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Women Rent Men and Secrets Here
Not yet published
Expected 30 Jul 26The bestselling author Damilare Kuku lays bare the double standards women face in relationships, sexuality and the unforgiving court of public opinion.
Ara Ikoyi is out of time. Three bestsellers behind her, she’s got no story for her next book – until her neighbour, Juicy Mbelu, becomes the centre of a fiery scandal. Accused of killing her sugar daddy, Juicy’s tale has everyone talking and Ara knows it’s her ticket to a page-turner.
But getting the truth won’t be easy. Juicy agrees to share her story, but only if Ara meets two life-altering demands. First, she must trade secrets with the women of their Lagos estate, exposing her own vulnerabilities in the process. And second? She must tell Juicy’s story exactly as it is.
What starts as a pursuit of one explosive headline barrels into a labyrinth of buried truths, dangerous power dynamics and ruthless judgment. Can Ara tell this story without irreversible fallout – for Juicy or herself? Or will some secrets prove too deadly to uncover?
Ara Ikoyi is out of time. Three bestsellers behind her, she’s got no story for her next book – until her neighbour, Juicy Mbelu, becomes the centre of a fiery scandal. Accused of killing her sugar daddy, Juicy’s tale has everyone talking and Ara knows it’s her ticket to a page-turner.
But getting the truth won’t be easy. Juicy agrees to share her story, but only if Ara meets two life-altering demands. First, she must trade secrets with the women of their Lagos estate, exposing her own vulnerabilities in the process. And second? She must tell Juicy’s story exactly as it is.
What starts as a pursuit of one explosive headline barrels into a labyrinth of buried truths, dangerous power dynamics and ruthless judgment. Can Ara tell this story without irreversible fallout – for Juicy or herself? Or will some secrets prove too deadly to uncover?
Kindle Edition
Expected publication July 30, 2026
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 44 reviews
February 1, 2026
I’m just upset after reading this . Makes absolutely no sense .. like the plot was there … then it wasn’t…
November 10, 2025
I finished reading Women Rent Men and Secrets Here over the weekend, and it was the perfect Friday read that kept me company indoors.
The story follows Ara, a writer living in House 21 Estate in Ikoyi. She’s deep in a serious writer’s block with both her Nigerian and US agents breathing down her neck for a new book. Just when she’s about to give up, her neighbour Juicy gets accused of killing her sugar daddy, and suddenly, there’s gist everywhere.
From that point, peace left House 21. Secrets started flying, and Ara was such a ride! Bold, nosey in the best way, and unafraid to chase the truth, even when it got messy. Those secret-for-secret moments? My jaw was on the floor. The tension, the confessions, the drama! It was like Lagos gossip in book form.
Damilare Kuku knows how to write women who feel alive, funny, flawed, daring, and sometimes a little messy. And that ending? A huge cliffhanger. I closed the book and just stared into space like, excuse me, ma’am? We need part two.
Solid 4 ⭐️ from me. It’s dramatic, fast-paced, and full of juicy twists. Definitely a fun weekend read.
The story follows Ara, a writer living in House 21 Estate in Ikoyi. She’s deep in a serious writer’s block with both her Nigerian and US agents breathing down her neck for a new book. Just when she’s about to give up, her neighbour Juicy gets accused of killing her sugar daddy, and suddenly, there’s gist everywhere.
From that point, peace left House 21. Secrets started flying, and Ara was such a ride! Bold, nosey in the best way, and unafraid to chase the truth, even when it got messy. Those secret-for-secret moments? My jaw was on the floor. The tension, the confessions, the drama! It was like Lagos gossip in book form.
Damilare Kuku knows how to write women who feel alive, funny, flawed, daring, and sometimes a little messy. And that ending? A huge cliffhanger. I closed the book and just stared into space like, excuse me, ma’am? We need part two.
Solid 4 ⭐️ from me. It’s dramatic, fast-paced, and full of juicy twists. Definitely a fun weekend read.
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March 26, 2026I hate the fact that I bought this book with my hard earned money because now I have to see it sitting on my shelf as I can’t just get rid of it. If it’d been an ebook, I’d have had the pleasure of deleting it from my device.
The ending was so weird and made no sense. It feels like the author was forced to submit the ending of the book and just wrote some nonsense.
I skipped to the end after getting annoyed with all the gossip a few chapter in so I didn’t get too excited or involved at least. I’m very disappointed. I expected better.
Her editors should be ashamed of themselves for the part they played in this book being released. Everyone involved in the making of this book should’ve done better.
The ending was so weird and made no sense. It feels like the author was forced to submit the ending of the book and just wrote some nonsense.
I skipped to the end after getting annoyed with all the gossip a few chapter in so I didn’t get too excited or involved at least. I’m very disappointed. I expected better.
Her editors should be ashamed of themselves for the part they played in this book being released. Everyone involved in the making of this book should’ve done better.
January 16, 2026
The book is well written, captivating and capturing the reader’s attention from the beginning.
I give it 3 stars for the ending that felt too abrupt and didn’t give any closure on the story.
I give it 3 stars for the ending that felt too abrupt and didn’t give any closure on the story.
Review of advance copy received from Publisher
Damilare Kuku did fantastically well with this one. My mind is actually blown. Great work.
December 30, 2025
⚠️ This review is a bit long ⚠️
I just finished reading Women Rent Men And Secrets Here, Damilare Kuku’s third book, and I am honestly at a loss for words.
