Wahala translates as trouble, but by the end of Nikki May’s remarkable debut, trouble is a major understatement of what happens.

Three mid-thirties Anglo Nigerian women (Ronke, Simi, and Boo) are long time best friends who live in London. Then Simi’s childhood friend Isobel shows up and insidiously weaves her way into their friendship and their individual lives. Isobel is a master at learning the friends’ secrets, even the secrets they keep from each other. She carefully rations out those secrets to divide the three friends and seek revenge for events that aren’t revealed until late in the book. And while Isobel’s evil machinations propel the plot, the exploration of the lives of Ronke, Simi, and Boo individually and together was equally compelling. And the descriptions of Ronke’s food - oh it made me so hungry!

I highly recommend “Wahala” and look forward to whatever Nikki May writes next.

My review was posted on Goodreads on 2/7/22.

An enjoyable look at female friendship with a really surprising ending! The characters are clearly drawn and I found myself immediately hooked in their lives. Now I need to find someone else who has read this so I can talk about the ending!

Three best friends and one frenemy are the focus of this novel surrounding Nigerian and London culture. Each of the friends is “mixed race” (term used by one of the characters) and is in a different stage of life from married with a child to married without children to dating. All of them are seeking something and when mysterious Isobel reconnects with one of them, she insidiously weaves her way into their bond.

This is a novel of literary suspense based on choices, both past and present, and the results. In between the heavier topics, humor and scenes of cooking add some lightness. Colorism, body image, and wealth are prominent topics.

I mainly listened to the released audiobook from Libby for this review and the narration was excellent. Thanks to HarperCollins and NetGalley for the e-galley. My reviews and ratings are my own.

Spoilers:


TW/CW:: murder (not on page), assault, infidelity, racism from police officers, stalking; scene of aggression which could have led to SA by partner,

I could not put this down! Wildly entertaining, suspenseful, and often very funny. The ending felt a little rushed to me, but maybe that's just because I could happily have spent a couple of hundred more pages with Ronke, Simi, and Boo. Highly recommended! I'll be talking this up to patrons and friends alike.

Many thanks to the author, publisher, and NetGalley for the opportunity to read and review.

While it took me a while to fully appreciate the devious friendship newcomer Isobel brings to a group of Nigerian-British women. Boo, Simi and Ronke have been friends for a long time, but with wealthy Isobel’s appearance their friendship begins to crack. Isobel has a knack for finding the insecurities of each of the women and playing each of them against the other. With the conclusion of the book, the reader understands the meaning of the Nigerian word for trouble “wahala”.

Wahala took a bit to build, but once it got there - it got there. I think I read the last half in two sittings.

Simi, Boo and Ronke are three Anglo-Nigerian besties living in London. One day, Isobel, a friend from Simi’s past whirls into their lives and uproots everything. Immediately the friends start realizing flaws in their lives that they refused to acknowledge before and Isobel is the perfect friend to help them through the challenges in their lives.

Or is she? Soon the secrets start spilling out and relationships begin to crumble. The friends start questioning each other and their motives. Three’s Company, Four’s a Crowd.

Not quite a thriller, but definitely not Sex and the City. I have seen comparisons to Big Little Lies and that is much more fitting. The story flowed pretty well and the characters were all interesting. I was so frustrated throughout this whole book by the decisions the characters were making, but Isobel made such a conniving villain. That being said - Boo is the actual worst/Ronke deserves way better than this friend group. The ending seemed very abrupt and I don’t know how I felt about it.

Overall this was a strong debut and I enjoyed the book. I look forward to checking out future works by this author. I also appreciated all of the recipes after the epilogue. Food was such a big part of these friend gatherings and everything sounded so good.

Thank you to NetGalley and Custom House for a review copy.

An absolutely stunning and beautiful debut. This book is absolutely beautiful (and this cover belongs in a museum) in every aspect. Wonderful story about female friendships, careers, and romantic relationships. This has some major Sex and The City vibes, but is so, so much better! These characters are well written and smart. I loved learning about Nigerian culture while I was reading this! This was such a great read, and I look forward to more of Nikki May’s future work!

Thank you to Nikki May, Netgalley and Custom House publishing for this Arc in exchange for my honest review!

