Confused Spice

Confused Spice by Mathis Bailey is an eclectic modern read that weaves family, friendship, sexuality, and self-discovery. Set in the backdrops of Toronto, Canada, Bailey introduces readers to Pierre Jackson and Jahan Khakwani. Both of these characters are complete opposites in every sense of the word: one is homosexual and the other is heterosexual, and yet, they develop and form somewhat of a friendship.

Jahan’s character, right off the pages, was a confusing character to grasp. Did I like him? Yes and no. There were moments that I just didn’t understand him. He had a controlling mother whom he constantly butted heads with, and yet you still see Jahan try to interact with her. Maybe it was the Asian Indian mentality to always obey your parents that caused Jahan to behave when it comes to his mother. So when Jahan meets with Pierre Jackson, who happens to be gay, an unlikely form of friendship begins to develop. Jahan and Pierre begin to see each other as more than friends and brothers. As their two worlds collide, will their friendship take on a whole new direction as they embark on new changes in their lives?

Confused Spice is not a story that I would define as romance, per se. I would highly consider this book to be a coming-of-age and self-discovery kind of trope. The storyline concept of the book is good, but I found this book to be lacking an emotional depth to pull in the readers for it to be a memorable read. With that being said, I did find the writing to be okay. I wished the author took time on developing the characters growth emotionally, physically, and spiritually. I have read many books that dealt with sexuality, and a part of me hoped the author would have taken more time in exploring that spectrum of the book. What I did enjoy about the book was that author incorporated diversity into the storyline, but other than that, I found the story to, overall, be just okay.