WWW Wednesday – The One Where I Talk About “His Only Wife” by Peace Adzo Medie

Happy Wednesday, bookish peeps! Long time no see!

School has had me in a chokehold these last few weeks, but I’m back with one of the juiciest books reviews I’ve read all year as a part of this week’s reading check-in for WWW Wednesday. 

WWW Wednesday is a weekly meme hosted by Sam @ Taking On A World of Words and ask readers to answer the following questions:

1. What did you read last?
2. What are you currently reading?
3. What will you read next?

What did you read last?

If you’re following me on Twitter, you may remember my play-by-play reading marathon for the masterpiece that is His Only Wife by Peace Adzo Medie.

Dr. Medie has written an enthralling story about a young couple, Afi and Eli, as they try to dodge their meddling families and the pressures that come from following Ghanaian traditions to find footing in their marriage. 

Oh! And there’s the troublesome hurdle of another woman who Afi, our narrator, must “get rid of” to find her happily ever after. No biggie, though…or so she thinks. 

Dr. Medie’s story is gripping from the first sentence when the reader finds out that Afi is set to marry Eli with his brother standing in for him since Eli is on a business trip and can’t make it to the wedding. 

Do you see the problem yet?

What drew me to His Only Wife is how well Dr. Medie situates readers inside Afi and Eli’s relationship. Her writing places characters into situations that feel like a stretch logically. Yet, they are so well-written that even when the reader knows better, you get sucked into wanting and believing for what the characters wish too, because the author is that good at stirring up the drama of her characters’ lives. 

For instance, even from the first page in His Only Wife, when Eli doesn’t show at the wedding, I was standing in faith alongside Afi and believing what Eli’s family and her mother were selling Afi about the “other woman.” And I’m sure anyone reading this review can already tell how wild this line of reasoning would be in real life. 

But, the way Dr. Medie structures her story really takes hold while you are reading this book. To the point, you will believe this farce about the “other woman” having such a hold on Eli that can only be broken once he falls in love with Afi until you close the book and it hits you how crazy this plan was from the beginning.

His Only Wife has a little something for everyone in it. From a slow burn relationship to insights about how familial and romantic relationships work in Ghanaian culture from a rural and urban perspective and across generations as Afi gains advice about her and Eli’s relationship from various women in her life’s perspective. I especially enjoyed learning more about these parts of Dr. Medie’s book from her in my interview, which you can check out here.

Dr. Medie’s book is one I can’t recommend enough for its dynamic characters, in-depth critique of the Ghanaian cultural and women’s roles in it, and just for being an excellent book to read and react to.

As cliched as it sounds, I enjoyed having the feeling of “discussion” around His Only Wife and not being able to guess what would happen next as I read. Even with how predictable the “other woman” trope may seem in the beginning, I couldn’t have predicted exactly how Afi and Eli’s love story would play out. Getting to live-tweet my reaction and discuss my thoughts with a group was probably my favorite thing about this book.

You’ll definitely want this book as your next book club read!

What are you currently reading?

Thanks to school, I’m still holding off reading the last 10% of The Love Songs of W. E. B DuBois by Honorée Fanonne Jeffers. Jeffers book has taken me through it in every way possible. And oddly enough, I don’t want it to be over just yet. So, I’m still reading it.

I’ve also slowly but surely been making my way through The Rivers of London series by Ben Aaronovitch. I’m now on book four, which is Broken Homes. Peter Grant is quickly becoming one of my favorite literary characters for his wit, perspective, and ability to almost always end up at the short end of the stick of magic wielders. 

My one issue with Aaronovitcth’s books is over time, it can become increasingly hard to separate the pro-police stance of the book and jokes Peter cracks about how coppers work inside with how vicious actual police tactics’ abroad can be. There are moments where Peter mentions how in the “old days,” a cop would go and “rough” a suspect up just because he could. These insights feel tone-deaf and wonky. 

I say this because even though Peter is a man of mixed heritage and a cop, it’s clear this is Aaronovitch using Peter as a mouthpiece to say these things instead of it being a case where Peter is just being Peter. Since Peter will follow these moments up acknowledging that cops don’t like Black men who look like him (which is highlighted in a racially charged scene in the first book with a superior). 

Don’t get me wrong, I love the stories atmosphere and the banter in the books. But, I do have moments when the story and backstories all feel a bit choppy.

On a lighter note, I’m currently reading The Checklist by Addie Woolridge. Woolridge’s story follows a “girl next door” type of romance about Dylan Delacroix, who temporarily moves back home to Seattle to help an eccentric tech CEO fix his flailing company. While she’s home, she finds sparks flying with Mike, the sun of her Bohemian family’s buttoned-up neighborhood rivals. I have laughed so hard at the characters in this book and their shenanigans.

If you’re looking for a palette cleanser after a heavy read, pick this one up! It’s free on Kindle Unlimited.

What will you read next?

As a mood reader, I don’t know what I’ll be reading next.

I have talked about a few of my top priorities on my TBR List in the previous post. So, check them out down below!

                  What are you reading now?

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Happy reading!