What a delight!
Short snappy chapters that are easy to get through but equally bring a sense of real character development. I especially enjoyed the dual timeline that not only bought the characters together, but equally united an understanding for the reader.
I really enjoyed this. Thank you netgalley and the publisher.

Where do I start! This book took me longer than I expected to get through it, only because I was so frustrated by Tina and her impulsive and reckless (in my opinion) actions 😅 and I wanted to avoid reading about her making yet another mistake! I do however, think that’s a sign of good book, where I’m so invested and affected by a fictional character!

So we follow two main timelines. One in the past (around 40 years ago, 1978) which is the story of Nancy, a young lady who moves from Gambia to Sweden to study at university with hopes of being Gambia’s first female president, how she falls in love and her life is forever changed.

The second timeline is the present day (well, 2006!) where we continue to follow Nancy as a single parent to two young-adult children (Tobias and Tina), but mainly focus on Tina who is poised to be Sweden’s next big pop star.

In the present day, we follow the ups and downs of Tina’s career where she’s pursing a career as a pop star but stumbles and faces a number of issues which seem to be related to her relationships with different men; whether that be her father, a best friend or a boyfriend. It becomes evident to the reader that Tina is really on a journey of self-discovery. Her story almost mirrors some of some of the themes her mum faced 40 years earlier, and some, ongoing currently. Her mum, Nancy has had her life diverted or even derailed primarily due to love.

Ultimately, this a story of how a young Gambian woman with a promising future has her life turned around because of a failed love which leads to some generational issues which are again reflected in her daughter’s behaviour. They both are forced to deal with issues of relationships, race and self identity. We also understand the intricacies and challenges in Nancy and Tina’s relationship and how all the secrets have played a part in that.

Just to be clear, whilst Nancy and Tina have some challenging relationships with men, they also enjoy some amazing relationships which in my opinion they have overlooked or inadvertently taken advantage of e.g. of Tobbe/Tobias (Tina’s brother/Nancy’s son).

There were also a couple other points which stood out to me but from Lola’s writing. First, is how she delicately but efficiently weaves in Swedish, Wolof and Mandinka into the story and conversations. Whilst I don’t understand any of these languages, Lola does an amazing job of translating without interrupting the story or losing the significance of what is said. Secondly, from the background events to the historical references (although sometimes altered and acknowledged at the end of the book) you can really tell that a lot of research has gone into this book. It really pays off as it adds to the story, setting the stage and having a good context for the events taking place in Nancy and Tina’s lives.

A really interesting read - 4.5 stars! Looking forward to Lola’s next masterpiece!

Thank you Lola Akinmade Äkerström, Head of Zeus Publishing House and NetGalley for the advance reader copy in exchange for an honest review.

On (e)paper, this sounded like exactly my sort of thing as I love a multi-generational story but unfortunately this wasn’t quite my cup of tea.

I appreciate this is a very subjective criticism but as I couldn’t be less interested in Eurovision or football (they weren’t mentioned in the blurb), I found it difficult to invest in Tina and Seb’s storylines initially.

I was most intrigued by Tina and Nancy’s relationship but a lot more page space is dedicated to their toxic romantic relationships. As well as the expected discomfort of the romances themselves, I found the writing of the intimate scenes really off-putting and references such as “perky breasts” and “panties” felt like they’d come from a male author.

Criticisms aside, this was a speedy read and enjoyed how Swedish, Wolof and Mandinka words as well as real-life cultural events were woven throughout the story.

First of all, thank you Netgalley and the publishing house Heus of Zeus for allowing me to read this great novel before its publication in May. But after reading this novel, I should rather say: Tusen Tack!

We meet Tina, a young singer with a promising future. At the same time, we discover her mother Nancy, forty years earlier, who came to Sweden from Gambia to finish her studies. The two women are very different but they will both fall in love with men who will make them suffer. From the first chapters, we want to discover their destiny and secrets and it is with pleasure that we follow them over several decades.

I loved this reading: the author's style is really gripping, the chapters are short, the double temporality brings suspense and the characters are amazing. I really liked the sentences in different languages ​​that bring a bit of a change of scenery: Swedish but also in languages ​​that I discovered as I read, such as Wolof or Mandinka.

The characters are terribly endearing, I found Nancy incredibly modern and courageous. I liked discovering her journey before becoming a mother. Tina is more impulsive and sometimes hard on her mother or Seb, but I would put that down to youth.

The mother-daughter relationship is really well exploited, with all its secrets and this obvious lack of communication between the two women. Likewise, toxic romantic relationships are present from beginning to end through different characters like Lars or Jonas. The author describes very well the hold on women and how their lives, their dreams can be shattered very quickly.

It is a deep, intense, really touching novel and I am really delighted to have discovered Lola Akinmade Åkerström. I enjoyed discovering Sweden through her pen, I only know the country from having spent holidays there and everyone was very welcoming. But we also see another side of society here, with racism for example. It is also a quest for identity for Tina and how family helps us build ourselves. A magnificent novel that I can only recommend.

