Scan barcode
sweetpotatosamm's review against another edition
emotional
hopeful
reflective
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
Content Warnings
Moderate: Sexual content
amalas_bookstop's review against another edition
emotional
funny
lighthearted
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
This book has so much amazing dialogue that came across perfectly as a audiobook. I really felt like I was listening to a bonus season of Dear White People set in the UK.
I love how witty the characters are with each other and the romance was perfect. It was a slow burn with the characters developing over time, slowly realizing that there is no such thing as fake dating. I also enjoyed all of the black culture pop references. The focus on friendship was wonderful as well. This book had me smiling and laughing all the way through.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Sexual content
Moderate: Racial slurs and Racism
Minor: Infidelity
kyahs's review against another edition
emotional
funny
hopeful
inspiring
lighthearted
reflective
relaxing
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
My favourite romance book of all time. For me, this book reinforced how important represention and black literature is. It was amazing understanding all the references and how the music I grew up with was used to make me feel how the characters felt. I realised how often I do not understand references in literature written by white people and how much I have been missing. This is an unforgettable book for me and I cannot wait to read more by Bolu Babalola.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Sexual content and Sexual harassment
Moderate: Racism
Minor: Sexual assault
hjb_128's review against another edition
emotional
lighthearted
relaxing
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.25
Content Warnings
Graphic: Mental illness, Racial slurs, Racism, Sexism, Sexual content, Sexual violence, Alcohol, and Sexual harassment
Moderate: Cancer, Infidelity, and Toxic friendship
moon_peach's review against another edition
emotional
funny
informative
lighthearted
reflective
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
Ok so to start with this book has a Black main character. This also takes places in the UK. So she is British Black woman. It is also very African specifically they mention Nigeria a lot. So there may be some cultural disconnect if you don't belong to any of those identities.
However it is still a great book! Kiki is such a great character, when she's being self destructive you really feel for her. But when she puts on her mask you can't help but love the energy she puts out. She is the definition of a "girl's girl".
Malakai is so good. A lot of male leads can be pretty toxic but he's sooo sweet. He also has baggage but he follows Kiki's lead and doesn't overstep boundaries. I
However it is still a great book! Kiki is such a great character, when she's being self destructive you really feel for her. But when she puts on her mask you can't help but love the energy she puts out. She is the definition of a "girl's girl".
Malakai is so good. A lot of male leads can be pretty toxic but he's sooo sweet. He also has baggage but he follows Kiki's lead and doesn't overstep boundaries. I
Content Warnings
Graphic: Misogyny, Racism, Sexism, Sexual assault, Sexual content, Toxic relationship, and Sexual harassment
isabellarob73's review against another edition
emotional
funny
inspiring
lighthearted
relaxing
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.75
What Bolu Babalola understands is that the hottest thing a man can be is thoughtful! Fun read, hope there’s a movie for this- feels cinematic
Content Warnings
Moderate: Bullying, Cancer, Chronic illness, Cursing, Emotional abuse, Racism, Sexism, Sexual content, Toxic relationship, Cultural appropriation, Gaslighting, Toxic friendship, Abandonment, Alcohol, Sexual harassment, and Classism
weelasswithabook's review against another edition
adventurous
emotional
funny
hopeful
inspiring
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
CW: Racial microaggressions, racism, colourism, misogyny, revenge porn, sexual content, cancer, sick parent, police brutality
🌟 Fake Dating
🌈 Black MCs
This. Was. Perfection. Everything you could possibly need from a romance, this had it in spades.
Fake dating is my ultimate all-time favourite trope. I don't think I've ever read a fake dating romance that I didn't love. So I'm basically already biased, but I promise you it's worth reading. There's just something about those moments when we, the readers, get to see through the fake and into the real. And that light bulb moment when the characters realise it *chefs kiss* I cannot and will not tire of it.
This book is set at a university, and alongside the romance itself, the book explores the existence of systemic racism within the educational system and how communities adversely affected by it overcome, band together, and push back against.
Kiki and Kai were just a match made in heaven. Totally rubbed up the wrong way in the beginning, Kiki hasn't had the best first impression, so this alienation from the start makes the fake dating to lovers so much tastier when it happens. There's never any real beef between the two, but they both have their own hang ups to work through and walls built up to knock down.
I like how their romance unfolded so subtly to them that their realisations were just so pure. And the declarations of love, ugh, I love love loved the ending. 10/10.
The female friendships in H&S were also huge standout aspects of the book. Especially when Kiki had a lot of baggage around female friendships so she sort of sequestered herself away from socialising and actually having a wider friendship group.
My only quibble, and it’s very slight, but the ending felt quite abrupt. Maybe it's just because I wanted the story to continue to see them further down the line, I'm not sure.
🌟 Fake Dating
🌈 Black MCs
This. Was. Perfection. Everything you could possibly need from a romance, this had it in spades.
