“I am not a romantic. I do not know how to tell those kinds of stories, the ones filled with magic and laughter and purple hue.”

Genre: Fiction, Romance
Pages: 340
Published: June 18, 2020
Rate: 3.5 ⭐⭐⭐

Goodreads Synopsis
Against a backdrop of enigmatic nights scattered with spoken word poetry in London, Venice, Accra and Paris, Ekuah tries to reconcile her personal journey with the love she struggles with for Dee Emeka, a gifted musician who is both passionate and aloof in his treatment of Ekuah. After 18 months together, he disappears from her life, confirming her worst fears about the unstable foundation of their relationship. She attempts to graduate university whilst retreating into herself, searching for new validations and preoccupations from heartbreak.

Life marches on and Ekuah finds personal fulfilment in her poetry and community work. But when she must choose between her first love, and the promise of a new, unexpected love, in the form of Jay Stanley, can she handle the vulnerability and forgiveness required? Grappling with her examples of love, Ekuah must forge her own path. With an increasingly successful career, she finds herself traveling around the world. When her rise intersects with Dee’s own fame, the two are pushed to reach a final resolution.

My Take
I love a good romance just like the next person and Bad Love didn’t disappoint. The book is a debut well told coming of age story and one thing I loved about Bad Love is the beautiful prose. Maame Blue writes so beautifully I couldn’t help but be in awe. The different settings, vividly described, had me feel like I was in Venice, Accra and London with Ekuah. It was such a beautiful experience. The dialogue between the characters is so pure and honest and I could relate with them, Ekuah especially. I didn’t feel like I was reading a story, more like interacting with my friends.

“The small things are just as important as the big ones.”

Bad Love follows a plot that shows vulnerability and introspection. It was like holding a mirror to me about what love is and how it should be. Ekuah’s reflections hit a little too close to home.

The one thing I didn’t enjoy about Bad Love is the lack of character development. I had this idea in mind of how better or even worse they’d turn out by the last page but they felt stagnant.

If you’re in the look out for a book on realistic black love and black romance, I highly recommend Bad Love.

What’s the last black romance book you read and enjoyed? Give me recommendations in the comments.