HONEY & SPICE by Bolu Babalola

science fiction & fantasy

A MIRROR MENDED

Harrow, Alix E. Tordotcom (144 pp.) $18.99 | June 14, 2022 978-1-250-76664-9

A woman who specializes in helping fairy-tale princesses is kidnapped by a villain who wants her own happy ending. Zinnia Gray has a very special skill: She can travel through portals to different versions of “Sleeping Beauty.” A former Sleeping Beauty herself, Zinnia uses this ability to help other princesses reach their own happily-everafters. But one day she looks into a mirror and sees not her own reflection, but an evil queen on the other side. The queen reaches out of the mirror and pulls Zinnia through. Suddenly, Zinnia isn’t in the Sleeping Beauty–verse anymore; she’s in the world of “Snow White,” and the infamous evil queen wants her help escaping the grisly end promised to all fairy-tale villains. This short novel, the sequel to Harrow’s A Spindle Splintered (2021), makes efficient use of its limited word count, wasting no time before immersing the reader in Zinnia’s many fairy-tale worlds. Zinnia and the evil queen have wonderful chemistry, and Harrow guides both characters through compelling arcs as they consider what it means to be the protagonist of your own story. Zinnia’s snappy, pop-culture– heavy dialogue can sometimes come across a bit smarmy, but it suits the genre well.

A lively, engaging fairy-tale retelling perfect for devouring in a single sitting.

romance

HONEY & SPICE

Babalola, Bolu Morrow/HarperCollins (368 pp.) $27.99 | July 5, 2022 978-0-06-314148-3

A Black British university student explores love and friendship on her radio show in this shining romance debut.

Loner Kikiola “Kiki” Banjo is perfectly content with her Switzerlandesque social status at Whitewell College. Uninterested in making any political or social waves, Kiki dedicates all her energy to “Brown Sugar,” her show on the college radio station. Her college, called “Blackwell” by the school’s Black caucus, is home to a number of cliques and queen bees, but Kiki prefers to stay behind the mic when dealing with any drama between Blackwellian babes and the guys she dubs “Wastemen” (“They waste our time. Waste our energy”). Armed with a sharp tongue and her producer/best friend, Aminah, Kiki hopes the show will land her a spot at New York University’s elite summer pop media program, but she needs a community component to really seal the deal. Enter hot transfer Malakai Korede, a film student and “fresh manna from heaven.” Despite his recent arrival, his more-than-good looks and charisma have already pitted the independent Blackwell women against each other, and even Kiki finds it difficult to withstand his effortless charm. After an impromptu make-out session spurs their unexpected friendship, Kiki and Malakai decide to combine forces and fake date to add to the credibility of “Brown Sugar” and provide audio for his romance documentary. Suddenly, the walls Kiki built around herself come tumbling down as her relationship with Malakai turns them into local celebrities, and she must come to terms with what it means to step out from the recording booth and actually be seen. Babalola’s debut novel is lyrical and sincere, her prose rhythmic: “My smile had had enough of being trapped and spilled out, wide and brazen and messy, dripping everywhere. It soaked through my clothes and into my skin.” Kiki is the epitome of cool; her dialogue oozes with confidence, and her biting wit rolls off her tongue with ease—leaving readers wishing they could play her clever disses on repeat like their favorite song.

Smooth, sophisticated, and sexy.

GOOD MORNING, LOVE

Coleman, Ashley M. Simon & Schuster (256 pp.) $16.99 paper | June 21, 2022 978-1-982168-62-9

How do you become a songwriting star in an industry riddled with potential pitfalls? Carlisa “Carli” Henton has a highpressure job at a media agency representing musicians; she’s the owner’s right-hand woman. But her excellence at work and the time she spends on it is at odds with her real aspiration—to write music for major artists and labels. Diligence and talent have led her to the cusp of success there as well, but in the music industry, personal relationships can cause huge complications. Three years ago, she rejected a producer’s advances, and, in retaliation, he cut her out of working on an album that could have made her career. In her present and possible future is R&B star Tau Anderson, one of her agency’s clients, coming on strong with the romance, the connections, and a reputation for trouble. Carli is deeply ambivalent about the best way forward. Strangely, her ambivalence never comes to a clear emotional