Reviews with content warning for Cancer - A Love Song for Ricki Wilde

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A Love Song for Ricki Wilde by Tia Williams

50 reviews

escapismforlife's review against another edition

adventurous challenging dark emotional hopeful informative inspiring mysterious reflective sad 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

4.5

I came in reading A Love Song for Rick Wilde knowing that Tia Williams is a major popular writer and beyond popular author and left understanding why. Now I'm doing this review a few days after I finished my first ever book I've read by her and I have yet to let go of the beauty , sacrifice and general magic of this story. Ricki Wilde's life is similar to how so many youngest black daughters get in traditional families, and I resonated with her in that regard. But she is brave and that makes everything in this love story with her found family and love story epic and of course whimsical when it comes together why these major changes happen. I think what I missed to give this five stars though was the general plot twist of the dark magic used against both main characters. That and the fact its never reconciled how the bad person was not the one who did the curse but those who made that a crutch until driven to become someone bad in other peoples stories.

Anyways this was definitely a strong ARC to start 2024 out with despite the minimal downside. I appreciate Grand Central Publishing for giving me the chance to read this amazing black love story. It had so much layers in here with the history and modern day culture that I couldn't stop being so content with it.

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ktdakotareads's review against another edition

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hopeful mysterious sad medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? Yes

4.0

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jkreads's review against another edition

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emotional mysterious 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

4.5

{ARC review - huge thanks to Quercus Books for this early copy}

This book was a lush, beautiful experience that has convinced me that I would read Tia Williams’ grocery list if she published it. This book had elements that I was not expecting at all (which I won’t go into here because I don’t want to spoil it, I think it’s best to go into this one blind!), but I ADORED the journey I went on throughout it.

Tia Williams sets a scene SO beautifully and her writing is descriptive without being unnecessarily flowery (pardon the pun). I felt like I was walking through the streets of Harlem alongside Ricki. This book also features quite possibly my favourite side character ever in Ms Della. I fell in love with her instantly and ate up every single scene she was in. And for the Seven Days in June fans, there’s an Eva Mercy/Shane Hall cameo!

I literally didn’t know anything about the history of New York and the Harlem Renaissance going into this, but this story inspired me to read up about it and it is such a rich, interesting piece of history.

And can we talk about this COVER for a hot sec?! I was firmly anti-real people on covers until recently, and thank god I’ve changed my mind so I can fully appreciate this absolute BEAUTY of a cover. The vibes match the story so perfectly, I cannot.

A Love Song for Ricki Wilde is out on February 6 and I highly recommend picking it up if you’re after an immersive, gorgeous romance.

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paulasuze's review against another edition

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adventurous challenging emotional hopeful informative inspiring mysterious 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? It's complicated

5.0

This book was absolutely spectacular and very fun to read during a leap year. 5/5 stars.

I have always been a fan of Tia Williams and was not sure I could love a book as much as Seven Days in June but this one blew me away.

A Love Song for Ricki Wilde is a love letter to Harlem, Black excellence, and the Black historical influence on music and culture. It is a love letter to found family. It is a love letter to neurodivergent girls who don't always fit in or live up to family expectations but find ways to live freely and wholly as themselves.

Ezra was dreamy and the chemistry between him and Ricki jumped right off the page.

I wasn't a fan of magical realism until more recently and I will say it is an aspect of the book that you have to lean into. The storyline becomes fairly predictable, but that doesn't take away from the touching relationships between the characters.

I wept at the end. This story will stick with me for a while. Side note - can we please get a full book about Tuesday???

Thank you to NetGalley and Grand Central Publishing for an advanced digital reader’s copy in exchange for an honest review.

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daniellereadslikealot_'s review against another edition

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emotional hopeful 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

Oh wow, this book. I knew I’d enjoy it after loving Seven Days in June, but it blew me away. This was such an incredible story of love, history, culture and a little bit of magic. I absolutely loved Ricki and Ezra. Both were such well developed characters and I’m so glad we got both of their POVs. Also, Tuesday and Della were such fantastic supporting characters who always made me smile. I also loved the flashbacks of the Harlem Renaissance and reading about all the amazing music. The romance was absolutely beautiful as well. I cried several times, especially towards the end. Honestly, top to bottom, a perfect book in my eyes. I’m so happy I read it.

Thank you to NetGalley and Grand Central Publishing for an advanced digital reader’s copy in exchange for an honest review.

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caseythereader's review against another edition

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emotional funny hopeful fast-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Character
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? No

4.25

Thank you to Grand Central Publishing for the free copy of this book.

- Tia Williams does it again with A LOVE SONG FOR RICKI WILDE. Drama, snark, two people drawn toward each other in a way they’ve never felt before.
- Even if the plot is easy enough to predict, I loved being with Ricki and Ezra as they unraveled their story and fell hard for each other.
- Somehow, amid the over the top ridiculous family members and the paranormal elements, Williams gives us a fated mates story for the ages, filled with intensity and longing and love.

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jaz_gets_literary's review against another edition

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adventurous emotional hopeful mysterious reflective medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Character
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? It's complicated
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? No

4.75

Thanks to NetGalley for the arc of this book These are my 100% honest opinions.

