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RAGNAR: A novella
For fans of In Every Mirror She’s Black and Everything Is Not Enough, you asked for Ragnar’s view. Now you have it.
At sixteen, Ragnar Pettersen promised himself that he'll never become a "weak" man after witnessing years of domestic turmoil.
From a teenager battling self-worth in a world that judges upon sight, to the quintessential hedonist as an adult building his own modern Roman empire brick by brick, Ragnar is wild, abrasive, and confident.
Albeit, thinly.
Is Ragnar so steeped in privilege and meritocracy that he's become entitled to everything and everyone he desires regardless of consequences?
Or, is he a man finally facing himself in the mirror and what he's let himself become? An emperor with no clothes?
Spanning three decades, this coming-of-age story dives into the ego-driven dark mind of one of the most despised characters in Lola's gripping book series - Ragnar Pettersen.
[ PRAISE FOR LOLÁ ÁKÍNMÁDÉ ]
'Lolá Ákínmádé crafts sharply written and deeply moving characters, raising brutal questions and steering clear of easy answers.' - Taylor Jenkins Reid, New York Times bestselling author of Daisy Jones & The Six and Malibu Rising
'The queen of messy characters!' Onyi Nwabineli, bestselling author of Someday Maybe.
'Ákínmádé is a master at shading the gaps between power and love.' Chika Unigwe, bestselling author of On Black Sisters’ Street
[ PRAISE FOR IN EVERY MIRROR SHE’S BLACK ]
"Åkerström paints an admirably rich portrait of a particular culture - its nuances, norms, and idiosyncrasies - raising important questions of prejudice, racial bias, agency, and belonging...A novel with thematic depth and complexity." ― Kirkus Reviews
"A striking debut...As entertaining as it is revealing, Åkerström's novel has readers hoping that each of these women achieve her every dream and ambition. Along the way, Åkerström also delivers poignant commentary on Swedish culture." ― Booklist
"What an absolute gift... This is a book with scope... It is thrilling, disturbing, mysterious, sexy, and above all, complex. " ― Kathy Wang, author of Family Trust and Imposter Syndrome
At sixteen, Ragnar Pettersen promised himself that he'll never become a "weak" man after witnessing years of domestic turmoil.
From a teenager battling self-worth in a world that judges upon sight, to the quintessential hedonist as an adult building his own modern Roman empire brick by brick, Ragnar is wild, abrasive, and confident.
Albeit, thinly.
Is Ragnar so steeped in privilege and meritocracy that he's become entitled to everything and everyone he desires regardless of consequences?
Or, is he a man finally facing himself in the mirror and what he's let himself become? An emperor with no clothes?
Spanning three decades, this coming-of-age story dives into the ego-driven dark mind of one of the most despised characters in Lola's gripping book series - Ragnar Pettersen.
[ PRAISE FOR LOLÁ ÁKÍNMÁDÉ ]
'Lolá Ákínmádé crafts sharply written and deeply moving characters, raising brutal questions and steering clear of easy answers.' - Taylor Jenkins Reid, New York Times bestselling author of Daisy Jones & The Six and Malibu Rising
'The queen of messy characters!' Onyi Nwabineli, bestselling author of Someday Maybe.
'Ákínmádé is a master at shading the gaps between power and love.' Chika Unigwe, bestselling author of On Black Sisters’ Street
[ PRAISE FOR IN EVERY MIRROR SHE’S BLACK ]
"Åkerström paints an admirably rich portrait of a particular culture - its nuances, norms, and idiosyncrasies - raising important questions of prejudice, racial bias, agency, and belonging...A novel with thematic depth and complexity." ― Kirkus Reviews
"A striking debut...As entertaining as it is revealing, Åkerström's novel has readers hoping that each of these women achieve her every dream and ambition. Along the way, Åkerström also delivers poignant commentary on Swedish culture." ― Booklist
"What an absolute gift... This is a book with scope... It is thrilling, disturbing, mysterious, sexy, and above all, complex. " ― Kathy Wang, author of Family Trust and Imposter Syndrome
Kindle Edition
Published October 10, 2026
About the author
Lola Akinmade Åkerström
11 books1,016 followersAward-winning Nigerian-American visual storyteller and international bestselling author based in Stockholm, Sweden.
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Displaying 1 - 6 of 6 reviews
Review of advance copy received from Author
RAGNAR follows the coming-of-age of a very complex and unlikeable character who is featured in In Every Mirror She's Black and who later becomes central to the moral demise of a lead protagonist in Everything Is Not Enough.
