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SHORTLISTED FOR THE WOMEN’S PRIZE FOR FICTION 2023
SHORTLISTED FOR THE WATERSTONES DEBUT FICTION PRIZE 2023
AN OBSERVER BEST DEBUT NOVEL OF THE YEAR

It’s time to dance, to love, to be free…

‘Mesmerising’ BERNARDINE EVARISTO, author of Girl, Woman, Other
‘Fabulous’ MAGGIE O'FARRELL, author of Hamnet
‘Beautiful’ CALEB AZUMAH NELSON, author of Open Water

Yamaye lives for the weekend, when she can go raving with her friends at The Crypt, an underground club on the outskirts of London. Then everything changes. Yamaye meets Moose, who she falls deeply in love with, and who offers her the chance of freedom and escape.

After their relationship is brutally cut short, Yamaye goes on a dramatic journey of transformation that leads her to Jamaica, where past and present collide with explosive consequences.

SHORTLISTED FOR THE JHALAK PRIZE 2024
SHORTLISTED FOR THE AUTHOR’S CLUB BEST FIRST NOVEL AWARD 2024
SHORTLISTED FOR THE PAUL TORDAY PRIZE 2024
SHORTLISTED FOR THE McKITTERICK PRIZE 2024
A SUNDAY TIMES AND GUARDIAN BOOK OF THE YEAR

‘A wonderfully literary, musical and original novel about a culture and era that rarely makes the pages of fiction’ TIMES LITERARY SUPPLEMENT

‘Scorching… We follow Yamaye through love, loss and peril, as she chases her dreams and connects with her heritage’ GUARDIAN

‘Ambitious, atmospheric… A novel of passion and anger’ SUNDAY TIMES

‘A rich and rhythmic story about love and music’ iNEWS