Chilling New Paranormal Romance Novel Brings Out Kinky Side of Thor Fans…
Masterfully crafted by Elizabeth Salawu, ‘Abiku: A Battle of Gods’ fuses erotica, suspense and the paranormal in a cinematic adventure that will leave all fantasy fiction fans with sweaty palms and pounding hearts.
Abiku: A Battle Of Gods follows Dayo, the only child of her parents.
She was called an Abiku, an evil spirit sent to this world to lure men to their doom.
Dayo is a bi-racial twenty something year old with a German mom and a Nigerian dad. She has a semi bougie lifestyle, always jetting across the pond between Africa and Europe.
She starts dating her father’s driver in secret after seducing him.
On her return from her cousin’s 21st birthday in Manchester, she tries gbana for the first time. She finds herself in an alternate realm and thinks she’s hallucinating from using gbana, an illegal drug. She doesn’t take anything that happens there seriously as she thinks she’s having a vivid dream. That is until she couldn’t wake up from getting married to a ‘man’ she met in that realm . . .
Paperback
Abiku: A Battle Of Gods is due to be released in paperback on the 9th of December 2016, ISBN-13: 978-0993444630. Pre-order now from any good book retailer.
I first encountered Abiku: A Battle of Gods by Elizabeth Salawu as a press release on my Twitter timeline. I read the synopsis and thought, “that sounds like something different” and sometimes that’s all the reason you need, so I took the plunge and requested an advance review copy.
What I got was something pleasantly different indeed! Abiku starts off with a “dear reader”, to which I said out loud, “ooh, me?” and takes off from there. This is a short read, but don’t let that fool you–I was fully engaged the entire time, flipping each digital page with anticipation of where the story was going next.
I have to say my favorite thing about Abiku is Dayo herself. Dayo is interesting to me because…wait for it…we didn’t have much in common at all! She’s everything I wish I was at her age. In tune with herself! Exciting! Outgoing! Witty! Well, I can be witty, but. It’s not a bad thing to read protagonists much different from ourselves, in fact I loved living vicariously through her. She reminds me a bit of Alex from A Clockwork Orange(went there) when the narrative switches from being pensive and philosophical and then back to breezy, sometimes salacious storytelling.
Ah, the story. I was very happy to read something featuring Yoruba religious customs and myth, and Dayo guides us along without too much exposition but I also didn’t feel lost. And for personal reasons I get excited for anything involving Pidgin.
Review Summary
Now, as awesome as this book is it isn’t a read for everyone–it features sexual elements that make it a bit saucier than your average lunch break read (unless you can do that kind of thing where you are, then carry on). But I would say it was well integrated into the plot so as not to feel superfluous, and I appreciated the focus on Dayo learning who and what she truly is, and exploring her own desires.
Sometimes things just fall into your lap at seven in the morning before your first cup of coffee–I’m glad I took a chance on Dayo’s story, and I hope you’ll give it a chance as well.
Two things stand out for me in this captivating book- the flowing narrative style and the interesting plot.
The plot, which moves between this world and the ‘spirit’, otherworldly realm is the type which can be difficult to pull off by a less creative and experienced writer. But the Author does a beautiful job of it, giving vivid pictures of both worlds, making the main character, Dayo move between both in a seamless manner.
There’s a lot of the Yoruba culture and mythology in the book which non-speaking readers might find strange and bewildering but there’s thankfully a glossary to guide readers.
It’s an enjoyable book with a unique story line that’s captivating. There’s a lot of heat, lots of erotic and graphic sex scenes which might not be to everybody’s tastes- but hey, it’s an erotic/romance story so that should be expected! It’s a strictly 18+ book.
A few issues though- we see Dayo either having hot sex with one of the two men- mortal and god- or thinking about sex. Is she a nympho or what? Doesn’t she do anything else, like attending lectures, studying, going to parties, outings like normal students do?
The average Nigerian campus is a very vibrant one where all kinds of stuff/activities take place. Readers would have loved to see her doing some of these, to show what an average Naija student goes through on campus.
Her activities are a bit restricted maybe due to the format the story is written in which is the first person POV. This tends to limit what the writer/narrator can say in terms of descriptions, incidents or scenes outside the narrator’s reach.
I love the battle between the two men Henry and Akin for Dayo’s love. I want to know who will win in the end; hopefully that will be resolved in the sequel.
Another thing is Dayo’s relationship with Henry, her parents’ driver. I bet you he will be one dead guy if her wealthy parents find out he’s been humping their precious daughter. There might not be an ‘official’ caste system in Nigeria like in a country like India, for instance. But when it comes to dating/ marriage across social/economic divides, there’s definitely a ‘caste or class system.’
A lady who’s a university graduate is not expected to date a cook, driver, a road sweeper, labourer etc. Doing so is major social suicide she will receive lots of condemnation, ridicule and abuse. So, it will be interesting to know how this will be resolved.
I give this book a 4 star; would have got more if the main character had been better developed and the setting expanded beyond Dayo’s bedroom activities, drug taking, etc. Anyway, do we blame her with a hunk like Henry and a ‘god’ like Akin all drooling over her!
