Yinka, Where is Your Huzband is far from a bad read and I appreciated that the narrative is more focused on Yinka herself than her love life. However, the writing just struck me as very...shall we say debut-y. Some of the dialogue is clumsy, as are some transition scenes (with phrases like "i remember it like it was yesterday"). The secondary characters are fairly one-dimensional. Still, this will appeal to fans of chick-lit books that are less nit-picky than I am.

If you are after an upbeat and funny read, this is the perfect read for you. I have been reading quite a few thrillers and needed something light hearted and this was the perfect change I needed. It really shows the true meaning of extended families and female friendships. It such a great and easy read, I was laughing most of the time reading this. I loved Yinka, she is such a strong female character, I felt as though I went through every emotion with her. Now when I think of this book it will make me smile. I just want to read it again and again.

Yinka, Where is Your Husband? by Lizzie Damilola Blackburn is a great contemporary fiction that made me smile, laugh, and also endeared me towards this young woman and her larger than life extended family. I was definitely entertained.

This book is a bit out of my normal reading genres, but I am so glad I read it. I first of all loved the dialogue, witty banter, sarcasm, and cringe-worthy moments. All of this balanced perfectly with Yinka and the complicated relationships she has with her vibrant and fabulous family. My heart goes out to her and the push/pull relationship with the family that just wants her to find a suitable partner and marry already! She wants to make them happy, but she also wants to be herself, keep her independence, and also find her own happiness.
What reader cannot empathize with this conundrum?

I enjoyed the interplay and how it all came through as the book continued on. I also enjoyed the ending. It left me with a smile on my face for sure.

4/5 stars

Thank you NG and Penguin General
Viking, Hamish Hamilton, Fig Tree
Penguin Random House UK for this wonderful arc and in return I am submitting my unbiased and voluntary review and opinion.

I am posting this review to my GR and Bookbub accounts immediately and will post it to my Amazon, Instagram, and B&N accounts upon publication on 3/21/22.

I really loved this book. I like the way our cultures collide and finding out how families deal with differences on how we are brought up especially people from ethnic backgrounds thrown together and making the most of dealing with two worlds. I loved the characters and Yinka stood out for me. She loves her ethnicity but on the other hand she struggles with the fact that she should be married and have children as she is now 31. Yinka is clever, a degree from Oxford, has a good job in the city and her own home but as far as the “aunties” in her culture are concerned the one thing she is missing is a “huzband”. This sets Yinka on a downward spiral of trying to find a man for a wedding of a friend which is 6 months away. It does not help that her younger sister is married and expecting a baby which deep down she would love herself. On top of this pressure she is made redundant from her job which she keeps secret through shame. At every opportunity her mother and aunties pray for her to find a husband and she is always embarrassed by this and makes her feel unloved. One of her friends, Nana from Ghana, is totally comfortable her own skin and she tries to make Yinka comfortable in hers but it is an uphill battle. Yinka is rolling along unsure of herself when she attends an engagement party and who turns up but the “she thought” the love of her life with his new fiancé which she finds difficult to deal with. This makes her pursue even harder to find a date for the wedding. Mum and aunties get involved and push single men from their All Welcome Church in her direction and that proves a non starter for Yinka. Time evolves and Nana becomes very worried about Yinka and puts her on a path of “it does not matter attending weddings etc on your own” and is better than taking a man who your mum and aunties preen over and have you married before you can turn around. There are many twists, turns and men coming into Yinka’s life and I found the whole book enchanting and was sorry when it ended – great read

Yinka is 31, single, and a virgin. She is under constant pressure from her family to find a husband and settle down. Despite the fact that she is a high achiever with a fantastic job at an investment bank, this is not enough for her mother and her aunts who seem to treat her as though her singleness is a curse.

This is a fast and easy read. The writing is clear and easy to understand. I was able to relate to the culture and several elements in the book. However, Yinka made me cringe more times than I would have liked and some parts of the book felt overly cliche and some bits felt a bit over exaggerated. I like that the author tried to highlight many important issues like colourism, homelessness and even religion but some of these were underdeveloped.

An enjoyable light hearted read with an engaging main character. The writer brings an insight into Nigerian culture in the UK and the problems of being a single woman with the weight of expectations from family.

I just loved this book!! Yinka is the perfect narrator for the book and I found myself laughing out loud at some of the characters and their antics. The way the book describes the British Nigerian culture and the aunties and almost parodies their behaviour was so endearing.
The overall story of a 30 something single woman feeling the pressure from her family to find a husband was so well written that I felt really invested in what happened. I would highly recommend this book. Thanks to Penguin, Netgalley and Lizzie Damilola Blackburn for the ARC.

A lovely book. I really enjoyed a good book showcasing morals, friendship, woman power, faith, love, and trust in someone other than ourselves. Yinka was a great character, full of life and down to earth, with the same problems and insecurities we all face. Well worth the read. Highly recommended.

Londoner Yinka is, unfortunately for her large Nigerian family, at 31 still without the huZband and when cousin's wedding approaches, she makes a plan to find a perfect date (or even husband) for a ceremony. But nothing goes according to plan.

