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Lovers Rock: Seven Jamaican Love Stories
Seven literary love stories set in Jamaica and infused with the seductive beauty of the island.
Lovers Rock stars its language, its landscape, its vibe, its humor, its edge and its persistent, dogged beauty. These seven stories imagine strange, quirky, familiar and delicious encounters between people in search of romantic love in the twenty-first century. Featuring characters from of all walks of life, each story is connected by the unique vibe of Jamaican desire. Consider the tempo and swoop of Bob Marley’s "Stir It Up" for a taste of what this collection offers, a flavor that infuses these beautifully written love stories generated by some of Jamaica's most gifted literary writers working today. This is the perfect escape, a story whispered in your ear that transports you to places you've once visited and new vistas.
Lovers Rock was curated and edited by Emmy Award winning poet and writer, Kwame Dawes, in partnership with the esteemed Calabash International Literary Festival.
Lovers Rock stars its language, its landscape, its vibe, its humor, its edge and its persistent, dogged beauty. These seven stories imagine strange, quirky, familiar and delicious encounters between people in search of romantic love in the twenty-first century. Featuring characters from of all walks of life, each story is connected by the unique vibe of Jamaican desire. Consider the tempo and swoop of Bob Marley’s "Stir It Up" for a taste of what this collection offers, a flavor that infuses these beautifully written love stories generated by some of Jamaica's most gifted literary writers working today. This is the perfect escape, a story whispered in your ear that transports you to places you've once visited and new vistas.
Lovers Rock was curated and edited by Emmy Award winning poet and writer, Kwame Dawes, in partnership with the esteemed Calabash International Literary Festival.
- GenresRomanceShort Stories
Audible Audio
Published February 20, 2025
7 people are currently reading
94 people want to read
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Displaying 1 - 8 of 8 reviews
April 12, 2025
I am really not an audio book lover but I could not pass up this collection because they are Jamaican love stories written by some of my favorite authors. This collection was truly a delight to listen to, I found myself laughing out loud, cringing, screaming at the narrator and getting all up in my feelings.
These stories got under my skin and stayed there.
Here are stories:
- The Guest House by Patricia Powell
- On The Rock by Alecia McKenzie
- Blue Mountain by Alexia Arthurs
- Homeplace by Diana McCauley
- Shows by Kwame Dawes -
- Let Go On Three by Mateo Askaripour
- The Fastest Man In The World by Maisy Card
I have to say, each story is different and very relatable.
These stories got under my skin and stayed there.
Here are stories:
- The Guest House by Patricia Powell
- On The Rock by Alecia McKenzie
- Blue Mountain by Alexia Arthurs
- Homeplace by Diana McCauley
- Shows by Kwame Dawes -
- Let Go On Three by Mateo Askaripour
- The Fastest Man In The World by Maisy Card
I have to say, each story is different and very relatable.
March 3, 2025
Rounding up for the average
This was delightful overall and a step up from a lot of the short story content that I usually find in the Audible included stuff.
Things I loved:
* Everything being set in Jamaica was just lovely and interesting. And it was often informative in an entertaining way as well.
* Similarly, the narration was generally well done, with the added experience of the Jamaican accent and patois levelling things up
* Surprise queerness? Yes please! The first three stories are sapphic and I was totally here for it.
* Fave stories were: The Guest House, On the Rock, Blue Mountains and Let Go on Three
Things I didn't like as much:
* Most of the stories were a bit insta-love/insta-connection with minimal resolution. I get it - they have less time to build but not my fave romance arc.
* I honestly hated Shoes - the fatphobia, the cheating (which was handled in a shallow and immature way), and the way it felt very written by a man TBH
* The Fastest Man in the World was overall interesting/intriguing but I really dislike this idea that a woman has to choose between one man or another. You don't need a man!
This was delightful overall and a step up from a lot of the short story content that I usually find in the Audible included stuff.
Things I loved:
* Everything being set in Jamaica was just lovely and interesting. And it was often informative in an entertaining way as well.
