This book is described as Sex and the City' with a killer edge. For me it wasn't.
The story revolves around three Nigerian-British women Ronke, Boo & Simi who have been friends for nearly 20 years and Isobel, Simis childhood friend from Nigeria.
Set in London it tells how Isobel infiltrates the friendship group & the consequences that come with that.
It was a bit of a slow burn but enjoyable.

Three women who initially bonded through growing up between two different cultures and navigating the challenges of this. We meet them in their mid-thirties all living quite different lives. Ronke is a dentist, has fairly bad luck with men and is close to her family, Boo is mum juggling her child with her career and feeling frustrated, Simi is a career focused, driven woman who is struggling with feelings of inadequacy and the difficult decision of when or whether to have a baby. Things start to come apart and long held secrets come out when old childhood-friend Isobel appears on the scene.

The writing is witty and fast paced and you quickly start to feel like one of the gang. The book was quite tense in places, the stakes are much higher than expected, and I loved all the twists and turns. Occasionally it was a little difficult to know when the characters had moved to a different setting or were starting a new conversation, but I think I would put that down to this being an advanced copy and I'm sure the formatting will make this much clearer in the publication version.

Ronke, Simi, Boo became friends at university. Three mixed-race women with the gift of two cultures, Nigerian and English. Years later, they are all living very different lives in London. Ronke, the dentist looking for a husband (he must be Nigerian, like her father). Boo is a stay-at-home mum frustrated with motherhood and longing to reconnect with her past self. Simi has a successful fashion career. But is suffering from impostor syndrome, especially when her boss refers to her urban vibe yet again.

When Simi’s childhood friend Isobel moves to London, she wants to improve the lives of the three friends. By arranging an interview for a new job for Simi or taking Boo jogging. Soon the lives of the trio of friends ascend into chaos.

I knew I was going to love this book in the first chapter. By the descriptions of the friendship, the food and London life! Wahala is a refreshing look at the life of mixed-heritage women living in London. The book deals with a range of race issues, from micro-aggressions in the workplace. To colourism within the black community and class divides (in both Nigeria and the UK).

It was easy for me to pick my favourite character in this book. Ronke, it is an absolute joy. She is the sort of friend you want (and someone who would share my love of food). But all three of the friends have their good points (as well as bad points). At different stages, you rooted for these women looking for them to succeed.

The storyline is full of twists and turns and even though I guessed one of the plot twists. Others came out of the left field and caught me off guard. Personally, I haven’t read Big Little Lies, but I did watch the TV adaptions. I have seen many comparisons to the two books, and I can see why. I would recommend this book to fans of Big Little Lies.

"'Isobel Babangari. You know - Mr Babangari's daughter.'...'Simisola! You want to finish me, abi? I told you not to be associating with her...See me trouble. You dis girl, you want to kill me, ehn? Why are you going there? They are dangerous. Too much wahala...'"

In present day London, three mixed race, Nigerian-British women in their mid-late thirties are best friends. There's wealthy and ambitious Simi (Simisola), who works in fashion and is married to Martin; unlucky in love dentist, Ronke with unreliable boyfriend Kayode; and part-time scientific think tank employee, Boo, who feels trapped at home with French husband Didier and toddler Sofia. The women share life's ups and downs, but this is unexpectedly interrupted by the arrival of Iso (Isobel), a childhood friend of Simi's. As Iso ingratiates herself into their lives, could three be company and four a crowd?

Wahala means trouble in Yoruba, Nigeria's most commonly spoken language. What follows is four months in their lives, leading up to a dramatic event, hinted at in the prologue. Chapters alternate between the three women, enabling the reader to understand their feelings and actions; the reader can see their weaknesses and how they are being manipulated, in a way they cannot. I thoroughly enjoyed getting to know the three women, because they and their lives are vividly drawn. Their love of Nigerian food (which sounds amazing) and culture and their use of Yoruban words and phrases contributes to the atmosphere of the book, pulling the reader into the characters' lives. With a growing sense of dread, the women became more and more influenced by Iso. Funny and dark, it doesn't shy away from tackling issues of infidelity, motherhood struggles, relationship issues, race and racism, with its focus on love, friendship and family. I absolutely loved this and look forward to the TV series next year.

The addition of recipes at the back, for the characters' favourite dishes, is inspired!

I couldn’t read
It all as the display changed half way through and appears to be the file
On my iPad, but what I did read was good. Sex and the city ish.

The story of a close knit friendship group of Anglo-Nigerian women living in London that is infiltrated by a fourth woman who is rich, influential, attractive and wahala - pidgin Nigerian for trouble.

