Love in Color audiobook

i’m not normally a short story/anthology fan but this was pretty cool! the writing was gorgeous & ive been thinking of the story titled “nefertiti” since finishing it.

"I am just looking for someone who sees me as I see them.""She knew that sometimes having everything you desire can make you question your own worthiness."This collection is so so underrated. The writing speaks volumes. It's beautiful and adventurous. The characters are etched out in a way they remain forever with you.Love the never-a-boring-moment while reading the entire book.The main themes of these stories are women and relationships.Contents:Osun4 🌟"She wasn't aware, but she found she liked the feeling of being enjoyed for what she freely gave."Sisters. Complex relationships. True love. Scheherazade4🌟"I'd made the mistake of taking my unknowability as an immutable fact. I'd become too reliant on it for protection."The ending is so worth it.Psyche4 🌟This one is cute actually. Attem4 🌟"Can you properly cherish and relish and revere something without the fear of losing it?"A male protagonist 👈👍Witty and charming.Yaa4 🌟Siya4 🌟Nefertiti4 🌟Naleli4 🌟Zhinu4 🌟Thisbe4 🌟

Bolu Babalola's writing is lush and superb. There were so many beautiful and heartwarming quotes and passages in this book, it’s hard not to fall in love with the stories (the ones I fell in love with instantly, anyway). The female characters in this book were all so superb in their own way, and each one was amazing. She writes romances and love in the best way, and there were so many beautiful meet-cutes in this book.Her retelling skills are TOP NOTCH. She bared the stories down, took the most important elements, and redid them in a way that made them authentically hers. I love how diverse the myths are, drawing from different cultures from Ghana, Nigeria, China, Rome, and Greece.Since the book was split into two sections – one for retellings and one for “New Tales”, which are the author’s original stories, I decided to abandon the old tales and move to the new tales, since I couldn't get into the old tales. The first story in the New Tales, “Tiara”, was exactly what I needed. I enjoyed it oh so much and I knew there was hope for me and this book after all. After “Tiara”, I decided to read all the other stories out of order, and that’s how I read six others.I enjoyed the first couple of stories I read, but I had trouble getting through the rest. I generally have trouble reading short story collections but I really wanted to read this one. I ended up getting the audiobook to finish the remaining stories, and I listened to “Scheherazade” and it’s one of my faves. I had so many DNFs in between the stories I read, and I kept picking and dropping this book over the space of three months or so. I would have just marked it as a total DNF but the amazing reviews I kept seeing on Booksta spurred me on. My amazing Booksta buddies - @a_lit_babe @the.eworm and @shelahthebookworm especially were on my case to give the book another trial, and I’m glad I did. My favorite stories, in no particular order, are:ScheherazadeYaaNefertitiThisbeTiaraAlagomejiThis book is worth all the hype, okay?! But at some point I felt very pressured into loving it as much as everyone else was, when I wasn't feeling it AT THAT MOMENT. I love it now, so yay! Go get your copy!

Simply incredible 5 stars.I am so thankful to William Morrow Books for having this be a choice to pick from of their April books to review. It's not something I've seen many places and that is an absolute disservice to all of us because this book is AMAZING. I've read a few short story collections in the past year and this one by far makes it to the top of that list (shares the #1 spot in fact with The Secret Lives of Church Ladies). I am again in awe of anyone who can write a book. On top of that, a book of short stories that is done well SCREAMS massive talent to me. (I mean, you have to successfully present the characters, their back stories, the setting and then tell the story all in 20-30 pages?) I am absolutely blown away - so let's get to why.The author introduces the book by talking about how much she loves love. You get why these stories are personal to her and from her author bio in the back you see she is Nigerian born and lives in the UK. (Female Nigerian authors have written some of my favorite books over the years - Oyinkan Braithwaite, Helen Oyeyemi, Jane Igharo to name a few and I will absolutely add Bolu Babalola on that list.) There wasn't one story that I thought was just okay. There almost wasn't one story I read that I didn't wish were longer because I wanted more out of all of them. I loved how they were all based off of fables around the world and how they were modernized. It was such a fun, uplifting and different book to read and I want more, more, more! I will be fangirling about Ms. Babulola for a long time and will definitely make sure to spread the word on what a great book this is!Thanks to William Morrow books and the author for my gifted finished copy in exchange for an honest review. Review Date: 04/27/2021Publication Date: 04/13/2021

