Review: Seduced Hearts by Stella Eromonsere-Ajanaku

Tags

Africa, Forgiveness, Ghana, love, marriage, Nigeria, Relationships, romance, Seduced Hearts, Stella Eromonsere-Ajanaku

Title: Seduced Hearts
Author: Stella Eromonsere-Ajanaku
Format: Kindle
Genre: Romance
Publisher: Stella Eromonsere-Ajanaku
Pages: 202
Publication Date: November 2015

Reason for reading: Verified Purchase. (love a good romance)

Blurb

Is a lovely marriage enough?

Ghanaian designer, Efua Flonta has a marriage and a life many women dream of. Her heart lies with her racy husband, Xavier and two young children. Her marriage vows are sacred until she meets a man who threaten everything she holds dear.

Sexy formula one racing champion, Xavier Flonta wants nothing more than to please his beautiful wife and children. When an old friend stops over, he does not bargain for one weekend of trouble. Will Efua and Xavier pull together to save their marriage in time for Christmas or will the hurt be too painful?

My Thoughts

Marriage can be a beautiful experience or journey if all the cards are played right and the partners involved love each other genuinely. For Efua and Xavier Flonta, everything is perfect, or so it seems. They both have damaging secrets that even their steamy nights and days cannot overshadow.

I read this book overnight. Fast paced just like the formula one driving Xavier, full speed and when I finished I knew I had really landed with a whoosh. 🙂

Stella has written a romance that makes one question the validity of one’s marriage vows especially in the face of such agonising and explosive revelations by the parties. But in the end, forgiveness becomes vital to keep the marriage together.

What is striking about Seduced Hearts is the strong extended family links. In Ghana, we say when you marry a person, you marry the whole family; Xavier and Efua have strong links to their extended families and the two entities are pivotal in the reconciliation, though in the end, Xavier and Efua have to fight their own demons, come to terms with their flaws and ultimately decide to let love prevail. Yes, as I mention flaw, let me add that both characters are nicely flawed and that make them human. Did I love the characters?  Hmm, Xavier is my man, and when you read the book you will know why. 🙂

I give Seduced Hearts five ‘heart-shaped’ stars and highly recommend it to all lovers of romance and those who are interested in knowing about Ghana

AUTHOR BIO

Stella Eromonsere-Ajanaku is a fun-loving mother of two teenagers, married to her gorgeous husband and best friend who indulges her romantic habits. Writing contemporary and historical romance novels is an exciting adventure for her. Out of curiosity and belief that love conquers all, she has written several Interracial & Multicultural Romance Novels.

In 2010, Stella created Flirty & Feisty Romance Novels, a collection of toe-curling, intriguing, and skin-tingling romance with compelling characters who have heart and soul and jump off the pages of the book. All her stories are dotted with twists and turns and are set in fascinating Africa, enticing Europe & enchanting America.

To experience and enjoy an intense emotional ride, pick up a copy of any of her novels: Loitering Shadows, Beyond the Lady, The Gardener’s Ice Maiden, Sparkling Dawn, Husband to Rent, Stolen Valentine Kiss (Holiday Series #1), Kiss My Lips (Holiday Series #2), Forbidden Dance, Stolen Valentine Kiss & Kiss My Lips (Holiday Series 2~ Books ~ in ~ 1), Tempting Desire, Seduced Hearts, Red Velvet Rose and Wild Whispers. Stella’s first historical/suspense/mystery romance, Royal Cowries (Cowries Series #1) will give you an insight into a different Africa.

A luxury home by the seaside is on Stella’s wish list. In her spare time, she loves to swim on her back like a starfish, watch TV, go to the movies with her family and read romance novels.

 

 

 

Review: Forest Girl by Empi Baryeh

Tags

Africa, customs, Empi Baryeh, Forest Girl, Ghana, romance, tradition

Title:      Forest Girl
Author:  Empi Baryeh
Binding: Paperback
Genre:    Contemporary Romance
Pages:    242
Publication Date: May 6,2018

Publishers: Independent Publishing with Createspace

Reasons for Reading: Advanced Review Copy for a candid review

Blurb

Esi Afriyie has been in love with Michael Yaw Badu since childhood. When he receives a scholarship to study in America, all hope seems lost … until he returns to Ghana ten years later. An arranged marriage contracted by their families makes her dreams come true, but does the reality of being Mrs. Michael Badu live up to the fantasy? Michael may have married Esi, but he is in love with someone else—Forest Girl, a mystery woman he encountered just once in the forest. His heart belongs to her, and he doesn’t need his beautiful wife awakening his carnal desires. He is even willing to sacrifice his marriage for another encounter with Forest Girl. Reality is not what either Esi or Michael imagined. Esi is disillusioned; Michael feels trapped. Will Michael give in and allow his heart to discover a love that was always meant to be, before it’s too late?

