Reviews with content warning for Sexual assault - Honey & Spice

Honey and Spice is a cute read that is perfect for anyone who loves fake dating tropes. I read half of the book with my physical hardback copy and the other half via audiobook and I definitely loved the audiobook experience more. Kiki’s character is amazing and is one of my favourite characters from all the books I’ve read this year. Babalola really has a way with words that make even the most simple things sound so elegant. Loved the banter too, it genuinely made me laugh. I wasn’t a huge fan of the overdone slang though. Generally it was a cute read but I wasn’t hooked throughout.

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shannahtan's review against another edition

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funny hopeful fast-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? Yes

4.5

I really loved this book. The Yoruba Nigerian food, clothing, and language were beautifully weaved into the storyline. I normally am not drawn to college students as main characters, but the characters weren’t annoying in this book. Yes, they had their fatal flaws and made mistakes, but they also recognized their mistakes and kind knew they were being self-destructive. There was witty banter, and I love the thread of women banding together and having each other’s backs pretty much through the whole book. Also, the friendship! Calling each other out on their bullshit but also loving and supporting. The Afro Winter Ball outfit descriptions were *chef’s kiss*. There were definitely cheesy lines, but in general, I feel like the ups and downs of dating, friendship, pettiness, etc as a teenager and in your early 20s felt so real.

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shaipanda's review against another edition

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emotional funny hopeful lighthearted tense 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

I absolutely LOVEDDDD this omgggg - 100% a 5 star read and honestly definitely one of my top romances of the year if not of all time?? I don’t even know how to explain everything was so so good in this but just everything was ughh fucking perfectttt - especiallyyyy the chemistry between the main couple(s)

the only small issues I had with this were that I thought it was slightly weird to just drop the conclusion of the storyline with Rianne in the middle and then never really address it much again? I appreciated why the storyline was there but also I thought the way it was done was slightly stilted. The other thing was I didn’t love that there was a 3rd act break up in this cause I just don’t love those anyways but I did appreciate that at least it was done pretty well

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