As with all the other novellas in THE MEN series (including JOHAN: A novella), it is chockfull of spoilers. The individual character novellas are meant to be read after both novels in the duology, and not out of context, unless you want to go on a wild, open-minded reading adventure.
Because RAGNAR is complex, extremely troubled, and morally questionable, and this novella explores his life as rawly and transparently as possible.
Please proceed with caution.
As with all the other novellas in THE MEN series (including JOHAN: A novella), it is chockfull of spoilers. The individual character novellas are meant to be read after both novels in the duology, and not out of context, unless you want to go on a wild, open-minded reading adventure.
Because RAGNAR is complex, extremely troubled, and morally questionable, and this novella explores his life as rawly and transparently as possible.
Please proceed with caution.
October 17, 2026
This was really interesting and. I always wanted to get a glimpse into Ragnar’s mind and see what informed a lot of his choices. It was good to see but I had really hope the Novella would show us what Ragnar’s decisions were, post Kemi’s pregnancy scare. I’m not necessarily hoping to see some character growth… I was just hoping for new information since all the events on this had been covered in ‘Everything is not enough’
November 2, 2026
Some people spend their entire lives trying to prove they’re powerful, only to discover that the things they’re running from have been controlling them all along. That’s the uncomfortable territory Lọlá Ákínmádé explores in Ragnar, a provocative, psychologically layered novella that takes readers inside the mind of one of the most divisive characters from her In Every Mirror She’s Black series. Spanning roughly three decades, the story follows Ragnar Pettersen from his privileged but emotionally turbulent childhood in Sweden to his adult life as a wealthy, charismatic businessman who expects the world to bend to his desires. Growing up surrounded by domestic conflict, Ragnar makes an early promise to himself that he’ll never become the kind of man he believes his father to be. That determination shapes his relationships, ambitions, and increasingly distorted understanding of masculinity. Ákínmádé gives readers an intimate look at how a frightened boy becomes a man obsessed with strength, status, and control, even as his carefully constructed confidence conceals a profound fear of vulnerability.
What makes Ragnar particularly compelling is the way Ákínmádé examines the relationship between privilege and insecurity. Ragnar has nearly everything society associates with success: wealth, good looks, influence, and access to powerful people. Yet he’s constantly measuring himself against others, especially his lifelong best friend, Johan von Lundin. Their complicated friendship is one of the novella’s most revealing relationships, exposing Ragnar’s genuine capacity for loyalty alongside his jealousy and need for validation. His romantic relationships offer another window into his contradictions. He craves affection and emotional security, but his instinct to dominate frequently overwhelms his ability to connect. Ákínmádé also explores how racism, misogyny, and social hierarchy operate within wealthy Swedish circles, particularly when Ragnar’s desires collide with the independence of the women around him. The story’s emotional tension comes from watching someone who understands the language of love and loyalty continually struggle to practice either with consistency.
There’s something of Oscar Wilde’s The Picture of Dorian Gray in Ragnar’s character. Both stories explore men whose outward advantages disguise an increasingly troubling inner life, and both examine what happens when vanity and entitlement become substitutes for self-awareness. Ragnar’s fascination with Roman emperors, complete with elaborate parties, ceremonial crowns, and imperial fantasies, adds an especially revealing dimension to this comparison. His imagined kingdom becomes a symbol of the authority he desperately wants to possess. Where Wilde uses gothic imagery and supernatural elements to explore moral deterioration, Ákínmádé grounds her examination in contemporary relationships, inherited privilege, family trauma, and social expectations. Her writing is direct, emotionally charged, and frequently uncomfortable, particularly when Ragnar’s private thoughts expose the distance between how he views himself and how he treats other people. The novella’s close attention to his perspective creates an unsettling intimacy. Readers can recognize the origins of his behavior without being asked to excuse the harm it causes.
One of the most interesting things about Ragnar is how it expands the emotional landscape of Ákínmádé’s existing fictional world. Readers familiar with In Every Mirror She’s Black and Everything Is Not Enough will recognize characters and relationships from those novels, but experiencing events through Ragnar’s perspective adds a different layer to their complexities. His story raises difficult questions about masculinity, accountability, inherited emotional wounds, and the seductive nature of power. Ákínmádé is especially effective at showing how the lessons people absorb in childhood can become the very beliefs that damage their adult lives. At times, Ragnar’s relentless self-absorption makes spending time inside his head exhausting, but that discomfort is central to the reading experience. He’s a character who invites scrutiny, frustration, occasional sympathy, and plenty of reflection. Ragnar is a sharp, intimate character study about a man desperate to be seen as an emperor while struggling to understand the person looking back at him in the mirror.