My Thoughts

Forest Girl is Empi Baryeh’s third romance book to be set in Ghana, and it can only get better and better. Empi knows her characters well, perhaps because she is from Ghana herself and she knows our lore and tradition, which are generously woven into the beautiful story that is Michael and Esi’s arranged marriage. I mean which man would agree to an arranged marriage even in a traditional setting? And a modern, US educated man at that. And yet Michael yields to pressure from the ghost of his father whose dying wish was for his son to marry a suitable girl chosen by him. Never mind that he has a ‘modern liberated’ girl friend, never mind that he hates the whole arrangement. Never mind that he had fallen for a mysterious Forest Girl, despite the very loud existence of his girlfriend. And never mind that Esi has been in love with him for a long time.

The beauty of this book is that the author managed to maneuver the ups and downs, surprises, twists and turns of this unusual relationship, keeping the reader in suspense till the end.

To be honest, both characters got on my nerves; Michael, for not willing or being able to make up his mind as to whom he wanted; Esi for being too sweet and trusting. But as the story developed, Esi, an educated girl from the village, proved that she could stand her own ground, especially when it became clear that she might be sharing her husband with Lena, Michael’s girlfriend. She refused to be treated like a doormat.

One significant feature about Forest Girl, among many, is that the reader is made aware that marriage is never a bed perfect, more so an arranged one. The author does a very good job here; dealing with infidelity in marriage and the presence of an imaginary woman, ingredients that no new wife should contend with in her marriage. Both characters grow to confront their limitations and Michael especially grows into the man he is supposed to be.

Forest Girl is well researched, the diction and editing, flawless. The flavour of Ghana and for that matter, Africa, permeates it. Rich customs and traditions, local foods, snippets of local dialect, well imbibed local drinks, lush and harsh scenery of village life are a fine blend that set the tone in this novel, Forest Girl.

The only problem I have with Forest Girl is that I would have loved to know the outcome of the job interview Esi attended. This however did not detract from the story or the development of the plot in any way.

Forest Girl  is a truly lovely romance journey into Ghana that I urge all lovers of romance to take. 🙂

About the Author

Empi Baryeh is the award-winning author of Most Eligible Bachelor (winner: Book of the year in the 2017 Ufere Awards). She writes sweet and sensual African, multicultural and interracial romance, which happens to be her favourite genres of romance to read. Her interest in writing started around the age of thirteen after she stumbled upon a YA story her sister had started and abandoned. The story fascinated her so much that, when she discovered it was unfinished, she knew she had to complete it. Somehow the rest of the story began to take shape in her mind and she’s been writing ever since. She lives in Accra, Ghana, with her husband and their two lovely kids.

Buy Links

Amazon US | Barnes and Noble | Kobo | Amazon UK | Amazon CA | Smashwords

Whispers of Dawn

Tags

Africa, ai li, Celestine Nudanu, Cherita, Ghana, Publication, Trailblazer, Whispers of Dawn

Exactly two years ago, my haiku collection, Haiku Rhapsodies, (Verses from Ghana) debuted in grand style to popular acclaim. To the glory of God, It sold beyond my dreams and won the enviable Atukwei Okine Award for Best Poetry Book under the auspices of the Ghana Literary Awards in 2017.

Two years on precisely, my second poetry collection, Whisper of Dawn ( A book of Cherita) the first of its kind in Africa, has hit the stands, arousing much wonderful interest home and abroad.

when all is done

life is a but a mystery
hazy

and yet the ink
writing our stories
drip, drip and drip…

Whispers of Dawn, my book of Cherita, of six lines that tell the story of love, disappointments, the joys of death and the joys of a life in Christ.

Whispers of Dawn. Soon to be on Amazon 🙂 Prepare to order copies for your reading pleasure. 🙂

 

Links for Haiku Rhapsodies:

Amazon

Amazon.co.uk

Goodreads

2018 Africa Reading Challenge

Tags

Africa, Africa Reading Challenge, Ghana, Kinna, Reading Challenge, West Africa

Welcome to the 2018 Africa Reading Challenge.

This is the sixth time my dear friend  Kinna is hosting the Africa Reading Challenge. Details and requirements are the same this year as for 2012 when she started. And she says, “I have absolutely no reason for hosting nor urging you to participate in this challenge save for the joy of discovering and reading African literature!” Are you in? 🙂 I’m in,and this time I sincerely hope I will make it cos I have loads of books on my TBR and this sounds like the perfect opportunity to read the African writers among the lot and review. 🙂

Here are the details:

Challenge Period

January 1, 2018 to December 31, 2018

Region

The entire African continent, including its island-states, which are often overlooked. Please refer to this Wikipedia “list of sovereign states and dependent territories in Africa”. Pre-colonial empires and regions are also included.

