Wahala means Trouble. It’s been said that it will be a major BBC TV series. With so many themes, you can see there’s a lot to work with. The cover is striking, the blurb is eye-catching and my review will reveal the rest of my opinions below. Thanks first to TransworldBooks for the book to review.

Wahala is an African word. Most commonly used in Nigeria. In this context, it means trouble! There’s plenty of troubles within this book for the characters to navigate and issues outside and within themselves to handle. Will they handle them in a good way or not and what will the outcome be is the question for the friends.

The world is always interesting and wherever you go, whatever your background is, food and friendship is universal. Wahala has both of those in abundance. Wahala is set in London but you’ll learn a bit about Nigeria, including Nigerian food, including recipes.

Meet friends, Ronke, Boo, Simi and Isobel. Their lives, lavish with the lovely things life has to offer, in some respect,  and readers can follow them as they chase their dreams. Ronke has a desire to have a husband and decided he must be Nigerian. Boo endures motherhood, Simi desires to have a fashion career.

There is humour and also some waspish anger. It’s sharply written and is fast-paced and you’ll reach the end before you know it because suddenly, it is easy to be immersed in each of the characters lives. When Isobel is one the scene, things are shaken up in the other women’s lives, who have known each other for years and there’s some provocation that develops and cracks appear. It’s interesting to see how the dimension changes within this friendship group.

It’s a book that isn’t just one thing. It has very sad tensions that develop too, coupled with the joy of food and socialising. It is a very multilayered  book of all sorts of relationship troubles, identity troubles, race troubles, past troubles. So Wahala does what it says on the cover, so don’t expect a cosy friendship book where everything is uncomplicated, here lots in their lives become so, but there is entertainment to be had. It has a certain balance that becomes captivating, with a surprising and good way to end Wahala.

I can see why this book appeals to many people, it has varied characters and an interesting plot. Well done to the author and publisher.

A nice character development book. A new female enters a long term friendship group enter fun and chaos.

Different from my usual style of reading but the SATC comparison sold it to me!

This was interesting and quite unique I thought, I loved the concept and the characters and thought this was very well written

Unfortunately this was a miss for me. Love the cover and the idea behind it but I found myself getting frustrated and I didn't want to keep reading. Too much drama and not what I was expecting.

There's a real trend at the minute of books covering female friendships that throws either a long lost friend or a random stranger into the friendship group and the reader has to work out if she's friend or foe. This is basically the same with Wahala. It's based in London which I loved as I feel the setting is like a character itself and follows three Nigerian friends who's friendship group is joined by Isobel; a charming woman who it's difficult to read and work out what her m.o is.
Wahala means chaos or trouble, and this book certainly has it in spades. The characters are interesting and relatable and I loved the Nigerian culture thats entrenched in the story. Definitely recommend. Thanks to Penguin, Netgalley and Nikki May for the ARC.

Yeah, this book wasn't for me. I figure it out all the wrongness since the beginning. It didn't sit right with me. The writing wasn't bad, it just the whole situation wasn't my cup of tea. I felt that the book had so much missed opportunity for character development that just didn't happen, expect for Ronke, she was the best, by far! All the friendship thing was not really credible. They have been best friends for years, yet they don't talk to each other and they don't trust each other, at all!! Argh, it was frustrating. Anyway, I will give the author another chance, but this book was not for me.

Wahala was an enjoyable read that was well written. Three friends who are all half Nigerian & half white and live in London, welcome a third girl, Isobel, into their tight knit group. Isobel is filthy rich & quickly learns everyone’s secrets.

I enjoyed reading about the experience of having two cultural identities. Although I appreciated where Boo was coming from with her family history it was uncomfortable to see her being racist. I didn’t like two of the girls inner thoughts about each other, they seemed too mean to be best friends, there was also body shaming aplenty.

I wouldn’t say this is a feel good book about friendship, but it was still a great read that I’d recommend. I’ll be looking for more from Nikki May.

A clever and insightful read, unlike much I've read before. I enjoyed it and learned a lot from it. I look forward to see what Nikkie May writes next

Here's what I was thought I was getting - three mixed-race girls having their Sex and the City moments in London, one new member of the group arrives, causes some disruption, everyone is stronger. Here's what I got: a gripping, twisty little novel. There were some shock twists, and others I started to see creeping in, but just like a horror movie the characters don't notice - run! you're shouting - but they can't hear! And they won't listen to each other!

It's also a superb portrayal of London, and of Nigerian culture (representing a range of experiences too - the girl brought up in a white family who needs Yoruba words and phrases explained to her, the wealthy Nigerian families and those who lost it all, with true culture, food and experiences peppered throughout). The experience of these women as mixed-race women created depth to the story, without making it the full focus. Instead that came through that thriller edge.

In particular, I loved how Isobel created her trouble - not only did she manage to ingratiate herself with the group, but she managed to pick and pick at each person's insecurities or frustrations, helping them to blow them up into something much bigger.

The ending is ... a little far-fetched? But honestly I was so blown away by the whole story, and the masterful slow drip storytelling, that I'm willing to forgive anything for just how good that was!!

Not to mention, a perfect title for an awful lot of trouble. 5 stars!

I received an eARC of this book from NetGalley and the publisher in exchange for an honest review.

A brilliant novel about female friendships, families and Nigerian culture in London. I love how the sins of our forebears are weaved through this novel in an intelligent but accessible plot.

The voices are unique and distinctive. The woes of each character feel genuine and are explored sensitively.

