Wahala
Three friends, three ‘perfect’ lives. Here Comes Trouble
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3.8 • 85 Ratings
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- £2.99
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- £2.99
Publisher Description
SOON TO BE A MAJOR BBC TV SERIES
'"WAHALA" means trouble and there's plenty of it' GUARDIAN
'Full of food, humour and pitch-perfect observation' STYLIST
'All the ride-or-die realness of female friendship' RED MAGAZINE
Three friends.
Three 'perfect' lives (or so they pretend).
Here comes Trouble
Ronke wants Happily Ever After and 2.2. kids. She's dating Kayode and wants him to be 'the one'. Her friends think he's just another in a long line of dodgy Nigerian boyfriends.
Boo has just what Ronke wants - a kind husband, a gorgeous child. But she's frustrated, unfulfilled, and desperate to remember who she used to be.
Simi is the golden one with the perfect lifestyle and a career. No one knows she's crippled by impostor syndrome and tempted to pack it all in each time her boss mentions her 'urban vibe.' Her husband thinks they're trying for a baby. She's not.
When the high-flying, charismatic Isobel explodes into the group, she seems to bring out the best in each woman. But the more Isobel intervenes, the more chaos she sows, until Ronke, Simi, and Boo's lifelong friendship begins to crack. How close to the edge will she push them?
READERS ARE OBSESSED WITH WAHALA
'This book is absolute fire. I could not put it down. Fantastically written, the story is so engaging and tense. Sexy, dark, addictive. What an incredible novel' ***** Reader review
'Dark and addictive with a surprising twist (that i won't give away!) and Nikki's writing is completely flawless' *****
'I couldn't believe it was a debut. I couldn't put it down. Nikki May has written a fantastic story of friendship, revenge and jealousy' *****
'Wonderful characters with plenty of rich and vibrant detail of their shared culture from hair to food' *****
WINNER OF THE COMEDY WOMEN IN PRINT NEWCOMER AWARD
LONGLISTED FOR THE GOLDSBORO BOOKS GLASS BELL and the DIVERSE BOOK AWARDS
APPLE BOOKS REVIEW
British-born, Lagos-raised writer Nikki May serves a dizzying homage to classic Nollywood tropes and high-drama for Wahala—a scandal-plagued tale of identity, race and power. Ronke, Boo and Simi are three friends living in London. They’re mixed-race and navigate their Anglo-Nigerian heritage in hilarious and unique ways, each with their own secrets to hide. We meet the trio in in their thirties, with Ronke desperately unlucky in love, Simi’s high-flying career somehow depressingly flat and Boo’s family life—and French husband—not as perfect as it seems. Enter Isobel: a glamorous friend from Simi’s past who inserts herself front and centre of the ensuing ‘Wahala’ (a Yoruba term for trouble). Each chapter of the book alternates between the three characters (not Isobel, crucially), which allows May to weave their tight friendship across razor-sharp quips and deep appreciation of food across their shared cultures. But it’s not just the lingo and lunches that shine. May’s bold debut ultimately spirals and peaks at the schemes of Isobel, a future cult villain, destined to shine on screens in this soon-to-be adapted thriller that tackles the bonds that ultimately make our break us.
PUBLISHERS WEEKLY
In May's breezy if overdramatic debut, the mutual friendship of three Anglo-Nigerian women is threatened by an interloper, a Russian Nigerian on a revenge trip. Isobel Adams holds a particular grudge against each of the successful and ambitious women who have been best friends for 17 years. There's Boo, one of the numerous children Isobel's father had with multiple women; Ronke Tinubu, the daughter of the man who had an affair with Isobel's mother, and who now dates the man Isobel wants; and Simi, Isobel's friend since they were five years old, who describes Isobel in a conversation with the others as "embarrassingly rich," and whose father has been in a longtime feud with Isobel's. May's characters, despite all their accomplishments and intelligence—Ronke is a dentist, Boo has a PhD in bioinformatics, and Simi works as a brand executive for a fashion house—are easily taken in by Isobel, due to Isobel's willingness to help open doors for them. After Isobel manipulates her way into the trio's lives, someone in their orbit winds up violently killed. While some of Isobel's destructive behavior is outlandishly implausible, May's nuanced exploration of race and gender makes this refreshing. This will leave readers intrigued to see what May does next.
Customer Reviews
Loved it
Well written and reflects some parts of our society.
Disappointed
I am struggling to read this book. Very negative images of the Black race!
Loved it
Amazing read