Not Just Another Interlude

by Lara T. Kareem

Sewa’s decision to steer her love life in the direction she wants instantly backfires, prompting her to halt her quest for love and focus on other more important things like getting a job. Fate has its own plan and puts her in the path of the man of her dreams, Jide.Jide isn’t afraid to go after what he wants. Crossing Sewa’s path more than once, he doesn’t leave it up to chance because there is something special about her.When their budding relationship suffers a huge blow, Jide will have to prove that love is worth fighting for, to Sewa.

Genres: Romance, Nigeria, Africa

160 pages, Paperback

Published July 7, 2020

About the author

Lara T. Kareem is a Nigerian multidisciplinary artist whose work spans writing, poetry, visual art, and photography. Her latest project, Àànú Ifẹ́, brings together these forms to create an immersive story that explores themes of healing, love, and resilience. Known for her emotional and relatable storytelling, Lara’s previous works, including her novel Not Just Another Interlude and her short story collection Love is Beautiful When in Bloom, capture her love for weaving heartfelt narratives. When not working or creating her next piece, Lara enjoys Korean dramas, anime, and reading manhwas and manga. She lives with her cat, Sisi, in the ever-bustling city of Lagos, Nigeria.

Reviews

[Jite · Rating 3 out of 5]

2.5 Stars: Cute, simple Nigerian NA Romance

I don’t read a lot of New Adult Romance as it isn’t usually my preferred type of romance so I was always going to feel like this wasn’t “for me.” That said, this was a cute and really sweet instalove-licious story that felt really contemporary to the young, Nigerian experience.

The premise is that Sewa, a klutzy, go-getting graphic artist literally bumps into Jide, a tech entrepreneur, at a restaurant when she’s having a bad night, and sparks instantly fly. When they meet again in a similar way, surely they’re meant to be together but sometimes perfection can’t be trusted and Sewa has to determine if Jide is going to let her down.

I think my favourite parts of this book were the bits that celebrated female friendship and the importance of having a community of women supporting you. I also loved the relationship between Sewa and her mom because a lot of the time in African books, you have these stories of unsupportive, very traditional parents who are somewhat toxic in their relationship with their children.

I thought Sewa and Jide’s relationship was fine but I didn’t think it had enough conflict. Everything was a little too nice and smooth-sailing where perhaps a bit more grit and challenge and difficulty was needed. I think the author could have leaned in a little on the plot twist involving Jide and made it more of a source of conflict and perhaps added in some road bumps at her work place or something. It all just needed a little grit to make it a little stronger. I did however like that from the beginning Sewa could stand up for herself and that she and her friends were feminist and showed it rather than just paying it lip service. I found some of Jide’s behaviour a little forward but since ultimately Sewa didn’t mind, it wasn’t problematic. Plot-wise, I was actually somewhat more interested in Sewa’s mom’s relationship with Mr. Saludeen giving her history of abuse, or even Onyinyechi’s secret relationship because there seemed to be a bit more potential drama and plot there. Hopefully, the author writes these stories some day. There were some editing/proofing issues in this but not enough to spoil the experience of the book. If you’re looking for a no angst, sweet Nigerian new adult romance that is true to contemporary young Nigerian society, you might be interested in this one.

[Oreoluwa · Rating 5 out of 5]

If you are looking for a book that belongs to the category of beautifully written, light hearted, even relatable books, Not Just Another Interlude by Lara Kareem is the book you are looking for. ⁣
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Not Just Another Interlude is a romance novel set in Nigerian with a confident and "I-know-what-I-want-so-I-am-going-to-get-it" kinda heroine. There are quite a number of things I enjoyed about this book: the female friendships, the relatability (especially when it comes to food and Nigerian mothers & aunties, goodness!), the subtle "fuck the patriarchy" messages, the romance! Not the kinda romance that you are just cringing and wondering what kind of characters you are stuck with. It is straight to the point with no "nonsense" tropes peculiar with romance novels (even though sometimes they are fun to read🥴)⁣
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So, while you are stuck with those heavy-themed books, take a break with this book. You will love it and all the cheesiness. ⁣

[Yewande Akeredolu · Rating 4 out of 5]

Totally enjoyed reading this book! I love the way it was simply written but yet touched a couple of important issues. Ohh and the love story got me blushing and “aww-ing” like a fool 😂

[Gbolahan]

I have a lengthy (or probably not that lengthy, I don't care) honest review written out and stored in-cloud. I have a rating in mind also.

[Lara Kareem · Rating 5 out of 5]

If you are into:

- Clumsy, confident & bold heroines
- Superb mother & daughter relationship
- Women friendship that is amazing
- A sweet, cute non-problematic romance
- Owambes

You should order my book: https://larakareem.com/not-just-anoth...

