The Manual for Good Wives is an intergenerational tale that applauds defiance of oppressive systems and celebrates generational joy.

This was surprisingly stirring, especially because it took me a few chapters to start caring about the main characters.

But of course, I’ll always be a fan of stories that meticulously explore survival and independence in a patriarchal world, as well as the legacies of women who blaze trails.

Reading Paladin’s Grace was such a delight!

Loved the MCs, loved the humour, and loved how whimsical it was.

Could’ve been a 5-star read if some things didn’t annoy me 🙄 (I’ve come to accept there are certain things that are nearly inescapable in M/F romances)

Nonetheless, I really enjoyed this book, and I intend to devour every book in this series.

“There’s a way in which life takes us along for a ride and we begin to think that our destinies are not in fact up to us.”

Under the Udala Trees is a powerful story about taking back your life from a world that has stolen so so much from you.

From the silent wounds of war and heterosexism to the subtleties of socially-endorsed abuse, Chinelo Okparanta explores the ways violence casually permeates our society and how that casual violence shapes these characters’ lives.

Things that stood out to me:

• How nuanced the MC (Ijeoma) was
• The biblical references that highlighted how religion is a double-edged sword
• Portrayal of more insidious forms of abuse and lesbiphobia
• The way first love stays with you

Things I wasn’t a fan of:

• Over-descriptive prose (sometimes)
• How Ijeoma’s narration in the earlier chapters (which I did love) seemed older than her age. I’d read certain lines and be like, “girl, aren’t you 11?” 😭

Nonetheless, this book was a tender pacesetter.