Reviews with content warning for Racial slurs - Honey & Spice

This book is a beautiful representation of what being a woman in her early twenties can be like. It’s a story of community, of abuse and of finding yourself after you’ve been hurt. It’s also a fake dating romance.

Judging this book as a romance would be unfair, because, no, it didn’t make my stomach flutter like other romance novels have, and it’s not quite as sexy as other romances, and I couldn’t quite get on board with the fake dating side of things. However, the romance in this story was an important part of the character arc of our main character, Kiki, and I appreciated it for that.

Kiki went from a person who’d rather be lonely than be hurt, to someone who collects an awesome group of friends who would die for her, and is capable of talking through conflict instead of avoiding it, and it was beautiful to watch. And the same went for a lot of the other characters in this book, like Aminah, Kofi, and, most importantly, Malakai, all of whom had dealt with painful relationship drama in the past. All of that character development happened in an environment that was like Black Mean Girls, with different cliques all around the university and gossip blogs detailing every student’s love life, and Black slang and Yoruba (and other languages) all around.

This book felt very raw, very real. And yet it didn’t really affect me in ways I would’ve liked it to. I wish I felt more invested in Kiki and Kai’s relationship, and I wish I could connect more to Kiki as a character overall, even though her closed-offness was kind of the point. Maybe it’s because I’m white, or because I’m queer, and neurodivergent. Either way, I felt kind of distanced from everything that was going on. But I still recommend this book for what it does achieve. And what it can achieve for people who don’t feel seen in other pieces of media.

Content Warnings

madscientistcat's review against another edition

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emotional funny reflective slow-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

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katiemack's review against another edition

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funny hopeful informative 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

4.25

Some of the writing is too flowery/cliche for my taste, but overall I adored this. Bolu Babalola really captures what it’s like to be a university student—the dialogue in particular is delightful and authentic—all while addressing pertinent issues such as racism, colorism, classism, etc. The romance is a delicious slow burn (not always my thing, but this one is so charming and vulnerable it’s tough not to fall in love with Kiki and Malakai’s relationship), but Babalola takes care to cultivate some sweet and grounded platonic relationships throughout the book as well.

This reads very New Adult, obviously, but it’s more than worth a read even if you’re not twenty years old.

Content Warnings

viwilliams's review against another edition

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emotional 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

4.0

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bxcvi's review against another edition

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emotional funny lighthearted medium-paced

Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? Yes

4.0

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abarnakwn_ourcolourfulpages's review against another edition

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emotional funny hopeful inspiring reflective medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Character
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? It's complicated
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

5.0

Content Warnings

blkbookbae's review

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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? It's complicated

5.0

this was everything

Content Warnings

kshertz's review

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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

4.0

Sweet romance book with all the ups and downs of life as a Black person just trying to live their lives and be happy. I enjoyed it and think it’s a good beach/light read.

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