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babeinlibrary's review against another edition
- 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
Graphic: Death, Racism, and Suicide
Moderate: Addiction, Cancer, Cursing, Drug abuse, Hate crime, Mental illness, Miscarriage, Terminal illness, Grief, Death of parent, Cultural appropriation, Gaslighting, Injury/Injury detail, and Classism
Minor: Abandonment
purplepenning's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
5.0
I just talked myself into 5 stars. I'm tired of being stingy with minute measures of approval when people are pouring this kind of love, energy, and complexity into their work.
Graphic: Hate crime, Racism, and Suicide
Moderate: Addiction, Cancer, Chronic illness, Cursing, Death, Drug use, Sexual content, Grief, Fire/Fire injury, Abandonment, Alcohol, and Classism
Minor: Body shaming, Bullying, Drug abuse, Blood, and Death of parent
jkreads's review against another edition
- 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
4.5
Graphic: Cancer, Hate crime, Racial slurs, Racism, Sexual content, Abandonment, and Classism
Moderate: Addiction, Death, Slavery, Suicide, Violence, Blood, and Alcohol
brewdy_reader's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
3.0
𝘐𝘯𝘴𝘵𝘢 𝘓𝘰𝘷𝘦 • 𝘍𝘢𝘵𝘦𝘥 𝘓𝘰𝘷𝘦𝘳𝘴 • 𝘋𝘶𝘢𝘭 𝘛𝘪𝘮𝘦𝘭𝘪𝘯𝘦
This is a story of love, reinvention and soulmates. Ricki surrenders her wealthy, pampered upbringing to pursue her dream of being a plant-fluencer & opening a flower shop in NYC. There Ricki meets a mysterious stranger with a secret past. Set against the backdrop of modern Harlem and Renaissance glamour, the two are drawn together by a mystical power and magnetic attraction. 🌶️🌶️
I loved the:
• Vivid descriptions of the Harlem Renaissance period, the rich music and vibrant art scene, as well as vignettes providing insight into the Great Migration, Red Summer, Sharecropping, Black pigeon-holing and Brilliance, and more
• Puns that were constant throughout the book had me laughing at the word play wittiness
• FMC’s awkwardness was endearing and relatable
Here's what didn't work well:
• The magical realism elements felt underdeveloped, slow to be revealed and simplistically and predictably tied up. Had this been purely a contemporary romance I would have liked it more; as written it felt like it was trying to do too much.
• The individual character development was well done but development of the connection between the two MCs left me wanting more than the Insta-love we were given.
Overall the book was engaging and definitely worth a read! This was my first Tia Williams novel and I will definitely try another.
𝘛𝘩𝘢𝘯𝘬 𝘺𝘰𝘶 𝘵𝘰 𝘕𝘦𝘵𝘎𝘢𝘭𝘭𝘦𝘺 𝘧𝘰𝘳 𝘢𝘭𝘭𝘰𝘸𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘮𝘦 𝘢𝘤𝘤𝘦𝘴𝘴 𝘵𝘰 𝘵𝘩𝘪𝘴 𝘦𝘈𝘙𝘊.
Graphic: Addiction, Death, Drug abuse, Drug use, Hate crime, Racism, Suicide, Death of parent, and Abandonment