Put Sweet Heat in the second-chance romance hall of fame with Persuasion because this blew me away.

I really enjoyed Babalola’s previous work, including this novel’s prequel Honey & Spice, but she has really stepped up her game here. Dare I say we have a new queen of romance/romantic contemporary fiction on our hands?

First, I should clarify that while this book does indeed follow the characters from Honey & Spice, it can absolutely work as a standalone if you want to start with this one (though I guarantee you’ll want to go back and read more about Kiki and Malakai if you do that). This is a completely contained story, though Honey and Spice does provide extra context to the earlier stages of their relationship.

It’s no secret I love second chance. And I think it’s one of the hardest tropes to write well. Writing a good romance is already a delicate balance of chemistry, humor, background, and spice. Writing a second chance requires the same but TWICE and with a breakup in between somewhere. A breakup that makes us love our characters more and not less.

Kiki and Malakai are a couple you YEARN for. You wait for their every interaction, their stolen glances, their hands brushing, even their inevitable sniping and fights because you just know it’s all building to such a delicious conclusion in Babalola’s capable hands.

The balance is perfect here between past and present. We are firmly grounded in the present story, while the occasional chapters in the past give us the context we need to understand what happened to this couple. And their breakup, while devastating, feels relatable and raw. We ache for these characters as they hurt, but we know the story Babalola is weaving together requires that they go through this to grow.

This book captures what makes a second-chance romance so special: it’s not about toxic love or one person being forced to change for the other. It’s rooted in the understanding that we grow through the challenges life throws at us, and that the same twists and turns taking us away from a relationship, may one day bring us back, when we’re ready.

And the writing??? Babalola is FUNNY. The spice is also fantastic, in its own right and because it’s telling the story of Kiki and Malakai’s relationship as much as any deep conversation or flashback scene. She just gets it.

And all of this while also exploring themes of coming of age, sisterhood, family, and finding purpose.

This book is a masterpiece. Undoubtedly one of the best books of 2025, of any genre.

Thank you to Netgalley and William Morrow for an early copy in exchange for an honest review.

THANK YOU SO MUCH TO NETGALLEY AND THE PUBLISHER!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Guys, when I say I am in love with Bolu Babalola's writing. I just could not put this book down. I was eating every word. This book is so good and full of yearning. It really reminds me how much I want to be in love like that. Anyways, this book follows Ms. Kiki Banjo as she navigates work, friendship and love. When Babalola announced she was going to do a sequel to Honey and Spice. I was shocked and SICK when she said Kiki and Malakai broke up. However, I appreciate their journey back together. I love the way the author uses pepper in this book. I thought plantain would be used more. I just love Kiki's personality and I relate so deeply to her fears and aspiriations. I have so much to say about this book, but I feel like words are not enough right now. I will return to this review. However, I need everyone who loves Honey and Spice to read this book. I need more people to pick Honey and Spice and jump directly into the sequel. I pray that Honey and Spice get picked up to be a show or movie. I just need an adaptation QUICKLYYYYYYYY. I love the author's note.

A wedding setting is one of my favorite parts of a story. Sweet Heat is that book, and it is filled with two main characters that bring the spice and drama. I was hooked from the beginning. Thanks to NetGalley for the ARC.

This was my first read by Bolu Babalola which is a mistake I will be rectifying as soon as my library can get me a copy of "Honey and Spice.” I loved this so much and I absolutely love Babalola’s writing style, which is so funny and friendly and incisive. Sweet Heat is a sequel to “Honey and Spice” and picks up three years later, with Kiki and Malakai again being the romantic interests. The author is great at writing sexy, playful romance, but I think she’s even better at writing female friendships and how grounding and important they are to the women in them. I love the pop culture references she includes and I so enjoyed being in the head of Kiki, maybe my favorite fmc in a romance I’ve read in the past decade. The romantic journey and the yearning are on point. The cover for this one is also stunning. WIn after win after win.

Loved, loved, loved this!

it's quite a feat to write a sequel to a romance story fans loved and to make it a second chance romance at that, but Bolu pulled it off phenomenally, in my opinion.

This book places you in a timeline 3 years after Kiki and Malakai have broken up and seemingly moved on, helped by the fact that they haven't seen each other since that fateful nite at a hotel. But now, with their best friends Aminah and Kofi getting married, they will be in each other's orbits again and must navigate hard discussions and still present feelings.

As someone who loves second chance romances, this book perfected the very hard balance of still having all the tension and build up of a standard romance while presenting the real dilemmas that caused a breakup and demonstrating why it things would be different now.

The chemistry between Kiki and Kai is at an all-time high, and you as a reader feel it, but so too are the disconnect and unresolved feelings about the breakup.

I ate this up! Literally didn't want to put my Kindle down! It's spicy, it's tense, it's beautifully written, and most of all, it feels authentic both to me as a reader and to the characters themselves.

