A review by joymargot
Bitter Honey by Lọlá Ákínmádé Åkerström

3.0

On (e)paper, this sounded like exactly my sort of thing as I love a multi-generational story but unfortunately this wasn’t quite my cup of tea.

I appreciate this is a very subjective criticism but as I couldn’t be less interested in Eurovision or football (they weren’t mentioned in the blurb), I found it difficult to invest in Tina and Seb’s storylines initially.

I was most intrigued by Tina and Nancy’s relationship but a lot more page space is dedicated to their toxic romantic relationships. As well as the expected discomfort of the romances themselves, I found the writing of the intimate scenes really off-putting and references to “perky breasts” and “panties” felt like they’d come from a male author.

Criticisms aside, this was a speedy read and I enjoyed how Swedish, Wolof and Mandinka as well as real-life cultural events were woven throughout the story.

Thank you to NetGalley and Head of Zeus for the eARC.
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