*I received this ARC from William Morrow Publishing for the Hear Our Voices book Tour. All views are my own*
Who am I becoming? There was a time I couldn't fathom picking up a romance novel, let alone heading towards the section in the library. Now I'm reading an entire collection of short stories about different types of love and romances, and I… I'm starting to like it! What is happening??? New author Bolu Babalola navigates and reimages her thoughts on love with her debut, Love in Colour: Mythical Tales from Around the World Retold.
"A high-born Nigerian goddess, who has been beaten down and unappreciated by her gregarious lover, longs to be truly seen.
A young businesswoman attempts a great leap in her company, and an even greater one in her love life.
A powerful Ghanaian spokeswoman is forced to decide whether she should uphold her family's politics or be true to her heart.
In her debut collection, internationally acclaimed writer Bolu Babalola retells the most beautiful love stories from history and mythology with incredible new detail and vivacity. Focusing on the magical folktales of West Africa, Babalola also reimagines Greek myths, ancient legends from the Middle East, and stories from long-erased places.
With an eye towards decolonizing tropes inherent in our favorite tales of love, Babalola has created captivating stories that traverse across perspectives, continents, and genres."
Babalola's goal was to "decolonize tropes of love" and showcase Black women loving without suffering. I like that Babalola turned many of these retellings in favor of women. When we hear anything based on Greek Myth or royalty, the men are always placed on a pedestal while women are constantly fighting for placement on the lower tier podium. Not in this book! I would boast women empowerment as the main subject throughout the novel, but I also think that a woman would know better about what a woman wants.
Her 13-chaptered book defines all types of love. We have a little bit of tragedy, embarrassment, spontaneity, and a lot of self-worth realization. But each woman found her version of a happy ending, and I think that's the most important about storytelling.
My favorite stories were "Nefertiti" (because I am a sucker for anything Egyptian), "Psyche" (also a sucker for), "Orin," "Attem," and "Tiara." If I can have a solo narrative from each character, I'd be in bliss. Which one were your favorites?
I rated Love in Colour 3-stars. It will be a terrific addition to the new Romance Section I have carved out in my library. It's a small section, but we're getting there! Love in Colour is available on all platforms now.
