Not Another Samoosa Run! by Nadia Cassim
‘Indian women expire at twenty-five.’
‘We aren’t milk. We can’t be spoiled.’
Tasneem, a 27-year-old psychology student, is determined to rebuild her life after the devastating loss of her newborn and a painful divorce. But in her close-knit Muslim-Indian community in Gauteng, the stigma of divorce weighs heavily, and her mother insists on finding her a new husband – even if it means orchestrating a traditional ‘samoosa run’.
Aadil is a bachelor hiding a life-changing secret. Under pressure from his devoted mother, he agrees to meet Tasneem. When this encounter sparks an unexpected connection, they strike a deal: a pretend engagement to keep their families off their backs.
But as make-believe turns to something dangerously real, Tasneem and Aadil must confront old wounds and the truth that could tear their worlds – and hearts – apart.
Fabrics of Love by Lebo Mazibuko
After the forced removals in the 1950’s, Lemohang and Fumane Ntoi found themselves in Meadowlands, Soweto. They rebuilt their lives, creating a respectable home for their children, Buang and Seun Ntoi, through education and religion. After Fumane’s death, Lemohang was plunged into a depressive state, having not only lost his wife, but his son who took off, leaving Lemohang with a daughter he resented.
This family saga is told through the lens of the third generation of women who surround Lemohang, the head of the family, as he struggles to hold onto life as he knew it. It is the Ntoi women’s assertiveness, beauty and youth that jeopardises his position and ideals for this family.
We follow Prettygirl, Rosemary and Moipone as they navigate issues around culture, legacy, love and marriage. There are also secrets that threaten to rip apart the fabric that is holding this seemingly picture-perfect family together.
Why Am I Like This? by Qaanitah Hunter
Farah Nosipho Garda leaves her comfort zone in Cape Town to care for her ailing mother in a Johannesburg retirement village. At 27, she’s a perpetual student with no job, no plans, and a deep belief that she’s incapable of real change – stuck in cycles of self-sabotage, anxiety, and longing. But when her mother begins to slip away and the man she thought was her future partner disappears without warning, Farah is forced to ask herself: What if the life she thought she wanted isn’t the one she needs?
Amid the grief, Farah slowly begins to rewrite her story: showing up for herself, caring for her mind and body, trading shame for softness, and learning that self-love isn’t a destination, but a daily decision.
Why Am I Like This? is Eat, Pray, Love for the era of Ozempic, therapy, and situationships – witty, vulnerable, and deeply modern. A love story about coming home to yourself.
Sunshine & Shadows by Busisekile Khumalo
Vimbai, a final-year law student at the University of Zimbabwe, is determined not to join the long line of unemployed graduates. She’d would rather trade sexual favours to get a job than go back to living with her aunt-turned-stepmother. Unlike her roommate, Nosihle, she prides herself on being pragmatic.
Nosihle is the good girl who mistakenly falls in love with the wrong man and then there’s Ruby, the spoilt socialite who is leading a double life. Through their messy choices, their lives become intertwined. Vimbai is looking for someone who can offer her the opulence and grandeur of the Sunshine City. Even if it means sleeping with Cheropa, the former first son and Ruby’s boyfriend. It’s a dog-eat-dog world after all.
But Vimbai soon learns that every action has a consequence and some of our wishes come to haunt us when we are at our happiest. Her carefully orchestrated life takes a nosedive when her secrets are held against her by a mysterious well-connected man.
