Gold Coast Dilemma is a slow-burn contemporary romance by Nana Malone featuring a Ghanaian American heiress who must choose between culture and a love connection (4.25/5 stars)

Gold Coast Dilemma is a slow-burn contemporary romance by Nana Malone featuring a Ghanaian American heiress who must choose between culture and a love connection.

Ofosua first crosses paths with Cole during an opulent publishing party, where they both share an amazing kiss after hiding out on a balcony. Shortly after, she finds out he’s one of the big wigs at her new job, and he doesn’t seem to remember her at all. A few years later, Ofosua is engaged to a man her overbearing mother loves. However, after her Ghanaian wedding ends abruptly in a spectacle, she knows she has to sort out what she really wants out of life.

I inhaled this book in one day! I ended up doing an immersive read, listening to the audiobook while following along in the physical book from time to time.

The book is dual POV and I love it when the audiobook has two narrators! Both of them did a great job, but I think Soneela Nankani knocked all of the accents out of the park. While Tim Paige didn’t have to dip too much into accents, I appreciated how much emotion and inflection he put into the narration.

If you like books that talk about the publishing industry you should absolutely pick this one up! Ofosua starts out as an Assistant Editor, but has some promotions during the initial time skip, and then is assigned a cool project when we get into the meat of the book. I love getting little glimpses into the process of how books happen, and our main character definitely works hard to make her dreams come true.

I loved rooting for her. The book also did a great job talking about racial stereotypes and how to fight back against microaggressions. It also talked a little bit about neurodivergence, as Ofosua deals with anxiety that can sometimes lead to panic attacks.

Ofosua’s character development was pretty well done, but though Cole had some too I wish we could have dug into his stuff a bit more. His issues felt a little more tied up in a bow, especially with something that happens towards the end of the book. I appreciated that he tried to educate himself on how to be an ally for Ofosua, but there were times where he’d cross a boundary or didn’t realize his own privilege that were a little disappointing (but very true to life).

This book is pretty funny, especially when Ofosua and her mother are in the same room. I laughed out loud more times than I could count! Also, the descriptions of all of the food were impeccable. I kind of wished there were some recipes in the back of the book! I’ll definitely be going out for some good food sometime soon; there’s a place with amazing fufu and plantains that I need to revisit.

And head’s up, though this book is titled Gold Coast Dilemma, it is set primarily in the US.

I received a complimentary review copy from Simon Audio (via LibroFM), Gallery Books, and NetGalley. All opinions contained herein are my own.

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