Honey & Spice

Malakai is Kiki’s love interest and the second protagonist of the novel. He is described as “tall, dark, and handsome, like he walked out of a nineties rom-com” (17). He has a muscled body, deep brown skin, and wears a gold chain. Kiki calls him “a very well crafted, perfect uni boyfriend. Artisanal” (45). At their first kiss, Kiki notes he had “a smile so bright [she] felt like [she] could see [her] future in it” (64). She compares his looks to Morris Chestnut, an American actor. The novel plays on generic assumptions here to make it clear that Malakai is the love interest despite the narrative twists. That these comments are given through Kiki’s first-person voice demonstrates that she is highly attracted to him.

Malakai’s parents are also from Nigeria, and his father spends time there with his business. Learning about his father’s infidelity—after his father’s mistress approached Malakai—shattered Malakai’s trust in his father. He still longs for his father’s approval, however, and is upset that his father thinks Malakai’s love and interest in film making is irresponsible. His father’s betrayal led Malakai to an episode of depression, where he lost interest in school, and he wasn’t supported by his girlfriend, Ama, who instead scolded him for his behavior. In transferring to Whitewell, Malakai is looking for a new start. He is also looking for companionship, but in not being clear to the girls he was dating, he created the unhappiness, jealousy, and competitiveness that leads Kiki to assume he is a “fuckboi.”

Malakai isn’t a “Wasteman,” however, as the reader sees quite early. He is a loyal, sincere, emotionally mature young man, and he is honest about what he wants and what he feels. He is always straightforward with Kiki, though he occasionally lets her believe otherwise of him, because she is so quick to jump to judgment. He doesn’t guard his heart, however, and eventually tells Kiki know how he feels. He is a sensitive and caring boyfriend, with a good sense of humor. He is always supportive, letting Kiki set the pace of their relationship, helping her goals by contributing to her show and trying to protect her from Zack. Though he isn’t able to repair his relationship with his father, Malakai takes a chance on opening himself up to Kiki, confessing publicly that he loves her and is ready for a real relationship.

Aminah is a supporting character, accomplice and mentor to Kiki. The also helps the novel to explore Black female, particularly Nigerian, identity and culture in the UK, widening the novel’s presentation through her differences to Kiki and Malakai.

Aminah is a second-year marketing student at Whitewell. Aminah’s parents run a Nigerian snack food business called ChopChop and went to a British boarding school in Lagos, then a private boarding school in Sussex. Her parents are Christian and Muslim, so she likes to say she is “biregligious.” Kiki says Aminah could have easily been “Supreme of the Naija rich bitches” (13) but she “rejected all expectations and presumptions” (14). Aminah is a devoted friend and occasional source of humor and sheds light on Kiki’s perspective, letting her know when she is being self-centered or lying to herself. Aminah is a lively personality, a devoted friend, and the life of the party. She knows what she wants and goes after it, as shown by her conviction that Kofi is the man for her. Aminah’s view of relationship provides perspective for Kiki, as Aminah knows she wants to be with Kofi but believes she has to play coy and make him pursue her so he doesn’t take her for granted. Aminah and Kofi together provide an analogue and comparison to Malakai and Kiki.

Zack serves as the antagonist of the novel, another version of Nile, a man who wants Kiki and then turns on her when she rejects him. Zack is very good-looking, ambitious, vain, and completely self-centered. His only good attributes are his looks. He has a very fit body, hazel eyes, and caramel skin; Shanti describes him as “rich, light-skinned, and looks like a Calvin Klein model” (210), and Kiki describes him as “fully a prick, fully a snack” (35). He has one white, English parent and one Nigerian parent and went to a boarding school in Sussex where he had only white friends, which suggests his identification with Black culture might not be strong or sincere.

Zack claims he seeks reconciliation in his dealings with the Whitewell Knights; as he says in his video, “I myself am of mixed-raced heritage, being both Black and white, and I consider myself a real emblem of what can happen when we put our differences aside” (305). Kiki, however, realizes that Zack simply wants power, admiration, and respect, and does not have any scruples about how he achieves it. She reflects that he uses people, and her “feelings were just a tedious obstacle to maneuver around till he reached his goal” (268). Zack doesn’t listen when Kiki tells him no, and it comes to light that he has harassed and blackmailed other women with revealing photos and threats of exposure. Kiki thinks, “He was addicted to power and ownership, and it made him a perpetually unsatisfied monster” (289). Zack turns out not to have any nuance or redeeming qualities; he is purely the villain, and at the end of the novel, he is kicked out of Whitewell in disgrace.