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Love in Color
Love in Color: Mythical Tales from Around the World, Retold | Bolu Babalola
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 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 familys 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.
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GatheringBooks
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Mehso-so

#ItTakesAllKinds Day 3: It was a pleasure slipping into the #mythical fantasy-world that Babalola created, filled with bold Black women who are decisive, vulnerable yet strong, and unafraid to take risks in love and in life. My review: https://wp.me/pDlzr-n2T

Eggs Nice!! 9mo
49 likes2 comments
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ChasingOm
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I have two lists for February's #BookSpin. This one recognizes Black History Month. (My Outlander #SeriesLove is an outlier here. My #FoodandLit pick is by a Maori woman.) 💛💚🖤❤️

Catsandbooks Fantastic list! ❤️ 10mo
TheAromaofBooks Woohoo!! 10mo
33 likes2 comments
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Catsandbooks
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Pickpick

4/5 ⭐️ I normally don't like short stories but I really enjoyed this collection! I loved that every story had strong female characters! My favorites were Nefertiti, Attem, Naleli, and Orin.
#FoodandLit Ghana 🇬🇭

vonnie862 Ooh, this looks good! 10mo
50 likes1 stack add1 comment
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Catsandbooks
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1. It's a quiet week so just my regular routine.
2. Tagged for #FoodandLit 🇬🇭 Enjoying it!
3. Creative and organized

#motivationalmonday

Cupcake12 Have a good week. Thanks for joining in x 10mo
33 likes1 comment
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Lunakay
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Pickpick

Very cool collection of short stories, loosely built on myths and legends from around the world, making the women into modern heroines in the best possible way. I enjoyed a story every now and then since January and will certainly come back to them at a later time.

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CollapsingLibrary
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Mehso-so

Soft so-so, arguably a pan. The stories were short enough that I kept reading but I was waiting for something new, for love to be expressed in a new way. The drama all felt very ya to me (which would be fine if it was marketed as ya) and the stories felt the same just packaged differently. Highly disappointed as I was looking forward to this book when I got it.

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CollapsingLibrary
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Help, I‘m trapped sitting outside on this gorgeous day reading because a cat thought my legs were the perfect place to take a nap 😂

dabbe 🤣🤩😍 1y
peanutnine 😹😹😹 1y
80 likes2 comments
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CollapsingLibrary
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Working through this short story collection as my #blindbookdate submarine book. Mot sure how I‘m feeling about it so far, most of the short stories have been predictable and not given me anything different on the idea of love to be wowed by 🤷‍♀️

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jen_hayes7
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An icky day to be outside in Chicago, but perfect for books, tea, and cat cuddles. #lennox #huey #catsoflitsy

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jen_hayes7
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Seems like a very appropriate day to start this book. What a beautiful introduction. Happy love day, Littens! 💕

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emmaturi
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My latest library books, I will start with the tagged book.

MyNamesParadise Local Gone Missing is a good read! 2y
33 likes1 stack add1 comment
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behudd
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Pickpick

⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️Babalola, a British-Nigerian author, took mythical love stories and retold them (generally) through a modern lens.I am not a good reader of short story collections, but I loved this book! Some romances we saw the happy endings, others the new beginnings, and some the reconnections. There were a couple stories I knew the myth it was based on, but most were brand new to me.
I will absolutely be looking for more from this author.

behudd @TheAromaofBooks this was my November #bookspin book! 2y
TheAromaofBooks Woohoo!! 2y
30 likes2 comments
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mollyrotondo
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Pickpick

⭐️⭐️⭐️ This was my September #doublespin No. 20 pick. I mostly liked these short stories using different myths and folktales containing love stories. I do recommend reading one story in a sitting instead of binging more at one time. Some of the stories sounded very similar if you read too many in a row.

TheAromaofBooks Woohoo!!! 2y
32 likes1 comment
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Brooke_H
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Mehso-so

I think this book of romance short stories would be perfect for a hardcore romance fan. I like romance, but not any more or less than any other genre, and by the halfway point of this book, I was feeling some romance fatigue. But the stories are retellings of myths, many of which I had never heard of, so that was pretty cool. The author is skilled and her banter is great. And most of the stories have happy endings.

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KT1432
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Pickpick

Finally finished this one! I‘ve been listening to these short love stories off and on for months. Filled with strong female warriors, assassins, queens, political strategists, musicians and more, I appreciated that these women were successful and capable in their own rights, and just so happened to fall in love with men and women who respected and understood them. Most were 4 or 5⭐️s for me except the last 2 stories that I didn‘t care for as much.

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KT1432
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I set this one down for too long! I really love the story telling in this collection, it just seems a bit long at over 10 short stories, and I‘m not usually a romance fan. But this has definitely won me over! I just have to be in the mood for it. Hoping to finish tonight! #Botm

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Afua
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Pickpick

More than anything I love how this book reminded me of the parts of me I had hidden away. Of feelings I realized I hadn‘t allowed myself to feel in a long long time.

