#bolu babalola

[goldcoasthoney]

[acotars]

Read in 2023:

Sometimes beautiful things get messy. Mess is okay.

HONEY & SPICE by Bolu Babalola ★★★★

[brown-sugarrr]

Now dedicating 35-45 minutes of my day to a book. My current read is Honey + Spice by Bolu. I’ll be back soon with an update.

[libraryleopard]

honey and spice adaptation starring vivian oparah as kiki when

[highsummonertemptress]

Books with food in the title

[jenniekook]

Pimenta e Mel Bolu Babalola

OK BOM

Eu simplesmente devorei esse livro porque ele é muito bom, mas o melhor dele e que eu me vejo nele ler um livro onde você se sente representado e tão bom, tão reconfortante e infelizmente tão fora do comum para mulheres pretas

E bom ler um livro tão leve, um romance tão bonitinho e tão representativo as pessoas às vezes têm uma concepção muito pesada de que livros com protagonistas não brancos precisam ser sempre tão sérios e políticos e não nos dão a oportunidade da gente se enxergar em uma história fofa, bonitinha e até mesmo bobinha

Poxa a gente também merece sonhar acordada com um romance dentro da nossa realidade

Poder me ver na Kiki foi tão incrível

Eu amei esse livro de coração a Kiki e o Kai são um dos casais mais legais do universo literário, as interações, as conversas a história foi lindo ver a Kiki se permitindo viver depois do que ela passou, eu não sei quantas vezes um sorriso bobo apareceu no meu rosto durante essa leitura

Nessa historias temos os dois personagens inteligentes, engraçados e tão bons em suas respectivas áreas o que dá há eles uma química tão forte quando eles são colocados juntos, temos personagens secundários super Interessantes e apesar de “bobinho” o livro tem seus acontecimentos forte eu amei e definitivamente entra nos meus favoritos do ano

[blackgirlcinephiles]

Incoming: Long Post

*Steps on soap box*

*Clears throat*

BEHOLD!

A collection of Black YA romance novels I need TV/Film adaptations for! Right! NEOOOOW!

Over the past few months, I’ve had the pleasure of reading a lot Black YA romance. And what makes me so excited about these books is that they didn’t just tell a good story, but also imparted strong messages about what it means to share a healthy love between family, between friends, and between lovers of course.

Today I want to talk about these books (sans too many spoilers, seriously go read them for yourself!) and the love lessons we can learn from them.

Lesson 1: A healthy love prioritizes trust and respects boundaries.

Joya Goffney has quickly become one of my favorite Black YA authors for several reasons. If there’s one thing she can do, it’s tell an entertaining, well-rounded story.

In Excuse Me While I Ugly Cry, she explores themes of racial identity, class tensions within the Black community, and the feelings of shame, guilt, and pressure that come with trying to understand yourself as a Black teen in this world. In Confessions of an Alleged Good Girl, she explores themes of sexual agency and sex positivity, specifically within the context of southern Black Christianity, and how traditional framings of sex and virginity can leave girls in a vulnerable position, without the knowledge needed to assert themselves within romantic/sexual relationships.

Despite being centered around different topics, I found that both of these novels emphasized the importance of being able to trust in your partner. In Excuse Me While I Ugly Cry, when a trust was broken between our leading couple, working to rebuild it through shared vulnerability was an essential apart of the reconciliation process. In romantic relationships, vulnerability is inevitable, but respect for your partner’s timing should come first.

In Confessions of An Alleged Good Girl, the most freeing and affirming romantic relationship was the one where physical limitations and bodily autonomy were acknowledged and respected, no debate. Being in a romantic relationship does not entail entitlement to your partner’s body and the story really drove that home.

These messages are important for people of any age to hear, but especially for young teens having their first experiences of romance. There can be so many instances where you simply go along with things, because you don’t know any better and you assume that its the way things are. Being able to trust your partner with innermost feelings/secrets and your body is a crucial part of healthy relationships.

Lesson 2: Romance is about effort.

Now that I’m thinking about it, it’s kind of insane the amount of similarities these two novels have while still being wholly unique. Both books include a radio show about love advice, a protagonist wounded by a past friendship betrayal, and wonderful supporting characters who make the story more coloful.

