I LOVED this book! This coming of age story is perfection! I adored the main characters and I was rooting for them throughout the story. Funke and Liv are two characters I won't forget. Loved the Lagos and London settings. This is the story of two cousins who meet each other for the first time as young girls. Funke is devastated after her British mother passes away, and her Nigerian father sends her to live with her grandparents. Liv becomes her best friend, but a terrible scandal tears them apart at the age of 18. I was hoping for a reconciliation! Don't miss this story of family, of racism, of secrets, and about being honest and truthful.

I loved this book!

I read Wahala a few years ago and loved it, but there were a lot of character POVs and so much drama 😂. This one has the drama, but the POV is down to two and that is the perfect amount.

I sort of felt like while we had the two sisters, and it was supposed to be about both of their journeys, Liv got more of an arc and an ending than Funke, and we sort of lost Funke in the second half of the book which was a bummer.

Overall though it’s a great story, a quick read, and so much family drama! I’d definitely recommend picking up this and Wahala.

Thank you @marinerbooks for sending this book for review consideration. All opinions are my own.

I absolutely loved this book: the characters, the story line, the settings. Funke has a happy childhood in Nigeria, growing up,with her British White mom, her Nigerian Black father and her brother. When tragedy strikes, Funke is sent to England to live with her mother’s relatives, who rejected her mother for marrying a Black man. The only bright spot is her cousin Liv, who takes her under her wing. Their relationship is truly unique, but when tragedy strikes again, both women face new obstacles and challenges. I highly recommend this well written, emotionally moving novel. Thanks to NetGalley for the ARC.

This Motherless Land by Nikki May (@nikkimaywriter) is a retelling of Jane Austen’s Mansfield Park. While Jane Austen’s references to race were subtle, May’s book takes the subject head on by setting our heroine Funke between two worlds (much further than Portsmouth and Mansfield Park!), Lagos, Nigeria and Somerset, England. This fresh take on Austen’s story is in its turns heart wrenching and heart warming. It is also complete with a funny nod to the first cousin situation ;).

Nikki May’s "This Motherless Land" is a beautifully crafted novel that explores identity, friendship, and resilience in the face of deep loss.

Set against a vivid Nigerian landscape, the characters feel real and relatable, with struggles and triumphs that resonate powerfully. May’s lyrical prose invites readers to experience the emotional depth of the narrative while immersing them in each setting.

The central characters, Quiet and Liv, are flawed yet endearing. They face the complexities of life with courage and honesty. Through authentic and messy relationships, May examines themes of belonging and displacement, skillfully portraying how family history and heritage shape the present. Her nuanced approach elevates the novel, creating a layered exploration of what it means to find "home" within oneself.

May’s vibrant descriptions transform Nigeria, making it a character in its own right, capturing both beauty and hardship. This sense of place deepens the novel’s emotional impact, making "This Motherless Land" a compelling story of healing, strength, and self-discovery. For lovers of immersive storytelling, this novel will linger long after the final page.

A beautiful novel filled with grief, jealousy, greed, but with love woven throughout the entire thing. At ten years old, Funke loses her mother and brother in a car accident and is sent from Nigeria to live with her grandparents in England. Here she meets Liv, her cousin and arguably her soulmate. Liv seems to embody the spirit of Funke's lost mother and helps her adjust to her new life in England. Flash forward eight years, and a tragic series of events takes place and leads to Liv believing Funke to be dead and Funke being exiled back to Nigeria and waiting for Liv to save her.

Motherlessness in this book takes on two forms. Funke is literally without her mother, having lost her as a child; however, after returning to Nigeria at eighteen, she constantly runs into people who share their positive memories of how her mother impacted them. While she may not physically have her mom, Funke has the love surrounding her constantly. Liv's mother (Margot) is very much present in her life, and it is that very presence that sets the course for the main conflict in this novel. Margot's greed and jealousy cause her to make a series of choices over decades that separate her from her mother and from her daughter and cause rifts that will never be healed and will leave Liv seemingly motherless.

This is May's second book after Wahala, and I found this one just as enjoyable.

This is supposed to be a modern retelling of Mansfield Park. I never read it so I can't comment on how well the story re-tells Mansfield Park.