Through the lens of three perspectives this story starts gently, introducing you to each of these women, their foibles, their passions, their differing perspectives on their own identities and those of others. As the reader you are lured into a funny, truthful and observant story and then, suddenly you find you are turning the pages faster and faster, heart-racing, wanting to shout out to the characters to warn them...

There is already a lot of buzz surrounding this book and the author and I believe rightly so. It tells stories that are rarely told in commercial fiction, it doesn't pull any punches with regard to perspectives on racism, colourism, fat-phobia and draws complex and complicated characters without passing judgement. It deserves to be huge.

Thanks to the publisher and the author for the opportunity to read an ARC of this brilliant book.

Wahala is ultimately a story of friendship. As a reader we are invited into the lives, thoughts and feelings of these characters as the story is told through multiple viewpoints. Boo, Ronke and Simi are drawn so exquisitely by Nikki May, you feel like you have been part of this friendship group yourself for years.
The interjection of Isobel propels the story forward as Isobel begins to ingratiate herself into this friendship circle. We see her bond and encourage these friends, but it is clear there is more to Isobel than how she appears. The story really kicks in as Isobel's motives become clear and the close bonds of the friends we have grown to love begin to breakdown.
As a white male, I may not ever be seen as the intended audience for this book but for me that made it all the better. I felt like I was gaining insights into British-Nigerian culture and also into the support, love and care of women friendships.
The story doesn't shirk from sharing the complexities of this world and handles its themes deftly. There is some real beauty in the writing too.
I will be recommended this to many of my book-loving friends and I will be looking out for the adaptations that are bound to follow.

I think people will love this book. It’s funny, fresh and well written. I see that it has been optioned for TV, and I think it will be just as enjoyable on screen as on page!

Boo, Simi and Ronke are navigating life in their mid-thirties in London. Ronke, a dentist, is hoping that her latest boyfriend, Kayode, will be her Mr. Right. Simi is pursuing a high-flying career in fashion and struggling with the decision about having kids with her husband, Martin. And Boo is growing dissatsified with her domestic life as wife and mother and growing increasingly attracted to her boss.

An old Facebook photo is what pulls the enigmatic and disgustingly wealthy Isobel into their lives. Isobel grew up in Nigeria with Simi, but they had been out of touch for decades. Seeing a photo on Facebook from a mutual friend’s wedding, Isobel reaches out to Simi to reignite their friendship. Something is off about Isobel from the start – she’s profligate with her wealth, driven around by a driver-cum-bodyguard, and lavishly bestows gifts upon the trio. It’s hardly suprising, then, that she turns out to be a sinister character. Upon her arrival, everyone’s life starts to go pear-shaped.

What I liked: Nigerian culture is infused into the story, particularly through the authentic dishes (Ronke’s favourite restaurant in London is like ‘stepping into downtown Lagos’), and other cultural customs like the aso ebi worn for special occasions – where everyone on one side of the family gets their outfits made from the same fabric. There’s also a sharp contrast between the way that Simi and Ronke connect with Nigerian culture, having spent most of their childhood there, and the disconnect that Boo feels, having been raised by her white British mother in England. We also get an insight into the way these characters experience colourism and racism within their everyday lives – like when patients come into Ronke’s dental practice and assume her (Hispanic, male) dental nurse is the dentist, or when Kayode prevents a white guy from assaulting Ronke and the police turn up to arrest him. These details enriched a narrative that otherwise fell rather flat.

The problem lies in the fact that we know everything has to come to a head – Isobel’s arrival portends this – but it takes a really long time to get there. As such, most of the novel is a slow slide into things going wrong and the characters becoming increasingly unlikeable and frustrating. The ‘thriller’ aspect doesn’t rear its head until the last 20% of the book, and it all becomes a bit cartoonish and wrapped up too quickly. It didn’t really work for me, but I’m sure it will have a lot of fans – and I hear it’s being made into a TV series, so I’ll be interested to see how they approach that.

With thanks to Doubleday for the advanced copy. Wahala will be published on January 6th 2022.

This is the extremely dramatic debut from Nikki May and there’s already quite a buzz about this book due out in January 2022 as it’s set to be turned into a major TV series. The story is told in alternating chapters where Boo, Ronke and Simi tell us what’s happening from their viewpoint. Interestingly, we never hear directly from Isobel the rich and glamorous interloper who disrupts their friendship. Boo, Ronke and Simi are Anglo-Nigerian; whilst Isobel has a Nigerian father and Russian mother - her heritage becomes important as the plot develops. This is an extremely enjoyable read and I found Ronke to be empathetic, Boo and Simi less so. What I found a little unbelievable was how easily the three long term friends had their friendship disrupted by Isobel - especially when we are told that Boo has a PhD in bioinformatics and Simi has a successful career working as a brand executive and Ronke is a dentist.
Once Isobel manipulates her way into their lives, heartache and turmoil follow ending in a death. If you leave logic at the door this is a fun, fast paced entertaining read. As a mixed race woman, I found the author’s nuanced exploration of race to be particularly well done. What I particularly loved was the depiction of the secondary characters: Didier and Sofia - Boo’s saintly French husband and precocious daughter, Rafa, Ronke’s assistant and Aunty K. All were well depicted and believable. The recipes at the end of the book are a nice touch. Am already looking forward to the author’s next book and will definitely watch the TV series.
Huge thanks to NetGalley, the publisher and author for the opportunity to read an advance copy in return for an honest review

