I had high hopes for Sweet Heat, the premise—a second-chance romance between Kiki and Malakai—is enticing, and Babalola's writing is known for its wit and emotional depth. However, I found myself struggling to connect with the characters and the storyline. Kiki's journey felt more frustrating than relatable, and the slow-burn romance didn't capture my interest as I had hoped. Despite the book's acclaim and positive reviews, it just wasn't resonating with me. While I didn't finish the book, I can see why others might appreciate it. If you're a fan of second-chance romances and Babalola's previous work, this might still be worth checking out. I dnd's at 77%.

Oh Kiki and Malakai, how dear this characters are to me.

Sweet Heat was wonderful because it honestly felt like I was picking up where we left off in the universe of these characters. Obviously it is a few years after the story of Honey & Spice and our faves are little bit older now. They’ve gone through big changes in their lives from relationships to careers. This was a second chance story between Kiki and Malakai, but the story was so much more than that for me. Bolu Babalola is so good at writing romance, but she is always amazing at portraying friendship and its ups and downs.

I always say how I love a story about late 20s to early 30-somethings because they always resonate with me. Everyone is growing and lives are changing and they’re figuring out how to navigate that. I feel like in general people are experiencing a lot of change in their lives, and while some might have it figured out where things are going smooth, many are still trying to get a grasp of things often leading to a quarter life crisis. Times are stressful. This book felt relatable in that way and it really hit different.

Kiki and Malakai’s journey as they were brought back together was beautifully written and their stories were perfectly intertwined. There was so much angst and yearning. I was screaming at the book because I just wanted my faves back together, but the pacing and events that occurred for their journey flowed perfectly.

As always, Bolu Babalola’s writing was phenomenal. That prose was chefs kiss. She will always have a reader in me!

Amazing book loved the characters and plot. I couldn't stop reading I stayed up all night. I loved the book so much thank you for the arc.

Make space on your shelves, people, because you're going to need it for everything Bolu Babalola writes!

Sweet Heat by Bolu Babalola picks up eight years after the end of Honey & Spice, and things have changed. Kiki and Malakai are no longer together, but Kiki is still as bright, fierce, sharp, and quick-witted as ever. Now, though, she is facing career struggles, changes with her family, and the prospect of her best friend's upcoming wedding. And with Aminah getting married, this also means she's going to have to face Malakai again after three years apart.

What follows is Babalola's signature style of laugh out loud moments, volleying banter, incisive commentary on current cultural and political norms and issues, and profound observation on the power and necessity of love.

It is rare to find an author who can write not just one, but two love stories about the same couple, and make each stand on its own while being part of their larger story. In Honey & Spice, Kiki and Kai are young and have a great love, but one that has not been severely tested. In Sweet Heat, we see people who are the same, and yet who are evolved, and we see how their love must evolve through struggle, and ultimately if they are willing to put aside pride, hurt, and mistrust in order to love again.

I don't often cry while reading, but this book brought me to tears as well as making me burst with laughter. It is one you will want to read, and then reread. And, if you have loved deeply, been hurt from loving deeply, but chosen to love again anyway, you will see yourself reflected in this story.

Kai and Kiki have returned in this amazing second chance romance that is absolutely sweet and spicy!!!! I adored being able to meet them again and this time with seeing how far they got in life. I loved so many things about this romance, from Kiki being a maid of honor, learning a new path in life and dealing with unexpected turns, and seeing Kai again, and realizing what their love was and how life changing it was.

Babalola did an incredible job at writing such an iconic story, and an even sweeter and spicier one, the second time. Fans of Honey and Spice, get ready for more honey and more spice in Sweet Heat!

Bolu Babalola has achieved the impossible- she wrote an amazing romance that convinced me that two people should wholeheartedly be together, had them go through a brutal breakup, and then convinced me AGAIN that they should be together. Initially I was curious as to why she'd write a second chances sequel since the first book made Kiki and Malakai feel so perfect for each other, but since this book takes place while they're adults, the author was able to explore much deeper questions about what your identity is with/without success, and the realities of being someone in your mid-20s juggling a relationship. The writing was amazing- there was the great banter from Honey and Spice, so much rich characterization of places and music, and I LOVED THE ANGST SO MUCH. So many great quotes that pulled at my heart, and as always, Kiki and Aminah's relationship was one of the best parts of the book. I loved learning more about Kiki's relationship with her parents and the restaurant, it was barely touched on in Honey and Spice and I liked how they intersected with the plot here. This was so good!

