Top 10 African Romance Novels That Must Keep You Cosy As You enjoy Reading
If reading is among your favourite activities in your life, then there is a reason to read this as you enjoy your coffee or any drink. I will discuss about top ten African romance novels that are best ever to read and enjoy. They range from historical romance, to contemporary romance, to war romance, and am very sure that they must entertain you throughout as you read.
1. Love Happens Eventually
This book was written by Feyi Aina and was released on 22nd November, 2020.
It is about Obanifemi, a 35-year-old Nigerian woman, who would rather do without the pressures common with single women at her age, like get married.
It doesn't help that she's dealing with a series of failed relationships, or that her younger sisters are getting hitched by the minute. Despite the odds, Nifemi is determined not to succumb to societal pressures. The story takes an intriguing twist when a certain uncle Toba shows up at their grandmother's birthday celebration. His arrival is towed by a death in the family and a will reading which reveals hidden truths.
2. The Naive Wife: Rachel’s Choice
This book was written by Ufuomae and was released on 30th August, 2019. The Naive Wife trilogy introduces us to the love triangle of Doug, Ejike, and Rachel. The lack of transparency in Ejike and Doug's character fused by Rachel's producer Dongjap's feelings for her makes her choice harder. Ufuomaee paints a realistic picture that resonates with many singles and reminds us that picking a life-partner is much more complex than we paint it to be.
3. Americanah
This book is written by Chimamanda Ngozi Adichi and was released on 4th March, 2014.
After an award-winning author of Half of A Yellow Sun, Chimamanda Adichie's third novel is a love story about Ifemelu, a young, spirited girl and her boyfriend, Obinze, who grew up with romanticized notions of the West. The two love-birds depart military-ruled Nigeria for the West. After Ifemelu moves to America, she gets a rude culture shock and is forced to grapple with the challenges that come with a new world.
Obinze, who had hoped to join Ifemelu, dives into a dangerous and undocumented life in London. After fifteen years, the two reunite in a new and democratic Nigeria but will have to face the toughest decision in their lives.
4. The Memory of Love
Written by Aminatta Forna and the book was released on September 13th, 2011.
In Freetown, Sierra Leone, we follow three men: Elias Cole, Adrian Lockheart, and Kai Mansaray, and their lovers: Saffia, Mamakay, and Nenebah. Each of them grapples with their trauma and memories as they try to recover from the war. If you like war romance novels, this book is just for you. It goes beyond how war ravishes the mind of its participants, all wrapped in the force of love.
5. Imperfect Arrangements
This book is written by Frances Mensah Williams and was released on 6th March, 2020.
It is set in Ghana and is told from the perspective of three separate couples. The importance of friendship amongst Theresa, Maku, and Lyla as well as the influence of culture and families play a big role in how the relationships evolve. Faced by betrayal and shattered illusions, the couples must face the truth of who they have gradually become. As the trio of friends summon their inner strength to break away from restrictive traditions, each must decide what they're willing to sacrifice in order to achieve that perfect marriage. Williams not only highlights the various ways in which couples achieve their happily ever after, but also subtly yet so powerfully deals with many real life gender issues relevant to marriage. This book makes for the perfect light-hearted romance story with an African idyllic taste of reality.
6. His Only Wife
This book is written by Peace Adzo Medie and was released on 1st September, 2020.
A Ghanaian author Medie takes us to a modern-day marriage of deception and intrigue. Afi Tekple, a young and beautiful seamstress is the only daughter of a widowed woman in the town of Ho in Eastern Ghana. She consents to marrying a wealthy man, Elikem, who is already in love with another woman despite his family's disapproval. His Only Wife is centered around all the gradual adjustments Afi has to make in this arranged marriage and her ultimate sacrifices in order to receive Eli's love.
Her spunk in defending herself in a highly patriarchal marriage where women are expected to cook and clean creates such a relatable character. Will she break away from the chain that her aunts and grandmother endured, or will she remain for the sake of her mother's financial security?
7. One More Night
This novel was written by Rosemary Okafor and was released on 2nd December, 2020.
This book portrays the different challenges faced by Grace, Imelda, and Chinyeaka in their romantic adventures. Grace reunites with Ken, her ex-husband. Chinyeaka, who sees all she has ever wanted in Ken, is determined to do everything to win him over, even though this move is detrimental to Grace and Ken's relationship. Imelda, who has only known a stressful and abusive kind of love, crosses paths with Kolawole, who is distinctly different from her usual kind of men.
With an old debt to pay, forced loyalty and blackmail, she will have to decide whether to pursue him or stay put in a relationship that threatens to tear her apart. Okafor interweaves friendship, lust, passion, blackmail, and second chances in a beautiful love story that triumphs over evil.
8. A Little Bit of Love’s Magic
This book was written by Bambo Deen and was released on 2nd November, 2021.
It is set in Nigeria. A Little Bit of Love's Magic is a sweet contemporary romance with traditional African mysticism. Noura, a young IT consultant is convinced to see a traditional doctor (babalawo) after losing a bet. Despite being skeptical about it, Noura follows through with the bet and obtains a love charm that is supposed to lead her to her true love.
The instructions are simple, "Use this charm and the first person you encounter afterwards is your true love." To Noura's surprise, the first person she sees is another woman, Bewaji, and not her boyfriend. Deen captures a unique snapshot of a culture not reflected in lesbian romance novels and the struggle for Noura and Bewaji to achieve their happiness is realistic without being traumatizing.
9. When You Let Go
This book was written by Unoma Nwankor and was released on 22nd May, 2014.
The characters; Amara and Ejike Dikes are the perfect couple: successful in their careers, great chemistry, good-looking. They have been married for six glorious years but there's only one blip on the horizon: they are childless. Unlike most of his peers, Ejike shields his wife from family pressure and loves her unconditionally. After many years, God finally lifts Amara's faith and hears her cry.
A surprise visit from Chinelo, Amara's long-lost cousin, opens up a Pandora's box that had been purposefully kept shut, leaving Amara at crossroads. Will she lean on God's grace to sail her through the path to forgiveness? Or will she abandon everything and walk away? Nwankor does an excellent job in telling the story of how non-perfect characters triumph over unimaginable odds.
10. Stay With Me
This book was written by yọ̀bámi Adébáyọ̀ and was released on 1th, July, 2018.
In the book, Yejide and Akin are a young Nigerian couple who hail from families that are grounded in old traditions, including polygamy. The couples' contemporary view of the union of marriage grounds them to the unpopular belief that marriage is to be shared between two people. After four years of marriage, Yejide knows that it's vital that she gets pregnant or she will have to share her husband with a woman she despises. However, the drastic measures that Yejide is willing to take in order to conceive may come at a very high cost.
Yejide's rawness of her emotional state feels tangible and her pain is so eloquently expressed that it's easy to suffer the sting of betrayal, the ravages of heartbreak and the corrosive burn of jealousy alongside her. Stay With Me is a gripping novel packed with emotional power that will leave you questioning how much you're willing to sacrifice for the sake of family.
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