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Sweet Heat: A Sparkling Modern Love Story of Second Chances, Undeniable Chemistry, and Navigating Life's Twists in the World of Podcasting

Bolu Babalola

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The bestselling author of the Reese's Book Club pick Honey and Spice returns with a sexy, hilarious, and heartfelt story starring Kiki Banjo, a young Black British woman who hosts a podcast about modern love, even though her own love life is in shambles—but when fate throws her back together with her ex, she must decide if she’s willing to risk it all for a second chance.

Twenty-eight-year-old Kiki Banjo hosts the popular podcast The HeartBeat, solving romantic conundrums and dishing out life advice. While she plays the love guru for her listeners, behind the scenes she’s been hanging on by a thread. When a major broadcast deal falls through and her latest relationship implodes, Kiki is left wondering if she ever had the answers.

Then Kiki finds herself face-to-face with her biggest mistake: her ex-boyfriend, Malakai—the smooth-talking, absurdly handsome, annoyingly perceptive man who stole her heart and then shattered it. While Kiki’s approaching rock bottom, Malakai’s been on the rise as a filmmaker, and now she has no choice but to play nice if she wants to save her career. Forced to work together for the summer, both are hell-bent on ignoring the smoldering chemistry between them.

But when their undeniable attraction sizzles back to life, Kiki and Malakai will have to face their fears and decide what they’re willing to risk for another chance. A glittering modern love story, Sweet Heat is about chasing dreams and being true to our hearts.

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Posts about this title from R&R Reads

R&R Reads\ \ Ebony\ \ • Oct 1 2025

HAPPY OCTOBER!! THE BINDERY APP IS HERE!! 🎃 IT'S SPOOKY SEASON (40+ BOOK RELEASES!)

Catching up on September and October Book Releases! Along with preview content! And WE HAVE AN APP!!

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R&R Reads\ \ Ebony\ \ • Jul 2 2025

96 BOOK RELEASES 💫

✨🍃UPDATE! 2025 Releases for the Back Half of 2025

There are definitely books I forgot and to them I say I’m so sorry Pookie😖

We Are Already Halfway Through 2025… anyway if you find any fault in this post get mad at Goodreads and Amazon not me …🥰

#books #bookreleases #romancebooks #fantasybooks #bookstagram

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R&R Reads\ \ Ebony\ \ • Feb 20 2025

🍃✨2025 Anticipated Releases PART TWO

🍃✨2025 Anticipated Releases PART TWO

*via Goodreads

…some of these do feel like speculation but aye…the post is already up. 🤷🏾‍♀️don’t get mad at me get mad at Goodreads…and then delete it and download StoryGraph to support a black owned business😉

#bookstagram #books #romancebooks #fantasybooks #blackauthors #diverseauthors #diversebooks #2025bookreleases

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Posts about this book from across Bindery

The Nerdy Babe Life\ \ Brianna \ \ • Jul 15

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\ \ Join for free or login](https://thenerdybabelife.binderybooks.com/item/v0JTCIQO3ecOy4dxGZua/)

My 5 star reads... so far

These are my 5 star reads out of 32 books or so. Still reading tho #5starreads #bookrecs📚 #bookreviews #romancebookstiktok #blackromancebooks

7 books

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The Nerdy Babe Life\ \ Brianna \ \ • May 7

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This is for the those who feel a little… disconnected from themselves lately. Not fully lost. But not fully you either.\ \ These books helped me reconnect in different ways 🤍\ \ \ \ Only for the Week — Only for the Week by Natasha Bishop\ \ Janelle is a BIG people pleaser who never puts herself first. But with the help of Rome, she starts learning how to center herself and prioritize her own needs. Rome is gentle but still authoritative… literally exactly what she needs.\ \ Sweet Heat — Sweet Heat by Bolu Babalola\ \ This is book two, and we find Kiki in a completely different headspace than she was in college. Life has happened. She’s more unsure, a little lost, trying to figure out her path. Kiki feels like a fully realized, complex person here, and Malakai reminds her that she’s Kiki Banjo… she can do anything she puts her mind to. This book lives in my rent free.\ \ The Cinnamon Bun Book Store — The Cinnamon Bun Book Store by Laurie Gilmore\ \ Our girl is the manager of a cozy bookstore and a complete bookaholic… but she’s not really living her life. That changes when she meets fisherman Noah, who shows her that life is bigger than books, and a little spicier too. I really enjoyed this one.\ \ Restore Me — Restore Me by L. J. Segars\ \ Our main character has been touch-deprived for years after losing her husband.\ \ She hasn’t allowed herself to open up to love again. But her late husband’s best friend helps her remember what it feels like to be touched… and eventually, to be loved again.(This book is super messy, but healing.)\ \ If You Stayed — If You Stayed by Brittainy Cherry\ \ Kierra is someone who has accepted that life doesn't have to be amazing. Just good enough. On the outside, her life looks perfect. But inside, her marriage lacks warmth, and she’s weighed down by guilt from her past. Then someone she thought wanted nothing to do with her comes back into her life… and helps her realize she deserves the world, not just what she’s been settling for.