[Sage Abena Jade · Rating 2 out of 5]

Needs a bit more editing. And I guess I'm over fruity tales with ridiculous conflicts.
But if that's your taste, you'd like it.

[Ice Angel · Rating 3 out of 5]

“my heart is filled with peace and love.”


I loved the vibe from this book because a lot of things were relatable and the Typical Nigerian life made it smooth to read. It’s about Sewa and her quest for love. She meets Jide and that’s when the love sparks and it turns into a cute romance story🤗. However, I felt it was too rushed and Jide is weird and kind of possessive until towards the end when he falls in love with Sewa. Sewa just wants a serious relationship and that’s why she fell deeply for Jide but most times hard girl vibes can really save a lot of see finish if you know what I mean. Then to the friendships ( wasn’t so necessary to go into the lives of each and everyone ) when we needed more details of the romance. I also love the constant effort in the book to shut the patriarchy and the societal assumptions on various issues surrounding women. It’s a bit rushed but totally worth the hype especially when you want to have a cute weekend read or a quick read with a happily ever after and cute / cheesy and annoying love between love birds and an insight into Nigerian yoruba culture and owambe vibes. I’ll recommend it .

[Diana Anyango]

I loved it!

I loved this book because it gives off that girl next door feel. The camaraderie between Sewa and her three friends, her mother and brother is real. It gives also a feel of Nigeria and its food, culture. Sewa's relationship with Jide is also amazing, how it grows and reaches its peak. I recommend this book to all romance lovers!

[Lady Tamakloe · Rating 3 out of 5]

I enjoyed reading it
Women supporting each other 🔥🔥🔥🔥
Family that got your back🙌🏻🙌🏻
Love unending
Beautiful ending I must say

[Uchenna (favourite_igbo_boy) · Rating 4 out of 5]

A Nigerian contemporary romance read that takes you on the journey of Sewa's love story and life in general.⁣
Has to be as spoilers free as possible.⁣
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Not Just Another Interlude was a quick, easy and relatable read that got me cringing to love.⁣
A kind of read that makes you want to cry out and say "I want to relaz and be taken care of too nah".⁣
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This book played a major change of narrative for me, on how I look at contemporary romance reads especially set in Nigeria.⁣
It made see that not all romance reads has to be very problematic and intense.⁣
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Not Just Another Interlude, has themes centering love, family, friendship, relationship, career and more.⁣
But, the theme that actually did it for me was, the crushing of patriarchy, sisterhood and support.⁣
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I couldn't stan less 🙌🏾. ⁣
I want a geng just like Sewa's own 😖.⁣
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The family representation felt real and original.⁣
⁣

[Estelle · Rating 4 out of 5]

I would have loved more conflict , but I guess, the lack of it is what makes it an easy, light-hearted and perfect escape read.

[Aisha Oredola · Rating 5 out of 5]

Not Just Another Interlude is an unapologetic romance novel that will put the reader on a seesaw even with its subtleness because you'd be guessing things you shouldn't. In the first Chapter, Sewa, actually makes a move on her 'friend', Lucas and gets rejected but she took it well because she is a woman who would rather define a relationship than be misled. That's the only spoiler I'm letting out because I feel you should read this without much prior knowledge.

In Not Just Another Interlude, there were subtle and glaring messages. The friends Sewa had were there for each other than backstabbing, envious freaks which promotes the idea that women should support women and refrain from the hate/jealousy society expects female relationships to have.

I did cringe several times because I mean, love is the major theme and the author defined it finely with her debut. The way the author wrote about emotions, feelings and affection was very evident that it sort of lured me to want to be in wonderland but my realistic side tapped me several times back to the reality. But in all honesty I was wishing for a quick wedding or something. Very contagious.

It's an extremely light read. So if you want to rest your heart and feed it positivity (Like, with a balanced diet that has the nutrients saying 'Give Love A Chance Dear. Give It A Chance Again.), you should read this.

Another part I like is the originality. It's a romance story about Nigerians and the author, Lara @laratkareem made me feel at home. I like that she talked about creatives thriving in their fields, we need more representation indeed. Sewa and Jide were passionate about their lines of work. One, a creative designer that works for a publishing firm and the other, a game application creator and investor.

The romance will parade itself in your face so don't say I didn't warn you (especially if you're a rock natured person or hard girl/hard guy) but it was mature, and relaxing and really, just relax while reading. We need more positive vibes, don't we?

[Erhu Kome · Rating 4 out of 5]

If you haven't read this book, you should get a copy and do so. It's cute, it's funny, it's full of life and characters that are unforgettable. Lara hit a home run with this one and I can't wait to see more of her books.

