I will be giving this book another try in the future. The writing is great and the story something truly unique and captivating.

The book was clearly intellectually written which did it justice at times but maybe made it overcomplicated at others. The themes were really interesting and I was drawn in by the story. Overall an engaging unique read.

Giving this a generous 4 stars for creativity and the world building. The author did an amazing job in absorbing the reader into this rich and complex tapestry of characters and themes.

I listed to the audio book and the voice actors really helped the mood with their accents. English isn't my first language so I did struggle at times to understand. This was not helped by the fact that this isn't a linear story, which always makes things confusing on audio (for me anyway).

But I wouldn't let that stop you! If you're looking after an entrancing novel with magical realism set in Africa, this is the book for you.

I've been told that this book would be for me but I have struggled wayy too much to get into it even though it's an audio

I think it is one that requires full attention and the time to take it on

A story of healing and sisterhood. It felt immersive and if you were in the story with the characters.

Dazzling was a lovely story of magical realism, sisterhood, and healing. This world felt complex and detailed, and I loved getting immersed in the characters' lives.

An immersive tale of Nigerian mythology and folklore, blending magical realism with deprivation and struggles of being poor in Nigeria.


This authentic and original story is told from dual viewpoints, that of Ozoemena and Treasure and their separate experiences with magic. Although it had a lot of potential, I found it a little slow moving at times and lost the plot a bit due to the switching back and forth between timelines.



The narrators really animate this book for me, they were both brilliant, bringing the characters to life.

An engrossing tale encompassing Nigerian Mythology, Emelumadu offers a story like no other. Our two protagonists, Treasure and Ozoemena, must navigate the world as young women whom have suffered great loss. But when the spirits begin to interfere, our two girls find that their life is about the get that much harder.

Emelumadu has such an animated writing style that her characters feel like they exist beyond the pages of the book. Showcasing real life struggles, the dilemma faced aid in solidifying the characters as real figures, making the mythology side all the more believable. We see the girls struggle with meeting expectations, both familial and societal, and witness how they overcome the old and new worlds they’re thrust into. Whilst it can be hard to write a story with two strong female protagonists, Emelumadu makes both girls distinctive whilst maintaining their link. The mythology is blended very well within the real world, establishing an almost eerie presence of these spirits and their place in our world. The imagery Emelumadu creates is so spectacular; she has such a convincing way of blending the spiritual and real world together!

The narrators were absolutely fantastic. The life they brought to their characters was unmatched, some of the best work I’ve heard in so long. They kept me so engaged and I can’t praise them enough!

3.5 rounded up.

I have mixed feelings on this read and it's one where I'm not sure if it was me or the novel itself but I definitely recommend giving it a go.

Things I liked: -two clear points of view for our two narrators. The prose for each felt different and the audio narrator for each did a great job.

- learning the mythology of the leopard and a bit about Nigerian beliefs before Christianity.

- solid descriptive details that worked to evoke a different place for me... Even if these were loaded with images of excrement baking in the sun etc.

I was less fond of the alternating timelines. I felt these just muddied the water and I'm not sure that they served any purpose for me. There weren't details that were revealed in the past that particularly illuminated the present narration.

I also didn't understand the rules of the world. The best magic realist/fantasy books for me are those that do take flight from the everyday world we live in, but that also give us clearer ideas of internal logic for their invention. Even if the characters don't start out knowing the rules and we learn with them. This one there was just too much not explained - Ozoemena had the same problem but even when the resolution happened this felt rushed and not entirely earned. I think if we'd lost the past sections and spent more time with the characters in the present figuring things out I would have felt the experience was more rewarding.

That said, I'm glad this book is in the world, and there could be a lot of readers who need it in the form it's in now.

I would read more from this author and the audiobook narrators.

My thanks to netgalley and the publisher for a the book in exchange for an honest review.

A fabulous story with incredibly well rounded characters that I fell deeply in love with. I found the setting and exploration of Nigerian culture utterly riveting. The only reason why my library is unlikely to get this in audiobook format is that it's something you really have to concentrate hard on. Most of our audio listeners prefer to listen to something more cognitively 'easy.' However we'll definitely be getting some paper copies for our readers groups, as I think there's lot for a book group to unpick in this!

