Love in Color: Mythical Tales from Around the World, Retold
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- Type：Epub+TxT+PDF+Mobi
- Create Date：2022-05-16 08:51:37
- Update Date：2025-09-06
- Status：finish
- Author：Bolu Babalola
- ISBN：0063078503
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Summary
"Perfection in short story form， I am in love with every single word Bolu Babalola has written。 So rarely is love expressed this richly， this vividly， or this artfully。" --Candice Carty-Williams， international bestselling author of Queenie
A vibrant collection of love stories from a debut author， retelling myths， folktales， and histories from around the world。
A high-born Nigerian goddess， who has been beaten down and unappreciated by her gregarious lover， longs to be truly seen。
A young businesswoman attempts a great leap in her company， and an even greater one in her love life。
A powerful Ghanaian spokeswoman is forced to decide whether she should uphold her family's politics or be true to her heart。
In her debut collection， internationally acclaimed writer Bolu Babalola retells the most beautiful love stories from history and mythology with incredible new detail and vivacity。 Focusing on the magical folktales of West Africa， Babalola also reimagines Greek myths， ancient legends from the Middle East， and stories from long-erased places。
With an eye towards decolonizing tropes inherent in our favorite tales of love， Babalola has created captivating stories that traverse across perspectives， continents， and genres。
Love in Color is a celebration of romance in all its many splendid forms。
"Babalola's writing shines"--New York Times Book Review
A vibrant collection of love stories from a debut author， retelling myths， folktales， and histories from around the world。
A high-born Nigerian goddess， who has been beaten down and unappreciated by her gregarious lover， longs to be truly seen。
A young businesswoman attempts a great leap in her company， and an even greater one in her love life。
A powerful Ghanaian spokeswoman is forced to decide whether she should uphold her family's politics or be true to her heart。
In her debut collection， internationally acclaimed writer Bolu Babalola retells the most beautiful love stories from history and mythology with incredible new detail and vivacity。 Focusing on the magical folktales of West Africa， Babalola also reimagines Greek myths， ancient legends from the Middle East， and stories from long-erased places。
With an eye towards decolonizing tropes inherent in our favorite tales of love， Babalola has created captivating stories that traverse across perspectives， continents， and genres。
Love in Color is a celebration of romance in all its many splendid forms。
"Babalola's writing shines"--New York Times Book Review
Reviews
Shireen Antonia
，
Easily one of my favourite books that I will read again and again。
mitch
，
thanks again lydia for rec'ing this book to me， i enjoyed it immensely <3 🥰this turned out to be a timely read for me too， in line with the historical shifts happening now in my homeland。 in the introduction， the author writes: "love [。。。] binds and propels us。 this isn't a naïve denial of the darkness that we know exists in the world; rather it is a refusal to allow the devastation， the horror， or the heartache to consume us。 it is affirming the knowledge that there is light。 love is that light thanks again lydia for rec'ing this book to me， i enjoyed it immensely <3 🥰this turned out to be a timely read for me too， in line with the historical shifts happening now in my homeland。 in the introduction， the author writes: "love [。。。] binds and propels us。 this isn't a naïve denial of the darkness that we know exists in the world; rather it is a refusal to allow the devastation， the horror， or the heartache to consume us。 it is affirming the knowledge that there is light。 love is that light。" this is what VP leni robredo meant when she said that choosing to love is a radical act。 while author bolu babalola may have been talking of romantic love in this collection， i took that quote to mean love in general， including love for one's homeland。 this kind of love is also weaved into the stories of Yaa and Siya: both women made choices out of love for their land and their people too。if i have to pick a favorite i would say it's Yaa's story， about a woman on whom expectations weighed heavy on her shoulders ever since she was born， who went through an eye-opening experience in the university yet still tried very hard to repress the power she wields to fit herself into others' expectations lol it took another person who sees her power in all its entirety to snap her out of itspecial mentions: osun， psyche， tiara 。。。more
Lilly Cain
，
You can tell the author loves love， and I loved this book too。
Chantal
，
An Anthology of Perfect ImperfectionRemixing ancient tales in a matter more palatable to the modern world is wonderful—and Bolu Bababola’s excellent prose only makes it sweeter。 I was captivated by the power of her metaphors， the grace and mastery in her descriptions of the mundane and extraordinary。 In some ways， I can agree with a number of criticisms from previous reviews。 The stories can seem a bit formulaic （but what else is to be expected of HEAs？）， and， in some instances， it did feel like An Anthology of Perfect ImperfectionRemixing ancient tales in a matter more palatable to the modern world is wonderful—and Bolu Bababola’s excellent prose only makes it sweeter。 I was captivated by the power of her metaphors， the grace and mastery in her descriptions of the mundane and extraordinary。 In some ways， I can agree with a number of criticisms from previous reviews。 The stories can seem a bit formulaic （but what else is to be expected of HEAs？）， and， in some instances， it did feel like I was reading a rehash of discourse I often see on my Twitter timeline， but all in all， this book gave me a keen appreciation not just for her work， but her dedication in illustrating how wonderful love can be。 。。。more