If You’ve Been Feeling Off Lately… Read These

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Bookish AfroLatina's Library\ \ Gabby\ \ • Mar 22

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\ \ I can't believe I forgot to share my Janurary reads with y'all! Better late than never, I guess. I read 5 books in January and most of them were audiobooks because my brain was not cooperating with reading print and e-books. Here are the books I read and my mini reviews.\ \ The Undertakers (Murder and Magic #2) by Nicole Glover Black American • Historical Fantasy Mystery \ \ The Undertakers is a multi-genre adventure! \ \ We follow magical investigators Hetty and Benjy Rhodes, living in Philly after the Civil War, as they investigate the death of Raimond Duval. Raimond appears to have died in one of the many fires plaguing the city’s Black communities. When his son Valentine is also found dead, they suspect that this mystery is deeper than it seems.\ \ Hetty and Benji’s investigation skills compliment one another, which makes this story entertaining. Each time I thought I’d figure out the case, another clue emerged! While I was glad that I couldn’t immediately figure out who the culprit was, I also felt like there may have been too many moving pieces. This made the pace drag a bit for me.\ \ The Improvisers (Murder and Magic #3) by Nicole Glover Black American • Historical Fantasy Mystery \ \ The Improvisers is probably my favorite book of the Murder and Magic series, so far. \ \ Book 3 focuses on a new generation of the Rhodes family through Velma Frye, a woman of manyyyy talents. She’s a pilot, a former bootlegger, a jazz pianist & can wield celestial magic. Although her favorite thing to do is fly, Velma also works as an investigator for arcane oddities for a magic rights organization. When her latest investigation leads her to a murder on her family’s stomping grounds, she realizes that she might not have to do this work alone.\ \ I had a fun time following the twists & turns this story took! We get a look at what people thought of flying planes & exploring the arts scene for Black folks in the early 20th century United States.\ \ Sweet Heat by Bolu Babalola Black British Contemporary Romance \ \ Bolu Babalola’s follow-up to Honey & Spice is full of life!\ \ I got lost in her world and forgot myself because the characters feel so true and yet, poetic. Kiki Banjo has always been relatable to me as someone who puts my whole heart into music. Her vulnerability, sharp wit, loyalty, and passion are addictive in this story. It was longer than I expected but I hardly noticed and actually got sad when I finished it.\ \ This is romance but it is also literature! I wholeheartedly recommend this book as well as Honey & Spice to anyone looking for that 90s R&B kind of love.\ \ Summoner's Circle by Coral Alejandra Moore AfroLatina • New Adult Urban Fantasy \ \ If you’re looking for an entertaining urban fantasy novel w/ a college-aged lead & non-western magic, Summoner’s Circle may be for you!\ \ Dari Jiménez is an average student at a college in Moonlight Bay, Oregon. One day, while working in the library, she’s attacked by a mysterious creature and quickly saved by a tattooed woman with a mohawk. The woman claims that Dari has untapped powers inherited from her mother & needs to learn to harness them quickly to protect herself. In between combat sessions, classes, and work, her boyfriend Tyler is starting to suspect that she’s keeping something from him.\ \ Summoner’s Circle is a relatively quick read packed w/ themes of self-discovery and intuition. I enjoyed the magic system & exploring Dari’s family’s past. I wish there was more on that & hoped there would be a second book because the ending is a bit open-ended.\ \ \ \ The Chainbreakers by Julian Randall Black & Caribbean • Middle Grade Fantasy \ \ This middle grade/YA fantasy centers on community, resistance, and memory. I love the original storytelling that imagines Africans who freed themselves and others from their would-be enslavers and lived.\ \ The Chainbreakers follows a young girl named Violet Moon, of the Sun People, who must rescue her father from the Children of the Shark. According to their lore, the chainmakers were cursed by the gods for their cruelty & forced to the depths of the ocean where they became Children of the Shark, creatures endlessly hungry for the souls of the chainbreakers aka The Sun People.\ \ The actions & creativity of Violet and her crew are thrilling & sometimes playful. Her community is loving & compassionate as well as fierce. I'd definitely recommend this book to everyone!\ \ If any of these books interest you, I hope you'll check them out from your local library and/or purchase them via Bookshop.org or Libby.fm !](https://bookish-afrolatina.binderybooks.com/item/2zVLJoKrUi35P5kX1fyO/)

