I'll be the first person to admit that I did not really enjoy Nikki may's first book, Wahala. This book really surprised me, in the very best of ways. I really, really enjoyed it, especially as someone who is mixed race and always trying to find my place.

Family rifts, tragic loss, and a family split by jealousy and prejudice, but cousins who are thrown together find a bond which is challenged as they grow up. Set in Nigeria and England, both insufferable in those circumstances where bonds can be broken and mended. An enjoyable read, both well written and constructed, although some of the characters conform to type, in both countries. We see the workings of the old school tie, with strings pulled sometimes inadvisably, and the slow bureaucracy of the third world. There are assumptions made on both sides to be disproven, the savagery of Africa, and the green, grass of England.

This Motherless Land by Nikki May is a fabulous tale of family with a multi cultural element that allows the author to explore the relationships between culture identity and race and explore the effects of the opposing forces of love and jealousy on family relationships.
Opening in Lagos in the 1970s, we are introduced to Funke, the daughter of a British mother and a Nigerian father. We see her life in Nigeria and the author does a phenomenal job of bringing the setting to life with incredibly evocative descriptions of the sights sound and smells . Funke's life is thrown into turmoil however when she survives a car accident that killed her mother and younger brother. Unable to cope her father sends her to England to live with her mother's family, the same family that disowned her mother for marrying a man of another race. Adjusting to life in England is difficult, the only one who welcomes Funke is her cousin Liv, a free spirited young girl who sees an ally in Funke, and soon grows to love her fiercely.
Liv's mother however is not so welcoming, treating Funke like a second class citizen, and when years later Funke becomes a scapegoat for her cousins, she uses it as the perfect excuse to send Funke back to Nigeria. Through a series of miscommunications and outright lies the cousins are manipulated and their relationship destroyed, but could the love they have for one another survive against their family's best efforts ?
I absolutely loved this book, the writing was so evocative and the sense of setting and place was wonderful, both of Funke's homes, in Nigeria and England almost felt like characters in their own right. Funke's story was tragic and it was easy to sympathise with her as she was forced to leave her home and everything and everyone familiar while still grieving the loss of her mother and brother. Liv seemed to have a much easier time at first, but as we learn more about her mother and her family life, the struggles she faced became more obvious, as did the link to the book's title. Once the girls were separated I could not stop reading as I needed to see when and how they would be reunited, and I appreciated that the author kept me guessing, The ending was incredibly satisfying, a perfect conclusion and while I could see the links to Mansfield Park, I loved the freshness that this author brought to the tale.
I read and reviewed an ARC courtesy of NetGalley and the publisher, all opinions are my own .

This is a story of what jealousy can do to a family

We follow Funke mixed race girl raised in Nigeria until her mom and brother Femi die in a car accident at age 9. Her father decide that it would be better for her to be sent to the England to live with her British side of the family as her father battles depression.
During time Funke lives in England her name gets changed to Kate/Katherine everything she knew as the norm, no longer applies to living in the west. She now needs to adapt to the English way of living. She fosters a unique bond with her cousin Liv who become her mouthpiece and the only person in the English family that tried to show her love.

At 18 Kate (Funke) was sent back to Nigeria after she and her cousins were involved in another road accident, her cousin Dom dumped the blame on her without Liv's knowledge given his
Mom had all the ammunition, she needed to banish Kate back to Nigeria.
Life starts all over again for Kate, will life ever give her a break. In Nigeria she can't be Kate she needs to be Funke, and she does her best to adapt

Years pass by and fate brings Liv and Funke together in Nigeria, this encounter reveals all the dirty secrets Olivia mother hid and unfair treatment Funke endured!

Read the book to enjoy this heartfelt story, a definite must-read!

Opening with an all-too-true evocation of being 'exotic' and 'foreign' back in the 1970s, This Motherless Land moves quickly onto a moving story about cousins raised as sisters and the love-hate relationship marred by a particularly toxic mother/auntie.

Nikki May's depiction of the sedate Somerset countryside and the bustling busyness of Lagos populated by characters particular to each setting, make this story of Funke and Liv - the ones who are effortlessly 'citizens of the world' – a stand-out read.

Rather more serious than Wahala, not as many laughs, good to see this other side of Nikki May's writing talents though.

An engaging read and clever update on its source material. May continues to prove herself to be one to watch.

I thoroughly enjoyed this book, a magical retelling of Mansfield Park, it was both heartbreaking and heartwarming in equal measure. Set in Lagos, Nigeria in 1978 and later in Somerset it is the story of Funke who is born in Nigeria of a Nigerian father and British mother. Her mother Lizzie was disowned by her family when she married and Funke has been brought up not knowing her British family. A beautifully written and constructed story that held me in thrall from the beginning to the very end.

