If you haven’t read IEMSB, which is the first in the series, you definitely should read it before this one or you’ll be lost.

YASMIIN:
A bit player in the first book, she effectively takes Muna’s place in the second, since Muna herself is incapacitated through most of it. This was a shame because I liked Muna’s character and because of this shift she ended up with a hurried and implausible ending.

Yasmiin herself is an interesting character but every time we scratch beneath the surface we get quickly pulled back to the shallows, which is frustrating. There is a much more complex and compelling storyline here in the examination of how the different cultures that Yasmiin and Yagiz come from inform their behaviour and ultimately tear them apart whilst oddly, simultaneously confirming his commitment to her. There could have been an entire book on their story, unpacking it properly and seeing what success looked like from their very different perspectives.

KEMI:
If Yasmiin is complex, Kemi is just irritating. We are told that she is sparky and intelligent but there is absolutely no evidence of it in how she handles either her work or private lives.

Whilst there is a lot of focus in both books about the fetishisation of black women by Swedish men, there is no investigation of why the black women in the book are drawn to white men. Kemi, who has supposedly been searching for a decent man for years, finally finds one and then destroys her relationship for Ragnar. There’s no real look at why she does this - she is just as culpable as Ragnar.

There is lots of talk of him simply wanting to conquer the strong black woman and show his superiority but there isn’t much evidence of that. If it was that simple then surely he would have been happy with a one off in London. Or not messaged her when away or had to go away for some soul-searching in the first place. He also runs after her at the party, making his allegiance to her clear. Despite the vile Hedvig, Pia and Tobbe are the wronged parties here, not Kemi.

As for the job loss, of course it’s wrong that there is one rule for Ragnar and another for Kemi but I think that that is something that women have experienced the world over and is not a race issue but a gender issue.

BRITTANY-RAE:
Brittany is more sympathetic in this book than in the first. She really did draw the short straw when it came to in-laws. However, she does pretty well on trading on her position and a lot of her story is pretty implausible. She was an air hostess but also a supermodel and designer who has her portfolio immediately produced without any proven track record or investment?🤨

I also found the denouement of the Maya Daniels storyline totally implausible.

There are some interesting themes and characters but trying to shoehorn them into a single book means that there just isn’t enough depth to any of it.

With thanks to NetGalley, the publisher and the author for an arc of this novel in exchange for an honest review.

I enjoyed the different perspective and the pace at which we jumped from one to another, but I didn’t find myself getting invested in their stories, or looking to find how they may be connected.

Thank you so much for this ARC - a
beautifully written book that is even better than the first one. Lola's writing is constantly discriptive and flows with such ease. Trigger warnings however so please read beforehand.

Took me a while to get into this book but it clicked & I enjoyed it so much.
Great three heroines. Well written book, I look forward to the next.

I did not get to read the book before this sequel so had no pre conceived ideas about what to expect. I absolutely loved this book. Each of the characters were different and each had a very interesting story to tell
Kemi shone a light on her own insecurities and how it impacted her relationship with Tobias who she rationally saw as her ideal partner. She also shone a light on the less than liberal attitudes that Swedes held towards women in general and women of colour.
Brittaney Rae provided the intrique as to why her husband married her and just what did happen to his dead former girlfriend
Yasmin provides warmth and humour as we witness her relationship with her larger than life husband
a great book that meshed well

When I requested this one, I didn’t realise it was a sequel. Although I was told it could be read as a stand-alone - I binge read ‘In Every Mirror She’s Black’ before anyway (so glad I did, amazing read!).
What I will say, having read that one first, this is the perfect continuation. I can see why it can be read as a stand-alone, but I loved already having that knowledge of the characters and situations they were in.
This book, much like the first, just gives so much depth and raw emotion to the characters. You can’t help but get invested in their lives, even when they’re making beyond questionable decisions (I’m looking at you, Kemi).
Although the women’s stories are loosely intertwined, they all have their own very distinctive story. They’re written so well that you’re fully engaged with each one and the book manages to weave through them all so seamlessly.
I am obsessed with Lola Akinmade Åkerström’s writing style. Her ability to write characters and situations with such depth and realism - incredible. Massively recommend both books and I can’t wait to see what she comes up with next.

The book is written in chapters with the thoughts of Yasmin, Kemi and Brittany-Rae for each chapter. I found the book hard to read, as it went through each of their challenges they dealt with each day in their life's in Sweden which included infidelity, child loss, sexual assault, and suicide.

It took me a little while to get into this, mainly to get acquainted with our three heroines, but once I did, I could hardly put this down. There are so many layers to Everything is Not Enough, so many different issues that are being discussed, and yet none of it felt forced or exaggerated. - I highly recommend.

