This is a book review of Honey & Spice by Bolu Babalola with spoilers.
An enemies-to-lovers romance between two Black artists (she’s a radio host; he’s a filmmaker)? Yeah, sign me up.
The Facts
Author: Bolu Babalola
Release Date: June 21, 2022
Genre: Contemporary romance
Main Characters: Kiki Banjo & Malakai Korede
Number of Pages: 358
Rating: 3.75 out of 5
What I Loved
I loved the mention of the emotional Fresh Prince of Bel-Air episode where his dad disappears again. Truthfully, there were a lot of pop culture mentions, especially pertaining to Beyonce’s Lemonade album (referring to Jada Pinkett Smith as “Auntie”… no ma’am).
Though it’s annoying that it’s an international problem, I liked the inclusion of a Black man being stopped and hassled by the police. It makes the story more real and shows that no matter what we do, how polite we are, we are treated like aggressors.
Speaking of the Black man pulled over by the police, Malakai is so perfectly written. Every time he appeared on the page, he saved the book. Some of his comebacks were hilarious and took me CLEAN OUT, such as the quote at the end of this writing. Why was it so funny?
Although Malakai was the hero of the book, Kiki’s quick wit was beautiful. Her most iconic line, in my opinion: “‘I think the library would make him combust into flames, like Trump in a church.'” I SCREAMED.
I liked the way the Yoruba translations are written without making it obvious they’re translations. Fantastically done.
What I... Didn't
There was a lot of [what felt like unnecessary] detail when explaining the lore/backstory of something or someone. It made the story drag out a bit and got to be a little annoying, especially in the beginning.
Also, I needed some indication we were going back in time for a couple of the chapters because I was so confused. There was a lot of slang that I also simply did not understand.
The whole Rianne situation felt super rushed, to the point of it being almost unnecessary.
I’m not really a fan of the way the end is written, in terms of taking down Zack and revealing Kiki made it into the NYU program.
Final Thoughts
I was shocked with how funny I actually found this book; I didn’t anticipate so much comedy and banter. I can see why so many people love this book, but there were many things I struggled with while reading it, especially in terms of the UK and African slang. I am still trying to decide if I want to read the sequel, especially since quotation marks were traded for apostrophes.
If I find a Black man on the same wavelength as Malakai, I fear I will destroy my family’s expectations of me being with a white man.
"'I know. I was shocked that I'm literate too.'"
