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paidays's review against another edition
emotional
hopeful
reflective
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.75
Sweet love story with a lot of poignant moments. I appreciated the richness and texture the author provided in her descriptions of Harlem past and present. I found the plot predictable and there were a few lines of dialogue that made me fully cringe, but overall an enjoyable read.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Racism
Moderate: Mental illness, Self harm, Suicide, Terminal illness, Violence, and Fire/Fire injury
Minor: Child abuse, Death, and Sexual violence
ljm1028's review against another edition
emotional
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
I really wanted to love this one, but I can't bring myself to it. I think I would've appreciated a little more mystery. It was very easy to tell where this book was going. Also I found some of the smuttier/spicier moments to be written awkwardly, which was odd considering I didn't find the same in Seven Days in June. As much as I enjoy a happy ending, this one felt unsatisfying for some reason.
Content Warnings
Minor: Self harm
marena02's review against another edition
dark
emotional
funny
hopeful
inspiring
reflective
sad
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Addiction, Cancer, Cursing, Death, Emotional abuse, Hate crime, Mental illness, Misogyny, Racism, Self harm, Suicide, Toxic relationship, Violence, Blood, Grief, Gaslighting, Abandonment, Injury/Injury detail, and Classism
jays_bookshelf's review against another edition
adventurous
emotional
funny
mysterious
reflective
sad
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
5.0
Content Warnings
Minor: Self harm and Suicide
nightlight_reader's review against another edition
challenging
dark
emotional
funny
hopeful
inspiring
lighthearted
mysterious
reflective
sad
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
4.0
This did so much of what I was expecting but never in quite the way I expected it, and I enjoyed the hell out of this book.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Cancer and Terminal illness
Moderate: Racism, Self harm, Suicide, Toxic relationship, and Death of parent
Minor: Miscarriage and Blood
shanaepraystoo's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
emotional
funny
hopeful
informative
inspiring
mysterious
reflective
sad
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
I just finished A Love Song for Ricki Wilde. When I read the last words on the page of acknowledgements, I closed the book and held it to my chest.
What an incredible journey? What a magnificent story?
My little reader heart is so full.
Immediately Tia Williams pulls you into the story and you want nothing but the best for the FMC, Ricki Wilde. Then she takes you on a different journey and you're hopeful for the MMC Ezra. Through the pages, Williams unfurls a magical tale of love and loss that you just cannot put down.
About 40% into the story, readers learn that Ricki and Ezra have so much in common and one quote really sums it up:
What an incredible journey? What a magnificent story?
My little reader heart is so full.
Immediately Tia Williams pulls you into the story and you want nothing but the best for the FMC, Ricki Wilde. Then she takes you on a different journey and you're hopeful for the MMC Ezra. Through the pages, Williams unfurls a magical tale of love and loss that you just cannot put down.
About 40% into the story, readers learn that Ricki and Ezra have so much in common and one quote really sums it up:
"I'm afraid that I don't belong anywhere. Do you ever feel like that?"
"Every day," he admitted. "I look like something I'm not. And I never feel at home."
Ricki struggling to define herself outside of her family's daunting legacy. Ezra struggling to create a legacy for himself, despite losing his entire family. Two beautiful people looking for home.
Williams doesn't just rest on the fact that A Love Song for Ricki Wilde is just a fantastical story. No no no. She just has to make you feel it with every bit of your being with the most beautiful writing I've ever seen in a romance novel. Ezra is the ideal MMC:
Contemplatively, Ezra slowly ran his fingers along his jaw. "You live as long as I do, you think you've felt all the feelings, seen everything there is to see. It's hard to be surprised. But, Ricki, I've never experienced anything like you. You knock me senseless."
"For a long time, i thought I knew what my calling was. My grand purpose. But when I met Ricki, I knew I was wrong. I was a fool, thinking I was born to do anything grander than loving her."
I mean...what?!
But just when you think A Love Song for Ricki Wilde is all heavy feelings and flowery language, it gets really funny, too. Ezra's puns, Ricki's random facts, Ms. Della's sense of humor, and, even, Tuesday - they're all hoots.
The characters have so much depth, are so well written, and are incredibly diverse. For the entire 340 page ride, you find yourself rooting for everyone's success. And in the end, with the epilogue, which is just so perfect, you find that everything works out perfectly.