This book was wonderful! I noticed 1 or 2 spelling errors but otherwise this book really and hit home at times and made feel so much for the characters.

It was great to read about the life's of the woman and the positive and negative experiences that lead them to where they are. Very relatable characters to me.

I absolutely loved this book and it’s already in my top 5 of the year thus far. Everything is Not Enough follows Kemi, Brittany, and Yasmiin, three Black women living in Stockholm as they navigate prejudice, life, love and social class. All three narratives were equally engaging and interesting and I never felt like I wanted to see more of one story over the other. Akerstrom has produced a book that’s equal parts cutting, moving and funny at times.

I wasn’t aware that there was a first book which features 2 out of the 3 women - but this didn’t really impact my reading experience.

It's a well plotted story and there's a lot of food for thought. The story of the three women is full of grief, regrets, secrets but there's also the strength of the three main characters.
An interesting story, a different view of living in Sweden.
Recommended.
Many thanks to the publisher for this ARC, all opinions are mine

I loved this sequel to "In Every Mirror She's Black" and would highly recommend reading that first. While I wanted to root for each character, as they sought to shine to their fullest potential as Black women in a European country with a questionable relationship with racism, I found myself amazingly frustrated with each of them (except Muna - she couldn't help her situation...). I was glad to see the resolutions for each - none of them were predictable and still left plenty of room to speculate over what happens next.

Regardless, I'm looking forward to more of Akinmade Akerstrom's perspective on the lives of Black women in Sweden!

Who loved, like me, “In Every Mirror She’s Black” by Nigerian author Lolá Ákínmádé Åkerström, can joy for this stunning sequel. Even though I preferred the first one, I can tell that “Everything is not enough” is amazing. The same linear (but more polished) writing style, the same perfect characterisation and the same fluid, fluent structure. I’ve loved how each situation has been resolved, the protagonists’ growth and the development of the plots. Sometimes, Kemi and Brittany frustrated me, but I still wanted to hug her both: it’s no easy navigate in a country such Sweden as a Black woman. Muna is my favourite character and I’m happy she’s still here, and I adored Yasmiin as a new protagonist. As an Italian woman, I can confirm that, unfortunately, many female refugees and migrants end up in the web of prostitution or as victims of mafia, especially to the one of Rome (there’s a reportage in The Guardian about this).
Moreover, the author has been able to condense and to express a vastità of topics linked to racism and sexism, although connected to each other, with intelligence, without edulcorating them, with honesty and transparency, with no filters and never balking, showing the truth and the reality of Sweden and Northern Europe, considered as the most open-minded and inclusive (but they are not, I can confirm this as a Mediterranean European). The difference between the Northern and the Southern Europe is that the latter is noisier and more explicit than the former.
Even though I’ve already known the situation in Europe, the novel, like the first, made me reflect on racism in Europe, on how much is radical and subtle. It’s a pity the first book’s not available in the other European countries, it could be an awake for some. I’m grateful to have had the opportunity to read this book and for author’s honesty.

In Every Mirror She's Black #2

**TRIGGER WARNING** Sexual assault. Infant loss. Infidelity. Suicide.

Can a career woman truly have it all?

Powerful marketing executive Kemi Adeyemi has finally found the man she needs, but Toibias Wikstrom thinks she's the most selfish woman he has ever met for asking him to give up the life in Sweden and move to the US for her own comfort.

Can having it all be a gilded cage?

Looking into divorce isn't what former model-turned-flight attendant Brittany-Rae von Lumdin anticipated. Only jointly owned assets are split evenly between couples. Brittany gave up her career and came with nothing to Jonny's kingdom. Having a child with him, her greatest fear for Mya includes being cut off from the resources she's become accustomed to.

Can you run from your past to have it all?

After fleeing her home through a client to seek a new life in Sweden, Yasmiin finds love in the arms of Yagiz Celik while carving out her own small corner, But someone from her past forces Yasmiin to become a caretaker before she's ready, she must comfort and move beyond her teenage history.

This is a sequel to In Every Mirror She's Black, and i have not read that book. I think it's best if you have read the first book to understand more about the story. The story is told from three different perspectives of black women in Sweden. The author says this book can be read as a standalone, but I'm not so sure. There are lots of different characters who are part of the women's lives, and some of the details are quite lengthy.

I would like to thank #NetGalley #HeadOfZeus and the author #LolaAkinmadeAkerstrom for my ARC of #EverythingIsNotEnough in exchange for an honest review.

