Honey & Spice
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- Create Date：2022-07-07 02:21:41
- Update Date：2025-09-06
- Status：finish
- Author：Bolu Babalola
- ISBN：0063141485
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Summary
Introducing internationally bestselling author Bolu Babalola’s dazzling debut novel， full of passion， humor， and heart， that centers on a young Black British woman who has no interest in love and unexpectedly finds herself caught up in a fake relationship with the man she warned her girls about。
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。
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。
Reviews
Chika
，
3。75 （LOL） Pros: really descriptive writing， solid storyline， tied in cultural aspects， very funny Cons: lots of pop culture references that felt forced at times， and had several forced mini storylines in the story。 Generally liked it though & would recommend。
Shannon
，
It took a bit to get into the flow of this book but I found it clever， smart and full of heart！ I don’t know that it will be for everyone but I love that Reese picked it for her July book club selection！Set on a college campus， this was an enemies to lovers romance between two Black British students with SERIOUS chemistry who fake date for a project and find themselves falling hard for one another。 I loved the witty dialogue and the depth of characterization。 Recommended for fans of Jane Igharo It took a bit to get into the flow of this book but I found it clever， smart and full of heart！ I don’t know that it will be for everyone but I love that Reese picked it for her July book club selection！Set on a college campus， this was an enemies to lovers romance between two Black British students with SERIOUS chemistry who fake date for a project and find themselves falling hard for one another。 I loved the witty dialogue and the depth of characterization。 Recommended for fans of Jane Igharo or the Netflix show， Dear white people and really good on audio narrated by Weruche Opia。 。。。more
Tasneem
，
so unapologetically black british I loved itttt。 the banter between the two characters ！ the chemistry！ not a perfect novel but a perfect reading experience
Andrea
，
Kiki is navigating the social drama and her aspirations at university。 The university life is fraught with drama， social media EVERYWHERE， and she's trying to find her place as her Brown Sugar commentary permeates the Blackwellian audience on campus。There were times when the drama seemed so intense to me， I really enjoyed the lead characters and their development。Thank you to William Morrow and to Netgalley。#HoneyandSpice #NetGalley Kiki is navigating the social drama and her aspirations at university。 The university life is fraught with drama， social media EVERYWHERE， and she's trying to find her place as her Brown Sugar commentary permeates the Blackwellian audience on campus。There were times when the drama seemed so intense to me， I really enjoyed the lead characters and their development。Thank you to William Morrow and to Netgalley。#HoneyandSpice #NetGalley 。。。more
E。 R。
，
The heroine attends Whitewell University and has a popular student radio show。 She is focused on making sure that the African-Caribbean Society women experienced no mess in certain relationship situations and problems。 However， her credentials become questionable after kissing a known player in front of a huge audience。 To fix that， the heroine enters a fake relationship with the hero， and the two ends up finding themselves falling in love with each other。This is the first Bolu Babalola book tha The heroine attends Whitewell University and has a popular student radio show。 She is focused on making sure that the African-Caribbean Society women experienced no mess in certain relationship situations and problems。 However， her credentials become questionable after kissing a known player in front of a huge audience。 To fix that， the heroine enters a fake relationship with the hero， and the two ends up finding themselves falling in love with each other。This is the first Bolu Babalola book that I've read。 I enjoyed the friendships that supported the couple。 I also liked the university setting and the radio show that the heroine hosted。 The author has a clear writing style that is shown in the story。 I did find certain parts didn't grab my attention as much as others， but they aren't a deterrent of the book。 Overall， an enjoyable book and I look forward to reading more Bolu Babalola books in the future。**Thanks to the publisher and NetGalley for the review copy。 All opinions and thoughts in the review are my own。** 。。。more
Kathryn
，
