Honey and Spice by Bolu Babalola transports you back to college. In this book, you experience romance, the stress around preparing for your future, friendships, and challenging institutionalized racism.
In Honey and Spice, Kikola is trying to secure an internship in New York. she has to show that she can grow an existing platform. As the radio host for a campus radio show, Kiki decides to get into a fake relationship with Malachi to improve ratings for her talk show. Inevitably, they end up falling for each other. Through the relationship, they have to be vulnerable with one another. Peeling back the layers of their lives that have kept them from finding love.
Fake Relationship is the Best Trope
I’ve read my fair share of romance novels where the fake relationship always inevitably leads to catching real feelings. Kiki and Malachi tried a fake relationship to create buzz around their projects that would help them land internships. Yet, within their fake relationship they ended up truly falling for one another. This case is unique because I think both of them wanted to be together but were fighting the feeling. The way it’s described in the book, sparks flew from that initial first kiss. It was clear that Malachi was feeling Kiki way more than she was feeling him. He was way more committed to acting out this relationship while Kiki had her goal in mind. Yet, the comfort she found with him allowed her to be vulnerable and share things about herself that she had not shared with anyone besides her best friend.
Thinking back to my time in college, the pickings were slim. There wasn’t anyone as aware of themselves as Malachi. There are men in their thirties and forties who don’t truly understand themselves like Malachi. His understanding of himself helped to make their partnership easy. It was constantly referenced throughout the book that love should be easy, and I wholeheartedly agree. I don’t want love that will be challenging, stressful, or (buzzword) toxic. Whenever the love of my life comes along, I will know that he’s the one because it’ll be easy.
Friendship
Friendship dynamics are constantly shape-shifting in college and I loved how Babalola touched on some of these topics. First, it’s not the easiest to make friends. When you find your group, or even your person, you hold on to them. A key part of the holding on to friends is being able to communicate effectively. I loved when Kiki’s best friend told her that she wanted to attend the events with her and experience those things together. It’s important in friendships to stand up and say how you feel. Navigate them in the same ways you would in your sexual relationships. In this book, it was done in such a way that it truly made you think about how the other person would feel. Even more so, we saw how preconceived notions about one another limited the ability for friendships to blossom. In all relationships, it’s about taking the risk and giving one another a chance.
Institutional Racism
The institutional racism that exists on college campuses is still so prevalent. I appreciated that Babalola spoke on how it manifests and persists. In the book, Zach, Kiki’s hookup buddy and nemesis, was using his power to support the white institutions on campus. Being a Black student at a predominately white institutions, who see, clearly, how these institutions are designed to serve whiteness. It’s even more disheartening to see when someone that you think is campaigning in your favor is complicit in the maintenance of whiteness. This could be a book on it’s on (and I may be the author if I ever do something with my dissertation research) so I was excited to see it talked about in this book.
My Review of Honey and Spice
I would consider this book to be a Blacker Dear White People. The same premise and setting is there but this book focuses more on the romantic side instead of the institutional injustices. I think that was a good read for all ages because it really touches on romantic and platonic relationships. There were a lot of nuggets dropped in this book that left me really thinking about what love actually looks like and how it should feel.
Get your copy here.
Go Read A Book Merch
Check out my other book reviews here.
