-- This title will ship on or after its release date: November 04, 2025 --

Spanning four decades and three continents, Bitter Honey is a story about a mother and daughter divided by long buried secrets, struggling to understand each other as they forge their own paths, from the internationally bestselling author of In Every Mirror She’s Black.

1978: A scholarship draws Nancy from Gambia’s warmth into Stockholm’s frigid winter. When her friendship with charismatic scholar Lars blossoms into something more, she thinks she may have finally found her place. But there’s more to Lars than his charming persona, and Nancy is about to discover the danger of being drawn into his world… 

2006: Tina has had her taste of fame as Sweden’s sweetheart pop princess, representing her country at Eurovision. But beneath her glittery façade, she’s uncertain who she really is. Her mother, Nancy, seems desperate to keep the past under wraps, but will the unexpected appearance of Tina’s father—a man she has long thought dead—help open the door to self-discovery?

Nancy just wants to protect her daughter from making the same mistakes she did, but Tina longs for the freedom to mess up, knowing her mother will always be there to support her. The two women love each other unconditionally, but can they learn to trust each other as well?

This poignant novel delves deep into the complicated relationships between mothers and daughters and delivers a warm, heartfelt story of love, forgiveness, and women finding their voices.

BIO

Nigerian-American Lọlá Ákínmádé Åkerström is an award-winning travel writer, speaker, photographer, and author of the international bestseller In Every Mirror She’s Black and Everything Is Not Enough. She is based in Stockholm.

REVIEWS

"If you've ever wondered what on earth is going through your mum's head, Bitter Honey is an urgent call for empathy, grace, and understanding." -- Glamour (UK) on Bitter Honey

"[Bitter Honey] is sweet and sour, layered and complex, showing us that secrets buried never stay buried." -- Montecito Journal

“Lọlá Ákínmádé Åkerström 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 Atmosphere

"Brilliant...Lola Akinmade Akerstrom has a sharp voice in the world of nuanced contemporary women's fiction." -- Jennette McCurdy, New York Times bestselling author of I'm Glad My Mom Died

[H]  William Morrow & Company  /  November 04, 2025

448 pages