Wahala is a brilliant cross-genre read.

Each chapter is told from Ronke, Simi and Boo view point which I really liked as you can really get into what they are thinking and it was good character development. It started off with Ronke, Simi and Boo being friends from university and have stuck together since. That is until Isobel arrives and sets off some fireworks and changes the dynamic of the group. It is so relevant in real life too so it resonates how one person can change so much. The changes took their time to manifest and you can feel the build up to it and the frustrations.

I am glad there was an epilogue 9 months later at the end because I really wanted to know where they all were and how it impacted them.

I enjoyed this, it’s not something I would have normally picked, but I wanted to push myself to try something different. I’m glad I did.

Thank you NetGalley for my complimentary copy in return for my honest review.

What a wonderful book - definitely 5 stars and there is a great reveal at the end of the book too, Nikki May has also included a couple of recipes for the much loved dishes mentioned in the story - this book made me insatiably hungry!
This is a hard hitting, well observed, well crafted debut. I loved it and would highly recommend. Thank you to NetGalley for the arc.

I was pleasantly surprised by Nikki May’s Wahala. I wasn’t too sure what to expect when I first read the book. The opening hinted at a thriller but the first chapter read more like ‘Sex and the City’. It was all about girls and lunches and I was curious to see where it was all leading to. Oh boy, was in for one hell of a roller coaster ride.

Boo, Ronke and Simi are besties living in London. They all share Nigerian roots. Ronke is the friend who doesn’t seem to have much luck in dating and Simi and Boo are not too sure about her current man. Boo seems happily married while Simi seems on the road to success. Nothing is what it seems though.

The secrets started being revealed with the entry of Isobel. A friend back from high school who finds a way into the tight knit group of friends. Suddenly, she is there for the lunches and in the women’s lives. Somehow, secrets are being revealed and friendships are starting to fall apart. Who exactly is Isobel and what is her role in this group?

This was quite an entertaining yet thought-provoking read. Each of the women brought something to the story. Whether it was drama or a new theme, they were all quite entertaining. They were all flawed in their own ways but aren’t we all? The twists and turns made this a fascinating read. I started reading the book on my flight from the UK and it made me forget everything else including the catalogue of movies and tv shows in front of me. I must say, it was nice to know some of the London/UK places referenced in the story.

This is a fascinating read on friendships, British-Nigerian culture and deceit. Some of the themes e,g on could have been tackled better. However, I was still captivated by the narrative and definitely do recommend this book.

Woah, the wahala. The fast pace and drama kept me up at night reading. Really enjoyed this one, keen to watch the TV series when it's out!

Thanks to NetGalley, Random House UK, Transworld Publishers and Nikki May for an eArc in exchange for an honest review.

Thank you to Netgalley for an advanced copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.
A great debut novel.

Overall a great read, although a little slow in places., but a good beach read.

Reading Wahala via Netgalley had me preordering the book in an instant. This twisty ending of this was really well set up, as we explored Classism, Racism and Imposter Syndrome. Seeing how emotionally fraught the characters were at the beginning of the novel, had me on the edge of my seat from the first page. And as the antics increased, so did my need to know what was going on.

Switching between the perspectives was interesting, as it created a really fun dramatic irony when characters seemed on opposite ends of the 'trust spectrum' with regards to Isobel. There was clear demarkation for which character was speaking, but their individuality would have held it up on its own.

As a debut, I'd be very interested to see where Nikki May goes from here. This book is perfect for fans of When No One is Watching and The Other Black Girl. A tense but fun novel, where the ending is anybody's guess.

I really enjoyed this book. It made me realise I don’t know enough about Nigerian / British culture and I found it really interesting to see the contrast between the characters. I’m familiar with the area of London in which they live so this also made it really interesting for me. I felt invested in the characters from very early on, they seemed authentic and real so I was intrigued to find out what was going to happen to them all. A great read!

This was bloody amazing! Oh my gosh - what a rollercoster! I loved every single minute of it.

I really don't even know where to start.. the friendships, the shared culture, the person to destroy it all... It was so cleverly crafted. Every portion of it thought out and leading to the finale scenes that I wasn't expecting at all.

Along the way, I felt like I was apart of Ronke, Simi and Boo's group. I felt for them, cheered them on and in a lot of cases angrily questioned what they were thinking! It all ramped up in tension when Isobel came onto the scene. Oooh I hated her from the get go and it only got worse.

The shift in dynamic when a new person was added to the trio really got chaotic and it was really interesting to study how each person altered their personality to fit around this new, influential "friend". The manipulation and intricate wording of conversations got scary and complex and thoroughly set everything in motion.

The only thing I'd say that felt a little off was how much younger these ladies read. I would have aged them at early to mid 20s at best, but that's because I couldn't understand all this drama would be allowed to happen once you have a bit more life knowledge, so it did throw me off a little. However, because the ladies felt younger (that kind of beautiful care free black girl vibe), I felt like I could relate to them and their situations and problems more...

The descriptions of Nigerian culture and food was just so vivid and mouthwatering. We even get some of Ronke's and Aunty K's recipes at the back, which was unexpected but so cool.

Anyway, my thoughts are all scrambled right now so I can't even eloquently express how amazing this book was. I just absolutely loved it and would whole heartedly recommend it. It's to become a TV show too this year, apparently, which I'm so excited for. I'll leave this review as is for now (but may come back to edit it, when my thoughts are a bit more collected and settled down).