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A review by weelasswithabook
Honey & Spice by Bolu Babalola
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
π Fake Dating
π 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 itβs 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.
π Fake Dating
π 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 itβs 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