This is one of those books that stays with you long after you close the last page. The kind that lingers in your mind, makes you pause, reflect, and sit with uncomfortable truths. I already know this book will remain with me for a very long time — alongside other deeply moving reads that carry weight, grief, and depth
This story is layered with secrets — dark, gut-wrenching, and deeply disturbing secrets — all tied to the women living within the same estate. Discovering how these secrets intertwine was shocking and, at times, overwhelming. These women have endured terrible experiences, and those experiences have shaped them into people driven by survival rather than empathy. Kindness, love, and compassion have been replaced by self-preservation — and the results are devastating.
What makes this book so compelling is that while you are horrified by the characters’ actions, you are also forced to confront how they got there. Their descent into depravity wasn’t sudden or linear. It was a slow accumulation of abandonment, systemic failure, exploitation, and repeated trauma. And that makes the story deeply unsettling — because it feels real.
This book raises painful questions about society:
About power, greed, and corruption.
About how easily systems fail the vulnerable.
About how people in authority can destroy lives without consequence.
About how survival, when prolonged and unsupported, can strip people of their humanity.
It also confronts parenting in an unflinching way — showing how some children are forced to grow up too soon, burdened with responsibilities they never chose. Children are not solutions, not emotional crutches, not breadwinners. They are children — and this book makes that truth painfully clear.
Damilare Kuku once again demonstrates her ability to address complex societal issues with subtlety and depth. Themes of trafficking, prostitution, greed, lust, corruption, and violence are woven together with care and intention. Layer by layer, the rot within the system — and within people — is exposed.
This was not an easy read. I had to pause multiple times to process what I was reading. But it was a necessary one.
Women Rent Men And Secrets Here is haunting, thought-provoking, and emotionally heavy. It is easily one of my top five reads of 2025. I know I’ll be thinking about this book for a long time.
I just finished reading Women Rent Men And Secrets Here, Damilare Kuku’s third book, and I am honestly at a loss for words.
This is one of those books that stays with you long after you close the last page. The kind that lingers in your mind, makes you pause, reflect, and sit with uncomfortable truths. I already know this book will remain with me for a very long time — alongside other deeply moving reads that carry weight, grief, and depth
This story is layered with secrets — dark, gut-wrenching, and deeply disturbing secrets — all tied to the women living within the same estate. Discovering how these secrets intertwine was shocking and, at times, overwhelming. These women have endured terrible experiences, and those experiences have shaped them into people driven by survival rather than empathy. Kindness, love, and compassion have been replaced by self-preservation — and the results are devastating.
What makes this book so compelling is that while you are horrified by the characters’ actions, you are also forced to confront how they got there. Their descent into depravity wasn’t sudden or linear. It was a slow accumulation of abandonment, systemic failure, exploitation, and repeated trauma. And that makes the story deeply unsettling — because it feels real.
This book raises painful questions about society:
About power, greed, and corruption.
About how easily systems fail the vulnerable.
About how people in authority can destroy lives without consequence.
About how survival, when prolonged and unsupported, can strip people of their humanity.
It also confronts parenting in an unflinching way — showing how some children are forced to grow up too soon, burdened with responsibilities they never chose. Children are not solutions, not emotional crutches, not breadwinners. They are children — and this book makes that truth painfully clear.
Damilare Kuku once again demonstrates her ability to address complex societal issues with subtlety and depth. Themes of trafficking, prostitution, greed, lust, corruption, and violence are woven together with care and intention. Layer by layer, the rot within the system — and within people — is exposed.
This was not an easy read. I had to pause multiple times to process what I was reading. But it was a necessary one.
Women Rent Men And Secrets Here is haunting, thought-provoking, and emotionally heavy. It is easily one of my top five reads of 2025. I know I’ll be thinking about this book for a long time.
Review of advance copy received from Publisher
I finished this book a while ago, but it lingered with me longer than I expected — the kind that keeps replaying scenes in your head even when you’re no longer reading.
Women Rent Men and Secrets Here is fast-paced, funny, and soaked in suspense. Damilare Kuku has a way of pulling you in gently and then tightening the tension without you noticing until you’re fully caught. The writing is smooth and accessible, which makes the unfolding chaos even more effective.
Ara, in particular, felt incredibly real to me — flawed, curious, and constantly teetering between doing the right thing and getting completely consumed by it. I also really enjoyed the use of multiple POVs; they added layers to the story and made the secrets feel heavier, more dangerous. And trust me, the secrets in this book are oshelegen. I found myself annotating reactions more than observations — there were moments that genuinely made me shout “mogbe.”
Emotionally, this book puts you through stages. There’s shock, there’s anger, and then there’s that moment when you realise the story is ending… and it’s ending on a cliffhanger. I won’t say much more than that, except that Damilare Kuku owes us a second book, and I’m saying that with love.
One thing I can’t ignore is the women in the estate. If you’ve read this book, you already know what I mean. The audacity. The decisions. The “they did what, to who, and where?” energy. At some point, I genuinely decided that I don’t want to hear anybody’s secrets again — because in this world, secrets are never just secrets.
As Ara digs deeper in an attempt to prove Juicy’s innocence, she becomes more entangled in a web that keeps tightening. Whether she manages to escape or gets completely devoured is something the book leaves you thinking hard about.
Women Rent Men and Secrets Here is fast-paced, funny, and soaked in suspense. Damilare Kuku has a way of pulling you in gently and then tightening the tension without you noticing until you’re fully caught. The writing is smooth and accessible, which makes the unfolding chaos even more effective.
Ara, in particular, felt incredibly real to me — flawed, curious, and constantly teetering between doing the right thing and getting completely consumed by it. I also really enjoyed the use of multiple POVs; they added layers to the story and made the secrets feel heavier, more dangerous. And trust me, the secrets in this book are oshelegen. I found myself annotating reactions more than observations — there were moments that genuinely made me shout “mogbe.”