Characters are adorable, the narrative funny, heart-warming and relatable. Yinka is really charming in her way to find herself.

This is a story about friendships, extended families, and above all love. But most of the importance of finding your own path and live your own life as you wish.

Fresh, modern and enjoyable read.

Thankyou for giving me the chance to read. Wasn’t sure what I was expecting but it was a good read nevertheless. Different from my usual style but has opened my eyes to different types of novel and their characters. Worth a read

I gave 5 out of 5 stars. I loved the writing style, the layout of the story, how we can see the things that Yinka searches for on the internet – which makes the reader more connected to her thought. I loved the issues that were dealt with in the story and the plot. It doesn’t end the way usual romance novels are wrapped up, even though you have an idea what will happen if the story continued beyond its end. Well done Lizzie.

Many thanks to Netgalley/publisher/author for an advanced copy of this book!

I loved this book! I especially loved Yinka and her quirkiness!


Life starts going downhill for Yinka when she can't find a date for her cousin's wedding which is fastly approaching, alongside the fact that she has just been made redundant from her "highflying" job.

If being dateless and jobless wasn't bad enough, throw in arguments between friends, and a few unruly decisions, and this book is hilarious!

Cannot wait to purchase this on the release date!

I really enjoyed this book. It was so good to see a book written with real understanding in Nigerian culture, correct wording, and reference to our favourite foods! I think anyone would enjoy this book, regardless of their background, as it opens them up to new cultures with someone relatable, and we’ve probably all got someone in our lives like at least one of the characters. A book about finding yourself and loving yourself

I thoroughly enjoyed this book! I wasn't sure what to expect, but from the opening pages I was rooting for Yinka, and I was immersed in the culture that she was from and experienced. It was a fun to read book, I read it quite quickly, and I would recommend it for anyone who has enjoyed Bridget Jones or the Sophie Kinsella books.

Great concept for a book but this book is just not for me.

I think the book is so hyped but even just starting this book I found it a little absurd and OTT which may appeal to some people but not to me.

Absolutely loved book, it's so funny and women of whatever culture will empathise with Yinka, whose relatives keep asking when she's going to get a husband! Yinka is the modern-day Bridget Jones set in the Nigerian community, who is under pressure to find a 'plus one'. Highly recommended.

Yinka, Where is Your Huzband? was an easy light-hearted read that I enjoyed as a relaxing unwind in the evenings. It successfully mixes many aspects of the specific demands of being a very dark-skinned person living in Britain today; the family demands particular to Nigerian culture, and a tale of how pressure and desire to conform can influence a woman's choices and rationale.

The book would invite some interesting book club or student discussions, particularly around how Yinka deals with her over-bearing mother and aunties, and where cultural expectations can cause clashes with desire for independence or breaking the norms.

Really enjoyed reading this book, it was a story all about Yinka, a 30 something singleton. Her family are from Nigeria, and they continually pray for her to find a huzband, which embarrass and infuriate her.

Things it her all at once, she can't find a date for her cousin's wedding, she is made redundant from her job and she is not getting on too well with her friends, causing her to go into a meltdown and make some dodgy decisions.

It is very funny and gives you an insight into different cultures and how their families are involved in their lives.

I would recommend this book ❤️

Yinka, Where is your Huzband?
I enjoyed this book and liked the characters. It describes a lively Peckham community, including the church and Yinka’s family. Although it is very particular in some ways to the UK Nigerian / black community, it doesn’t mean that it is isn’t relatable to any of us who have had judgemental Aunties, Mums who don’t always understand us and difficult friends. Yinka’s mother is an absolute delight and steals every page she is on with her fervent public prayers for Yinka’s marriage and her way of speaking that’s captured so vividly – I want to believe she really exists and I might meet her one day. It’s a fun story of Yinka and her family and friends, problems with work and what it’s like being a young black woman today. I enjoyed hearing about the issues facing Yinka and how heartbreaking it can be even for someone with everything going for her in lots of ways. At times the book wanders around and I wasn’t sure where it was going as there isn’t one plot line but several, but the lively scatter approach worked well over all. I felt by the end that I might have gained a little insight into how things are for young women like Yinka and it was fun along the way.

Possibly contains spoilers**
Overall I liked this book, it fell a bit short of my expectations with the romance aspects of the novel but other parts definitely made up for it. Going in to read this book I thought that the romance aspect would take centre stage though the book was more about was the main character's (Yinka) personal issues and how she in the end overcomes them and starts accepting herself, I would have liked to see more of the romance as who Yinka end's up with makes a bit of sense though it would have been nice to have more of an insight into him. I think I'm used to romantic comedies being more half and half with the love interests rather than focus on one (though the title does make it obvious haha). I liked the author's writing and also the insight into 'Yinka's' culture and the family pressures she was under, since finishing the book I've actually made Jollof rice for the first time (delicious!). What was great about the book was reading Yinka's character development, the way she towards the end feels more comfortable in herself and also the support that she had from her friends and family (shout out to Nana and Aunty Blessing!).
Overall I give this book 3.5 stars and would read other books by the author.