Funke lives in Nigeria with her family. Her mother is a white English woman and her father is Nigerian. She also has a younger brother. The first part of the book shows Funke in Nigeria with her family until her mother and brother are killed in a car accident. Funke is the only survivor. Her father is grieving and cannot even look at Funke. He eventually sends her to England to live with his wife's family. The first part of the book shows how Funke lived in Nigeria as a mixed race child. She loves her family and her life as a young child. My heart ached for her after the car accident and she was uprooted from all she knew and sent away to live with people who are essentially strangers.

The second part of the book was equally heartbreaking. We are introduced to Funke's aunt Margot and her two children, Dominic and Liv. Liv immediately takes to Funke and wants them to become best friends. Margot is resentful of Funke and refuses to call her by her first name (or nickname) and instead insists she is called Kate, which is her middle name. While there wasn't a lot of story during this period of time (the story skips from when Funke first goes to England and starts school to when she turns 18 so about an 8 year time jump), your heart breaks for Funke at every turn. She is treated horribly by her aunt and her grandparents do nothing to stop it. Margot keeps her niece from going to a private school even though it is later revealed that she should have been at the same school as Liv. Tragedy strikes again on Funke's 18th birthday when Dominic drives her and Liv home from a party and gets into a car accident. Dominic, also terrible to Funke, asks her to tell the police that she was driving. She does but was unknowingly drugged at the party and her aunt gets the police to get Funke to leave England in exchange for not being charged. Liv is hospitalized and in a coma while all of this is going on.

The third and fourth parts of the book reveal how Liv and Funke eventually find their way back to each other. Margot tells the family that Funke died when she returned to Nigeria after contracting malaria. However, Funke's father had written to Margot to ask for her inheritance and to help her since she was sick. Margot manufactured a letter from Funke's father saying that she died and showed it to the family. Liv blames herself and begins a self-destructive phase that lasts in her 20s. Meanwhile, Funke recovered from malaria and attends medical school.

Liv meets a Nigerian man when she is a teacher at a nursery school. The man is the father of one of her students. They fall in love and she goes to Nigeria to meet his family. While there, the reader finds that Liv's boyfriend is the brother of Funke's fiance, who is actually gay and only in a relationship with Funke to satisfy his mother. Funke had agreed to the arrangement. Liv and Funke reunite after several scenes teasing how close they came to seeing each other. Liv explains that she never came for Funke because she thought she was dead. She helps Funke get her rightful inheritance and also winds up screwing over her mother.

I was honestly annoyed by every character at some point. Margot was the worst. The grandparents were so passive and just let Margot walk all over them. Liv meant well but took advantage of Funke at every step, but then acted like she was the victim. Dominic was also terrible but he wasn't as fleshed out of a character. Funke even annoyed me with how naive she was. She kept thinking her English family was going to help her even though they were all pretty terrible to her, especially her aunt.

The one thing that bothered me about this book was the reunion between Liv and Funke. There was so much buildup and you could see all the missed interactions. But then it seemed like it was glossed over and rushed. I wanted to read more about what they said to each other, how they really felt, what it meant to them to see each other again after over 10 years. Instead it felt hurried, like the author was running out of pages and wanted to quickly end the novel.

Overall, I liked the book but I could have used a bit more when it came to the reunion. I would give this 3 1/2 stars.

Thank you to NetGalley and Harper Collins (through Book Club Girl) for the advanced reader copy.

⭐️ 4.25

I thoroughly enjoyed This Motherless Land! I was invested in the story from the very beginning and it kept my attention until the very end.

Liv and Funke could not be more different, and seeing their relationship evolve — as cousins from two completely different cultures — was emotional, heartbreaking, and beautiful.

The complicated familial aspect of the book was also very interesting, especially when it explored the relationship between racism and greed and how closely they are tied.

Wahala is on my TBR and now I'm really excited to read it after how much I enjoyed This Motherless Land, and I can't wait to read more of Nikki May's work in the future!

Another amazing read from Nikki May! I knew after Wahala that I was going to read everything I could. She has a way of drawing you in and dragging you along on an emotional roller coaster. Countless moments make you want to laugh, cry, and/or smack someone (namely Liv Margot and Dominic).