* Similarly, the narration was generally well done, with the added experience of the Jamaican accent and patois levelling things up
* Surprise queerness? Yes please! The first three stories are sapphic and I was totally here for it.
* Fave stories were: The Guest House, On the Rock, Blue Mountains and Let Go on Three
Things I didn't like as much:
* Most of the stories were a bit insta-love/insta-connection with minimal resolution. I get it - they have less time to build but not my fave romance arc.
* I honestly hated Shoes - the fatphobia, the cheating (which was handled in a shallow and immature way), and the way it felt very written by a man TBH
* The Fastest Man in the World was overall interesting/intriguing but I really dislike this idea that a woman has to choose between one man or another. You don't need a man!
April 8, 2025
I was scrolling on Bookstagram and came across a post about Lovers Rock by 7 Jamaican authors and I headed straight to Audible and added to my Library!! These stories are about love but there are also steeped in the history and culture of Jamaica from guineps to Vybz Kartel. Go listen to this short story collection. I will forever love a Jamaican accent and I want to shout out to the narrators as well!
Here are stories:
- The Guest House by Patricia Powell - ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
- On The Rock by Alecia McKenzie - ⭐️⭐️⭐️
- Blue Mountain by Alexia Arthurs - ⭐️⭐️⭐️
- Homeplace by Diana McCauley - ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
- Shows by Kwame Dawes - ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
- Let Go On Three by Mateo Askaripour ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
- The Fastest Man In The World by Maisy Card ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
Here are stories:
- The Guest House by Patricia Powell - ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
- On The Rock by Alecia McKenzie - ⭐️⭐️⭐️
- Blue Mountain by Alexia Arthurs - ⭐️⭐️⭐️
- Homeplace by Diana McCauley - ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
- Shows by Kwame Dawes - ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
- Let Go On Three by Mateo Askaripour ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
- The Fastest Man In The World by Maisy Card ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
June 6, 2025
Yes, please! Romance stories set in Jamaica. Thanks Kwame Dawes - author/editor&Calabash!
First of all, I don't know why but I was not expecting this collection to have so many OR lead with queer stories, but I'm here for it!
My top 3 stories, in order of appearance and also preference, were:
- On the Rock/If It's Fire Let it Burn by Alecia McKenzie (their love was unexpected and the swooniest, IMO)
- Homeplace by Diana McCauley (this was so real. foreigners love to come down and tell people what they think they don't know)
- Let Go On Three by Mateo Askaripour (this had a slow and overly explain-y start, but actually made me giggle a couple times with their playful shenanigans!)
Some of these stories did that thing where they tried to explain every cultural thing for non-natives, and while I get wanting to meet the reader where they are, it can really mess with the pacing. Google is free.
First of all, I don't know why but I was not expecting this collection to have so many OR lead with queer stories, but I'm here for it!
My top 3 stories, in order of appearance and also preference, were:
- On the Rock/If It's Fire Let it Burn by Alecia McKenzie (their love was unexpected and the swooniest, IMO)
- Homeplace by Diana McCauley (this was so real. foreigners love to come down and tell people what they think they don't know)
- Let Go On Three by Mateo Askaripour (this had a slow and overly explain-y start, but actually made me giggle a couple times with their playful shenanigans!)
Some of these stories did that thing where they tried to explain every cultural thing for non-natives, and while I get wanting to meet the reader where they are, it can really mess with the pacing. Google is free.
September 1, 2025
I don't normally like romance novels, but this was the exception. It included spicy stores that did not always have the traditional happy ending and ensured that all aspects of Jamaican culture was captured. The voice actors did a good job of voicing the multiple characters in each story.
This was very enjoyable.
This was very enjoyable.
July 4, 2025
3.5 - first two stories were 4 and my favourite. The rest are solid 3s, Nice theme of attachment to the land
July 23, 2025
4 stars for the stories
3 stars for the narration
Audible really needs to do better narrating Caribbean stories.
3 stars for the narration
Audible really needs to do better narrating Caribbean stories.
June 1, 2025
I tried to read this book but it was so bad that I just couldn't.
Displaying 1 - 8 of 8 reviews