Reviews

Honey & Spice by Bolu Babalola

jesssmonet's review against another edition

funny hopeful lighthearted 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

fflur_jones's review against another edition

4.0

Very cute! Loved the setting and character arcs - both developed very naturally as the story went on. Who knew being called Scotch as a nickname would be so sexy?! Very flirty, very fun. Read it all with a big goofy smile on my face.

nnach's review against another edition

3.0

I think I would have liked it more if I read it in a different mood. I found kiki not to be particularly likeable, I understand part of the point is she becomes more likeable as she goes, but I found it hard to buy her as the girl everyone wants to be. I did like the development she was given, i.e. showing that she keeps her space because she's damaged not above anyone, and I guess they do show her getting over the final hurdle with Zack, but I didn't buy how much it made her crumble, or the fight with Malakai. (Not that I can say how else that could have been written). I really liked Malakai's character, and I think they developed him well, and he was genuine and made sense to me. I think she wrote Zack to be a 2d villain, which is fine. I liked how aminah and kofi were written. And I also liked that all the main female characters were 3d and developed. (I guess it's written for women, by a woman, so the women were generally more developed and sympathetic than the men).
Overall I was happy to have read it, but found it quite annoying at times.

pagesandplannersabroad's review against another edition

emotional lighthearted fast-paced

4.75

jpalme3183's review against another edition

5.0

Never wrote a review, but I loved, loved, loved this one. Read my friends’ reviews for the nitty gritty.
Sidenote: It’s also great if you love music and film as well bc this book definitely put me onto to D’Angelo fr

erikaalexis's review against another edition

emotional funny lighthearted relaxing medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? No
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.75

bakersbookends's review against another edition

adventurous challenging funny 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? It's complicated

5.0

ingygamaly's review against another edition

emotional funny hopeful inspiring lighthearted reflective relaxing fast-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

this book was so fucking cute i love it

accidentalspaceexplorer's review against another edition

emotional funny 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

I really enjoyed this - the banter was great, I liked the characters, the chemistry was obvious - but a couple hours later I find myself wishing the ending had been handled differently. I think the stuff with Zack & the grand gesture should have been separate. Otherwise to an extent it minimizes the impact of the Zack side of things and makes me really question both Kai & Kiki's timing, like what a wild thing to roll straight into after your super serious presentation.

lightfoot33's review against another edition

challenging emotional mysterious tense 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? It's complicated

3.25

I had a hard time rating this. It has all the things I SHOULD and usually do love: witty banter, fake dating, podcast element, female empowerment ... But it didn't GRAB me like I thought it would - it felt like it took me forever to read this. It also made me so glad to know I'm not dating in the modern era anymore because of all this commitment - phobia. Maybe I was not the target demographic because of this? That being said, I did still like it but I wasnt wowed. At best, it's 3.5 stars for me.