Not Seeing Is A Flower

by Erhu Kome

Love literally makes the world go round, so things are bound to get messy. 

Ziora’s job, as a Dharma from the Odinani pantheon, is creating chaos in the lives of people made to fall in love by Cupids. But everything starts to go wrong when the couples she is assigned start to die and a werewolf tries to kill her in her bedroom.
Fierce and decadent, Not Seeing Is A Flower is a stylish, supernatural adventure from the premier female Nigerian author of bizarro fiction, Erhu Kome.

Genres: Fantasy

Paperback

First published October 1, 2021

About the author

Erhu Kome is an Urhobo writer of speculative fiction and sometimes normal stories. She is also the premier female Nigerian author of bizarro fiction. She grew up in Benin city and is from the Urhobo tribe, so she has eaten and knows how to cook some of the most delicious foods in the world. She loves anime, cannot stop watching Bob's Burgers, and TV shows that has Eric Kripke involved in the making.

Reviews

[Danger · Rating 5 out of 5]

An adventure story full of magic and overlapping mythologies. While I really liked the idea of the novel and the world it was trying to build, it all felt a bit undercooked, hindered by its short length and uneven storytelling. There's a lot of Proper Nouns flying at you and by the end, I was trying to keep up with who was who and where was where and it kinda made the climax feel noisier than it probably should have. Fans of writers like Neil Gaiman or Haruki Murakami might like this one. For fantasy readers used to massive series and tomes, Not Seeing Is A Flower will feel positively bite-sized, perhaps working best as a breath of fresh air or palate cleanser between longer works.

[Naijabooktrovert · Rating 5 out of 5]

I'll try to give a spoiler-free review as possible.
This Is one of those novels that you get so lost in, you just don't want to drop it.
It's filled with drama, suspense, humor, romance, you name it.
The way she weaved the fantasy world with that of humans is exceptional, the description is to another level.
It was easy to fall in love with the characters, Nagasaki is my new fiction boyfriend (I mean, who wouldn't fall in love with a Japanese ninja?) I love Ziora also, she's a BADASS, and her fashion sense is mindblowing.
Let me not get started with Baron la Croix, his vibes are so cool.
And Callahan, ugh............. everyone should have a sweet soul like that in their lives.
Her psychic roommate Elias is such a sweetheart, and kinda cute.
It's a fast-paced novel, but believe me, you'll be glued to it from the first line. I finished reading, and was wondering what to do with my life now I'm out of Ziora's.

[Matthew Henshaw · Rating 3 out of 5]

The writing was very good, and the story moved along quickly. Interesting takes on the mythological creatures.

[N.J. · Rating 4 out of 5]

Not Seeing is a Flower was an unexpected read. I love that it is pure fantasy with all the elements I adore in fantasy novels, written by a Nigerian author in Nigeria (no, I don't have a bias. It's just something I'm excited about). The concept of Cupids having Dharma, aka the Hate to their Love, is amazing; and it's a novella, which gives it a high rating in my books 😂

Please pre-order this if you haven't, and enjoy it with your favorite drink and a can of Pringles

[Uche Ezeudu · Rating 5 out of 5]

Genre: Bizzarro Fiction

Synopsis: In a world different from ours, Cupids have the responsibility of causing people to fall in love while Dharmas introduces chaos into the lives of these lovers with an aim to testing their love for each other. If their love stands strong, they become Soulmates or Animalit. Ziora is a Dharma from the pantheon, Odinani but soon she realizes that the Vermantes/Lovers that she's assigned to are dying, leaving them without the option of becoming Soulmates. She is soon attacked by a werewolf and it becomes clear that someone has placed a hit on her but who and why?

Come, let's delve into this fantastical world that the author has painstakingly created for our reading pleasure.

📖❣️ This is an Advanced Readers' Copy but this book is set to be released on the 1st of October so keep it on your radar 🥰

📖❣️ Let me say it again, "I really enjoyed this book!". It did my psyche a whole lot of good because I picked it after another book sent me into a reading slump 🥺

I want to say a big thank you to the author for sending me the book as well as the package she waybilled to my house. To know the gifts I got, you'll have to watch my video 😘

Check out "Uche Ezeudu" on YouTube to watch my full review.

[Adaobi · Rating 4 out of 5]

My name is Ziora and I am a Dharma.

First off, Big Thanks to The Author For this ARC Copy.

Not Seeing Is A Flower swings us in the path of our lovely Dharma, Ziora whose job, as a Dharma from the Odinani pantheon, is creating chaos in the lives of people made to fall in love by Cupids. But everything starts to go wrong when the couples she is assigned start to die and a werewolf tries to kill her in her bedroom.

