An amazing debut. The story is told from dual perspectives. I loved the magical realism element to the story. The world building and character development was excellent. The writing is beautiful

Captivating and visceral. Loved the Nigerian setting and the interwoven magic and folklore. The story is told from two points of view and the contrast between them is brilliant, although they both have relatable and vivid pre-teen flaws…will undoubtedly appeal to those captivated by the mythology of Wakanda but after something grittier and more authentic.

This book is a show stopper - one I would give to my friends. I would buy multiple copies of this book for people!

When her father died, Treasure and her mother lost everything. So when Treasure meets a spirit in the market who promises to bring her father back, she’s willing to do what it takes. Before he disappeared, Ozoemena’s father told her that she would be the next in line to fulfill the family destiny -to become a leopard and defend her people- but Ozoemena really wants to just fit in at her new school. Then students start to vanish and both girls must decide what must be sacrificed in order for them to become who they are meant to be. Dazzling is such a beautiful novel with some amazing world-building and Nigerian mythology. It is ultimately a story about girlhood, family and ancestral voices in particular with a twist at the end that certainly knocked me sideways. There is some strange, ominous imagery that drags the reader in and refuses to let them go until they’ve taken in every detail. While it’s very unsettling in parts, it’s a compulsive, literary novel that I couldn’t put down.

How is this a debut story? It is so well written and really tugged at my heartstrings. I haven’t read many stories where the setting is in Nigeria so I was very immersed in the culture and atmosphere written here.

Following the voices of Ozoemena and Treasure, two young girls living in Nigeria who found their lies intertwined when mysterious things start happening around them. The plot explores how both girls navigate their lives and how far they are willing to go in order to survive.

I love how Nigerian mythology and magical realism is used here with real life situations and I also love how well the main characters were written and how much they grew in the plot. They were both so different from each other and the distinction can be seen but this also added more depth into the story.

Thank you Netgalley and Headline for the arc.

Okay so hear me out...
I was excited to get the ARC of this book but midway through reading it, I was completely lost. It seemed to go off on a tangent and I was really confused as to what was going on. I love that it picks secondary school as it's primary setting because where else do young girls have interesting experiences? It just didn't quite hit the mark for me unfortunately.

This is a book that well deserves its title. An extraordinary debut that’s packed with supernatural wonders, human emotion and fiercely-drawn visceral characters, Dazzling tells us the parallel stories of young Treasure – who finds herself making deals with spirits to keep her and her widowed mother from starvation – and schoolgirl Ozoemena, who is battling with her destiny of becoming a leopard, a superhero protector for her family and people: yet to fully inhabit this role, she must first die. As girls at her boarding school start to disappear, she needs to take charge of her power – but at what cost? The book slips between worlds almost as easily as the characters slide between languages, revealing hidden layers and ways of being that co-exist alongside their everyday lives. Both girls’ fathers have left their families, making choices that ripple through the generations, but what will be the repercussions for the women they left behind, and what terrible bargains will they have to strike to find their own paths? Gripping, otherworldly and unforgettable, this excellent novel means Emelumadu is definitely one to watch.

I am a bit of a newbie when it comes to the fantasy and mythology genre, but, I am widening my perspectives and so far loving it. The author has done this brilliantly. The story is beautifully written, the characters come alive on the page, the settings pop and all characters have believable voices.

The E-Book could be improved and more user-friendly, such as links to the chapters, no significant gaps between words some text written has been typed in red and a cover for the book would be better. It is very document-like instead of a book. A star has been deducted because of this.

This is a first for me by the author and one I enjoyed and I would read more of their work. The book cover is eye-catching and appealing and would spark my interest if in a bookshop. Thank you very much to the author, publisher and Netgalley for this ARC.

What a gorgeous debut - this book suffered from the right book at the wrong time for me and therefore I will keep my review brief.

A dual timeline novel that weaves in myth and folklore whilst also providing an evocative sense of location. I will definitely be keeping an eye out for Emelumadu's next work and hope this book does fantastically well.

