SYNOPSIS

Three years after Kiki and Malakai’s break-up, Kiki has an unexpected change in her career and feels uncertainty with her current relationship. Then, she gets the news Malakai will be back in town early for their best friend’s wedding, months before she was expecting to have to see him.

What could happen?

RECAP AND REVIEW

Thank you to NetGalley, the author, and William Morrow and Harper Collins for an ARC in exchange for an honest review.

Out in the U.S. September 2, 2025!

This is the second book in a romance series told from the first person of Kiki.

My review for the first book is here.

To be real, you don’t really have to read the first book to read this one, but I’d recommend it for background information.

Where to start…

This book had me feeling all the emotions. I was annoyed, sad, mad, shocked, happy, hot, swoony, bored (looking at YOU Bakari), frustrated, and amused. I was very close to tears at some points.

It’s been years since I read the first book, but the relationship between Kiki and Malakai (and their banter of course) stood out to me then and this book only deepened my love for them separately and as a couple now.

The story revolves around Kiki and her inner thoughts. Kiki is still hilarious and the way the author wrote this allowed me to really relate to her and empathize with the various situations she is in post uni with having to pivot and cope on multiple fronts.

The tension and the love between Malakai and Kiki was everything. Seeing them bicker, them try to be cool, them be cool, and then not cool again was a rollercoaster I thoroughly enjoyed. Never for a second did I doubt their feelings for the other. I truly think they’re meant to be and the way they spoke about each other was romantic. Their relationship was layered with depth displaying true love, disappointments, heartbreak, rekindlings, and the moments in between.

And while this book is heavily about their love, we also see how Kiki’s and Aminah’s friendship looks like now and how it is tested with current circumstances.

Also, I love this title so much! Not only how it’s weaved into the story, which the author did with the first, but also the play on honey and spice, a sweet kind of heat. 😭 It’s just poetic and thoughtful to me and is a reflection of the gems written within this book.

Read for:

🍯 Second Chance Romance

🌶️ Soulmates

🍯 New Beginnings

🌶️ Best Friend’s Wedding

🍯 Forced Proximity

🌶️ Some Tussles

OVERALL

Overall, I give this a 5 out of 5 stars. There were some times it felt long or like dumps of thoughts, times I wasn’t sure where it was going, but it was all worth it to me and made the story that much sweeter in the end. Seriously, trust the process.

This book is all about love: romantic love, familial love, platonic love and the love of music, art and culture through the eyes of the oldest daughter. If you can’t tell, I have another favorite of the year.