I want to start off by saying I’m not a fan of romance and this is a romance collection. I bought it because I follow Bolu Babalola on Twitter and thoroughly enjoy her writing and wit.

So, parts of this book were underwhelming and cringey but the few that slapped really fucking slapped! Thisbe and Tiara were amazing, the former had me daydreaming and fantasising about Pyramus - my literary mcm for the foreseeable future. Also, shoutout to Attem, always love a woman who subverts the patriarchy both at the personal and societal level!

Overall, it was an enjoyable collection with some misses and some really good hits and then the rest floating around somewhere in the middle. I absolutely love the foregrounding of black women and women of colour in these stories and appreciate that she often wove into the story the importance of good, healthy, and loyal female friendships. Additionally, the references to Bey, Rih, and various R&B artists along with their songs was very pleasing to me!