This was a brutal and uncomfortable read, but one that I just couldn't stop reading. Like a horror film that has your terrified but you just can't turn away, that is what this was like

With its creepy setting and expertly crafted characters, this suspenseful page-turner will keep you up all night, unable to put it down.

Thought the concept of this sounded interesting but unfortunately I couldn’t see enough character development in Ikemefuna to make her change believable.

A troubling read that felt all too real, the story line was appealing but I found the style of writing abit hard to get into, with things being left unsaid and the ending felt abrupt.

This is an extraordinary story
Ikemefuna arrives in Houston to be the wife of Nna the son of her parents friends.Marriage wil depend upon her being able to give birth to a son. Ikemefuna is convinced that Nna looks like her mother back in Lagos. She also believes that she is being kept a prisoner by Nna's parents. This is definitely domestic noir, very well written .

It was a hard read as the names of nigeran people are hard to remember. The story itself was sad, I really felt for the poor girl and no happy ending for anyone

I was immediately struck by the premise when I read the blurb for House Woman. Ikemefuna travels from Lagos to Texas to marry Nna, a man she has never met. Quite quickly we realise she is being held captive in the house of her in-laws and their cruelty and control is pretty disturbing to read. It then unfolds that Ikemefuna’s sole purpose in their eyes is to get pregnant with their grandchild, and get pregnant fast. She’s completely alone and completely powerless. It’s a story full of twists, turns and family secrets - thrilling to the very end.

I liked the blurb of this debut novel, which promised to follow Ikemefuna, who travels from Lagos to Texas to marry Nna, a man she has never met. This set-up suggested a familiar exploration of Ikemefuna's struggles to control her own life, but it was originally followed by 'But she is no ordinary wife', which, to me, implied a speculative or horror twist. The other blurbs I've read, however, make House Woman sound much less interesting to me, and if that had been what I was originally presented with, I probably wouldn't have picked it up. So, take this review with a pinch of salt... but I do think the novel is quite poorly executed as well. Only a few chapters in, I'd lost confidence in the author's ability to make me believe in this world. It's oddly fragmentary and disjointed, and I kept on thinking that I'd missed something but realising I hadn't. I agree with other reviewers that the prose lingers on odd details while not filling in key information, which is frustrating. Not for me.

House Woman is an excellent thriller from start to finish. Filled to the brim with twists and a captivating plot, this one is sure to keep readers hooked. The characters are well-developed. The story is incredibly fast-paced. This is one not to be missed! Highly recommended! Be sure to check out House Woman asap.

Ikemefuna Azubuike has been sent from Lagos to meet Nnaemeka Nwosu in Houston. Her only task, of which she is unaware, is to get pregnant fast. Nnaemeka, known as Nna, is equally unaware of this objective, in fact he doesn’t even know that Ikemefuna, known as Keme, exists ‘til he walks into his parent’s house to find her working in the kitchen. Keme is the daughter of the Nwosu’s old neighbours from back when they lived in Lagos, the largest town in Nigeria. Their respective parents arranged this marriage before the Nwosu’s moved to Houston, Texas twenty-five years ago. For Keme it appears to be an advantageous move, for Nna, now a successful lawyer, it doesn’t have quite the same positive feel. On the other hand there is the fact that she is a beautiful girl and is available for sex. And Nna’s mother, a devotee of Ala the Igbo goddess of fertility, is insistent that they start that immediately, making it a condition that she must be pregnant before the marriage can take place. To make sure of this, she removes Keme’s phone and passport, and keeps her locked in the house. Nna is not really aware of their control over Keme’s life, can’t believe her when she tries to explain, and exists in an air of bemused confusion. Why this complicated ménage has been formed is unclear for most of the book, although there are clues along the way. What is certain is that such a claustrophobic situation will heighten Keme’s paranoia and increase Nna’s confusion.
This is a psychological thriller set in the world of Nigerian Americans, quite a big world but one which will be unfamiliar to most readers. It is well written, sprinkled with Igbo, pidgin and dialect words but never getting too unfamiliar. Lots of cultural references regarding style, fashion and food help to create an appropriate atmosphere. The plot is really quite straightforward but woven into the story in a way that will keep readers guessing. Tragedy must ensue, but how and when?.
I would like to thank NetGalley, the publishers and the author for providing me with a draft proof copy for the purpose of this review.

This was a genuinely disturbing and horrific exploration of the powerlessness of women in society and the awful lengths people will go to to get what they want. Ikemefuna was a really compelling protagonist, forced into an arranged marriage through circumstance and escaping one abusive home life for a different one. The dynamics within the house in Sugar Land are unsettling throughout and the number of cries for help that go unanswered are tragic but all too believable. The writing was clean and bare in places, putting the horror front and centre and with no place to hide from what is being inflicted on the main character. Overall, this was a really troubling read that is made more so because it feels so real.
I received a free copy of this from the publisher in exchange for a fair and honest review.

