Favourite Romance of the Year – A Sweet Heat Review

Sweet Heat by Bolu Babalola

Genre: Romance | Published: 2025

As we know, Sweet Heat topped the list of my favourite romances of the year. But I want to start with complete honesty and a disclaimer. Bolu, if you somehow end up reading this review, please know that I love you and support you regardless of my feelings about one of your books.

I wasn’t in a rush to read Sweet Heat for two reasons. Firstly, while I liked Honey & Spice, I didn’t love it. It was one of those books that benefited greatly from our connection to the author herself. Bolu Babalola is someone many of us relate to deeply as a Black British babe, and I’ve been following her journey on social media since before Love in Colour was even published (I mention in my Black British Author Spotlight). Because of that love and familiarity, a lot of readers were understandably inclined to adore the book.

That said, I had my issues with Honey & Spice. Overall, it was an enjoyable enough experience, but not quite something to write home about for me. I also know I wasn’t alone in feeling this way, though I do think some of the criticism it received was a teensy bit too harsh. I digress.

Because of this, I didn’t have much emotional attachment to Malakai and Kiki going into Sweet Heat. However, as these things usually go, a friend came ranting and raving about it, and I thought, you know what, what’s the harm? I picked it up, and although it took me a little while to properly get stuck in (which I’ll touch on later), I ended up thoroughly enjoying it.

Sweet Heat delivered on everything I personally require from a romance. More than that, it solidified something I’ve always known but stubbornly refused to accept: I absolutely love a second-chance romance. There’s a particular kind of angst inherent in them—the history, the regret, the PAIN, the unresolved feelings—and it gets me every single time.

For that reason, among many others, Sweet Heat is my favourite romance of the year, and that’s a very high bar. When it comes to lists and awards, I’m never entirely certain; there are always strong contenders, and several books came close. However, when I really consider everything I want from a romance, this one delivered on all fronts. Because of that, it feels wholly and unquestionably deserving of the title. 

Synopsis

Three years after their break-up, Kiki worked hard to forget her first love. But just as she thinks she’s got her life under control, jumping into the distractions of her romance-by-calendar-invite boyfriend, and plans for her best friend, Aminah’s, wedding, Kiki’s career implodes, the family business teeters on collapse, and Malakai returns. As Malakai takes up his role as best man opposite her maid of honour, suddenly Kiki can think of nothing but their simmering chemistry, what went wrong, and why it is now impossible to act normally around each other.

Why Is Sweet Heat a Good Romance 

When I think about what qualifies as a good romance, it falls into three main categories for me: chemistry, conflict, and successful trope execution.

First, how compelling are the characters, and am I genuinely convinced by their chemistry? Do they share strong intimacy, particularly the emotional kind? Physical attraction can be explosive, but that alone isn’t enough. I need to believe in their feelings for one another. I want the relationship to feel relatable and believable.

Second, there’s conflict. Internal and external conflict should feel authentic and emotionally coherent. Sometimes, poorly handled conflict is what destroys an otherwise good romance. I need to be convinced by the reasoning behind the obstacles in their relationship.

Lastly, if a trope is being employed, it needs to be executed well. Familiar tropes can be incredibly satisfying, but only when they feel intentional and believable (within the bounds of romantic fantasy, of course)

I’ll be analysing Sweet Heat through these three lenses to explain why it works so well as a romance for me.

Chemistry 

Malakai and Kiki’s chemistry is insane. It’s what truly makes the book for me and what gives it a clear edge over Honey & Spice. Every time they’re together, the pages feel as though they’re brimming with tension. Their first meeting after time apart genuinely felt as if I were in the room with them, watching it unfold in real time.

This is also a testament to Bolu Babalola’s writing. Her ability to convey such intense emotion that the reader feels fully present—almost inhabiting the moment alongside the characters, is a real strength. The chemistry between Malakai and Kiki feels natural and, more importantly, sustained.

While there is undeniable sexual chemistry, their connection isn’t reliant on it. It lives in recognition: in knowing each other’s tells, remembering the small, intrinsic details, and understanding what’s left unsaid. This deeply reinforces the strength of the second-chance romance trope, which I’ll return to in more detail later.

What’s most surprising is that their chemistry continues to grow throughout the novel. You’d think it would peak early on, yet it’s their emotional connection that carries the story forward, sustaining the tension as they work through their issues and conflicts.

Relationship Conflict

Relationship conflict can make or break a book for me, and I went into Sweet Heat genuinely wondering what on earth could have led to Kai and Kiki breaking up, because they absolutely felt like endgame after Honey & Spice. I ended up loving the conflict in this book. It centres on a painfully familiar issue: when the weight of the world becomes too heavy and starts to seep into the smallest cracks in a relationship, exploiting vulnerabilities that were already there.

