Bad Love: Twenty in 2020

Twenty in 2020

by Maame Blue

Against a backdrop of enigmatic nights scattered with spoken word poetry in London, Venice, Accra and Paris, Ekuah tries to reconcile her personal journey with the love she struggles with for Dee Emeka, a gifted musician who is both passionate and aloof in his treatment of Ekuah. After 18 months together, he disappears from her life, confirming her worst fears about the unstable foundation of their relationship. She attempts to graduate university whilst retreating into herself, searching for new validations and preoccupations from heartbreak.

Life marches on and Ekuah finds personal fulfilment in her poetry and community work. But when she must choose between her first love, and the promise of a new, unexpected love, in the form of Jay Stanley, can she handle the vulnerability and forgiveness required? Grappling with her examples of love, Ekuah must forge her own path. With an increasingly successful career, she finds herself traveling around the world. When her rise intersects with Dee’s own fame, the two are pushed to reach a final resolution.

Genres: Fiction, Romance, Audiobook, Contemporary, Africa, Coming Of Age, Ghana

340 pages, Paperback

First published June 18, 2020

About the author

Maame Blue is a Ghanaian-Londoner, creative writing tutor and author of two novels; 'Bad Love', which won the 2021 Betty Trask award, and 'The Rest Of You' due for publication in October 2024 with Verve Books (UK) and Amistad Books (US). Her short stories have been published in 'Joyful, Joyful' (Pan Macmillan), 'Not Quite Right For Us' (Flipped Eye Publishing) and 'New Australian Fiction 2020' (Kill Your Darlings). Maame is a recipient of the 2022 Society of Authors Travelling Scholarship and was a 2022 POCC Artist-in-Residence. She contributes regularly to Royal Literary Fund publication Writers Mosaic and The Bookseller Magazine, and her writing has appeared in many places including Refinery29, Black Ballad and The Independent. She teaches creative writing at City Lit, Faber Academy and Arvon.

Reviews

[luce (cry bebè's back from hiatus) · Rating 4 out of 5]

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3 ½ stars

Bad Love is a compelling debut novel that is part modern love story, part coming of age. The novel's narrator and protagonist recounts her first relationship, one that blurred the line between 'good' love and 'bad' love.
Ekuah, a British-Ghanaian university student in London, meets Dee on a night out with her friends. From this very first encounter, Ekuah feels a pull towards him. Dee is attractive, ambitious, and possesses an air of mystery. While Ekuah is inexperienced in love, she is not wholly naïve. Dee's casual attitude towards their relationship soon begins to test their bond. They exchange bitter words, give each other the silent treatment, they make up, only to fight and make up again. Dee clearly prioritises his music and career over Ekuah, yet he also seem happy to have Ekuah to himself. After eighteen months together, Dee ghosts Ekuah: he doesn't reply to her texts or calls, nor does he show himself when Ekuah looks for him at his place.
Ekuah is devastated. After graduating Ekuah meets Jay. The two find themselves growing closer thanks to their community-oriented work, and together they organise poetry events. Ekuah, smarting from Dee's 'disappearance', is the uncertain one in this relationship. Her feelings are further complicated by Dee's 'reappearance' into her life and by her parents' crumbling relationship.
While Blue brilliantly renders all of the places Ekuah visits (such as Venice and Accra), when writing about London, the setting truly comes alive. Ekuah's voice will undoubtedly hold her readers' attention. I deeply emphasised with her, even if she wasn't necessarily always 'good' or 'kind', especially where her mother was concerned. Yet, Ekuah's vulnerabilities are rendered with clarity, and I felt on her behalf. Through Ekuah's story, Blue presents her readers with a realistic portrait of love, one that definitely doesn't view love through rose-tinted glasses.
While not much happens in terms of plot, Ekuah's evolving relationships—with Dee, Jay, her parents—had me captivated. Blue's scintillating prose, her realistic examination of the many faces of love, her nuanced and realistic characters, make for a truly heart-rendering read.
The ending is perhaps the only aspect of Bad Love that I found slightly unsatisfied. And a teensy part of me wishes that the Mafia had been left out of Ekuah's lightening trip to Italy.
Still, I thoroughly recommend this read, especially to those who prefer realistic love stories.

