Book details
- Author: Ngozi Bolin
- Publisher: Pantraxxa LLC
- Genre: Romantic comedy
- Published: June 7, 2025
- Length: 453 pages (hardcover)
- Formats: Hardcover, paperback, Kindle, audiobook
- ISBN-13: 978-1967733309
- Language: English
Palmwine & Persimmons
A novel by Ngozi Bolin
Palmwine & Persimmons is a cross-cultural romantic comedy by Ngozi Bolin, published by Pantraxxa. A Harvard anthropology PhD candidate and a Nigerian-born Harvard Law star clash in a campus debate, then find themselves accidental roommates.
About the book
Maya Han-Levine is a fiercely intellectual, kimchi-making, cardigan-wearing PhD candidate in cultural anthropology at Harvard. Chijioke “CJ” Okeagu is a Nigerian-born, custom-suit-wearing heir to a business empire and a star at Harvard Law. They meet on opposite sides of a university-wide debate on cultural appropriation, and the tension is obvious to everyone.
Days later CJ moves into Maya’s grad housing suite. He becomes her kitchen rival, her legal consultant and her reluctant roommate. Debates turn into late-night stir-fry sessions and shared confidences, and rivalry blurs into banter, then friendship, then something neither of them is ready for.
Family expectations run deep on both sides. Maya’s hyper-academic parents expect a postdoc and no distractions. CJ’s powerful family expects him to return to Nigeria, marry well and run the empire.
Who this book is for
Readers who enjoy slow-burn romantic comedy with wit and cultural commentary.
Themes
- Love across cultures
- Family expectation and tradition
- Rivalry turning into partnership
- Identity, culture and belonging
Frequently asked questions
Maya Han-Levine, a Harvard PhD candidate, and CJ Okeagu, a Nigerian-born Harvard Law student, clash at a debate on cultural appropriation. When CJ moves into her grad housing suite, rivalry turns into friendship and then romance, against the expectations of both families.
It is a slow-burn, cross-cultural romantic comedy.
Ngozi Bolin, an attorney and multigenre author whose fiction is published by Pantraxxa.
The hardcover edition is 453 pages.
Hardcover, paperback, Kindle and audiobook.
All formats are available on Amazon.
About the author
Ngozi E. Bolin, Esq. is an attorney and multigenre author whose work spans legal guides, spiritual fiction, romance and contemporary women’s literature. She has more than three decades of litigation experience across New York and California.