The circumstances surrounding Kiki and Malakai’s break-up are rooted in emotional baggage, pride, timing, and the ways they previously failed to communicate with one another. I appreciated that it wasn’t a typical miscommunication trope, but rather a case of things left unsaid. Knowing that they didn’t end because they stopped loving each other is part of the emotional grip the story has on you; as readers, we’re simply waiting for them to be open, vulnerable, and honest with each other in ways their younger selves couldn’t manage.

This conflict continues to drive their character growth throughout the book. It teaches them not only about their relationship but about themselves, which is what makes their arcs so strong. The reconnection is delayed just enough for them to learn and adapt to what they need, without ever feeling unnecessarily drawn out.

“You can’t rehearse vulnerability. You either leap or you don’t.”

BOLU babalola

Trope Execution – Second-Chance Romance

I love the second-chance romance trope because it carries a level of emotional angst that other tropes simply don’t. Knowing two people belong together and watching them stand in their own way is beautifully frustrating.

Bolu Babalola uses Kiki and Malakai’s shared, established history to entangle not just the reader, but the characters themselves. They can’t help falling back into familiarity, into the banter, attraction, and ease, at almost every opportunity, and that drives the tension between them, despite the undercurrent of pain that runs through their interactions. We feel both the nostalgia and the hurt they’ve each experienced. For this trope to work, we need to believe they belong together, and that belief is built in the quiet, comfortable moments they share, not just the high-strung, emotionally charged ones and Sweet Heat is filled with them!

The emotional stakes feel far higher because there has already been a cost. We spend significant time with Kiki and understand how deeply the break-up affected her, which heightens everything, especially knowing they didn’t end because they wanted to. The trope also demands growth and forgiveness, and this is where many second-chance romances fall short. Here, we see the work. Kiki is still reactionary and volatile at the start, while Kai is deeply avoidant, and neither changes overnight. They have to learn to stop, listen, and be vulnerable, and we watch them falter along the way. The journey isn’t easy, nor should it be, but there is a quiet commitment that persists despite everything they claim otherwise.

Critiques or Minor Weaknesses

I have two main critiques of this book: one that eventually resolves itself and another that’s largely a personal vendetta.

Pacing and Perspective 

At the beginning, we spend a lot of time in Kiki’s head. In fact, we spend so much time with her that I found myself wishing for more from Malakai, especially considering that the root of their breakup begins with him. I would have loved a dual POV that allowed us deeper access to his perspective: a clearer understanding of his mindset, his decision-making, and how he experienced both the break-up and the time since. While we do get glimpses of this through their conversations, Malakai is such an interesting character that I couldn’t help wanting more.

This feeds into my actual critique, which is that spending so much time in Kiki’s head early on makes the opening feel slightly disorienting. It can be difficult to track her thought processes and distinguish between what’s happening in the present and what’s unfolding internally. The first 25% of the book is quite slow for this reason. However, the moment Kiki and Malakai reunite, it’s all systems go, and from then on I was having a great time.

Narrative Voice

My second, smaller issue is that Bolu Babalola’s narrative voice occasionally leaks through in a way that feels very internet- or social-media-forward. While the book is distinctly Black British and largely exists in a slightly fantastical version of reality, the social media references, though fictional, sometimes mirror real-life online language in a way I don’t usually love. That said, I minded it far less in Sweet Heat than I did in Honey & Spice, where it felt overdone. Here, it’s fictional enough that it never fully pulled me out of the narrative, which I appreciated.

Final Thoughts

Honestly, this was such a fun read. I also got to read it alongside a very good friend, which only heightened the experience, and I’m so glad I enjoyed it. I really disliked the discourse around Honey & Spice, especially because it wasn’t a top hit for me, so going into Sweet Heat with managed expectations and having them absolutely blown out of the park was such a welcome relief.

Bolu Babalola does a wonderful job of conveying Kiki and Malakai’s struggles, their growth, and their journey back to one another. I also really enjoyed the subplots, particularly Kiki navigating her relationship with her best friend. I don’t touch on that conflict elsewhere in this review, but I found it realistic, even if slightly fanciful at times, which is well within the author’s rights in a romance novel.

Another thing I loved about this book is the cultural familiarity. It feels so distinctly Black British Nigerian, and I don’t get nearly enough books like this. Whenever I do, I fall a little bit in love, so that alone brought me a lot of joy.

All in all, this was such a great read. I’m genuinely glad I gave it a chance, and now look at us: favourite romance of the year, up against some very serious competition.

“Sweet heat is about what burns, not just what tastes good.”