Thank you to Netgalley and Head of Zeus for the advanced e-copy!!!

4.0

A very interesting read from three different perspectives of black women in Sweden, ranging from working class to middle class and to high class. This book explores how racism is tackled in a European country, specifically in Sweden, and provides a new perspective to the discussion of race, especially since racism in Europe is not portrayed in the mainstream, this book provides a nuanced take on racism in general. I enjoyed the discussion that the author begins, especially since racism in Scandinavian countries is extreme but more subtle and systematic, and having two of the main characters be American also juxtaposes their experience as black women.

The three point of views converge, because it’s kind of true that in European countries that people of colour from different walks of life and different classes will always come together and they will eventually know of each other or conveniently be within each other’s circles, so that take was very relatable and true. But the way that the plot moves is painstakingly slow, whilst I know this is more a character study, a literary fiction type of novel and I shouldn’t complain, I can’t help but feel like this book was unfinished. This may be a trademark of the publisher, but I was really left with wanting more.

Towards the middle of the book, I could have sworn it was the same chapters over and over again. It was the same struggle for 200 pages, just with different words, and sometimes it didn’t even provide anything new to the story, it felt like filler chapters. I found myself not really rooting for any of the characters, nor immersing myself in their stories because I felt like they relived the same day over and over again, and it wasn’t until the third act of the book where my interest started being piqued. I love literary fiction, but the characters cannot go through the same struggle every chapter, it was boring and just felt repetitive.

That being said, I did enjoy the takes the characters had on their own struggle from trying to divorce a wealthy husband, being a homewrecker, and being the wife of a mafia king who also has a suicidal ‘sister’, I really enjoyed their perspectives mostly because they were so different from my own reality. Like I could never be any of those wonderful, strong women but I loved being able to peek into their minds and how their conscience worked, it was just fascinating to see a completely different reality to mine, and it intrigued me.

I enjoyed it, I will try to read the first one as well.

An absolutely beautifully written book that is even better than the first one. Lola's writing is constantly discriptive and she takes you on a formidable emotional journey that makes you become empathetic to all three of the main characters. A masterful story-teller, whose next book I already can't wait to read

I really wanted to like this one and I did find the refugees' story the most interesting, however having read about half of In Every Mirror She Is Black and some of this one, I realised I wasn't enjoying the other two women's stories, especially that about the Swedish tycoon and his wife; these parts read almost blockbustery to me. I really admire the author's intention to show up the racism inherent in this apparently tolerant and liberal society and it's obviously my problem not the books', given the other reviews here. I'd be interested in read more books like this still.

The follow-up to In Every Mirror She’s Black is here and it is everything. A powerhouse novel about feminine rage and fury full of personality and charm.

Lola continues to masterfully capture the treatment women, especially women of colour, still face for simply existing or dreaming of something different than society’s role for them and the anger directed to them for daring to want something more, to try and have everything. She dissects modern issues with care and grace; and offers a nuanced, thoughtful way that holds a lens to them for all to see.

Our author seamlessly moves from multiple perspectives that are all unique and have clear voices, weaving them together effortlessly while still allowing each character the space to tell their story. Kemi, Brittany and Yasmiin are our main narrators, but we get to hear from a range of characters and perspectives without it feeling confusing, each voice bringing something different and clearly distinct. It moves steadily, giving us time with each woman with quick but hard hitting chapters and it flows in an easily readable way despite the heavy and at times dark content. There is a lot of rage and despair here, but also a kind of release and catharsis that can be found too.

If you haven't read the first story yet, you can definitely jump right in here as it has the storytelling finesse to stand alone - but you are going to want to read it because once you meet our characters, you'll just want to know more about them.

Everything is Not Enough takes up shortly after the events of Lọlá Ákínmádé Åkerström’s first novel, In Every Mirror She’s Black. We rejoin American expats Kemi and Brittany-Rae in Stockholm and this time get to know Yasmiin, the former housemate of Muna from the first book. This one continues their stories but I think with a deeper psychological examination. There’s one particular scene that had me wincing at the car crash of a situation. We all make mistakes but fortunately we don’t all end up in such an excruciating position as Kemi does here. And the description of her seeing someone’s face or hearing his face wherever she goes is all too real.
I like the way the three main characters’ lives touch each other just enough, rather than there being contrived situations. I also think the secondary characters are really well drawn, particularly Kemi’s friend Malcolm and Yasmiin’s client Amani. I recommend you read this if you want a(nother) look at what it’s like to be a woman of colour in Sweden, or if you just fancy a proper page-turner. Either way, it’s really enjoyable.