Description

A coming-of-age romance about friendship, first love, and the courage it takes to fight for the connections that matter most.

Sixteen-year-old Zenobia spent her childhood living with her paternal grandmother. After she passed away, Zenobia is shipped to Lagos to live with her parents who feel more like strangers, especially her mother, whose coldness is so stinging it makes Zenobia wonder if she’s even wanted at all. So she shuts down. No friends, no attachments, no heartache.

But when she decides to escape the chaos of her home, this time to her maternal grandmother’s quiet village in a small island country, Zenobia finds something she didn’t expect: Raluki.

Warm, open, and impossible to ignore, Raluki pulls Zenobia into his world of laughter, friendship, and the kind of belonging she’s secretly craved—alongside his friends Nicolas and Anara.

Until Zenobia learns the truth—Raluki’s family is known in the village as cursed, and being close to him isn’t just forbidden…it’s risky.

Now Zenobia has to decide between guarding her heart like always… or taking the risk and letting Raluki in.