Book Review: Unfolding Grace by Kikelomo Kuponiyi | Review by The BookLady Ng

When Bayo Elvis John meets Temisola, he knows he has found the woman of his dreams and has to make her his wife. However, nothing prepares him for the twists and turns on the journey to a happily ever-after.

Unfolding Grace, written by Kikelomo Kuponiyi, is a riveting tale of love and the irrefutable need to surrender to the God of it. Set in the bustling city of Lagos Nigeria, the son of a successful business mogul meets a self-made, quintessential career woman who he must learn to carry along with his newfound faith or dump.

The book belongs to the Christian fiction genre popularly known as ‘Christian romance’. What makes Kikelomo’s debut unique is how it dwells largely on the subject of soul winning and the sacrifices it entails. When Christians fall in love, their faith sometimes makes it impossible for them to carry on with an old flame or someone who doesn’t share the same conviction with them. Is it possible to love God and continue to be in a relationship you started before you got saved?

Unfolding Grace opens by dropping readers right at the center of the jolly good life of the protagonist, effectively hooking readers and establishing Bayo as a round character. Bayo is the typical Lagos boy, living the dream until he had a ‘Damascus’ encounter that leaves him with renewed hunger and thirst for his maker. His quest to know more about his newfound faith leads him to uncover the joy and fulfillment of turning lost sheep back into the fold. Interestingly, this new discovery isn’t all fancy. Bayo’s heart beats more for missions in the remote, rural areas of South Western Nigeria, where he must let go of his affluence and adapt to life in the village.

What’s more, this newfound faith will come at a price; total surrender, even to the extent of letting go of the businesses, comfort, and the woman that matters most to him. In Unfolding Grace, readers will learn the power of total surrender, even in the face of daunting uncertainties.

Bayo’s compelling salvation experience will leave believers craving for fresh revival and desire to spread the good news to every nook and cranny of the earth. The core of the message of this book can be said to be inspired by the part of the good book that says, “if anyone wants to come after Me, he must deny himself and take up his cross and follow Me. For whoever wants to save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life for My sake will find it.”

Like the saying that man proposes, God disposes, one major take home from this book is the need to rely on God’s unfolding grace on the journey of life, because only through His grace can we make sense of life and find true fulfillment and purpose. This is made evident in the character of Temisola – the beautiful and goal-oriented fiancée of the protagonist. Her character is relatable and central to the lessons in this book.

I, however, wish a better and more realistic ending for the book. Readers are left wondering how Temisola will navigate her new life as ‘Mummy Yard’. It takes a lot to leave a burgeoning career as a banker for missions in a village. How did she make that transition in practical terms?

Nevertheless, this straightforward but lengthy story is so poignant. An unputdownable page-turner. Kuponiyi did not disappoint in painting a vivid picture of how God’s grace meets us even at the very point of necessity. Whether you are a person of faith or looking to get insight into the nature of God, this book will impact you.