I honestly went into this book with no thoughts at all. I had read another book from this author and I didn’t really enjoy it. When I saw the cover of this, something just pulled me to it. (If you’ve read the book, that’s some crazy symbolism) I’m really glad that I chose to read it because I really enjoyed it. I enjoyed the magical realism in the romance story between Ricki and Ezra. The beginning of the book switches between the 1920s and modern day 2023. Sometimes large time gaps are hard to keep up with in books but not this one. I was in love with the majority of the characters. Sometimes side characters get lost or seem unnecessary but not Tuesday and Ms. Della. I could read a spin off on the back story of both of them.

While I did guess part of what happened at the end, it didn’t damper my enjoyment of the story. I enjoyed this book a lot and it had put this author’s work back on the radar for me.

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just_one_more_paige's review against another edition

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adventurous emotional mysterious 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? No

4.0

Y'all, I read my first book by Tia Willams, Seven Days in June, about two years ago now. And it made my favorites of the year list. So, when I saw the opportunity to request this newest book on NetGalley, let me tell you, I *jumped* on it. I was excited to read more from Williams, plus this one promised a little magic in it, and I am never one to turn that down.

So, I'm super behind on reviews. In trying to catch up, I will be going the lazy synopsis route and giving you the good ol' (truncated) "copied and pasted from Goodreads" version. Thanks for your understanding, haha. Here's that: Ricki Wilde is the impulsive, artistic daughter of a powerful Atlanta dynasty, and quite the opposite of the rest of her family. She knows that somewhere, a different, more exciting life awaits her. So, when a regal nonagenarian, Ms. Della, invites her to rent the bottom floor of her Harlem brownstone, Ricki jumpsont it. She leaves behind her family, wealth, and chaotic romantic decisions to realize her dream of opening a flower shop. And just beneath the surface of her new neighborhood, the music, stories and dazzling drama of the Harlem Renaissance still simmers. One evening in February, Ricki encounters a handsome, deeply mysterious stranger (Ezra) who knocks her world off balance in the most unexpected way and together, once Ricki learns his big secret, they must overcome a curse that has stuck to him for a century. Set against the backdrops of both modern Harlem and Renaissance glamour, A Love Song for Ricki Wilde is a swoon-worthy love story of two passionate artists drawn to the magic, romance, and opportunity of New York, and whose lives are uniquely and irreversibly linked.

Well, I didn;t love it as much as Seven Days, but tbh, that's a hella high bar and I wasn't really expecting to. So with that in mind, I loved this one for what it was! First, and foremost, these characters were phenomenal - fresh and interesting. A spunky former child actor, a Harlem Renaissance era pianist, a quirky YOLO-vibes grandmother figure, and, of course, our MC, a creative florist and burgeoning IG influencer. Bonus: a solid cameo from Eva Mercy from Seven Days and I was just feeling these characters. A lot of it was in the little details, like Ms. Della going out to community gatherings drinking from her own literal china teacup and the specificity of description in Ricki's bouquets and the room of historic music technology in Ezra's home and, for me, the little mention of study abroad in Seville (I did that!). They were just so alive and I loved them all.

The world-building was also spectacular. Which sounds a bit ridiculous because this is a "real life" place and time (or places and times). But Williams really brought it to life: the setting was just as alive as the characters, holding its own against their strong presences. I don’t read much from the Harlem Renaissance time period, in any setting/population, so this was a nice way to add it in and mix it up without being overwhelmed by a time period that I’m just not normally drawn to. It’s always important to get a history refresher, especially from a perspective that isn’t ever taught in a fully fleshed-out way (we often nominally honor the Black jazz musicians and artists/poets of the time, but don’t ever reckon with the need or inspiration behind their work and community). And this was really accentuated by the parts from Ezra's perspectives...his world weariness (*minor spoiler*) due to the immortality meant he had seen and survived so much, especially as a Black man from the Jim Crow South and with a story starting in Harlem Renaissance/Jazz Age Harlem was written so well. A solid, telling, and fairly original, perspective, in that way. Finally, the way that Ricki begins leaving her extra bouquets around Harlem at historical spots, starting a major social media following with that, is so creative. And was a wonderful way to really tie the two time periods, but same location, together even more.

The plot itself was entertaining and fun, but also romantic (and let me add here that I loved the chemistry between Ezra and Ricki). And while I saw the ending coming from pretty far away, I also appreciated the cyclical nature of it and the way it all came together smoothly, and magically! Plus, while I was a bit sleep deprived when I read the ending and maybe that played a part in my reaction, I was surprised at how emotional it still made me...even knowing what was going to happen. That's really solid writing, overall. A note on the writing here though. Potentially because this was an ARC, but there was something about the writing that felt a little less polished than I would have liked. There's a chance some of that was cleaned up before final publication, but it could have been smoother.

Anyways, I'm usually a sucker for the fight for an epic love that actually looks like the everyday little moments; I love seeing my own love story reflected in those moments and always feel that it's such a gorgeous story to tell. And here, it was; it really was gorgeous.

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danahh's review against another edition

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emotional funny hopeful mysterious slow-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

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haerlee's review against another edition

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emotional funny hopeful inspiring mysterious 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

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