I understand the goal was to give Liv a bit of redemption, May wrote her so well that I just couldn’t see and feel it. My feelings for her never changed. While I’m glad that she managed to forge a new path and found love that she has craved. However even then, she was willing to do things that could or would harm Funke. It started with the disheartening remarks from Margot to the refusal to use Funke’s name that sealed the deal.

I did however love that Funke was able to reconnect with her mother not just with her memories, but those of the literal and metaphorical villagers. She got to see her mom through the lens of those she helped, taught, or simply treated well.

I truly enjoyed this story and wish that we could’ve gotten more of the future post-marriage. However, I’m overly excited with high expectations for whatever comes next.

This book is being voluntarily reviewed after receiving a free copy courtesy of NetGalley, the Publisher, and Nikki May.

Young Funke is a Nigerian child living with her Nigerian dad, her Caucasian British mother and her younger brother. Life has been good to them. Her father is a physician. Her mom has assimilated into her new country and is respected and loved by her neighbors. Then a life altering tragedy occurs and Funke is sent to England to live with her mom’s family who are strangers to her as they completely rejected her mother when she dared to marry a Nigerian man.

In England, Funke is completely lost. She is called “ Catherine ,” which is her middle name as her white famikly attempts obliterate the African past of this child of mixed race. Liv, Funke’s cousin of similar age, has no boundaries in what she will do to befriend her hurting cousin. It is difficult at first as Funke mourns her loss and finds Britain to be oh so strange. But as time goes by the two girls forge a deep friendship, Funke begins to think of herself as British. And just as she is ready to studyi medicine another unforeseen calamity strikes and Funke is sent back to Nigeria where nothing in her life is the same as it was when she was a child. Her adjustment to this new life seems insurmountable.

Nikki May masterfully describes Nigeria, taking into account all the positive and negative aspects of this country.. Reading this novel sent me on a journey to a land I don’t expect to visit in my real life and it was fascinating. The author was able to juxtapose two vastly different cultures ( Nigerian and British) allowing me to rethink some preconceived notions about what exactly makes for a good life. Ms May gives a well balanced view of both societies with a look into stereotypes, racism and white privilege.

Family connections are deeply explored. Who is the nurturer? Who is the ally? Who can be trusted? What does motherless mean? So much to think about.

I enjoyed reading this well written and meaningful book . I wish the ending were given a little more time and attention and yet I did feel fulfilled as the story closed. Four and a half stars for I book that was worthwhile, engaging and felt important. I’ve round that up to five sparkling stars with thanks to NetGalley and Mariner Books for an ARC in exchange for my honest review. Publication date is today, October 29,2025. You’ll want to read this one.

A wonderfully complicated about families that focuses on cousins Liv and Funke who could not be more different. After Funke’s mother dies she is sent to live with her family in England after never having been. This Motherless Land follows the characters throughout different stages of their lives and shows the readers the messy and complicated relationships families can have.

This Motherless Land by Nikki May is another amazing story.
The book has a growing pace, the characters are well developed and very relatable.
The writing is engaging and feels fresh while being so captivating.
The author does a great job of hooking and engaging the reader.

I would like to thank NetGalley and Mariner Books for the opportunity to read this ahead of its publication date in return for my honest review.

I loved "Wahala" and I think I love this loose retelling of "Mansfield Park" even more. This is a heartbreaking yet powerful story that examines race and identity through multiple lenses and across two very different countries. I found Funke to be a particularly intriguing character and her journey to discover and embrace her identity adds both depth and beauty to a story full of difficult topics. I would definitely recommend picking this one up! Liv was also great and watching the evolution of both characters (both together and separately) was gratifying even if it wasn't always 'happy'.

This Motherless Land opens in 1978, following nine-year-old Funke Oyenuga, who lives in Lagos with her family until her mother’s sudden death forces her to move to England to stay with her estranged Aunt Margot. Funke’s new life in England is lonely and disappointing, far from the wealthy English family stories she’d heard. But she finds solace in her cousin Liv, and the two form a bond closer than sisterhood, helping each other through their difficult legacies.