Thanks to the publisher for providing me with the eARC via NetGalley。 As the title suggests， this was a sweet yet sexy read， perfect （in my opinion） for New Adult readers。I was really excited to read this since it’s Babalola’s debut novel。 And， overall， I liked it， but it’s just a little young-ish for me。 It’s set at a college in Britain， and while I remember what it was like to be in college， I probably would have enjoyed this more if I were in college or freshly graduated。That’s not to say th Thanks to the publisher for providing me with the eARC via NetGalley。 As the title suggests， this was a sweet yet sexy read， perfect （in my opinion） for New Adult readers。I was really excited to read this since it’s Babalola’s debut novel。 And， overall， I liked it， but it’s just a little young-ish for me。 It’s set at a college in Britain， and while I remember what it was like to be in college， I probably would have enjoyed this more if I were in college or freshly graduated。That’s not to say that it’s not enjoyable – IT IS。 I thought it had a good pace， once you get past the initial chapters which set up the story。 And I liked the characters; together they make a well-rounded group of friends。 But there are also lots of pop culture references， and a lot of British/Black Brit/Nigerian slang。 I got the gist of it， but that required using context clues。What I liked best about this book is that the characters had depth， and Kiki & Kai were interested in each other for more reasons that just physical attraction。 Sometimes， I read books and I think， “why are these characters so ‘in love’ with each other？？” But in this book， you could really tell that they had a connection。 I also loved their banter and the way they could read each other。 （Speaking of reading， holy cow， does the book Kiki loves so much exist in real life because man oh man would I love to read THAT！ If not， maybe it should be the next thing Babalola writes！）I don’t usually like when books are made into movies and tv shows， but I think this would do well as a tv series， especially because of Kiki’s show。 There was so much in this book that could be explored in depth。 （I’m trying not to spoil it！） I would definitely recommend this book if you like New Adult， and I look forward to reading more of Babalola’s work！ 。。。more
Jennifer
，
Honey & Spice is a combination of general fiction， new adult and romance。 I've seen some people call it a rom-com。 But it did not feel like that to me。 It is Reese Witherspoon's book club's July pick。I think that a lot of people will enjoy this book。 But I just didn't love it。 And I struggled to finish it。There were still definitely things that I did like:Kiki is the host of a popular student radio show Brown Sugar。 I absolutely loved this aspect of the book。 The book is set at a British liberal Honey & Spice is a combination of general fiction， new adult and romance。 I've seen some people call it a rom-com。 But it did not feel like that to me。 It is Reese Witherspoon's book club's July pick。I think that a lot of people will enjoy this book。 But I just didn't love it。 And I struggled to finish it。There were still definitely things that I did like:Kiki is the host of a popular student radio show Brown Sugar。 I absolutely loved this aspect of the book。 The book is set at a British liberal arts university。 And Kiki is known for playing her favorite R&B songs and offering the women at the campus romantic advice。I also really loved Kiki's best friend and how many of the Black students worked together throughout the book。I liked Kiki's advisor and how she encouraged her to apply for a prestigious internship。And Kiki herself was pretty cool。 She was smart and sassy and did not take any crap from anyone。 She has a loud mouth and she is not afraid of anything。So then why didn't I love this book？ I love seeing POC represented。 But I think that the writing style was maybe too literary fiction-esque for me。 The book deals with school politics and lots of drama which was all just okay for me。 There was romance， but I wasn't really invested in it。Thanks to netgalley， HarperCollins Canada and William Morrow for allowing me to read this book。 。。。more
Vicki
，
Honey and Spice got me right back on my enemies to lovers bullshit！！ Seeing as I also devoured Love in Colour， I will read whatever Ms。Babalola produces。
Carole Bell
，
Aptly titled， this book is sweetness and fire。 And I got to review it for the New York Times。 Gift link:https://www。nytimes。com/2022/07/01/bo。。。 Aptly titled， this book is sweetness and fire。 And I got to review it for the New York Times。 Gift link:https://www。nytimes。com/2022/07/01/bo。。。 。。。more
Amy Biggart
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I wish for everyone the joy that I felt reading this LOL
Debbie Love