Briefly, when her mother and brother die in a tragic accident her father sends her to live with her mothers family. She is clearly there on sufferance and the only member of the family who is pleased to meet her is her cousin Olivia ‘Liv’. Funke is forced to use her middle name Kate and she comes to realise that her only way of getting through her new life is to make herself fit in. However, life for both Kate and Liv is not easy and Kate eventually gets caught up with Liv’s life of excess with terrible consequences.

I loved both of the main characters although Funke/Kate was the one who really grabbed my heart. Luckily she was a strong woman who coped, with varying degrees of success, with everything life threw at her. My heart really broke for Liv who was full of life but who was constrained by her family, in particular her bitter mother. The relationship between her and Kate was joyous and they gave each other the love that was sadly missing from both of their lives. I’ve got so much more I want to say, but I don’t want to ruin the story for the next reader. Suffice it to say I luxuriated in everything about this book; the cultural differences, the relationships, the sad bits and the happy bits. A wonderful book.

This book took me on a wonderful journey. I wasn’t quite sold from the start, my first impression of the characters was that they were over-exaggerated, especially Margot, the almost cartoonishly evil villain of the story. It’s not so much that any of that changed, but rather that the book played on it and became almost Shakespearean in how it framed the characters as pawns in a game of constant near-misses and misunderstandings. The story kept moving and at no point did I really know where it was going to take me, it is engaging and very attaching. The main characters are incredibly loveable, but I especially loved Liv who was by far the most interesting character and a perfect example of even with the best of intentions, when you grow up with a certain privilege, you can be entirely blind to the oppression around you (until you’re forced to face it and have to make the active decision to stand by it or fight it). Is it a shame that so much of the spotlight and interest in the story went to the white girl? I don’t know. Maybe. But overall what the book has to say is effective, important, and overall a delightful experience.
Note: I just found out this was loosely inspired by Mansfield Park which I know nothing about so I have no opinion or thoughts on that!

A heart-warming story from the creator of Wahala; Nikki May, who has undoubtedly done it again and given us another hard to put down book.

I loved this story of Funke/Kate and her cousin Liv. It's a story set over the years that has sorrow, heartbreak, love, romance and friendship.

Wow! I loved this book so much.

The story begins in 1978 set in Nigeria. When Funke's mother and brother dies her Father grieves his wife and his heir. Funke is sent to England to live with her estranged family. The estrangement came about due to her parents having an interracial marriage. This sets the tone for Funke's life in England albeit her cousin Liv who becomes her best friend.

The years pass and Liv is not a happy young woman. She drinks to excess as well as a lot of other things. When Funke gets unwittingly caught up in Liv's wrong doings it's hard not to cry for her. You could see the shortcomings approaching and reading on only confirmed my worst fears for Funke.

The book ends with the two girls now in adulthood. I was racing through those last chapters needing closure. I leave you to find out for yourself if I got it.

So many brilliantly drawn characters in this book. I felt totally immersed in the world of Funke and Liv. It's been a while since I really wanted to pick up a book and just read and read it. I loved Wahala and wondered if this book would live up to it. I would say it is a totally different read, apart from covering the cultural differences between British/Nigerian cultures.

This Motherless Land by Nikki May is captivating. The writing is all consuming and beautiful which makes the story almost viscerally painful to follow at times.

It is a very clever retelling of Mansfield Park (hence why it is so painful a times). The key themes are picked up and brought into a new light for the modern world. The characters are deeply engaging and the development of the relationship between Liv and Funke is brilliantly written. This is a much needed and important retelling, I can see it becoming a classic.

This Motherless Land

Nikki May’s retelling of Mansfield Park is a an utterly joyous read.
Set in the 80s Funke is sent to live with her English relatives in a crumbling Manor House after the sudden death of her mother.
She is treated like a second class citizen yet bonds with her cousin Liv. Nikki brings her cast of characters to life both in England and Nigeria.
Funke becomes Kate and adapts to British life and thrives, until a betrayal by Liv leads her back to Nigeria. Candi Liv make amends and with Funke decide where she belongs?
Loved this so much - it’s a riot of a book. Nikki May stays true to the central plot and message of Mansfield Park yet lets the story develop in her own way. The 80s in the Uk are brought to life in a way that’s very much chimed with me and the Nigerian chapters are vivid and fascinating. Funke and Liv, and all the relatives ( mostly awful!) are brilliantly drawn.