Fake dating is my ultimate all-time favourite trope. I don't think I've ever read a fake dating romance that I didn't love. So I'm basically already biased, but I promise you it's worth reading. There's just something about those moments when we, the readers, get to see through the fake and into the real. And that light bulb moment when the characters realise it *chefs kiss* I cannot and will not tire of it.
This book is set at a university, and alongside the romance itself, the book explores the existence of systemic racism within the educational system and how communities adversely affected by it overcome, band together, and push back against.
Kiki and Kai were just a match made in heaven. Totally rubbed up the wrong way in the beginning, Kiki hasn't had the best first impression, so this alienation from the start makes the fake dating to lovers so much tastier when it happens. There's never any real beef between the two, but they both have their own hang ups to work through and walls built up to knock down.
I like how their romance unfolded so subtly to them that their realisations were just so pure. And the declarations of love, ugh, I love love loved the ending. 10/10.
The female friendships in H&S were also huge standout aspects of the book. Especially when Kiki had a lot of baggage around female friendships so she sort of sequestered herself away from socialising and actually having a wider friendship group.
My only quibble, and it’s very slight, but the ending felt quite abrupt. Maybe it's just because I wanted the story to continue to see them further down the line, I'm not sure.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Misogyny, Racism, and Sexism
Moderate: Bullying, Cancer, Cursing, Infidelity, Sexual content, Police brutality, Toxic friendship, Sexual harassment, and Classism
mayahill22's review against another edition
emotional
funny
hopeful
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.25
Content Warnings
Graphic: Sexual assault, Sexual content, and Toxic relationship
strawb3rrysugar's review against another edition
emotional
funny
reflective
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
4.5
I decided to borrow the audiobook for Honey and Spice from a library app after seeing a booktuber praise this book for being a cute, fun romance with a healthy dose of spice. Man, I really like this book. Some of this is because I think the narrator of this book does an absolutely fantastic job - probably one of my favorite audiobook narrators I've ever heard. She really captures the humor and emotion of this story so well.
I really, really liked this book. I'd read another romance book on a whim earlier this year and thought that would be the most I'd enjoy a romance novel for the rest of the year (I like the genre, but I'm very picky about what kind of romance I want to read). The characters are well-developed, the banter is witty and smart, the spicy scenes are genuinely spicy without coming across as cringeworthy, and Malakai is a very sweet, funny love interest who takes genuine interest in Kiki and her goals/interests.
If that alone doesn't convince you to read this book, I will also add that Babalola portrays Kiki's relationship anxiety and struggles with avoiding difficult memories and emotions extremely well. It feels very real and accurate to what it's like to experience that kind of anxiety in real life. And this story can get intensely emotional at some points - I had this audiobook on while doing some at-home work, and I found myself getting teary-eyed all of a sudden over a tense scene in the second act.
In short, if you want a fun and well-written romance, I highly, highly recommend Honey and Spice.
I really, really liked this book. I'd read another romance book on a whim earlier this year and thought that would be the most I'd enjoy a romance novel for the rest of the year (I like the genre, but I'm very picky about what kind of romance I want to read). The characters are well-developed, the banter is witty and smart, the spicy scenes are genuinely spicy without coming across as cringeworthy, and Malakai is a very sweet, funny love interest who takes genuine interest in Kiki and her goals/interests.
If that alone doesn't convince you to read this book, I will also add that Babalola portrays Kiki's relationship anxiety and struggles with avoiding difficult memories and emotions extremely well. It feels very real and accurate to what it's like to experience that kind of anxiety in real life. And this story can get intensely emotional at some points - I had this audiobook on while doing some at-home work, and I found myself getting teary-eyed all of a sudden over a tense scene in the second act.
In short, if you want a fun and well-written romance, I highly, highly recommend Honey and Spice.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Sexual content
Moderate: Misogyny, Racial slurs, Racism, Police brutality, Grief, and Classism
Minor: Hate crime and Misogyny
Sexual content for this book is moderate - descriptive, but not graphic. Plenty of conversations about sex and many innuendos, most of them pretty lighthearted. There are many conversations about classism, racism, and sexism concerning Whitewell University. Some mentions of non-black people using the N-word (or trying to substitute it). Malakai recalls a past police confrontation that gets intense, but an older man intervenes to help him. In a flashback, Kiki is almost taken advantage of by her ex-friend's boyfriend while she's drunk. It isn't greatly detailed, but could still be upsetting. Kiki mentions that her mother was sick while she was in high school and how it affected her life. Her mom is still alive in the story, though not a major character.dylan_tomorrow's review against another edition
emotional
funny
lighthearted
reflective
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
5.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Emotional abuse, Mental illness, Racism, Sexual assault, Sexual content, Police brutality, Gaslighting, and Sexual harassment
Moderate: Misogyny, Racial slurs, Sexism, Terminal illness, Medical content, Abandonment, and Classism
Minor: Bullying and Violence