IMAGINE these: The rain beating a pattern on the window, a mug of hot chocolate steaming by your side, an Afrobeat tune subtly stimulating your eardrums and a good book in your hand. This is how I spent my evening and I must admit, it was a wonderful adventure.For the first time ever, a book tossed me into this kaleidoscope of time frames when I opened Cruel Passion, Dayo Oladele-Ilori's second novel.At one moment, I was in 21st century West Africa, in the next, I was shuttled across the pond to the America of the 70's. I almost put the book down in vexation; however, Dayo very well knows how to spin a yarn. With her simple writing language, one readily wants to wine and dine with the colourful and solid characters in Cruel Passion. The building blocks with which she creates the nooks and crevices of this fictional world leave a sweet aftertaste, albeit at times excessively.The story in the 184-page novel reiterates around the age-old warning on Karma, which comes back around and bites us hard. Young Williams paid no heed to this warning. He let his passions control his head. He paved way for his hunger to bury his humanity. He sought to eat his cake, have it and still make a profit on it. Where will this journey take him' What will his morrow bring' It exhibits a symphony of two extremes of life continuum: 'What you sow, you reap' and 'Bad things do happen to good people.'With Dayo's words, she paints a picture, which will reach out to many hearts; shedding a light on some of society ills. This is a book everyone who has ever been in love, everyone who has ever been wronged and everyone who has ever been heartbroken ought to read. For those of you who have been lucky or unlucky enough to avoid the aforementioned, a word (or two) is enough for the wise ' Read It!Regardless of where you currently tread on life's path, be you a budding teen or a parent with wisdom and experience between the ears, you will find a niche for yourself in Dayo's world. The storyline is enthralling, filled with honey, simultaneously putting a zing on your views on humanity and sweetening up your love pots.Dayo Oladele-Ilori is a prolific author, a seasoned management consultant and a life coach. Her robust collection of poems includes Ashes, Friendship, The Dance and Disillusioned, amongst others, which has graced different magazines and has been published on websites like poetry.com. Her first book 'You Shall be Fruitful' is in high demand and has impacted many lives positively.Her deep passion for people and the desire to share real life experiences and counsel others has given birth to the idea of an interactive online magazine where real life issues on marriage, family and career will be addressed. She dreams of presenting her books as screen plays, movies and in different language translations across continents. An applied geologist, a certified database administrator, Dayo currently studies at Business School Netherland. She lives in Lagos with her husband, Tayo Ilori, and they are blessed with two lovely children.After devouring this novel, I have to confess that I will be looking forward to her next tale. I see potential. I see a gift-filled Pandora's box. This author is one we definitely need to keep an eye on. I am glad I was given the opportunity to see my motherland, its culture and the mindset of her people from the eyes of this author. Dayo Oladele-Ilori kept me up all night and I hold no grudge. Even the lack of power from PHCN that night could not keel that ship over.Cruel Passion is a new title under the Echo series published by Learn Africa Plc (formerly Longman). The Echo series are published to improve the Nigerian reading culture and create an avenue for the promotion of the Nigerian core values of hard work, selflessness, devotion, dedication, etc. The series are stories of African origin that are of international standards and promote creativity and local authorship.
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