Bitter Honey

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Bitter Honey

By: Lola Akinmade Akerstrom

Narrated by: Dele Ogundiran, Palmira Koukkari Mbenga

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About this listen

Bloomsbury presents Bitter Honey by Lola Akinmade Akerstrom, read by Dele Ogundiran and Palmira Koukkari Mbenga.

Two women. Four decades. A lifetime of secrets.

1978: A scholarship draws Nancy from Gambia’s warmth into Sweden’s winter. When her friendship with charismatic scholar Lars blossoms into something more, she thinks she may have finally found her place. But there’s more to Lars than his charming persona, and Nancy is about to discover the danger of being drawn into his world…

2006: Tina has had her taste of fame as the nation’s Eurovision pop princess. But beneath her glittery façade, Tina is desperate to discover who she really is. Her mother, Nancy, seems desperate to keep the past under wraps, but will an unexpected figure help open the door?

Spanning four decades and three continents, Bitter Honey is a story of mothers, daughters, and the importance of carving your own path.©2025 Lola Akinmade Akerstrom (P)2025 Bloomsbury Publishing Plc

Lola Akinmade AkerstromDele OgundiranPalmira Koukkari MbengaApollo

Best of 2025

Genre Fiction

Literary Fiction

Best of 2025 Genre Fiction Literary Fiction

Editorial Review

Two women, two timelines, one unforgettable story

I can't stop thinking about this audiobook. Narrators Délé Ogundiran and Palmira Koukkari Mbenga take turns bringing to life the two dynamic women at the centre of author Lolá Ákínmádé Åkerström's novel, which masterfully weaves together the journey of a young Gambian woman navigating 1970s Sweden and her daughter's struggle with fame and identity decades later. The dual timeline brilliantly explores how generational trauma shapes mother-daughter relationships, especially when secrets and cultural displacement are involved. What struck me most was how both women must reclaim their voices and dreams after toxic relationships nearly destroy them. The mixture of melodic Swedish that flows effortlessly from Mbenga, paired with Ogundiran's pitch-perfect Mandinka—a tribal language of Gambia—creates a truly transportive listening experience. —Margaret H., Audible Editor

Most relevant

I enjoyed this book having previously read some of Lola’s work which I also loved. Bitter honey covered so many themes from immigration, friendship, love, inter-racial relationships, acceptance, politics, drugs. It is a story that sets out Tina and Nancy’s challenges which in a lot of ways were relatable to readers. The pressures that come with being a celebrity away from lights, camera, action. The story was well woven between Nancy and Tina’s respective worlds.
I look forward to discussing some of the books themes with Lola in our book club meet up soon.