Ciara McGarry
，
A must read！
Rubal
，
first of all， if you are on twitter and love romance and pop culture， pls follow the author immediately！！now to the book。。。 im genuinely heartbroken that I can't give this 5 stars。 it is （mostly） great and im already imagining the adaptations of some stories but apparently an author repeating the same words instead of opening a thesaurus and finding a synonym for them is a pet peeve of mine and i discovered that while reading this book？ if i have to read the word "iteration" one more time istg！！ first of all， if you are on twitter and love romance and pop culture， pls follow the author immediately！！now to the book。。。 im genuinely heartbroken that I can't give this 5 stars。 it is （mostly） great and im already imagining the adaptations of some stories but apparently an author repeating the same words instead of opening a thesaurus and finding a synonym for them is a pet peeve of mine and i discovered that while reading this book？ if i have to read the word "iteration" one more time istg！！！ also， some of the stories are amazing but definitely don't belong in the short format。 the world and the characters that have been created are begging for a longer version because at times it felt like i was reading the wiki summary of a novel; so much telling and now enough showing because of the constriction of length i guess。 i do hope the author revisits them sometime in the future。 the writing is gorgeous！！ im used to reading empty， bare-bones of prose in popular romance books so im so glad this book exists to show the world what this genre could be！！ there are phrases and lines here that made me stop and reread and descriptions so vivid and rich that made me google the setting。 i will be reading everything the author writes from now on。 but another minor quibble is that in between all this polished writing， there would be a few sentences that felt like a 15 year wrote them for her tumblr and felt very out of place to me。all my complaints are v v trivial though and do not take away from my enjoyment of this book。 my romance reader mutuals， pls pick this book up asap！！ 。。。more
Gina Stan
，
I loved the reimaginations of the myths but all the stories ended up being very similar。
Morgan Taylor
，
I love love and bad ass women。 I like short story collections。 Yep。 My favorites included in this were Scheherazade， Attem， and Naleli。
Rin
，
What a beautiful and feminist reimagining of the mythology from cultures around the world。 The author makes a point to give the women agency even within their love stories， something not afforded to them when their tales were originally told。 Loved it。
Catherine
，
Flowed well and some stories I have already reread due to how I loved the characters so much。
caught_in_fairytales
，
In all deinen Farben （3 Sterne， Verlag: Eisele， Autorin: Bolu Babalola， Kurzgeschichten， Seiten: 320， Reziexemplar von NetGalley）InhaltEine Kurzgeschichtensammlung modern interpretierter Märchen aus dem westafrikanischen und griechischen Raum sowie dem Nahen Osten， mit starken und selbstbestimmten Frauenfiguren。FazitEinige Kurzgeschichten konnten mich fesseln， und waren wunderschön und stark geschrieben - ich konnte mich in ihnen verlieren und mitträumen。 Andere wiederum waren ok。 Wiederum ander In all deinen Farben （3 Sterne， Verlag: Eisele， Autorin: Bolu Babalola， Kurzgeschichten， Seiten: 320， Reziexemplar von NetGalley）InhaltEine Kurzgeschichtensammlung modern interpretierter Märchen aus dem westafrikanischen und griechischen Raum sowie dem Nahen Osten， mit starken und selbstbestimmten Frauenfiguren。FazitEinige Kurzgeschichten konnten mich fesseln， und waren wunderschön und stark geschrieben - ich konnte mich in ihnen verlieren und mitträumen。 Andere wiederum waren ok。 Wiederum andere （wenige） waren langweilig， sprachlich sowie inhaltlich。 Eine bunte Mischung also。 Was aber alle Geschichten gemeinsam hatten， war eine feministische und moderne Neuinterpretation von Liebesgeschichten aus aller Welt， mit starken und intelligenten Frauen， liebevollen Männern und viel Selbstliebe - auf beiden Seiten。 Während in den ursprünglichen Geschichten der Mann der Jäger und die Frau die ergebene Gejagte war， interpretiert Bolu Babalola die Gejagte als ebenbürtige Figur neu， und passt die Märchen so an Aktualität und Zeitgeschehen an。 。。。more
Kennedy
，
Gorgeously written
Tomos
，
I have to say， this book was not a bit of me。 I really did not enjoy it。 Maybe because I’m incredibly single and the lovey-dovey vibes made me sick。 Pro - short story format， breaks it up and keeps it fresh。
dionizia
，
3。5 I really did enjoy most of the stories but towards the end， they all started to bleed into another and I found it very hard to identify what it was that made that one particular story different from the other。
Rom communism
，
All the stories were so beautifully written and no single one was boring。 Not that it means much but I highly recommend this book。
Davita
，
Bolu Babalola is a long-time Twitter fave， and this short story collection did not disappoint。 It features stories of love brilliantly inspired and woven out of folklore from around the world。 I try to avoid labelling things as must reads because I know how much individual taste guides reading， but I think you should read this book。
Leah
，
3 stars- Really cool concept but just felt flat。
Lesli
，
