The Sweetest Remedy
by Jane Igharo
Rating: 4.5/5 Genre: Contemporary Lit/Romance (?) Steam: Explicit Publisher: Forever Books Pub Date: September 28, 2021 Available: Amazon | Barnes & Noble | BookShop
The Sweetest Remedy Synopsis: Hannah Bailey has never known her father, so when he dies and invites her to his home for the funeral she accepts. She wants to know the Nigerian side of her mixed background only having known her white mother. Hannah is transported to Banana Island, the wealthy section of Lagos, Nigeria where she meets her family. Some are welcoming and others, not so much. But in the days leading up to the funeral she discovers secrets she never knew, learns about her culture and family, and falls for someone who’s just what she needed.
The Sweetest Remedy Review:
Y’all I’ve been waiting for this book since February when I read Ties That Tether. It did not disappoint. Ugh, Jane Igharo can write! And make you feel so warm and cozy inside with her easy unraveling of culture and identity.
So just a warning if you’re coming from Ties That Tether to The Sweetest Remedy, these books are very different in their stories. I would put The Sweetest Remedy more of a family story with a romance in it whereas Ties That Tether is a romance that revolves around family.
Loves:
First, I love how Igharo writes. The way that she writes about culture, family, and belonging grips you and makes you feel so much. I don’t think that I can properly describe the way that it is immersive. If for no other reason than excellent writing you pick this up, you won’t be disappointed. Plus the way that Igharo captures the feeling of not fitting in and balancing cultures is so captivating and is the highlight of her novels.
The shifting POVs make for the pace to quickly go through the book and give you a glance at the feelings of all people in the story. It really helps justify and explain some of their reasoning, which I think is extremely useful because Igharo writes about grief and the ways that it manifests, so I really like the multi-POVs.
The plot moves this book along. Maybe because I could see this occurring at my grandfather’s funeral, but the plot was really entertaining and pushes you through the book. Like I started and finished this within 5 hours even with cooking and finishing work.
Meh
My only real problem with the book is that it attempts to cover so much and so many POVs that the story loses some of the character depth that I was hoping for based on Igharo’s first novel. I know that when you’re covering that many POVs in a book you’re going to lose depth, but for a novel on family and grief I just wanted a little more. And it’s a short novel too, so I feel like another 50 pages or so to really expand upon the characters would have been reasonable. Or perhaps just focusing on 2-3 characters rather than everyone.
Also, if you’re going into this expecting a romance your expectations need to change. There is a romance in this book, but it’s not the focus. I honestly felt like it was more in the novel than it should have been, but I get where Igharo was going with it especially at the end. But just be warned.
Long Story Short
Do I recommend this book? Yes! Overall I REALLY enjoyed The Sweetest Remedy and am currently trying to convince my mom to read it. I definitely recommend it especially if you like messy family stories, stories about culture and identity, or want a good quick read that just makes you feel warm.
If You Liked This One..
I would recommend picking up Igharo’s first novel, Ties that Tether, if you haven’t read that yet. (Review coming) Or Last Summer At the Golden Hotel by Elyssa Friedland as it’s another messy family story that’s about identity, culture, and with complicated secrets. My review is coming for that too!
