Reviews tagging 'Sexual content'

Honey & Spice by Bolu Babalola

66 reviews

mayahill22's review

emotional funny hopeful medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Plot
• 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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Content Warnings

Graphic: Sexual content, Toxic relationship, and Sexual assault

strawb3rrysugar's review against another edition

emotional funny reflective fast-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

4.5

I decided to borrow the audiobook for Honey and Spice from a library app after seeing a booktuber praise this book for being a cute, fun romance with a healthy dose of spice. Man, I really like this book. Some of this is because I think the narrator of this book does an absolutely fantastic job - probably one of my favorite audiobook narrators I've ever heard. She really captures the humor and emotion of this story so well. 

I really, really liked this book. I'd read another romance book on a whim earlier this year and thought that would be the most I'd enjoy a romance novel for the rest of the year (I like the genre, but I'm very picky about what kind of romance I want to read). The characters are well-developed, the banter is witty and smart, the spicy scenes are genuinely spicy without coming across as cringeworthy, and Malakai is a very sweet, funny love interest who takes genuine interest in Kiki and her goals/interests. 

If that alone doesn't convince you to read this book, I will also add that Babalola portrays Kiki's relationship anxiety and struggles with avoiding difficult memories and emotions extremely well. It feels very real and accurate to what it's like to experience that kind of anxiety in real life. And this story can get intensely emotional at some points - I had this audiobook on while doing some at-home work, and I found myself getting teary-eyed all of a sudden over a tense scene in the second act. 

In short, if you want a fun and well-written romance, I highly, highly recommend Honey and Spice. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Sexual content

Moderate: Racial slurs, Classism, Police brutality, Misogyny, Racism, and Grief

Minor: Misogyny and Hate crime

Sexual content for this book is moderate - descriptive, but not graphic. Plenty of conversations about sex and many innuendos, most of them pretty lighthearted. There are many conversations about classism, racism, and sexism concerning Whitewell University. Some mentions of non-black people using the N-word (or trying to substitute it). Malakai recalls a past police confrontation that gets intense, but an older man intervenes to help him. In a flashback, Kiki is almost taken advantage of by her ex-friend's boyfriend while she's drunk. It isn't greatly detailed, but could still be upsetting. Kiki mentions that her mother was sick while she was in high school and how it affected her life. Her mom is still alive in the story, though not a major character.

dylan_tomorrow's review against another edition

emotional funny lighthearted reflective fast-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes

5.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Emotional abuse, Racism, Police brutality, Sexual assault, Gaslighting, Mental illness, Sexual content, and Sexual harassment

Moderate: Medical content, Racial slurs, Classism, Abandonment, Sexism, Terminal illness, and Misogyny

Minor: Violence and Bullying

daenerystargaryen's review

emotional funny hopeful 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

4.75

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Sexual harassment, Sexual content, and Misogyny

Moderate: Alcohol, Cursing, Racism, and Sexual assault

Minor: Infidelity, Racial slurs, Cancer, and Mental illness

gabichatslit's review against another edition

5.0

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Cursing, Toxic relationship, and Sexual content

carseatwarmers's review against another edition

adventurous emotional funny 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

4.0

the audiobook is top tier! anyway

we need to abolish the third act breakup 😫 that setup was so weird but i’m a sucker for grand gestures so i’ll try to let it slide 😇

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Racism, Sexual assault, Emotional abuse, and Sexual content

Moderate: Police brutality, Infidelity, Cancer, Hate crime, and Medical trauma

bombshellbibliophile's review

hopeful reflective 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

5.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Sexual content

katryna_'s review against another edition

emotional funny 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

5.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Sexual content

Moderate: Racism and Sexual assault

kirareadssometimes's review against another edition

hopeful inspiring lighthearted 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

4.25

First off this author uses a lot of adjectives! Otherwise, nicely written story. A few aspects reminded me of the movie Dear White People which was a fun call back to a movie I really like. Kai was so sweet and wonderful. I found Kiki so wonderfully complex being inexperienced while also being so helpful at sharing relationship advice. The social aspects of the end of the book were a bit of a surprise and while super engaging and important, I wished more time was spent on Kai and Kiki in the end. 
Not very spicy. Just one descriptive scene. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Sexual content, Emotional abuse, Toxic relationship, Gaslighting, and Racism

gerlinen's review against another edition

funny lighthearted slow-paced

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

3.0

I still genuinely don't know why its a prerequisite in the genre that the couple must always admit that they started off as a 'fake relationship' — like seriously, whose business is it?! Always do love when it's actually the woman in the wrong in these hetero set-ups but I do feel like Malakai needed a bit more characterisation — just a bit more edge.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Sexual harassment, Toxic relationship, and Sexual content

Minor: Sexism and Misogyny