A sweet and spicy treat for fans of Babalola’s characters.
College sweethearts turned exes reunite in Babalola’s scorching sequel to Honey & Spice (2022).
When readers first met London-based university student Kikiola “Kiki” Banjo in Honey & Spice, she was the smart-talking radio personality behind the show Brown Sugar. Almost a decade later, Kiki is reeling from having been pushed out of her own podcast and is looking for her next big career move. Meanwhile, her boyfriend, Bakari, a tech mogul more focused on sales than on remembering Kiki’s favorite flowers, just popped the big question. Not the marriage question—which Kiki finds herself alarmingly thankful about—but instead a work proposal: come work with him and forget about her impractical music-industry dreams. Kiki is unwilling to compromise her happiness, vocationally and romantically, so she and Bakari decide to take a break. Just as well, because Kiki’s best friend, Aminah, is newly engaged, and the semi-bridezilla needs Kiki’s full attention for her maid of honor duties. First step: Learn how to speak to the best man again. It’s been three years since Kiki experienced the worst heartbreak of her life from Malakai Korede, and suddenly the Hollywood-bound director is back in her orbit. When Kiki and Kai first got together at Whitewell College, they were inseparable; now, she can barely say his name. But she’s Kiki Banjo, and no man is going to ruin her fun, especially if he’s going to stick around for the wedding in six months. She can handle the occasional run-in and fake smile—that is, until a popular musician enlists Kiki as producer and Kai as director for her latest documentary. Can Kiki and Kai keep the past hidden as they work together, or will old feelings resurface? And when that old spark inevitably returns, will Kiki be able to recover if it ends in heartache? Babalola is an artful and lyrical writer, and her prose is a feast for readers. Kiki is a strong, sexy heroine who’s full of heart, and Malakai is a worthy contender for both her temper and affection. Fans won’t want to miss their second-chance love story.
A sweet and spicy treat for fans of Babalola’s characters.Pub Date: Sept. 2, 2025
ISBN: 9780063306967
Page Count: 496
Publisher: Morrow/HarperCollins
Review Posted Online: July 4, 2025
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Aug. 1, 2025
BOOK REVIEW
A romance that could have used significant rethinking.
Childhood friends, almost-sweethearts, a misunderstanding, and a funeral.
Blair Lang and Declan Renshaw were best friends who went on one date before a disagreement and an accident sent them in different directions after high school. Now Blair is back from college to be with her great-aunt Lottie, who’s dying, and to support her single mother in small-town Seabrook, California. Finding a job at a coffee shop puts her in the path of her former boyfriend, since he turns out to be its owner. Can the two get past their mistakes? The novel uses the popular second-chance romance trope, but Pham fails to energize it through interesting characters. Blair’s grief over her great-aunt’s death and her plan to help her mother are overshadowed by internal monologues about her feelings, the way her friends aren’t paying attention to her, and the novel she plans to write. Declan’s distinguishing characteristic, besides being a former high school quarterback, is his skill at building birdhouses. Unsurprisingly, the couple doesn’t have much chemistry; when they embrace, their “bodies meld like…memory foam.” The wooden characters, unusual word choices (“conglomerate of pedestrians,” “litany of plants”), and odd turns of phrase (“tension melting from his eyebrows like butter melting in a warm pan”) are almost enough to obscure the lack of plot development. What passes for stakes is easily defused when Blair comes into an inheritance that saves her from working as a consultant at Ernst & Young in New York—so she can write a romance novel.
A romance that could have used significant rethinking.Pub Date: March 3, 2026
ISBN: 9781668095188
Page Count: 320
Publisher: Atria
Review Posted Online: Feb. 16, 2026
Kirkus Reviews Issue: March 15, 2026
A deep and moving portrayal of first love.
Two college students rekindle their relationship as they unravel the truth behind their breakup.
On the outside, college senior Bennett Reiner has it all. A goalie for Waterfell University’s hockey team, he lives with a group of friends in a luxurious off-campus house. He and his best friend, Rhys Koteskiy, have fathers who are retired hockey legends. But on the inside, he’s falling apart. Struggling with OCD, a shaky friendship with Rhys, and second thoughts about pursuing a future in hockey, the only thing keeping Bennett afloat is also the one thing breaking his heart: Paloma Blake. All dyed-hair and attitude, Paloma has built a bad reputation on the hockey scene since their relationship ended freshman year—but Bennett knows the real P. Underneath her promiscuous facade lies a scared and lonely girl running from a childhood of abuse. When they were together, it seemed like their romance was perfect, until Paloma broke it off without warning. Since then, Bennett has run to Paloma’s side whenever she needed him, whether she was drunk, lonely, or hurting, and now he’s determined to win her back. For Bennett, Paloma is his antidote, the cure for his compulsions; for Paloma, Bennett is her protector, her safe space. And though Paloma yearns to be with Bennett again, she’s not sure she’s willing to open old wounds and reveal the truth about her painful past. In the third installment of the Undone series, Corinne spotlights familiar characters as they navigate trauma, heartbreak, and first love. Bennett and Paloma’s relationship is raw and vulnerable, and their journey of relinquishing control is both necessary and inevitable. Their romance evolves as they open up to one another, and in return, the reader is rewarded with a love story that’s as lyrical, evocative, and emotional as poetry.
A deep and moving portrayal of first love.Pub Date: April 7, 2026
ISBN: 9781668219423
Page Count: 352
Publisher: Atria
Review Posted Online: Dec. 26, 2025
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Feb. 1, 2026
BOOK REVIEW
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