Buut, thanks to this she gets herself a hot bodyguard.

Through this fierce female, we got to meet Elias, her roommate who I thought was a guy at first😂😂. Turns out SHE is a psychic. We also meet the Cavalier Baron La Croix and of course, the charming Nagasaki. All characters, I liked so much.

Not Seeing Is A Flower is a fast paced novel with so much creativity that got me smiling till the end of the book. The writer's skill is amazing, descriptions, writing style, all beautifully executed. The familiarity of several japanese traditions had me in a flutter. I truly hoped there was more to the story because i wanted to see more of Ziora and Nagasaki.

Not Seeing Is A Flower comes out soon. Be Sure to Get a copy of this book by the lovely Erhu Kome, you'll love it.

[Auggie · Rating 4 out of 5]

I’m not sure why it took me this long to read this fantasy book but it was worth the wait.
This might just be my initiation into fantasy books.

I particularly loved how the author intertwined fantasy world into our reality. The countries, the detailed descriptions and don’t get me started with the characters😍. It’s definitely that fast paced novel you didn’t know you needed 😉. Definitely a 4/5 ⭐️ read for me

The ebook was gifted as an ARC by the author. Big thanks to the author for this ARC.

[Avril Lyons · Rating 5 out of 5]

What a ridiculously fun read. I wish that it had been much longer because I wanted to get to know the characters better. I did find myself having to stop and look up mythological creatures but I loved that the author pulled from all different pantheons. The story was simple but still had a great arc. I hope there is more to be written in this universe.

[Nelo · Rating 4 out of 5]

An entertaining book filled with mythology and mystery. I loved the characters (Especially Baron, man's like Well aged priceless smokey whisky ). I recommend this book if you want something fun with loads of action.

[Yetunde O · Rating 4 out of 5]

Set in a fantasy world, Ziora (a Dharma) shares the story of her life - the reason why she was exiled from her home country, her role in the supernatural world, her acquaintances and most importantly, her activities as a Dharma who causes chaos to the love lives of humans.⁣
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📘This book is different...but in a good way. I really enjoyed reading this from the point of view of a self-aware, sassy and fierce main character. Loved the reading experience. It was great to imagine the existence of creatures like the ones I met in the book. ⁣
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✨Not Seeing is a Flower is a fast-paced novel. I really wished it was longer so I could see more of the amazing characters. Did I want to read more about Ziora and Nagasaki and Callahan...and Elias? Hell yeah! But I guess their limited appearances piqued my interest in them.⁣
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📘If you need to get out of a reading slump, I highly recommend this one too. It’s just over a 100 pages and would grab your interest from start to finish.⁣

.......
⁣Thanks to the author for sending a copy of your book. 𝐍𝐨𝐭 𝐒𝐞𝐞𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐢𝐬 𝐚 𝐅𝐥𝐨𝐰𝐞𝐫 𝐢𝐬 𝐬𝐞𝐭 𝐭𝐨 𝐛𝐞 𝐫𝐞𝐥𝐞𝐚𝐬𝐞𝐝 𝐨𝐧 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝟏𝐬𝐭 𝐨𝐟 𝐎𝐜𝐭𝐨𝐛𝐞𝐫! ⁣Visit @erhukome on Instagram to pre-order!

[Lara Kareem]

Not Seeing is A Flower is means that sometimes, not being able to see something, allows you to picture it in a beautiful way...so basically when you see it, your expectations are dashed? That's my translation of the title.

This is a fast story to breeze through, easily be read in one sitting...although I really got into the story once the action kicked off in chapter three and after that, it was smooth sailing, when it comes to the pacing, plot and character motivation until the end.

We're introduced to a bevvy of characters in a whole new world, that exist right next to ours, should I say exists under our noses? While there's mystery and action, and we got to understand a bit what typically happens in the daily life of a Dharma, Ziora to be exact, this book felt like an introduction to the world, like it was creating space to give us more installations.

I would be totally happy if there's a sequel.

[Agnes Kay-E · Rating 4 out of 5]

It’s a new form of fantasy for me and beautifully written for young adults. It had so much action that I assumed there would be the next instalment. The author makes no promises of that, but I insist it can’t end like that. I want more from Nagasaki.
I have no noughts except that there was a lot of information which was explained but I’d liked more showing than telling.

PS: I must say I still prefer novels to novella

[Mesuur Iorkighir · Rating 5 out of 5]

Nagasaki is a sweetheart

This took me longer to read than it should have but I loved every bit of it. I hope that the author gets to write more if this world. There’s so much to explore in it.

[Christian Von · Rating 5 out of 5]

Awesome creative usage of various cultural pantheons, a likable main character, cohesive world and lore. I would read an entire series set in this world!