Reading Goal

5 books. That’s it. There will be no other levels. Of course, participants are encouraged to read more than 5 books.  Eligible books include those which are written by African writers, or take place in Africa, or are concerned with Africans and with historical and contemporary African issues. Note that at least 3 books must be written by African writers.

Genres

• Fiction – novels, short stories, poetry, drama, children’s books. Note: You can choose to read a number of individual and uncollected short stories. In this case, 12 such stories would constitute 1 book. Individual poems do not count but books of poetry do.
• Non-fiction – memoirs, autobiographies, history and current events

Reading Suggestions

• Cover at least two regions, pick from North Africa, Southern Africa, East Africa, West Africa and Central Africa
• Include translated fiction from Arabic, Francophone and Lusophone literature
• You can mix classic and contemporary fiction
• If you are intend to read mostly non-fiction, then please include at least one book (out of the five) of fiction

No particular reading philosophy is being suggested, however participates are encouraged  to broaden their knowledge of African literature. The most important thing is to have fun and to explore Africa through books.

Other Details

1. Overlap with other challenges is allowed.
2. E-books and audio books are allowed.
3. There is no need to make a list beforehand.  Although most of us love lists, don’t we?

To Sign up:

Leave a comment here to sign-up. You can list the books you intend to read if you’ve already decided. For those with blogs: write a post on your blog about the challenge (with or without your list) and link to this post.

Please for more details read here

Troiku: Empty Calabash

Tags

Africa, Afriku, Beggar, Poverty, Troiku

Done for Carpe Diem. The challenge is to write a troiku based on the haiku below by my very self 🙂

empty calabash
reflecting the fading sun
a beggar sits in gloom

© Celestine Nudanu

Troiku

empty calabash
reflecting the fading sun
a beggar sits in gloom

empty calabash
no sweetness
in the beggar’s life

reflecting the fading sun
the penny
in his calabash

a beggar sits in gloom
watching the pennies go by
fading sun

© Celestine Nudanu

23/01/18

 

Links for Haiku Rhapsodies:

Amazon

Amazon.co.uk

Goodreads

Haiku My Heart: Tales

Tags

Africa, Afriku, Family, Ghana, Nature, night, storytelling

(linked to Recuerda Mi Corazon.)

Tales

by the fireside

my grandmother stirs the night

with tales

Failed Haiku November 2017

© Celestine Nudanu

08/12/17

 

Links for Haiku Rhapsodies:

Amazon

Amazon.co.uk

Goodreads

Micropoetry Month: Nov 2017: #21

Tags

Africa, Ghana, love, romance, village setting

Rajani  wants us to write poems about poetry…LOL. 🙂

Soul Poetry (1/10/13)

I eat the words baked in your mud heart

I drink in your puddle of juices

flowing from your mouth

 

Poetry cries out in her veins. Clawing to be let out in verses reeking of firewood smoke seen above the thatched roofs of the village at sunset. Mothers are busy preparing the evening meal. Above the din of bleating goats and barking of stray dogs in heat, the wailing of hungry children can be heard.

thirsty and crazy I gulp your words

soothing my virgin soil

I crave for more

He is oblivious to the silence that gradually settles on the village. Mouths are busy chewing and throats are belching out the satisfaction of meals well digested. Under the fading glint of the twilight, they eat love, their meal for the night.

feed me nectar

from your spring

soul poetry

© Celestine Nudanu

21/11/17

 

Links for Haiku Rhapsodies:

Amazon

Amazon.co.uk

Goodreads

 

 

 

Haiku My Heart: Mirage

Tags

Africa, Afriku, Ghana, Mirage, Nature, Stardust Haiku Journal

(linked to Recuerda Mi Corazon.)

Mirage

island mirage

beads of dew dot

the coconut leaf

Star Dust Haiku Journal – October 2017

© Celestine Nudanu

27/10/17

 

Links for Haiku Rhapsodies:

Haiku My Heart: Communal Love

Tags

Africa, Afriku, communal living, Family, Ghana, Nature

(linked to Recuerda Mi Corazon.)

Communal love

communal love

I sip a bowl of soup

with the moon

Failed Haiku ( A Journal of English Senryu – October 2017)

© Celestine Nudanu

06/10/17

 

Links for Haiku Rhapsodies:

Amazon

Amazon.co.uk

Goodreads

Haiku My Heart: Wet

Tags

Africa, Afriku, education, Nature, Poverty, Rains

Done for Recuerda Mi Corazon

Wet

morning rain

beneath my bedroom window

a wet school child

Brass Bell, A Haiku Journal, May 2017

© Celestine Nudanu

02/06/17

 

Links for Haiku Rhapsodies:

Amazon

Amazon.co.uk

Goodreads