Cursed Daughters: A Read with Jenna Pick

📚✨ Book Review ✨📚Cursed Daughtersby Oyinkan BraithwaiteGenre: Literary Fiction⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️A wickedly funny, emotionally rich tale of love, legacy, and breaking generational curses. Cursed Daughters is a must-read for anyone who loves dark humor and heartfelt storytelling.Set in Lagos, Nigeria, Braithwaite spins a vibrant, multi-generational story centered on the affluent Falodun family, where the women are bound by a generations-old curse: their love lives are doomed to heartbreak and abandonment. The story follows young Eniiyi, born on the same day her beautiful aunt Monife died tragically. The family believes Eniiyi is Monife reincarnated, destined to repeat her fate.Eniiyi, a modern woman who refuses to accept destiny, falls for a handsome boy and must face the possibility that the curse and her family’s buried secrets might be real. Can she rewrite her story, or is she doomed to repeat it?Although this book isn’t my usual read, I raced through it in two sittings. I couldn’t put it down. Braithwaite blends humor, heartbreak, and mysticism with razor-sharp insight. I loved the short chapters and how the book unfolded through multiple timelines and perspectives — Eniiyi, Ebun, and Monife — each with a unique voice and set of inner struggles.This book is dark, clever, and utterly addictive. I was completely drawn in by everything — the characters, the structure, and the way the relationships evolved. The pacing and the slow reveals were spot-on, and the “curse” sections wove in beautifully. Themes of identity, female resilience, sisterhood, inherited trauma, forgiveness, and the power of rewriting your narrative shine through. Although I hoped the ending would take a different route, it still managed to tie everything together perfectly. It’s one of those stories that hooks you early and doesn’t let go — the kind you’ll immediately want to tell everyone about.Highly recommend for fans of family sagas and smart, distinctive literary fiction.

Set in Nigeria, Ebun gives birth to her daughter, Enniiyi, on the same day her dear cousin, Monife, is buried. Enniiyi is born with Monife’s face, which garners different reactions from the family members. This is the story of all of these women, and the generational curse their family’s women experience. It is intricately drawn, and there is a family tree at the beginning of the book to help with remembering the connections between family members. Abi Dare called this story “utterly original,” and that is absolutely what it is.It’s also wise and chock full of strong, authentic characters. The city of Lagos springs to life as a backdrop, as well. Will the family be able to break the curse? With a dash of hope, it’s a somber, supernatural ride from one end to the other, and I loved it.I received a gifted copy.