Love Me Unconditionally

by Ola Awonubi

Deola Banjoko has it all. A wonderful career, an accomplished fiancée and great plans for the future. But as the years pass and Deola fails to become pregnant, the foundations of the wonderful life they have built together begin to crumble, unable to withstand the pressures of life, family and cultural expectations.
Recovering from a broken heart, Deola takes up a chance to work in Nigeria. She crosses paths with businessman Femi Da Silva and ends up working as a consultant for his PR company. She soon learns that Femi has issues of his own, having been widowed ten years before, and tries to fight her attraction to him. Can Deola move beyond the pain of the past and the constrictions of societal pressures and find the unconditional love she is seeking?

178 pages, Kindle Edition

Published February 13, 2017

About the author

Ola Nubi studied for an MA in Creative writing and Imaginative Practice at the University of East London and in 2008 her short story The Pink House, won first prize in the National words of colour competition and another short story of hers The Go- slow Journey, won the first prize in the fiction category for Wasafiri’s New writing prize 2009 and the Best Author CA Awards 2019.

Some of her short stories feature on Afreada, Brittle Paper, Story Time, Woven Tale Press, TheSiren.co.uk and naijastories.com. She has had over 15 short stories published in various literary magazines, journals and on blogs and speaks at writing events.

Author of 7 books – Love’s Persuasion was published by Ankara Press – the Romance imprint of Cassava Press, Abuja. Nigeria in 2015. Her second book for the imprint - I love You Unconditionally was published in 2017. Her third book – an anthology of short stories – Naija Love Stories was published by Conscious Dreams Publishing in October 2018.

Her 4th book 14 Days and Other Stories is a romance novella and her 5th book Reasons Why I Need to Get Married Yesterday and Other Poems was published last year.

Her current historical fiction novel 'A Nurse's Tale was published by One More Chapter Books, Harper Collins in July 2023 and her next book for the imprint is a Rom com and it is due Summer 2025!

She is also working on another historical book.

You can follow her on Substack as The Resilient Writer
or Bookbub as Ola Awonubi for more information.

Reviews

[Ndeye Sene]

Excellent story...

[Blessing Ugwu-John]

“ I realize now that for love to be the kind that endures it has to come without conditions. If it does, it’s not love. It’s just a business arrangement...”

When I started reading this book, I assumed that this was going to be that kind of romantic fiction where the main character is desperate for someone to love her for who she is because she is simply tired of being in the wrong relationship.

This assumption turned out to be incorrect because even though the main character was truly fed up with dating the wrong type of men, the plot turned out to be much more complex than I expected.

Firstly, Deola was anything but desperate. I loved that she remained indefatigable, driven and strong despite everything that was thrown at her. The fact that she was content to rather remain single than be in the wrong relationship was a plus.

Secondly, it had more of satirical tone to it than one would expect from a typical romance
novel. The author did a good job exposing how society pressures women into making questionable choices in order to keep up appearances. I also liked that she condemned the way people discriminate against women who battle with fertility issues and the sense of entitlement that parents seem to exercise over their children’s choices.

However as a romance novel, the book didn’t quite live up to the expectations I had. IMO, the romantic relationship between Deola and Femi kicked off too late and when it eventually did, it wasn’t as steamy as I had hoped it would be.


This book was sent to me by the author to read in exchange for an honest review.

Thank you Ola Awonubi

[Kisha Abban]

I devoured this book in one day and loved absolutely every minute of it. This book resonated with me because it brought a very delicate, complex, and yet critical discussion on the pressures placed upon women to marry and conceive within our African society and the diaspora to light. I am a firm believer that sometimes God shakes up our entire world to lead us to something bigger and better, and this turned out to be true for Deola. I also loved how the author made a gentle reference to Deola and Femi's history. My heart ached, and I rejoiced for her throughout the entire story. This story showed me that going home to regroup can bring about unexpected blessings on its own.

