Wow! I’m crying my eyes out! This angsty, heart wrenching, beautiful story touched me more than I expected! Such a poignant second chances love story moving back and forth to help us realize what struggles Obinna and Dunni went through and how their characters evolved! Keep your napkins close, you’re gonna need them!

An impossible love story because of class of differences and family intervention! At age of 17: Obinna and Dunni deeply in love, bold enough to fight against any obstacles but Dunni’s family thinks otherwise. They decide to send Dunni to the states for education and prevent her to have a slightest chance of happiness with Obinna. But lovers are adamant enough not to let Dunni’s parents come between them. They make plans to have a new life in the states. Obinna will arrive later to live with her. But as soon as Dunni starts her new life in Seattle, she gets ghosted by him. Betrayed and sad Dunni reluctantly moves on her life.

12 years later we see Dunni become a successful geneticist in Seattle,engaged with a man she doesn’t love but one her family approves of! Her life is already mapped out!

But when she flies to Nigeria to attend her friend’s wedding, she encounters with Obinna. Their old flame eventually rekindles. But there are so many secrets and lies around them. When the truth comes out, once again their chance to be together will be threatened!

This is intimate, angsty, heartfelt love story! I think this one is my favorite work of the author! I wish she didn’t make me sob so hard!

Many thanks to NetGalley and Berkley Publishing for sharing this amazing digital reviewer copy with me in exchange my honest thoughts.

I loved this! Such a gripping and romantic story with a fascinating cultural setting and tones of family drama. My kind of contemporary romance.

I love a good second chance romance and this one qualifies for sure. There was so much yearning between Dunni and Obinna, considering there was 12 years between their last time together and finally seeing each other again. Going back and forth between present and past tense works extremely well in these kinds of romances and I love the way the two are woven together because then we get to see how the past impacts the present in a more immediate way. One of the things I love about Jane Igharo's writing is that she writes about Nigerians, and usually sets her books in Nigeria for at least part of the book. That setting is just completely different from what we see in the average book in the US, and the characters and the setting feels so real - it feels clear that the author knows this culture well.

I was really loving the romance and plot for about 80% of the book, but there is a 3rd act plot point that felt a little OTT, and I didn't love that. I really enjoyed the actual romance, and we get a subplot with her mom that I liked but wish it was a bit more developed at the end.

I first came across Ms. Igharo first novel a few years ago and boy am I glad i did. She blends the world of Nigerians migrating and adjusting to their new environment and Nigerians returning home and also too adjusting. She mixes these beautiful blended stories with relatable romance interweave with culture identity.
In this story we meet Obinna and Dunni. Two star crossed lovers since they were in high school. Flash forward twelve years later and Dunni has gone home to Nigeria for her best friends Tiwa wedding(we met this character in Ms. Igharo's The Sweetest Remedy).Dunni has not come home since going abroad for school and has not seen Obinna since leaving although they both made a vow to be together forever. So begins this second chance romance about what ifs and why and also discovery of secrets that have been hidden for years. As in her previous two novels Ms. Igharo keeps the reading entertaining and enthrall the readers of this couple who have accomplish a beautiful separately but still feels like the "one"they promise themselves to years ago still makes their heart beat. .

This book was a bit of a slow start for me, but once it got going I was enamored by the characters. I loved the "Then and Now" style of storytelling. I adored young Dunni, and Obinna would have won my heart as a teenager. The author was great at showing how actions and words from childhood shaped who Obinna and Dunni are today. I would recommend this book to anyone who enjoys angst, longing, regret, and hope in their second chance romance. The twist at the end caught me completely off guard.

I loved this deep and romantic novel about two people that get a second chance at love. Dunni and Obinna have a deep connection from the start- when they met at 17 years old- but face challenges due to their class differences and their respective family's refusal to allow them to be together. When Dunni's parents decide to send her away to go to college in the U.S., they make a promise to stay together no matter what obstacle, and they hatch a plan for him to join her. But when she arrives in Seattle, he completely ghosts her. Dunni, broken-hearted, alone and confused as to why Obinna cut off contact with her is forced to move on with her life. But 12 years later, when she arrives back in Nigeria for the first time since parting all those years ago, she runs into Obinna, and they find that the love they feel for each other hasn't lessened a bit. They rekindle their relationship, but the betrayal, secrets and the pain they've endured apart threatens to separate them once again.

Igharo did a fantastic job of telling this epic love story that had so much passion and emotion. The secondary storylines that explored family trauma and immigration struggles rounded out this novel and made it one of my faves of the year.

From the moment Dunni and Obinna meet, they are destined to be together. What follows is a back and forth journey between then and now, how their relationship started as teenagers in secondary school and how it reshaped itself twelve years later. Both are forced to confront trauma and hurt from the past to love each more fully in the present, and the reader will enjoy every minute. Thank you for the opportunity to read and review this book!

I have always loved Igharo’s writing and the characters and this one too, didn’t disappoint. It was such a beautiful second chance romance, that, I felt myself feeling all the emotions. I cried, I laughed and I really loved both the mcs. They’re portrayed in a very authentic and a raw way that I can’t help but fall in love with. Also the writing is quite beautiful too. So, in my humble opinion, this book deserves all the stars and more.

I love Jane Igharo's writing style and the way she wraps you into the story. This was a beautiful second chance romance that will tug at all your heartstrings. You can feel the yearning, love, anger, and passion so deeply as this story unfolds and we get to know these characters. This goes back and forth between past and present as we learned what incidents happen to tear these two apart. I enjoyed the way the mom's story was included at the end. I'd love to read a book on her as well.