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Bitter Honey

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What to expect

Bloomsbury presents Bitter Honey by Lola Akinmade Akerstrom, read by Dele Ogundiran and Palmira Koukkari Mbenga.

Two women. Four decades. A lifetime of secrets.

1978: A scholarship draws Nancy from Gambia’s warmth into Sweden’s winter. When her friendship with charismatic scholar Lars blossoms into something more, she thinks she may have finally found her place. But there’s more to Lars than his charming persona, and Nancy is about to discover the danger of being drawn into his world…

2006: Tina has had her taste of fame as the nation’s Eurovision pop princess. But beneath her glittery façade, Tina is desperate to discover who she really is. Her mother, Nancy, seems desperate to keep the past under wraps, but will an unexpected figure help open the door?

Spanning four decades and three continents, Bitter Honey is a story of mothers, daughters, and the importance of carving your own path.

Critics Review

An urgent call for empathy, grace and understanding.
Glamour
There’s an urgent question running through Bitter Honey. What does it mean to parent when your life has been violently derailed by structures beyond your control?
The Conversation
A thrillingly pacey novel with precise historical detail that could be gulped down in just a few sittings.
Press Association
What stands out most in Bitter Honey is [the] handling of emotional inheritance, more specifically how trauma, silence, and survival strategies are passed from mother to daughter, often wordlessly
Voice Magazine
Brilliantly compelling…Bitter Honey explores the complexities, rifts and healing aspects of mother-daughter relationships, sisterhood, and how it’s possible to dig deep, summon resilience, and find the strength to make positive transformations. It’s a compulsive read, driven by complex, messy, realistic root-worthy characters.
LoveReading
Lola’s voice and writing offer something magnetic and unmistakably true in a world that increasingly feels like a game of poker
Galina’s Curiosity Gap
Praise for Lolá Ákínmádé:

'A sharply written story with messy, deeply moving characters'
Taylor Jenkins Reid
I was captivated by the writing from page one... Powerful
Lizzie Damilola Blackburn
Ákínmádé is a master at shading the gaps between power and love
Chika Unigwe
A sexy, surprising, searing novel about love, loss, desire, and the many dimensions of Black womanhood. Timely and terrific!
Deesha Philyaw
Her characters are beautifully drawn and their stories are compelling. I was bewitched.
Christina Patterson, author of Outside, the Sky is Blue

User Reviews

Book 5.0
Narration 5.0
Author Lola Akinmade Akerstrom
Narrator Dele Ogundiran, Palmira Koukkari Mbenga
Duration 12 hours and 44 minutes
Release Date
ISBN 9781035909018
Format Audiobook
Publisher Bloomsbury Publishing
Genre Family life fiction, Modern and contemporary fiction
Collections The xigxag Ten
Availability AU, GB, IE
Rating
5.0 (2 reviews)
Narration
5.0 (2 reviews)

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