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kirei_eyes's review against another edition
emotional
hopeful
informative
inspiring
reflective
sad
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
4.75
A good book through and true!
Content Warnings
Graphic: Homophobia, Misogyny, Racial slurs, Racism, Sexism, Suicide attempt, Murder, Pregnancy, and Sexual harassment
bookishevy's review against another edition
adventurous
challenging
dark
emotional
funny
hopeful
informative
inspiring
lighthearted
mysterious
reflective
sad
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.25
Whew! This sequel to In Every Mirror She's Black was added to my list of messiest reads, because I was scandalized. Again, we experience Sweden through the eyes of Black women.
Kemi, a Nigerian-American marketing executive goes to Sweden for an amazing opportunity working for Jonny von Lundin with hopes of invigorating her lovelife, but she's looking for love in all the wrong places, putting her relationship and career in jeopardy. Let's just say mistakes are made. Or rather the same mistake over and over again. I just wanted to shake her violently.
Brittany, a Jamaican-American flight attendant is swept off her feet by Jonny's obsession with her and the privilege that comes with his money, but marrying into a rich family with a racist, controlling matriarch is a challenge. She must dig into Jonny's past to gain some leverage and her freedom. It's some real The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo type of shit. It's amazing the lengths racists will go to to keep people of color out of their family.
Vasmiin, a Somali refugee who used to be Muna's - one of the mains from the first book - roommate, but their stories become entwined again following a harrowing event. Add this to Yasmiin trying to figure out her shady husband while keeping her past at bay as she pursues her dream of becoming a markup artist.
These women's lives are loosely intertwined and different in many ways, but they all have to put up with the same racism and sexism that comes with patriarchy.
I appreciate Akerstrom, who is Nigerian-American and based in Sweden, for giving us a glimpse into the lives of Black women trying to thrive in Sweden. Before I read this book I didn't know there was a Swedish word for n*****. This was an education.
Kemi, a Nigerian-American marketing executive goes to Sweden for an amazing opportunity working for Jonny von Lundin with hopes of invigorating her lovelife, but she's looking for love in all the wrong places, putting her relationship and career in jeopardy. Let's just say mistakes are made. Or rather the same mistake over and over again. I just wanted to shake her violently.
Brittany, a Jamaican-American flight attendant is swept off her feet by Jonny's obsession with her and the privilege that comes with his money, but marrying into a rich family with a racist, controlling matriarch is a challenge. She must dig into Jonny's past to gain some leverage and her freedom. It's some real The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo type of shit. It's amazing the lengths racists will go to to keep people of color out of their family.
Vasmiin, a Somali refugee who used to be Muna's - one of the mains from the first book - roommate, but their stories become entwined again following a harrowing event. Add this to Yasmiin trying to figure out her shady husband while keeping her past at bay as she pursues her dream of becoming a markup artist.
These women's lives are loosely intertwined and different in many ways, but they all have to put up with the same racism and sexism that comes with patriarchy.
I appreciate Akerstrom, who is Nigerian-American and based in Sweden, for giving us a glimpse into the lives of Black women trying to thrive in Sweden. Before I read this book I didn't know there was a Swedish word for n*****. This was an education.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Homophobia, Violence, and Suicide attempt
Moderate: Child death, Infidelity, Miscarriage, Racial slurs, Racism, Sexism, Xenophobia, and Trafficking
zarrazine's review against another edition
emotional
reflective
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Infidelity
Moderate: Racism and Xenophobia
Minor: Miscarriage and Suicide attempt
abaighritz's review
challenging
dark
emotional
hopeful
informative
reflective
relaxing
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.5
The writing was great, I felt like I really knew three main characters. Taking place in Sweden some of the language and places didn’t feel familiar but did not make it and less easy to follow along.
The three women have very little overlap and I kept expecting more, love a big reveal. It just happened naturally and that was fine. They all had independent things happening in their lives and at the end they all going d some sort of freedom wether they were intentionally searching for it or not.
Heavy on trauma among black women but stories that deserve to be told.
I found myself wanting to read more about one story but then had to read about the other two stories before I got there and that maybe made it so I took longer than usual to read.
The three women have very little overlap and I kept expecting more, love a big reveal. It just happened naturally and that was fine. They all had independent things happening in their lives and at the end they all going d some sort of freedom wether they were intentionally searching for it or not.
Heavy on trauma among black women but stories that deserve to be told.
I found myself wanting to read more about one story but then had to read about the other two stories before I got there and that maybe made it so I took longer than usual to read.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Racism, Sexual assault, and Suicide attempt
olamroczek's review
emotional
reflective
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.0
I didn’t read the first part of this series but I had no problem jumping in the story and understanding what was going on.
The book tells the story of three Black women living in Sweden and struggling with racism, their own bad decisions and other various life problems.
I found this book quite captivating with the plot but I didn’t particularly enjoy the structure of the book. I felt like it was flat and lacking some points of surprise before the last 50 pages or so.
I liked the characters, they felt like real people when making mistakes and dealing with their problems but I would have enjoyed it more if the characters were generally more dimensional. However, having not read the first book in the series, it might be the reason why I felt the characters were lacking some character outside of the plot as I haven’t met them in the first book.
Overall, I enjoyed the book in some aspects but I would have liked it more had the structure of the plot been more gripping.
Thank you NetGalley and Head of Zeus for a digital ARC copy in exchange for my honest review.
The book tells the story of three Black women living in Sweden and struggling with racism, their own bad decisions and other various life problems.
I found this book quite captivating with the plot but I didn’t particularly enjoy the structure of the book. I felt like it was flat and lacking some points of surprise before the last 50 pages or so.
I liked the characters, they felt like real people when making mistakes and dealing with their problems but I would have enjoyed it more if the characters were generally more dimensional. However, having not read the first book in the series, it might be the reason why I felt the characters were lacking some character outside of the plot as I haven’t met them in the first book.
Overall, I enjoyed the book in some aspects but I would have liked it more had the structure of the plot been more gripping.
Thank you NetGalley and Head of Zeus for a digital ARC copy in exchange for my honest review.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Racial slurs and Racism
Moderate: Suicide attempt