I love mythology. I love retellings. And I, like Babalola, love love. Plus, I enjoyed her debut romance novel Honey & Spice, when I read it last year. So really, reading this collection was a no brainer. And I managed to plan it to coincide with Valentine's Day this year so, check me out! Haha. 

 

Usually for short story collections, I do a little blurb on each story. I honestly hadn't planned to do that with this one, but as I was reading (listening), I found myself jotting things down for each of the stories anyways, so I figured why not share my thoughts with you as per usual. If you're interested, I'm starting with that. If you want just my overall impressions, skip to the end, and check out the final little paragraph. Oh! No real "blurb" for this, but just to make sure everyone is on the same page, as it were, this is a collection of retellings of love stories from mythology and history from across the world (Greek, African, Middle Eastern, and more). 

 

-          Osun: This story had great poetic/metaphorical back and forth dialogue and magical/ethereal storytelling. The relationship highlighted was one of those loves whose attraction and inevitably pulls stronger than nature or space or time. And it showed the epic and divine and transcendent love of being fully seen by a perfectly matched partner. Mmmmm. “She knew that sometimes having everything you desire can make you question your own worthiness.” and “It’s not about need, but desire.” 

-          Scheherazade: Love the multiple spins on storytelling (as a “job” and also at the end, to talk to someone every day to try to bring them back) and 1001 nights (taking one night at a time as a defense mechanism from her POV and then in suspension between life and death). Also, the mysterious quality to this story fits the original. The ending had huge feels (tragedy and revenge)! Also, I loved how this retelling really highlighted how much of the power is with Scheherazade. “I felt like there was an infinity within our affinity…” 

-          Nefertiti: Ohhhh lady gangsters! Look, I have a historic soft spot for Nefertiti’s story, but even without that, I loved this retelling. Women power and revenge and just, yessss. “…no queen can be a queen without also being a warrior.” 

-          Attem: A classic cross-social-classes/royal-not royal forbidden (infidelity) love that the deep connection of finding the person that fulfills and complements you makes it worth it, despite danger. Ok and my heart with the carved leopards in dedication and remembrance and that’s how she found him again. And then the “gift” he was able to give “the woman who already had everything.” Again, my heart. 

-          Yaa: Freeing yourself from the burden of expectation/duty in order to “choose yourself” is such a powerful message. And the way finding a pure love for someone else (the person that sees past the outside to the inner you, the person that then becomes home) can help you find and love your real self too – yes. What a cathartic spontaneous ending! “Love immediately pulled at her. It was a kind of love she’d never known: unburdened, pure, and without exception. Transparent love, unqualified love.” 

-          Siya: Surrendering to that creeps-up-on-you-unexpectedly friends-to-lovers vibe is great. Love as distraction versus love as actually what matters most is a big message that’s well-developed here. Oh, when fear of a broken heart leads to suffocating that same heart. And that ending full of future promise was done so well. “Siya let go of thinking and allowed herself to feel, and what she felt was held but not captured, at his mercy but all-powerful. She felt loved and loved and loved again.” 

-          Psyche: Love as the person who sees through your BS to make a real (genuinely messy and cheesy) connection. And OMG to this dual “realized and went to tell you even if you don’t feel the same cause I reached a realization/breaking point” is so sweet - I cheesed hard. 

-          Naleli: Much younger than the characters in the rest of the stories so far and it was kind of jarring for that. However, it was a gorgeous coming of age/confidence story, accepting and loving yourself allows you to let others accept and love you too. 

-          Zhinu: A chance meeting and someone outside your normal scope/sphere being able to give you the space you need to be who you are (without pressure/expectation/ulterior motive) and open up a new future in that way, is such a wonderfully classic romance story. The fantastic sarcastic dialogue and sweet/hopeful ending were a great contrast. 

-          Thisbe: This was the first (maybe only?) dual POV story and I loved how it unfolded. Falling in love by catching snatches of who the other is from “afar” and finding comfort in that separated proximity. This one had a different feel to it than the others and I liked the way it went a lot – so sweet. 

-          Tiara: This one had fun formatting too, with Tiara’s tips. The relationship highlight here is on the “big gesture” and that’s a romance staple that I’m glad we got before the end of the collection. 

-          Orin: Oh, fantastic dialogue in this one. I too love a rosé! Ahhhh you *can* have both excitement and stability in a partner, and you deserve it, and you should look for the partner you want, and I love this match where these two found that. “Hope, innit? That’s not a bad thing. It’s not a character failing.” 

-          Alagomeji: Ok, this is based on Babalola’s own parents?! Stahhhhhp. I cannot. The writing is like a classic fairy tale. And the letters, oh my heart! “Time was constructed with love in mind. It is why the moments before a desired kiss stretch, why when your lips are finally introduced with another pair, it feels as if they have wanted to meet for some time, and why a day with your loved one can feel like an eternity on turbo-speed. Achingly, deliciously slow, but too fast, over too quick, melting between too-hot fingers. Time and love are intertwined, they are both measures of life, they are the two clocks.” 

 

So, my overall reactions. Basically, I loved this collection. It was diverse, as far as origin, with a great variety of genres and vibes to the stories themselves. It is worth noting that the relationships in these pages were hetero/straight (except for one), as the myths Babalola chose all began as. And I wouldn’t have hated a little more diversity there, but I truly enjoyed each story that was included regardless. and if you are looking for something similar, but with a diversity of relationships styles too, I'd suggest (as a nonfiction comp read) The Sex Lives of African Women. In any case, the love for love is raw in these pages. There is no coyness or attempt to be anything other than an ode to love. Each story ends with happiness and/or hope in a way that filled my heart so full. And I loved that. Random, but I thought the little icons under the titles for each chapter (each was named for the female lead: big yes to that!) were cute and I enjoyed seeing how they tied into the story afterwards. A fun touch. Honestly, I know I didn't catch all the references and nods to originals, but I enjoyed all the stories anyways, even the ones I knew less about. And I loved looking up new mythology (always a favorite of mine). Of the ones I did know more of, and based on my basic research into the others, a common theme among them all is that the originals were all born from violence and misogyny, with tragic, upsetting, miserable and/or downright horrific, endings for the lovers (and especially the women). This reclaiming of happier and more hopeful endings for these stories, giving them full expressions of self and interpersonal love, was so uplifting. And the added lady strength and power throughout really spoke to my soul. All in all, like I said, this was such a lovely, heart-filling, collection of love.