4.5 stars rounded up

Beautiful storytelling with well-developed characters. I enjoyed the two timelines slowly merging into one, complementing rather than detracting from one another. Deep, beautiful, tragic, heartwrenching all in one. Would highly recommend, not just to fans of Lola Akinmade Åkerström.

Bitter Honey is a compelling book that spans four decades and three continents, offering readers a profound exploration of identity, family secrets, and the journey towards self-discovery.

The story alternates between two women: Nancy, a young scholarship student from Gambia in 1978, and her daughter, Tina, a pop sensation in 2006.

In 1978, Nancy leaves the warmth of Gambia for the cold of Sweden, eager to seize the opportunities her scholarship offers. Her friendship with Lars, a charismatic scholar, soon blossoms into something more. What initially seems like a love story takes a darker turn as Nancy begins to uncover Lars’s hidden truths, drawing her into a world that may be far more dangerous than she could have ever imagined. Akinmade poignantly captures Nancy’s vulnerability, hope, and the emotional turmoil of being far from home while grappling with a growing sense of foreboding.

Fast forward to 2006, and Tina, now a pop princess, is adored by the public yet disillusioned by her fame. Beneath her glittering exterior, she struggles with her identity and yearns to discover who she really is. Her mother, Nancy, has spent years burying her past, but Tina’s quest for the truth leads her to unravel long-held family secrets. As Tina delves deeper into her mother’s past, she embarks on a journey of self-discovery that forces her to confront the legacy her family has been hiding.

Akinmade’s writing is exquisite, deftly capturing the complexities of culture, familial bonds, and the haunting grip of the past. The alternating perspectives and timelines between mother and daughter create a richly layered narrative that is both emotionally resonant and thought-provoking. The book delves into the universal themes of identity, independence, and the importance of carving out one’s own path in life.

The pacing is balanced, moving between the slow-burn tension of Nancy’s early years in Sweden and the fast-paced world of Tina’s pop career. As the story unfolds, it becomes clear that Bitter Honey is not only about uncovering the weight of secrets but also about the strength it takes to face them and the courage to create a future that is one’s own.

This book is a moving, insightful look at the bonds that tie us, the scars we carry, and the powerful journey of self-discovery. Akinmade's beautifully crafted narrative makes Bitter Honey a must-read for anyone interested in stories about family, identity, and the complex ways the past shapes our lives.

Read more at The Secret Book Review.

I thoroughly enjoyed reading this book. The plot remained consistently engaging, leaving me eager to learn what would happen next or what had occurred in the past.

The themes of love, identity, race, abandonment, and womanhood are thoughtfully explored throughout the book. I found myself admiring the resilience of both women (especially Nancy) as they navigated their respective challenges. Their flaws, however, did elicit some frustration, particularly due to all the secrets and the lack of communication that seemed to steer the relationship between mother and daughter. This dynamic added complexity to their interactions and highlighted the challenges they faced in understanding one another.

The variety of men depicted in the book was also fair. Lars, in particular, was a character that stood out for his unsettling and obsessive nature. His characterisation was spot-on and I really hoped things did not play out like how they did but that wouldn’t have made it a good read.

Overall, the plot is paced well and the unravelling of their lives was lovely to read. Definitely one to read!

Bitter Honey covers two woman called Nancy and her daughter Tina. It is set over four decades.. The book makes you want to know more about both their secrets, they fortune. The emphasises the importance of choosing your own future, and learning from it.

Spanning two timelines, from Gambia to Sweden, Bitter Honey recounts the tale of Tina in 2006 Stockholm, chasing her dream of singing in the Eurovision Song Contest to that of her mother Nancy thirty years earlier newly arrived from Africa who is drawn to her compelling Professor.


A tale of secrets, mothers and daughters and the men who come between them.

Thoughtful and thought provoking.

I really enjoyed the previous books in this connected series by Lola Akinmade and so I looked forward to this installment. I love how the narrative rolls along like a lightweight novel but deals with lots of issues and immigrant experiences in Sweden. This story gives us the back story of Tobias's ( from the previous novel, Everything will be Alright)mother, Nancy who won a scholarship to come and study in Sweden from Nigeria. It has a dual timeline delving into Nancy's past and also following her daughter, Tina, in the present and how she deals with fame when she wins the competition to be Sweden's entry in The Eurovision song contest and her life spirals when the father Nancy has laways told her was dead comes along to congratulate her. Good read.

“For those who have never known rest, may the soft life find you soon”. That is how this book begins, and if you are anything like me, you are gonna be hooked when you read this!

Bitter Honey is about two women, Nancy and Tina, and spans four decades and three continents to tell the story of mothers, daughters, and the importance of carving your own path.

Nancy is Tina’s mother, so whilst we’re following Tina’s story in the present moment, we get to follow Nancy’s journey from a young Black woman leaving moving to Sweden from Gambia for a scholarship, to becoming a single mother of two mixed-race children in a place that maybe wasn’t meant to be her home.

