Why am I passionate about this?

I’m from Mauritius, of Indian heritage, and proudly African. I remember reading my first chick-lit romance circa 2001, thinking Mauritius has everything—the drama, the over-the-top characters, love matches, exciting backdrops both physical & cultural—to create great rom-coms & uplifting fiction…but where were such stories? A decade later, I was helping other African authors showcase their feel-good books by creating an imprint dedicated to African romance with a US publisher. I’m an author who loves to write about her country & life experiences, and I have the perfect day job for a bookworm as an editor who specializes in editing romance stories for indie authors & publishers alike.


I wrote

The One That Got Away

By Zee Monodee,

Book cover of The One That Got Away

What is my book about?

Falling in love and finding ‘the One’ is hard enough. What happens when two people come from different origins and…

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The books I picked & why

Book cover of Just The Way I Am

Zee Monodee Why did I love this book?

I love an amnesia trope, and this one delivered!

I couldn’t read fast enough to find out who Zoe really was before her accident and how everything would be revealed. And Jo Watson delivered a rollicking ride filled with feelings–so much feels!–and it just kept getting better, coming together like a tapestry right until the end. It was a journey the heroine went on, and as a reader, I also went along with her, which was magical & so enthralling!

Set in Johannesburg mainly and the South African countryside, it showed normal people living normal lives amid extraordinary circumstances, all with a feel-good, rom-com vibe throughout.

By Jo Watson,

Why should I read it?

1 author picked Just The Way I Am as one of their favorite books, and they share why you should read it.

What is this book about?

She's starting over. And the real her is letting loose.

From the author of the 100,000+ copy-selling rom-com, Love to Hate You! No one makes you laugh like Jo Watson!

If you love by Mhairi McFarlane, Sophie Ranald, Sophie Kinsella and Paige Toon, you'll LOVE Jo Watson - readers are raving about her glorious rom-coms!

Readers are already WOWED by Just The Way I Am!

'Without a doubt Jo Watson's best book so far, and I've almost read all of them'

'I have read ALL of Jo Watson's previous books and this is quite possibly my new favourite'

'An intricate…


Book cover of Destiny for Love Arranged

Zee Monodee Why did I love this book?

I’m of Indian heritage, and when I see Indian-origin protagonists, I’m on it like white on rice! Add to it another trope: I love the marriage of convenience, and I was hooked.

Now, you can expect Indian protagonists to mean Indian families, usually big, often messy, and definitely loud. I just needed a Bollywood-style soundtrack in the background, and this one would’ve been a perfect blockbuster from Bollywood.

Vash Karuppa also knows how to write feelings, delve deep, and make you feel everything that’s roiling inside her main characters’ hearts. Definitely, a thrilling, colourful, boisterous ride where love is swept along whether it wants to or not!

By Vash Karuppa,

Why should I read it?

1 author picked Destiny for Love Arranged as one of their favorite books, and they share why you should read it.

What is this book about?

All business-no-pleasure CEO of Hotel Empire, Keshavam Industries, Aariyan Ranjan, and successful Oncologist, Varini Iyengar, have known one another for sixteen years. When she last saw him Varini was left completely shattered as Aariyan walked away from their newfound love and out of her life. He was the first man she longed for, the first man she truly desired, and the first and only man she had ever loved. Aariyan had loved her back, but fuelled by uncontrollable demons he abandoned her, ending their love in devastating heartbreak.

In order to seal the deal of a lifetime Aariyan needs a…


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Book cover of The Woman at the Wheel

The Woman at the Wheel By Penny Haw,

Inspiring historical fiction based on the real life of Bertha Benz, whose husband built the first prototype automobile, which eventually evolved into the Mercedes-Benz marque.

"Unfortunately, only a girl again."

From a young age, Cäcilie Bertha Ringer is fascinated by her father's work as a master builder in Pforzheim, Germany.…

Book cover of Love Happens, Eventually

Zee Monodee Why did I love this book?

