Author: Jane Igharo
Series: None
Publication Date: September 28, 2021
Publisher: Berkley
Pages: 328
Obtained: publisher via NetGalley
Genre: Contemporary Fiction, Contemporary Romance
Rating: 5/5
Bottom Line: Multi-cultural novel about finding where you fit in
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Summary: Hannah Bailey has never known her father, the Nigerian entrepreneur who had a brief relationship with her white mother. Because of this, Hannah has always felt uncertain about part of her identity. When her father dies, she's invited to Nigeria for the funeral. Though she wants to hate the man who abandoned her, she’s curious about who he was and where he was from. Searching for answers, Hannah boards a plane to Lagos, Nigeria. In Banana Island, one of Nigeria's most affluent areas, Hannah meets the Jolades, her late father's prestigious family—some who accept her and some who think she doesn't belong. The days leading up to the funeral are chaotic, but Hannah is soon shaped by secrets that unfold, a culture she never thought she would understand or appreciate, and a man who steals her heart and helps her to see herself in a new light. ~amazon.com
Review: Sibling relationships can be hard enough to deal with but imagine being thrust into them when you've known about their existence but they have no clue about you. This is the situation that Hannah finds her in when she travels to Nigeria to attend her father's funeral.
Hannah has never known her father, except for the one meeting when she was 8 years old and then he disappeared again. Hannah and her mom were always a pair/a team so she's apprehensive meeting the other side of the family. The only positive, that Hannah sees immediately, is that the handsome man she met at a party happens to be aquainted with her family. Needless to say not everyone is thrilled to see her there or get to know her but Hannah expected that. What she didn't expect was for one of her siblings to want be so excited to get to know her.
As Hannah learns about her father's side of the family and opens herself up to getting to know her siblings, she has to use her voice and stand up for herself. When doing this, she gains the respect of those hardest to let her in.
While I throughly enjoyed the romance between Lawerence and Hannah, it was really the burdgening relationships between her sisters and brother that I adored. Each of them is so different but their father (and mother) allowed them to blossom into who they are and what they wanted to pursue. There were expectations but freedom within those boundaries. Hannah finds that she has more in common with her siblings than she thought. She's curious about her Nigerian roots and wants to understand more. She wants to embrace them while being respectful.
I highly recommend The Sweetest Remedy to learn a bit about a different culture and for a wonderful story about finding your roots and family.
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