Babalolas retellings breathes an energy I‘m grateful to be reminded of and to lean back into.🧡

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KT1432
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Ohhh I‘m loving this! The #audio is sublime, but this is one that I want to physically read as well. I‘ll have to get this as a #BOTM add-on. Mythical retellings of love stories with strong, feminist leads and gorgeous writing. 😍

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Sharpeipup
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Sun shower 🌧+☀️

JacqMac So pretty! 3y
Texreader Gorgeous! 3y
39 likes1 stack add2 comments
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amma-keep-reading
Pickpick

I really enjoyed this collection.

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Sydneypaige
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Pickpick

An amazing short story collection of love stories. An occasional hard to get into story, but overall I found the stories engaging and enjoyable. An easy fun read.

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veebib
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"To say that I love "love" would probably be akin to me saying that I am quite fond of inhaling oxygen"

5 likes1 stack add
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bridge12
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Pickpick

I absolutely love this modern, feminist retelling of mythology from around the world. Bolu Babalola did a beautiful job giving the women in these stories a voice of their own. I actually suggested it to a friend who is teaching a mythology course this year. 4 🌟 #botm

24 likes1 stack add
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Curvybookgirl
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Pickpick

This book is beautifully written with mythical characters transformed into tales of love. I absolutely adored it. One of my top books for the year

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S3V3N
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Pickpick

I am in LOVE with my this book. I have it on my Kindle, but I need the hardcopy! Bolu Babalola‘s writing is enthralling! This book has 13 short stories and I may not have loved all of them, but I ENJOYED all of them because of the author‘s writing. Short stories are my jam. Fantasy is my genre of choice.

31 likes2 stack adds
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marleed
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Pickpick

Ten reimagined tales and myths and woman-centered, justice sides with women. Some closely tied to original others inspired by its original. It must have been so interesting to research these stories and imagine them anew. I always have favorites in short stories - Nefertiti, Yaa, Naleli, Thisbe.

Gissy Lovely photo😍 3y
marleed @Gissy oh thank you. It was a fun photo session - my books are so much more cooperative than my 8-mo old grandbabies! 3y
64 likes2 stack adds2 comments
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BookNAround
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Time for something different and I have it on good authority that this collection of short stories is really good.

Trashcanman 👋👋🤗 3y
64 likes1 stack add1 comment
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Well-ReadNeck
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Pickpick

I adored this short story collection. Each story is a modern, feminist, romance retelling of a traditional tale. The #audiobook is 💯

72 likes5 stack adds
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Skygoddess1
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Mehso-so

This is one of those books where I was really excited to read it because I love all things mythology. What I found was that the stories that resonated with me the most were the ones where I had some concept of the original source. Now I need to read the original myths that I am not familiar with to see if that helps with the other stories. This was my #DoubleSpin read for May‘s #BookspinBingo

TheAromaofBooks Great progress!! 3y
19 likes1 comment
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Megabooks
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Mehso-so

I wanted to finish this before bed. It‘s not my kind of book - I‘m not a big fan of fairytale retellings or romance, but I wanted to support #botm branching out into short stories again. The highlights for me were the ones set in modern times, especially Thisbe and Psyche. Most of the ones that were more fantastical, like Osun, I didn‘t enjoy as much. Check this one off the backlog!

This is my actual #bookspin @TheAromaofBooks 💜😊👍🏻

Megabooks @TheAromaofBooks 👍🏻👍🏻 4y
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AlysonCB
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Mehso-so

A lovely little anthology of retellings of myths through the lense of love. Some were better than others but as a whole a poignant collection that made me smile 😊

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KatieDid927
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Mehso-so

I‘m not big on romance, but the premise of this collection intrigued me. There were a few stories at the beginning that I enjoyed, but there were also a couple I actively disliked. I think it would‘ve been interesting if the author had explored other types of love besides just romantic love, as the stories felt too repetitive and similar by the end.

#ARC pub date 4/13

41 likes1 stack add
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bookish_wookish
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Wow that shipping was fast!

I need to start making way through all these books!

hermyknee Woah! That was so fast! 4y
53 likes1 comment
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Reviewsbylola
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Meh, another month of subpar books from #botm imo. These are the only two that really caught my eye. I went back and forth on the Paula McLain because I love her, but the synopsis just isn‘t doing it for me so I decided not to chance it.

Anyone else not excited about the April choices?