This is a lush and beautifully written book, following the intertwining stories of Ozoemena and Treasure - combining magical realism with an intergenerational tale in a contemporary way... It is definitely unique and will stay with me a long while - particularly the climax where Treasure's identity was revealed and how the various threads came together.

I would say... There are some audiobooks that you can put on while you do other things, this in not one of them. I lost the thread a little somewhere around the middle, and had to rewind to actively listen to what I missed. This could just have been me, and my headspace when I was listening. Like some of the other reviewers, this is my first experience of Nigerian folklore. I would like to revisit this book again. Maybe multiple times. Maybe after researching a little. As it is so rich, I feel I will get more out of it on the next read.

The tagline for this book was unlike anything you've ever read before and it certainly lives up to that and more. It follows Ozoemena and Treasure and interweaves Nigerian magical realism and cultural beliefs.. There were parts that I would love to see as a movie to give the depth of this story an even greater platform. The narration was excellent and I'd recommend

A totally engrossing tale weaving the day-to-day struggles of girls and women in Nigeria with traditional mythology. Our narrators are Ozoemena and Treasure, both young girls struggling with the sudden absence of their fathers, Ozoemena's has left the family after the murder of his brother and Treasure's died suddenly, both girls are devastated by the loss and struggling with the expectations of their families and society. Through all of this we meet a cast of spirits and learn of other worlds and entities entwined with our own. Each is tied to another world, Ozoemena is a leopard, destined to move between worlds protecting her people while Treasure has made a tricky and desperate deal with a spirit. There are sacrifices to be made and difficult choices for both to understand and make

Emelumadu shows some impressive writing skills in this complex and engaging story. Her young main characters are both wonderfully formed, their emotions and motivation shining through, as confused and shifting as they should be for young girls weighed down by expectations. Their voices are distinct but their similarities are cleverly raised. Her worlds blend wonderfully, the mythology highlighting the key issues of the narrative, in particular the limited choices available to young women. The imagery is beautiful and powerful, bringing both worlds to life with strong, sometimes visceral language and violent episodes that shade into horror. The writing is complex and vivid, sweeping you along into laughter, heartbreak and disquiet from one sentence to next. I absolutely loved the resolution of Ozoemena's story, a really powerful solution.

The two narrators, Precious Mustapha and Tara Tijani do a fabulous job of bringing the characters to life. In particular Ozoemena and Treasure but also the people that surround them. They manage to make the girls sound young without the need for putting on "baby" voices, letting the writing create the necessary atmosphere and propelling the listener along.

3.5 stars rounded up

Ozoemena has started at her new boarding school, and she must reckon with the transition to this casually neglectful environment while stalked by the spirit of a leopard, which she is called by her lineage to become. Treasure is alone, vulnerable to the promises of spirit who preys on her desperation. Both girls are affected by the absence of their fathers - one missing, one dead - and by the familial expectations that they maintain the proper appearances.

This was my first time reading Nigerian magical realism and it was really interesting to consider the interaction between genre and place/culture in a new setting for me. There was a uniquely blurred boundary between what was real and what was fantastical that spoke to the context of Nigerian folklore.

One of the areas that Emelumadu really excelled was in visceral description - this is a book that you feel, smell and taste alongside the characters. But while the prose was great, I found the pacing a little too slow for my taste, especially in the first two thirds, and then too quick in the climax and resolution. For most of book it took effort for me to not simply put it aside. I think part of this was because the non-supernatural elements of the plot hinge on the contemporary drama of the girls’ family and school lives, which I wasn’t particularly interesting in.

I’m not entirely sure which age categories it’s supposed to be in? My best guess is that it’s written for adults despite the protagonists being pre-teens. At the very least, the reading age is quite a bit higher than that of the main characters. But I feel like this is the sort of book revealed in layers - I’ve no doubt that if I reread it, there’s much more I would notice and appreciate that I didn’t the first time.