A Love Song for Ricki Wilde is beautiful, captivating, thought-provoking and emotionally charged. This might possibly be the best romance novel I've ever read and, somehow, it manages to top Seven Days In June, which I thought was spectacular. Tia Williams has become a must-read author for me. Her work is just getting better and better.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Grief and Abandonment
Moderate: Cancer, Cursing, Death, Sexual content, Terminal illness, Medical content, Death of parent, Alcohol, and Classism
Minor: Addiction, Chronic illness, Infertility, Miscarriage, Racism, Self harm, Suicide, Stalking, Fire/Fire injury, War, and Injury/Injury detail
belreadsbooks's review against another edition
emotional
hopeful
medium-paced
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
4.5
A Love Song For Ricki Wilde is a heart wrenching romance spanning 100 years with a focus on found family, curses, soulmates, and a little history too.
I found the story to be quite slow to start. Also, I wasn’t surprised at all by anything in this story? I felt like everything was very easy to predict, but surprisingly that didn’t affect my enjoyment. I went into this story knowing nothing (outside of the title and the stunning cover), and I wasn’t disappointed. Overall, A Love Song For Ricki Wilde was a sweet, heartwarming tale that had me rooting for everyone in the story. If you’ve read from Williams before, or simply crave or want to try reading a magical realism romance, this is for you!
I am so grateful I got to read this early. This is available now - out today, Feb 6!!
Thank you Netgalley and the publisher for the complimentary e-arc in exchange for an honest review. All opinions in this review are my own.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Sexual content and Suicide
Moderate: Cancer, Child death, Death, Miscarriage, Self harm, Terminal illness, and Death of parent
Minor: Drug use, Infertility, and Pandemic/Epidemic
30something_reads's review
funny
mysterious
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.75
Happy Pub Day!
"For a long time, I thought I knew what my calling was. My Grand Purpose. But when I met Ricki, I knew I was wrong. I was a fool, thinking I was born to do anything grander than loving her."
This is the story of Ricki Wilde and Ezra Walker - two creative souls brought together by fate at the beginning of February in Harlem, NY.
Ricki Wilde is the free-spirited, youngest daughter of the Wilde Funeral Empire. Expected to dutifully carry on with the family business, Ricki makes the choice to leave her home in GA and follow her dreams of opening a flower shop in NY. It’s there that she meets the mysterious Ezra Walker. They are instantly drawn to one another, but Ezra tells her it would be best if they never see one another again. But fate has other plans in store for Ricki Wilde.
This book is such a refreshing blend of romance, history, music, & friendship with the perfect magical twist. I think that if you’re a fan of Ashley Poston’s romances, this is definitely a book you need to pick up.
Not only is this a beautiful love story between two remarkable people, but it is also a love letter to Black creatives and the Harlem Renaissance.
I absolutely adored all these characters and the way their stories were woven together. This is a story that made me feel everything- I laughed along with all the funny circumstances they found themselves in. I was so angry at Ricki’s family & how they treated her. My heart swelled for the family Ricki built for herself in NY. I swooned right along with Ricki and Ezra as they fell in love. And I WEPT happy tears during the epilogue. (Which is my favorite thing to do while reading romance.)
*Thank you so much to NetGalley, Grand Central Publishing, and Hachette for the early review copy*
"For a long time, I thought I knew what my calling was. My Grand Purpose. But when I met Ricki, I knew I was wrong. I was a fool, thinking I was born to do anything grander than loving her."
This is the story of Ricki Wilde and Ezra Walker - two creative souls brought together by fate at the beginning of February in Harlem, NY.
Ricki Wilde is the free-spirited, youngest daughter of the Wilde Funeral Empire. Expected to dutifully carry on with the family business, Ricki makes the choice to leave her home in GA and follow her dreams of opening a flower shop in NY. It’s there that she meets the mysterious Ezra Walker. They are instantly drawn to one another, but Ezra tells her it would be best if they never see one another again. But fate has other plans in store for Ricki Wilde.
This book is such a refreshing blend of romance, history, music, & friendship with the perfect magical twist. I think that if you’re a fan of Ashley Poston’s romances, this is definitely a book you need to pick up.
Not only is this a beautiful love story between two remarkable people, but it is also a love letter to Black creatives and the Harlem Renaissance.
I absolutely adored all these characters and the way their stories were woven together. This is a story that made me feel everything- I laughed along with all the funny circumstances they found themselves in. I was so angry at Ricki’s family & how they treated her. My heart swelled for the family Ricki built for herself in NY. I swooned right along with Ricki and Ezra as they fell in love. And I WEPT happy tears during the epilogue. (Which is my favorite thing to do while reading romance.)
*Thank you so much to NetGalley, Grand Central Publishing, and Hachette for the early review copy*
Content Warnings
Minor: Bullying, Child death, Death, Drug use, Emotional abuse, Hate crime, Homophobia, Miscarriage, Racism, Self harm, Sexual content, Slavery, Suicidal thoughts, Suicide, Terminal illness, Violence, Grief, Suicide attempt, Death of parent, Fire/Fire injury, and War