Blog Tour: Yinka, Where Is Your Huzband? by Lizzie Damilola Blackburn

Synopsis

Yinka’s Nigerian aunties frequently pray for her delivery from singledom, her work friends think she’s too traditional (she’s saving herself for marriage!), her girlfriends think she needs to get over her ex already, and the men in her life…well, that’s a whole other story. But Yinka herself has always believed that true love will find her when the time is right.

Still, when her cousin gets engaged, Yinka commences Operation Find-A-Date for Rachel’s Wedding. Aided by a spreadsheet and her best friend, Yinka is determined to succeed. Will Yinka find herself a huzband? And what if the thing she really needs to find is herself?

Review

Ultimately, Yinka’s story is one about self discovery, finding yourself whilst trying to find love at the same time. It was filled to the brim with characters who felt genuine, which made it really easy to connect with the novel. I enjoyed so much about the book, and it was always hard to put down once I’d sunk in to a few chapters.

I felt for Yinka. Life is hard when everyone is pressuring you to follow their idea of ‘the norm’. Her sense of hopeless desperation will resonate with most people, albeit in varied aspects of our lives. More than anything, I just wanted her to be able to stand up for herself and to appreciate her self worth. Her lingering insecurities as a result of bullying were all too familiar, and I particularly enjoyed her working through those and appreciating herself for who she was.

It’s fair to say Yinka’s extended family is fairly eccentric at times, with auntie’s and cousins, all trying to have their say in what she does and how she does it. However, as the reader, it’s fairly clear that Yinka was massively surrounded by love, and even the worst of the behaviour from her family, came from good intentions. Her friends, similarly, were all great characters, who had their own flaws, yet remained supportive of Yinka. I loved the nods to Nigerian culture, from various food items to tv shows, and how the various characters interacted with that culture.

Beautifully capturing life growing up with dual heritage, Yinka, Where is Your Huzband? was quite different to what I expected. I thought it was going to be a standard rom-com type of novel, girl meets boy, falls in love, the end etc. But instead, we got a wonderful portrayal of a close knit family, a woman battling against stereotypes and expectations, and plenty of good humour. I thoroughly enjoyed it and look forward to seeing what Lizzie Damilola Blackburn writes next!

Huge thanks to the publisher for my early review copy, and the chance to join the blog tour. All thoughts are my own.