And So I Roar

by Abi Daré

Sceptre And So I Roar The new novel from the author of the word of mouth hit The Girl with the Louding Voice ABISBOOK Sceptre.

Genres: Fiction, Africa

400 pages, Paperback

Published June 19, 2025

About the author

ABOUT THE AUTHOR
Abi Daré grew up in Lagos, Nigeria and has lived in the UK for eighteen years. She studied law at the University of Wolverhampton and has an M.Sc. in International Project Management from Glasgow Caledonian University as well as an MA in Creative Writing at Birkbeck University of London. The Girl with the Louding Voice won The Bath Novel Award for unpublished manuscripts in 2018 and was also selected as a finalist in 2018 The Literary Consultancy Pen Factor competition. Abi lives in Essex with her husband and two daughters, who inspired her to write her debut novel.

Reviews

[Sandy Smith · Rating 4 out of 5]

I enjoyed this sequel but not as much as the first book. The book takes off from where the first ended with Adunni about to start school. However this is not to be and she returns to her home village of Ikati to fave her "crimes". This story is not just about Adunni, but also is a out Tia. The story is told from both perspective. The ending looks like its building for another book which I disliked. I loved the focus both on tribal rituals and beliefs contrasting with modern societal expectations of women, particularly marriage and fertility, which I found thought-provoking. Loving and caring for each other and the pain of keeping secrets are deep rooted themes. I also loved the beautifully written descriptions of Nigeria. Whilst there are mixed reviews, overall for me I enjoyed it and I consider that its well worth a read.

[Wangari Murage · Rating 5 out of 5]

“On God

God is something very mystery.
More than what the box of your mind can measure.
It takes the eyes of your heart to see the everyday miracles wrapped around the sun, the moon and the billion-billion of stars.

-The Very Important Small Book of Life’s Little Wisdoms
by Adunni”

Funny, empowering, heartbreaking!!

MUST READ 🤍

[.🍃. · Rating 5 out of 5]

I have no words 😭

[Ella · Rating 3 out of 5]

I found this pretty hard to get into - it felt really rushed in places and felt like it took a while for Tia and Adunni’s stories to line up. However as it all started coming together in the last 150 pages I soared through it - so moving and emotional

[Amy · Rating 4 out of 5]

I was worried in the first half that this book wouldn’t live up to the first one, which I loved so much! But the second half really redeemed itself, and I think it captured that same feeling & message of being both heartbreaking and uplifting.

[Simone · Rating 5 out of 5]

Incredible sequel to The Girl with the Louding Voice. Abi Dare skilfully wrote onwards from Adunni’s story through Tia’s lens (as well as others later in the book). Some say it was a slow burner but I believe it was a real page turner! I’m so grateful Abi continued her boom despite how hard the writing process was (noted in the acknowledgments). This book speaks for the voiceless and is extremely empowering, moving and educational.

[Nelly Mvuni · Rating 4 out of 5]

I did not read the first book “The girl with the louring voice” , however that didn’t make this book less enjoyable. Abi is a great story teller. Loved it and will be reading more books from her.

[Patricia OBrien · Rating 4 out of 5]

I liked the first one better, more realistic situation, but characters still strong and charming.

[Keerti · Rating 4 out of 5]

Not as good as the previous one , but packs a punch

[_toyin_s · Rating 5 out of 5]

And So I Roar is a solid 5/5. Abi had me going through a rollercoaster of emotions and solidified this as one of my favourite series (there must be a third book. I refuse to believe she is not writing one right now).

The story had a slow start but began to pick up around pages 40-50. Most sequels I’ve read tend to fall flat when they:
- Try to outdo book one
- Do the same thing again
- Stray so far off the plot, the characters seem more like caricatures.
- Make it boring.

But not ASIR. I can say with certainty that ASIR outdoes TGWTLV. Abi writes in a way that I find achingly similar to Chinua Achebe's “Things Fall Apart”, more so in how she can immerse us deep into the world of Adunni and balance keeping both character and narrative-driven plots without dropping the ball and sacrificing one for the other.

I was a bit sceptical as to the multiple POVs in this book, but they were all so engaging. Besides, Iya’s POV - she really dragged on her story, and I found it quite frustrating; however, I realised that this was what Ms Tia must have felt (the need to hurry this old woman along) and the slow build to the revelation was worth it.