This is the second book that I have read from Ola Awonubi, and I really love her attention to detail. Her gift of storytelling pulls you into whatever is happening and makes you feel part of what's happening in Nigeria. I can't wait to see what she comes out with next.

Well done!

[♡Joan Vegas♡]

Rating 3.5⭐️⭐️⭐️✨️
A short story from the Ankara Press Collection that is rich in Nigerian culture and packed with themes of family, marriage, friendship, and work-life balance.

I really liked the storyline and how the author captured the realities of relationships and family dynamics. But let me just say this… Kunle and Deola’s moms were Infuriating 🙃. Some of their actions had me seriously questioning them 😪😂.

I also enjoyed how the story touched on the struggle of balancing work, and personal life. It was a short read, but there was enough going on to keep me invested.

[Literary Everything]

This book explores uncomfortable realities we rarely read about in easy romance novels. It shines a spotlight on serious issues faced by Nigerian women including “late” marriage, abusive relationships, infertility and the worth of girl children vs boy children. It's well written. A bit heavy on the societal issues and romance between Deola and Femi takes a bit of a backseat. Read our full review here https://literaryeverything.com/2018/0...

[Eden Walker]

A unique read!

I love the Ankara Press romances because they are so original. Love Me Unconditionally is no exception. Fast-paced, with a lovely gritty, local flavour that’s so refreshing. This is the opposite of a clichéd Mills&Boon romance. It has real heart, and the characters live. I enjoyed the plot line involving fertility troubles and cultural expectations around motherhood. It was hip, amusing and well-written – not to mention droolworthy (meet the dishy, bereaved Femi).

This is the fourth Ankara title I’ve read. Next I’m going to read Ola Awonubi’s other book, Love’s Persuasion, which features a secret, passionate office romance! There are ten Ankara titles to date. A feast.

[Mayowa A.]

Never a dull moment, I was drawn into the plot from the first page to the last. The writer has the skillful ability to make me laugh out loud and get emotional concerning the circumstances facing the main characters in each chapter, the secondary characters were not 2-dimensional but greatly fleshed out also. Issues like feminism, gender roles, marital separation, abuse and many other topics facing women in general especially in non-western communities were very thoughtfully addressed which I appreciate.

I will be recommending this to anyone and everyone I can!

[Empi Baryeh]

This story delves into a very African society through the eyes of a Nigerian-born woman who lives in the UK and returns home following a bad break-up with her fiance of 5 years! (phew, long sentence). She meets Femi on the plane to Lagos and he turns out to be someone from her childhood - her brother's best friend.

Femi also has his demons. Widowed for 10 years, he still stays true to the memory of his dead wife.

In a society where marriage and children are an aspiration for many, these two find themselves caught in the web of nagging and potential match-making plots of family and friends. Both Deola and Femi are strong characters with solid background that carry the story; and the story unfolds in a steady manner.

However, the two don't spend enough page time together IMO. Ms Awonubi spends nearly the first half of the book delving into their lives (individually) and their issues without putting them together, thus losing the opportunity to turn up the heat as her characters try to resist temptation while having to work together. It also means the hero and heroine have just about half the story time to explore their romance which makes the romance less satisfying than it could have been.

*Disclaimer: I received an eARC copy of this book and voluntarily chose to review it*

[Nana Prah]

I really enjoyed reading this story set in both the UK and Nigeria. It reminded me of heart breaking issues that are deep seeded among some women. I got so engrossed in the story that Deola’s experiences actually made me annoyed and sometimes angry. That’s the sign of a great story. Femi’s life has held hardships and I enjoyed watching him get over them so that he can once again experience love.

[Nhyira]

This was okay. However I felt the main characters were not the main characters 😭😭. It’s giving they were just a subplot in Morenike & Soji’s story in my opinion. It was okay, and I felt the romance was a bit forced because of the title. Writing was solid and plot was okay but a lot could’ve been done