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My first thought after a few pages into this was "I don't think I'm the right audience for this book。" The slang was heavy and I had to look up a lot of the terms at first。 After a few chapters， I surprisingly settled in。 And， while I still am probably not the target audience， I really enjoyed this story。 I'm a fan of this trope and I thought this author really did a good job with it。 The backstories were a bit light to me， but overall I really liked it。 The characters were mostly likable and th My first thought after a few pages into this was "I don't think I'm the right audience for this book。" The slang was heavy and I had to look up a lot of the terms at first。 After a few chapters， I surprisingly settled in。 And， while I still am probably not the target audience， I really enjoyed this story。 I'm a fan of this trope and I thought this author really did a good job with it。 The backstories were a bit light to me， but overall I really liked it。 The characters were mostly likable and the ones that weren't either redeemed themselves or got what they deserved！ Plus， I just love Kiki's sass and the romance was sweet！I received an ARC as a Goodreads contest win。 。。。more
Kristin Kraves Books
，
I finished Honey & Spice last night， right in time！ I had an ALC from Libro。fm and an eARC from HarperCollins Canada。 I think the publishers just knew I was going to have a great time with this book！I think Kiki herself is what makes this romance so compelling。 We get to know her right from the beginning。 She is sarcastic， a bit abrasive， and hilarious。 But， underneath it all， she is insecure and terrified to fall in love。 We get to know some of her history and where her insecurity stems from an I finished Honey & Spice last night， right in time！ I had an ALC from Libro。fm and an eARC from HarperCollins Canada。 I think the publishers just knew I was going to have a great time with this book！I think Kiki herself is what makes this romance so compelling。 We get to know her right from the beginning。 She is sarcastic， a bit abrasive， and hilarious。 But， underneath it all， she is insecure and terrified to fall in love。 We get to know some of her history and where her insecurity stems from and it made me emotional in a way I wasn’t expecting。 There are also great female friendships that form throughout the novel and that was maybe my favourite thing about the story。 It was so nice to see！My only gripe with it is something we often get with fake dating （which is a trope I love！） and that is the misunderstandings that happen。 It is so clear that they have feelings for one another but Kiki just doesn’t see it！ I think that it all comes down to her insecurities， so I can’t fault her for it。 The third act breakup was frustrating for me， but it resolves itself quickly。I forgot to mention that Kiki is the host of a radio show targeted toward women within the Afro-Caribbean community at her university。 I loved that we got snippets of the show throughout the novel。 Also， Malakai is filming a documentary about couples who date in college， so we see some of those interviews as well， which was fun。 Oh， and I want to mention that I am always intrigued by the pop culture references that authors choose to include。 Why Twilight！？Overall， Honey & Spice was a fast-paced and sweet romance that definitely has some spicy scenes！ 。。。more
Niamh
，
I was very kindly given an e-ARC of the audiobook by Headline Audio and Netgalley。 Oof。 Okay。 Time for a mildly unpopular opinion。 I thought this book was fine。 Just fine。 I have my issues with it and I have things that I really liked about it， and it kind of averaged out as being。。。okay。 I've read worse， I've read better。THE GOOD THINGS: This is， genuinely， a whole new take on the fake dating trope set within a British university。 The characters - especially the female ones - were written with I was very kindly given an e-ARC of the audiobook by Headline Audio and Netgalley。 Oof。 Okay。 Time for a mildly unpopular opinion。 I thought this book was fine。 Just fine。 I have my issues with it and I have things that I really liked about it， and it kind of averaged out as being。。。okay。 I've read worse， I've read better。THE GOOD THINGS: This is， genuinely， a whole new take on the fake dating trope set within a British university。 The characters - especially the female ones - were written with such clear love and care that no one ever felt like they were missing a dimension。 There's a clear voice running through it - and you can tell how much the author loves the genre because this is a real love letter to it。 There were moments I really enjoyed and was hooked by， wanting to hear what was going to happen next for these characters。 Also， the audiobook narrator was EXCELLENT - the moments where Kiki is doing her radio show were performed sensationally and genuinely made me feel like I was listening to a podcast。 The production on the audiobook too is fantastic， so great job to those guys。 THE LESS GOOD THINGS: This book is too long。 SO LONG。 And it takes far too long for anything to happen。 I actually put this book down a few weeks ago because the writing was too tangent-el for my brain - every other sentence had a lead on to a different sentence that told us a bunch of expositional stuff or gave us a metaphor。 