House Woman was an uncomfortable read, it focussed on something by which is all too real. It was a story of abuse and a young woman who has a real will to survive, I was rooting for her the whole way through and I wanted a happy ending for her.

I really enjoyed this. I agree with other reviewers that it feels confusing and disjointed, but I interpreted this as intentional because there were so many layers of othering.

These include clashes in Lagos/American culture and beliefs, race, wealth, gender rights, and legal protection (e.g. literally pitting a lawyer against someone whose passport has been forcibly taken). Even the food: I loved the contrast of the delicious-sounding food that Ikemefuna makes compared to her neighbours.

I also attributed some of the disjointedness to the clever representation of gaslighting, and the ambiguity of Ikemefuna's mental state (which for me fed into the misogny running through the book). The descriptions of Lagos were really vivid, and I really got a sense of Ikemefuna's yearning for a better life. The language was rich and I felt like I learnt a lot of new words and things about Lagos culture.

I feel like I got something new out of reading this book, and I look forward to seeing what Adorah writes next.

What a strange book. Nworah had a unique voice and her writing had a visceral physicality that was slightly off-putting at the start with its talk of reeking penises but it won me over with its vigour and power.

Nna is surprised to return to his parents' house to find a young woman called Ikemefuna there, claiming to be his wife. Nna's parents present her to him as the daughter of there erstwhile friends and neighbours in Lagos. Nna is fiercely attracted to Ikemefuna but his American sensibilities are (slightly and briefly) discomfited with an arranged marriage. Ikemefuna is desperate to hide the fact that she is even less keen. She had had no say in the arrangement and is a de facto prisoner, desperate to escape and driven to episodes of violence and deceit to escape.

The writing style is bravura but the storytelling is less assured. The plot is disjointed and repetitive in places and apart from Ikemefuna, most of the other characters are a little simple. But it's an intriguing tale and I will look for Nworah's future work.

This was really confusing and didn't really connect with the blurb or wasn't what I expected. Without giving spoilers I was left a bit disappointed and I couldn't connect with any of the characters of the book, it was just not what I thought it would be and I didn't really like it.

House Woman is a tense novel about a woman sent from Lagos to Houston to start a new life with a husband in America, only for things to not turn out like that. Ikemefuna is a dancer who dreams of freedom beyond the violence of her childhood, so when she is promised a new life in America with Nna, the son of her parents' former neighbours, it seems like a dream. One day in Texas, Nna returns to his parents' home to find a woman waiting for him, a woman who is apparently his wife. But as Ikemefuna, Nna, and Nna's parents spent time together in the Texas house, a strange story starts to unravel amidst the tense atmosphere, filled with darkness and pain.

The stark cover and intriguingly mysterious blurb drew me to this book, which is a tense thriller that leaves a lot of gaps as it tells the story through various characters' perspectives, increasing confusion and unpredictability as the story progresses. The prose is engaging, purposefully building up frustration with the different perspectives so you can feel how Ikemefuna doesn't know how to explain that something is starting to go wrong, and the characters act quickly, changing their minds often, which adds to this. By the end, the calmer atmosphere of the start has turned to violence, as you'd expect from a thriller, and the way it plays out could almost be a horror film, even though it doesn't really have horror elements.

This is a distinctive novel that explores the contradictions within people whilst having a tense plot. Some people may not like the way it goes from a book about an arranged marriage and expectations to a violent thriller, but I enjoyed it (and I think that the cover and ominous blurb do give you some sense of this, or at least I was expecting it).

One day in Lagos,young dancer Ikemefuna is put on a plane to Houston to meet her new husband,Nna.
Promises are made about her education,the man she will marry and her freedom.None of them are kept a few months later self professed feminist Nna finds a beautiful woman cooking in his parents kitchen.
They tell him Ilkemefuna is his wife ,there to give them the grandson they've been waiting for she seems obedient and malleable.
But she is no ordinary wife and desperation makes people do strange things.
I always look forward to reading a book by a new author,but sadly this one was just not for me I found it confusing at times and had to push myself to get to the end.
Thanks to Netgalley and Harper Collins UK for the ARC.

Um, that was... confusing? unexpected? disjointed?

The blurb doesn't give a good sense of where this book goes, and it didn't really take me, as a reader, along with it. We start off in a book about an unexpectedly arranged marriage... and end up somewhere crazy. The tone is unstable as horrific things happen but they're almost written like a black comedy.

Sorry, didn't gel with this one at all.

This was a harsh but gripping book. It's the kind of book that gets you reading almost through your fingers, but it's so intriguing that you can't stop. It seems Ikemefuna has endured so many things and then it keeps surprising you with even more hardship.

Rounding up to 3 stars

I found a lot of this book confusing.
What seemed simple enough to start with, turned out to be very strange indeed.
I felt it a real struggle at times, and Cs only hope that's me.
Ikemefuna seemed like a character with a bit of a spark, and I had a lot of time for her.
The others I'm not so sure about...

We learn in detail of the abuses this 'kept' woman endures. Ideal for those seeking a powerful, visceral and hard read.
With thanks to the author, publisher and NetGalley for the opportunity to read an early copy in exchange for an independent review.

The simplest summary of this book is this: Ikemefuna was raised to die. From the very beginning of her life, she was unwanted and then raised to be used (and then dumped) by a more preferable son.

*****
Their meeting/marriage was unconventional, but Nna seemed quite sweet in the beginning. Then his parents came in and all I felt was annoyance and disgust. And then, is Ikemefuna possessed? Wait, is EVERYONE in this story possessed?

This is a very unusual story that we don't see a lot of. It felt a bit all over the place and confusing sometimes but I appreciated the new storyline.

It was sad that not a single person was ever on Ikemefuna's side, but seeing how she started out in life, it almost seems like that was her destiny.

This was not one of my favourite reads, but it's still a good one.