I love, love, love this book and this world. Kiki and Malakai are so important to me, and it was such a joy to get back into their story and see them grow as adults.

This is totally on me not realizing that this is the second book about Kiki and Malakai -- I'm sure this would've been a much better reading experience had I known that. With that being said, there were large portions of the book where Kiki and Malakai weren't interacting at all. Malakai didn't come into the story until maybe 20% in? I think Babalola did a great job on a second chance romance where both parties had heavy things they were dealing with and not knowing how to lean on each other. I think that's an extremely relatable and realistic to people grieving and struggling through real-world pains.

The sequel to Honey & Spice we have all been waiting for 😍🔥🥳 This novel follows Kiki and Malakai as they navigate being thrown together for their best friends' wedding after their breakup 3 years ago. The chemistry and tension was present from the very first time the pair reunited and I absolutely loved the witty banter, realistic conversations and SPICY chemistry (🔥🔥🔥🔥/5). I absolutely just flew through this novel because it was well written and organized. Not too long but also not too short.

loved this one, loved the second chance romance vibes, despite how lengthy it was it never felt slow or like it wasn't using its time well. 5 stars. tysm for the arc.

somehow, my last straw was the use of YOLO in 2025 (no matter how ironically)

There was beautiful, poetic, romantic writing, but this is NOT a valid reason for a 500-page romance novel. wow was this unnecessarily long. I got to the halfway point and simply lost interest because the story was barely going anywhere. the monologue was rambling and the narrative was so bizarrely paced, with the first 100 pages being almost meaningless, including detailed conversations and inner monologues of the female protagonist regarding her current boyfriend (NOT the male love interest from her past). then when the characters do reunite for the first time, their tension quickly dissipates with a no strings attached tumble in the sheets after 6 hours together. lastly, for those that hate modern pop culture references, these run rampant in this story, so steer clear.

This book was delicious, emotional, and raw.
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I had an interesting time with this one at first. I didn’t realize this was a sequel (oops), and got about 35% through and was like “am I missing something?? lol”. Long story short - I took a little detour and started Honey & Spice on audio (which I enjoyed!). After I finished that, I skimmed the beginning of this book that I had already read, and was like “ok nowwwww I am getting it”. BUT the author says you can for sure read this one as a standalone.
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You can tell the author really put in the work and so much love into this sequel. The characters feel like they exist outside of this book, and their story has not left me since I finished.
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I looooooved how Bolu writes in this. Her writing is addictive, layered, thorough, smooth, and hits you in that sweet spot every time. The push and pull between Kai and Kiki was palpable. The physical attraction, things unsaid, hope, fear, was felt in every word.
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I really enjoyed this series! Definitely will be checking out what else this author puts out in the future!

Uhh!! I loved everything about this book from the culture to the character development, the love between not only Kiki and Malakai but Aminah and Kofi as well as the friendships. This book is so warm and heartfelt, the characters really come to life, it really feels like you’re right there with them watching them yearning for the love that’s between them and navigating getting back to that love that’s just right above the surface. The title is a perfect testament of not only the love between Kiki and Kai but the overall feel of this book.

Thank William Morrow for the opportunity to read this phenomenal book, This book has become one of my top reads of the year and I can’t wait to see what else Bolu Babalola has in store for us.

i wanted this arc soooo badly like netgalley and bolu felt my presence and knew i needed it (i requested it)

kikiola my shaylaaa her struggle of trying to figure out what she wants to do with her life and career is tooo real… also the conversation with her mom 70% through the book pleaseeee and malakai my prince get behind meeeee yaya for therapy!!! they are my boo-boo bears forever!!!!!

i love a fight between too people who know each other so well.. too well cause they really get all the tender spots and that will always hit in the worst and best way…
also fun use of the third act break up to be their past break up like yaasssss

thank you netgalley for the arc!!!

