‘Honey & Spice’, the predecessor to ‘Sweet Heat’, was my first read of 2023. I had given that book five stars after being caught up in the love story between Malakai and Kiki. The author, Bolu Babalola, wrote these two young adults with such care and threaded consideration into every conversation they had. Ever since they fell into my life, I have adored Kiki and Kai, and I fell deeper in love with their Sweet Heat in this sequel that was released two years later.
I am grateful to Bolu and her publishers for giving me access to an electronic advanced copy of the perfect sequel to a perfect book.
At the end of Honey & Spice, I thought it was a given that my favourite couple had ridden off into the sunset and lived happily ever after. When I saw the abstract for the sequel, it surprised me that my favourite pair broke up! It’s not every day that an author can take characters that people have loved and attached themselves to and do them justice in a sequel where the premise is a second chance romance in an instance where you never anticipated a breakup.
However, my skin was hot from the moment Malakai walked into the engagement party and grew hotter with every stolen glance, heated argument, and messy interaction he had with Kikiola. The chemistry between my faves was still stronger than ever, and I knew that this book was going to take me for a ride.
It is very hard to write about people who are so madly in love with each other but too stubborn to realise that the actions they took to protect their partner were what drove a wedge between them in the first place. I absolutely HATE miscommunication; it ramps up my anxiety, and several times, I was close to ragging out my edges. I may actually need to invest in some Cecred Edge Drops!
I was invested in this love story and all the supporting elements around it. I am still convinced that this couple is one of the most beautiful I have ever read, and BeeBabs writes in a way that sits in your chest and pulls you into the bodies of the characters she’s created.
I felt every frustration, every touch, EVERYTHING as if I was living it in real time… there are very few authors who have the capacity to possess a reader. A resounding FIVE STARS ⭐️