Reviews tagging 'Hate crime'

A Love Song for Ricki Wilde by Tia Williams

35 reviews

narrnaul's review against another edition

funny hopeful medium-paced

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

4.5

super cute book!! i loved the concept and had so much fun listening to the audiobook. the only part i rolled my eyes at was

when ezra was like “yeah i’ve contributed to all the greatest songs of all time” 🙄 like girl no one can disprove that because of the curse lmao 😭. he def reminded me of that one dude mystic spiral was locked up w/in the daria episode “speedtrapped” haha.

also i feel like tia williams is def gonna do a third book in the same universe (hint hint wink wink).

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Suicide and Hate crime

jennazim's review against another edition

emotional funny 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

4.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Hate crime, Racism, and Suicide

brittonmc1221's review against another edition

emotional reflective

4.5

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Death of parent, Fire/Fire injury, Death, Hate crime, Suicide, Terminal illness, Grief, and Racism

amateur_bookworm's review against another edition

hopeful 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

5.0

My summary: 

Ever the disappointment in her family, Ricki Wilde has dreams of opening her own flower shop. But her family owns the nationwide chain of Wilde Funeral Homes and all of her sisters have successfully followed in their father’s footsteps, with the expectation of Ricki doing the same. When she finally finds the nerve to reveal her grand idea to her family, they completely dismiss her and then her father effectively fires her. All hope seems lost for her dream to gain traction, until Ms. Della, a kind older woman, comes into the funeral home on one of Ricki’s last days there. Worried it’s too good to be true but out of options, Ricki takes up Ms. Della’s offer and moves to Harlem into the bottom floor apartment of Ms. Della’s building. As Ricki pours her heart into Wilde Things, her flower shop begins to grow and she is drawn to the magnetic Ezra Walker in an inexplicable way.

My thoughts:

This book is the perfect blend of romance and intrigue and magical realism. A vibrant blending of modern day with the Harlem Renaissance makes you feel like you’ve stepped right into the pages. 

This book is fantastic and I felt so drawn into it. I really didn’t know anything at all about the Harlem Renaissance during the Roaring 20s before picking this up and Tia Williams made this glimpse of it sound so incredible that I want to learn more about it. 

I love Ricki’s social awkwardness and wit. Ezra is maddeningly intriguing and I just couldn’t get enough of him. The mystery of his story is both tantalizing and infuriating. I love Ms. Della with her found family and guardian angel role in the story—and she gives us all someone to aspire to be like when we’re 96! Tuesday is also such a fun yet somewhat tragic character as a former famous child actress. 

I saw Tia Williams at a panel at the LA Times Festival of Books and I had never read any of her books before. And after hearing her talk—especially about the, ahem, piano scene—I knew I wanted to dive into this as soon as possible. 

Going into this book after hearing Tia talk about some of her inspiration for this book made it SO much better than just going in blind. Listening to her talk about not knowing flowers or pianos before this book, her previous work at magazines, and that she loved the idea of how exotic night-blooming jasmine sounded all made reading this such an incredibly richer experience for me. 

Go to author events. Or listen to podcasts featuring authors. Dive into the author’s story a bit before reading and all of it will really take your reading to a new level of enjoyment. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Death of parent, Hate crime, Death, Racism, Grief, Suicide, and Terminal illness

Moderate: Sexual content and Cursing

Minor: Miscarriage

peachani's review against another edition

emotional mysterious medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Plot
• 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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Content Warnings

Moderate: Death of parent, Classism, Sexual content, Suicide, Terminal illness, Alcohol, Cancer, Hate crime, Mental illness, Miscarriage, and Racism

Minor: Fire/Fire injury, Blood, Death, Gaslighting, Cultural appropriation, Cursing, Injury/Injury detail, Abandonment, Addiction, Emotional abuse, Misogyny, and War

tenderbench's review against another edition

dark emotional hopeful mysterious sad tense fast-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

3.5

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Cancer, Death, and Suicide

Moderate: Hate crime

Minor: Drug use

kdailyreads's review against another edition

adventurous emotional funny hopeful mysterious sad medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

5.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Death, Hate crime, Grief, Sexual content, Suicide, Racism, and Death of parent

Moderate: Fire/Fire injury, Mental illness, Alcohol, Cancer, Toxic relationship, Injury/Injury detail, Blood, Terminal illness, and Violence

Minor: Miscarriage, Cursing, Drug abuse, Infertility, Police brutality, and War

shannahtan's review against another edition

emotional hopeful fast-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? No

5.0

I absolutely loved this book! The mysticism around leap day first drew me in. I didn’t read anything about what the book was about prior to starting it. Ricki leaves her family in Georgia because she doesn’t fit in then moves to Harlem to start a flower shop, Wilde Things. I love her friendship with Tuesday and how fiercely loyal Tuesday is to Ricki. I didn’t expect

Ezra to be a perennial. I think that name is kind of clever. They just live on and on year after year. I did kinda think Della was going to be the one to die for them to live. I think her finding found family in Della is also so beautiful.

I would say this book is super spicy although the main characters definitely have a lot of attraction to one another. I think what was more beautiful is how they loved each other.

How Ezra stood up for her with her sisters who were downplaying and disrespecting her success. How that gave Ricki the strength to kick them out of her place.

This book was also unexpectedly funny with its quips and social commentary. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Racism and Hate crime

Moderate: Suicide and Terminal illness

Minor: Suicide attempt, Violence, and Miscarriage

nidzi_c's review against another edition

emotional funny hopeful inspiring reflective 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

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Racism, Hate crime, Suicide, Grief, and Death

Minor: Miscarriage

amandas_bookshelf's review against another edition

emotional funny hopeful medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

5.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Death, Grief, Suicide, Alcohol, Hate crime, Racism, Terminal illness, and Injury/Injury detail