An AMAZING follow-up!!

I adored honey and spice, and I first assumed this would follow a side-character finding love. But I was SO happy to have Kiki and Malachi back in my life. I want to read 82 more books about them. Writing was witty and quick while also cutting right to the heart.

ARC review!
Thank you, NetGalley and William Morrow books!

The romantic journey of my dreams. An easy, emotional, emphatic 5 stars.
⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

We are here and we are here. Well I was there and I was there! I screeched when I saw the announcement for this book, I screamed when I got the ARC and now I’m borderline depressed it’s over.

💫 The follow up to (a personal favorite of mine) Honey & Spice is every thing I could have wanted. The story follows all of our favorites from book one (Kiki, Malakai, Aminah, Kofi, and more) as they navigate their late 20’s and all of the changes, difficult dynamics and heartbreaks that come with growing and finding yourself.

💫To say I loved this book would be an understatement. While I typically fly through books in just a day or two, this took me 4/5 days. Why? Because I kept rereading paragraphs. I kept highlighting and annotating (my most highlighted book of the year so far). I kept stopping to think and feel. There were many moments I had to physically stop reading because I was overwhelmed with giddiness, hurt or the tension was just SO tense. The writing never failed to absolutely wrap me up and bring me to a different place (I could never tire of living in Kiki’s mind). The characters are so bone-achingly lovable that I’m sad to have finished their journeys. The premise of the book is nostalgic yet relevant to the here and now, it made me reflect on my own life and also look forward. It was swoon and tear worthy and I had an insane amount of fun the entire way.

💫Some key characteristics of the book:

- A very character driven story. This book dives even deeper into the souls of the characters. We get more depth, more growth, more reasoning, more roots. We watch them grow and discover all through Kiki’s brilliant and colorful lense. Being back in Kiki’s mind was like coming home after a long day away while simultaneously going somewhere new and exciting for the very first time.
- A second chance romance with forced proximity elements. The romantic plot was executed perfectly in my opinion. Every set up and timeline was reasonable and both Malakai and Kiki were worthy of a second chance.
- Dual timeline / flash back chapters. This kept the book moving at a good pace. I really enjoyed going into the book not knowing exactly what happened between Malakai and Kiki from the ending of Honey & Spice to the beginning of Sweet Heat. Getting bits and pieces of it throughout the story was emotionally impactful.
- Friendship and family dynamics. These dynamics were raw and relatable. They lended to the history and reasoning of each character.
- Poetic, fun and unique prose. I love the way Ms. Bolu writes. There isn’t another author I can think of that writes in a way that actually sings to my soul. The simplest sentence can make me feel so viscerally. I will never tire of the writing style. This is what makes so special.
- Cultural / Racial themes. This part I love and appreciate almost above all else. It is so refreshing to see Black culture represented in such a light. You can feel how proud the characters are to be Black in world that doesn’t always want them to feel that way. You can feel the way the characters navigate life (both professional and personal) blending their cultures with pride and respect. As someone who is half Nigerian but never had the privilege of knowing that culture up close, I am thankful for the joyous, loud and proud representation.
- Steamy and spicy (open door romance). As the characters matured from Honey & Spice so did the… well spice! I’ll leave it clean even though I was SWEATING but I will say that these were some of my favorite spice scenes ever. They were built up well with lots of tension and the emotional aspect made every thing pop.


✨✨ Overall, this was pretty flawless for me. You’ll find me hard pressed to love a couple more than I love Kiki and Malakai and even harder pressed to love a main character to this level. I can’t wait for my physical copy to add to my favorites shelf!

Kiki Banjo is smart, gorgeous, hilarious—and currently in a bit of a professional and romantic funk. So when her best friend gets engaged and asks her to be maid of honor, Kiki’s excited… until she realizes she’ll have to spend quality time with Malachi, the ex who completely broke her heart.

Sweet Heat is funny, messy, heartfelt, and just plain delightful. It’s second chance romance done so right, with all the tension and sweetness you could want. Kiki and Malachi’s chemistry? Off the charts.

This is technically a sequel to Honey and Spice, but don’t worry—you can absolutely jump in here without having read it.

A warm, swoony, and totally satisfying read. I loved every minute.

#SweetHeat
#NetGalley

I received an advance review copy for free, and I am leaving this review voluntarily.

Sweet Heat is a masterpiece of second chance romance, and I really enjoyed it. It’s on another level. I think it’s safe to say we have a new reigning queen of romantic contemporary fiction.

This is technically a sequel to Honey & Spice, but I do think it is great on its own and not neccesary to read the first one. You can start here. I do recommend reading the first book though! It is just as good. Kiki and Malakai are such great characters, and you'll need to go back to see how it all began, which sort of starts in the first book. Their chemistry is plapable, and evident from book into book two.

