purplepenning's review against another edition

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adventurous emotional hopeful mysterious fast-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? A mix
  • Strong character development? Yes
  • Loveable characters? Yes
  • Diverse cast of characters? Yes

4.25

Smart, creative, super interesting short story retellings of myths from around the world, cast into empowering, hopeful love stories from a British-West African perspective. 

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khakipantsofsex's review

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emotional hopeful

4.0


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spinesinaline's review against another edition

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emotional funny hopeful medium-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? A mix
  • Strong character development? It's complicated
  • Loveable characters? It's complicated
  • Diverse cast of characters? Yes
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

4.0

This was so delightful! It’s billed as romance short stories, though heads up that these aren’t all straight romance as they don’t all have happy endings.

I love retellings and Babalola has such an immersive and creative way of retelling these stories, not to mention the added agency that she gives the female characters. Her intention in empowering the women in these tales is immediately clear and it gives the stories so much more depth. She also highlights a lot of folk tales that aren’t well-known in the Western world, particularly African legends, so it’s a chance for new audiences to engage with these stories.

Personal favourites were “Naleli” for a truly inventive take on the original and “Thisbe” for the cute university twist on the crack in the wall.

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valereads's review against another edition

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funny hopeful medium-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? Character
  • Strong character development? It's complicated
  • Loveable characters? It's complicated
  • Diverse cast of characters? Yes
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.75


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