January Reading Wrap-Up

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Littrilly Reads & Chats Club\ \ Tasj\ \ • Feb 22

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\ \ Why I Love Love Stories!\ \ I have always been in love with love stories. There’s something magical about witnessing two people fall for each other, whether it’s on the page of a book or on the screen,  that fills me with pure joy.  It’s the excitement, the anticipation, the butterflies you feel in your own stomach simply because the characters are feeling them too.\ \ \ \ But it’s not just the swoony moments. I love the messy parts as well, the misunderstandings, the slow-building trust, the imperfect attempts to connect. Real relationships aren’t straight lines, and romance stories embrace that beautifully. They remind us that love is rarely tidy, but is always worth the effort.\ \ When I pick up a romance, I’m 100% escaping… but I’m also immersing myself in a world built on hope! Hope that two people will find their way through the chaos. Hope that they’ll choose each other again and again. I get so freaking invested in their journey that, my own worries and issues fade away into the abyss. \ \ But even in the escape, I find pieces of myself. I see my own quirks reflected in the characters habits, fears, or desires. I recognise my own patterns, Romance doesn’t just entertain me, it makes me more aware about myself.\ \ The heart of every great love story for me is this: characters you can adore, relate to, or feel deeply for. When you care about the characters, the romance becomes unforgettable.\ \ So with all this being said! Here are 4 binge worthy and swoony romances!\ \ Every Summer After by Carley Fortune\ \ Percy and Sam are childhood friends, turned lovers, turned exes. They reunite at the cottage where they spent all their summers together after ten years of not speaking.\ \ Coming back together under sad circumstances, Percy and Sam battle their still‑strong feelings for each other while also confronting their past.\ \ This is the perfect second‑chance romance meets coming‑of‑age story.\ \ Seven year Slip by Ashely Poston\ \ Clementine works hard at her job and she’s good at it, but she’s also feeling a little lost. After losing her aunt, Clementine has been struggling with grief and guilt. She inherits her aunt’s old apartment, which has the ability to take you seven years back or forward in time. One day, an aspiring chef appears in her apartment and they form a connection. Only issue: he’s seven years from the past.\ \ A book filled with so much yearning you can barely handle it. We follow Clementine and the chef as they find their way back to each other and uncover what really happened in the apartment seven years ago.\ \ Sweet Heat by Bolu Babalola\ \ After the breakup between Malakai and Kiki, Kiki went through a lot to heal from the heartbreak. Just as things in her life begin to improve, everything somehow starts to fall apart again. Her one joy is her best friend’s wedding, except the wedding brings Malakai and Kiki back together, and things between them are still very heated.\ \ The way this book embraces friendships, family, second chances, and cultural community is incredible. A book absolutely worth the read.\ \ OBS! This is the second book in the Honey & Spice series, but you don’t need to have read the first book to enjoy this one!\ \ Faking It in Manhattan by Riley Winters\ \ Scarlett works in marketing, and she’s darn good at it. She gets hired by the fiancé of one of her closest friends. The fiancé runs a company with his close friend Blake, a bit of a playboy who is damaging the company’s reputation. Scarlett is asked to fake‑date Blake to capture positive press and brighten his public image. The only issue? Scarlett and Blake had a one‑night encounter that ended badly, leaving things tense between them. But that doesn’t mean the chemistry isn’t still there.\ \ A great story about learning to trust, opening up, and allowing yourself to rely on others.\ \ OBS! This is the second book in the Uptown series, but you don’t need to have read the first book to enjoy this one!](https://littrillyliterature.binderybooks.com/item/t1J860TFDpeJsDt6YUuY/)

Why I love love stories

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The Nerdy Babe Life\ \ Brianna \ \ • Feb 17

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\ \ At the beginning of the year, my only goal was to get through my physical TBR. That’s still part of the plan. I really do want these books read and off my shelves. But as February went on, I realized something. I genuinely love Black romance, and I want to read more of it on purpose, not just whenever it happens to land in my lap.\ \ So I’m tweaking my reading challenge.\ \ Instead of focusing on how many books I can get through, I’m going to read three intentional books per month. I know three doesn’t sound like a lot, but I’m deeply annotating at least two of them, maybe all three, depending on what I choose. This year I want depth, not speed.\ \ The structure is simple. \ \

