Amina is torn between Adebayo’s desire for permanency and her irrepressible love for Khalil, as she and Adebayo agree to an open partnership as she believes “one size doesn’t fit all.” The dishy, conversational novel follows Amina’s visits to a therapist to affirm her need for openness, love, and sex. Allen captures, in engaging dialogue, Amina’s search for answers as she navigates complex emotions. Amina has each man’s love and attention but her struggle to choose a new path is relatable.
Family relationships are tested, too, as her daughters’ choices challenge the entire family. Amina continually battles with her mother, and social interactions are battle fields with dialogue used as deadly ammunition, every syllable shooting pain in both directions. In the end, Allen challenges expectations both of the romance genre and of society, as Amina begins to wonder whether traditional, monogamous relationships are the best way to meet everyone’s needs in our erratic world, and the novel celebrates Black love and builds to a satisfying but pointedly unorthodox happy ending.
Takeaway: Touching novel of resilience, love, and unconventional relationships.
Comparable Titles: Tay Mo’Nae; Anna Zabo’s Outside the Lines.
Production grades
Cover: A
Design and typography: A
Illustrations: N/A
Editing: A
Marketing copy: A