Though it’s marketed as something more of a domestic thriller like Gone Girl, Wahala is more of a social novel crossed with a comedy of manners, with fabulous Anglo-Nigerians in the lead—Sex and the City meets The Other Black Girl. Luckily, that's a compelling blend. May is a masterful chronicler of Black upper-middle-class life and ennui in Britain. Wahala is both great fun and extremely smart in how it captures some of the central issues in modern city living: women's evolving roles in home and work, interracial relationships and multicultural identity, the current of competition that runs through so many friendships and daily interactions and, most of all, how easily intimacy can morph into enmity.

Read the review on NPR.org

Nikki May’s debut, WAHALA, is a sharply observed novel of female friendship, womanhood and betrayal featuring a glittering cast of Anglo-Nigerian women trying to have it all.

Ronke, Simi and Boo have been friends for ages after meeting at the University of Bristol. Now in their 30s, they share a comfortable, intimate bond: they are all brown British women of mixed backgrounds and share significant family trauma. Most importantly, they show up for one another when they are needed, never judging…at least not openly. When we meet them, each is at a crossroads in her life. Ronke is desperate to find “the one” and thinks she has done just that with Kayode, though her friends refuse to let her forget her bad history with men. Simi has the perfect life working in fashion merchandising, but is feeling smothered by her perfect husband’s desire for children. Boo has a kind, dreamy husband and precocious daughter, but is feeling underappreciated and overwhelmed in her suburban life.

Each woman is desperate to find her “real” self, the one who wears the right clothes, says the right thing and is always within five pounds of her desired weight. But the trio is far from shallow. Amid complimenting outfits, sharing drinks and comparing fitness attempts, they are deeply involved in one another’s family lives, are open and honest about life as a “mixed race” woman, and have a deep but complicated love of their Nigerian culture.

Enter Isobel. Outlandish, stylish and armed with a seemingly bottomless spending account, Isobel was Simi’s childhood best friend, though the two were torn apart by an argument between their fathers. Now divorced, she has found Simi on Facebook and rekindled their friendship, quickly immersing (or at least trying to immerse) herself in Simi’s close-knit group. Isobel is always ready to splurge for dinner (and expensive champagne!), knows just what to say about someone’s negligent partner or demeaning boss, and adds a fresh new vibrance to the women’s lives. But as careful readers will quickly see, there’s something just a bit off about Isobel. Her “always knows what to say” perfection has a hidden ability to skewer bonds, twist words and upend the women’s comfort with themselves and with one another. But how long will it take Ronke, Simi and Boo to catch on?

Without information-dumping or weighing down her narrative with over-the-top explanations of backstories or inside jokes, Nikki May makes you feel like the fourth beloved member of this lively, tight group. Though they tease her endlessly about her romantic history, Simi and Boo clearly adore Ronke, her ability to love and her willingness to show up for their families as she longs for her own. Simi, the “vain” one, showers her friends with pricey gifts and praises their careers as a dentist and a research scientist, even though she is self-conscious about her decision to drop out of college. And Boo, though occasionally jealous of her friends and their freedom, is as generous with her household as the others are with their love. Her daughter’s love for her “aunts” makes clear the time and energy each has invested in one another.

Although they are close, it is not long before Isobel manages to dismantle their relationships. As May expertly unpacks the deepest insecurities and fears of each woman, Isobel seems to work in tandem to find and target them. Always the best dressed, she is possessed with an innate ability to make whomever she is speaking with feel like the center of her world. After a lifetime of working, communicating and swapping stories as a trio, it is possible that the women, or at least Simi and Boo, relish this laser focus. Ronke is slower to trust Isobel, but with each withholding some information about her life, Isobel’s nonjudgmental, celebrating response feels like just the thing these ladies need to thrive. Before long, though, they are holding more secrets than truths, and Isobel has become the sole secret keeper.

