Lion Heart Girl

Lionheart Girl is a fantastical coming of age story which encompasses strong intergenerational friendships, a dysfunctional family relationship, and first love in a wonderfully magical narrative. I was frequently left breathless as Yaba Badoe keeps her story moving at such a rapid pace, but it kept me glued to the pages and I almost completed the whole book in a single sitting! I loved witnessing Sheba's increasing maturity as she attempts to emerge from her overbearing mother's shadow, but for me the most satisfying relationship was that depicted between Sheba and her maternal grandmother, an elderly woman with immense power within their village. It's unusual to see older women in fantasy novels given a chief's role so I relished that portrayal here.

I previously enjoyed reading Wolf Light by Yaba Badoe and noticed some similarities in the magical fantasy elements, strong female roles, grandparents acting as surrogate parents. However I was drawn more strongly into Sheba's world in Lionheart Girl and am delighted to have spotted this second Yaba Badoe novel. She is definitely a novelist to watch out for and I will be keenly awaiting her next exciting fantasy adventure.

Thank you to Netgalley and Zephyr Books for my advanced copy of Lionheart Girl by Yaba Badoe.

Lionheart Girl is the first book by Badoe's that I have read and what a read it was. With incredible world building that sends the author into West Africa and the heat of the jungles and the air that leaves dust across your skin as you meet Sheba who along with her Aunts, Grandmother and Baby Grandmother (her Great Aunt) are descendents of witches.

We follow the journey of Sheba as she learns about who she is, who her family are and what is expected of her and it's a journey that you can tell effects her and helps her characters grow. Sheba spends the majority of her life without the absence of her mother who travels throughout the country selling wares and you can practically feel how suppressed she becomes during the few days her matriarch returns in comparison to her life around her Aunts whose presence jumps from the page due to Yaba Badoe's incredible writing and descriptions.

There are so many questions about Sheba's family, that make this already intriguing tale all the more interesting and keep you hooked needing to know more. I cannot help but feel that anyone who reads this story will want to know just what is going on with the heirs to a magical legacy.

With wonderful characters who add so much to Lionheart Girl, and a world that comes to life on every page, this is a book that I can well imagine lovers of 'Children of Blood and Bone' will enjoy.