Second chance romance is not exactly one of my favorite tropes because it is truly hard to do it justice. It has to be believable, especially in the wake of a previous break up and finding their way back to each other, but I think Babalola handles it with the grace, heat, and humor of a seasoned pro.

Kiki and Malakai are a couple I really rooted for. There is so much tension, so many longing glances, and so many moments where you think they will but they don't. Their breakup doesn’t feel contrived; it feels real. When they come back together, it's from growth and healing and that made it so satisfying. The dual timeline works so well in this book because we see what they were like in the past and the present, and we get to see their history and their full journey, which I loved.

But this book is more than a romance. It’s about growing into yourself. About family, friendship, identity, ambition, and navigating love when you’re still figuring out who you are. Kiki is sharp, funny, and full of vulnerability. Her fears, her fire, her insecurities are all so achingly human. And Malakai? He’s the perfect match: steady, sincere, hot as hell.

Also, the spice was so well done. It is so much more than just your typical scenes; it is growth and love and healing and actually adds so much to the story. These are scenes I think the author excelled at and it really enhanced the story.

Babalola’s prose is perfection; it is funny, poetic, grounded in culture and emotion. The themes of Black identity, sisterhood, and finding your path are woven in with elegance and heart. There are moments of joy and heartbreak, laughter and longing, and through it all, a romance that will stay with me for a long time.

Thank you to NetGalley, Bolu Babalola, and William Morrow for the eARC of this book.

I… I don’t even know if I have the words to explain how well this book was written. We met Malachi & Kiki in their college years during Honey & Spice. It was so fun, light & refreshing as a New Adult romance. It had me so giddy to see what was coming in Sweet Heat. I was not ready.

Kiki & Malachi are all grown up now. Things are different. They’re not together. They haven’t seen each other in years. They’re not even in the same country anymore. Until they are. They are tasked with being the maid of honor & best man for their friends’ wedding. Chile, and they’re partnered together for a major opportunity with a songstress making her way back onto the scene. Both are in a weird place in their career so they need this opportunity to work out for them. And so the battle begins between our main characters.

All that angst, tension, heartache, fear, grief, love. I just… I don’t have the words to explain how great this book was. Bolu should complete a masterclass on how to grow your characters. The battle we all face when we realize the person we love isn’t the person we used to know and how to navigate learning the new person they are.

I walked away from Sweet Heat loving Scotch & Chi more than I did at the end of Honey & Spice. I can’t wait to hold this book in my hands & listen to the audio!

I haven't felt this way about a romance in a long time. Although this book is 500 pages, I was not ready to say goodbye to these characters and it never felt too long. I was in tears by the end, so I was obviously emotionally attached.

These characters are so frustrating and imperfect and that is what made them so real. Like just talk to one another already! But also I totally understand you.

I forgot just how beautiful this author's writing is and found myself highlight whole sections and monologues. It makes sense that she has a passion for music.

There is so much I could say but I am pretty confident that if you are reading this after loving Honey and Spice, you will be satisfied. Now I'm off to preorder a copy for my shelves so I can highlignt in it for real!

Sweet Heat was everything I hoped for and more—a sizzling, smart, and deeply heartfelt love story that wrapped humor, heartbreak, and growth into a beautifully layered package. The author once again proved her gift for writing characters that feel real, vulnerable, and utterly magnetic.
Kiki Banjo was a standout heroine—clever, chaotic, and so emotionally raw beneath her sharp podcast-host persona. Her journey of self-reckoning hit hard, especially as she juggled career pressure, emotional burnout, and the weight of pretending she’s okay. Her voice felt so vivid and relatable that I couldn’t help but root for her from the first page.
Enter Malakai: charming, complicated, and dangerously swoon-worthy. Their reunion as exes forced to play nice at a wedding was deliciously tense, and the chemistry? Off. The. Charts. The author masterfully balanced flirtatious banter with genuine emotional depth, making the slow unraveling of their shared past feel incredibly earned.
What made this book a standout wasn’t just the romance (though it delivered in spades), but the way it explored vulnerability, ambition, forgiveness, and Black British identity with such tenderness and nuance. The friendships, the cultural detail, the humor—it all felt alive and intentional.
Sweet Heat was a brilliant blend of spice, soul, and second chances. It made me laugh, ache, and believe in love that grows not just through passion, but through truth. An easy five stars.
Thank you to NetGalley, the author and the publisher for providing me with a copy of this book in exchange for an honest review!