Bitter Honey is not a slow burn story, at all. It starts at full speed and by chapter 3 I was hooked, because I just had to know more. I found myself mostly drawn to observe Nancy because the woman she was before she became a mother, and then who she was through her daughters’ eyes were vastly different. I love that the book was written in such a way because we don’t get to see our mothers before they became that, but this felt like a time machine. And as you come to understand why it’s titled Bitter Honey; you see how some children can be born to the same woman yet experience a different mother. And specifically, it tells the unique story of what it means to be a Black woman who falls victim to the gaze of men who cannot tell the difference between a fetish and love.

One thing I grew to love about the book is that it has many Swedish and Wolof phrases. At first it caught me off guard, but then halfway through the book I was able to understand the phrases before I saw the English translation beneath which was such a fresh experience for me. Call me alskling from now on!

Bitter Honey is full of complex characters. Some you will grow to love, some you will love instantly, and some you will despise with the deepest depths of your being. I have never felt so uncomfortable with a character before a certain somebody in this book, but I think that’s the beauty of Lola Akinmade’s writing. She takes you deep into the journey so you can feel everything as if you were there, but without giving away everything until you’ve travelled all the way through.

I will say that this book is heartbreaking. From sexuality, to racism, to substance misuse, grief. A lot of topics that are weaved into the story could be sensitive for some readers. But for me, I think it’s important for people to see the layers. To see who an undeserving man can turn a woman into. Who he can steal from her children. But then it also has such heartwarming glimpses, of the people you love along the way and how they breathe life into you. How they show you who you are, even when you forget. How you carry them with you in simple things, like the way Nancy calls Tina, “Tina, Tina, Tina”, in the way she was once called “Nancy, Nancy, Nancy”.

There’s so much more I could say, but I don’t want to spoil the actual story as it’s not out until May 2025. But you need to pre-order it now, now, now, so we can be here in 5 months talking about it in detail. I need you to share my enemy from the book with me, because we ride at DAWN. And just wait until you hear their star sign, it all makes so much sense lol!

A powerful novel mainly dealing with racialism in Sweden. Told in two time lines, 1979 and a little beyond with Nancy, from Gambia, wins a scholarship at a Swedish University and 2006 onwards when we join Nancy's daughter Tina who is not at all in a good place. Nancy wants to hide the past and Tina slowly is finding the truth turning her whole world upside down. Plenty of family conflict alongside the inherent culture of Sweden at the time. The book visits lots of difficult issues in mixed parentage, racism, drugs, the false glittery pop world plus general family and life. Definitely recommended

I'm a big Lola Akinmade fan, and this was a riveting read. I loved it so much that I'll be purchasing a physical copy when it's out!

**Thank you NegGalley and Head of Zeus for having given me the opportunity to read this book**


“Bitter Honey” is the third novel by Lola Akinmade, after the duology which includes “In Every Mirror She’s Black” and “Everything Is Not Enough”, and it’s the third books by her I read.
This last work delves into the last of two characters we’ve already met in the duology, that are Nancy and Tina, respectively Tobias’s mother and sister. Two women with similar lives and yet so different, who experienced traumatic and tragic events provoked by the relationships with wrong and narcissistic men and by living in a society unable to welcome what is not usual.
Akinmade explores again the racial question in Sweden but here it’s deepened, and I’m glad about it because it’s less-explored topic in literature. New topics are discussed here as well: narcissism, which is the main, traumatic and toxic relationships, the loss of control, mother-daughter relationship and fate.
Nancy was destined to become the first Madam President of Gambia, but a red-haired man with honey-coloured eyes drew her apart from her fate. Tina was intended to be the next Afro-Swede popstar but she found herself changing route due to the racism and xenophobia of the Swedish society and due to the narcissism of a man who thought he could find a home in her.
“Bitter Honey” is a touching novel. I cried and rejoiced along with the main characters, I scolded and understood them, I rooted and hoped for them. My heart ached when I turned the last page and I know its two amazing protagonists, mother and daughter, will be with me for a long time.
I noticed an improvement in Akinmade’s writing style, but it’s still evident her literary identity, which is contemporary and honest. And “Bitter Honey’ is like this too: contemporary and honest.
Dear Lola Akinmade, keep it up!

We follow two timelines. Nancy’s story begins in 1979 as she sets up a new life (having uprooted from Gambia to Sweden). Her daughter, Tina’s, story begins in 2006 as she navigates being in the limelight as a pop star. This is a story about national identity, navigating family dynamics and intergenerational trauma.

I adored the way Bitter Honey tackled issues of family dynamics with such care and delicacy. I felt all the characters were so real: each had their unique flaws and complex lives which made them jump off the page. They have stayed in my mind beyond the end of the novel. I loved the set up with the mother and daughter timelines, the way they wove together was beautifully done. I especially enjoyed the exploration of Gambian and Swedish identity, which I haven’t read about before.

Multigenerational historical fiction is literally my favourite thing ever, and Bitter Honey did not disappoint. Akinmade’s depictions of trauma and how it affects generations that follow afterwards, trickling through the family was captured so well.

Thank you so much to NetGalley for giving me a digital proof copy, and Lola Akinmade for writing such a beautiful novel. I am now off to read her other books!