This book has stayed with me for ages after reading. The characters are so beautifully woven and vibrant and come alive on the page. One of my best reads this year!

Wahala centres around three friends in London who are all mixed with English and Nigerian heritage. The storyline is well planned, easily read with the odd touch of humour. Brilliant debut.

I'm not a gambling woman but I think Wahala will be a big hit! The friendship between three Anglo-Nigerian women is threatened when Isobel, a Russian-Nigerian woman who has grudges against all three, joins the group. Great to see diverse characters represented.

This came highly recommended to me, but unfortunately it wasn’t a book for me. I had expected a romance but it’s rather fiction / women’s lit. Can’t really say much about it, other than it was not for me and couldn’t keep my interest up long enough to finish it. Eh. Can’t win them all.

I loved the descriptions in this book of the lives and friendships between a small group of women who had been friends for a long time .
I saw similarities between these friendships and those I have with my friends The relationships that they have with each other and with their familiesI found immediately relatable real and interesting
The setting in modern Uk wax immediately comfortable reading .I must say I was glad that the pandemic wasn’t in these friend’s lives as they were complicated enough as it is
The introduction of a new person to a close group of friends is predictably difficult and alters the group dynamic in many ways ,these were described so well .it was clear that the dynamic would be fractured in many ways some of which I predicted early on and felt realistic but others that were introduced to the story later on I found a big difficult to enjoy as much .These elements tended to drift into the melodramatic soap opera area and didn’t sit so well with me .
I loved the way the book addresses race issues with mixed race and black women ,these felt well covered to me as a white reader
The differences in income within friend groups can be a prickly subject and I liked the way this was covered
The prose style is easy to read and the book was witty and intelligent

Loved this book. Three old friends have their life gate-crashed by the rich and gorgeous Isobel. The prologue sets up a mystery. An unnamed woman covered in blood has just killed someone. We don't know which woman or who the victim is. But the joy of the book it its characters, their ups and downs in relationships with men and with each other. And it's a bit of a love letter to London.

Highly recommended.

Read through netgalley.
This was a book of two halves for me. I read the first half in forever because it didn’t grip me at all and I debated giving up at about 30% in. I’m glad I didn’t though and by the end, couldn’t wait to find out what happened.
The characters were good and interesting. Simi and Boo are distinctly unlikable (esp Boo) but they felt quite real. Would recommend.

I'm not sure why Wahala (which means 'trouble' in Nigerian) is described as “sex and the city meets my sister the serial killer”. The first part maybe but the second not so much. I enjoyed the book for its toils and troubles of three 30-something women of mixed heritage and think it will appeal to readers who loved Queenie.

Boo, Simi and Ronke's lives are upended when a fourth woman, Isobel, is added to the mix and proceeds to make their lives difficult.
Boo is married to a Frenchman and has a young daughter who they both adore, but Boo is not satisfied; Simi is hiding a secret from her husband who wants to start a family and Ronke just wants to find the man of her dreams and have her own family, but constantly falls for bad boys.

This is a story primarily of friendship and how easily it can be destroyed, complicated by how each woman has to juggle both of her cultures. I really enjoyed learning about Nigerian ways of life and the food. I'm sure the book will be very successful. Many thanks to NetGalley and Doubleday for the opportunity to read and review Wahala.

This was a lot of fun! Chatty, witty, insightful and oh so relatable. The three friends of Nigerian and British descent were a hoot and although they had serious issues and there are plenty a dark moment in the book, this is a novel which has been described as a little Sex and the City mixed with My Sister the Serial Killer. Each character is someone I would LOVE to be friends with. If any of them cook and invite me over I AM THERE!

I absolutely adored this book. This story of three women, and their lives and friendship is insightful, funny, moving and takes and unexpectedly dark turn done so brilliantly. It has a strong sense of place, culture and food, and I found myself getting frequently hungry while reading! It’s also one of those books where I GENUINELY feel like the lives of the characters has carried on, and I am cross because I am not still with them. All in all a brilliant read.