Imagine if Bridget Jones had been African–Nigerian, to be more precise, and instead of just a nosy/meddling mother, she had a huge Yoruba family to contend with! I absolutely adored the POV of the heroine, Nifemi, in this tale! I could read her stream-of-consciousness chapter starts forever and not be bored.

Feyi Aina writes with humour and that special touch of "down to Earth" that makes her heroine resonate. Anyone with a big, traditional family–whether Nigerian, Indian, or even Irish–will totally get Nifemi and her struggle to find what love means and where it’s waiting for her.

By Feyi Aina,

Why should I read it?

1 author picked Love Happens, Eventually as one of their favorite books, and they share why you should read it.


Book cover of His Inherited Princess

Zee Monodee Why did I love this book?

I’m a sucker for all things Royal! Give me a prince and/or princess looking for love in today’s world, and I’m sold. This one has a princess and a prince!

Imagine you’re a princess bidden to enter a marriage of convenience with a neighbouring land’s prince. Then, on your wedding day, you get into an accident, your new husband dies, and when you wake from a coma, you find you’ve now been legally married off to the new Crown Prince, aka your late husband’s younger brother. And he’s hot as sin itself!

This one is more on the steamy side, but don’t let it deter you. Amidst all the heat is a treasure trove of feels and warring emotions and a seismic journey of falling for the "wrong" person who now happens to be exactly the right one!

By Empi Baryeh,

Why should I read it?

1 author picked His Inherited Princess as one of their favorite books, and they share why you should read it.

What is this book about?

India Saene, Princess of Bagumi, must enter a marriage alliance to save her kingdom from an economic crisis. Tragedy strikes when her husband of a few hours is killed in an accident on the way to their honeymoon. She recovers from a coma two weeks later to discover she has been inherited by her husband's younger brother! Sheikh Omar El Dansuri has never wanted to be king, nor does he desire a wife. However, when his older brother dies, he not only becomes the future king of Sudar, but he also inherits his brother’s bride through an age-old tradition. Falling…


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Book cover of I Meant to Tell You

I Meant to Tell You By Fran Hawthorne,

When Miranda’s fiancé, Russ, is being vetted for his dream job in the U.S. attorney’s office, the couple joke that Miranda’s parents’ history as antiwar activists in the Sixties might jeopardize Russ’s security clearance. In fact, the real threat emerges when Russ’s future employer discovers that Miranda was arrested for…

Book cover of Keeping Secrets

Zee Monodee Why did I love this book?

Another one with the amnesia trope (I told you it’s a fave of mine!) Except in this one, the hero wakes up with amnesia, not recalling that his gorgeous wife is his on paper only…Kiru Taye can write angst! Feelings in general, but angst, turmoil, and passion that don’t just mean an opened bedroom door? She delivers.

I loved witnessing the romance brewing here and just waiting for the other shoe to drop. When it did, everything escalated, yet at no point did it feel like "too much." I also loved how it showed me a slice of Nigeria, in lifestyle, culture, and day-to-day living, that I’d never experienced before, opening my eyes to what life on the African continent is truly like when one looks beyond the trauma and misery overflowing in African literature.

By Kiru Taye,

Why should I read it?

1 author picked Keeping Secrets as one of their favorite books, and they share why you should read it.


Explore my book 😀

The One That Got Away

By Zee Monodee,

Book cover of The One That Got Away

What is my book about?

Falling in love and finding ‘the One’ is hard enough. What happens when two people come from different origins and cultures in a country hailed as a rainbow nation but where divisions still exist as invisible lines? Not only this, but my heroine, Lara, is also saddled with another society taboo—the label of ‘divorcee’ painted like a scarlet letter on her back.

Lara is of Indian heritage. Eric is a French-Mauritian (i.e., his family owned the plantations Indian indentured labour—Lara’s ancestors—came to work for!) You might think all this happened in the 1800s—what bearing does this have in today’s world? As it happens, quite a lot… Can love prevail?

Book cover of Just The Way I Am
Book cover of Destiny for Love Arranged
Book cover of Love Happens, Eventually

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Interested in Africa, India, and amnesia?

Africa 265 books
India 491 books
Amnesia 58 books