Babalola's Honey & Spice announced as next read for TikTok’s Book Club

Bolu Babalola’s Honey & Spice (Headline Review) has been announced as the next read for TikTok’s Book Club.  

The social media platform described Babalola’s debut as “funny, dazzling and widely-acclaimed". It centres on the story of a young Black British woman who unexpectedly finds herself caught up in a fake relationship.  

“The novel is already taking the BookTok community by storm, with over 266,000 views of videos about its author, and many within the thriving #BlackRomance community singing its praises” TikTok said. 

Babalola will be hosting a live Q&A to discuss the novel with BookTok creators and the wider community, and will be co-creating some new content on the platform too. 

James Stafford, head of partnerships and community at TikTok, said: "The #BookTok community keeps getting stronger, and is having a huge impact on people’s perception of reading. No matter how well-known a genre or author, there’s a community celebrating it on TikTok, and we’re excited about the #BookClub format as a way to keep sparking these conversations". 

The book club launched in July with Jane Austen’s Persuasion. When questioned on how TikTok decides on the books to feature it said: “We are working closely with publishers and our creators to identify which books will be included.” 

#BookTok has nearly 72 billion views on the platform and is one of the most active communities, influencing book sales globally.