What a great story full of intrigue and sadness but happy times as well a real page turner that draws you in from the first page.
It follows Nigerian Funke/Kate who is sent to her home in England after Funke’s mother dies in Nigeria to live with her cousin Liv and her family, this story pulls at your heart strings as Funke/Kate struggles to be accepted and when she finally starts to settle her life is torn apart again and finds herself back in Nigeria and has to build a new life again especially with her father who rejected her years ago.
Beautifully written and loved the description of the different lives between Nigeria and England.
I received an advance review copy for free, and I am leaving this review voluntarily.

Thank you NetGalley and the publishers for the ARC!

I read and enjoyed Wahala so I was quite excited to read this! Overall I liked the book but it didn't have the same effect on me that Wahala did. Perhaps I went into it with too higher expectations which affected my enjoyment. I just found myself getting a bit bored in the second half and I didn't really connect to any of the characters.

I totally loved This Motherless Land by Nikky May. It is a story which pulls at the heartstrings. Full of intruigue, romance, sadness and happy times, The Motherless Land is a page turner. Until the reader gets to the last page, there is no telling how the story will end. What is fascinating is the intersectional nature of the narrative. As someone who has been educated in five different countries, I know it is hard to find a common denominator which brings people together. Nikky May has succeeded in bringing love to the fore and proving that love conquers all. I dare you to read this book and not laugh and cry!

I really loved Wahala, and I'm so pleased that I enjoyed this one just as much. Again, it's a classic tale of all types of love, romance, and lost and wasted opportunities, but in Ms May's capable hands it becomes so much more. She has a very easy to read style and effortlessly blends Nigerian and British life and cultures, not shying away from highlighting good and bad aspects of them both. Looking forward to the next book!
Thank you to netgalley and Random House for an advance copy of this book

Having read the authors debut ‘Wahala’ I didn’t know what to expect from ‘This Motherless Land’.

One again there is the clash of Nigerian & English cultures but from a different perspective: Liv is the English cousin who welcomes Nigerian Funke/Kate to her home in England after Funke’s mother dies in Nigeria. Unfortunately the rest of Funke’s English family aren’t as welcoming and things are difficult for her at home as well as in trying to get used to school and life in England.

I don’t want to give spoilers, but I will day my mouth was open in shock at the plot. Everything was so unexpected and I felt so deeply for both of the cousins.

This book is heartwarming, heartbreaking and one I will remember. I can’t wait for more from this author!

What a gorgeous book this is. A kind of reimagining of Mansfield Park it is from the perspective of Funke/Kate from Nigeria, and her cousin Liv, who lives in Somerset. The lives of the two girls are beautifully told and the ending so satisfying.

Nikki May knows how to tell a good story and this is a good story of epic proportions, bringing together a clash of cultures - racism, sexism, addiction, hedonism, misunderstandings and just plain being mean.
I loved the vibrancy of the author's debut novel, Wahala, which works so well because of the shifting perspectives of the main characters and the fact that it's set over a relatively short time period in a richly-described, fast-paced setting.
This Motherless Land is different entirely and told by two very different cousins - Funke aka Kate and Liv - who have been brought together (and thrown apart again) by a family tragedy, It's set over several decades and, at times, jumps from scene to contrasting scene at a rapid rate, with new conflict arising before old conflicts are resolved.
It's well written, with a lot of dialogue which speeds the action along. The reader idenitifies with Funke/Kate and what drives her, although Liv is more difficult to get to know or understand what's making her tick.
As someone who lives in the area where the Somerset part is set, I found the geographical references baffling. For example, if you live near Crewkerne, why would you drive 40km to catch a train to Waterloo from Taunton when the Taunton trains go to Paddington and the Crewkerne station on your doorstep is on the Waterloo line? It's not important in the grand scheme of things or if you're not familiar with the area, but, for me, these references to specific places didn't make sense and were a niggling distraction which could have been solved by tighter editing.
I enjoyed the storytelling and being part of Funke/Kate and Liv's worlds but not as much as I revelled in Wahala.
Thank you NetGalley and the publishers for an advance reader copy of this novel.

On finishing this book I immediately looked up the author and bought Wahala, her debut book. Which I am trying to save for the summer.

This Motherless Land, is billed as a retelling of Mansfield Park. Motherless Funke, was happy in Nigeria. After her mother and brother die she is sent to cold, grey England to live with her Mother’s cold and distant family.

Funke struggles to find echoes of her mother’s England as she grows up in the shadow of her cousins.

Beautifully written, I thoroughly enjoyed This Motherless Land. Thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for an Advanced copy.