Africa's answer to Mills & Boon: romance novels that are hip, fresh & relatable

Ankara Press is serving up a series of wonderfully diverse African love stories, writes Jennifer Platt

I remember pilfering my mother's Mills & Boons from her bookshelves, hiding them between textbooks and exercise books, pretending I was dutifully studying. My parents, of course, knew. They tried not to censor our reading as children, so they didn't say anything. But I censored myself. Somehow I felt that reading these romances was such a clandestine, guilty pleasure that absolutely no one should know. I was about 13 and ashamed that I could devour an entire book in a night, so enthralled was I by their characters and the resolving of their issues to an ultimately satisfactory end.

These romances allowed me to armchair travel - from gloomy moors in Scotland (with handsome, surly-yet-deep-down-inside-a-heart-of-gold lairds as the heroes), to steely high rises in Sydney (with tough, billionaire city slickers looking to find the one true love who could see beyond the ruthless façade they were forced to present to the world).

The best part of a Mills & Boon or other type of romance novel is that you know what you are getting. There's a comforting formula: the hero and heroine meet and decide they cannot stand each other; the moment when they recognise they're attracted; the falling out due to some misunderstanding; and the end - where everything is resolved and love does indeed conquer all.

Even though these books were enjoyable and highly addictive, the romances always felt a bit distant. Not for the likes of me or people that I knew. They were fantasies, yes, but not fantasies that I could relate to.

But that is changing, and rightly so - publishing houses realise there are all sorts of love stories to be told and the public are longing for them. Now there are modern romances in which people, straight or LGBTI, fall in love across all sorts of different races, classes and religions. And a few of the latest ones have turned up the heat to compete with the erotic tales that have filled romance shelves at the bookshops and e-readers thanks to 50 Shades of Grey.

Ankara Press, a romance imprint of Cassava Republic Press in Nigeria, is offering stories that are diverse and fresh - yet still following the formula. Each book features modern characters, women in jobs and cities that are identifiable. Ankara's mission is to "publish a new kind of romance, in which the thrill of fantasy is alive but realised in a healthier and more grounded way".

And the books are refreshing - not only are they a handy handbag size with gorgeous colourful covers, they profile modern women and men who are relatable. "Our stories feature young, self-assured and independent women who work, play and, of course, fall madly in love in vibrant African cities from Lagos to Cape Town. Ankara men are confident, emotionally expressive and not afraid of independent and sexually assertive women. Our sensuous books will challenge romance stereotypes and empower women to love themselves in their search for love, romance and wholesome sex."

There are a few out now.

In Love's Persuasion, the workaholic Ada Okafor lives in Lagos and enjoys her job at the firm City Finance. But somehow her life does not seem all that fulfilling; and then the dashing Tony Okoli becomes the new assistant manager at the firm.

A Tailor-Made Romance has a heroine who's a bit difficult to like. Tishe, a highly ambitious advertising exec, is not thrilled at all when she meets the man of her dreams, Adnan, who turns out to be a tailor. She finds that "she is way out of Adnan's league" but hates herself for being so attracted to a man who she thinks does not have the means to be her equal.

The beautiful setting of the Obudu Mountain Resort in Nigeria is where Kambi retreats to finish her poetry collection and heal her broken heart in Finding Love Again. She finds that her heart is healing just fine thanks to a long-forgotten acquaintance named Beba. He asks Kambi to pretend to be his fake fiancée and she cannot resist his charms.

Cape Town is where Sindi and Edward meet on Christmas Day in The Elevator Kiss and in Black Sparkle Romance Mira and Dominic cannot help falling for each other under the swaying palm trees at Coconut Beach west of Lagos.

In A Taste of Love, Toby finds love with cake-maker Adoo through food, spontaneous dates and as the blurb says, "passionate encounters".

There's definitely a need for different and diverse love stories - and Cassava Press's set of entertaining tales is a very good start.

• Follow the author of this article, Jennifer Platt, on Twitter: @Jenniferdplatt