The romance novel–and perhaps a certain hyper-romantic spirit–is abloom in the digital age, and Africa is no small part of it. African authors have been writing distinctively African romances (as well as ghostwriting many of the romance novels being churned out and sold on Amazon and the like by non-African authors). In celebration of #ReadingAfrica Week 2024, we scratch the surface of the African romance novel with this romance novel wishlist. 

In the spirit of Catalyst’s mission to reveal the world from different perspectives and different understandings, we are working with an expansive idea of romance, meaning that some of these books feature great love stories, but don’t always end with the mandatory HEA (Happily Ever After). Please also check out our #ReadingAfrica Romance novel list on Bookshop.org https://bookshop.org/lists/reading-africa-2024-romance for more romance books from Africa.

For 2025 Africa romance books try this list on Bookshop.orghttps://bookshop.org/lists/2025-books-from-african-authors-and-authors-of-african-descent. 

Walking With Shadows by Jude Dibia https://bookshop.org/a/1669/9781411619340

According to Brittle Paper, "the first west African novel centered on a gay protagonist."

Publisher: Ebele Njoko had survived a forlorn and poignant childhood, concealing a secret he could not explain and craving the love and approval of his parents. Years later he reinvents himself and is now known and respected as Adrian Njoko, father, husband, brother and mentor. One phone call and his life as he knows it is changed forever. In coming to terms with his dark secret Adrian is forced to choose between keeping his family or accepting a life of possible loneliness and rejection.

Jaiye Jaiye by Adesuwa O’man Nwokedi

https://thefertilechick.ng/jaiye-jaiye/

Jaiye is engaged to her high-school sweetheart, Yomi; a chubby, sweet-natured guy whom everyone loves. Even though she loves him, she finds herself agitated about being engaged at the age of 24. She suffers a severe meltdown as the wedding planning progresses, and finally ends the engagement, breaking Yomi’s heart. She is finally as free as a bird and able to do all she really wants to do; return to school, travel the world and build a career. She is loving the single life. Until she turns 30…and suddenly, the single life doesn’t seem quite so appealing. After a chance encounter with a revamped Yomi, she begins to wonder if, maybe, she made the mistake of her life letting him go. Will she win back the love of her life? Or will she find love elsewhere?

Amber Fire by Aminat Sanni-Kamal https://www.loveafricapress.com/product-page/amber-fire-by-aminat-sanni-kamal-ebook

Publisher: Set in the vibrant city of Lagos and the mystical realm of Ilu-Orisa, the story is about Toyin, a descendant of powerful devout worshippers of Sango, the Yoruba god of thunder and fire. When her long-time boyfriend selfishly demands she abandons her dreams to become his wife, Toyin invokes the wrath of Sango on him. Unknown to her, Sango seeks to find at least one human who still remembers him. A human who loves him. Bound by fate and destiny, Toyin and Sango embark on a perilous emotional journey to find his lost symbol of authority. As their connection deepens, Sango must confront ancient adversaries, conspiracies and divine alliances and make the ultimate sacrifice for love. Will Toyin's love be enough to restore Sango to his rightful position, or will they be consumed by the fiery depths of their destiny? 

Love and Handicrafts by Nana Prah https://www.loveafricapress.com/product-page/love-and-handicrafts-by-nana-prah-paperback

Publisher: Precious Kpodo has no time for things as futile as love. Nothing will derail her goal of opening a rehabilitation centre, especially a man. That is until her path crosses with her latest client’s son. He does more than catch her eye. He unlocks her passion. However, they can’t be together because he’s an Ashanti. After the torment she endured when her parents died, she vowed never to get involved with that tribe again. Even if her heart is enflamed for the forbidden. Osei Aboagye has finally met a woman who captivates him even more than the handicrafts and furniture he creates in his limited spare time. Despite their magnetic attraction, he forces himself to stay away because Precious is from the one tribe that his father insists his children don’t date. But, no matter how much Osei tries, he can’t deny they belong together, and now he must choose between love and loyalty. But loving the enemy could cost him everything, including being cast out from his family.

The Tainted Prince by Kiru Taye

https://www.loveafricapress.com/product-page/the-tainted-prince-paperback-kiru-taye

Publisher: Crown Prince Zawadi has prepared for one thing all his life—to become the next king of Bagumi Kingdom. Driven by the need to uphold the traditions and the prestigious name of the Royal House of Saene, he strives to balance culture and technology in building a better nation. Until his perfect world becomes tainted by an assassination attempt and a woman who goes against everything he believes.

The Thing With ZolabyZibu Sithole https://a.co/d/cZJVzac

Publisher: Twenty-nine-year-old Zola has spent the past ten years working and studying in Europe, thanks to a series of high school bursaries and opportunities that allowed her to escape the hardships of South Africa. 

But when her visa finally expires and there are no further prospects in sight, she has no choice but to leave behind her life, lover and the dreams she has begun to build in Germany and return home to an uncertain future.

The Thing with Zola is a humorous and sexy beach read about a young woman navigating the working world, family politics and an unexpected office romance, all while trying to figure out her place in a country that no longer feels like home. Basically, it's complicated.

I Do ... Don't I?by Zibu Sitole https://a.co/d/eHOjO18

Publisher: The much-anticipated sequel to the popular novel The Thing with Zola. It continues the sparkling and tender love story of free-spirited Zola and charismatic Mbali, traversing the vibrant landscapes of Kigali and Johannesburg as they navigate a long-distance relationship and the question of commitment. Will they say I do?

The cast is complete with the interweaving of the vivacious Okuhle on her heart-stirring journey to marriage, the audacious Thobile rebelling against societal norms, and the stoic Ongama navigating upheavals in her married life.

