A Night in Rome on a Full Moon: A Novel-in-Verse in Five Acts

by M.O. Dada, Holly Welker (Editor)

A Night in Rome on a Full Moon is a raw and intimate novel-in-verse that traces one impulsive night between two people who have spent eight years orbiting each other through screens, silence, and digital longing. After narrowly missing each other in Spain, an unplanned trip to Rome finally brings them face-to-face—where desire becomes a doorway, revealing who they are beneath the roles, routines, and masks they've learnt to wear.

Told across five poetic acts, the story moves with lyrical honesty through longing, identity, and the hidden cost of choosing passion over duty. As the lovers step into a connection that was never meant to last, the city around them becomes both witness and accomplice—its ancient streets echoing their inner monologues, its beauty sharpening the tension of a secret that can't survive daylight. Even knowing their story won't lead to forever, they allow themselves the rare freedom of being fully seen, unburdened by tomorrow.

With flowing, cinematic language and emotional transparency, this encounter becomes more than a fleeting affair—it becomes a remembrance of the selves they abandoned, the selves they ache to reclaim, and the selves they might still become. What unfolds is an exploration of home, temptation, identity, and the thin line between giving in and waking up.

Perfect for readers drawn to deeply introspective romance and poetic storytelling. A Night in Rome on a Full Moon captures the kind of connection that doesn't ask to be solved—only witnessed.

122 pages, Kindle Edition

Published June 26, 2025

About the author

M.O. Dada is a wanderer and storyteller whose work blends poetry, modern koans, and narrative into intimate, cinematic experiences. His writing explores wisdom, longing, and human connection with a voice that reads as much like a song as it does a story. Born in Nigeria and now based in London, he writes in a way that feels modern, creative, heart-driven, and timeless.

Reviews

[Bob · Rating 3 out of 5]

Goodreads giveaway

Won my copy on Goodreads. I entered the drawing because I've been to Rome three times (about three weeks altogether) so I'm always up for another visit. A valiant first effort. I guess I was expecting verse with rhyme to make it more magical. I hoped to be drawn in but wasn't. And the multiple fonts used really drove me bonkers (primarily the titles of the five acts).

[Michael Sanderson-green · Rating 5 out of 5]

A very beautiful book about the connection of two people on different plane to the rest of us . Otherwise it’s just an affair. Is it the poetry of the telling that stops it being sordid or is what every adulterer tells themselves , I’m just releasing a part of me that I’ve lost. I’m looking forward to the author moving out of autobiographical stories into true fiction in his next novel.

[Ashley Ross · Rating 3 out of 5]

I recieved a kindle copy of this book through a goodreads giveaway.
Being this story is written as a poem, I am afraid I may not have read it quite like it was intended to be and therefore may not have gotten all I should have from it.
this is a very good book/story/poem that is filled with human emotion and the longing to understand ourselves. I do sugest readers give it a try.