Emotionally, this book puts you through stages. There’s shock, there’s anger, and then there’s that moment when you realise the story is ending… and it’s ending on a cliffhanger. I won’t say much more than that, except that Damilare Kuku owes us a second book, and I’m saying that with love.
One thing I can’t ignore is the women in the estate. If you’ve read this book, you already know what I mean. The audacity. The decisions. The “they did what, to who, and where?” energy. At some point, I genuinely decided that I don’t want to hear anybody’s secrets again — because in this world, secrets are never just secrets.
As Ara digs deeper in an attempt to prove Juicy’s innocence, she becomes more entangled in a web that keeps tightening. Whether she manages to escape or gets completely devoured is something the book leaves you thinking hard about.
November 26, 2025
This book follows Ara Ikoyi, a writer who’s drowning in writer’s block and life pressure, until her neighbour, Juicy Mbelu becomes the centre of a scandal so wild that the entire country is talking. Juicy is accused of killing her sugar daddy, and before she even gets a chance to speak, everyone has already judged her guilty.
Then, she finally offers Ara a chance to hear her truth. But, for Ara to get that access, she has to trade secrets with the other women in their estate, and that’s where everything becomes complicated, emotional, and honestly…painfully real.
What I Loved
1. The women in this book are so real. Flawed, bold, scared, ambitious, messy, but still trying to survive the world the best way they can.
2. The Lagos setting? Perfect. Gossip, judgement, double standards, wealth, secrets…she captured it so well that you can almost hear the estate WhatsApp group buzzing.
3. Juicy’s backstory broke me. I love how the book refuses to reduce her to “just a sugar baby.” You see the circumstances, the vulnerability, the fear, the ambition, everything that makes her human.
4. Ara’s internal struggle felt extremely relatable. That conflict between doing what’s morally right and doing what benefits your career? Whew. Many people won’t admit it, but it is real.
5. The theme of trading secrets was brilliant.
It shows how women carry things quietly just to keep going, and what happens when silence becomes too heavy.
This book is bold, messy, unapologetic, and deeply thought-provoking. It’s a story about the economy of affection, how society judges women harshly, the weight of survival, and how truth can both save you and destroy you.
Then, she finally offers Ara a chance to hear her truth. But, for Ara to get that access, she has to trade secrets with the other women in their estate, and that’s where everything becomes complicated, emotional, and honestly…painfully real.
What I Loved
1. The women in this book are so real. Flawed, bold, scared, ambitious, messy, but still trying to survive the world the best way they can.
2. The Lagos setting? Perfect. Gossip, judgement, double standards, wealth, secrets…she captured it so well that you can almost hear the estate WhatsApp group buzzing.
3. Juicy’s backstory broke me. I love how the book refuses to reduce her to “just a sugar baby.” You see the circumstances, the vulnerability, the fear, the ambition, everything that makes her human.
4. Ara’s internal struggle felt extremely relatable. That conflict between doing what’s morally right and doing what benefits your career? Whew. Many people won’t admit it, but it is real.
5. The theme of trading secrets was brilliant.
It shows how women carry things quietly just to keep going, and what happens when silence becomes too heavy.
This book is bold, messy, unapologetic, and deeply thought-provoking. It’s a story about the economy of affection, how society judges women harshly, the weight of survival, and how truth can both save you and destroy you.
Review of advance copy
I wrote this review immediately after finishing the book because I didn't want to forget anything.
This book follows Ara Ikoyi, a writer stuck in a serious writing slump. However, when news breaks that a sugar daddy has been murdered by one of her neighbours, Juicy, in House Twenty-One Estate, she regains her mojo. But her quest to turn the murder case into a compelling story forces her to dig up secrets and confront a past she has long tried to bury.
First off, this book is a 3.5⭐ read for me. I actually battled with rating it, so I went on Goodreads to read reviews and check other ratings and, honestly, the mixed reactions are justified. This book had the potential to earn a 4.5⭐ from me, but the ending was disappointing. I expected more!
If you love gist, secrets, drama, and even humour, you'll definitely eat this up. I absolutely love Damilare Kuku's sense of humour and the way she captures the reality of Lagos in her writing; it is brilliant.
Talking about Juicy, she is incredibly resilient. I loved the way Damilare wrote her story. She carried the burden of her family from such a young age, and honestly, I kept wondering what her parents were doing. Juicy's mother irritated me because why would you put so much on a child? Juicy's character symbolises strength and the silenced voice of the innocent because why was she the one to take the fall? And the way the other women neglected and hurled insults at her? Too bad.
However, some things didn't quite land for me:
1. Some of the“secrets," despite being shocking, can't really be called secrets. To me, they were mostly gist, and some felt irrelevant to the plot. I think that could have been dedicated to strengthening the ending instead.
2. Ara's character wasn't fully developed. Beyond being Ara Ikoyi, running helter-skelter in search of justice for Juicy, I wanted more depth. I especially wanted more insight into her second personality and how it tied into the overall plot.
3. The major plot twist (the killer's reveal) happened too casually. I wish tension had been built up the same way it was when the women spilled the secrets.
4. Like Ara herself questioned, what exactly is the relationship between Yele, Njoku, Nicholas...and even Farouk? I genuinely believe there was something deeper there, and I really wish it had been explored further.
5. Lastly, the question on everyone's lips: what was that ending? The ending felt rushed. I want to believe it's a cliffhanger and there'll be a sequel. Cliffhangers mess with my reading experience, fr.
Beyond the secrets and drama, this book also explores themes of identity and becoming, greed, domestic abuse, corruption, power, and prostitution. It also raises questions about parenting patterns and the long-term effects they can have on children.