Which， sometimes， is very useful。 But not every other line。 For this kind of genre especially， there was so much space where nothing happened。 Where we were getting repeats， rather than an advancement of the plot。 Part of me thinks this would have worked way better as a TV show than a novel just because of the ensemble cast， the development of the relationship - I never felt it translated well to fiction。 I'm learning I much prefer books with action。 Spend too long talking about feelings and stuff that doesn't relate - I'm gone。 'Honey and Spice' gets off to a good start， but by the middle， it begins to lose its focus。 For me， the development didn't come quickly enough and when it did， it felt unsatisfying。 But， don't let that put you off reading it - it's just my preference。 There's enough warmth and love and humour for anyone to enjoy it， especially the audiobook。 'Honey and Spice' will be released on July 5th。 。。。more
Uchenna （favourite_igbo_boy）
，
LHoney and Spicy give us the story of Kiki， an ambitious lady， host of a student radio show in her school and an expert in relationship evasion， who is known for acquainting the women of Whitewell University against dating players and heartbreakers （men）， finds herself in a situationship with Malakai， who is everything she warns her fellow ladies against。⠀⠀I read this book together with the audiobook， and to be honest， I had no struggle getting into it。 Like from the onset， I like the vibes Kiki LHoney and Spicy give us the story of Kiki， an ambitious lady， host of a student radio show in her school and an expert in relationship evasion， who is known for acquainting the women of Whitewell University against dating players and heartbreakers （men）， finds herself in a situationship with Malakai， who is everything she warns her fellow ladies against。⠀⠀I read this book together with the audiobook， and to be honest， I had no struggle getting into it。 Like from the onset， I like the vibes Kiki was already giving and then a man appears 🌚。⠀Then it became a case of Daughter of Zion has finally fallen 😩😂。 It was predictable for me， but I wanted to see how everything plays out， and the conflict that would arise because there was bound to be one。⠀⠀In the spirit of opening up and being vulnerable， I must confess I somehow can relate to Kiki when it comes to not involving in love bullshit。 I’m a lover of love but my mates/those around me feel I hate love， which is not the case 🌚。 Different factors contributed to this， but the primary reason for me was because I didn’t see myself experiencing the kind of love stories I see and read （Lawd am I a potato？ 😭）。⠀⠀This is said to be a Rom-com book， but it was more than that。 This book explores friendship， racism， betrayal， understanding， goals and expectations， pressure from parents and more。⠀Overall the love between Kiki and Malakai， I won’t say is an enemies to lovers trope。 But it was nice to see their journey 🥹。⠀⠀One of the things this book brought to my attention， is how the experiences we have in life， shape us into who we become later。 Just like in the case of Kiki （you have to read this book to find out）。⠀⠀I enjoyed this one。⠀ 。。。more
Rachel Rooney
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I started this book a month ago then set it aside。 It is set on a college campus， and I was a little burnt out on reading about 20-somethings all the time。 I couldn't relate to it。 I did pick it back up though， and I enjoyed it quite a bit in the end。 It feels a little cinematic。 I could see it as a limited series on a streaming service。Steam report: I generally do not pay attention to this， but if I had to guess， I would say it is not steamy。 There's a reference to strong Christian beliefs by o I started this book a month ago then set it aside。 It is set on a college campus， and I was a little burnt out on reading about 20-somethings all the time。 I couldn't relate to it。 I did pick it back up though， and I enjoyed it quite a bit in the end。 It feels a little cinematic。 I could see it as a limited series on a streaming service。Steam report: I generally do not pay attention to this， but if I had to guess， I would say it is not steamy。 There's a reference to strong Christian beliefs by one of the characters。 。。。more
Janilyn Kocher
，
Honey and Spice will definitely appeal to the college age crowd or even high school readers。Kiki has a casual relationship with Zach， which brings her a lot of controversy。 To alleviate some of the damage she starts a fake relationship with Malakai， which Of course doesn’t go as planned。The book is about standing up for yourself， standing together， owning up to mistakes and being responsible for the fallout。Sometimes I was a little lost with the narrative， but overall it’s a good read。Thanks to Honey and Spice will definitely appeal to the college age crowd or even high school readers。Kiki has a casual relationship with Zach， which brings her a lot of controversy。 To alleviate some of the damage she starts a fake relationship with Malakai， which Of course doesn’t go as planned。The book is about standing up for yourself， standing together， owning up to mistakes and being responsible for the fallout。Sometimes I was a little lost with the narrative， but overall it’s a good read。Thanks to William Morrow， Book Club Girl， and NetGalley for the early read。 。。。more
