What unfolds in Sweet Heat, the highly anticipated sequel to Bolu Babalola’s breakout romance Honey & Spice, is a masterclass in second-chance romance that refuses to take the easy path. This isn’t just a story about rekindling old flames; it’s an unflinching examination of what it means to love someone enough to let them go, and what it costs to love them enough to try again.
Three years after their devastating breakup, Kiki Banjo thought she had successfully exorcised the ghost of her first love. She’s built a life of careful control: a romance-by-calendar-invite relationship with the dependable Bakari, a thriving career as a music marketing executive, and the honour of being maid of honour at her best friend Aminah’s wedding. But life, as it so often does, has other plans. When her career implodes spectacularly and her family’s restaurant teeters on the brink of collapse, the universe delivers its cruelest joke yet: the return of Malakai Korede, Hollywood director and destroyer of her heart, as best man to her maid of honour.
The Art of Emotional Archaeology
Babalola demonstrates her narrative maturity by refusing to simply replay the greatest hits of Kiki and Malakai’s university romance. Instead, she conducts a careful emotional archaeology, excavating the layers of hurt, misunderstanding, and unresolved grief that led to their original downfall. The revelation that Malakai’s withdrawal wasn’t indifference but a misguided attempt to protect Kiki from his trauma following his father’s death adds devastating complexity to their history.
The author’s handling of masculine vulnerability deserves particular praise. Malakai’s struggle with grief, his toxic work environment under the manipulative Matthew, and his fear of being seen as weak create a portrait of a man caught between societal expectations and genuine emotional need. When he finally admits, “I didn’t let you in because I wanted to protect you from this. From me,” the line crackles with the kind of authentic male emotion that romance often struggles to capture without falling into tired tropes.
Kiki’s Evolution: From Protection to Partnership
Kiki’s character development serves as the novel’s emotional backbone. No longer the university student who created “the Honey and Spice Society” to protect her heart, she’s now a woman who understands that love isn’t about protection—it’s about partnership. Her journey from someone who needs to control every variable to someone willing to trust in uncertainty mirrors the broader theme of vulnerability as strength.
Babalola excels at showing rather than telling us about Kiki’s growth. Her relationship with Bakari—safe, scheduled, emotionally limited—serves as a perfect foil to the messy, all-consuming reality of her connection with Malakai. The contrast isn’t heavy-handed; instead, it illuminates the difference between settling for comfort and choosing the terrifying beauty of real intimacy.
Cultural Authenticity Without Tokenism
One of Sweet Heat’s greatest strengths lies in its authentic portrayal of Black British culture without ever feeling performative or tokenistic. From the family dynamics around the struggling Nigerian restaurant to the university friendship group that feels lived-in and real, Babalola creates a world that celebrates Black joy while acknowledging Black struggle.
The wedding setting—with its blend of traditional elements and modern sensibilities—provides the perfect backdrop for exploring themes of tradition versus individual choice. Aminah’s pre-wedding anxiety about meeting familial expectations resonates with anyone who has navigated the space between honouring their heritage and forging their own path.
The Heat Factor: Sensuality with Substance
The sexual tension between Kiki and Malakai practically leaps off the page, but Babalola never lets chemistry overshadow character development. Their physical reconnection is charged with emotional significance—every touch carries the weight of their history, every moment of passion is shadowed by the possibility of renewed heartbreak.
The author’s prose during intimate moments strikes the perfect balance between steamy and tasteful. She understands that the most erotic thing about good sex is emotional connection, and she writes these scenes with a poet’s attention to sensation and a psychologist’s understanding of human need.
Friendship as Foundation
The supporting cast, particularly Aminah, Kofi, and the extended friend group, provides more than just comic relief or plot advancement. These relationships serve as mirrors for the main romance, showing different models of love and commitment. Aminah and Kofi’s solid partnership, temporarily shaken by wedding stress, demonstrates that even the strongest relationships require constant work and communication.