[AK✨ · Rating 4 out of 5]

3.5 stars. Bad Love follows the emotional yet edifying journey of Ekuah, a young, Black British woman navigating first love, family bonds, and personal fulfilment. Poetry plays a huge role in Bad Love, with Ekuah finding comfort in the art but also allowing the power of words to guide her across the globe. Maame Blue’s writing is fully of depth and flows beautifully, much like a moving poem. As Ekuah travels between London, Venice, Accra and Paris, the author’s words immerse the reader in each new landscape with ease.

Sadly, I found Ekuah to be too childish to be a likeable protagonist. While the trials of new experiences she faces are very realistic and easy to relate to, many of her inner conclusions irritated me, and I struggled to warm to her. This tainted the reading experience, even with such rich dialogue. Still, the portrayal of love, both good and bad, paired with the author’s stirring writing made Bad Love worth the read (or listen).

Through Ekuah’s eyes, Blue highlights the impact of parental relationships on new connections. Although Bad Love features the dark side of toxic love, this intimate theme is explored with nuance and with an elegant honesty. I wasn’t a fan of the more explicit scenes, but loved the insight into the world of music and poetry in this new and modern love story.

[Darkowaa · Rating 3 out of 5]

** book blog review - https://africanbookaddict.com/2020/11...

3.5 stars, for sure!

[Ana Pau De la Borbolla · Rating 4 out of 5]

Como parte de la campaña #Twentyin2020 Jacaranda books publicó esta novela de la autora afro-inglesa Maame Blue, la cual tuve la oportunidad de escuchar hace unas semanas.

La historia de Ekuah Danquah, una chica de ascendencia ghanesa, es una historia de primeros amores y la constante búsqueda de nuestro lugar en el mundo. Cercana a sus 30s, Ekuah recuerda cómo a sus 18 años conoce a su primer amor e intenta comprender de qué forma éste afectó la forma de ver otras relaciones (propias y a su alrededor). “Bad Love” recorre rincones de Londres, Venecia, Ghana y Paris y los entreteje a través de la música y la poesía.

La voz de Ekkie, aunque muy distinta a mi propia voz, me capturó por su honestidad e inocencia. Leer “Bad Love” fue poder entrar en una cabeza llena de incongruencias y áreas grises; de amor incondicional y propio, escrito de una forma hermosa y narrado magistralmente por Vivienne Acheampong.

Lo que más disfruté de la lectura es que la imagen del amor que punta Blue, no pretende ser rosa ni violenta. El amor que vive tanto nuestra protagonista como gente cercana a ella está repleto de matices, toxicidades y belleza. La autora no le resta complejidad con la intención de emocionar al lector, lo que intenta (y creo que logra) es hacer un reflejo honesto del amor como cualquiera de nosotras lo podría haber vivido.

Se lo recomiendo a quienes busquen una historia de amor (romántico y propio) llena de detalles, y el audio a quienes quieran disfrutar una apasionante narración con un gran abanico de acentos.

[Bukola Akinyemi · Rating 4 out of 5]

Bad Love
By Maame Blue

A great love story with deeper themes than just the romance element. I loved the growth in Ekuah’s character and the exploration of her parent’s love story, loveless marriage and how different generations deal with love.

[Between2_worlds · Rating 4 out of 5]

An unexpected read. I'm not sure what to make of it except I felt a kinship to Ekuah's stumble in love and life.

[Liv Petty · Rating 2 out of 5]

I think this book had a really good starting point. The development of the main character, Ekuah, was really interesting to read. I also really enjoyed learning about the relationship between Ekuah and her father. However, it felt like the story didn’t really go anywhere, especially the ending. The ending felt rushed and not well thought out. It was disappointing. Also, the story line regarding Ekuah’s trip to Italy had so much potential, but it felt like it was briefly mentioned and didn’t really add anything to the plot.
The grammar at points was also disappointing.
It’s a shame because the bits I enjoyed from this book, I thoroughly enjoyed. But I feel like it lacked development of important themes and that the ending did not really follow.

[Pan Dora · Rating 4 out of 5]

I am glad that I gave it a go. The back cover text gave me the first impression of a sugared romantic storie, but this isn't just a pulp romance... Ekuas reflection of how she deals with her relationships poked my very intimate feelings and thoughts. Very satisfied to read this reflections on a fictional romance. I only didn't give the 5th star because of how it ends, but it's my personal taste for open endings on female protagonist stories.

