5 Books on Love and Heartbreak Set in London

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Dalston by Matt Bannister

Continuing my celebration of London, this time with books by female authors about love and heartbreak set (partly) in London. 

As teenagers in Lagos, Ifemelu and Obinze fall in love. Their Nigeria is under military dictatorship, and people are fleeing the country if they can. The self-assured Ifemelu departs for America. There she suffers defeats and triumphs, finds and loses relationships, all the while feeling the weight of something she never thought of back home: race. Obinze had hoped to join her, but post-9/11 America will not let him in, and he plunges into a dangerous, undocumented life in London.

Thirteen years later, Obinze is a wealthy man in a newly democratic Nigeria, while Ifemelu has achieved success as a blogger. But after so long apart and so many changes, will they find the courage to meet again, face to face?



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?



Nic, Caryn and Tory: three girls who form a friendship that should last a lifetime. 
Nic is the daughter of a white Zimbabwean business tycoon. Despite a life of jaw-dropping wealth and privilege, all she really wants is a bit of attention from daddy. Caryn never met her father - but growing up on a tough London sink estate, she had other things to worry about. Like getting out and moving on. Tory just yearns for some space to be herself. Living in the shadow of your dead sister is tough, particularly when she seemed to be everything you're not. 
Then beautiful, ruthless Estelle McKenzie appears on the scene. Estelle has a secret - and one way or another, she's going to make each woman pay a very high price for it.



Lola has everything going for her on the surface, she's beautiful, has a good job and a pretty fun social life with her friends. Until she meets a cool, handsome, unpredictable hunk, Wole at a party in London. He pushes all the right buttons for her, and she is immediately attracted to him. Wole is also irresistibly drawn to Lola, and before long, they get together in a wonderful, passionate romance. But Wole is not all that he seems. He's had a troubled past, and he is hiding some dark secrets.

Things begin to unravel when Wole’s past catches up with him and Lola has to decide if Wole is worth the trouble that threatens to overwhelm her. Find out in this captivating book if their love will overcome the trials of a murder investigation, an arrest, a meddling relative and a trip halfway across the world. Will nothing come close to what they feel for each other?



From Pasta to Pigfoot is a contemporary, multi-cultural novel that tells the story of Faye Bonsu, a pasta-loving, underachieving PA whose upbringing in leafy Hampstead, London has given her little opportunity to understand her African heritage.
Her less than successful attempts to be seen as more than a cultural lightweight take Faye on a journey back to her native Ghana, where she finds love, culture galore and the confidence to fulfill her potential.


From Pasta to Pigfoot explores in a light-hearted way the clash of cultures that has become characteristic of our increasingly multicultural society, and is familiar to those who have first-hand experience of straddling two worlds. Faye’s visit to Ghana is a refreshing exploration of another side of Africa, depicting successful, urban middle class professionals navigating the challenges between traditional and contemporary Africa.

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