Bolu Babalola's captivating romance novel, "Honey and Spice," tells the story of a Black British university student named Kiki who explores love and friendship through her radio show, "Brown Sugar." Content with her low-key social status, Kiki dedicates herself to her show, navigating the cliques and drama of her college, Blackwell. When charming transfer student Malakai joins the scene, Kiki's world is turned upside down as they embark on a fake dating scheme to enhance their media projects. Babalola's lyrical prose and Kiki's confident demeanor make for a smooth, sophisticated, and sexy read, leaving readers enchanted by the story's charm and wit.

Loved this book! The writing allows you to connect with the characters and draws you in. You were rooting for them. I couldn't put it down because I wanted to know what happened. This book also makes you feel. Due to the connection you establish with the characters. You can feel or relate to how they are feeling. I would definitely recommend this book.

This book reminded me of my university days in the UK. Though it took a while to pick and had some cliche references, I was intrigued by the main character. I would definitely recommend this for a lazy weekend read if you're into tales of the ups and downs of young love. Thank you for this advance copy.

"Honey and Spice" by Bolu Babalola is a captivating and enchanting collection of short stories that skillfully weaves together elements of love, folklore, and fantasy. Babalola's storytelling is rich and evocative, drawing readers into a world where ancient myths and modern romance coexist. Her writing is sensuous, and her characters are both relatable and complex, making it easy to become emotionally invested in their journeys. Through a diverse array of characters and settings, she explores the universal themes of love, desire, and the enduring power of storytelling. "Honey and Spice" is a delightful and beautifully written book that will leave you with a warm, lingering feeling of enchantment.

Thank you to #NetGalley and #WilliamMorrow for allowing me to read this book.A gloriously funny and sparkling debut novel, Honey and Spice is full of delicious tension and romantic intrigue that will make you weak at the knees.

Oh do I love the fake dating trope, one of my favorite ones and this book tops it off. Can we talk about the tension between both characters. What I love about this book is that the author is able to write this characters so that we can relate to them and love them.

If you're in a reading funk, this is the one. Romance, wit and fun all over! No cheesy or over the top lines. This is my first Bolu Babalola book and it wont be my last. First page, I was completely in. The writing, the characters is absolutely incredible. I enjoyed the smooth, smart and hilarious setting. I cannot wait to read more by this super talented author.

Cute fake-to-real romance story. There was a lot of British slang I didn’t get initially but this was an enjoyable read both about friendship and women supporting women and a decent romance. Enjoyable enough read.

I read this (very late) as an ARC so thank you to NetGalley for the opportunity.

I enjoyed this story so much. I don't often give romance books 5 stars but Bolu's writing is impeccable. Every character is lovable and the love story was so well set up that I couldn't help fall in love with it.

I love Bolu Babalola and this book didn't disappoint. I hope she continues writing stories of love, whether original or her lovely retellings of love stories and fables

This book was laugh out loud funny but also had a lot of depth and heart. The friendship between Kiki and Aminah was so wonderful.. Loved it!

This was a way spicer version of a YA romance and I truly enjoyed it!

LIKES:
1) strong group of female friends! I love when a story shows women building each other up instead of bringing each other down.
2) Malachi… if all young girls could have an experience with a guy that was this sweet and respectful. Kiki always felt safe and heard with him.
3) the audiobook! The narrator was so good and I loved how they changed the voice to be “on the radio” or text. It was a cool feature
4) it felt real. This is a story that shows the cattiness of people, slut shaming, cyber bullying… and where I don’t think it needs a trigger warning, I enjoyed how real it felt.
5) almost forgot… it’s my favorite trope!!! Fake romance!!!

DISLIKES:
1) it dragged a little. I couldn’t get into right away and that bummed me out because it did turn out to be a phenomenal story!

This was such a fun romance novel. I was a big fan of Babalola's short story collection and was thrilled to read her first novel. Her narrative voice is so much fun and I absolutely loved Kiki and Kai. If you like contemporary romance novels, you should definitely add this one to your list.

This one has the fake dating trope, two lovable characters who everyone else knows are in love long before they realize it themselves. This book really features black joy and is an excellent addition to any collection.

I absolutely loved Bolu Babalola's debut novel, Honey & Spice! From the very first page, I knew I was in for a treat. Babalola's writing style is witty and engaging---I was so there for it. I found myself completely absorbed in the story and wanting to read more.

The writing style is told from the main character, Kiki's, perspective and it was a joy to read about the things she thinks, the way she thinks as well as her interactions with the other charcters. The dialogue between Kiki and the other characters was also witty and often times funny. I especially liked her ineractions with Malaki (is anyone surprised?)---the chemistry between them at times was so palpable, I thought my Kindle was going to singe my fingers!

The interactions between the main characters and side characters were also fantastic and added a lot of depth to the story. I also want to add that I really loved the radio segments. The way Kiki spoke to her listeners...it was just a pure joy. I listene to parts of this book in audiobook format and I have to say that the radio segments were especially great in that format, but I definitely enjoyed all of the parts I experienced through the auidobook.

Overall, I absolutely adored Honey & Spice and would highly recommend this book to anyone looking for a great read. Babalola's writing style is so captivating and her characters are so real--- I was hooked from the very first paragraph. I am definitely looking forward to reading more of Babalola's work in the future!

I tried this one on audio and I could not get into it. I’m not sure if it was the narration, or the plot but after a decent effort I still wasn’t interested

I decided to give this debut novel a try since it looked like it would be a fun, happy-ending-type read. While I thought the writing was superb and that Kiki and Malakai were cute together, I didn't connect to this story and was a little disappointed that it didn't work for me. I think I might have liked it more if I were closer to my college years or perhaps if the story had been set post-university, even though the premise would not have worked in the same way. It had funny moments but I found myself skimming a bit to finish. I wasn't drawn into the on-campus dilemmas and partying, likely because I'm at a different season of life. I enjoy stories featuring younger protagonists but I wasn't the right reader for this novel at this time. Despite the fact this didn't click for me, I do hope to read more from this author in the future though because I liked her writing and fresh voice.

Many thanks to William Morrow and the Book Club Girl Early Read program for the opportunity to read a NetGalley copy of this book!

Chick Lit / Romantic Comedy / Fake Relationship / Young Adult

Fun and light read. Set in a black community at a majority white university. Kiki, the heroine is a strong, independent and innovative woman that begins fake dating but then falls in love with the adorable Malakki, their relationship grows in a way that you want them to really be together and you want to keep reading until it happens.

It’s a cute storyline for the younger audience.

Thank you to the publisher and NetGalley for this ARC in exchange for an honest review.

Thoroughly enjoyable, this book definitely deserves a better cover (it probably would do as well as You made a fool of me with your beauty if it had a better color)

Loved just loved. Have a longer review on my insta but was just such a big fan of this one and love Bolus writing. Thank you Harper for the ARC for my honest review.

This was a fun cute romance, it has a good plot, diverse characters, hilarious dialogue and the premise was generally good. I think this book would do better on the right audience, but unfortunately it wasn't for me. Overall, this book had nice discussions and was entertaining, but it wasn't anything groundbreaking.