This article first appeared in The Pittsburgh Post-Gazette April 28, 2025

In the opening chapter, during a swanky publishing party, Ofosua Addo crosses paths with Cole Drake for the first time. Their flirtatiously witty exchange culminates in a kiss that, if it were a movie, would surely have fireworks in the background.

The next chapter begins with Ofosua’s wedding to another man, one that has her mother’s blessing. As a TikTok influencer might punctuate it, very quickly, this novel has A. Lot. Going. On.

Nana Malone grabs readers’ attention in “Gold Coast Dilemma,” which tells the story of Ofosua, a Ghanaian heiress trying to work her way up the ladder as an intern in the publishing industry. Malone is known for her feel-good, seductive books – and this is one of them.

But it’s about many other things, too, offering readers more layers than a celebration cake.

Two years after her wedding day, Ofosua is single and is one of few people of color at her company’s New York office. Dodging micro- and macroaggressions like potholes, Ofosua keeps a calm and clear head (otherwise, as in one scene, she’s labeled an “angry Black woman” just for speaking), and all readers can feel a fraction of her anger and exhaustion.

It is on her – as it so often is – to educate her co-workers about the differences between Black Americans and African Americans as she navigates authors’ personalities at work. But this leads to a reunion of sorts: She is paired with Cole, who (it turns out) is her boss’s white nephew, on a project to “elevate new voices in commercial African American women’s fiction.”

Ofosua’s connection to her Ghanaian heritage, and her profound love for the vibrant traditions of its Gold Coast, create friction between her and Cole, whom she finds a nuisance at first. Not only is there that awkward kiss from two years prior, but this enemies-to-lovers story also explores how despite both coming from money, they have wildly different backgrounds.

Ofosua deals with anxiety and panic attacks, and each time her mom shows up on the scene, Malone makes readers understand why. Ofosua’s overbearing, controlling, misogynistic mother (and that’s light on the adjectives) and other obnoxious peripheral characters (some racist, some simply annoying) add further chaos to this well-crafted story. This can be both fun and infuriating, and one gets the sense that Malone relishes these scenes.

Each chapter begins with two or three quotes, a foreshadowing move which some readers may find quirky, while others might find distracting. As distracting as the sexual tension between Ofosua and Cole.

The chemistry is clear from the beginning, and is as spicy as Ghanaian jollof. We see why he likes her: She has style, grace and persistence under high-pressure situations. She is, in short, a catch. But the scenes between Cole and Ofosua fail to capture why exactly she falls for him.

Her feelings for Cole are a bit more of a mystery, but the plot would indicate that his attempts at allyship are a big part of her affection. He seems to genuinely want to learn about her culture and life. Beyond that it’s difficult to track the growth of the relationship outside of comparisons to the suitors chosen by her mother, which is a low bar to clear.

The food in “Gold Coast Dilemma” takes center stage as a celebration of Ghanaian culture, and as dish after delicious dish is served and described it will make readers’ stomachs rumble. Yet it is the deep and difficult-to-assemble dish of love across cultural divides that makes this book Malone’s best yet.