Overall, this book is good, but it could have been better. What I especially loved were the pacing, the short chapters (my favourite), the humour, and the relatability. There were moments I shouted“Jesus!" while reading, and honestly, I wanted to enter the book and become a character so badly. I even wrote all over the pages of the book because there was nobody to rant to (my bookish bad habit 😂).
I quite enjoyed this book, and I don't even know if this review convinces you to read it, lol. Whatever you decide, that's on you, but if you do read it, please let me know your thoughts too!
This book follows Ara Ikoyi, a writer stuck in a serious writing slump. However, when news breaks that a sugar daddy has been murdered by one of her neighbours, Juicy, in House Twenty-One Estate, she regains her mojo. But her quest to turn the murder case into a compelling story forces her to dig up secrets and confront a past she has long tried to bury.
First off, this book is a 3.5⭐ read for me. I actually battled with rating it, so I went on Goodreads to read reviews and check other ratings and, honestly, the mixed reactions are justified. This book had the potential to earn a 4.5⭐ from me, but the ending was disappointing. I expected more!
If you love gist, secrets, drama, and even humour, you'll definitely eat this up. I absolutely love Damilare Kuku's sense of humour and the way she captures the reality of Lagos in her writing; it is brilliant.
Talking about Juicy, she is incredibly resilient. I loved the way Damilare wrote her story. She carried the burden of her family from such a young age, and honestly, I kept wondering what her parents were doing. Juicy's mother irritated me because why would you put so much on a child? Juicy's character symbolises strength and the silenced voice of the innocent because why was she the one to take the fall? And the way the other women neglected and hurled insults at her? Too bad.
However, some things didn't quite land for me:
1. Some of the“secrets," despite being shocking, can't really be called secrets. To me, they were mostly gist, and some felt irrelevant to the plot. I think that could have been dedicated to strengthening the ending instead.
2. Ara's character wasn't fully developed. Beyond being Ara Ikoyi, running helter-skelter in search of justice for Juicy, I wanted more depth. I especially wanted more insight into her second personality and how it tied into the overall plot.
3. The major plot twist (the killer's reveal) happened too casually. I wish tension had been built up the same way it was when the women spilled the secrets.
4. Like Ara herself questioned, what exactly is the relationship between Yele, Njoku, Nicholas...and even Farouk? I genuinely believe there was something deeper there, and I really wish it had been explored further.
5. Lastly, the question on everyone's lips: what was that ending? The ending felt rushed. I want to believe it's a cliffhanger and there'll be a sequel. Cliffhangers mess with my reading experience, fr.
Beyond the secrets and drama, this book also explores themes of identity and becoming, greed, domestic abuse, corruption, power, and prostitution. It also raises questions about parenting patterns and the long-term effects they can have on children.
Overall, this book is good, but it could have been better. What I especially loved were the pacing, the short chapters (my favourite), the humour, and the relatability. There were moments I shouted“Jesus!" while reading, and honestly, I wanted to enter the book and become a character so badly. I even wrote all over the pages of the book because there was nobody to rant to (my bookish bad habit 😂).
I quite enjoyed this book, and I don't even know if this review convinces you to read it, lol. Whatever you decide, that's on you, but if you do read it, please let me know your thoughts too!
Review of advance copy received from Publisher
You know that feeling when you pick up a book expecting the usual, and then it surprises you in a way you didn’t even know you needed? That was me with Women Rent Men and Secrets Here.
It follows Ara a writer who’s deep in the trenches of serious writer’s block until her neighbour Juicy, becomes the talk of the entire place after being linked to the death of her sugar daddy. And just like that, Ara’s curiosity switches on like generator light.
Half the time she felt like a one-woman investigative unit. The way she moves around the estate trying to understand the story had me hooked like I was right there peeping through curtains with her. And the funniest part is how the women in that estate act like they don’t want to talk… but they’re the first to drop information if you squeeze them small. The chaos that follows Ara everywhere? Honestly, it was giving ...this Lagos will show you shege and still give you a story worth telling.
What I loved is how the whole thing unfolds without feeling forced. Ara isn’t some perfect heroine, she’s just someone trying to get material for her next book and somehow finds herself knee-deep in drama she didn’t sign up for. And the women she meets? My God. They’re loud, soft, dramatic, secretive, loyal, everything at once. It felt like watching different layers of womanhood peel open one by one, in the most unfiltered way.
And even though the book revolves around Juicy, the girl who killed her sugar daddy and turned the whole estate upside down, the story isn’t really about murder. It’s about the things women carry, the secrets they live with, the pressures they carry quietly, the things they hide even from themselves. Ara becomes this lens we see them through..
It’s fast-paced in the best way. I didn’t feel bored for one second. I was literally eyeballing everything, side-eyes flying up and down because you know how Damilare Kuku writes, drama is never far away. And she did not come to play with this one. This book gave me everything I thought I was going to get and then added extra pepper on top.
If you want a read that pulls you in with gist, layered characters, and that kind of chaos that feels both familiar and addictive, this one is definitely worth picking up!
It follows Ara a writer who’s deep in the trenches of serious writer’s block until her neighbour Juicy, becomes the talk of the entire place after being linked to the death of her sugar daddy. And just like that, Ara’s curiosity switches on like generator light.
Half the time she felt like a one-woman investigative unit. The way she moves around the estate trying to understand the story had me hooked like I was right there peeping through curtains with her. And the funniest part is how the women in that estate act like they don’t want to talk… but they’re the first to drop information if you squeeze them small. The chaos that follows Ara everywhere? Honestly, it was giving ...this Lagos will show you shege and still give you a story worth telling.