I’m Tweaking My Reading Challenge

3 books

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Discotopia | Diverse Books\ \ Disco (he/they)\ \ • Nov 2 2025

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10 Brilliant Books by Black British Authors

Books listed: The upper world by Femi Fadugba The Haunting of Tyrese Walker by JP Rose Rapunzella or Don’t Touch My Hair by Ella McLeod Augmented by Kenechi Udogu Goddess Crown by Shade Lapite On the Run with a Vampire by Anise Starre Black Dolls Sweet Heat by Bolu Babalola People Person by Candice Carty-Williams Take a Hint Dani Brown by Talia Hibbert The Final Strife by Saara el-Arifi Small Worlds by Caleb Azumah Nelson Edge of Here by Kenechi Okafor A Song of Legends Lost by M.H. Ayinde #booktok #blackbooktok #blackbooks #blackhistorymonth #ukblackhistorymonth

8 books

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R&R Reads\ \ Ebony\ \ • Oct 1 2025

\ \ Join for free or login](https://randrreads.binderybooks.com/item/L9aUwkEVsUxNqpqUH17y/)

HAPPY OCTOBER!! THE BINDERY APP IS HERE!! 🎃 IT'S SPOOKY SEASON (40+ BOOK RELEASES!)

Catching up on September and October Book Releases! Along with preview content! And WE HAVE AN APP!!

43 books

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Discotopia | Diverse Books\ \ Disco (he/they)\ \ • Sep 14 2025

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Hi party people and disco dancers,\ \ It's a weird day here in London, UK. Yesterday my beautiful, diverse, welcoming city was filled with far right anti-immigration protestors. It was an enormous march, reflecting the growing division and right-wing propaganda sweeping the country. It felt so strange that these people marched in London, a wonderful, vibrant, city full of people from all over the world. I've lived here since I was 17, and have (mostly) felt like I belonged here. I love London, and I hope that people know that these right wingers do not reflect its true spirit. London is for everyone. \ \ So, here are 3 books that showcase the beautiful diversity of the city I call home:\ \ Rapunzella, or Don't Touch my Hair by Ella McLeod\ \ \ \ This beautiful YA fantasy book, told in verse, follows a young Black girl from South London, who visits a fantasy world in her dreams, and a myterious girl with magical hair called Rapunzella. As she grows up, gentrification changes her neighbourhood, and the land in her dreams is under threat from an evil force, and she must help the girls she has befriended to defend themselves.\ \ This is a love letter to South London, an area of London with large Caribbean and African communities. I have lived in South London almost my whole adult life and I'm very rpud of it. I'm also sad that gentrification is disrupting the community feel, and the area is often negatively represented in the news. It's full of life, love and family, just like this book.\ \ Murder in the Dressing Room by Holly Stars\ \ \ \ A drag queen (who is non-binary out of drag), finds her drag mother killed, and investigates the murder, delving into London's queer scene.\ \ This was such a fun read, especially for a queer Londonder. it features spaces like The Vauxhall Tavern, the first queer bar I ever went to in the city (an institution), and Old Compton Street, London's gay heart. It's a sparkly celebration of London's fabulousness.\ \ Sweet Heat by Bolu Babalola\ \ \ \ This is techinically a sequel, but I read it as a standalone and loved it! A young Black creative is trying to rebuild her life after an awful break up, but then her ex comes back to town, and the two of them find themselves flung together both socially and professionally. The yearning! The passion! The unique experience of being a Black British creative in London is laid bare, with all its frustrations and triumphs. The party scenes and community moments reminded me of some of my very favourite nights in the city, full of people celebrating themselves, in all their unapologetic brilliance. I adored this book.\ \ Much love, take care,\ \ Disco x\ \ Join for free or login

Diverse Discoveries: London

3 books

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R&R Reads\ \ Ebony\ \ • Jul 2 2025

96 BOOK RELEASES 💫

✨🍃UPDATE! 2025 Releases for the Back Half of 2025

There are definitely books I forgot and to them I say I’m so sorry Pookie😖

We Are Already Halfway Through 2025… anyway if you find any fault in this post get mad at Goodreads and Amazon not me …🥰

#books #bookreleases #romancebooks #fantasybooks #bookstagram

92 books

1

R&R Reads\ \ Ebony\ \ • Feb 20 2025

🍃✨2025 Anticipated Releases PART TWO

🍃✨2025 Anticipated Releases PART TWO

*via Goodreads

#bookstagram #books #romancebooks #fantasybooks #blackauthors #diverseauthors #diversebooks #2025bookreleases

42 books

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