Tori
，
finally a Black， NA/college romance！New adult / college romances aren't my thing anymore， but， perhaps that has to do with the fact that I've: 1。 outgrown the genre; and 2。 never read a NA romance with characters like me （Black）！There seems to be more diversity in YA and Adult but NA seems to be lacking in （visual） diversity （pls point me in the direction of NA Black romances， friends） - so it was great to see it in this book！ That said， I think because it was NA （and therefore less relatable fo finally a Black， NA/college romance！New adult / college romances aren't my thing anymore， but， perhaps that has to do with the fact that I've: 1。 outgrown the genre; and 2。 never read a NA romance with characters like me （Black）！There seems to be more diversity in YA and Adult but NA seems to be lacking in （visual） diversity （pls point me in the direction of NA Black romances， friends） - so it was great to see it in this book！ That said， I think because it was NA （and therefore less relatable for me in that aspect） it made it a bit hard for me to get into at first - it felt slow at times。I really appreciated the author's writing and the way Afro-Caribbean culture was heavily embedded throughout this （slang and all） - it felt so relatable and I found myself giggling throughout。I loved our main girl Kiki - she was a confident， strong and smart heroine and felt so relatable to me in terms of her Blackness and how she felt about relationships。overall， a fun read！ I'd pick up more from this author （esp an adult romance）！3。5thank you， HarperCollins Canada for the ARC in exchange for an honest review！ 。。。more
LaShawn Wiltz
，
One of my favorite troupes is the fake dating one。 So i couldn't wait to get into this book。 Our main characters are Kiki and Malaki， two Black British college students。 Kiki runs the college radio show about dating， relationships， and female empowerment。 Malaki wants to be a filmmaker。 Our couple finds themselves in a fake relationship and romance follows。 Of course。 。What I loved: the diversity of our characters， cultural references （ Beyonce！） a good portrayal of a black woman's experience on One of my favorite troupes is the fake dating one。 So i couldn't wait to get into this book。 Our main characters are Kiki and Malaki， two Black British college students。 Kiki runs the college radio show about dating， relationships， and female empowerment。 Malaki wants to be a filmmaker。 Our couple finds themselves in a fake relationship and romance follows。 Of course。 。What I loved: the diversity of our characters， cultural references （ Beyonce！） a good portrayal of a black woman's experience on a college campus（ kid of gave me A Different World vibes in a way）。 What I could use more of: spice。 Hello？ The books is named Honey and SPICE。 LOLBut this was a good solid read。 Perfect for the summer！ Thank you to NetGalley for the free ARC in exchange for my review。 All opinions are my own。 。。。more
Glenda Nelms
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TW: depression， black mail， sexual harassmentKiki and Malakai are my favorite literary couple， they have great chemistry and a delightful banter。 Honey and Spice is real， vibrant， and heartfelt story。 The enemies to lovers and fake dating trope was well written。 This debut novel covers serious topics such as Mental Health， racism and Family Issues。 Kiki， a university student who host a radio show doesn't believe in love because she didn't want to be hurt again from a previous relationship。 Her r TW: depression， black mail， sexual harassmentKiki and Malakai are my favorite literary couple， they have great chemistry and a delightful banter。 Honey and Spice is real， vibrant， and heartfelt story。 The enemies to lovers and fake dating trope was well written。 This debut novel covers serious topics such as Mental Health， racism and Family Issues。 Kiki， a university student who host a radio show doesn't believe in love because she didn't want to be hurt again from a previous relationship。 Her radio show discusses relationships and she offers advice to fellow students。 Malakai casually dates because he isn't sure if he could be in a relationship。 Their relationship progressed throughout the book。 Kiki and Malakai find themselves in a fake relationship to help their academic aspirations。 The vulnerability level is high， Kiki learns to be vulnerable with her friends and her love。 。。。more