The novel explores privilege, identity, generational trauma, and culture through Funke and Liv’s struggles with absent maternal love—Funke’s mother is gone, while Liv’s is bitterly critical. Set against the backdrop of the ’70s, ’80s, and ’90s in both Lagos and London, the story dives into how their contrasting environments shape their identities. Funke faces racial prejudice and the constant feeling of being “too Nigerian” or “not British enough,” while Liv is largely unaware of her privilege until later in life.

Through the lens of both cousins, This Motherless Land gives an in-depth look at generational wrongs, forgiveness, sisterhood, and grief. Nikki May captures these themes with vivid character development, showing how the girls’ different yet intertwined journeys create a shared resilience. Although I was occasionally frustrated by Liv’s mother’s overbearing presence, I found Funke and Liv’s characters refreshing and their bond heartfelt.

I'd recommend This Motherless Land for reader's who enjoy reading stories about sisterhood, identity, family drama and stories that span decades.

Thank you to NetGalley and Mariner Books for an ARC of This Motherless Land.

This is a beautifully written heartbreaker of a novel. Funke's mother is killed when she is 9 and her father, prostrate with grief, agrees with ill thought out advice to sent her to the UK to live with her mother's family- the family which disowned her for marrying a Nigerian. England is almost Dickensian with Funke's name changed to Kate, living in an attic, and totally befuddled by the food, the school, and the cold. Her aunt Margot and cousin Dominic are horrible. The only bright spot is her cousin Liv who becomes like a sister. And then everything changes on the night of her 18th birthday and she's sent back to Lagos, which is not as she remembers. As Funke takes back her name and studies medicine ,Liv falls apart, using drugs and alcohol and hopping from job to job until she stabilizes as a childminder. And then Liv meets her true love, a Nigerian man. This shifts between Funke and Liv to tell their painful stories, into which small bits of joy are layered until there is happiness. Don't force yourself to see this as a retelling of Mansfield Park. It stands on its own as a thoughtful look at a girl caught between race and country until she comes into her own. Thanks to the publisher for the ARC. A wonderful read.

When Funkes mother dies, she’s sent from Nigeria to England to stay with her mother’s family who disowned her mother when she married a Nigerian. Funke becomes Kate and is only welcomed by her cousin, Liv.

While I enjoyed Wahala, I loved this book even more. This is more my type of read with two young girls growing of age among racism and adversity. After a traumatic event, Liv and Funke, are on opposite sides of the world and everything they do is wrought with suspense for the reader. The ending was perfect and left me with tears in my eyes.

“Humans are inherently greedy. They hate sharing. So they invented racism to justify keeping all the cake.”

This Motherless Land comes out 10/29.

Who are you? Two girls struggle to find their identities as they grow up. Their lives are complicated by mothers (one orphaned at the age of 10; the other dominated by a selfish whiney one), by race (one is Anglo, the other is both Black and Caucasian), and by geography (one calls England home, the other raised in both Nigeria and England. This is also a story of sisterhood, extended family, culture, racism, sexism, misunderstandings, but mostly love.

The characters are very well developed so their whole personalities are on display. The dreariness of England’s weather and the humidity of Nigeria’s make the scenes come alive. There is just enough tension in the plot to keep the reader engrossed.

Thanks to NetGalley and HarperCollins/Mariner Books for the ARC to read and review.

Thanks to Netgalley for the ARC: -I’m a fan of May’s writing and her sophomore book is another excellent read. The characters are vivid and the story compelling. She explores racism, family, grief and more. This is a reworking of "Mansfield Park" with the protagonist sent to live in England after the death of her mother. The central drama involves Funke and her cousin and it drives the book, but is ultimately resolved in a paragraph. May creates fully realized characters and the story is compelling. Even a slightly lesser book from May is an excellent novel.

This is a retelling based on Jane Austen’s Mansfield Park. The problem with retellings is that you already know the story. The author has to do something really special to make it unique and new. Unfortunately, this one fell a little short.

Long lost, poor relative joins rich family and is treated terribly. Good guys are nauseatingly sweet, the bad guys border on being unbelievably bad. I’ve never fainted in my life but there’s a lot of fainting going on in this book. There are also more coincidences than I can tolerate. Overall, just not a good fit for me.

I enjoyed this book, I could really feel Funke's pain and confusion as she transitioned between worlds, I worried for a moment she wouldn't be reunited with Liv and was relieved when they were.