Bolu Babalola finds the most beautiful love stories from history and mythology and rewrites them with incredible new detail and vivacity in this debut collection. Focusing on the magical folktales of West Africa, Babalola also reimagines iconic Greek myths, ancient legends from the Middle East, and stories from countries that no longer exist in our world.

I loved reading this book and the main reason is the absolutely gorgeous writing. The way the author describes scenes and characters is absolutely beautiful, with poetic descriptions and gorgeous scenes that just paint the place and people you’re reading perfectly. Stories such as ‘Zhinu’ and ‘Scheherazade’ are great examples of stories in this collection of this being done, but you can find them throughout this book as she captures these moments perfectly.

The modern retellings are done well, ‘Zhinu’ is a great example of this, ‘Oshun’ opens the collection and is also another really great telling of the story and made me want to go and learn so much more about these mythical tales as they just pull you in with such ease. Though in some I wasn’t sure how they connected, nonetheless these stories were a great read and I enjoyed every moment of them - which come from a range of different cultures and not just the same ones we see over and over again (looking at you Roman and Greek gods!)

A fantastic collection of stories told beautifully, truly well worth picking up as soon as you possibly can, especially if mythology is your thing!

(I received an ARC from Netgalley for honest review)

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Love in Colour
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Bolu Babalola
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I was intrigued by the concept of this book, being re-imagined mythical tales from around the world, and was fortunate to receive an advanced copy of this book through netgalley.
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Bolu Babalola knows how to engage a reader, and I was excited and captivated just reading the introduction. It almost felt like motivational speech writing, and was powerful and emotive...on the power and nature of love.
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Of the ten stories, my favourites were the stories that remained more mythical, where Babalola’s writing is stunningly poetic, rhythmic and vibrant.
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I felt a few of the stories, that were more traditional romance, were a little disappointing, and a little more predictable and lacking in originality. I did however particularly enjoy the story in a dystopian reality which was quite the opposite.
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The authors notes at the end were a nice touch, and insightful as to the origin of the story and direction of the re-imagined version.
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In the authors note, Babalola writes ‘I hope that this book brings you joy’...and as the most positive, uplifting read I’ve had in a while...it really does do that!
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Love in Colour is available for pre-order now and I would definitely recommend it!!!

I really enjoyed this anthology, it was lovely to read so many stories, myths and legends I hadn’t heard before. It’s refreshing after reading and loving so many Greek, Roman, Norse etc and I do love them, but these stories were interesting, some of them twists and alternate versions of myths and stories, a lot from West Africa. As well as learning the history of Africa that we should be taught (ie the non whitewashed ) it’s wonderful and inspiring to learn about these tales, myths and stories that haven’t previously been on our radar. It’s times for ‘new’ tales and ‘new’ joy to be shared, when these should always have been shared if Only we were willing to listen before ! I am glad we are listening now. Thank you to Babalola for bringing this collection to us and yes you did bring me joy and you will to many others


Thanks to netgalley and the publisher for a free copy for an honest opinion

In her debut collection, Bolu Babalola reimagines classic stories from around the world, from ancient legends of the Middle East to classic Greek myths. I particularly love the focus on West African folktales - a particular vivacity comes through strongest in these stories and the ways she depicts these Black women.

There is a deliberate choice to centre women in LOVE IN COLOUR, which I love. Bolu Babalola has selected some stories from across the world which already have a female protagonist, but what is special about this collection for me is her ability to find the women who weren't at the forefront of their stories, and transform their tales so that they become the jewels of their narratives. What this means in terms of what love looks like for these women, who they are loved by and how they are loved when love is on their terms, is intriguing and incredibly refreshing.

Oshun's story is a powerful and beguiling start to the collection; Scheherezade's tale is giving me sexy corporate espionage realness; Thisbe takes us back to uni with a double dose of f-boy repellent. The standouts for me were Attem, Siya, Nefertiti and Naleli. Babalola's heroines are intelligent, empowered, witty, sexually liberated and disarmingly beautiful; clearly I'm drawn to the dynamic and sensual episodes in the collection. Plus I love a tearaway outfit reveal, gas up your girlfriends, yes bish tiddies sitting, leave the girls GAGGING moment, and Bolu definitely delivers here!

With the addition of three new tales at the end of the collection, this the perfect antidote to the Summer of 2020!

Love in Colour is a collection of short stories that focus on themes of love and romance which made it a heart-warming read. The stories draw on mythology and folklore, with the focus being West African mythology, but also snippets of Greek, Middle Eastern and other stories from around the world. Many of these tales were brought into modern day settings which I really enjoyed.

Each story centred predominantly on the narrative of the woman within each story which I loved. Bolu Babalola made a point of saying in her acknowledgements how many of these original folklore tales were patriarchal and misogynistic and she aimed to return the agency and focus to the women without striping away the essence of the stories.

Some personal favourites include Nefertiti's story; she ran an exclusive club that was staffed and protected by women loyal to Nefertiti. There was almost a female mafia vibe to this. Except Nefertiti hunted down and meted out justice to the bad people of the world; like husband's who abused their wives. However, she was wanted by the law and the police had sent in a female operative to seduce her at the club.

The story of Psyche and Eros. They both worked for the company Olympus and Psysche was trying to get out from under her ruthless boss, Eros' sister. This was a tale of modern day business, romance and Greek mythology and made for an interesting mix.