Lauren
，
Thank you to Avon and NetGalley for the advanced reader copy and to LibroFM for the complimentary audiobook。 These opinions are my own。 Kiki runs Brown Sugar， a radio show about relationships at her university。 She runs into a new guy on campus who is quite the player， Malakai。 And she calls out his behavior （if not his name） on her show。 This was a light and fun romance。 There were hints of deeper social issues with how Black people were treated on campus， but those were quite minor plot lines。 Thank you to Avon and NetGalley for the advanced reader copy and to LibroFM for the complimentary audiobook。 These opinions are my own。 Kiki runs Brown Sugar， a radio show about relationships at her university。 She runs into a new guy on campus who is quite the player， Malakai。 And she calls out his behavior （if not his name） on her show。 This was a light and fun romance。 There were hints of deeper social issues with how Black people were treated on campus， but those were quite minor plot lines。 The bulk of the story focused on romance and relationships。 I really liked both main characters。 Kiki is fierce， and I would love to actually listen to her radio show。 And Malakai was so much deeper than she originally saw。 The secondary characters were also quite nuanced with individual personalities。 The narration for the audiobook by Weruche Opia was excellent。 It was precisely 12 hours long。 。。。more
Ellis
，
Honey & Spice is a fun RomCom set in a British university， featuring a fake romance and at-odds main characters。 Kikiola and Malakai are perfectly dueling forces determined to not bend or sway to the other， and their verbal sparring kept me hooked from the get-go。
Teneisha （Teesbookjourney）
，
I had so many moments of wanting to say awww。。。 Kiki and Mal were adorable when they hated each other and way more adorable when they were falling in love。 This whole book gave me a modern different world vibe minus the black uni。 I enjoyed all the other characters and their backstories。 There was drama， development and romance were on point。 Mal is the perfect book boyfriend， I loved him， m， his honestly， his swoony moments I just loved the whole thing I had so many moments of wanting to say awww。。。 Kiki and Mal were adorable when they hated each other and way more adorable when they were falling in love。 This whole book gave me a modern different world vibe minus the black uni。 I enjoyed all the other characters and their backstories。 There was drama， development and romance were on point。 Mal is the perfect book boyfriend， I loved him， m， his honestly， his swoony moments I just loved the whole thing 。。。more
this_girlreads
，
Honey and Spice held a lot of promise for me as the description sounded amazing！ Black British Kiki Banjo joins forces with a newly identified wasteman on campus in order to boost her radio show’s audience and ratings， in a bid to be accepted to a summer programme in New York。 This gave me enemies-to-lovers， fake dating trope， black love energy and I was honestly here for it。Unfortunately the execution wasn’t as high as I had hoped， especially given the praise that Bolu Babalola had received for Honey and Spice held a lot of promise for me as the description sounded amazing！ Black British Kiki Banjo joins forces with a newly identified wasteman on campus in order to boost her radio show’s audience and ratings， in a bid to be accepted to a summer programme in New York。 This gave me enemies-to-lovers， fake dating trope， black love energy and I was honestly here for it。Unfortunately the execution wasn’t as high as I had hoped， especially given the praise that Bolu Babalola had received for her debut bestseller， Love in Colour。 For those not well acquainted to British slang- you will have to get used to it soon！ At first I found it quite jarring and it took me a while to get used to it， but in the end it really fleshed out the characters and their personalities。 I actually loved Kiki， Malakai， and even those supporting characters including Simi and Aminah。 Babalola did a phenomenal job of showcasing the diversity of personalities that Black women can have。 Unfortunately these underrepresented characters in literature are often represented as stereotypical 2-dimensional black women， but Babalola really dispelled this and brought in lots of meaningful African cultural references to build them up。My main disappointment was the trajectory of the plot and the ending。 For me the story ended so abruptly， and I think this was worsened by the epilogue that had random snippets of emails and blogs with the purpose of just throwing in answers to unresolved plot points at the end of the story; sometimes is better to have some questions left unanswered。 The execution of the plot wasn’t that engaging which is why it took me a while to read this book， but it did have great potential。Read: for a fake-dating story where Dear White People meets the Receipts Podcast on a British University campus。 NB: Thank you to NetGalley and Headline Books for giving me an ARC of this book （pub。 05/07/22）。 I voluntarily read and reviewed an advanced copy and all thoughts and opinions are my own。 。。。more
