Spice: A Novel (Fate)

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So when she meets a handsome new student Malakai she is puzzled why he has such an affect on her. She digs deep and ignores it. The lush writing style flows beautifully with rich analogies and witty humour. I especially loved the Afro-Caribbean and pop culture references, which made the narrative engaging and fun. Besides this, natural, well-written dialogues help propel the storyline forward and define the characters.

So yes, of course I highly recommend reading this book it was spectacularly written and gave me every ounce of serotonin that I needed, truly! I love this book! The hero is purely delightful in every way, considerate, caring, listening, emotionally intelligent, but still not implausibly perfect. (The fact that this list of characteristics is close to implausible suggests how incredibly low we set the bar for men, and if you nodded at that you need to buy this book immediately.) The heroine is hurt and contradictory sometimes, but shaping herself to be a spectacular person. The relationship itself is very slow burn with delightful UST, but in parallel we see the heroine starting to make female friendships and the importance of that is absolutely equal to the relationship. The best part of this book was hands down the characters. Bolu Babalola crafts characters that feel like real people, characters that you can't help but root for and empathize with. This goes for Kiki and Malakai, but also the side characters too. I initially struggled with the narration as Weruche Opia's voice seemed too mature for the narrative. However, as I settled into the story, this became less of an issue since Weruche does a great job conveying the emotions and personalities of the characters. Now, there was a lightbulb moment for me and that's when the characters started talking about a famous scene from The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air. From there on out I was much more invested in the characters. Such a minor thing but it's what saved the book for me. And that's what is neat about reading, each reader can pull something different from a book.

Level 5 🌶️🌶️🌶️🌶️🌶️

It's university-set so I suppose it could be YA/NA but it doesn't at all read that way. These feel like characters who ar young adults rather than YA characters, if that makes sense: the issues of trust and cliques and politics and bad men could all be played out by people in an office thirty years on. Which isn't to say these aren't convincing students: they really are, in their drama and earnestness. They're *people*. It’s my fault. When I borrowed the audiobook of Honey & Spice from my library, I didn’t notice that the protagonist is a college student. Anyway, while I am not trying to set myself up as the Romcom Adjudicator (by the power vested in me by me), for my money, Honey & Spice is a romcom in the sense of romcom, not in the sense of a CSBWSREAIC. Its story is inextricable from its themes—which are serious ones of race, identity, friendship, love, self-agency, and personal growth—but it’s also just joyous to read and funny as hell. Between the bants, which is sparkly, and the narrator’s swaggeringly cynical voice, I did indeed lol. Malakai is a sweet lead who effortlessly matches Kiki's energy and is given some depth through his experiences and family issues. Besides Malakai, Kiki's best friend Amina is the only other character who stands out due to her substantial role. Although the remaining characters have little depth, they are given defined roles that help bring the story together. Kiki the main character is smart and ambitious, she sets goals for certain things and accomplishes them.

It’s kind of hard to talk about this, without sounding crass, but I think it’s easy, in fiction as in life, to treat only the most extreme outcomes of particular situations as significant (cancer leads to death, sexual assault/harassment leads to rape) which in turn leaves people who undergo deeply hurtful experiences feeling as if those experiences don’t “count” or weren’t real. Basically, I just found the way Honey & Spice approached its heroine (and indeed its hero’s) pain really refreshing. It makes real space for the nuances of damage without feeling a need to exploit tragedy or reach for extremism. With Kiki, especially, we have a heroine who has been undeniably affected by what she’s been through, but at the same time she is never less than a whole and complex person, who is growing every day. Something that is supported by her developing relationship with Malakai -- which grows into a genuinely lovely romantic arc, full of sharp words, with a soft centre (and y'see, the title of the book is Honey & Spice). Looking for more bookish content to devour? We’ve got you covered! Whether you’re trying to get out of a reading slump or looking to up your reading game, don’t forget about Bloo, your own personal reading assistant, who will help you out. So, keep exploring, and happy reading! The plot centers around Troy Brennan, a feared and downright cruel guy in Boston with a seriously dark past, and Sparrow Raynes, a woman who’s essentially forced into marrying him. At first glance, Sparrow seems like your average woman, but as the story unfolds, you get to see this whole other side to her—tough and super smart. Kiki and Malakai, though, steal the show. Malakai is a wonderful hero: sexy, funny, a touch arrogant, not perfect yet willing to answer for his mistakes, but also deeply and nerdishly earnest in a lot of ways, which provides such a welcome contrast to Kiki’s brittle cynicism. Kiki herself is my favourite kind of romance heroine: damaged, flawed, strong, complicated. She’s also kind of a slowburn heroine because we meet her sleeping with a man she doesn’t like precisely because she doesn’t like him and it takes about half the book to really know who she is and understand the forces and experiences that have shaped her. It is, however, an incredibly satisfying journey, especially because it parallels Kiki’s own journey not just to a romantic relationship with Malakai but to a better relationship with herself and the world in general. There's something about the way the characters were crafted that they felt three dimensional, and that extended to the tertiary level side characters. It's hard enough getting friends in books to come across as real people so Babalola was really out here running laps around the girlies.I- I don’t even think I have all the right words to describe how much I LOVED THIS BOOK. The way Bolu Babalola writes is absolutely fantastic! The Nigerian culture representation truly made my heart so warm. I felt like I was reading about a part of myself that I wanted to connect with more. Sparrow is a fantastic blend of steam, action, and suspense sprinkled with just the right touch of drama 😌 Initially I could not get into this story, I would put it in the YA category and contemporary romance. There are predictable parts it but lots of funny parts. I enjoyed Bolu Babalola’s writing think this is a wonderful debut novel