3.5 stars. This follows 3 Jamaican people who’ve moved to London at different points in their lives, and the chapters vary between which character they focus on, and they jumped around in time a bit, which usually I can follow, but I found it a bit harder this time for some reason. I appreciated that the author kept patois in the book, which honours the characters and their backgrounds, though I would really like if we didn’t have to have eleventy billion references to characters “kissing their teeth” every time there’s a Jamaican character… I had the same thing in another Jamaican character book I read a few months ago. I lost track of how many times this was mentioned, in both books, after the first dozen times. At one point there were two mentions on the same page in this one!

I received a free ARC copy of this via NetGalley and the publishers in return for an unbiased review.

Across the years, three people meet at in a small Caribbean restaurant in North West London:

Nurse Judith works hard, sends money home and behaves in a proper manner.

Mikey, former photographer and activist, is angry and restless.

Happy-go-lucky Frank is a proud East Londoner since the age of twelve. That’s until 2012, when he’s taken to Harmondsworth Detention Centre while the Jamaican and British Commissions establish his identity.

This well-written novel offers vivid character studies, social history and the exploration of gross injustice.

From the blurb: Soon Come is a rich, moving debut about migration, friendship and the spaces we create when the world gives us none. Inspired by true stories, this is a celebration of the everyday defiance and quiet dreams of London's Caribbean community - and what it means to belong.

With thanks to the author, publisher and NetGalley for the opportunity to read an early copy in exchange for an independent review.
On publication I will post this review on my blog and on GoodReads.

This was such a lively book. It celebrates diversity and the quest for a better life. I enjoyed reading each persons story and I ighly recommend this book for a book club. It was so rich in content and story.