Personal desires collide with expectations, painting a unique picture of the nuances of love, dreams, and the trials of responsibilities and relationshipping. The result is a whirlwind of emotions, laughter, poignant revelations and the quest for a fairytale ending.

I Do … Don't I? is guaranteed to sweep you off your feet.

Co-wives, Co-widows by Adrian Yabuza https://bookshop.org/a/1669/9781912868773

Publisher: The first adult work of fiction from the Central African Republic to be translated into English.

This is the story of Ndongo Passy and Grekpoubou, the two widows of Lidou. Following their husband’s sudden and unexplained death, they find themselves fighting tooth and nail for all that is important to them.

A playful, bittersweet, story full of dry wit and local colour, set against a backdrop of political instability, corruption and the friction between the old and the new in Bangui in the Central African Republic.

Love Interrupted by Reneilwe Malatji https://bookshop.org/a/1669/9781946395092

Sisters, friends, aunts, mothers, daughters, grandmothers, mothers-in-law

Publisher: In her debut collection of short fiction, Reneilwe Malatji invites us into the intimate lives of South African women—their whispered conversations, their love lives, their triumphs and heartbreaks. This diverse chorus of female voices recounts misadventures with love, family, and community in powerful stories woven together with anger, politics, and wit. Malatji crafts an engaging collection full of rich, memorable characters who navigate work, love, patriarchy, and racism with thoughtfulness, strength, and humor.

Season of the Crimson Blossoms by Abubakar Adam Ibrahim https://bookshop.org/a/1669/9781911115007

Publisher: From one of Nigeria’s most exciting and distinctive new storytellers comes a debut novel that is making waves across the African continent.

An illicit affair between 55-year-old widow Binta Zubairu and 25-year-old weed dealer and political thug Hassan "Reza" was bound to provoke condemnation in conservative Northern Nigeria. Brought together in startling circumstances, Binta and Reza discover a need that only each can satisfy in the other. Binta, a grandmother of five, yearns for intimacy after the sexual repression of her marriage, the pain of losing her first son, and the privations of widowhood. Meanwhile, Reza seeks to lessen the pain of estrangement from his mother, and the increasingly remote link to his father, by seeking solace in an unconventional emotional and physical relationship.

Through Binta, we follow the intimate daily life of a Muslim Hausa family - where life revolves around domestic disputes and divorces, friendship and whispers, and religious instruction at the madrasa. By contrast, Reza is the self-pronounced Lord of San Siro, an urban cesspit that is home to a gang of misfits, outcasts, and thugs.

The situation comes to a head when these two worlds collide, with disastrous consequences. This story of love and longing - set against undercurrents of political violence - unfurls gently, revealing layers of emotion that defy age, class, and religion.

A Love Like This: A Short Story by Abubakar Adam Ibrahim (audiobook) https://a.co/d/8hGWlWm

Publisher: A sweeping, evocative short story that spans decades, A Love Like This is a captivating tale of love and self-discovery from award-winning Nigerian author Abubakar Adam Ibrahim.

Yarima Lalo believes he has been murdered twice before. The cause? Love. To make sense of these vivid memories he cannot shake, he travels from Abuja to Kano with his new friend and love interest Aziza to meet an old woman who he might have known in a past life. She is skeptical at first - and hesitant to revisit painful memories of her own - but together, they dig deeper and deeper into the past, piecing together a shared history with ripple effects that could shape Lalo’s future.

The Elevator Kiss by Amina Thula https://cassavarepublic.biz/product/the-elevator-kiss-copy/

Publisher: A steamy romance set in the beautiful city of Cape Town. It’s Christmas and Sindi has been invited to her friend’s stunning new apartment for dinner. She finds herself in the elevator with a handsome man in a dashing blue suit. Their impromptu kiss under the mistletoe ignites unanticipated desire. But Sindi is focused on rebuilding her life after a messy break-up. Edward is the last thing she needs. Or so she thinks.

Love’s Persuasion by Ola Awonubi https://cassavarepublic.biz/product/loves-persuasion/

Things are changing at Lagos firm City Finance. But for Ada Okafor, a bright and dedicated trainee, the only change worth noticing is the dashing, new British-trained assistant MD, Tony Okoli. Ambitious and determined, Ada ignores her feelings for Tony and focuses on juggling her work in accounts with studying. But the two are drawn together and they embark on a secret and passionate affair. Their love is truly tested as they fight to persuade themselves and the world that love, in the end, trumps social status.

African Love Stories: An Anthology Paperback, edited by Ama Ata Aidoo https://a.co/d/eInEyz3

Publisher: This radical collection of short stories is a double award-winning book aimed at debunking the myth about African women as impoverished victims. The stories deal with challenging themes representing some of the most complex love stories ever published from Africa, ranging from labour pains to burials, teenagers to octogenarians, race-fraught and same-sex relationships, the human heart is out there, bold bleeding and occasionally triumphant. With contributions from 21 African women writers as follows: From Sudan Leila Aboulela From Egypt Nawal El Saadawi From Cote d’Ivoire Véronique Tadjo From Ghana Yaba Badoe From Nigeria Tomi Adeaga, Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie, Sefi Atta, Rounke Coker, Anthonia C Kalu, Sarah Ladipo Manyika, Promise Ogochukwu, Molara Ogundipe, Helen Oyeyemi and Chika Unigwe. From Kenya Wangui wa Goro From South Africa Antjie Krog, Sindiwe Magona. From Uganda Monica Arac de Nyeko, Doreen Baingana and Mildred Kiconco Barya From Zimbabwe Blessing Musariri