What makes WAHALA (Nigerian for “trouble”...and boy, is there plenty of it here) so terrific is the universally recognizable struggles and friendships between Ronke, Simi and Boo, which May then dresses and styles with unique, expertly drawn details that make them feel fresh and original. The result is a keen, sharp and witty investigation of the theme of comparison. If I am happy and my best friend is happy, why does our happiness look so different? Do I want what she has, or is it possible to want different things and still champion one another? Add to that the vibrant, messy and gorgeously portrayed cultural identities of the women and the hilarious quips and glamorous fashion choices between them, and you have an exquisite look into the inner lives of women.

Both a celebration of female friendship and a surprisingly clear-eyed examination of ambition, culture and the roles of women, WAHALA is an exciting and lively debut from a sharp new voice, perfect for readers of Liane Moriarty and Joshilyn Jackson.

Wahala (Yoruba for “trouble”) is a hard book to classify. It’s a story about three close female friends that let a fourth rich and chic friend into their group. It was a bit of a mish-mash of “chick” lit, romance, and thriller with characters that one doesn’t necessarily like and plot lines that are a bit repetitive; however, I could not put down this book. It was oddly compelling and enjoyable. And I must say, I enjoyed the descriptions of Nigerian cooking and the recipes in the back. I very much looking forward to more of Nikki May’s writing in the future. Thanks to NetGalley for opportunity to read and review!

Ronke, Simi and Boo are three Anglo-Nigerians who are struggling with different areas of their lives. Ronke loves her job as a dentist but cannot seem to find a solid relationship. Boo, a brilliant academic, feels like the maid to her husband and daughter. Simi, the college dropout is still trying prove her value to her family despite having a successful marriage and career. So when a fellow bi-racial Nigerian old Simi classmate Isobel re-enters Simi's life, Isobel shakes things up in the group, but when she is done will this trio be able to pick up the pieces of their lives and friendship?

Wahala was a nice domestic thriller. I think the May does a very good job at character development, which she uses to effectively illustrate, that someone as poisonous as Isobel could not manipulate their way into your life if parts of it were not already toxic. However, I think that the execution of the denouement and the plot twist may be surprising to some readers, but to me it felt a tad bit rushed and anticlimactic after the build up since too much effort was placed in the character's backstories. Hence, in my opinion, even though this was a character driven thriller, there was not enough built up tension or intricate plotting which makes for compulsive thriller. Still a solid effort by Nikki May, if you like escapist literary thrillers with messy multicultural characters, pick it up. 3.75 stars

Wahala (Nigerian word for "trouble") lives up to its name! Three friends since university, Simi, Ronke and Boo, find their lives and relationships upended when Isobel, a long lost childhood friend of Simi, arrives in town and tries to become a fourth in their best friend trio. Although the twists in the plot were not surprising as they were heavily hinted at, I thoroughly enjoyed reading this book and could not put it down! These three friends, all Anglo-Nigerians, were people who were hurt by their tragic pasts and trying to find love and happiness in the present and future, while confronting issues of class, race, sexism, skin color, parenting, body type negativity and gender roles--sometimes from the English culture, or from their ancestral Nigerian culture or from within themselves. The book immerses the reader into their worlds of fashion, food and friendship through vivid descriptions and imagery. I often found myself looking up online the food mentioned because it sounded SO DELICIOUS! I was happy to find at the end of the book, there were several recipes included for curious readers. The ending satisfactorily concluded the storylines, except for one tragic ending, but gave glimpses and hope for their happy futures. I would absolutely love for this to become a mini-series (on Netflix or Hulu or HBO?) !

When you hear that a book is about four fabulous friends, I know you think Sex & the City. But this contemporary novel flips the script and introduces you to a fierce Angl0-Nigerian threesome and then the fourth that causes some drama. Perfect for fans of Queenie.

Great storytelling. An air of suspense loomed throughout the entire book. The author does a great job of hooking and engaging the reader. The characters were realistic and interesting. Good read

From my blog: Always With a Book:

I have to admit that what originally drew me to this book was the cover. Isn’t it just gorgeous? Well, I’m happy to report that this book has so much more going for it than just it’s pretty cover!

Give me all the books with toxic friendships…I just cannot get enough of them! This one totally grabbed me and while it does start off a little slow – just be patient because it’s all worth it in the end. It is so necessary to set the stage for what is to come, and I thought the author did it brilliantly.