[Lel Budge · Rating 4 out of 5]

The story is told by Ekuah, she’s now 30 and recalling her past when her boyfriend, Dee just dropped out of her life, leaving her heartbroken. She wonders if Dee ever cared for her, he never even referred to himself as her boyfriend over the 18 months they were together, passionate yes, but always distant. Can she move on and find love ?

This is a well paced tale about relationships good and bad, the beauty of the spoken word, about finding yourself and the perceptions of what love really is. I loved the details of Ekuah’s experiences of her travels overseas too.

Beautifully narrated by Vivienne Acheampong, she really brings Ekuah and the other characters to life. I thoroughly enjoyed Bad Love from start to finish.

Thank you to Amber at Midas PR for the opportunity to take part in this blog tour, for the promotional material and an eARC of the Audiobook. This is my honest and unbiased review.

[Khadijah E · Rating 3 out of 5]

**Contains spoilers**

I enjoyed the writing- it was well paced and very emotionally descriptive. I think Blue showcased Ekuah's low self esteem, desperation and need for external validation very well throughout the novel. It was evident that this was definitely rooted in what she was exposed to in her childhood.

I found myself being shocked at how insecure Ekuah was numerous times during the novel:

•Her infatuation with Dee and being content with the possibility of an accidental baby was an effective tool to show how dependent she was on a man who held no regard for her.

•Her being content with Dee's disrespect: using her inner thoughts expressed in poetry as a music single without telling her did not surprise me and I predicted it. Ekuah being more happy that Dee was singing on the radio (when she was in another relationship) rather than her writing being used unknowingly was very eye opening.

•How flippant and disrespectful she was with Jay. I think Ekuah in a lot of ways replicated what Dee did to her with Jay and I preferred them together in comparison with Dee. I saw that Jay was able to allow Ekuah go grow professionally, gain new opportunities and was the start of her developing a new passion, even if that specifically did result in a sad breakup.

•Her correlating sex with her own worthiness- this was a clear and serious issue in both of her relationships which made me feel that neither of the men were suitable for her.

•I can understand that Ekuah being an 18 year old woman who has never been in a relationship and has never engaged in sexual intercouse was attached to Dee- because I never saw the amazing connection between the both of them that Ekuah loved to mention numerous times. Dee was a very manipulative character, more than Ekuah realised, and effectively used that to his advantage throughout the years including their twenties. He did not love her- Dee was obsessed with Ekuah and enjoyed being in control at all times, whether they were together or not. Dee kept Ekuah down and prevented her from growing, particularly career wise, and did not want her to become great in my own opinion. This was an unhealthy, co-dependent relationship.

•The little insights into her friends lives was also a perfect way to show the extent of how much her life revolved around Dee.

•I also found Ekuah's parents very problematic, particularly with regards to their relationship falling apart and allowing Ekuah to bear the emotional gravity of it without properly communicating with her. Her father still continuing to work with the man that hurt her daughter in order to demonstrate to himself and his emotionally abusive wife that he was "something" (despite Ekuah not communicating the full story to him, her body language was enough to suggest to her father that Dee had done something terrible). Her mother's dismissive personality and hypocrisy was very irritating to witness- spending the whole of Ekuah's childhood not caring about her wellbeing but only her grades and then deciding later on to show "concern" in Ekuah's life when she wanted to and refusing to be honest about her relationship with Ekuah's father and her "affair" with Aunt Genie was hurtful to see. It was clear that Ekuah's parents' relationship had negatively influenced Ekuah's apparoach to relationships, her seeking external validation and sacrificing her own wellbeing to make others happy and not understanding what a healthy relationship looks like.

Honestly after finding myself gripped and reading this continously over the course of two days, I instinctively rolled my eyes at  the ending. I believe that Ekuah had a lot of inner work to do and I felt that the ending was reflective of that. The ending was ambiguous and quite abrupt (which I didn't expect) however I think it was still clear where Ekuah was likely to go which was a shame. Overall I think Ekuah was better off on her own- at 25, still young, I think she had achieved a lot, e.g. going international from a small workshop, and think that there was potential for her to go even bigger. Her potentially going back with Dee would definitely get in the way.

Negatives:

•Not enough dialogue. I thought this could be to reflect the distance between the main character, her family and her romantic relationships to an extent but I think there were certain areas that could have been shown with more dialogue rather than story telling.

•I think scenes could have been a bit longer- sometimes I felt certain ones were a bit empty and moved to the next a bit too quickly.

•The passage of time between past and present wasn't effectively done in my opinion and made it hard at times to understand where the main character was  with respect to time

•Dee's usage of "innit" felt misplaced and made the dialogue feel unnatural.


