Honey & Spice by Bolu Babalola (ARC Review)

Title: Honey & Spice
Author: Bolu Babalola
Type: Fiction
Genre: Adult, Contemporary, Romance
Publisher: William Morrow
Date published: July 5, 2022

This post is sponsored. A complimentary digital copy of this book was kindly provided by HarperCollins Canada in exchange for an honest review.

Sweet like plantain, hot like pepper. They taste the best when together…

Sharp-tongued (and secretly soft-hearted) Kiki Banjo has just made a huge mistake. As an expert in relationship-evasion and the host of the popular student radio show Brown Sugar, she’s made it her mission to make sure the women of the African-Caribbean Society at Whitewell University do not fall into the mess of “situationships”, players, and heartbreak. But when the Queen of the Unbothered kisses Malakai Korede, the guy she just publicly denounced as “The Wastemen of Whitewell,” in front of every Blackwellian on campus, she finds her show on the brink.

They’re soon embroiled in a fake relationship to try and salvage their reputations and save their futures. Kiki has never surrendered her heart before, and a player like Malakai won’t be the one to change that, no matter how charming he is or how electric their connection feels. But surprisingly entertaining study sessions and intimate, late-night talks at old-fashioned diners force Kiki to look beyond her own presumptions. Is she ready to open herself up to something deeper?

A gloriously funny and sparkling debut novel, Honey & Spice is full of delicious tension and romantic intrigue that will make you weak at the knees.

⤖ My Review ⬻

I absolutely loved Bolu Babalola’s debut novel, Honey & Spice! From the very first page, I knew I was in for a treat. Babalola’s writing style is witty and engaging—I was so there for it. I found myself completely absorbed in the story and wanting to read more.

The writing style is told from the main character, Kiki’s, perspective and it was a joy to read about the things she thinks, the way she thinks as well as her interactions with the other characters. The dialogue between Kiki and the other characters was also witty and often times funny. I especially liked her ineractions with Malaki (is anyone surprised?)—the chemistry between them at times was so palpable, I thought my Kindle was going to singe my fingers!

The interactions between the main characters and side characters were also fantastic and added a lot of depth to the story. I also want to add that I really loved the radio segments. The way Kiki spoke to her listeners…was just pure joy. I listened to parts of this book in audiobook format and I have to say that the radio segments were especially great in that format, but I definitely enjoyed all of the parts I experienced through the audiobook.

Overall, I absolutely adored Honey & Spice and would highly recommend this book to anyone looking for a great read. Babalola’s writing style is so captivating and her characters are so real— I was hooked from the very first paragraph. I am definitely looking forward to reading more of Babalola’s work in the future!

⤖ About the Author ⬻

Bolu Babalola is a British-Nigerian woman with a misleading bachelor’s degree in law and a masters degree in American Politics & History from UCL. She feels it is important to state that her thesis was on Beyoncé’s “Lemonade” and she was awarded a distinction for it. So essentially she has a masters degree in Beyoncé. A writer of books, scripts, culture pieces and retorts, a lover of love and self-coined “romcomoisseur”, Bolu Babalola writes stories of dynamic women with distinct voices who love and are loved audaciously. She is a big believer in women being both “Beauty and the beast”. She is not a fan of writing her own bios.