Genre: Romance, Adult Fiction
Number of Pages: 368
Rating: 5 /5
“Our argument was both our insecurities colliding, that the mess was not the sum of us, the sum of our possibility. It was part of it, and that was okay. We were the beauty within the mess.”
I haven’t read romance novels in a minute because of their cliché settings or in this case plot. Usually, it starts with a lady and a guy running into each other, then thinking that they would not be an item which then turns out that they are a great item; then they have a fight and have an epic apologetic event and live happily ever after. Sounds familiar???
Yes, Honey and Spice might have this sequence of events, HOWEVER it is entirely written so well I thought I was watching a movie. What struck me was the easy poetic flow of dialogue amongst friends, enemies, and lovers. Even the construction of expressions before the dialogues were equally poetic with twisted references to inanimate and animate objects. I really enjoyed Bolu’s writing.
Are we going to ignore the depth of the message the book is trying to pass? NOPE. I mean I normally take myself as someone close friends with their emotions, but Bolu made me realise that I was still in kindergarten. The level of emotional vulnerability that exists between Kiki and Malakai (or Scotch and Kai), Kiki and Rianne, Kiki and Aminah, Kofi and Aminah was just intense in a healthy way. It rang twenty shades of deep.
Also hovering on the why Kiki was “Kiki” due to the hardship surrounding taking care of her sick mother (her mother was diagnosed with cancer) and the pass her ex-best friend’s boyfriend made at her. And why Malakai was “Malakai” due to his choice of career unknown to his Nigerian dad. The book encompassed healing, love, commitment, hope, forgiveness, hurt, friendship, rebuilding, and building, confidence, communication, trust, betrayal. Everything that makes up life one way or the other was packed within the 368 pages of black British university romance.
Truly as the name implies, it was Honey & Spice.
I am looking forward to watching this as a movie or Netflix limited TV series. Because as far as I can remember, I am not sure there is a more relatable African/Nigerian British romance tv show done in a university setting that currently exists.
Characters
The character build was impeccable and requires some form of award. My favorite character is Simi. She reminded me of my cousin, not as a gossip blogger but as a no-nonsense go getter individual)
Verdict
Are you prepared to have onions cut close to you? If yes, then please read away. Aside from the love story, I believe that there are couple of things everyone can pick from the book. It really is a great read and I highly recommend it.
O.
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