What I loved is how the whole thing unfolds without feeling forced. Ara isn’t some perfect heroine, she’s just someone trying to get material for her next book and somehow finds herself knee-deep in drama she didn’t sign up for. And the women she meets? My God. They’re loud, soft, dramatic, secretive, loyal, everything at once. It felt like watching different layers of womanhood peel open one by one, in the most unfiltered way.
And even though the book revolves around Juicy, the girl who killed her sugar daddy and turned the whole estate upside down, the story isn’t really about murder. It’s about the things women carry, the secrets they live with, the pressures they carry quietly, the things they hide even from themselves. Ara becomes this lens we see them through..
It’s fast-paced in the best way. I didn’t feel bored for one second. I was literally eyeballing everything, side-eyes flying up and down because you know how Damilare Kuku writes, drama is never far away. And she did not come to play with this one. This book gave me everything I thought I was going to get and then added extra pepper on top.
If you want a read that pulls you in with gist, layered characters, and that kind of chaos that feels both familiar and addictive, this one is definitely worth picking up!
Review of advance copy
I just finished reading Women Rent Men and Secrets Here, Damilare Kuku’s third book, and I honestly love it .... the opening statement made me more curious to know what is next aside the catchy title.
"a tenant has killed someone in the estate, so we need to increase the rent"
Women Rent Men and Secrets Here is a gripping, fast-paced novel that explores secrets, judgment, and the hidden lives of women in a Lagos estate. Through gossip, mystery, and shared confessions, the story exposes how society quickly condemns women while ignoring deeper truths.
The story develops through a slow unraveling of secrets as Ara Ikoyi investigates a shocking scandal in her Lagos estate. What begins as curiosity and professional ambition quickly deepens into a tense exchange of confessions, with each woman’s story revealing layers of betrayal, power, and social hypocrisy. As gossip spreads and judgment intensifies, the narrative builds suspense and emotional weight, showing how hidden truths shape relationships and ultimately redefine Ara’s understanding of truth, loyalty, and womanhood.
The characters in Women Rent Men and Secrets Here develop through the gradual exposure of their secrets and vulnerabilities. Ara Ikoyi evolves from a detached, ambitious writer into a more self-aware and empathetic observer as she becomes emotionally involved in the women’s stories. The supporting female characters are revealed in layers, moving beyond gossip and stereotypes to show their fears, desires, and survival strategies. This progression highlights how judgment, power, and societal pressure shape their choices and identities.
I would recommend this book because it is engaging, thought-provoking, and culturally rich. It gives strong, realistic female perspectives and tackles important themes like double standards, power, and survival in a way that feels honest and bold. It’s an easy but impactful read that stays with you even after you finish.
"a tenant has killed someone in the estate, so we need to increase the rent"
Women Rent Men and Secrets Here is a gripping, fast-paced novel that explores secrets, judgment, and the hidden lives of women in a Lagos estate. Through gossip, mystery, and shared confessions, the story exposes how society quickly condemns women while ignoring deeper truths.
The story develops through a slow unraveling of secrets as Ara Ikoyi investigates a shocking scandal in her Lagos estate. What begins as curiosity and professional ambition quickly deepens into a tense exchange of confessions, with each woman’s story revealing layers of betrayal, power, and social hypocrisy. As gossip spreads and judgment intensifies, the narrative builds suspense and emotional weight, showing how hidden truths shape relationships and ultimately redefine Ara’s understanding of truth, loyalty, and womanhood.
The characters in Women Rent Men and Secrets Here develop through the gradual exposure of their secrets and vulnerabilities. Ara Ikoyi evolves from a detached, ambitious writer into a more self-aware and empathetic observer as she becomes emotionally involved in the women’s stories. The supporting female characters are revealed in layers, moving beyond gossip and stereotypes to show their fears, desires, and survival strategies. This progression highlights how judgment, power, and societal pressure shape their choices and identities.
I would recommend this book because it is engaging, thought-provoking, and culturally rich. It gives strong, realistic female perspectives and tackles important themes like double standards, power, and survival in a way that feels honest and bold. It’s an easy but impactful read that stays with you even after you finish.
Review of advance copy
I picked this up randomly for a flight and at first I was like… yeah I ate with this choice 😭
This follows Ara, a writer in Ikoyi dealing with serious writer’s block, when her neighbour Juicy gets accused of killing her sugar daddy and suddenly there’s gist everywhere. She decides to write about it but to get the full story, Ara has to start trading secrets with the women in the estate… and that’s where everything starts getting messy.
Let me start with what worked because I was INVESTED.
The writing? So easy to read. Very engaging. You open one chapter and you’re already in it. And the premise?? So fresh and different, I loved that immediately.
Also Ara as a character really carried this for me too. Messy, curious, always digging… she made the whole thing entertaining and kept me turning pages.
But somewhere along the way, it just lost direction.
It started feeling like too many ideas thrown in with no real direction. Secret after secret, twist after twist, but some of them were just so unnecessary 😭 like what even is that secret and why is it a secret please be serious. Instead of adding to the story, it just made everything feel scattered.
And the ending?? It felt rushed, incomplete, and honestly confusing in a way that wasn’t intentional. Not even a proper cliffhanger — just vibes and then it ended. Like we built all that tension for what exactly?
Which is so frustrating because this had everything to be a 5 star. The start was THAT good.
I’m not even mad at the book, I’m mad at the wasted potential 😭 but I can’t lie, it was still entertaining.
This follows Ara, a writer in Ikoyi dealing with serious writer’s block, when her neighbour Juicy gets accused of killing her sugar daddy and suddenly there’s gist everywhere. She decides to write about it but to get the full story, Ara has to start trading secrets with the women in the estate… and that’s where everything starts getting messy.