I also loved Naleli and Khosi's story which was inspired from a tale entitled 'How Khosi Chose His Wife' (Lesotho origins). In Naleli's story, she perceived herself as an outsider and judged for her skin condition so she pushed away her childhood friend Khosi. She considered herself undesirable and laughed at by his friends. I enjoyed the turn of events and empowerment she came to feel for herself.

In all honesty the majority of these stories could have been my favourites as the women who were at the forefront of these stories were so interesting and inspiring in how they came to take control of their lives. Siya, Yaa and Orin were other favourites that featured in this collection.

Overall I was really enjoyed this collection as each romance was so unique and refreshing. Thanks to NetGalley and Headline books for the review copy.

I enjoyed this collection very much. Every single story was so engaging, they had so much depth, they were incredibly thought-provoking and they were written so beautifully. The stories were also very funny. I found myself laughing out loud so many times. There is also a lot of diversity in the stories chosen to be a part of this collection and in the way they were retold. Some of the retellings were very modern some less so, there was variation in writing style and even in the genre. But I enjoyed every single one.

I liked that even though the central theme of the collection was romantic love, the stories were not focused on the cliches and mushy stuff. Actually, I think the stories touch more on love than romance. To me, they are quite different. I think romance is just performative love and focuses on the ‘honeymoon period’, which isn’t necessarily bad. The stories in this collection explore the power of love, finding love in complicated circumstances, lost love etc. It’s very heavy on the complications and challenges that come with love. But even within that, there is also a lot of joy.

I have mixed feelings about the anthology. I was very excited when it started and felt like some of the early stories had beautiful imagery and language. As it got further along the stories were more hit and miss as we towed the line between retellings and original stories from modern times. And while some stories the vivid descriptions painted a beautiful picture in others they just dragged out and failed to add anything of substance. I liked that these were non Western retellings included and those were well researched. Some I actually decided to look up the original mythology for more background. It was the more contemporary stories that I had a hard time following because they were laced with pop culture references and felt more like a story I was reading on social media. However it was interesting reading stories from the British Nigerian perspective and I'm thankful to Netgalley for the opportunity to read and review.

View full length review on my blog.
https://womenofcolorreadtoo.blogspot.com/2020/08/love-in-colour-by-bolu-babalola.html

‘Some nights we would talk with words, others just with our bodies, developing our language, discovering new ways to say I love you; I see you, I hear you, me and you.’

Lovely collection of short stories inspired by mythical tales. Each story features strong women from different cultures. I preferred to read the stories that remained more authentic, though I liked the variety of characters and storylines throughout the book.

Love in Colour is an anthology of myth and folktale retellings from around the world. And, to be honest, it is probably one of the best anthologies I have ever read.

The stories are pretty varied in where they originate, but there isn’t a weak one among them. Yeah, so I had my favourites (who doesn’t), but each one is so good. Sometimes in anthologies, I can point to my favourites and my least favourites. Here, there was no way I could do the latter. Not one of them wasn’t really good.

(Though my favourites were Nefertiti, Thisbe and Zhinu.)

A major reason why this anthology was so successful for me was firstly how good Bolu Babalola’s writing was. But it was also writing that varied ever so slightly in tone depending on which story she was telling, and I loved that. Not to mention the stories themselves and the variety in just how they represented a retelling. Some were modern, some less so; some took the bare bones of the tale and fleshed it out in an entirely different context (like Thisbe). But each of them was excellent in how it was done.

I think, really, my only gripe about this was that, out of the whole anthology, only one story wasn’t cishet (Nefertiti) and I kind of wish that there had been more. Not that that at all impacted my enjoyment of the stories in any way (I mean, I always want fewer cishets). It was just something I noticed.

But if you like retellings, and want something pretty quick to read, then this anthology is for you.

This collection of short stories was BEAUTIFUL. Babalola has adapted each story from ancient myths and folklore stemming from West Africa, The Middle East & Greece, giving them a modern spin, where the woman is centred. As a result each story features amazing, strong women across a wonderful mix of cultures and settings and provides vivid and passionate perspectives on love.

The characters featured were rich and interesting, and encompassed of a wide range of experiences and voices. Each short snapshot of romance was lyrically written and beautifully emotive of first love, everlasting love and everything in between. I loved the mix of modern and historic settings, and the way the author has portrayed the exciting build up of a relationship and the inevitability of love. The overall feel of Love In Colour was reminiscent of Girl, Woman, Other by Bernardine Evaristo and The Thing Around Your Neck by Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie. A really stunning read! I will most probably buy this once it's published as the cover is so beautiful too!

The reason it wasn't 5 stars is due to the limited LGBTQ+ voices, as these were mainly heterosexual experiences.

Look out for this one when it's published in August! Thankyou to NetGalley for granting this eARC!

In this anthology of short stories, Babalola takes the reader on a journey throughout a variety of myths. These are myths that you may be already familiar with (I will admit that a lot of them were new to me) but I can guarantee that they are unlike you have seen these myths before. Each story is cleverly crafted to be focused on the powerful heroine rather than painting the female leads as 'damsels in distress'.

This book really showcases Babalola's incredibly dynamic range of writing ability and I am incredibly excited to discover more from her in the future.

This author is one to watch!