Overall, this was an interesting novel! The cover is also very beautiful too!

[Fab]

Bad Love by Maame Blue is part of one of the most exciting publishing projects of this year, Jacaranda’s #Twentyin2020 campaign. The indie publisher has vowed to publish twenty books by Black British writers this year, which Audible will be exclusively producing as audio books.

First of all, looking at the breathtaking cover makes me rather upset that I only got to review an audio book and not a physical copy so I could stare at the cover for hours instead of actually reading and reviewing it. But I have to say, I loved the experience of having an audio review copy – I’ve been binging audio so much recently that I absolutely flew through Bad Love.

Ekuah is a great leading voice throughout the book, and it is lovely to have a book narrated by a character so clearly rooted in London and the Arts. As someone who predominately reads SFF, Bad Love has made a welcome change and shown me once again that contemporary fiction can be incredibly powerful. Growing up with Ekkie throughout the course of the book resonated with me as a woman in my mid-twenties, struggling with some of the same issues that she is facing. Between the UK, Ghana and Italy, Ekkie discovers who she is and what she wants, through and despite the relationships in her life.

Bad Love is incredibly well-written, and audio book narrator Vivienne Acheampong brings it to life just as well. It approaches the intangible and complicated subjects of love and relationships with grace and nuance, and refuses to paint a rosy picture. Love is shown to be just as toxic, heart-breaking, beautiful and exhilarating as it is in real life.

[Evelien · Rating 2 out of 5]

This was beautifully written and I really flew through it, also thanks to the incredible narrator of this book on audible!
Why only 2 stars then?
Because I didn't enjoy the story. I really disliked the protagonist, she comes across as spoiled, conceited, egotistical, harsh and frankly as a "pick-me-girl" that all the boys noticed and flirted with.
However, I disliked Dee even more... He was a complete ass and I couldn't for the love of me understand why he was given all these 'chances' at redemption (which in my opinion he never deserved).

The communication in their relationship and frankly in all relationships that are being portrayed is just missing, as in these charachters DO NOT COMMUNICATE...
Which may be true in a lot of families and relationships, but it's just not something I have patience with.
Also, never did get why Venice was included, to me it seemed a tool for further creating problems in an already troublesome and toxic relationship.

However, I am asuming the author wanted to make us understand that Bad love may take many forms and that both people were bad for eachother and thus both bad lovers/bad at love, and at that she succeeded marvellously! And like I said: the writting is amazing (and I would love to pick up more from this author), just not something in which the plot and storyline frustrate me to no end...
If you are a more patient person than me, you will probably enjoy reading this much more than I did (and that is great, I am happy for you), However, for me it was just: aaaaaargh, would have thrown the book if it wasn't on my Phone... and would have been a 1 star if not for the writting and narration.

[Kabir Kareem-Bello · Rating 4 out of 5]

Bad Love is an aptly named title of this brilliant romance novel by Maame Blue. As a Black British man, one of the things I love about this book is its realistic portrayal of the challenges of young black love England. The fears, joys and vulnerabilities of the main protagonist Ekuah and the two young men she falls in love with are expertly shown on the page. Ekuah is an intelligent young woman trying to navigate her ways through her feelings for my guy Dee and then Jay. the love she has for these two and jumps off the page through Maame’s intimate descriptions. The challenges they all face with this thing called love is not because someone is cheating, or the man is beating the woman- its purely because they are all human who are able to demonstrate their affection through the art of lovemaking but not so easily through words. I am also very impressed at how Maame subtle highlights of how Ekuah’s parents' relationship impacted her relationships.

Maame Blue’s writing style is free-flowing and honest, her words pull you in the world and the feelings of the characters. She also transports us through her journey to find herself in a world of poetry to Ghana, Venice and Paris. Bad Love is an enjoyable page-turner and highly recommended. a very gifted writer who knows the power of words and the impact of Loving Hard...sometimes it hurts but what choice do we have

[Correna · Rating 4 out of 5]

Bad Love by Maame Blue REVIEW - No Spoilers

⅘ Stars

First of all, it goes without saying that the cover art by @dapsdraws is stunning. It matches perfectly the beauty and simplicity of this debut novel by Maame Blue which follows University Student Ekuah through the emotional ups and downs of her early twenties, complete with first love, family complications and lots of challenges- personally and professionally.