[Oluwakemi Babalola · Rating 5 out of 5]

Super

Quick, sweet romantic read. If all men could be like Jide, lol! Loved all the characters and how well written the story was. Hope to read many more books from this author.

[Love Africa Book Club · Rating 5 out of 5]

Not Just Another Interlude is a feel-good contemporary romance that celebrates positive friendships and sisterhood while delivering on a sweet love story. This is a new author to check out from the staples of Love Africa Press.

[Literary Everything · Rating 3 out of 5]

It’s always refreshing to read a book based in Nigeria which doesn’t dwell on the socio-economic issues in the country. Not Just Another Interlude is narrated in the first person and is really a personal commentary on the everyday life of the heroine, Sewa. Read the full review https://literaryeverything.com/2020/0...

[Frida · Rating 2 out of 5]

Low conflict, light romance that was just too light for me. The millionaire hero didn't help, and some other of my least favourite tropes. It was still catchy enough to finish - I really enjoyed all the glimpses into the lives of Nigerian 20 somethings.

[Furaha · Rating 2 out of 5]

I settled on a 2.25 stars. Lately, it feels like i've been rating books 2 stars, and i've put them in two sections where you're either a 2 stars that was good/okay but not for me or horrible and definetely not for me. This book is the former and i believe that this was justified. Let's start off with the fact that the FMC, Sewa is described as a light skin girl to the point you can see that she's blushing but then on the cover, she's a darkskin? There were no others editions as well, i'm putting a lot of heavy emphasis on the lack of coherence with the context of this book (she's a cover designer and your cover has to align with the book and the real book in its self isnt?) and the cover loses points in my ratings. Another con would be that there was a lot of grammar mistakes, and this is not something that I actively try to uncover since my reviews are filled with them but as a PUBLISHED book, i bet that there's a millions corrections that needs to be done before the final copy and i couldn't tell since i could not make the text flow fluently in my head. That's a problem. Moving on to the romance! The way the FMC and the MC, Jide met was cute and he was saying all the right things bla bla. I get that this book is short, and it is WAY too fast paced for my personal liking but there was no timeline whatsoever. From my POV, things were on the speed-up and I can't tell you how long they been together. Typically, Jide would be your ideal boyfriend. He's flithy rich, considerate, romantic.. basically whatever you'd want in a boyfriend but in this book with the way the story progresses, he was overbearing and I could not stand to have his prescence 24/7 around the FMC. They just got together and he met her parents. That would freak me out. There were instances where Sewa should've been (harshly) like you're doing too much, tone it down, set clear boundaries cause girl doesn't mean you like him doing it in your mind that he should. I think she should've set boundaries and not just say it and not stand on it. Also there was absolutely not substance in their relationship so I couldn't get behind it. Like why are you guys together? What's the foundation here? The third act breakup was basically him switching up. I was just like okay, whatever. At this point, i'm just going with the flow. They get their happily every after, they get marry and that's the end, yay. So far this review has been bashful but this is a good 2 stars book. Let's talk about the pros. I was happy that the FMC was working in the publishing industry as it is something i'd like to do for myself, and I loved the glimpses that she shared about the experiences she was having as a cover designer and the surrounding atmosphere. It furthermore pushed my own desire to have a breaktrough in that industry. I think the author did a good job demonstrating the family she had, as well as having a comprehending and a lovely mother, the personality she gave her was refreshing and it showed a healthy mother-daugther relationship, she nailed that whole family dynamics aspect. One thing, I absolutely loved and gobbled up with no leftover are the sisterhoods. I love the support they had towards each others, the lessons pulled trought even the smallest ones, there were mini storylines there and the importance of having a community of women supporting you. It made me happy because it showed what type of friend Sewa is and it added to her overall character. Typically, I feel like I could've loved this book, if it had expanded more on the pros i'd mentioned amongs other things that went wrong, more details. This book should've been longer, more characterizations. This could've been a lot more better if the author had put it in more efforts into it because I see the potentiel of what this book could've been.It was an enjoyable read but i'm disapointed by this novel.

[CoCo 🇬🇭 · Rating 4 out of 5]

3.75⭐️

such a cute, Nigerian Romance.
We get to see Sewas "first failed relationship" in the book, falling in love again, the bond of family, friends. Steering love life and career etc

These elements made me enjoy the book as it was written so well. ( family; mother daughter love. Great female friendship; friends who support and empower each other, friends to lovers etc )

The MCs did it for me, as they were very likable and relatable. Sewa was so funny and clumsy. She knows what she wants and goes for It.

Some sentences were in a local language which I couldn't understand so I had to skip those parts, but in all it was a nice book.

[Bibliophile nemo · Rating 3 out of 5]

3.5