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A review by jae_28
Honey & Spice by Bolu Babalola
emotional
funny
inspiring
lighthearted
reflective
sad
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
4.5
This was one of the very few stories I’ve read where I got to see the love interests genuinely connect for more than one or two scenes and I one hundred percent believed that they fell in love by the end. They were hilariously witty, playful, imperfect, and so real that they could be people I knew. And it’s not just the two, all the characters were so well-rounded and dynamic. After reading Love In Color, I didn’t expect any less from Babalola when it came to character development.
The conflict and backstories—how the two were woven throughout the story—were executed beautifully. I absolutely loved the tone and language of the writing. It’s become one of my favorite things now. The only thing that threw me off was that a lot of the sentence structures were a bit off-putting. The sentences were just long as hell sometimes lol. They would start at one place and run for a while before going back to the original point. I constantly had to stop and blink to process before moving on. As jarring as it was, I also saw it as a quirk in the writing rather than a flaw, but something to point out nonetheless. It may be easier to follow for those who read a physical copy.
Some might also think the book could’ve been a little shorter, or condensed some in the middle. I loved the writing so much and enjoyed the read but still felt that was the case at one point, especially since the end felt rushed to me. We didn’t really get to see the end unfold for other important parts of the plot, unfortunately. We were told what happened and then it just… ended. I understand that the romance seemed to be the most important but that was kind of a letdown, especially after getting so attached to the characters and story.
The conflict and backstories—how the two were woven throughout the story—were executed beautifully. I absolutely loved the tone and language of the writing. It’s become one of my favorite things now. The only thing that threw me off was that a lot of the sentence structures were a bit off-putting. The sentences were just long as hell sometimes lol. They would start at one place and run for a while before going back to the original point. I constantly had to stop and blink to process before moving on. As jarring as it was, I also saw it as a quirk in the writing rather than a flaw, but something to point out nonetheless. It may be easier to follow for those who read a physical copy.
Some might also think the book could’ve been a little shorter, or condensed some in the middle. I loved the writing so much and enjoyed the read but still felt that was the case at one point, especially since the end felt rushed to me. We didn’t really get to see the end unfold for other important parts of the plot, unfortunately. We were told what happened and then it just… ended. I understand that the romance seemed to be the most important but that was kind of a letdown, especially after getting so attached to the characters and story.