I’m not sure it really encapsulated the story itself, which opens with Hannah at a high-class but ultimately deathly dull party to which her friend has dragged her. Escaping excessively intrusive questions from a white guy, Hannah finds herself on the balcony with a handsome Black man, but as they are getting to know each other, he is called away by a text message. This being Romancelandia, we can be at least 99% certain the pair are destined to meet again, especially when Hannah also gets a mysterious text: this time from her mother.


At her mother’s house, Hannah receives the news that her long-absent father, whom she last saw when she was eight, has died and she has been called to Nigeria for his funeral. Although Hannah has always been curious about her father and his heritage, she is also resentful of how little interest he took in her – other than sending substantial amounts of money to pay for her education and hobbies – and has no interest in meeting his family now.. Meanwhile, her half-siblings are being recalled from various locations in the US and Europe to also attend the funeral.

When Hannah arrives in Lagos, she is surprised to encounter the man, Lawrence, she was talking to at the party. It turns out he was raised alongside Hannah’s half-siblings after his mother – one of the family’s maids – died, and is now heavily involved in the various businesses Hannah’s father started. He is equally surprised to see Hannah, but is keen to get to know her better, unlike some of Hannah’s half-siblings. The younger members of the group are also taken aback by how little they were told about the seriousness of their father’s illness.

In spite of the hostility, Hannah agrees to stay in the family’s mansion for the duration of her stay and looks forward to getting to know everyone better, especially Lawrence. What she doesn’t know is that the whole family is under instruction to be nice to her, or their potential inheritance will all go to charity. I’m not sure about how well that would stand up in any court, and it’s playing off a pretty tired romance trope, but whatever.

Hannah spends the next few days exploring the rich and poor districts of Lagos, accompanied by Lawrence, and slowly wins over more of her newfound family. She also uncovers deeply buried secrets, none of which are particularly earth-shattering. By the time the reading of the will rolled around, I had pretty much lost interest in the whole cast of characters, and there was more plot after that.

I was disappointed in this book, and irrationally irritated by the number of times the author introduced a contrast by beginning a sentence with the word ‘though.’ Also, I was a little squicked for no good reason about the hints that Hannah and Lawrence were being set up as business partners as well as romantic ones, when he was already so deeply emmeshed in her new family. Not an author I’ll be looking out for again.

Grade: D

Thank you @berkleyromance for a copy of this. This was a beautiful story of Hannah finding her identity, family and love.

Hannah goes to Nigeria to attend to her father’s funeral who she did not have a relationship. There, she meets her Nigerian family and I love the dynamics of this new family relationship.

I enjoyed Hannah and Lawrence’s relationship and how much he was involved with Hannah’s Nigerian family.

Overall, a great story that centers on what defines you and the family you make.

I really loved the author's first book Ties that Tether and couldn't wait to read her second book! The Sweetest Remedy was more than what I was expecting. I loved the family drama that was intermixed into the romantic aspect of the book. It was a light-hearted romance and one I enjoyed!

Really loved Jane's first book and was excited for The Sweetest Remedy! But after about 20% of this book, I had to put it down. There were too many voices and I had a hard time connecting with the characters and picking the book back up. I hope to pick this book back up at a later time, but for now it's a DNF.

I really enjoyed this book, although I wish it wasn't marketed as heavily as a romance and more of one exploring familial relations. It almost gave the vibes as Crazy Rich Asians – which I absolutely loved – in that it was a story of cultural relations and so much family drama. I learned so much through Hannah's eyes!

This was such a fun read. At a point it made me cry, I was THAT invested. I’m eager to read more by Jane Igharo. I always love a romcom with a strong storyline and that’s exactly what this was. So if your looking for that too, then you have to check this one out. Highly recommend.

Jane Igharo has done it again! TIES THAT TETHER was a brilliant and hard-hitting romance, so I expected nothing less from THE SWEETEST REMEDY. If you're looking for a romance that will grip at your heartstrings, look no further than this beautiful romance between Hannah and Jolades.

I really liked Jane Igharo’s first book and this book was as good as her first one. I loved the dynamic between all the characters and she managed to make a storyline that had been done many times new and fresh. Also the cover is gorgeous.

This book was good, not great. I really did love the family dynamics but felt like the romance was shoe-horned into the storyline. I wish the book concentrated solely on the family and less so on everything else as it shined when the family complications were the focus.

Overall, I enjoyed this book. I did wish that the family issues and character were a bit more in depth. I also was hoping for more cultural information and didn't quite get that. Overall jr was good though!

I loved Jane Igharo’s first novel Ties That Tether last year so I assumed I would love this one too, and I was right!! I feel like Ties That Tether was more romance driven so it was a nice surprise to see how much family played a role in The Sweetest Remedy. I enjoyed how we got to have perspectives from multiple of the Jolades kids because Hannah’s arrival affected them all in different ways.

The setting was also so cool and I loved that the reader was able to experience Nigeria at the same time as Hannah. The shopping scenes with Dami and Hannah were to die for and I loved reading about some Nigerian culture and food. I think the strongest part of this novel though is Hannah’s search for community and for a way to feel accepted into a culture she hadn’t been exposed to. I did also enjoy the romance between Lawrence and Hannah but I didn’t feel it was the main storyline and I was ok with that.

