Caffeinated Reviewer

Sophia Rose is here with a women’s fiction review of Yinka, Where Is Your Huzband? By Lizzie Damilola Blackburn. Check out her thoughts on this story filled with humor, family, culture, and self-discovery.

Meet Yinka: a thirty-something, Oxford-educated, British Nigerian woman with a well-paid job, good friends, and a mother whose constant refrain is “Yinka, where is your huzband?”

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?
Yinka, Where is Your Huzband? brilliantly subverts the traditional romantic comedy with an unconventional heroine who bravely asks the questions we all have about love. Wry, acerbic, moving, this is a love story that makes you smile but also makes you think--and explores what it means to find your way between two cultures, both of which are yours.

Sophia Rose’s Review

Humor, family, culture, and self-discovery mark this gem of a story about a thirty-something British Nigerian woman who must navigate the path between family expectation and what one can learn to appreciate about one’s self.  Debut author and just the right elements to tickle my fancy.

A pretty, healthy and content woman in her thirties has a home in London, solid career in finance, good friends, and a close-knit family.  What more could one want?  Well, if one were to ask Yinka, life is good, but if one got the unsolicited and often given opinions of Yinka’s mum and the aunties, Yinka is approaching crisis age because she has no ‘huzband’ and family.  Her younger sisters is having a baby, her cousin has a family and children, and now another cousin is getting married.  The furor of need is whipped up in Yinka and she is determined to have a man of her own by that wedding.  A few mishaps and missteps occur and Yinka’s life must go to pieces all aided and abetted by the aunties and her friends, but in the end, perhaps Yinka will find her husband.  At the very least, she finds herself.

I have no idea why, but show me a blurb or title that mentions ‘aunties’ or big family and I am all in.  I love multi-generational stories whether they are simply fiction or have the added romance.  Yinka, Where Is Your Huzband? leans hard toward Women’s Fiction, but yes, she does fumble her way toward love. 

The humor is what grabbed me first.  I was already laughing when the book opened on her sister’s baby shower and a strong dose of mum, the aunties, and religion had one of her sister’s co-workers fleeing like it was for her very life.  Then her youngest aunt said a prayer over Yinka’s despairing love life and I giggled just before I fell hard for Yinka and wanted her story even when she lied so much I wanted to bop her just to tell her family the truth.

I knew much about this one would be new to me from a British and Nigerian heritage, race, career, and more, but the author drew me in and made all that relatable through her characters who ultimately are universal to all of us in their need to find themselves, like who they are, and connect with others. 

The author brought a lot to the table and gave me much to think about when it comes to such a mesh of culture and lifestyle that Yinka experienced.  Yinka really did end up spiraling downward into her own personal crisis before all was said and done.  But, it wasn’t heavy with current struggles and drama because of that deft use of humor and light writing tone to balance it all.  It ends on a triumphant note and the reader is left with a wonderful experience into modern British and Nigerian life, love, and family.

All in all, I loved this light, heartwarming and easy to read women’s fiction and hope the author gives us more life with the Aunties in London.  I recommend it to those looking for story of a woman finding herself, meddlesome and loving family, and a whiff of romance.

Amazon | Audible

About Lizzie Damilola Blackburn

Lizzie Damilola Blackburn, born and raised in London, is a British-Nigerian writer who has been at the receiving end of the question in the title of her novel many times, and now lives with her husband in Milton Keynes, England.

Twitter | Instagram

About Sophia Rose

Sophia is a quiet though curious gal who dabbles in cooking, book reviewing, and gardening. Encouraged and supported by an incredible man and loving family. A Northern Californian transplant to the Great Lakes Region of the US. Lover of Jane Austen, Baseball, Cats, Scooby Doo, and Chocolate.

Twitter | Goodreads

About Kimberly

Kimberly is a coffee loving book addict who reads and listens to fictional stories in all genres. Whovian, Ravenclaw, Howler and proud Nonna. She owns and manages Caffeinated PR. The coffee is always on and she is ready to chat. BlueSky | Facebook | Instagram

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