Bolu Babalola shapes her characters and carves her novels with intellect, wit, humor, charm, and grace. She clearly perceives the human experience when it comes to warmth, intimacy, and above all, love. Her perception seems to feed into the soul of her characters, making you almost imagine them as people who live alongside you as living members of society. It’s important to mention that Sweet Heat isn’t the start of Bolu’s amazingness, as a previous consumer of Bolu’s work I’ve had the pleasure of reading Love in Color and Honey & Spice. These books held weight in my heart, mind, and spirit. Sweet Heat takes that weight and tethers it—and by extension you—to the pages. If you’re a newcomer who is reading this book as your introduction to Babalola’s book queendom, I highly suggest reading Honey & Spice as well. Although Sweet Heat can stand alone, it is made 2x better (if that’s even possible) with its very fitting partner, Honey & Spice. I inhaled this book, reading it in less than 2 full days. It’s a must-read for summer, or any other season. I can’t wait to devour what comes next from Bolu Babalola.
-Yaa B

I will preface this as I have NOT read Honey & Spice yet. It was stated that I could read Sweet Heat without reading Honey & Spice. But I will be rectifying that immediately because I absolutely devoured Sweet Heat. The tension between Kiki and Kai was top notch. The spice…perfection. And god the banter. I loved it all. Every single time they weren’t together off page all I wanted was for them to be together. It seems that the hit for me this year is second chance romances because I keep eating them all up. This will go down as one of the top second chance romances that I have read this year next to Kennedy Ryan.
I will definitely be going back and reading, Honey & Spice and then giving this a reread as I need to know more backstory. I just have to know every single piece. And I will highly anticipate whatever Bolu Babalola give us next!
Thank you so much to WIlliam Marrow for the complimentary copy. All thoughts and opinions are my own.

I enjoyed this book, I thought the cover was gorgeous and it did help with drawing me in and the plot was so intriguing!

Ughhhhh this is my favorite second chance romance I have EVER read!

Now Bolu, these were some long ass chapters my girl 🤣 BUT HOLY this was amazing.

I mean I loooved honey and spice so I don’t know why I was so nervous to dive into sweet heat? The answer is I shouldn’t have been nervous because HOLY.

I don’t know how authors do it… I mean I get it’s their craft, but damn the writing, the storytelling, the pain, the love… whew I devoured every second of it.

I feel like KiKi, Kai, Amenhia, Kofi etc are my besties-like I could be friends with these fictional characters. While reading all I was doing was cheering each of them on.

Sorry this really isn’t a good review, but yall can read the blurb to figure out what the book is about, you don’t need me to recap it, just know that Kiki and Kai had me on the edge of my seat. I felt their love, their pain, their humor… god they are so funny. I felt it all. 😭😭

The comment about wearing his scent on her wrists… like Bolu lemme tap into your brain for a minute please, because geeez 🥵

We also got to see our girls go through some growing pains as their lives changed and while I was annoyed at some moments, I thought it was so realistic.

Damn, give me MORE PLZZZZ.

Thank you Netgalley and William Morrow for this ARC!

I thought i liked honey & spice but this was even way better. So we don’t meet kai till 25% into the book but be patient because it’s worth it. The moment they meet, it’s banter and tension all through. It’s so buzzy and I thoroughly enjoyed it. It also seemed very realistic and I didn’t cringe. I love kiki and Kai’s dynamic. They delve into handling real life issues and how sometimes you have to let someone go even though you love them so much. This book was good that it got me out of my slump.

“All my senses, all my cells, are wired to feel you.”

Before you read this, it is a sequel.
Read “Honey & Spice” before you read this.

I am satisfied.
The spice was spicy.
The love was a slow burn.
The friendship/family dynamic was special.
The banter was authentic.
The FMC/MMC character development was realistic.

I laughed, I smiled, I frowned, I related, I rolled my eyes, then I took breaks and returned to dive right back in. Bolu Babalola did a phenomenal job giving us a long awaited sequel. I didn’t anticipate it being such a slow burn but the slow journey was satisfying.

The authors ability to take us from the FMC/MMCs journey with book 1 as a young adult novel to a more mature adult romance novel was so well done.

If you like slow burn, second chance romances with well deserved spice. This is the perfect novel for you.