Adunni is without a doubt the standout. I felt her growth as a character as she remains raw and real, but we see she is not the same girl who fled to Lagos.

Last thing! I recommended everyone who loved this book check out the Louding Voice Education and Empowerment Foundation. Unfortunately, stories like Adunni’s are painfully real, and supporting her work can be our way of giving these girls their louding voice.


“That some women are made to believe they are donkeys until they look inside of them to find the lion hiding in their stomach, waiting to burst out of the seams. There is a lion inside of you, Adunni. And what does a lion do, babe? .... It roars”

[Nadine · Rating 5 out of 5]

Oh Adunni - Such a bold, smart and courageous girl who doesn’t allow her background, past and present struggles define her! I loved her in a girl with a louding voice and I loved her here.

Ms Tia, Ms Tia can’t believe she ha sheen carrying such a pain within her for decades and still found a way to show love to people. I’m glad that she never gave up on Adunni even though we know what was going on her mind.

I can only imagine how Ken must be feeling, unknowingly competing with a dead man for your wives love and then find it out in the midst of a storm. He handled it well.

Zenab - such a fierce girl!!! I’m so sad she had to die

I could go on a out each character but that would take some time

Abi did a fab job on this one! Not just giving us a book about the confidence of a young girl but also highlighting feminism, global warming and the importance of breaking archaic and dangerous norms harming women!

[Bettina · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book was hard to put down, and I kept reading late at night because the drama was captivating. Distinct characters; I couldn’t predict how exactly the story would end. The different women and girls were interesting and had distinct voices, and the descriptions of life in the village were lively.

At the same time, I found the last third of the novel a bit over the top, even compared to the first book. The drama and monologues were a bit too much, Adunni a bit too „pure and innocent“ as a character, Tia a bit too shocked by everything and naive - not to mention her artificial seeming internal monologues about climate change etc. (*insert woke moment here*). A bit more show, don’t tell, would have done the novel some good.

All the same, I enjoyed this book thoroughly. It would make a great film adaptation.

[Kim Russell · Rating 4 out of 5]

When I started to read And So I Roar, the sequel to The Girl with the Louding Voice, by Abbi Daré, I struggled with the two voices in the dual narration. I persevered, got into the rhythm of the language of each voice, and I’m glad I did as, instead of me devouring the novel, it devoured me. As with all physical copies of books, I read it in bed each night and found myself reading on when I should have been asleep, even though it made me sad and angry to think of what Adunni and the girls in her village went through.

[Gail Foad · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is the most unpredictable book I have ever read. About 5 or 6 times something happened that I wasn't expecting. I didn't warm to Tia except for two occasions when she was brave and generous but I fell in love with Adunni. I loved her wisdom notes (I'm a self-help addict). The book had an energy and made me want to roar with Adunni and try to change the world. I'm looking forward to reading the prequel (The Louding Voice) and am so grateful to my bookclub for selecting this.

[Rokkan · Rating 4 out of 5]

4.5 stars out of 5

A little bit of a slow burn, but once I got to the final third or so I couldn't put it down, and stayed up into the early hours to finish it.

There's a lot going on in this book. I didn't realise that it was a partial follow on from another book, but it works well enough as a stand-alone that reading the first book wasn't necessary in order for And So I Roar to make sense. The plot points, as uncomfortable as they might be, were done well, and while there wasn't a full on Hollywood ending where everyone gets what they want, I felt that that made it feel more real.

[Jo K Moore · Rating 4 out of 5]

Firstly, If you’ve not read The Girl With The Lauding Voice, I beg you to read it first as this story will make more sense. It is perhaps not a throng as its predecessor but a good read nevertheless.

[Karrthick · Rating 4 out of 5]

maya

[Ruth · Rating 4 out of 5]

Good book

[Njeri · Rating 5 out of 5]

What a book! it got me hooked! and reading it at the start of 2026 reminds me to roar!!!

[Sarah Nabirye · Rating 5 out of 5]

Amazing and tragic. Written in a unique format and unique language, mainly in broken and pidgin English. Inspiring. Wrote down lots of quotes

[Isabelle Barker · Rating 5 out of 5]

“Our land is bleeding, the world is bleeding, and it is the girls that are suffering the most”.

This is a great sequel to The Girl with the Louding Voice, dealing with even more hefty subjects, from climate change, to child marriage to FGM, but Adunni still managed to make me laugh as well as cry. She’s got to be up there as one of my favourite fictional characters.