Let me start with what worked because I was INVESTED.
The writing? So easy to read. Very engaging. You open one chapter and you’re already in it. And the premise?? So fresh and different, I loved that immediately.
Also Ara as a character really carried this for me too. Messy, curious, always digging… she made the whole thing entertaining and kept me turning pages.
But somewhere along the way, it just lost direction.
It started feeling like too many ideas thrown in with no real direction. Secret after secret, twist after twist, but some of them were just so unnecessary 😭 like what even is that secret and why is it a secret please be serious. Instead of adding to the story, it just made everything feel scattered.
And the ending?? It felt rushed, incomplete, and honestly confusing in a way that wasn’t intentional. Not even a proper cliffhanger — just vibes and then it ended. Like we built all that tension for what exactly?
Which is so frustrating because this had everything to be a 5 star. The start was THAT good.
I’m not even mad at the book, I’m mad at the wasted potential 😭 but I can’t lie, it was still entertaining.
Review of advance copy received from Publisher
This is a deliciously dramatic tale of women with secrets, the kind you whisper, trade… or swear you are taking straight to the grave.
The book has got sugar daddies bankrolling lifestyles, an influencer socialite (sugar baby) tangled in a murder conspiracy that lands her in jail, and her unlikely savior: the brilliant, decidedly unsocial neighbor-author who steps in, not entirely out of kindness, but to cure her own stubborn writer’s block. Honestly? The audacity lol.
The secrets in this book had me clutching my imaginary pearls. Anyone who observed me reading the book, would definitely read my facial expresions. They say sharing secrets lightens the burden, but whew… some of these confessions felt like lifelong subscriptions to silence. I was equally shocked and thrilled.
The ending? How dare it. I am absolutely going to need a Part 2 because I require closure. Immediately. Damilare please!!
The writing is effortlessly engaging, fun, sharp, and wickedly witty. And let’s just say this book sold me a plane ticket in my mind. Lagos, here I come.
Shoutout to Nuria Bookstore for gifting me this gem, that’s yet to be officially released!!.. and congratulations on securing the publishing rights!
To Damilare Kuku, after Nearly All the Men in Lagos Are Mad completely wowed me, this one seriously competes. The range? Impressive. If you love glamour, scandal, secrets, and an easy read, this is it!
The book has got sugar daddies bankrolling lifestyles, an influencer socialite (sugar baby) tangled in a murder conspiracy that lands her in jail, and her unlikely savior: the brilliant, decidedly unsocial neighbor-author who steps in, not entirely out of kindness, but to cure her own stubborn writer’s block. Honestly? The audacity lol.
The secrets in this book had me clutching my imaginary pearls. Anyone who observed me reading the book, would definitely read my facial expresions. They say sharing secrets lightens the burden, but whew… some of these confessions felt like lifelong subscriptions to silence. I was equally shocked and thrilled.
The ending? How dare it. I am absolutely going to need a Part 2 because I require closure. Immediately. Damilare please!!
The writing is effortlessly engaging, fun, sharp, and wickedly witty. And let’s just say this book sold me a plane ticket in my mind. Lagos, here I come.
Shoutout to Nuria Bookstore for gifting me this gem, that’s yet to be officially released!!.. and congratulations on securing the publishing rights!
To Damilare Kuku, after Nearly All the Men in Lagos Are Mad completely wowed me, this one seriously competes. The range? Impressive. If you love glamour, scandal, secrets, and an easy read, this is it!
Review of advance copy received from Author
EYE think damilare kuku’s strength is her ability to craft truly creative & interesting worlds, stories, characters. i think she’s an ehhhh writer, but a creative storyteller. & i guess this is why i keep reading her books even tho i’m always left feeling empty, like it’s giving stockholm syndrome. atp, i just have to conclude (& this might be unnecessarily deep) that she’s just a lazy writer. each book, she pulls you in with an entertaining plot but the execution always falls short & i don’t think it’s because she can’t do the work.
the story unfolds with a sugar baby being accused to murdering her sugar daddy. i’m a big fan of excluded characters narrating a story about people around them so i was immediately intrigued about the residents at house twenty one estate, the fact that they are all women, the renting of secrets. but as i continued reading, i could tell kuku didn’t put much thought into it. the origin & motivation behind renting secrets wasn’t well-explained. what stops people from lying & revealing your secrets? some of the secrets exchanged weren’t even proportionately egregious. & that ending, idg? it was a lot to unpack & it was left very unpacked.
this is not an unentertaining book but it could have been much better, some reworking to make the story tighter & push it to excellence. & there are many modern nigerian books like this. what are our editors doing?
the story unfolds with a sugar baby being accused to murdering her sugar daddy. i’m a big fan of excluded characters narrating a story about people around them so i was immediately intrigued about the residents at house twenty one estate, the fact that they are all women, the renting of secrets. but as i continued reading, i could tell kuku didn’t put much thought into it. the origin & motivation behind renting secrets wasn’t well-explained. what stops people from lying & revealing your secrets? some of the secrets exchanged weren’t even proportionately egregious. & that ending, idg? it was a lot to unpack & it was left very unpacked.
this is not an unentertaining book but it could have been much better, some reworking to make the story tighter & push it to excellence. & there are many modern nigerian books like this. what are our editors doing?
December 22, 2025
Reading the acknowledgments of this book, the author wrote that she grew up watching a programme on LTV 8 called Nkan Be. I watched that show too, sometimes with my mom. And at that time, I was young... and when I listened to what was uttered on that show, it felt as if cold entered my body. You know that feeling when a shiver passes through your spine? Exactly—that’s what I felt when I watched the show and read this book.
