Genre Fiction: contemporary romance

Blurb “They say the way to a man’s heart is through his stomach. Yet in this delectable romance it is Toby, manager of cool Jos hangout lounge, the Bar-rage, who wins over feisty single mum and successful cake-maker Adoo Ibi with his tasty pizza. Not to mention his suave good looks and calm, confident demeanour.

Soon, Adoo and Toby are enjoying spontaneous dates and passionate encounters. Adoo is thrilled to find a man who accepts both her and her son, and Toby is drawn to Adoo’s down-to-earth manner and feisty independence. It’s as if they’ve known each other forever. But both have been hurt before and are hesitant to commit to something more. Will Toby and Adoo overcome their pasts and embrace the present, or will they only have A Taste of Love?”

Dialogue Well written, engaging and believable with a smattering of Pidgin and Hausa

Themes Feminism; desire to escape; self-preservation; love and sacrifice; parenthood; insecurity.

Editing Mostly well edited, noticed very few errors.

Plot Adoo is a young, petite baker and single mum living in Jos with her 3-year-old son, Zander. Toby is a young and good looking man running a bar and nightclub in Jos. They are both escaping from their pasts. Unsurprisingly, their pasts come back to haunt them and they both have to confront their pasts in order to begin a future together.

What worked? This is the third book in the Ankara Press series we have reviewed. You may read the first two reviews; A Tailor-made Romance  and Love me Unconditionally.

Author’s description of Jos, its beauty, its slower pace of life, its fragile peace (reference to army checkpoints) gave an insight into another part of Nigeria away from the more popular cities like Lagos and Abuja.

It was a refreshing change from the norm to read about a young single mother as the protagonist in an easy romance novel . Adoo is depicted as an independent single mother who cannot afford to be a damsel in distress. She co-owns an event planning business with her best friend, Aduke and her son is her priority.

However, the author did not whitewash Adoo’s situation. She writes about Adoo’s family’s reaction to her pregnancy out of wedlock. We also read about Toby’s concerns on the reactions of his family and friends to him dating a single mother. We see the intricacies of being a single parent, the depth of a mother’s love and how far Adoo will go to protect her child when she faces a threat to his wellbeing.

Throughout the book, we see how Adoo’s character struggled with insecurity, hoping her relationship with Toby won’t be an echo of her past with her ex. Toby is still hung up on his friend, Hanani who got married to his former friend (I know, I know you have to read the book to understand what is going on here) and this affects the way he relates with Adoo. We see how the love developed between Adoo and Toby, the slow burner kind of love, nothing fervent and feverish.

The plot had enough twists and turns to keep the reader engaged. Both characters are well developed and so the reader could connect with them, their joys, their pains, their fears, their doubts, their wishes and their confusion. All in all, a heart-warming and cute love story.

What didn’t work?

Lady B Since the author referred to the fallout between Adoo and her parents, especially her father who did not like Zander’s dad, it would have made for a more complete story to write a bit more about their reconciliation.

Mo Adoo’s insecurity and how it affected her actions was a little bit predictable.

Number of pages 230

Publisher Ankara Press

Damage N750 on Okadabooks

Rating 6.8/10

You can buy A Taste of Love on Ankara Press, Okadabooks or Amazon.

We would love to hear from you in the comments section, so please, let us know what you think.