Reviews

And Then He Sang a Lullaby by Ani Kayode Somtochukwu

claire_melanie's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional hopeful reflective sad slow-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? No

5.0

ayomiposia's review against another edition

emotional informative reflective sad medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.25

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Homophobia, Suicide, and Violence

riverlasol's review

challenging sad slow-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character

4.0

the first half i struggled with the pacing—it didn’t really match anything in the synopsis until halfway through. but i was determined to keep reading and it was totally worth it. this was a story of fierce love and fierce grief in equal measure, along with delving somewhat into modern nigerian politics, and it isn’t something i will easily forget.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Homophobia, Suicide, Violence, and Death of parent

Moderate: Suicidal thoughts

aurora9's review against another edition

challenging emotional sad medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.0

annineamundsen's review against another edition

3.0

Coming-of-age story about two gay men in Nigeria. About masculinity and love and accepting yourself in a society that criminalises you.

CW: homophobia, sexual assault, toxic relationship, violence towards queer people, suicide, death of a parent

tnociti's review

not feeling the characters at all.  good writing

savvypotions's review against another edition

challenging emotional sad medium-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

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Bullying, Hate crime, Homophobia, and Grief

Moderate: Death, Suicidal thoughts, Suicide, and Injury/Injury detail

ammcnamara's review

emotional 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? It's complicated

4.0

A really strong debut. A tender and emotional story. It was tense for me because it just wasn’t the type of story to have a happy ending. But well crafted and beautifully written. I appreciated how the prose reflected the age of the characters as they matured through the course of the story

simply_jxde's review

challenging dark emotional informative inspiring reflective sad 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

4.75

This was a beautiful read. I loved easy way Segun and August fell in love. It was a beautiful read for the most part, and a heartbreaking read for the rest.
The ending was not very satisfying though, and it felt kind of abrupt.

tanwl's review

challenging dark emotional sad fast-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? It's complicated
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

5.0