I cannot count the times I closed the book and thought about what I read, the times I felt that feeling I described earlier! Crazy things are happening in House Twenty-One estate, o—crazy, crazy things!!! Things you read, and you begin to imagine how the author imagined it all and wrote it down. The secrets in this book will make you scream, “God, abeg!” And not to scare you, but prepare your mind!!! Don’t say I didn’t tell you, o!
Aside from the secrets, this book made me think of what women go through, the weight we carry on our shoulders, the secrets we are keeping within our deepest bellies, and the fact that the men in these women’s lives failed them! The way the book ended... Omo, I need more! What happened to Juicy las las?! And I have a lot of QUESTIONS, o! Damilare Kuku overdid herself with Women Rent Men and Secrets Here! In fact, shivers are still passing through my spine 😬.
I cannot count the times I closed the book and thought about what I read, the times I felt that feeling I described earlier! Crazy things are happening in House Twenty-One estate, o—crazy, crazy things!!! Things you read, and you begin to imagine how the author imagined it all and wrote it down. The secrets in this book will make you scream, “God, abeg!” And not to scare you, but prepare your mind!!! Don’t say I didn’t tell you, o!
Aside from the secrets, this book made me think of what women go through, the weight we carry on our shoulders, the secrets we are keeping within our deepest bellies, and the fact that the men in these women’s lives failed them! The way the book ended... Omo, I need more! What happened to Juicy las las?! And I have a lot of QUESTIONS, o! Damilare Kuku overdid herself with Women Rent Men and Secrets Here! In fact, shivers are still passing through my spine 😬.
Review of advance copy
It’s like Damilare doesn’t like joy and happiness oo… because… what is this?!
Women Rent Men and Secrets Here is an interesting, unputdownable read. The pace isn’t too racy, yet it keeps you fully engaged, you simply want to meet the different characters and uncover the worlds they inhabit. Along the way, Ara and Juicy’s stories begin to unfold: similar in some ways, yet different in how their lives and choices play out.
I found myself wanting more at the end, a clearer resolution. I kept wondering whether that final moment was truly an accident or an attempt on her life.
The themes are heavy, relevant, and unsettling: teenage pregnancy; young girls pushed by family members into prostitution to support the home (Juicy’s mother is the worst); sugar baby–sugar daddy relationships and the complications they bring; and secrets, secrets and more secrets!
Ha! What a book.
Would I recommend it? Of course!!!
Ps: Now what I don’t get is why Njoku was murdered. What was the trigger? Did Edith know Juicy was pregnant? But if she knew that then she’d also know of the other guy? I’m struggling to get the why….
Women Rent Men and Secrets Here is an interesting, unputdownable read. The pace isn’t too racy, yet it keeps you fully engaged, you simply want to meet the different characters and uncover the worlds they inhabit. Along the way, Ara and Juicy’s stories begin to unfold: similar in some ways, yet different in how their lives and choices play out.
I found myself wanting more at the end, a clearer resolution. I kept wondering whether that final moment was truly an accident or an attempt on her life.
The themes are heavy, relevant, and unsettling: teenage pregnancy; young girls pushed by family members into prostitution to support the home (Juicy’s mother is the worst); sugar baby–sugar daddy relationships and the complications they bring; and secrets, secrets and more secrets!
Ha! What a book.
Would I recommend it? Of course!!!
Ps: Now what I don’t get is why Njoku was murdered. What was the trigger? Did Edith know Juicy was pregnant? But if she knew that then she’d also know of the other guy? I’m struggling to get the why….
Review of advance copy
One minute silence for the drama, secrets and plot-twists in their book shall we?😳
First, I’d like to start by saying that I love it when writers write about the lives of writers. For a minute, it felt like I was reading about Damilare Kuku. Her life and journey as a writer, with the creative blocks, getting a good story, and audience perception.
In case you are wondering, the FMC, Ara was a 3 times bestselling Author on the journey of writing her 4th book, when a murder happened in her estate, and in a bid to get to the root cause of the murder and finding the murderer, she uncovered several secrets.
Every chapter left me in shock. I had my mouth open for most of the read!
Damilare Kuku doesn’t have a bad book, and this one? Just topped the charts.
I believe that if anyone is going through a book slump, this is the book they need! I read this book in less than 24hrs. The chapters are also really short, which made it easy to read and understand.
Chef’s Kiss to Damilare! She outdid herself with this work of art, I think it’s a book that everyone needs to read!
First, I’d like to start by saying that I love it when writers write about the lives of writers. For a minute, it felt like I was reading about Damilare Kuku. Her life and journey as a writer, with the creative blocks, getting a good story, and audience perception.
In case you are wondering, the FMC, Ara was a 3 times bestselling Author on the journey of writing her 4th book, when a murder happened in her estate, and in a bid to get to the root cause of the murder and finding the murderer, she uncovered several secrets.
Every chapter left me in shock. I had my mouth open for most of the read!
Damilare Kuku doesn’t have a bad book, and this one? Just topped the charts.
I believe that if anyone is going through a book slump, this is the book they need! I read this book in less than 24hrs. The chapters are also really short, which made it easy to read and understand.
Chef’s Kiss to Damilare! She outdid herself with this work of art, I think it’s a book that everyone needs to read!
Review of advance copy
Honestly, this was really good… until the ending.
Dami is a great author. She’s creative and clearly very talented, but the ending felt rushed and extremely lackluster. It honestly felt like a chunk of the book was missing. The ending gave, “I don’t want to miss my deadline, so let me just end it here.” It was abrupt, and in my opinion, a lot of the plot points that were introduced were never fully resolved.