The way Babalola handles friendship dynamics—the way Kiki and Aminah can hurt each other and still love fiercely, the way the men’s friendships provide emotional support without toxic masculinity—feels refreshingly realistic.
Technical Mastery and Minor Stumbles
Babalola’s prose has evolved significantly since Honey & Spice. Her dialogue crackles with wit and authenticity, her descriptions paint vivid emotional landscapes, and her pacing keeps readers thoroughly engaged. The way she weaves music throughout the narrative—from D’Angelo’s sultry rhythms to the symbolic Brown Sugar vinyl—shows a deep understanding of how art shapes and reflects our emotional lives.
However, the novel occasionally suffers from pacing issues in its middle section. Some of the workplace drama feels slightly underdeveloped compared to the rich emotional work being done elsewhere, and certain secondary characters could benefit from more depth. Additionally, while the resolution feels earned, some readers might find Malakai’s transformation from emotionally unavailable to ready-for-commitment happens slightly too quickly.
The Broader Romance Landscape
In the current romance landscape, where readers are increasingly demanding stories that reflect diverse experiences and authentic relationships, Sweet Heat by Bolu Babalola delivers on multiple fronts. It joins the ranks of contemporary romances that understand love isn’t just about finding “the one”—it’s about becoming someone capable of sustaining a partnership through joy and adversity.
The novel’s exploration of creative fulfillment versus financial security, family obligation versus personal desire, and passion versus stability feels particularly relevant to millennial readers navigating similar crossroads.
A Love Story for the Ages
Sweet Heat by Bolu Babalola succeeds because it understands that the best second-chance romances aren’t about getting back what you lost—they’re about growing into who you need to be to love better this time around. Kiki and Malakai don’t simply overcome their obstacles; they transform because of them.
The novel’s title proves prophetic: this is indeed sweet heat, a romance that burns bright without consuming everything in its path. It’s a love story that acknowledges the work required to build something lasting while celebrating the magic that makes that work worthwhile.
For fans of the Honey & Spice series, this sequel more than delivers on its promises. For newcomers to Babalola’s work, it serves as an excellent introduction to an author who understands that the best romance novels are really about becoming the fullest version of yourself—preferably while falling desperately in love.
The Verdict
Sweet Heat by Bolu Babalola earns its place as a worthy successor to Honey & Spice while standing beautifully on its own. It’s a romance that respects both its characters and its readers, delivering emotional depth alongside genuine steam. While it may have minor structural weaknesses, its emotional intelligence and authentic character development more than compensate.
This is the kind of romance that reminds you why you fell in love with the genre in the first place: smart, sexy, and utterly satisfying. Babalola continues to establish herself as a vital voice in contemporary romance, creating stories that celebrate love in all its messy, complicated, absolutely essential glory.
Similar Reads to Warm Your Heart
If Sweet Heat by Bolu Babalola left you craving more complex, culturally rich romance, consider these recommendations:
- The Wedding Date by Jasmine Guillory – For contemporary romance with similar wit and heat
- Pride, Prejudice, and Other Flavors by Sonali Dev – For family dynamics and cultural authenticity
- The Kiss Quotient by Helen Hoang – For steamy romance with emotional depth
- Red, White & Royal Blue by Casey McQuiston – For sharp dialogue and political complexity
- Beach Read by Emily Henry – For second-chance romance with creative tension
- The Hating Game by Sally Thorne – For enemies-to-lovers dynamic and workplace tension
- The Brown Sisters trilogy by Talia Hibbert – For diverse romance with mental health awareness
Series Reading Order
For those new to Bolu Babalola’s work:
- Love in Colour (2021) – Collection of reimagined love stories from mythology and folklore
- Honey & Spice (2021) – The first novel in this series, following Kiki and Malakai’s initial romance at university
- Sweet Heat (2025) – This sequel, set three years after their breakup
While Sweet Heat by Bolu Babalola can be read as a standalone, reading Honey & Spice first will provide crucial context for understanding the depth of Kiki and Malakai’s connection and the significance of their reunion.