I received an advanced copy of the audiobook from NetGalley - Precious Mustapha and Tara Tijani’s performance were spectacular. The prose styles of the POV characters were very distinct, and the narrators brilliantly brought this to life.

Emelumadu’s writing style is very to my taste. We get intergenerational magical realism with fantasy but also contemporary drama. I thought the concept of the leopard was really cool and you get both the horror and the adrenaline following the characters as they make difficult choices. Original and compelling. You FEEL for the protagonists. Book maths = Emezi’s Pet + Makumbi’s The First Woman

The exploration of folklore, witchcraft, superstition and religion in this book is captivating. The characters are powerfully written and easy to feel you know. I found the dark tone and some of the events throughout the book a bit sinister but it was that way by design. It took me an embarrassingly long time to work out what would happen in the book's denouement, but that added to the enjoyment.

In terms of narration - I preferred the actor used for Treasure despite the other being softer. The performance of both was brilliant.

Thank you to NetGalley and Headline for this ARC.

Ozoemena and Treasure are 2 young Nigerian girls who initially appear to have little in common.

When Treasure’s father dies, her mother sinks into depression and her family spirals downwards until they are scrabbling for food. Treasure would do anything to get her father back but as her mother gradually recovers she shows a determination to move on, doing whatever she needs to in order to achieve it.

Ozoema’s beloved father disappears and yet her mother doesn’t seem to care. Only her grandmother talks to her of what Ozoema must do and introduces her to the way of the leopard, a hidden family heritage that will require sacrifice.

The novel merges magical realism with Nigerian folklore and current politics to great effect, with each girl treading her own path to womanhood in a way that collides with societal values. Both girls fight for their fathers but in a society where girls are commodities, are either worth the battle?

I listened to the audiobook of this novel and, although it was beautifully read and convincingly brought to life, it also made it a little confusing at times if you needed to break off between listens, since both girls were dealing with spirits. Overall it was a compelling and engrossing listen.

With thanks to NetGalley and the publisher, Headline audio for an audiobook arc of this novel in exchange for an honest review.

Thank you Net Galley and Headline for giving me an ARC in exchange for an honest review.

I love finding new voices, with unique tales tied in with culture that I am largely unfamiliar with - this was just that. Whilst reading this, I was easily immersed into the world Emelumadu created: full of spirits, tension and sisterhood. As a lover of fantasy, this was eternally beautiful and unlike any other book I have read. This Nigerian debut is a must read, even for those who aren’t big fans of fantasy. Dazzling is full of folklore and witchcraft, tied with Nigerian cultural beliefs and mythology. The narrator was perfect and compelling; the Nigerian accent helped enhance the already beautiful story. This was incredible.

Thank you Chịkọdịlị Emelụmadụ, Headline audios and Netgalley For giving me the opportunity to listen to this audio book early.

A fantastic story, two stories in one; we follow the lives of both Treasure and Ozoemena. both young girls have different lives but both face some very difficult hardships.

Treasure just want’s her daddy back and would do anything for that, her story broke my heart and I only wanted the best for her. How she was treated by the people around her really caught me.

Ozoemena must face her own density and become the first female Leopard. Both of you young girls go through so much, things that all young girls go through.

I had so much love for both of them and their stories. I cannot thank Chịkọdịlị enough for her fantastic style, I felt I was in the story myself. a fantastic story that I believe is going to be a great success.

I would also like to thank both Precious Mustapha and Tara Tijani for their brilliant and engrossing story telling.

Chikodili Emelumadu’s debut is fascinating. There is so much in this novel I enjoyed and couldn’t put down. Set in Nigeria, the two main characters are Ozoemena and Treasure who are two girls living separate lives. Ozoemena is going to go to boarding school - her father is missing and she experiences for the first time the power of the leapord. Treasure is experiencing a life of hardship. Her daddy died leaving her mummy and herself poor and with very little food. She meets a spirit who promises to help bring her daddy back. Chikodili writes vividly and descriptively intertwining Nigerian culture and folklore into the story and I was captivated. I listened to the audiobook which is brilliant and I was transported to another world Chikodili tells us about and shared with us. Quite spellbinding. Thank you to Headline Audio and to Netgalley.