His Only Wife is an engaging and entertaining book. It's a look at womanhood and marriage in modern day Ghana.

The story starts with Afi's wedding day. On face value Afi's marriage to Eli sounds like a fairytale - a young woman, living in rural Ghana with her widowed mother and greedy uncle, is asked to marry Eli, a rich and influential business man. Except it's nothing like a fairytale. He's not there to rescue her, she's meant to free him from the clutches of his "horrible" mistress. She's the one who is supposed to redeem him. And (it's a big and) he doesn't even show up on their wedding day!

I didn't always agree with Afi's actions or her reasoning behind them, but I admired that she stayed true to herself regardless of the rich new life she was living. She didn't abandon her values or her dreams. She worked as a seamstress before her marriage and continues to make a career even though money was no longer an issue. She wants a marriage built on honesty and will do anything she can to make sure Eli knows it.

At times the book feels a little like a soap opera and some of the characters do feel a bit tropey, but the story also has a lot of depth to it. The book explores colourism and beauty standards in Ghana, family obligations, arranged marriages in modern times and being a woman in a traditional and patriarchal country.

Peace Adzo Medie has created a book that is a joy to read but also a joy to discuss. His Only Wife would be a great book club book with lots to unpack.

I think the book would translate really well into a tv series. And a show could fill in the bits that I wanted to see more of, including Afi's time at fashion school and building her own label, the relationship between her mother and Aunty, more of Evelyn and even a look into Muna's perspective.