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Cover of Cursed Daughters by Oyinkan BraithwaiteCursed Daughters
New · Fiction, Fantasy

Cursed Daughters

by Oyinkan Braithwaite
2025 · 360 pages · Fiction
Reserve shelf
≈ 9 hours to read · about 3 weeks at 30 minutes a day

What it's about

In a Lagos family, the women believe they're cursed: every man they love leaves them. When Ebun gives birth to her daughter, Eniiyi, on the day the family buries Ebun's cousin Monife, who drowned herself, everyone becomes convinced that Eniiyi is Monife reborn. Years later, Eniiyi falls in love, and the curse seems to strike again.

Why it's worth reading

It was a Goodreads Choice finalist. It's a sharp, darkly funny novel by the author of My Sister, the Serial Killer.

You'll love it if you liked

Good to know

It deals with suicide.

By the numbers

57.4Must-Read Score
  • Readers38 out of 100 · counts 42%
  • Critics0 out of 100 · counts 14%
  • Bestseller13 out of 100 · counts 34% (its stronger lane)
  • Buzz0 out of 100 · counts 10%

Critics and Bestseller are two ways to earn a place: a book's stronger one counts more. Buzz rewards recent bestseller weeks and prizes, so older books start at zero. The parts combine into the Must-Read Score, shown on a scale where the best book we found scores 99 and the last book to make the ranking scores 50.

On our reserve shelf: it's well reviewed, but isn't currently a prize winner, a lifetime bestseller or a book everyone's talking about, so we don't rank it. We check again every month, and it can still turn up in your 50 once you've read most of our ranked books.

Why it made the list

Shortlisted
Goodreads Choice (fiction) finalist (2025)

Reads as

Epic

How we rank

Already read it? Upload your Goodreads or StoryGraph history and get the 50 best books you haven't read, tuned to your taste.Get my 50

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Explore the best-of lists

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Quick answers

Is Cursed Daughters worth reading?

It was a Goodreads Choice finalist. Its Must-Read Score is 57.4 (the best book we found scores 99).

What is Cursed Daughters about?

In a Lagos family, the women believe they're cursed: every man they love leaves them. When Ebun gives birth to her daughter, Eniiyi, on the day the family buries Ebun's cousin Monife, who drowned herself, everyone becomes convinced that Eniiyi is Monife reborn. Years later, Eniiyi falls in love, and the curse seems to strike again.

How long does it take to read Cursed Daughters?

About 9 hours (360 pages), or about 3 weeks at 30 minutes a day.

What should I read after Cursed Daughters?

If you liked it, try Black Cake by Charmaine Wilkerson, The Kitchen God's Wife by Amy Tan or Things Fall Apart by Chinua Achebe.