BOOK REVIEW: 'NOTHING COMES CLOSE' by Tolulope Popoola

Nothing comes close is a tale of tumultous romance. A romance between two characters Wole and Lola.

Tolulope Popoola delves into issues bordering on love, forgiveness, friendship with a dash of secrets and good intentions gone horribly wrong.

Lola and Wole partake in a feast of new found love and get caught up in a whirlwind romance.

Admist this whirlwind, the grim reaper rears its ugly head, upheaving secrets which have been long forgotten.

The crux of the matter then becomes the survival or death of Wole and Lola's fairytale romance.

Lola's ability to love continually, bend over backwards and care for her friends as well as preserve all relationships in her life is shown throughout the novel. This ability is tried and tested by the man she falls in love with, her family and her friends.

Lola shows self doubt at pivotal points in the novel. But her self doubt cascades into confidence on the wings of her caring and loving heart as the story unfolds.

Set in the UK, Tolulope Popoola weaves a tale made of fine rafia that is the manner in which the lives of Lola and Wole intertwine.

With friends like Temmy, Titi, Funmi and Maureen, Lola's relationship with Wole becomes even more complicated as different opinions arise concerning the issues that face their romance.
These friends make for a good read as the drama in their lives act as some sort of support system for Lola.

Wole is a man who is a bit rough around the edges. He has had a taste of both sides of life. He is a man whose past still haunts him, he walks around the 24 chapters of the novel attached to a ball and chain. Wole is definately not a 'fluffy' man but Lola is able to bring him to a place where he becomes more in touch with his emotions.

We are taken back in time thanks to Woles dark past. In the deep recesses of Woles mind, there lies a battle which is embedded in rich Nigerian history. Will his past catch up his present and ruin his future? Will this spell doom for his fairytale?

Popoola potrays young Nigerians in diaspora in a different light in her novel. She tells a tell of unending forgiveness as against those of the woes of the African continent that abound in the African authours category.
A tale of young ambitious men and women who are highly educated and yes, express a myriad of emotions without any form of reserve.

In nothing comes close we are made privy to the newage friendships between Nigerians of different tribes.

It is good to see several '-isms' which are purely Nigerian throughout the dialougue of the characters in the book.

The novel is presented from the vantage point of Wole and Lola. Each chapter is from the perspective of a particular character. But the way the novelist goes about it does not go deep enough to show the peculiarities of each character. This would have let one in a lot more on the character's thoughts and opinions regarding the unfolding tale.

The novel is a rollercoster ride in 193 pages. On the whole, it would have been fantastic to have deeper foundations for the characters in the book as that would have made relating to them even better.

Some of the characters came across as a bit watery and the main characters Wole and Lola are not excluded from this.

The novel allows one to see how strangers become lovers and how truly, Nothing comes close.

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Tolulope Popoola was born in Lagos, Nigeria. She moved to England for her university education where she studied BA Accounting and Business Economics and a Masters in Finance and Investment. She started blogging in 2006, which rekindled her love for writing and telling stories. A few writing classes and an online fiction series soon followed and Tolulope quit her Accounting career to write full-time. She now writes short stories, flash fiction, and articles for many print and online magazines. Nothing Comes Close is her first novel. Tolulope lives in London with her husband and daughter.


You can interact with Tolulope online via:

Blog:
www.onwritingandlife.com

Facebook: www.facebook.com/TolulopePopoola

Twitter: www.twitter.com/TolulopePopoola

Goodreads: www.goodreads.com/TolulopePopoola

LinkedIn: www.linkedin.com/in/tolulopepopoola

Where to buy the ebook:
Kindle US, Kindle UK, Kindle Europe (Germany, France, Italy, Spain)
Kobo , Apple iStore , Sony Reader store , WH Smith , Smashwords,

To buy the paperback
Amazon US , Amazon UK, Waterstones, Barnes and Noble, BOOKS etc. , Book Depository, Foyles , Blackwells