Lissa00 I‘m not super excited but didn‘t skip...I‘m too close to BFF status😆. I really haven‘t heard much hype about any of these except Liberte. 4y
candc320 Yeah, I skipped this month. Just wasn‘t anything that really caught my eye 🤷🏼‍♀️. 4y
swishandflick 🙋🏽‍♀️ I skipped 4y
See All 11 Comments
MicheleinPhilly What Comes After is my final (final) pick. 4y
Reviewsbylola I can‘t say I blame you. This month was almost as bad as last month imo. And last month was pretty bad! @MicheleinPhilly For some reason tho I really can‘t quit. 😂 4y
Reviewsbylola I almost skipped last month but was able to get two from the backlist. Would have skipped this month if not for After. It scares me tho as there are barely any reviews. @candc320 @swishandflick 4y
Reviewsbylola I was curious about Libertie but the magical realism throws me off. I totally understand the BFF dilemma! @Lissa00 4y
EKonrad Yeah I ended up choosing one of the member faves. I love that there are additional options so I didn‘t have to skip. 4y
ValerieAndBooks @Reviewsbylola I really thought long and hard about Libertie but like you, was unsure about the magical realism elements— will see how the reviews are and maybe get it later. But not as a BOTM because I‘ll cancel after this month. 4y
MicheleinPhilly What Comes After has a lot of GR reviews and they are overwhelmingly positive. My BOTM bestie said she was interested in it too so that tipped me over. And soon I will be free! 4y
Hooked_on_books Last month was it for me for botm and I‘m not sorry. I may look into getting What Comes After from the library, but overall I‘m underwhelmed by their picks. Again. 4y
73 likes11 comments
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Megabooks
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Last month of #botm on this account! I had to redeem my birthday gift. Their choices have been terrible lately! (I have one other account to close out next month.) I‘m more excited about this add on than the main pick. 😂

I can‘t believe the Sweeney wasn‘t a pick, Ashley, but I‘m really glad to have the audio coming!

MicheleinPhilly 😩😩😩 I‘m going to have this credit FOREVER! 4y
MicheleinPhilly I just read some GR reviews and consulted with my friend and ordered What Comes After. I‘m cancelling the minute it arrives. 4y
Megabooks @MicheleinPhilly I‘ve thought about getting that on my other account and being totally done, but it‘s over 400 pages and I‘m not down with that! 😩😩 4y
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ValerieAndBooks I‘m underwhelmed with this month‘s choices and the alternative member faves. I don‘t want depressing. I don‘t want romance. What else is left?! 4y
MicheleinPhilly FACT: I read the first paragraph of the review of the one you picked and thought, “Ugh. I hate her. I hope she dies.” I can‘t with their thrillers lately. They‘re so cheesy and cliche. I thought the cozy mystery sounded cute but that‘s a library borrow, for sure. 4y
MicheleinPhilly @ValerieAndBooks PREACH! They should just allow you to pick from any books previously offered instead of a random selection. 4y
ValerieAndBooks @MicheleinPhilly yes!! So annoying. And as for the cozy mystery I was intrigued only because it has recipes but then after some investigation find it‘s supposed to be the first in a series. I don‘t want to waste my credit on a series I might not get into. I really want to cancel after this month. I‘ll think on all this. I have one member fave already (Star crossed sisters). 🤔🤔🤔 4y
Reviewsbylola So disappointed in the choices this month. After was really the only one I was remotely interested in. I loved McLain‘s first two books. Her last one was underwhelming. And now a new genre for her—I decided I didn‘t want to chance it. And I got the short stories too only because I‘m trying to read more of them. 😂 4y
Cinfhen I haven‘t had a chance to look...I‘m so busy with my family 4y
Megabooks @MicheleinPhilly I‘m just done. Done. It become all thrillers and romance...nothing like when they were picking Liz Moore or John Boyne! And yes @ValerieAndBooks it seems like a lot of their contemporary fiction picks are skewing heavy, depressing. I expect that more from literary fiction, but some of their contemporary picks have been real downers! If I want something they pick, there are plenty of bookstores to get it from! 4y
Megabooks @Reviewsbylola I chose on my other account. I‘m feeling about BOTM now like I did back in early 2018 when I left. Maybe I‘ll come back, but I think I‘m reading so much more nonfiction and audiobooks that I want more control over what fiction I bring in. I hope the short stories end up being good! It sounded the best of all of them. 4y
Megabooks @Cinfhen I hope you‘re having a wonderful Passover dear friend!! 💕💕💕 4y
Cinfhen I am, Meg xx thanks for thinking of me 4y
79 likes13 comments
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DanaManiac
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Pickpick

My first 5 ⭐️ read of 2021!!

I could not put this book down. I managed to pace myself b/c I didn't want it to come to an end. I love that Bolu includes information on the modifications she made to the stories that were reimagined and what inspired each retelling. Although I loved every story, the ones that I wanted to read again and again were:

~Osun
~Nefertiti
~Attem
~Yaa
~Naleli
~Orin
~Alagomeji

kspenmoll Great review! 4y
DanaManiac @kspenmoll Thanks, Katherine!! 4y
16 likes2 stack adds2 comments
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GatheringBooks
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Mehso-so

#LovePrevails Day 25: This is the epitome of #ModernLove. It was a pleasure slipping into the mythical fantasy-world that Babalola created, filled with bold Black women who are decisive, vulnerable yet strong, and unafraid to take risks in love and in life. While some of the narratives are hit or miss for me, there were a few that resonated. My full review: https://wp.me/pDlzr-n2T

Eggs Great cover ❤️📚❤️ 4y
55 likes1 comment