Caroline
，
I’m a big fan of Bolu！ Big！ Her Twitter feed alone makes me want to read everything she writes！ I loved her first book。 And I ADORED this。 An absolute pleasure to listen to from beginning to end。 The narrator did an awesome job of narrating this sexy， sensual but also sweet story。 I’m all in for fake dating tropes and this didn’t disappoint。 There was plenty of honey and spice in this book。 The love scenes are hella spicy！ I loved the representation of hot， independent， fierce women。 Hook it to I’m a big fan of Bolu！ Big！ Her Twitter feed alone makes me want to read everything she writes！ I loved her first book。 And I ADORED this。 An absolute pleasure to listen to from beginning to end。 The narrator did an awesome job of narrating this sexy， sensual but also sweet story。 I’m all in for fake dating tropes and this didn’t disappoint。 There was plenty of honey and spice in this book。 The love scenes are hella spicy！ I loved the representation of hot， independent， fierce women。 Hook it to my veins， More Bolu， more。 。。。more
Coded Reader
，
Love this sooooo much，sharing my thoughts about it soon。
Kirsten
，
I am obsessed with this book and you should be too！Thank you to NetGalley， Headline and Bolu Babalola for this e-arc of what is honestly my most anticipated book of 2022！This book is so sexy， it's sweltering， it's sweet， it's Babalola at her best！ If you follow her on twitter， or have read Love In Colour you know how talented/ how smooth she is in her words and her phrasings。 This book is all of that in one stunningly designed package - I mean 。。。 look at that cover ！ This is the type of book to I am obsessed with this book and you should be too！Thank you to NetGalley， Headline and Bolu Babalola for this e-arc of what is honestly my most anticipated book of 2022！This book is so sexy， it's sweltering， it's sweet， it's Babalola at her best！ If you follow her on twitter， or have read Love In Colour you know how talented/ how smooth she is in her words and her phrasings。 This book is all of that in one stunningly designed package - I mean 。。。 look at that cover ！ This is the type of book to make you miss your tube stop - it is that brilliant （trust me I know from experience！） it is funny it is clever it is ROMANCE LADIES AND GENTLEMEN ！ SEXY AS ALL HELL！！ FAKE DATING ENEMIES TO LOVERS UNIVERSITY SETTING A RADIO SHOW IT IS EVERYTHING I WANTED AND MORERun don't walk to your local bookstore on the 5th of July trust me you will love it ！ （and if you dont then thats maybe on you bestie ） 。。。more
Amy
，
Delightful banter and I loved Kiki’s arc！ And Malakai is 😍
Aria Harlow
，
I cannot believe that this was a debut novel， it was so well written with a riveting storyline and well developed characters。 Fast oaced and funny， I loved it。
Becks
，
Tender， warm， syrupy but electric。 Bolu knows romcoms and love and this had everything I needed。 It's a book not afraid to take its time with the romance， building familiarity and vulnerability so it's properly earned when you get it。 Which is exactly what you want。 She's got such a way with words， you really feel every inch of these two falling for each other。I properly loved both our protagonists， I could read about them forever。 And outside of that there's this whole uni life with a great cas Tender， warm， syrupy but electric。 Bolu knows romcoms and love and this had everything I needed。 It's a book not afraid to take its time with the romance， building familiarity and vulnerability so it's properly earned when you get it。 Which is exactly what you want。 She's got such a way with words， you really feel every inch of these two falling for each other。I properly loved both our protagonists， I could read about them forever。 And outside of that there's this whole uni life with a great cast of characters that feels real and vibrant。 That's where we get all of our side plots but they feel like they add to the story。 Loved it， couldn't recommend it enough。 。。。more
Kara Duchart
，
Honey and spice gave me YA romance vibes and I loved it！The characters had real depth， and I loved both the friendships and relationships in this book。 I really enjoyed listening to it on audio and thought the narrator was perfect for the book！
Reference
google book https://www.google.com/search?tbm=bks&q=Honey & Spice
hathitrust digital library https://babel.hathitrust.org/cgi/ls?q1=Honey & Spice&field1=ocr&a=srchls&ft=ft&lmt=ft
The British Library https://bll01.primo.exlibrisgroup.com/discovery/search?query=any,contains,Honey & Spice&tab=LibraryCatalog&search_scope=Not_BL_Suppress&vid=44BL_INST:BLL01&lang=en&offset=0