2.5 stars leaning to into 3! I’m not sure I enjoy the pacing of the novel but I love the characters of the novel. Especially the representation and overall feeling like I’m reading about cousins instead of characters.

I think it was phenomenal. Really beautiful writing. The format felt a bit funny but that could’ve been the early transcript format I’m not used to (this is my first ARC). Can’t wait for people to read this novel. Babalola is in her BAG!

If you know me, you know I love a second chance romance—and this one absolutely did not disappoint. The angst? Palpable. The buildup? Delicious. Kai and Kikiola—gosh, I missed these two. Their first love story was so emotionally rich that every glance, every argument, every stolen moment in this sequel felt loaded with meaning. You felt everything—and you knew the payoff would be worth it.

I won’t lie—I was impatient while reading. I needed to know what tore them apart. I needed to know why we were here again. But in the end, the pacing made sense.
The story strikes a great balance between past and present, slowly peeling back the layers and delivering the context exactly when it mattered most. When we finally get to the long-awaited reveal of their breakup, it’s heartbreaking—but also real, honest, and entirely understandable.
Bolu captures something so true in this sequel: sometimes two people are perfect for each other, just not at the right time. And the way she brings back the magic from the first book while deepening it through growth and maturity? Chef’s kiss.
Her writing is lyrical and intimate—you can feel the longing, the ache, the joy, the heartbreak. Every chapter, every flashback felt intentional. The characters have grown, but they’re still them—just more layered, more aware.
And outside of the romance, I loved seeing Kiki and Aminah’s friendship shine again. I’m always a sucker for strong sisterhood energy, and this one delivered.
I really, really loved this one and can’t wait to add a physical copy to my shelf. Thank you @netgalley for the eARC—it’s always an honor.

pub date: september 2nd!

Thank you NetGalley for this ARC!

I had read 'Honey & Spice' back in 2022, so honestly didn't remember much, but I do love a second-chance romance. Kiki and Malakai have ALL the tension & their first break-up made complete sense, as they both needed different things from each other as they were going through their own personal journeys. BUT the beginning DRAGGED - we didn't even see Kai again until like 20% in, and I was desperate for them to interact again. Once they did, the HEAT was so strong. All the different forced proximity situations were so fun and juicy.

I did hate her BFF Aminah though - she was so selfish and self-absorbed IMO. Like I get wedding planning is stressful, but don't take it out on your best friend who is already helping SO much.

And I still stand by my review of the first book: 'malakai was a perfect man'

Loved Honey & Spice so I was so excited to see a sequel! I loved jumping back in with Kiki, love the banter between her and Kai and can you really go wrong with a second chance romance! Adding this to my preorder list cause I definitely need a physical copy!

I absolutely loved Sweet Heat! The story of Kiki and Malakai is so touching and heartfelt. After everything they've been through, they get a second chance at love, and it’s beautifully written. The best part is how they grow and find their way back to each other. All of the characters feel incredibly real, relatable, and warm. This book is more than just a romance; it’s a celebration of love in all its forms and a testament to the magic that happens when two people truly see and appreciate each other.

I’ve written and rewritten this review so many times, but I still don’t think it captures the essence of how much this book means to me.


What I admired most about this book was how soul-stirring, deeply compelling and character driven it was. There was such a rawness and vulnerability that made this such an emotional and moving read for me. I found myself getting teary eyed quite a few times. The author’s writing lyrical and expressive I literally felt every word on the page.

Kiki’s growth throughout this book especially as it relates to her career was so authentic and relatable. I loved how she vulnerable in a way that she wasn’t in Honey and Spice it made me love her character even more. The Kai we got in this story was so much different than the Kai we got in Honey and Spice at times I was like this can’t be my Kai because he was PISSING ME OFF, but when I found out everything he was dealing with that’s when I found myself giving him grace. The way Kiki and Kai both were able to find themselves and their paths was so beautiful and rewarding.

I lovedddd Kiki and Kai even more this time around which I didn’t think was possible. The yearning, longing and desire they had for each other while also having so much hurt and anger towards each other and their breakup poured out of the pages. Their love is all-consuming and soul-stirring. I should’ve known by the title that this book was going to be steamy, but those spice scenes had me HOT they were so intense just like Kiki and Kai.

I'm very sad to report that this book didn't work for me.

I read Honey & Spice right before I read this sequel and I fell over myself, I was so in love with it. I adored Babalola's prose, her voice. I was giddy reading Kiki and Malakai gradually fall for each other. I actually shed a few tears in the last fifteen pages of that novel.

So, suffice to say, I was intensely ready to read the sequel, despite knowing that Kiki and Malakai had broken up in the years prior.

And wasn't it a big surprise to me that I felt like I was slogging through this novel. It's nearing 500 pages, it's incredibly dense in background and story, and honestly, around the 40% mark I realized we were just going to do exactly what the first book did. It was going to tread the exact same ground by making Kiki and Malakai once again begrudgingly work together and then find one another. It was practically the exact same book again.

