I loved this book so much, I legit laughed out loud while reading & was cheering so hard for Scotch & Kai! Let’s review!
Honey & Spice by Bolu Babalola
- Category – Contemporary Chick-Lit Romance
- Length – 368 Pages
- Read Time – 1 Day
- GR Rating – 4 Stars
Honey & Spice is a modern young adult romance, taking place in the UK in a University setting. Kikiola ‘Kiki’ Banjo has built tall, thick walls around herself & her heart. The creator & host of a very popular campus radio show ‘Brown Sugar’, Kiki is the big sister warning her female listeners away from the many games the “wastemen” play. She doesn’t do dating relationships, doesn’t go out much & generally sticks to her very small friend group. Enter Malakai Korede, film student & resident new hot guy on campus.
Pushed together, after a chance hallway encounter, by a mutual professor Kiki & Malakai begin a fake dating relationship for their mutual academic benefit. Kiki is in pursuit of a new segment for her show in order to gain a larger audience & push her media dreams further & Malakai in pursuit of a film partner for his debut project. But is that all they’re after from & with each other, no of course not, this is a modern romance, of course their relationship isn’t purely platonic.
I’m usually not into the enemies to lovers nor love at 1st sight tropes which this story is kind of a bit of both but this book was so modern & fun that I didn’t mind. It felt very today, this very year. The hallway moment was electric despite its subtlety. The quick witted banter between Kiki & Kai instantly spelled out “they’re going to start dating by next week”! Sure enough they do, although just a ‘fake’ relationship at 1st, by the ending of the book they’re on the same love page. While Kiki maintains that their dating relationship is just a mutually beneficial ‘business’ transaction for most of the book, Kai knew she was someone special from that 1st meeting. Kiki just needed some time to truly believe he was not another ‘wasteman’ like the rest.
(He’s a good man Savannah)
By the end of the book, “Scotch” & Kai are the it couple on campus declaring their feelings for each other in a very public way to the applause of their uni-mates. There were so many cheesy moments in this book, it is chick-lit romance after all but I loved every minute of it! The dynamics of the friend/s group/s felt so familiar & real, even during the “frenemy” times of the greater friend group there was still a basic adult level of respect. The women weren’t catty towards each other, offering understanding & support even if from a distance.
Definitely recommend this book for modern romance readers!
Thank you for joining me for another review, I’d love to read your thoughts on my review & of course on the book too.
- Have you read this book?
- What was your favorite part? (All of Malakai! His emotional intelligence & ability for introspection was *chefs kiss*)
- What was your least favorite part? (N/A)
- How many stars do you rate this book?
Hasta la próxima – V
Chatting with V 
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