A wonderful work! Kudos to the writer! Will definitely read her future books!
Fatma (verified owner)–
Abiku! Born to die!!
Well I expected it to be a sad story but its far from that.
It’s a story that sends your mind on a journey, as you recount the thoughts of a young girl, Dayo.
Her story is quite fascinating as it brings in the yoruba gods of old, fiery and thunderous.
Not knowing what next to expect, I can’t help but flip the pages.
It’s well written and flows smoothly as it’s easy to understand even if you’re not conversent with the characters.
Adindu (verified owner)–
In a few words, Abiku was captivating and enthralling. Paranormal stories usually don’t cut it for me, however, I got caught up in the excitement and unpredictability created by the author. Up until I finished the book, I didn’t have an idea of how it would pan out. Considering Abiku is the author’s first adult book, I would say it turned out quite good. Right from the first few pages, I was sucked in by the suspense. Long story short, I look forward to consuming more of the author’s books. She’s carved a niche for herself and I’m confident her target audience will appreciate her works a great deal.
Yinka (verified owner)–
A good read, one I guarantee that you cannot put down until you have read the last line on the last page.
The creativity of the writer is displayed in all its glory, fusing romantic fiction with Yoruba mythology and history.
The writing style is simple and will appeal to the varied tastes of readers. Good use of suspense. I will be on the lookout for the sequel to this novel.
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Patience (verified owner) –
Two things stand out for me in this captivating book- the flowing narrative style and the interesting plot.
The plot, which moves between this world and the ‘spirit’, otherworldly realm is the type which can be difficult to pull off by a less creative and experienced writer. But the Author does a beautiful job of it, giving vivid pictures of both worlds, making the main character, Dayo move between both in a seamless manner.
There’s a lot of the Yoruba culture and mythology in the book which non-speaking readers might find strange and bewildering but there’s thankfully a glossary to guide readers.
It’s an enjoyable book with a unique story line that’s captivating. There’s a lot of heat, lots of erotic and graphic sex scenes which might not be to everybody’s tastes- but hey, it’s an erotic/romance story so that should be expected! It’s a strictly 18+ book.
A few issues though- we see Dayo either having hot sex with one of the two men- mortal and god- or thinking about sex. Is she a nympho or what? Doesn’t she do anything else, like attending lectures, studying, going to parties, outings like normal students do?
The average Nigerian campus is a very vibrant one where all kinds of stuff/activities take place. Readers would have loved to see her doing some of these, to show what an average Naija student goes through on campus.
Her activities are a bit restricted maybe due to the format the story is written in which is the first person POV. This tends to limit what the writer/narrator can say in terms of descriptions, incidents or scenes outside the narrator’s reach.
I love the battle between the two men Henry and Akin for Dayo’s love. I want to know who will win in the end; hopefully that will be resolved in the sequel.
Another thing is Dayo’s relationship with Henry, her parents’ driver. I bet you he will be one dead guy if her wealthy parents find out he’s been humping their precious daughter. There might not be an ‘official’ caste system in Nigeria like in a country like India, for instance. But when it comes to dating/ marriage across social/economic divides, there’s definitely a ‘caste or class system.’
A lady who’s a university graduate is not expected to date a cook, driver, a road sweeper, labourer etc. Doing so is major social suicide she will receive lots of condemnation, ridicule and abuse. So, it will be interesting to know how this will be resolved.
I give this book a 4 star; would have got more if the main character had been better developed and the setting expanded beyond Dayo’s bedroom activities, drug taking, etc. Anyway, do we blame her with a hunk like Henry and a ‘god’ like Akin all drooling over her!
A wonderful work! Kudos to the writer! Will definitely read her future books!
Fatma (verified owner) –
Abiku! Born to die!!
Well I expected it to be a sad story but its far from that.
It’s a story that sends your mind on a journey, as you recount the thoughts of a young girl, Dayo.
Her story is quite fascinating as it brings in the yoruba gods of old, fiery and thunderous.
Not knowing what next to expect, I can’t help but flip the pages.
It’s well written and flows smoothly as it’s easy to understand even if you’re not conversent with the characters.
Adindu (verified owner) –
In a few words, Abiku was captivating and enthralling. Paranormal stories usually don’t cut it for me, however, I got caught up in the excitement and unpredictability created by the author. Up until I finished the book, I didn’t have an idea of how it would pan out. Considering Abiku is the author’s first adult book, I would say it turned out quite good. Right from the first few pages, I was sucked in by the suspense. Long story short, I look forward to consuming more of the author’s books. She’s carved a niche for herself and I’m confident her target audience will appreciate her works a great deal.
Yinka (verified owner) –
A good read, one I guarantee that you cannot put down until you have read the last line on the last page.
The creativity of the writer is displayed in all its glory, fusing romantic fiction with Yoruba mythology and history.
The writing style is simple and will appeal to the varied tastes of readers. Good use of suspense. I will be on the lookout for the sequel to this novel.