Blue’s balance of Ekuah’s character was really effective. At some moments it’s easy to empathise the turmoil of her love life, but it comes with subtle reminders that it is not as if these difficulties are all caused by external factors. It is made very clear that Ekuah is a product of her past experiences and it was interesting to follow her maturing into someone that works past seeing herself primarily as a sum of the opinions of those around her, be they positive or negative influences.

This would be a great read for anyone who wants more than the standard modern love story. If you pick it up then let me know, I’d love to discuss it.

Bad Love is part of the #TwentyIn2020 campaign run by Indie Publisher @Jacarandabooks. I can’t wait to get my hands on more books on the list!

[Tutankhamun18 · Rating 5 out of 5]

Wow. This book was so emotional. The author was fantastic at evoking intense feelings of fear, love/„cuteness vibe“, compassion, annoyance and pining in me. Her writing was gorgeous. The plot was compelling and I felt each event in the protagonists‘ life was perfectly crafted: I was given enough time with the experiences to feel they were real and still that her life progressed. Her parents story haunts her own throughout the book until the culmination, which feels a realistic depiction of how someone might feel about their parents. I really was blown away by this book 😱 Themes of love, loss, isolation, happiness, life purpose, friendship, obsession, memory, soul mates, recovery, trauma and coming of age.


„I had been hoping for some small sign that he was broken without me, not quite himself. In reality, he was exactly as he had always been, just as I also was. Perhaps a part of me was convinced that we could only know we meant something to someone when we could see evidence of the pain we had caused them.“

[Samella · Rating 4 out of 5]

I really loved the writing style, so easy to read and beautifully written.

I just really hated the ending but more so because I wanted to know more of what was said in that final conversation between Dee and Ekuah . But then again it made sense to me that it ended where it did.

I would have loved to know more from the perspective of auntie Genie and her mum but then again that lack of detail really was true to the cultural aspect of the situation. There was a softness and delicacy to their relationship and I found it surprisingly wholesome. Really reinforced the power of true companionship. Makes me think how many stories like this exist. There was such a gentleness about it.

The way in which the author writes about the things that are left unsaid I thought was profound. Its clear to see how even though we can recognise mistakes in the relationships around us especially from our parents , we can’t help but fall into those same rhythms in our own relationships as we navigate young adulthood.

[Tolu Agbelusi · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is a brilliant debut by Maame Blue. A coming of age story but not in the usual sense. Instead it's more true to life. The main protagonist in her series of warped loved stories is growing into herself and into awareness but at the same time, in a twist that we don't often see in these stories, her parents who gloriously unravel are also showing us different ways to love and not to love. They too are growing into themselves and showing that it is never too late to embrace freedom and growth and a lifestyle that works for you even if it is countercultural.
It's great writing too. Once I was hooked, I was totally invested. Sometimes I wanted to snatch the main protagonist through the pages and beat her, other times I was rolling my eyes at the audacity or stupidity of her main love interest. When it ended I was looking for more but also content, because real life only ever brings seeming resolution. I'll be looking out for more installments from this writer.

[Matthew · Rating 3 out of 5]

What a satisfying first read of 2021. BAD LOVE by Maame Blue is a pragmatic yet moving debut.

A deep-dive into fraught relationships, Bad Love pairs psychological introspection with physical passion—drawn out over sizable passages of time. Without hyperbole, it depicts intense, mercurial romance, riding through natural, emotional highs and lows. Bouts of sexual fervor crest and crash into melancholic meandering; moments of peace are disrupted by self-sabotage. All the while, periphery characters and through-lines weave in and out of the narrative, drawing a fully realized, personal world.

I enjoyed this book’s specificity—its rooted call to action for empathy from its reader by presenting truly human characters. I also loved its dialogue, and perhaps more specifically, each character’s very clear subtext undercutting their dialogue. I think this book is salient and relatable. It doesn’t rely on tactics of melodrama to tell a realistically dramatic and truly entertaining story.

[Lara · Rating 4 out of 5]

I’m not sure how i feel about this - it’s currently a 3.5 star read for me. I haven’t been this frustrated or annoyed with a character since I read Ghosts. The writing is good and engaging so I was pulled in even as I didn’t like Ekuah. I mean it could do with a better editor (noticed a couple of mistakes) but it’s still reasonably well written.