I did tear up at the wedding, it was beautiful, loved that, but I did find myself not wanting to pick this book up. I kind of dreaded having to dive back into such density. And that's not the experience I wanted from a sequel to a book that I loved.

A sequel, I've decided, that wasn't needed in the first place.

Thank you to William Morrow and Netgalley for this eARC! I always appreciate the opportunity to read and review ahead of release day.

I was first drawn to Sweet Heat because I love a "second chance romance via a bff's wedding" setup, but Sweet Heat ended up being so much more than that. This book is a beautifully written example of how relationships sometimes need to fall apart in order for the people involved to grow, learn, and strengthen in who they are and what they want - before coming back together as something even better than before.

This is a book where I might actually have benefitted by immersive reading (with the audiobook and ebook at the same time) to pick up a rhythm and cadence via a narrator but I had never done so before and it's harder to achieve with an ARC read, so I pushed through. The cadence and speed of Kiki's inner monologue in the first 20% of the book was giving me a hard time but once I got Kiki's voice in my head, I settled in and thoroughly enjoyed Bolu Babalola's unique style and the quick witty dialogue that bounced back and forth in a way that highlighted the friendships and bonds in this cast of characters.

Speaking of friendship, I loved the strong emphasis on friendship in this story! Not just Kiki and Aminah, who get the most focus - but Kiki and this whole extended friend group! Her own relationship with Kofi, her relationship with Shanti, the way friendship was found with Malakai in-between the tense moments. It felt like such a special spotlight on how important strong bonds are when you're going through change and when life is filled with uncertainty.

The main thing that kept Sweet Heat from being 5 stars for me is the cyclical nature of Malakai and Kiki's confrontations, and how it felt like nothing was really shifting or changing for them after each one until the last argument, where suddenly there were apologies made. While it could be chalked up to pain and ego and stubbornness finally getting outweighed by their need to be together, to me it felt very sudden, and made the last 15% of the book feel a bit rushed. I would have loved more time with them being happy.

I rated Sweet Heat a 4/5 stars, I thoroughly enjoyed this read and I think it is a must-read for romance lovers in general, but especially those that enjoy a second chance romance.

Unlike every other person I know, I wasn't the biggest fan of Honey&Spice. Honestly I had to DNF that book, but when I saw that Bolu Babalola had a second book coming out I was interested in giving it a try regardless of my feeling towards the first book.
Now, I do not necessarily think you need to read the first book to enjoy this one. I believe it follows the same characters but they are years apart that you would ve fine with just this one. Feel free to read the first book if you want the full backstory.
This is a second chance romance, and I am enjoying it so far. Cant wait to see how things play out.
Bolu Babalola's writing is very different from what I a used to and not in a bad way. honestly, in a very intriguing way. I would recommend this to anyone.

Sweet Heat - ⭐⭐⭐⭐

Last month, I read Honey and Spice. As I was reading it, I learned Bolu Babalola has another book releasing in September AND it's about the same characters!

If you've read Honey and Spice (and you enjoyed it) then I'd say picking up Sweet Heat is a nobrainer. That said, you could easily read one without the other. Sweet Heat picks up 8 years after Honey and Spice and features the same characters that we know and love. Babalola covers a wide range of topics in this one. From grief and joy to love and loss and others in between, she touches on it all so beautifully.

The character development and growth (in multiple characters) is also SO good. It was really fun to come back to characters years later (even though I read the first book last month) and see how they've changed and grown, and also the ways they still need to grow. The story is messy and hard but also feels very real in the way it's portrayed (i.e. working through really hard emotions and feelings and still trying to figure out what you want to do with your life years after you graduated university).

I also love the touches of Yoruba culture and language in both this book and Honey and Spice. Neither are things that I know much about so it's been fun and interesting to learn bits of it while reading.

As far as spice goes, while Honey and Spice is (mostly) spice free, Sweet Heat is not. I don't really do spice ratings because it seems so specific to each person, but there's 2-3 scenes in this one (I think. I didn't take notes and could be missing one).

Sweet Heat released in the UK earlier this month and will release in the US on September 2nd!

Thanks to William Morrow for the opportunity to read this ARC. This took me a while to get into (I hadn’t read Honey & Spice), but I appreciated the realness of Kiki and Malakai’s relationship.

I read Honey & Spice a couple years ago and I when I finished it then, my immediate thought was I wanted more. I must not have been the only because now we have Sweet Heat!

Sweet Heat is a second chance romance that forces Kiki and Malakai to face each other years after their breakup, in more ways than one. It was so much fun getting back to the crew and the friendships. They’ve grown up and have dealt with struggles in their careers, relationships and family.