What makes Ragnar particularly compelling is the way Ákínmádé examines the relationship between privilege and insecurity. Ragnar has nearly everything society associates with success: wealth, good looks, influence, and access to powerful people. Yet he’s constantly measuring himself against others, especially his lifelong best friend, Johan von Lundin. Their complicated friendship is one of the novella’s most revealing relationships, exposing Ragnar’s genuine capacity for loyalty alongside his jealousy and need for validation. His romantic relationships offer another window into his contradictions. He craves affection and emotional security, but his instinct to dominate frequently overwhelms his ability to connect. Ákínmádé also explores how racism, misogyny, and social hierarchy operate within wealthy Swedish circles, particularly when Ragnar’s desires collide with the independence of the women around him. The story’s emotional tension comes from watching someone who understands the language of love and loyalty continually struggle to practice either with consistency.
There’s something of Oscar Wilde’s The Picture of Dorian Gray in Ragnar’s character. Both stories explore men whose outward advantages disguise an increasingly troubling inner life, and both examine what happens when vanity and entitlement become substitutes for self-awareness. Ragnar’s fascination with Roman emperors, complete with elaborate parties, ceremonial crowns, and imperial fantasies, adds an especially revealing dimension to this comparison. His imagined kingdom becomes a symbol of the authority he desperately wants to possess. Where Wilde uses gothic imagery and supernatural elements to explore moral deterioration, Ákínmádé grounds her examination in contemporary relationships, inherited privilege, family trauma, and social expectations. Her writing is direct, emotionally charged, and frequently uncomfortable, particularly when Ragnar’s private thoughts expose the distance between how he views himself and how he treats other people. The novella’s close attention to his perspective creates an unsettling intimacy. Readers can recognize the origins of his behavior without being asked to excuse the harm it causes.
One of the most interesting things about Ragnar is how it expands the emotional landscape of Ákínmádé’s existing fictional world. Readers familiar with In Every Mirror She’s Black and Everything Is Not Enough will recognize characters and relationships from those novels, but experiencing events through Ragnar’s perspective adds a different layer to their complexities. His story raises difficult questions about masculinity, accountability, inherited emotional wounds, and the seductive nature of power. Ákínmádé is especially effective at showing how the lessons people absorb in childhood can become the very beliefs that damage their adult lives. At times, Ragnar’s relentless self-absorption makes spending time inside his head exhausting, but that discomfort is central to the reading experience. He’s a character who invites scrutiny, frustration, occasional sympathy, and plenty of reflection. Ragnar is a sharp, intimate character study about a man desperate to be seen as an emperor while struggling to understand the person looking back at him in the mirror.
October 29, 2026
I really enjoyed this! It’s been some time since I read the duology (loved them both) so I was excited for the release of the novellas. This was short, nicely paced and overall a good read - a great bonus to the series and a nice insight into one of the main characters. I didn’t think I could dislike a character even more but Ragnar Pettersen has proven me wrong! I have to say, I was side eyeing Kemi *just a little* before but after this… even more so. Absolutely recommend if you’ve read the first two books.
November 9, 2026
I read this in one sitting, as part of Novella November. This was received as a gift from the writer & publisher.
I loved IEMSB, and still regard it as a Top 10 pick, but sadly haven’t gelled with any of the spin-offs; particularly the novellas, centred on the male characters. I liked the conversations that IEMSB surfaced: misogynoir, autism in dating, abd outright racism in Nordic countries.
Sadly, the spin-offs have sought to create an alternative narrative for the men; humanising their actions by rooting it in early-onset and inhaled trauma. And much of which is too dramatic and violent to be carefully considered in a novella.
The pacing of this was off, but I did like the ending.
I loved IEMSB, and still regard it as a Top 10 pick, but sadly haven’t gelled with any of the spin-offs; particularly the novellas, centred on the male characters. I liked the conversations that IEMSB surfaced: misogynoir, autism in dating, abd outright racism in Nordic countries.
Sadly, the spin-offs have sought to create an alternative narrative for the men; humanising their actions by rooting it in early-onset and inhaled trauma. And much of which is too dramatic and violent to be carefully considered in a novella.
The pacing of this was off, but I did like the ending.
November 1, 2026
This novella is about Ragnar, but Kemilola we will have words very soon.
Displaying 1 - 6 of 6 reviews