"Honey and Spice" is one of my all-time favorite reads and Bolu Babalola's follow-up did not disappoint! Kiki is older and wiser, but she still serves the brilliance, sparkling wit, humor, and lush voice that made "Honey and Spice" so stellar. I enjoyed seeing Kiki and Malakai both in new phases of their lives and trying to see if a HEA is possible in this second-chance romance,

Bolu is so talented and this book is a shining example of her way with words. I fell in love with Kiki and Kai in Honey and Spice and the way they grow and find their way back to each other in this story is well done, reflective, and utterly beautiful. There are a lot of words on every page of this story but each are selected with care and really help you relate to what each character is navigating (everyone is battling something in this story). The spice was perfect and the side characters brought great laughs and honesty to our primary couple. I will rush to read any of Bolu's writing - run to read this as soon as you can!

Sweet Heat is nothing short of a masterpiece. As the sequel to Honey & Spice—one of my favorite books of 2023 and a favorite, period—I had high hopes. But what Bolu Babalola delivered surpassed anything I could have imagined. Kiki and Malakai already had a permanent place in my heart, but this book deepened that love and carved out even more space for them.

This wasn’t a book I could breeze through. It demanded to be felt. I cried crocodile tears, laughed out loud, and found myself needing to pause—sometimes for days—just to sit with the emotions it stirred in me. The rawness, the nostalgia, the aching heartbreak, the joy, the sisterhood, the love. Every page was laced with a kind of intimacy that felt both personal and universal.

Where Honey & Spice gave us the exhilarating spark of a new adult romance—with electric chemistry, playful banter, and two people finding themselves and each other—Sweet Heat is its grown-up, emotionally richer counterpart. It’s a second chance romance full of depth, maturity, and painful truths. When we find out early on that Kiki and Malakai are no longer together, it’s like a punch to the gut. Their absence from each other is a wound that hasn’t healed, and watching them come back into each other’s orbit—at a wedding, no less—is tension-filled and devastatingly real.

The chemistry between Kiki and Kai is dripping with unspoken words, unresolved pain, and untamed longing. It felt like being cracked open. That unbearable moment of seeing the person who once knew you better than anyone else—who still holds all your soft spots—and realizing you’re not as “over it” as you thought. I felt that. I lived that. And Babalola captures it with such precision, it nearly broke me.

The push and pull between them, their banter, their hesitation to reopen old wounds, the unspoken love still sitting just beneath the surface—it’s a slow, emotionally messy, soul-searching journey back to each other. We see them not just trying to rekindle a romance, but to reimagine their futures—personally and professionally. It’s so rare to see characters in their late 20s to early 30s navigating the uncertainty of adulthood, and Sweet Heat does it with grace and grit.

The backdrop of Aminah and Kofi’s wedding, the vibrant friendship between Kiki, Aminah, Chioma, and Shanti, and the poetic use of music throughout the book add richness and rhythm to the story. Music isn’t just referenced—it breathes through the pages, becoming a vessel for emotion and memory.

And yes—Kiki and Kai? Freaky, fiery, and absolutely unforgettable. The steamy scenes are as emotionally charged as they are sexy, and their intimacy is layered with years of history, heartbreak, and healing.

Bolu Babalola’s writing is poetic, gut-wrenching, and alive. Sweet Heat is my new favorite read of the year. I didn’t think anything could top Honey & Spice, but I was so, so wrong. This was the sequel I didn’t know I needed, and now I’ll never stop thinking about it.

This book was so amazing. Its so rare that I can feel the love between two characters jumping out of the book. This book made Kiki and Malakais love so palpable and thick that every interaction between them was drowning in it. This is everything I wanted from a second chance romance.

I fell in love with these characters in the first book and I loved seeing them come back and seeing what they’re up to. The friendship between these characters was almost as good as the romance. its so refreshing seeing healthy non-toxic black female friendships portrayed on page.

Overall, this book exemplified real black love in such a real way and I loved every second of reading it.

What you can expect to find in Sweet Heat:
-forced proximity
-gut wrenching, angsty & emotional scenes
-second chance romance
-lots of quirky/sarcastic humor
-the swooniest romance
-heartbreak & love

I picked up Sweet Heat without knowing anything about it. I literally got an early copy and immediatley started reading and fell in love with the writing. So imagine when I was like close to 50% of the way in only to realize that this was a sequel 🫢 and maybe I should go back and read Honey & Spice? But I couldn't stop reading...so if you're like me and haven't read the first book it's totally ok to go into this one without reading Honey & Spice - but I think you'd probably have a better experience if you read them in order.

That being said...THIS BOOK 😭 I loved loved loved the writing and especially loved Kai + Kiki. These two had so much history and every interaction between them had so much chemistry. I kept thinking what happened between them to fracture such a solid relationship? Why weren't they together? Were they going to get back together? I have passages after passages highlighted and literally had to sit with those passages before moving on because they were so beautiful 🥲.

I feel like I inhaled this book and need to go back to savor all of the pieces. If you love a second chance angsty romance that will have you crying into your pillow but also laughing at the laugh out loud scenes definitely add this one to your tbr. Easily one of my favorite books of the year.