I enjoyed reading about Kiki and Malakai again and seeing how they’ve evolved. There’s banter, angst and heat. 🌶️🌶️🌶️

I loved the definition of Sweet Heat in this book - delicious, addictive, hot, deep and lasting.

For me, it was a long romance. I feel like there were parts that were unnecessary. It took me a while to get through the beginning. There was a lot about Kiki’s current boyfriend that I just felt wasn’t needed. I also felt like I waited forever for Malakai to appear. The first 25% felt like fluff to me. If you’re someone that doesn’t appreciate pop culture references in your books, you may not like this one.

If you’re a fan of second chance romance, Sweet Heat is for you. Thank you Bolu Babalola for giving us more Kiki, Kai and the crew!

Thank you, Net Galley for the opportunity to review this book!

This was such a fun and heartfelt read! Sweet Heat is my first time reading Bolu Babalola, and I really enjoyed her voice and storytelling style. The chemistry between Kiki and Malakai is electric, and the second-chance romance is done so well—it feels real and grounded, yet still gives me all the swoony moments I want.

Some of the side plots were a little busy at times, but overall, it didn’t take away from how much I liked the main story. I’m definitely interested in reading more from this author now.

Big thanks to NetGalley and the publisher, William Morrow, for the ARC in exchange for an honest review!

These two are so hot!!

I love Honey & Spice so I have been anxiously awaiting this book. I'm pleased to say that this fully lived up to my expectations and felt like an evolved, grown-up version of the first book. It's such a fun idea to revisit these characters years later after they've become full-fledged adults. So many books about teenagers or college aged young adults do have me wondering if the "true love" we see characters experience in their adolescence would actually last. In this case, the answer is no...but yes when the timing makes more sense.

I think the way Bolu Babalola writes the chemistry between Kiki and Malakai is so good. The two of them feel like magnets who are drawn together. Even when the ways they continuously run into each other can feel a little farfetched, their connection always feels real.

I also really appreciate the individual career and personal struggles each character faced and how they figured them out on their own but leaned on each other for support.

One of my only complaints is that I had a hard time buying that Kiki would ever be with her ex-boyfriend, and I also don't know why they lied about being exes at first. The complaints are small though because everything else was so good.

I think it would be fun to check in again with these characters years down the line too!

Thank you Netgalley for accepting my request for this ARC in exchange for an honest review.
This was my first ARC and I’m so glad that it was one of my VERY highly anticipated ones for 2025.
It was so good to be with the crew again and dive into where they are now in their lives. I didn’t know how much I missed them until I reacquainted myself and really got into the story.
It was amazing seeing the growth of all the characters with them still being what made them “them” in Honey & Spice.
Malakai and KiKi’s second chance romance was REAL. The attraction to each other was undeniable while the hesitation of diving in too deep too soon was believable.
The way they interacted wasn’t just a story, it was real life for some.
At first the repetitive pop references and Nigerian/Brit lingo threw me off a bit (more than the first book) but once I got past that I was 100% locked in.
I can’t wait for the world to read this one.
Well Done Bolu Babalola…well done!👏🏽🩷

This was a great follow up to Honey & Spice. I hate that broke up in the beginning but eventually got it together. But baby this is a SLOW BURN!!! And that's my least favorite trope so it took some time getting through this. 4.85 rating

“Our love was many things, but flimsy wasn’t one of them.”

⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️.5 (rounded up for rating scale)
🌶️🌶️

Sweet Heat was such a good second chance romance. This story follows Kiki and Malakai from the book, Honey & Spice. Full disclosure, when I was offered an advanced copy of this book, I had no idea that it was the second book or that it was connected to Honey & Spice. I was already a good part of the way into the book when a friend of mine let me know that it was the second book. I have not seen anything about whether or not they are interconnected stand-alones, but I would say based on my reading experience that they are. I was able to read and enjoy this story fully without having a background from the other book.

The story manages to be funny, romantic, sad, and meaningful all at once. It not only covers a second chance romance, but also the intricacies of friendships as we grow older.

Sweet Heat also is so immersive as far as black culture. There is a diverse cast of characters. Kiki is so knowledgeable about music and the book highlights a ton of incredibly talented black musicians. The story takes place in London and the characters have all different backgrounds and really celebrate their culture.

The romance between Kiki and Malakai is complicated but also so simple and beautiful. They just have to sort things out. Their chemistry is off the charts as well.

Thank you to Avon Books for the e-arc. All opinions are my own.

Sweet Heat is perfect for readers who crave a contemporary romance that balances sharp, culturally rooted humor with an honest exploration of rebuilding self-worth while navigating career setbacks and messy, high-stakes emotions.

Wow,
4.75⭐️
I really enjoyed myself being back in Kiki and Kais orbit I had a time and a half I laughed I cried and most importantly I loved. See full in depth review on my goodreads profile