Stevie‘s review of The Sweetest Remedy by Jane Igharo
Contemporary Multicultural Romance published by Berkley 28 Sep 21
I really wanted to like this book, because I’m always keen to read around different cultures and to find new authors across the spectrum. The blurb drew me in; however, I’m not sure it really encapsulated the story itself, which opens with Hannah at a high-class but ultimately deathly dull party to which her friend has dragged her. Escaping excessively intrusive questions from a white guy, Hannah finds herself on the balcony with a handsome Black man, but as they are getting to know each other, he is called away by a text message. This being Romancelandia, we can be at least 99% certain the pair are destined to meet again, especially when Hannah also gets a mysterious text: this time from her mother.
At her mother’s house, Hannah receives the news that her long-absent father, whom she last saw when she was eight, has died and she has been called to Nigeria for his funeral. Although Hannah has always been curious about her father and his heritage, she is also resentful of how little interest he took in her – other than sending substantial amounts of money to pay for her education and hobbies – and has no interest in meeting his family now.. Meanwhile, her half-siblings are being recalled from various locations in the US and Europe to also attend the funeral.
When Hannah arrives in Lagos, she is surprised to encounter the man, Lawrence, she was talking to at the party. It turns out he was raised alongside Hannah’s half-siblings after his mother – one of the family’s maids – died, and is now heavily involved in the various businesses Hannah’s father started. He is equally surprised to see Hannah, but is keen to get to know her better, unlike some of Hannah’s half-siblings. The younger members of the group are also taken aback by how little they were told about the seriousness of their father’s illness.
In spite of the hostility, Hannah agrees to stay in the family’s mansion for the duration of her stay and looks forward to getting to know everyone better, especially Lawrence. What she doesn’t know is that the whole family is under instruction to be nice to her, or their potential inheritance will all go to charity. I’m not sure about how well that would stand up in any court, and it’s playing off a pretty tired romance trope, but whatever.
Hannah spends the next few days exploring the rich and poor districts of Lagos, accompanied by Lawrence, and slowly wins over more of her newfound family. She also uncovers deeply buried secrets, none of which are particularly earth-shattering. By the time the reading of the will rolled around, I had pretty much lost interest in the whole cast of characters, and there was more plot after that.
I was disappointed in this book, and irrationally irritated by the number of times the author introduced a contrast by beginning a sentence with the word ‘though.’ Also, I was a little squicked for no good reason about the hints that Hannah and Lawrence were being set up as business partners as well as romantic ones, when he was already so deeply emmeshed in her new family. Not an author I’ll be looking out for again.
Grade: D
Summary:
Hannah Bailey has never known her father, the Nigerian entrepreneur who had a brief relationship with her white mother. Because of this, Hannah has always felt uncertain about part of her identity. When her father dies, she’s invited to Nigeria for the funeral. Though she wants to hate the man who abandoned her, she’s curious about who he was and where he was from. Searching for answers, Hannah boards a plane to Lagos, Nigeria.
In Banana Island, one of Nigeria’s most affluent areas, Hannah meets the Jolades, her late father’s prestigious family—some who accept her and some who think she doesn’t belong. The days leading up to the funeral are chaotic, but Hannah is soon shaped by secrets that unfold, a culture she never thought she would understand or appreciate, and a man who steals her heart and helps her to see herself in a new light.
Read an excerpt.