I think my main objections to Ekuah are the way she reacts to the situations and the way she self sabotages her relationships. We’ve all been there in our youth making stupid mistakes and sabotaging would-be great relationships but I kept screaming at her level of insanity. I truly hope looking back at my story I didn’t make such stupid mistakes. I guess that’s what also enjoyable about the book.

Very interesting read. Now that I’ve thought about it some more and discussed it - I’ll give it 4.1 because once I got into it, I couldn’t put it down. However I’m deducting marks for the frustration and editing factors.

[K · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is a completely well-rounded romantic romance novel. At the very beginning, before I purchased the book, the cover representation of the book made me wince. I reasoned, ‘It’s a Black author. The face cracked open, erupting prettiness.’ You should read this book if you would like a story with people who are strikingly real. I loved this story because, throughout the book, I saw the calamitous trajectory happening and felt the stress of the characters. I understood why they did the (wrong, cowardly, childish, loving, stupid, sad, exhilarating) thing they did, and I cheered or cried or nodded with them. This book left me wanting a book club to discuss it more, to be honest. There is so very much in it.

Read More: https://medium.com/@karlenejoseph/boo...

[Toluwani Popoola · Rating 4 out of 5]

It was a good book with a good plot line, but gosh the series of events were so frustrating! Understandably they made you want to keep reading through the sighs of frustration.

It made me reflect a bit on past relationships etc and how love, perceptions of love and feelings, and the influence of those around you can really shape your life!

This book really was good, I’d give it 4.5 stars if I could, but it’s not 5 stars because I did take a 3 week break from reading it on holiday but that could just be due to ADHD it wasn’t thrilling/intense enough to grip my attention for longer than 90 minutes on a flight.

I’d give it a good read, made me want to fall in love again (a good love tho lmao)

[Hannah · Rating 3 out of 5]

I found this book as a feature in my local library and picked up up as the front cover was so beautiful. I enjoyed this book in the beginning, the story taking a slow build up to get to anything really, but overall I feel it was disappointing.

I didn’t particularly like any characters as they we’re all quite selfish or annoying. Unfortunately, this was the same for the protagonist, Ekuah. Flip-flopping between different men and having a potential crush on another whilst with one of the men? I can’t understand a bit of spice in a romance, an affair maybe, but this just didn’t really simmer to anything - there was no real climax, just a lot of flip-flopping.

[Pearl Anyetei · Rating 3 out of 5]

A very beautifully written recounting of the twists and turns of young love as it grows older. The use of visual imagery and poetic language as we go on this journey with Ekuah is compelling and I also appreciate the glimpses we get into her parents’ lives and loves.
The connection we see between Ekuah and Dee is all encompassing and always present so for me that takes a bit of tension out of the story. Although Maame does well to capture the seemingly life-ending urgency of young love I think as a mature person looking through Ekuah’s eyes the story unravels only as expected.
Definitely a fun and compelling read!

[Chan Pags · Rating 5 out of 5]

Adored this book.

Firstly, it was so easy to read. Not because its simplistic but because the writing flows so beautifully, you can read through it without having to re-trace your steps. You might pause, but only to give the feeling conveyed a moment to sit in the air.

Secondly, it resonated a lot for me. One doesn't need to have experienced this exact love story to relate to the issues of the characters, who struggle to communicate what they truly feel, and therefore miss out on love.

[Jo The Black Bookworm · Rating 4 out of 5]

I enjoyed the story but Ekuah's character really grated on me through the remainder of the book. I just wanted her to find herself in a way that did not depend or lead back to Dee. I felt so bad for Jay 🙃 Irritated by Dee 🙄 I mean I get it, being young you are finding yourself and learning about what makes you you, and for that the depiction of Ekuah was very accurate.

If you've read this what character turned you cold and which character warmed your heart?

3.5 ⭐

[The Hypenated Reader (Esther) · Rating 5 out of 5]

Loved Bad Love! Read it in less than a day because I was completely hooked by Ekuah and her relationships with Dee and Jay. Can't wait to read what Blue writes next. The writing is so beautiful and poetic.

[Aisha · Rating 4 out of 5]

The way I inhaled this book!! Utterly mesmerising. The love and feeling between Ekuah and Dee was so good lol

[Charlotte Haley · Rating 3 out of 5]

Satisfying ending!

[Aine O connor · Rating 3 out of 5]

*3.5

[Emilie · Rating 5 out of 5]

I thought I hated romantic stories until I read this book. I just want to read more love stories, more, more, more!! 😍😍😍