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Hidden Heir
When twenty-seven-year-old Nandera’s idyllic life is turned topsy-turvy in one brief meeting with her cousin, she is pulled from her carefully and intentionally built life in Nairobi into the heart of Busia. What begins as a journey to reacquaint herself with her roots soon unravels into a reckoning with secrets that stretch across generations.
In the quiet lakeside village of her ancestors, Nandera discovers a lineage steeped in African spirituality and a power that thrums in her blood. Guided by whispers of the women who came before her through her aunt Nanderema, she learns that her sister’s death is only the beginning of a larger inheritance and a sinister conspiracy by her father’s side of the a calling to embrace gifts long buried and a history deliberately obscured.
As Nandera pieces together the truth, she must navigate generational machinations, fight to maintain the love and existence she has always wanted, and confront the dangerous forces that fear what she represents. Between shadowed forests, moonlit rituals, cityscapes, and the pulse of a continent alive with magic, she faces a deny the legacy that could transform her, or claim it and risk everything.
Lyrical, poetic and fiercely hopeful, Hidden Heir celebrates queer love, African heritage, and the untamed joy of discovering who you were always meant to be.
In the quiet lakeside village of her ancestors, Nandera discovers a lineage steeped in African spirituality and a power that thrums in her blood. Guided by whispers of the women who came before her through her aunt Nanderema, she learns that her sister’s death is only the beginning of a larger inheritance and a sinister conspiracy by her father’s side of the a calling to embrace gifts long buried and a history deliberately obscured.
As Nandera pieces together the truth, she must navigate generational machinations, fight to maintain the love and existence she has always wanted, and confront the dangerous forces that fear what she represents. Between shadowed forests, moonlit rituals, cityscapes, and the pulse of a continent alive with magic, she faces a deny the legacy that could transform her, or claim it and risk everything.
Lyrical, poetic and fiercely hopeful, Hidden Heir celebrates queer love, African heritage, and the untamed joy of discovering who you were always meant to be.
304 pages, Kindle Edition
Published January 12, 2026
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Displaying 1 - 2 of 2 reviews
March 24, 2026
It’s been a while since I finished a book so fast. Having started the year in an almost reading slump, Hidden Heir has given me the perfect jolt back in to the swing of things. Nerima’s mastery of the English language and her way with words is something else. How she draws you in and paints a picture that immerses you into the novel’s universe is a skill. I was hooked from start to finish. As a personal friend I know I am biased, however I am truly honored and proud of my friend for writing such a fantastic book. Queer stories need more representation in African media (especially Kenyan) and this book gives it a great start. My ultimate wish is to see this brought to life on tv or motion picture. Well done, Nerima! Onwards and upwards!
February 3, 2026
The way the author draws you in with the imagery and physical and emotional descriptions draws you into the story and wraps you up in the characters' lives. You can taste their rage. Hear their joy. Smell their wrath. And there's nothing more glorious than feminine rage.
Displaying 1 - 2 of 2 reviews