Luvvie Ajayi Jones’ second book is a fresh, empathetic and very funny call to action. It’s about self-belief, boundaries and speaking up when it’s easier to keep quiet, in a world that deliberately silences, or chooses not to listen to, you.

A professional troublemaker isn’t someone who enjoys playing ‘devil’s advocate’. Or who tries to dress up their prejudice, casual cruelty and lack of tact as virtues, by claiming that they’re, ‘just telling it like it is.’ (God, I hate that phrase.) Ajayi Jones defines them as, “...someone who is committed to being authentically themselves while speaking the truth and doing some scary shit.”

The book’s split into 3 parts. Be - the internal stuff you need to sort out before you can start making trouble professionally. Say - using your voice to stand up for yourself and what’s right. Do - having the courage to do scary things.

Ajayi Jones pays homage to her grandmother (Funmilayo Faloyin, the Original Professional Troublemaker) throughout. She was determined, self-possessed and nobody’s fool. It’s obvious that her friends and family adored her, and also that her granddaughter has inherited her grit and candour.

Honesty, openness and self-awareness radiate from each chapter. Ajayi Jones checks her privilege, owns her mistakes and talks openly about times when she hasn’t met her own exacting standards. She also uses her life lessons as evidence of why you shouldn’t let fear dictate what you do. It’s interesting to hear about this from the perspective of a hugely successful speaker, podcast host and best-selling author who, from the outside looking in, doesn't seem afraid of anything.

When she talks about her TED talk which, at the time of writing had over 5.5 million views, it’s clear that despite its seemingly effortless fluency and polish (and her outfit, which is as sharp as her cheekbones) the path to creating it involved navigating worry and imposter syndrome.

The “rowdy energy” that Ajayi Jones describes Nigerians as having, is the perfect way to characterise her writing. She has a strong and distinctive writing voice honed over 17 years of blogging. Her take-no-prisoners brand of common sense is relatable, comforting and powerfully put.

The only thing I disagree with her about is The Jollof Question. Sorry, Luvvie, I’d be excommunicated from my family if I didn’t make it clear that Ghanaian Jollof is, in fact, the best.

Review shared on Amazon.co.uk and Waterstones.com

I’m afraid that this ARC is so badly formatted it is unreadable and so it would be unfair of me to review publically.

Such a shame

This is a good book so far... the sort you can read a few pages of then close it for a few hours and be able to pick it up and get straight back into it. A word of caution though, if you don't like swearing then don't get this book 'cos there's been at least one swear word every few pages so far.

I was wrong. There have been occasional OK bit's, but I've skipped through a quarter of the book through sheer boredom, so a star is coming off.

I've skipped up to 42% of the way through and it's just getting worse and worse unfortunately. I was really looking forward to reading this book but now I'm just wondering why I've wasted so much time on it. Gonna give it until 50% to dramatically improve or I'm giving up on reading it.

Now I'm getting the author's religion shoved down my throat, so that's the second star gone.

Enough with the religion already... it's quoted scriptures now, which I really don't wanna read 'cos I'm not a Christian! If it was just very occasionally mentioned then that's OK, but I'm rapidly running out of things to like about this book now! If you don't mind semi-frequent swearing and lots of religion and selfishness that has nothing to do with the title of the book, then you might enjoy it, but I'm gonna stop reading and head to bed in absolute frustration now.

I really enjoyed this book, and would recommend it when you need a fresh take on things like fear. Thank you to netgalley and the publishers for giving me an advance copy of this book.

Luvvie Jones has succeeded in writing a self-help book that genuinely helps. I felt prodded, insulted, inspired and jerked out of any comfort zone that still remained. Her moxie is huge, and her words about knowing you are of value when you show up is valuable, whether man or woman. I truly feel changed for reading it.

However, her book also shows there is a line between living large as yourself and self grandiosity. Her story - if I read it correctly - about church stopping when her grandma arrived late - is something that her amazing grandma should not have allowed. Church stops for God, God doesn't stop for grandma however amazing grandma is or thinks she is.

The book is one I will go back to again and again. Well done.

Professional Troublemaker: The Fear-Fighter Manual serves up life-changing, transformational tips on how to conquer fear and live your best life. With her uniquely funny and bright style, Jones delves into the topic of fear in order to embolden readers to confront imposter syndrome, engage in truth-telling, and embrace their inner troublemaker in order to become their most authentic self. This way of thinking allows us to "audaciously step into lives, careers and legacies that go beyond even our wildest dreams". Split into three distinct sections—Be, encourages us to be introspective initially to assess and work on internal issues; Say, encourages us to speak out about issues truthfully and openly for the greater good; and Do, in which we are encouraged to progress on to tangible movements rather than mere words to make an even bigger difference. A strong sense of identity is the underpinning aspect of her strategy and the exercises provided throughout the book aim to help readers with self-expression (such as listing one's values and goals), how to maximise your core values and the importance of self-exploration, empowerment and clarity of thinking. I loved the interspersing of personal anecdotes throughout the narrative of little life lessons she had learned from her Nigerian grandmother, the vividly portrayed Funmilayo Faloyinm who she clearly has very much taken after.

This is an insightful, thought-provoking personal growth tool on the importance of speaking up for yourself and throughout Jones presses us to embrace and celebrate our accomplishments and strive to achieve in whatever areas our hearts desire. She uses examples of her own episodes of impulsiveness to neatly illustrate how they can be turned from mistakes or failures into learning experiences by taking the lesson and running with it, owning your own behavioural faux pas and being independent, fierce and fantastic. Luvvie is a guru to her fans, who love her unique brand of empowering truth talk, and it’s not hard to see why. Her infectious energy jumps off the page and this book can’t help but put a smile on your face and make you stand that bit taller. It's a powerful and indispensable no-nonsense guide to facing your fears head-on and it could hardly have come at a more fitting time—the middle of a pandemic in which much of the population are understandably paralysed with fear and anxiety. Bold, enlightening and endlessly witty, Jones instils the courage in you to be your true, unapologetic self. As Jones states in her own words, "the point is not to be fearless. It is to know we are afraid and to charge forward regardless, to recognise the things we must do are more significant than the things we are afraid to do. This book shows you how I’ve done it, and how you can, too." Highly recommended.

No nonsense, straight-talking advice. Loved the section on oríkì's
Looking forward to picking up a physical copy of this.

Luvvie does it again!
I can't wait to get a physical copy of this book and begin bookmarking and annotating. That was the only downside of the ARC, it did not format well on kindle.
The Fear-Fighter is what we all needed to hear and read this year. We all carry fear in some form or another, but it's the tools and lessons of learning to take action even with fear that spoke out to me. She reminded me to speak up and use my voice, and I tested myself at least four times in the last two weeks to do this very thing, move out of my comfort zone by not being silent, complicit and learning to ask for more in my work life (because men do it all the time). Her sentiments that the only thing that is consistent in life is change, empowered me to continue to be bold and find growth.
Along with all these lessons, of course, Luvvie finds ways to make you laugh and cry at the same time, and I loved the stories of her grandma Mama Faloyin weaved into this book.

i am not much of a non fiction reader, but my 2021 resolution was to start reading more of this genre. Needless to say this was an excellent one to begin with, as it was thought provoking, and i had numerous where i thought ‘wow!’. Would definitely recommend to anyone, an interesting read.

I found this book really helpful during difficult times. Some very useful ideas and thought provoking. It helped and I will keep it handy for the future. Thank you for letting me read it.

Really enjoyed this book, it was definitely what I needed to pick myself up with these crazy times. Would really recommend !