Dark, violent and filled with a range of interconnecting characters, a great read.
Thank you to the publisher and NetGalley for the chance to read this ARC.

The underbelly of New Lagos and of humankind in general are not an easy read, but Akwaeke Emery as usual makes is enticing, beautifully written and viciously good.

A dark, violent, grimy look at Lagos' underworld. A naive couple finds themselves swept up in the criminal activities of friends who run in much different circles than they realised. Desires, usually repressed, surface - with dangerous consequences. Characters dip into light and dark. Those who survive are the ones who fully embrace the world they inhabit. But no one leaves this story unscathed. Emezi is such a bold, varied writer so I will read anything they release. This one is unlike anything else they've written. It's relentless. It's unsettling. I got to the end and desperately needed a shower to wash off that ending. Not for the faint of heart. It's a hard one to recommend but if there are people out there who like a gritty underworld story with gender politics at its core, this could be for them. But check the trigger warnings before you go in - no line is left uncrossed on this one.

Thank you to #NetGalley for letting me read this ARC, and sorry for being slow with my review.

This was a hard one to read, it took me longer than I thought to get through it. I don't think I've read anything with this much evil in it for a while, actually. In a way, reading this was an experience a little like when I was a teenager and read "Lord of the Flies". Reading "Lord of the Flies" was like a gut punch, making me sad for weeks about how absolutely vile humans can behave towards each other when the circumstances allow it. Even though I'm unfortunately more used to that now as a 30 year old, this book was still very, very hard to get through in kind of the same way. It's just baffling how
This makes it kind of tricky to review. The book is very well written, that's for sure. The stories told feel important, and unfortunately also feel realistic. I had a bit of a hard time connecting to the characters, but I honestly cannot say if that is because how they are written or if it was just a defense mechanism in my brain since I had to read about them going through such horrific things.

I recommend this book highly, but I want to do it with a warning that it contains a number of scenes of sexual violence that are very hard to stomach.

This book was sexy, thrilling and yet managed to explore the complications of relationships in all their forms. I tore through this one (sly reading at my desk? I think so) and every time I thought it was coming into a lull, BAM new development. To see queer sexuality explored and written with such truth and nuance while deftly touching on the universal need to belong was so refreshing. This will be an instant hit and an effortless one to sell!

This book is a pacy and compulsive psychological read that ultimately failed to quite reach me, but its definitely recommended for fans of Moshfeg and Eliza Clark

Emezi certainly has incredible range and she is a brilliant writer, she's so capable at holding distinct and interesting voices in a way that impressed me so much as I read it. Her characters are fascinating in their internal struggles; each one is a little rotten in their own personal way and its brilliant how she pulls off jumping you between the perspectives of characters who are all disgusted by themselves and each other, but continue to justify themselves.

This is nothing like 'You Made a Fool of Death With Your Beauty', except in some of the moral ambiguity and its not pretending to be anything but a sexed-up drive through seedy and shocking underbellies of the world. Emezi's ability to bring me through those scenes is incredible but its not quite enough to disguise the fact that theres not really space around this string of graphic sex, betrayal, and moral decay to do a lot. The character relationships were fun and fascinating but I found Solu and Ola the most interesting and they very much took a backseat, representing the true understanders and victims of the system, but backdoored into character relationships a little too late to feel entirely at home. Somehow everyone but Ahmed felt a little sidelined at some point. Ijendu was incredibly under-used. Aima and Kalu felt like the main characters at the beginning but they both became increasingly peripheral, with Kalu running and guilt removing him from the action despite sparking it all, and Aima frustratingly avoiding the main plot with her own personal dialemmas until the author had no choice but to walk her back into the thick of it.

I will also say that repressed homosexuality and guilt is doing a whole lot of legwork here and while it was absolutely compelling, I'm not sure exactly how I feel about it. However, I also felt like listening to Emezi talk about her descisions, or listening to someone who loved and understood this book, could completely transform my understanding of it. She's a brilliant writer, but I felt more strongly about 'fool', which frustrated me to high heaven, than about this, which was very well done but without fully capturing my emotions.

I recieved both an e-arc and a proof of this book from the publisher and Netgalley

After reading a number of Emezi's other works, I was so excited to dive into Little Rot. And wow, what a wild ride that was! Dark, gritty, and emotional, this novel kept me on the edge of my seat. As always, Emezi's writing style was amazing, and I loved how the many POVs seemed disjointed at first, but then they all fit together so well by the end. I would definitely recommend to check content warnings before reading though!

Dark and thrilling exploration of desire, sex and power. A lot to chew on about consent particularly. I loved the tight time-frame that made the unraveling of the story (even more!) urgent. Set in the underbelly of a Nigerian city. I was completely immersed in each characters' point of views. Not sure what to add, i'm having a "what the fuck have i just read" moment. Beautifully written. Twisted and fucked up. Akwaeke Emezi is a master of literary fiction. Thank you Netgalley for the ARC!

I was so excited to have the opportunity to read Little Rot after loving Freshwater and You Made A Fool Of Death With Your Beauty. Little Rot is so different from the other Emezi that I have read but still has the same urgency and excitement coasting through the storyline. There was a large cast of characters but as I devoured this in one sitting it was easy enough to keep track of everyone. At times it is viscerally repulsive and others touchingly romantic. I would definitely recommend!

What a ride… Life can be big, difficult, and messy, and so is this book.

Aima leaves Kalu because he doesn't want to marry her. She, however, recently found God again and refuses to live in sin any longer. If he doesn't put a ring on it, she's out. Their breakup is the backdrop against which a crazy, dirty, and slightly lethal (for some) weekend unfolds… Especially since this means bigwigs and big money celebrating the dark sides of New Lagos.

The author introduces a lot of characters and while they all served their purpose, I still felt slightly overwhelmed at times to remember who is who and what exactly they were adding to the story. Focusing on different characters in the various chapters brought variation, though I still felt some of them did not get the time and space they deserved. (Thursday, anyone?)

Overall enjoyed this trip into the underbelly of New Lagos.