The plot twist in this book is a shocker! This is truly chilling and an incredible story. Highly recommend!

From the blurb about this book I thought it was going to be a dark thriller - and it may well have been, but I found it really confusing with sudden character and timeline changes leading to a rather disappointing ending.
I liked the writing style, and, had the narrative been more cohesive, I may well have enjoyed the book.
Thank you to netgalley and Harper Collins for an advance copy of this book.

House Woman was an interesting premise for me – the blurb promised an unsettling thriller regarding an arranged marriage with a wife who perhaps, wasn’t all she seemed.

I was a little disappointed with the book if I’m honest, and this was mostly down to the writing style. The narrative was disjointed and very confusing. The chapters skip between perspectives – some from people who are not integral to the plot, or people we never really hear from again which is odd. They also jump between flashback and present day which is confusing and then some sections are just daydreams rather than reality, or deliberately mislead us by missing information out. This helps to create an unreliable narrator, and should have been a clever technique, but used here it just adds to the confusion. The last two chapters are from characters we have never met before and give far too much un-needed backstory about their lives, which was so frustrating when we just want to find out what’s going on with the main storyline.

I think I was misled by another reviewer who raved about ‘the twist’ of the book so I was expecting a delve into Sci-Fi or Horror at some point. Unfortunately, I have to say that I don’t really think anything in the plot constitutes as a ‘twist’. There are a few reveals along the way, but these seemed very signposted in the plot so I wouldn’t call them twists. There are a lot of threads of the plot left unresolved or unanswered and I was really disappointed by the ending which didn’t seem to wrap anything up. The prose is nicely written in places but there are some really disgusting bits of imagery which made it hard to read.

Overall House Woman wasn’t for me – with a disjointed and confusing narrative, a flat plot and an ending which didn’t really resolve anything. Thank you to NetGalley, Harper Collins UK, Harper Fiction & Borough Press for the chance to read the ARC in exchange for an honest review.

Novel about deceit and deception among Nigerians - certainly not cheery.

Ikemefuna is brought over to Houston to stay with a Nigerian family and finds herself trapped and kept under false pretenses. Her struggle against her hosts and their son is the main theme in this depressing story about deception and lies, stretching from her native Nigeria to the US. It's all about the few characters in the book.which are well-developed. There are many revelations and it all comes to a sad conclusion. It's quite an eye-opener and certainly doesn't depict some Nigerian men and women very favourably. It's worth a look and I received an advance review copy for free, and I am leaving this review voluntarily.

"Thriller" is a genre that promises to keep readers on the edge of their seats, and this definitely delivers. From the very first page, the tension is palpable, and the plot twists and turns in unexpected ways, making it difficult to put the book down. The characters are well-developed and the author does an excellent job of keeping the reader guessing as to who can be trusted and who is hiding something. The pacing is spot-on, with just the right amount of action and suspense to keep the reader engaged. The writing style is gripping and evocative, making it easy to visualise the scenes and feel the emotions of the characters. The author's attention to detail and ability to create a believable world adds to the overall experience of the book. Overall, this is an excellent example of the thriller genre. It's a page-turner that will keep readers guessing until the very end and is sure to satisfy fans of the genre. Highly recommended for anyone who loves a good suspenseful read. This is a first for me by the author and one I enjoyed and I would read more of their work. The book cover is eye-catching and appealing and would spark my interest if in a bookshop. Thank you very much to the author, publisher and Netgalley for this ARC.

I couldn't put down the book until finished it. Nigerian emigrants in the USA. They arrive with own expectations and try to transfer the previous life to different conditions. Something works and something doesn't. Sometimes unfortunate people in the other country will be even more unfortunate.
I loved the book and will look for more books written by this author.

Nna's parents are old school Nigerian . One day he comes home from work to find that they have found him a wife -ike -who is expected to bear him a child as soon as possible . Ike seems happy enough -but is she really ?One day he finds a photo of her mother -and she looks just like him . What is going on -what are his parents hiding from him ?
An interesting and unusual read !

This story is super tense and heart wrenching. I was a little confused in parts but other than that I thought this was a really good, interesting read

I loved it. It was a confusing and difficult read at times, I was never really sure where it was going or what was going to happen but that is what I want from a book, something to keep me guessing. One thing I really picked up was the heat, the suppressive heat was ongoing in this story, it added to the atmosphere tremendously. Also, the constant observation, someone is always watching our protagonist whether that be her new "keepers" or the neighbours or her new partner which made you feel even more uncomfortable and out of control of your own future. I don't want to give too much away but I really rated this and encourage others to read it too.