Just in time for Valentine's Day, is Precious Reuben's romance novel, Treasure of Mine. Stella has just returned to Lagos after many years in Canada to introduce her new boyfriend, Nick, to her family. There's just one problem - he's white and her father is kinda-sorta racist. Like a lot of Nigerian fathers he believes his daughter should be with a Nigerian man and preferably one from the same ethnic group. Nick, is successful, wealthy, and handsome working in the diamond industry (his grandfather started his own jewelry company) in Canada, but his wealth doesn't impress Chief Ndube, Stella's father, who can't see past the color of his skin.
Interracial relationships at the best of times can be difficult, and although Nick and Stella love each other, while in Nigeria a secret is revealed of an ultimate betrayal decades ago which makes Chief Ndube dislike Nick even more than he already does. This of course affects Nick and Stella's relationship. Added to that is Obike, Stella's childhood friend, who has been in love with her forever, and Nick's father who tests his allegiance with the family business. Will Nick and Stella survive her father's disdain for him? Will they choose their family, and their family's business, over their love? Or will Obike finally get Stella - the love of his life?
I don't generally tend to read romance novels, and I might have said it a while back that Myne Whitman's A Heart to Mend was my first foray into the genre and I was pleasantly surprised at how much I enjoyed it. I found Treasure of Mine easy to read and I did enjoy the fact that it was about an interracial couple. Also Chief Ndube's reaction to Nick, probably isn't dissimailar to the way a Nigerian father might react to his child bringing home someone of a different race. I did wonder how her father would have reacted if she not only brought home a Canadian, but also one who wasn't wealthy. While I did enjoy reading it, and I did wonder as I kept on reading who she would end up with, I have to say there were way too many coincidences for my liking.
If romance is your genre of choice, and you want to find out what happens between Nick, Stella and Obike,Treasure of Mine will be available from February 14. I'd also like to say a big thank you to Precious Reuben for sending me a copy to read.
3 out of 5 stars.