I don't know what to write in a review that would give justice to the author。 Babalola is a beautiful storyteller。 Her stories are memorizing。 I think Naleli was my favorite。 （As an aside this book isn't for children， there is language。） I don't know what to write in a review that would give justice to the author。 Babalola is a beautiful storyteller。 Her stories are memorizing。 I think Naleli was my favorite。 （As an aside this book isn't for children， there is language。） 。。。more
Tim
，
I was charmed by the mythical atmosphere the author could create within these grounded stories。 However， halfway through the book I felt like putting it down and never picking it up again （I did read everything in the end）。 Even though every short story had different settings and characters there was still something quite repetitive about them， can’t put my finger on it。 Maybe this book just isn’t for me， maybe it’s the short stories format or the romance genre in general。It also would’ve been m I was charmed by the mythical atmosphere the author could create within these grounded stories。 However， halfway through the book I felt like putting it down and never picking it up again （I did read everything in the end）。 Even though every short story had different settings and characters there was still something quite repetitive about them， can’t put my finger on it。 Maybe this book just isn’t for me， maybe it’s the short stories format or the romance genre in general。It also would’ve been more fun if I recognised any of the folktales or myths， but unfortunately I didn’t。 。。。more
Kaity ♡
，
A collection of love stories from all around the world retold mainly in a contemporary setting in Africa。 I was really looking forward to reading this and did love a lot of the stories， especially Nefertiti’s story because the setting was so unique。 A women’s night club ruled by crime lords/mafia leader Nefertiti and a undercover female cop love interest？ I loved that！ Unfortunately， half of the stories in here felt really drawn out and lost my attention quite a bit。 I loved the writing， I just A collection of love stories from all around the world retold mainly in a contemporary setting in Africa。 I was really looking forward to reading this and did love a lot of the stories， especially Nefertiti’s story because the setting was so unique。 A women’s night club ruled by crime lords/mafia leader Nefertiti and a undercover female cop love interest？ I loved that！ Unfortunately， half of the stories in here felt really drawn out and lost my attention quite a bit。 I loved the writing， I just wish there was a bit more dialogue。 I still enjoyed this book and was happy to have read it。 There were a lot of powerful moments and quotes in it that stood out to me！ 3。5 stars！ ✨ 。。。more
Melanie Garrido
，
I got bored after the 5th tale。 I know it's a book about love and happy endings （which I don't know if I adore thaaat trope） but I was hoping some tales were about friendship， family or other versions of love （ not only romantic love）。 I got bored after the 5th tale。 I know it's a book about love and happy endings （which I don't know if I adore thaaat trope） but I was hoping some tales were about friendship， family or other versions of love （ not only romantic love）。 。。。more
tejal
，
full review to come but this was fab
Val
，
Loveddd this book。 Absolutely beautiful retellings of mythical and modern stories wrapped in love。 My heart is full
Laney Poye
，
This compilations of short stories was just not my taste。 I thought it would be more myths retold， less romance stories - which I guess is my bad？
Kristen
，
I breezed through this collection of love stories that were so wonderfully written and adapted for a more modern retelling。 If you love reading romance written from the female gaze that focus on strong women （and specifically women of color）， then you're in the right place。 I'm really looking forward to reading more works from this author。 I breezed through this collection of love stories that were so wonderfully written and adapted for a more modern retelling。 If you love reading romance written from the female gaze that focus on strong women （and specifically women of color）， then you're in the right place。 I'm really looking forward to reading more works from this author。 。。。more
Afke
，
（3，5⭐️） Cute， but not for me。
David
，
Incredibly fun and lusciously written book of short stories。 Babalola has a gift for silky prose。
Kira
，
This was a beautiful collection and gravely underrated as well。I loved all the stories and the characters。 Eve though we spend little time with every character， the author manages to forge a connection and we start rooting for them before we know it。I especially liked Attem and Ituen as well as Yaa and Adric's stories， definitely my top 2！（view spoiler）[ When Yaa kisses Adric， that's just。。。。。magical。 The same when Attem calls their son little hawk。 I am crying。 （hide spoiler）]I was on the fence This was a beautiful collection and gravely underrated as well。I loved all the stories and the characters。 Eve though we spend little time with every character， the author manages to forge a connection and we start rooting for them before we know it。I especially liked Attem and Ituen as well as Yaa and Adric's stories， definitely my top 2！（view spoiler）[ When Yaa kisses Adric， that's just。。。。。magical。 The same when Attem calls their son little hawk。 I am crying。 （hide spoiler）]I was on the fence originally about reading this book but I am glad that I gave it a chance。5 stars from me！ 。。。more
Tara Tillery
，
I don’t typically love collections of short stories or anthology-styles， so I wasn’t sure if this book would be my vibe but wow， it was incredible。 Gorgeous rhetoric and storytelling， this was so good and each story was enjoyable。 I love the cultural aspects， the characterization and the different perspectives。 Certain stories stuck with me more than others， but they were all great。 This exceeded my expectations！
Astonya
，