I would recommend this one to contemporary fiction lovers looking to read a own voice Nigerian story!

Hannah is the result of a short-term relationship between an American White woman and a Nigerian Black man, as her father was already married. Always curious as to what he was like, after being abandoned by him, knowing he had a whole family in Nigeria, led to a feeling of never being good enough. When her father dies and she is invited to the funeral, Hannah has to connect with three sisters and a brother who did not know if her existence. As an American. Hannah was unfamiliar with Nigerian culture but was anxious to learn. There is romance, but the family issues and Hannah’s journey of self-acceptance resonated with me. I recommend this book and thank NetGalley for the ARC.

After Hannah learns that her estranged father wants her to attend his funeral, she travels to Nigeria to meet her siblings she never knew. The days leading up to the funeral are crazy - she gets to know her siblings, her culture, herself. She also meets a guy!

I loved Ties That Tether, and now with The Sweetest Remedy, Jane Igharo is a must read for me. I really enjoyed this story about finding your family and finding yourself. Read it!

Thanks to @NetGalley and Berkley for my ARC!

An exclusive excerpt from The Sweetest Remedy by Jane Ighara was featured on the Fresh Fiction blog on Tuesday, September 28: https://freshfiction.com/page.php?id=11496

While I would recommend this book to someone looking for a lighthearted easy romance and Crazy Rich Asians in Nigeria vibes, it wasn’t quite what I was looking for. I wanted way more family drama and less romance, honestly. It seemed like every conflict got resolved way too quickly and it all stayed pretty surface level, when the concept gave a lot of room for it to dig a little deeper. The main character also seemed like she had way too much therapy or something with how fast she was able to forgive family for lying to her and treating her horribly. It was unrealistic in my opinion how fast she forgave her mom and aunt. Overall I think I would be way more excited about the Netflix romcom that should be made from this book than the book itself.

jane igharo writes romances with a lot of Nigerian culture woven throughout, and it’s so fun. this was the second book i’ve read by her, and i liked this one better!

the synopsis: “When a woman travels to Nigeria to attend the funeral of the father she never knew, she meets her extravagant family for the first time, a new and inspiring love interest, and discovers parts of herself she didn't know were missing.”

there were some slight What A Girl Wants vibes here, and family drama with characters i wanted more of, and a romance that was a little flat for me, but i flew through it and liked it.

Love love love Jane Igharo's books. This is the second novel of hers I've read in the past year or two and it was just as good as the first.

I was incredibly excited to read this book because I really enjoyed this author’s debut novel, TIES THAT TETHER last year. And while this book was also an enjoyable read, there were several differences from the previous that kept me from feeling that same connection.

For one, this felt more bordering on women’s fiction than just a romance. While there is a central romance in this book, it’s definitely more about our heroine’s journey. Hannah was raised by her mother because her father decided not to be in the picture. She always felt that connection to his heritage was missing. She’s bi-racial and her father was a successful entrepreneur back in Nigeria. When he dies, she gets a call from his lawyer to come to Lagos for the funeral and to meet her half-siblings. The journey she embarks on is one of self-discovery. And along the way she finds love in a young man that was like a son for her father.

Another thing I wanted was more depth. I think this book explores some interesting and complex social, personal and family dynamics. For me, the exploration of these topics was a bit superficial and left me wanting more.

Now for the characters and the romance. I really loved our heroine. Hannah was amazing and the chemistry between her and Lawrence was great. The side characters were fun and I loved seeing the interactions with the half-siblings. The romance wrapped up too quickly in the end and felt rushed though.

THE SWEETEST REMEDY felt like Crazy Rich Asians meets Once Upon a Sunset. There were some great moments and it kept me entertained. But ultimately I would’ve rather this focus on one genre. Either fully on the romance or fully on the journey. Nevertheless, I do enjoy this author’s writing style and I’ll be on the lookout for the next one.

Family drama and something of a romance simmering at the bottom. Hannah our main protagonists flies to Nigeria to get to know her Nigerian side after the death of her non existent father.... le sigh. This was an okay read for me, nothing to go crazy about. The drama was...interesting, I guess but at the end of it all; this story felt flat as well as its characters. with no real resolution by the end no apparent growth of the characters, The Sweetest Remedy wasn't in this readers opinion a remedy at all.

Review & Thoughts:

Overall I really enjoyed this book from the plot to the writing style. I enjoyed the relationships and the twists and turns of the story. Tiwa was one of my favorite characters; such a juxtaposition between her thoughts and actions. She’s fiercely loyal to her family but also the first one to start a fight.

Romance tropes: had a fun meet cute and a secret relationship

There were tons of important topics in this story such as racism, ethnicity, culture, growing up in a single parent home, not having a strong connection to a parent’s culture, poverty, charity, wealth, and giving back. The impact of first impressions, getting to know people, regret, anger, disappointment, dealing with the loss of a parent. This also had tons of family drama to boot!

Recommend for: lovers of romance that touches on family dynamics and racism

My Review Rating: ♥♥♥♥.5

Romance Steam Factor: PG13 (sex scene but not overly graphic)