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The Sweetest Remedy by Jane Igharo

Contemporary fiction

The Sweetest Remedy

Repeat author

Jane Igharo is back at Book of the Month – other BOTMs include Ties That Tether.

by Jane Igharo

Excellent choice

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Quick take

An unexpected loss leads a young woman on a soul-searching journey to reconnect with Nigerian family and find herself.

Good to know

  • Illustrated icon, Romance

    Romance

  • Illustrated icon, Family_Drama

    Family drama

  • Illustrated icon, International

    International

  • Illustrated icon, Quest

    Quest

Synopsis

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.

Free sample

Get an early look from the first pages of The Sweetest Remedy.

The Sweetest Remedy

Hannah

San Francisco

Hannah stepped into the bustling room and knew she had made a mistake.

A huge mistake.

She should have stayed home. Instead, she was at a fancy cocktail party packed with some of San Francisco’s finest.

Her best friend, Flo, was already sipping a drink and chatting with a bald-headed gentleman—probably some Silicon Valley tycoon she wanted to snag as a client for her real estate firm.

This was the only reason Flo came to these sorts of events, and usually, she dragged Hannah along on the promise they would have a good time. But now, Hannah was alone and watching a man maneuver around a waiter and approach her with a haughty, overstated gait that seemed like a desperate plea for attention.

“Hey. I’m Blaine.” He flipped his blond hair from his suntanned face and grinned with the confidence of a man well aware of his Ryan Gosling–esque appearance. “And you have to be the most beautiful woman I have ever seen.”

The most beautiful woman. Hannah suppressed a snort. Did men ever tire of doing that—spitting lies and cheap lines at women as if they were items and the currency for purchasing them was deceit? Get your woman here, she imagined an enthused merchant at a bazaar saying, two shining lies for one pretty woman. Hannah presumed her father had done the same to her mother—spun the sweetest lies and the slickest pickup lines—right before he knocked her up and took off.

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Why I love it

When I first read The Sweetest Remedy, I told Jane Igharo that the book would have readers calling their families, updating their wardrobes, and looking for their passports. Igharo’s sophomore novel is a transportive story that takes readers around the world and into the arms of a big, complicated, and lovable family.

When Hannah’s estranged father dies, she finds herself on her way to Nigeria to mourn the man she never knew alongside the relatives she’s never met—and who have mixed feelings about her presence. In the chaos leading up to the funeral, Hannah gets to know the Jolade family, experiencing resentment, friendship, and belonging along with a romantic relationship with a close family friend. As Hannah begins to learn the full story of her father, she learns it’s one of old mistakes, new misunderstandings, and years of lost moments to make up for. Igharo’s twists and surprises will keep you turning pages.

I loved reading about how Hannah navigated complicated relationships and how all the characters experienced grief, love, and surprises that shook their foundations. Igharo’s characters are vibrant, and she’s crafted them in such a way that they feel both like glamorous celebrities and also like my own siblings and cousins. In that way, this read is comforting. Even in the middle of the tension and conflict, the sense of family is always there, because ultimately that’s what The Sweetest Remedy is about: the family we know, the family we find, and the family we are yet to meet.

Member ratings (4,733)

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Family drama
View all
The Last One at the Wedding
The Night We Lost Him
Madwoman
Hum
Family Happiness
Husbands & Lovers
Same As It Ever Was
Jackpot Summer
The Lion Women of Tehran
Did I Ever Tell You?
Real Americans
The Reappearance of Rachel Price
Just for the Summer
All We Were Promised
Hard by a Great Forest
Family Family
Northwoods
Mercury
The Second Chance Year
A Winter in New York
Check & Mate
What We Kept to Ourselves
The Leftover Woman
While You Were Out
Evil Eye
Just Another Missing Person
Family Lore
Little Monsters
The Connellys of County Down
Lady Tan’s Circle of Women
Paper Names
Divine Rivals
Hang the Moon
The Last Russian Doll
Maame
White Horse
The Family Game
The Fortunes of Jaded Women
When We Were Bright and Beautiful
You're Invited
Marrying the Ketchups
Part of Your World
The Good Left Undone
The Verifiers
The Unsinkable Greta James
Don't Cry for Me
Black Cake
Olga Dies Dreaming
The Family
The Book of Magic
Sankofa
Everything We Didn't Say
Apples Never Fall
The Sweetest Remedy
The Inheritance of Orquídea Divina
We Are the Brennans
Skye Falling
Last Summer at the Golden Hotel
Things We Lost to the Water
Libertie
What's Mine and Yours
The Bad Muslim Discount
The Push
The Chicken Sisters
In a Holidaze
White Ivy
The Star-Crossed Sisters of Tuscany
Practical Magic
Head Over Heels
The Vanishing Half
All Adults Here
The Kingdom of Back
I Have No Secrets
Saving Zoë
Color Me In
Past Perfect Life
Things You Save in a Fire
There's Something About Sweetie
All That You Leave Behind
The Other Woman
Small Fry
The Winter Sister
The Rules of Magic
& Sons