Bitter Honey

PRAISE FOR LOLÁ ÁKÍNMÁDÉ

‘Lolá Ákínmádé crafts sharply written and deeply moving characters, raising brutal questions and steering clear of easy answers.’ Taylor Jenkins Reid
‘The queen of messy characters!’ Onyi Nwabineli
‘Bitter Honey is an urgent call for empathy, grace and understanding.’ Glamour
‘Ákínmádé is a master at shading the gaps between power and love.’ Chika Unigwe
‘[Bitter Honey] is a real tour de force. Akinmade is a gifted storyteller.’ Gary Younge
‘I loved BITTER HONEY… one of the best books Lola has ever written.’ Kim Golden

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?

With a mother-daughter relationship at its heart, BITTER HONEY explores relationships, resilience, and what it means to fully wear your skin and carve your own space in this world. The first standalone novel from Lolá Ákínmádé is her most ambitious yet, spanning four decades and three continents.

READERS LOVE BITTER HONEY:
‘Bold, lyrical, and richly layered. Lola Akinmade writes with fire’*****
‘I fall in love with Lola’s writing every time’*****
‘More books like this, please… such a captivating read’*****
‘The character-building is great… eye-opening’*****
‘Beautiful, emotionally resonant… unforgettable characters’*****
‘A highly addictive, compelling and heartbreaking novel’*****
‘A novel that stays with you… evoking deep reflection’*****
‘Deep, intense, really touching… a magnificent novel’*****
‘Like embarking on a profound journey that spanned not just years but entire worlds’*****
‘The storytelling is breathtaking, the emotions raw, and the themes deeply resonant’*****

Author Biography

One of Condé Nast Traveler’s ‘Most Powerful Women in Travel’, Lolá Ákínmádé is an NAACP-nominated international bestselling author, keynote speaker and award-winning travel photographer. Her work has appeared in National Geographic, BBC, CNN, the Guardian, the Sunday Times, the New York Times, and Lonely Planet, amongst others. She is the author of award-winning non-fiction book Due North, international bestselling LAGOM: the Swedish Secret of Living Well, and highly acclaimed novels In Every Mirror She’s Black and Everything Is Not Enough. Her honours include Hasselblad Heroine, Travel Photographer of the Year Bill Muster Award, Newsweek Future of Travel Storytelling and MIPAD 100 (Most Influential People of African Descent).