The word “Wahala” mean trouble in Nigerian and that is just what a group of three close friends get when a new friend shows up. She infiltrates their group, stirs the pot and begins manipulating the friends like no one’s business leading down a path that has disastrous consequences.

I could not have loved this book more. I loved each of the women for different reasons and found myself getting emotionally attached to them, especially towards the end when I was screaming for them to wake up and see what was really going on. But more importantly, I felt that the friendships between the women, especially Ronke, Boo and Simi, was so real and relatable. I also loved all the references to the Nigerian food and culture within the book – and because I listened to the book, I didn’t have to struggle with any of the pronunciations.

This book is definitely one I will be recommending to everyone. I also think it would make a great bookclub pick as there is a lot to unpack here. It’s engaging and fun and I loved it! I cannot wait to see what comes next from this author…I’ll definitely be reading it!


Audio thoughts: I’m so glad I listened to this one, especially for all those Nigerian words. The narrator, Natalie Simpson, did a fantastic job bringing this story to life and it really helped to hear the Nigerian words spoken correctly. Natalie gave each character their own unique voice and infused just the right emotion and tension into her voice as needed. I really enjoyed listening to this one.

I wasn't sure where this book was going at first but once it picked up, I was sucked into the story of these British-Nigerian women. I really felt like I was there with them getting my hair done, navigating my marriage and family life and eating all the delicious food they had every time they got together. All that an a low-key mystery-thiller? Yes, please!

I thought this was going be more murder/mystery than it turned out to be. That prologue really captured my interest and I was excited to finally get to the point in the book that prologue was describing, but it was literally the last, like, 5% of the book (on my Kindle; I don't know how many pages that would be physically).

Mostly, though, I was just confused about how the main women - Simi, Boo, and Ronke - are even best friends because the way Boo and Simi talk about Ronke behind her back, and how often they do it, really just turned me off of them. Especially Boo. Her derision for her husband and daughter is just so constant, I dreaded reading her chapters because it just never changed until close to the end.

Simi was the next character I hated. She was so pretentious, and considered herself to be above everyone, even her supposed "best friends", and I have no idea why her husband stays with her after everything she lied about. I truly do not understand it.

Ronke was probably my favorite character. She was the most nicest, open-minded person to read. She seems like a genuinely good person, too good to be friends with Simi and Boo, and I don't know how she's still able to maintain any kind of level of friendship with them.

And then there's Isobel. She was a compelling character in the beginning, and for a while, but obviously, as you get further into the book, you begin to see how unhinged she is, and then by the end, she just seems too much like a cartoon villain. I know why she targets one of the women, but the others make no sense to me because they didn't do anything wrong, that I know of. I guess she's just vindictive like her daddy? I don't know.

It reads super quickly, though. You'll feel like you're flying through the book (at least I did on my Kindle), and the writing no doubt helped with that. I can see where the comparison to Sex and the City comes from even though I've never seen the show or the movies and have no interest to, but I feel like a better comparison would be closer to Big Little Lies but Nigerian if anything.

I did get tired of Boo being prejudiced against Nigerians, though. Simi too, now that I think about it. All three women are mixed-race Nigerians, it's what brought them together, and only one of them - Ronke - chooses to embrace that half, maybe to an almost obsessive degree. Ronke deserves better.

I read a review that compared the friends in Wahala to the characters from Sex in the City and I found this be very accurate! I enjoyed the novel and the foreshadowing in the beginning. Will definitely recommend:)

I adored this book. The main characters were frustrating and lovable at the same time, and all fully realized without being stereotypes. I also enjoyed the characterization of their partners and other satellite characters. And the food! The only thing I'll say is the epilogue felt incredibly rushed and a bit unearned, but I'm a sucker for an all's well that ends well.

Tight since uni, Simi, Ronke, and Boo bonded over a shared Nigerian-Anglo heritage; fifteen years later, they’re still besties, but life’s complicated. Simi’s husband wants kids (she’s ambivalent), Boo’s frustrated with motherhood and marriage, and Ronke’s met the one (the others aren’t convinced). But after Isobel, Simi’s childhood friend, joins the trio, wounding fissures develop. Is it them or the glamorous arrival? A fiendishly clever debut.