b00ksforeveryone reviewed Sweet Heat by Bolu Babalola
None
2 stars
the way i have been waiting for this sequel for years!! i really tried to tamp down my expectations because it does no good to hype yourself up for a sequel of any kind just in case.
and this one is a lot angstier. i feel like you don't get nearly as much of the levity and fun as the first one, and i get that, they didn't have the same kind of baggage in college. but whew, this one was kind of a downer, and then aminah is also stressed as hell and it doesn't feel like there's any rest for kiki ):
i also found the pacing to be really weird. it's slowwwww, and you don't figure out what happened in the past until you're 3/4 of the way through the book. kiki and kai dance (but dance almost feels too fun of a word; more like wearily …
the way i have been waiting for this sequel for years!! i really tried to tamp down my expectations because it does no good to hype yourself up for a sequel of any kind just in case.
and this one is a lot angstier. i feel like you don't get nearly as much of the levity and fun as the first one, and i get that, they didn't have the same kind of baggage in college. but whew, this one was kind of a downer, and then aminah is also stressed as hell and it doesn't feel like there's any rest for kiki ):
i also found the pacing to be really weird. it's slowwwww, and you don't figure out what happened in the past until you're 3/4 of the way through the book. kiki and kai dance (but dance almost feels too fun of a word; more like wearily eye each other inside of a wrestling match?) around each other for almost a whole book, and while all the good parts of their relationship (the physical chemistry, the way they work together, the way they will always hype each other up) show up consistently, i really wanted them to hash out their issues earlier in the book and give them time to mellow out and re-build trust. there's also weird time jumps (some chapters will jump whole months) but it doesn't feel like it makes the time go faster.
i also had a hard time understanding the lingo this time. i feel like it was easier to roll with in the first book, but my brain had a hard time this time around.
it also feels like less of a romance than the first book - there's so much that's happeningp, so i think re-setting your expectations and udnerstanding that you're not gonna get a ton of kiki and kai is key.
all that to say, this one did not hit the same way at the first book for me. yeah, that's not realistic to carry a college romance through the rest of your life, and they're more grown now, but let me live in my cozy bubble okay?? i've got to go re-read HONEY AND SPICE again now.
and this one is a lot angstier. i feel like you don't get nearly as much of the levity and fun as the first one, and i get that, they didn't have the same kind of baggage in college. but whew, this one was kind of a downer, and then aminah is also stressed as hell and it doesn't feel like there's any rest for kiki ):
i also found the pacing to be really weird. it's slowwwww, and you don't figure out what happened in the past until you're 3/4 of the way through the book. kiki and kai dance (but dance almost feels too fun of a word; more like wearily eye each other inside of a wrestling match?) around each other for almost a whole book, and while all the good parts of their relationship (the physical chemistry, the way they work together, the way they will always hype each other up) show up consistently, i really wanted them to hash out their issues earlier in the book and give them time to mellow out and re-build trust. there's also weird time jumps (some chapters will jump whole months) but it doesn't feel like it makes the time go faster.
i also had a hard time understanding the lingo this time. i feel like it was easier to roll with in the first book, but my brain had a hard time this time around.
it also feels like less of a romance than the first book - there's so much that's happeningp, so i think re-setting your expectations and udnerstanding that you're not gonna get a ton of kiki and kai is key.
all that to say, this one did not hit the same way at the first book for me. yeah, that's not realistic to carry a college romance through the rest of your life, and they're more grown now, but let me live in my cozy bubble okay?? i've got to go re-read HONEY AND SPICE again now.