Part 2 of the Honey & Spice series
The bestselling author of the Reese's Book Club pick Honey and Spice returns with a sexy, hilarious, and heartfelt story starring Kiki Banjo, a young Black British woman who hosts a podcast about modern love, even though her own love life is in shambles-but when fate throws her back together with her ex, she must decide if she's willing to risk it all for a second chance.
Twenty-eight-year-old Kiki Banjo hosts the popular podcast The HeartBeat, solving romantic conundrums and dishing out life advice. While she plays the love guru for her listeners, behind the scenes she's been hanging on by a thread. When a major broadcast deal falls through and her latest relationship implodes, Kiki is left wondering if she ever had the answers.
Then Kiki finds herself face-to-face with her biggest mistake: her ex-boyfriend, Malakai-the smooth-talking, absurdly handsome, annoyingly perceptive man who stole her heart and then shattered it. While Kiki's approaching rock bottom, Malakai's been on the rise as a filmmaker, and now she has no choice but to play nice if she wants to save her career. Forced to work together for the summer, both are hell-bent on ignoring the smoldering chemistry between them. But when their undeniable attraction sizzles back to life, Kiki and Malakai will have to face their fears and decide what they're willing to risk for another chance.
A glittering modern love story, Sweet Heat is about chasing dreams and being true to our hearts.
"{A} smart, sexy summer read, which hits your brain and your romance buttons in one shot." - Los Angeles Times, 10 books to add to your reading list in July, on Honey and Spice
"The true stars of Honey and Spice are characterization, banter and sharp social observation, all of which Babalola renders spectacularly. She soars in her rich depictions of intimacy and relationships, in all their grandeur. And Babalola blends the vernacular and rhythms of Black American music with Black British culture, and its fusion of Pan-African influences, making the text even richer. . . . Expectations for her first full-length novel are high. Sexy, messy and wry, Honey and Spice more than delivers." - New York Times Book Review on Honey and Spice
"A vibrant debut novel . . . Babalola is incisively funny, capturing the kick and sweetness of her title with her words." - Entertainment Weekly, Sizzling Summer Reads to Heat Up Your Beach Days, on Honey and Spice
"Bolu Babalola's rom-com drizzles honey and spice into modern love. . . . The holidays are the perfect time to sink into this sweet and savvy mashup. Like a Gen Z meeting of Nora Ephron and Bernadine Evaristo, in her first romance novel, the author of the myth-inspired story collection Love in Color infuses the joy, pain, and laughter of young love with cultural insight and drama. . . . This swoony coming-of-age tale cements Babalola's superlative status as a queen of romantic comedy and master chronicler of Black British life." - Oprah Daily, Best Books of 2022
"This buzzy, breezy book has all the makings of the perfect summer read: an enemies-to-lovers story line, a fake relationship plot point, a British university setting, and a clever, captivating heroine who finds herself at the center of it all. Is it messy? Yes. Is it sexy? Bigger yes." - theSkimm on Honey and Spice
"A deliciously modern love story . . . Honey and Spice begins with a meet-cute in a dorm hallway and doesn't skimp on steamy, swoon-worthy moments. . . . The author's sharp sense of humor, slick pop culture references, and keen sense of the zeitgeist . . . offers a refreshing portrait of what modern love really looks and feels like." - Time magazine
"A tooth-achingly sweet rom-com set on a college campus." - Harper's Bazaar, The Best Beach Reads of 2022
"Kiki has become known at her university for doling out romantic advice to her classmates, helping members of the school's Afro-Caribbean Society avoid heartache