I didn’t think it was possible for a book to totally and completely over shoot my highest expectations. I was completely enthralled from the first page to the last. You know a book is brilliant when the introduction gives you chills. Reading the 12 stories that make up ‘Love in Colour’ was the kind of immersive experience that one can only hope to experience while reading. This book was written to be read. It was written to be enjoyed. Its was written to be savored.In these tales Bolu Babalola artfully and skilfully merges the modern with the ancestral, while creating perfect harmony. She takes classic romantic figures in mythology and remakes them in her image. They feel new and yet also steeped in the histories they emanate from. I mean, Nefertiti as a badass crime boss/vigilante is the story I never knew I needed!The writing is nothing short of magnificent. It is rich and full and substantial while also being light and effervescent. Her descriptive capacity is awe inspiring. I mean the way she describes Osun is just magical - like, it is beyond articulations how good that story was!I love all of these stories but my favourite has to be Osun. It’s the first story in the collection and every word of that story is simultanuorly a caress and a sledgehammer to the senses. That story has such depth and movement. It feel so sensuous and yet powerful - I could not stop reading. The only thing wrong with these stories is….I WANT MORE OF THEM! Bolu Babalola gives you twelve stories that make you wish they were self-standing novels. They are funny, sexy, warm and are teeming with the kind of love that epics are written about. This is without a doubt one of the best books I have EVER read! Everyone NEEDS to go and get a copy!

Beautiful. Innovative. There’s something to be said about an idea that is supported and given wings. Reaching across countries and cultures to further the effect of tales that are probably centuries old is audacious and unique. When executed well, like they are here, they can leave you feeling inspired. There were a few moments of boredom, that’s to be expected with any short story collection. You cannot have every story be perfection, some are just gonna resonate or hit harder than others. The ones that hit me hard were: Osun, Psyche, Nefertiti & Yaa. Nefertiti and Yaa were my absolute faves of the entire book. Nefertiti, in Bobalola’s story she is reclaimed as a bad bitch, with a female army rectifying injustices committed against the women around her in her community. Mob boss status, she’s a target to be undone when a seductress with a secret enters her orbit. Fire. I loved this story, it was dope. Yaa captured something new about a particular experience a lot of newly post-college aged women go through — what am I going to do with the rest of my life? Where will I have the most impact? When joining forces with a life partner, is it worth sacrificing my happiness & work for something that I’m not sure that I’m going to get without much pain and compromise? What about what the heart really wants? I love that Babalola takes Black women readers there, through all the emotions that one can have in a variety of situations. It was positive and uplifting in its execution. Minimal trauma even when she presents the drama. There’s love all around, even from overbearing parents and friends. The women all make their own choices. The intention of who she was writing this for was strong on this one. Not only does she state it over and over again. It’s felt and shared in so much of the subtext in these stories. It really is a great effort and I thoroughly enjoyed it. 4.5!

Y’all I devoured this book in a day. This book is a collection of short stories where Babalola reimagines non-Western folktales that centers BIPOC. All of the stories have the theme of love in common, big don’t go into this thinking it’s all cheesy romance because it’s 100% not. While I definitely had a few standout favorites in this anthology, all of these stories were incredible. It is clear that Babalola is one heck of a storyteller, and I can’t wait to see what else she comes up with next. Thank you to William Morrow for providing a finished copy for review. This did not influence my review. All opinions are my own.

Eine feine Sammlung von Kurzgeschichten, die von verschiedenen Mythen und Legenden inspiriert sind. Die Kurzgeschichten sind irgendwo zwischen 3 und 5 Sternen. Die Geschichte von Scheherazade fand ich genial (meine Lieblingsgeschichte aus dem Buch), aber Psyche z.B. fand ich etwas zu flach und oberflächlich. Alle Geschichten verbinden der große Bezug zur Liebe und vor allem auch die starken weiblichen Protagonisten, die alle sehr stark und gefühlvoll waren. Eigentlich hat mir das am meisten gefallen: die gefühlvolle Erzählung, farbenprächtig und bezaubernd. Das Cover passt hierzu natürlich perfekt! Außerdem haben mir das Vorwort und auch die kleine Erklärung zu den Mythen am Ende geholfen mich besser in die Geschichten hineinzuversetzen. Es war ein rundes Buch, aber ich fand, dass das Potential von der Autorin nicht komplett genutzt wurde. Ich bin allerdings gespannt auf das nächste Buch von Bolu Babalola!** Dieses Buch wurde mir über NetGalley als E-Book zur Verfügung gestellt **