But probably the most satisfying way these novels resemble each other is how the romance is built between the protagonists. Despite rocky beginnings for both couples, connections are built through mutual effort to understand each other’s passions/interests and support one another in their endeavors. These novels probably have the cutest, most swoon-worthy first date moments and it’s entirely because we can see how each protagonist took the time to come up with a creative way to get to know their love interest while also connecting with their passions.

More and more, on social media in particular, it seems that people equate effort or “applying pressure” with doing the fanciest, most expensive activity right off the bat. But like with giving gifts, the best present isn’t always the most expensive one. Rather it’s the one that’s the most thoughtful. That shows you’re paying attention and that you remembered the small, silly, weird details that would otherwise be forgotten.

Lesson 3: Love is a choice worth making.

The last book in this collection is Zyla & Kai by Kristina Forest, who is also quickly becoming another favorite author of mine. What I love about this book is the way the author went about building the narrative leading up to the big reveal. The message was so clear: Things between Zyla & Kai have always been quite simple. It’s everyone and everything else that makes it complicated.

Throughout the story there are so many external forces creating obstacles for Zyla and Kai. Their families, their peers, their pasts, and their futures are all pulling them in opposite directions. Yet, despite these challenges, Zyla and Kai always choose each other and make an active decision to make it work. To try again one more time. Their love story illustrated the idea, that while love can be simple, it’s also a choice that you make everyday.

I hope this post sparks some interest in these books if you haven’t heard of them before. And if you have, what did you think of them? Do you have a favorite?

While some of these books would work well as movies, there are others that I would want as a limited series. All of the books novels, so the story begins and ends and probably shouldn’t be drawn out for multiple seasons, but there a few where I would want to spend a bit more time with the characters than a film would afford. What say you?

[bewsworld]

“Okay, here’s the thing: I like this. I like us. I think you like this and you like us too. I think this could be a lot easier if you stopped sabotaging and manipulating yourself out of it. I know you told me that you hooked up with someone else thinking I’d get mad and end this, but I won’t be the one to do that. It has to be you. I’m not a political pawn that you can mold and shape; I am a man who is in love with you. You can’t do what you do out there in here…

In here it’s us. In here it’s sacred. You and me. Don’t insult us by doing that. If you want to call it quits, then do it, but I won’t let you make me do it. If you want to walk out right now, do it, but you’re not going to make me push you out. I thought this was a love story, but if it isn’t, tell me I’m wrong. If I’m right, though, I can promise you that it will never end with me leaving you. I will want you forever.”

— Said by Shahryār to Scheherazade in Love in Color by Bolu Babalola

[maryannmackey]

Anyway, I've been wracking my brain trying to figure out how to let her know how I feel, and then I remembered, in one of her shows she said that it just has to be true to you, just has to be real. Say it in the way you know how. So this is what I know. I know how it feels when I get the perfect shot. When the light hits a certain way, and someone's expression is the perfect display of emotion. It feels like you've hit on something sacred. That's how I feel when I look at her. She's the perfect shot. And the perfect shot isn't about something being flawless, it's about the truth. She's the truth to me. Clarity. The world is doable when she is near me.

Honey and Spice, Bolu Babalola

[baitartist]

“How were they so dark and so bright at the same time? I didn't think horoscopes were my thing; but his eyes really looked like stars and I suddenly wanted to be an astrologer, to learn how to read them as they flashed at me.”

— Honey & Spice by Bolu Babalola

[strideofpride]

this is so daircore

[afrofeministe]

Love is the prism through which I view the world. I truly believe it binds and propels us. This isn't a naive denial of the darkness that we know exists in the world, rather it is a refusal to allow the devastation, the horror or the heartache to consume us.

Bolu Babalola / Love in Colour

[bookcoversonly]

Title: Honey & Spice | Author: Bolu Babalola | Publisher: William Morrow (2022)

[readtilyoudie]

“Stand tall, my queen. I would give you the universe but how

Can I gift you to you? So I will give you my heart, strong and true,

I cannot conjure thunder, but

I will plant a forest for you, sow flowers that bloom

In your presence, fruit that tastes like your essence.”

Love in Color: Mythical Tales from Around the World, Retold by Bolu Babalola

[zeetys]

First read of 2023! 💕

One down, twenty-five more to go.

[highsummonertemptress]

Top tier, a cute little romance for the summer for everyone to read. I can't wait for the sequel 🍯🌶️