We are delighted to announce the addition of two, richly immersive titles to our catalogue. We present these masterfully crafted literary fiction titles that explore the depths of human relationships, with an assortment of valuable experiences and high-stakes outcomes. These stories feature characters plagued by guilt, betrayal, tragedy, and confound crossroads. Regardless of their many imperfections and questionable choices, it’s easy to root for and identify with them, as their plights easily mirror the universal human condition.
BROKEN: Not a Halal Love Story by FATIMA BALA
Broken: Not a Halal Love Story is a rich and thought-provoking exploration of love, faith, family, and friendships. Often, we wonder if love is enough—if love can truly change a person. In this stunning lovers’ tale, the author explores the lengths the individual is willing to go, and the various ways we bend ourselves to fit into the delicate crevices of love.
One kiss was all it took to shake their world.
Meet Fa’iza, a conservative Muslim girl, who moves to Canada for university and is cared for by her mother’s friend, aunty Mami.
Meet Ahmad, aunty Mami’s son, who finds himself engrossed in a beautiful friendship and romance with Fa’iza.
At first tentative and subtle, the attraction between Fa’iza and Ahmad soon becomes consuming. They find themselves navigating the complicated web of culture and customs, haram and hadith, in order to find a sacred spot for the love they feel for each other to flourish. And just when it seems like they have succeeded, an unforeseen incident from their past brings everything they believed in, and built, to the precipice of ruin.
Broken has been critically appraised as:
“An exquisite, elegantly written love story immersed in a wealth of culture and pulsating with intensity.”
—Adesuwa O’Man Nwokedi
“A beautiful heart wrenching tale of love and loss.”
—New York Weekly
About the Author
Fatima Bala is a lecturer, poet, and writer who lives in Canada with her family and a pet fish named Fishy. Her books have received starred reviews from The Los Angeles Tribune, London Post, and New York Weekly. She graduated from Algonquin College, Vancouver Island University, and Stanford, where she studied Tourism, Business Management, and International Women’s Rights. She loves traveling, playing board games, and watching movies with unanticipated twists.
AFTER THE END by OLUKOREDE S. YISHAU
After The End tells the story of two women linked by a common tragedy. Olukorede depicts, through these women, the ways people cope with grief, the paths to finding closure, and navigating a web of betrayal, racism, and motherhood while grappling with life’s complexities. Despite the tragic bent of the story, Olukorede embellishes the narration with a charming, nostalgic romance.
Idera’s world crumbles when her husband, Demola, dies. As she battles with this reality, she is met with a shocking discovery. A woman appears at her door with a child in hand—Demola’s son.
The love of her life, the man whom she felt could do no wrong by her and her children, had betrayed her.
Idera is whisked into a place of uncertainty, scrutinising everything she’s ever known to be true, unbeknownst to her that even more tragedy and surprises await. She must fight to save herself and her children.
After The End has been critically appraised as:
“A humane and sympathetic narration of the frailty of human connections.”
—Jumoke Verissimo
“A riveting tale of love and hate that grips you from the very first line. A must read.”
—Jude Idada
About the Author
Olukorede S. Yishau is a Nigerian creative writer and multiple award-winning journalist. His first novel In The Name of Our Father was nominated for the Nigerian Prize for Literature, Africa’s largest literary prize, in 2021. After The End is his fourth book and second novel. Yishau is the United States Bureau Chief for The Nation Newspapers. He lives in Houston, Texas.
The titles are scheduled for release in the third quarter of 2024. Specific publication dates and cover reveals will be announced soon. For more information, please contact: Theresa Ominiabohs at +234 701 838 3286, email: info@masobebooks.com, follow us @Masobebooks on Instagram and Twitter, or visit the Masobe Books website at www.masobebooks.com