💐💐💐💐 (four stars, as rated in colorful bouquets of flowers!)I was given an Advanced Reader Copy of this book via netgalley by the publisher in exchange for an honest review. Oooh what an unexpected delight this book was! I have such a soft spot for retellings of traditional stories, so of course I had to read this collection. ESPECIALLY, when I figured out that the majority of them were given highly original twists… FOR EXAMPLE, I invite you, if I may, to imagine Mount Olympus but as…. *dun dun dun*... an office building?!?!? Y’all. I am HERE for all of that water cooler gossip. Like, can you even imagine!? BAH.As with any anthology, some stories packed a better punch than their counterparts. A few of them hit with so much ka-PLOW that I was genuinely, SHOOK when I finished the story. While others settled much more gently. I wouldn’t say I enjoyed one style more than the other. Also, just so we’re clear, there are a handful of completely original stories at the end that deserve praise in their own right. Would absolutely recommend this book. Honestly, I’m only docking that last star because I wanted more queer relationships from this collection and am bummed that I only got the one.Content Warnings for this book: bullying, body shaming, death, arranged marriage, hospitalization, violence, war, slut shaming, sex

Babalola explores the various colourations of love, from an African kingdom to a modern day fashion firm, juxtaposing the tales with various myths from around the world which she is able to enliven by exploring the stories from a female perspective, as she puts the thoughts, desires and experiences of the female protagonists at front-and-centre of the short stories.Whilst there are no duds in this collection, a few of the stories in particular stand out. ‘Thisbe’ explores the bourgeoning romance between two flat-mates, as they gradually realise, understand and act on their mutual attraction and there is something irrepressibly romantic about the life-long romance depicted in ‘Alagomeji’, whereas the rambunctious ‘Nefertiti’ combines Borges with feminism, however the strongest story is ‘Orin’ where two people find solace in each other during mutually bad dates. There is thread of humanism and empathy which runs through all of Babalola’s stories, a sense of sympathy for the lonely and, at times, lugubrious, from the diffident teenage singer longing for some meaning in her life in ‘Zhinu’ to the girl who feels hopelessly alienated by her vitiligo in ‘Naleli’.Babalola is able to skilfully explore and dissect the trappings of modern romance, from dating to social media and, beyond the sense of cynicism wh

An absolutely compelling set of short stories exploring various myths both familiar to me and unknown to me. My favorite story involved two warriors, one also a queen, who finally succumb to their pining before going off to fight and maybe perish. I'm a sucker for "let's live tonight, for tomorrow we may die" so that hit the spot for me.I reviewed a complementary copy of the audiobook from HarperCollins audio for Library Journal, and checked out a print copy from my library.

This book bursts with energy early on, but I found that it lost steam midway through the book. If you enjoy new perspectives of classic tales, this is a great book to sink your teeth in. The fact that each story highlighted black love across time was fun and an innovative way to organize a collection. I really enjoyed Scheherazade - a story of love built and lost, Nefertiti -an exploration into forbidden, sapphic love, Yaa - a tale of love across class and social lines, Pysche - a friends to lovers tale with a twist and Tiara - which sparks conversation about what happens to love when growth is inevitable. I wish there were less insta-love stories, but maybe that was the purpose of the book, to make readers fall in love with love. I wanted more character development, I’d have preferred that than the number of stories provided. It also would’ve been great if there were one or two stories from elsewhere in the diaspora, maybe one with an American, Latin or Asian black couple. All in all, I enjoyed about half of the stories but the one I like I REALLY liked. 3.5 stars rounded up for effort and boldness on the author’s part.

Okay, what just happened?!? This book was amazing, so breathtakingly beautiful. I had quite low expectations going into it as mutual goodreads friends had mainly given it 3-stars, so I wasn’t expecting much, and boy was I wrong!Every story was just as magical and enchanting as the last. In only 20 pages, Bolu made me fall head first into a world enriched in so much colour and texture. How she managed to make me love all 13 short shorties I’m blown away by. Maybe some I loved more than others, but I still loved them all! The characters were so rich and empowering.If I’m being honest, I’m definitely someone who has lost a lot of faith in love and relationships, and this book felt like pouring all that faith and hope back into me. Even if they were all happy endings, I think I really needed to read 13 happy ending! A true source of light and a book I won’t forget. This book sneaks a spot on my elusive favourites shelf!

Wow. This book was so so beautiful, I loved it all. It had me smiling so much, cracking up several times (Orin and Deji, omg 😂), and definitely had me wishing for MORE! I’m so sad I’ve finished the book and won’t experience the pleasure of reading it for the first time again, but I definitely look forward to reading it multiple times in the future and going back to it for comfort and lovely romance. Thank you Bolu Babalola for this book, for re-stitching these stories together to create something absolutely special.