This was a very good debut novel by the author. I really enjoyed it! I love reading dual POV stories and I fell for both characters right away. It is written very well which rich, immersive language. It created a captivating picture of Nigeria.

"Dazzling" by Chikodili Emelumadu is a captivating and thought-provoking collection of short stories that explore the complexities of human relationships, cultural identity, and the human condition.

Emelumadu's writing is both vivid and lyrical, creating richly drawn worlds that feel simultaneously familiar and otherworldly. Each story is distinct and memorable, with characters who are deeply flawed yet utterly compelling.

One of the standout elements of the collection is Emelumadu's use of language, which is poetic and evocative, transporting readers to the heart of each story. The themes she explores are universal, but she approaches them with a fresh perspective that feels entirely her own.

I feel like I need to make a point of seeking out and reading more non-Western literature this year; I think it's so easy to become distracted by the bestsellers and any highly-anticipated debuts without exploring works from further afield. While I wasn't completely blown away by Dazzling, I did really enjoy it and found that it told a much more unique story than most of the other works I've read so far this year. I did enjoy all of the different narratives that this book was written in the perspective of, as it allowed for multiple stories to be told in the space of one novel. I was pleasantly surprised by how intelligent both of the girls sounded in their turns as narrator, I felt that their voices were very strong and they did a great job in telling their stories. Unfortunately I do feel as though my attention wavered towards the end, and I wasn't as invested as I had been in the beginning.

Rating - 3.5⭐️ (rounded to 4⭐️)

Dazzling follows the POV of two young girls, Ozoemena and Treasure who live in Nigeria, who find their lives intertwined when mysterious things begin to happen. It explores how far both of the girls are willing to go (as well as what they are willing to sacrifice) in order to survive in a world that is out to get them.

I quite liked Chịkọdịlị's writing style - I especially liked how she would describe things as I found the comparisons to be so interesting. I found the story quite interesting too as it is different to the genres that I usually read, as well as it being rich in Nigerian mythology and magical realism.

I love how the two main characters were written - there was so much to them and I loved how their flaws were also explored. I loved seeing how different they were to each other, which made it quite easy to distinguish between the two. I felt like the different POVs really highlighted the difference between the rich and poor (Ozoemena and Treasure, respectively). Ozoemena has access to anything she wants as well as education but she has issues with her family bu the community are respectable towards her because of her family's wealth and status. Whereas, Treasure who after her father died, everyone started treating her family differently (like laughing at them in the streets and getting their share from the father passing to then abandoning Treasure and her mother). Treasure often had to fend for herself and find ways to stay hydrated and fed as her mother has some kind of sleeping condition where she can sleep for weeks or even months. She does not have access to education (until things change) but she would like to go to school like other children her age.

This book is a slow burner - it does not really pick up until the ending where a lot more things begin to happen and things become to somewhat come together, which I think is why it took me so long to get through this book. The ending feels rushed and like it is trying to tie up some of the loose ends whilst leaving others unanswered. The book made quite a big deal about a lot of things but then when you get to the end, they seemed meaningless and pointless as to why they were given so much meaning and attention.

Thank you so much to Headline and NetGalley for giving me the opportunity to read this book.

⚠️ TWs: slavery, physical assault, imprisonment, death, gun violence, blood, grief, murder, animal murder and death, prostitution, derogatory language, profanity, alcohol use, bullying, suicide, sexual situations, poverty, child abuse, colonialism, torture, vomiting, ableism, sexual harassment; mentions indecent exposure, immolation, burns, lynching, whipping, ritual killing, fertility issues, depression, gambling, abortion, pregnancy, cheating, human sacrifice, disappearance, absent parent and fatphobic comment ⚠️

This is the story of two girls who made deals, one with the good and one with the evil.

Although I didn't understand some of Dazzling's pidgin English, I loved her story and in the end dinor mind the language at all.