I don’t know if she was trying a new writing technique, but that ending moved the book from a 4.5-star rating to about a 3-star rating for me.
We read the book during a book club meeting, and I’d say most of us had the same issues with the ending. The story had so much potential. Maybe there will be a sequel or some continuation, because I even found myself reading the acknowledgements to see if it was mentioned there 😭.
Dami, I love you, but this book is currently third place.
Please let me know if any readers here had the same issue or there was something I missed.
Dami is a great author. She’s creative and clearly very talented, but the ending felt rushed and extremely lackluster. It honestly felt like a chunk of the book was missing. The ending gave, “I don’t want to miss my deadline, so let me just end it here.” It was abrupt, and in my opinion, a lot of the plot points that were introduced were never fully resolved.
I don’t know if she was trying a new writing technique, but that ending moved the book from a 4.5-star rating to about a 3-star rating for me.
We read the book during a book club meeting, and I’d say most of us had the same issues with the ending. The story had so much potential. Maybe there will be a sequel or some continuation, because I even found myself reading the acknowledgements to see if it was mentioned there 😭.
Dami, I love you, but this book is currently third place.
Please let me know if any readers here had the same issue or there was something I missed.
Review of advance copy
Yea Damilare has successfully created a genre of her own. Her writing technique is unique and pulls you in immediately. However, I finished this book and was unsatisfied- too many editing issues, the end was completely rushed (some might say a cliffhanger, but this just felt like a manuscript that had a submission deadline and she had to just turn it in), she was still building characters closer to the end of the story. Some chapters I remember thinking “why is this necessary here?”. Some other chapters felt slightly forced - I couldn’t connect to the emotion she might’ve tried to portray.
Did I finish it? Yes. She’s an interesting writer. Do I think she could’ve done more? Absolutely. She needed more time.
Did I finish it? Yes. She’s an interesting writer. Do I think she could’ve done more? Absolutely. She needed more time.
December 2, 2025
Make una help me ooooo, person don kill sugar daddy for ikoyi. 😭😭😭😭😭
I was reading this book and I was like sure, how bad can this be. It all started with sunshine and rainbows, I was also doing detective work to know who killed sugar daddy, ladies and gentlemen you won’t believe it!!! I screamed😭🤲🏽.
When Damilare Kuku said “plot twist” she took it seriously because the plot actually twisted! 😭🤲🏽
If I keep talking about this book I might drop spoilers and I am Anti- spoilers 😭
This is an amazing book and as usual Damilare Kuku outdid herself. 👏🏾
I was reading this book and I was like sure, how bad can this be. It all started with sunshine and rainbows, I was also doing detective work to know who killed sugar daddy, ladies and gentlemen you won’t believe it!!! I screamed😭🤲🏽.
When Damilare Kuku said “plot twist” she took it seriously because the plot actually twisted! 😭🤲🏽
If I keep talking about this book I might drop spoilers and I am Anti- spoilers 😭
This is an amazing book and as usual Damilare Kuku outdid herself. 👏🏾
December 19, 2025
This book got crazy then crazier and I began to wonder what would happen next? It was a very captivating book from start to finish and it’s the kind of books you finish in one sitting. I enjoyed the plot and characters a little bit too much and just the whole idea of renting secrets. I also did not feel like it ended well but overall it was a very captivating thriller and I do recommend it to anyone. I had so much fun reading.
Review of advance copy received from Goodreads Giveaways
Picked this book up while I was in Lagos earlier this year and read it today on the plane. Literally finished the book in one sitting and I loved it. Wasn’t a fan of the ending but loved the captivating nature, and the vast secrets of the women of House 21. I enjoyed the pace of the book up until the very end. It felt like the more we knew the faster it was coming to an end. Perhaps that was intentional? Overall I loved the book - kept me entertained and engaged making for a solid 4 from me.
Review of advance copy
It took me a while to get engrossed but once I was hooked, there was no turning back! Damilare, you stressed me with the ending of the book, I need closure! What happened to Juicy and girl.... what do you mean in the acknowledgements when you thank Juicy, Ara and the women of House 21? Was this not a fictional story? I really enjoyed the writing, as I did the author's others books.
Review of advance copy
The end was shocking. It started so well, kept me on edge expecting so much only to drop me suddenly…zero warning. Expectations not addressed, so much potential with the storyline but the end did not mirror the drama she offered me. However I enjoyed it, a lot too. I just wish it ended differently.
Review of advance copy
Absolutely incredible! I finished this book in two days because I could not put it down. Damilare Kuku kept us captived with the mystery surrounding the story. The book chapters are also quite short, making it easy to read. I highly recommend this book.
January 16, 2026
I’m so annoyed with the ending like the book was so good and I was hooked but that ending pissed me offff cause wtf was it. I despise it when authors write a book that’s basically incomplete cause this story was Incomplete and that is why it is 2 stars
Review of advance copy
This book was going so well… but there were too many side stories that suddenly sprung out of nowhere. Unfortunately the ending was inadequate and didn’t close off the story, I can’t even call it a cliffhanger, because we still don’t know…
What happens to Juicy?
What happens to Juicy?
Review of advance copy
Did this book even get edited? The grammar and poor use of punctuation, and paragraphs where there shouldn't be, tell me no. The storyline was decent but the book was incomplete, how can we not find out what happens to Juicy??? All the plot twists just led to nowhere.
Want to Read
July 21, 2025I can't wait to read this next yearrr
December 3, 2025
I think what I like is how in the end we learn that closure doesn't exist in our type of country unfortunately. The story portrayed the things we don’t know that happen.
Beautiful beautiful read!
Beautiful beautiful read!
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