Bad Love: A Very London Love story

In love, as in war neither hero or villain is immediately obvious...especially when loving in London.

Deeply romantic Ekuah's experience on the dating circuit has her feeling forlorn and adrift - a very classic 21st century London love story.

Her on again - off again situationship with Dee; musician extraordinaire is more draining than she can bear, and when he once again makes a ghost of himself, she reaches her breaking point. Heartbroken, but determined, she channels her energy into searching for new validations and preoccupations, other than the man who keeps getting away.

In comes a new lover in the form of poetry which dreamily moves her across nights in London, Venice, Accra and Paris and into the orbit of the enigmatic Jay Stanley. But what are the sweet words of a poet against a history of hard, bad, rough experiences in love?

As poetry gives her new purpose and Jay promises different outcomes in love, Ekuah must decide if she is willing to trust in love again or let the past decide her future...

Short-listed for Betty Trask Award 2021 (UK) Long-listed for The Booker Prize 2020 (UK)

Bad Love has a somewhat misleading title. Though it is about how we hurt and are hurt in love, it is ultimately about the resilience of love across space and time.
Bad Love reflects the complexities of humanity rather than an idealist's view on humanity. By the end, no one is a hero or villain. The reader takes something of a journey too, one that inspires us to be more open. Rewrite London
Maame Blue's skill at crafting characters that take bits of your heart with them as you read the final pages; is a true gift... Kelechi Okafor
Equal parts romance and coming-of-age story, Blue's emotionally charged debut explores the highs and lows of love... Those looking for heavy emotion in their romance should jump on this one." Publisher's Weekly

Maame Blue is a Ghanaian Londoner, writer. As well as co-hosting Headscarves and Carry-ons-a podcast about black girls living abroad-she regularly runs social media campaigns for and blogs at In 2018 she won the Africa Writes x AFREADA flash fiction competition for her story Black Sky. She has since been published in AFREADA, Afribuku, and Memoir Magazine; with stories forthcoming in Storm Cellar Quarterly and Litro Magazine. She is also the winner of the 2021 Betty Trask Award and was shortlisted for the Betty Trask Prize.

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