Ozoemena's story was a little disappointing. It was difficult to track with her -- in one paragraph she's at school, in the next she's at home annoying her sister.

Sometimes I found the writing unnecessarily complicated, yet, at the same time, not fully fleshing out what was happening. The encounter with Benjamin comes to mind. Having just read it again, I still don't know if there was a fight or not.

I didn't like the many times bodily fluids flowed, and I thought some important storylines were left hanging.

This is a lush, richly magical debut with strong characters.

Ozoemena and Treasure are young girls dealing with the recent absence or loss of their fathers, Ozoemena's father left the family after his brother was murdered and Treasure's father passed away suddenly. We go through their ordeals in dealing with their families and expectations of them and the cultural pressures.

We also learn about the magical aspect of each girl in another world - and whilst they can move between the worlds there is danger and they must decide what is worth sacrificing for the greater good.

What a book, what a debut! I loved the elements of folklore and myth- it was so beautifully written and so captivating.

Spectacular. Magical. Eerie. Atmospheric. Gorgeous. Empowering. Heartbreaking.

This is one hell of a debut! Having finished, I am torn with all the emotions. I actually highly sympathised with Treasure, despite her evident flaws, she was moulded by cruelty. And the whole thing with the leopard is just flawless. Cannot fault it.

It felt like I was taken away in this book to another world, the smells, the sounds, the heat. Beautiful.

One thing I wasn't expecting was the vivid gruesome imagery. That said, it suited the tone of the book.

I want to buy this in physical form and read again because I know it has many layers that rereading will uncover.

🐆✨️

Dazzling book! I went in quite blind and I don’t regret it. Magic, literary and excellent read.

Thanks so much to NetGalley and the publishers for letting me read an advance copy of this book in exchange for my review.

My thanks to Netgalley and the publisher for providing me with an early copy of this novel in return for an honest review.

This is the story of two pre-teen fatherless girls in contemporary Nigeria, whose seemingly separate lives get intertwined due to ghosts, spirits, and juju.

This is perhaps the most authentically African urban fantasy novel that I have read. It is suffused with Nigerian folklore, local turns of phrase in English, and authentic societal context and relationships. In this it is an important book, and being written by a female author, is doubly groundbreaking. What I liked most is the unashamed approach to fantasy in this context - it doesn't even try to gradually introduce a western reader to a new world of meaning and fantasy. I also really loved the uniquely permeable boundary between the genuinley real, the imagined, and the fantastic. This is probably among the most unique aspects of the book, reminding me very much of Wizard and the Crow (which, after all, is not a fantasy novel at all). All in all, this is a pivotal work in the evolution of the modern urban fantasy genre, and will be remembers as such.

Those who have others of my reviews will notice that this particular review is unusual in focusing on the social context of the work in question rather than on its intrinsic set of qualities. This is because I found the latter to be distinctly lacking. While important and well imagined, the author is not among the best on execution, and is even perhaps very much average. The pacing is inconsistent, the characters are unequally characterised, the worldbuilding takes too much for granted, and the twist is for the most part predictable (not in its specifics, but in its broader form. I also struggled to read it - I had to make a real effort, and my pace here was less than 20% of what I'm used to. I forced myself due to the "educational" nature of the work, but I can't say I enjoyed the journey very much.

Having finished it, I feel I learned a lot and will remember this book for years to come. I did not enjoy it though. I also doubt I will be looking out for other publications by this author, though I can't wait to read more books that have African folklore at their core. For that I thank the author very much.

Thank you Net Galley and Headline for giving me an ARC in exchange for an honest review.

I love finding new voices, with unique tales tied in with culture that I am largely unfamiliar with - this was just that. Whilst reading this, I was easily immersed into the world Emelumadu created: full of spirits, tension and sisterhood. As a lover of fantasy, this was eternally beautiful and unlike any other book I have read. This Nigerian debut is a must read, even for those who aren’t big fans of fantasy. Dazzling is full of folklore and witchcraft, tied with Nigerian culture and mythology. This was incredible.