Reviews tagging 'Violence'

A Love Song for Ricki Wilde by Tia Williams

15 reviews

samchase112's review against another edition

emotional reflective sad 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

What a beautiful story, bursting with so much — history, culture, friendship, romance… I did end up loving the first half more because it was so full of everything, and once the romance started it took over the story as it took over Ricki and Ezra’s lives. At all times, however, I was enthralled by this story, and I’ll definitely be checking out Seven Days in June now!

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Suicide, Death, and Sexual content

Moderate: Racism, Terminal illness, Fire/Fire injury, Cancer, and Violence

Minor: Miscarriage, Pregnancy, and Sexism

alexisgarcia's review against another edition

emotional 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? Yes

4.0

this was not at all what i was expecting. this is such an unique take on the romance genre. supernatural/mystical stuff in books isn’t usually my favorite, especially in romance, but this was still thoroughly enjoyable.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Abandonment, Emotional abuse, Suicidal thoughts, Grief, Racism, Sexual content, Death, Blood, Suicide attempt, Terminal illness, Death of parent, Injury/Injury detail, Suicide, Toxic relationship, Violence, and Mental illness

amberlfaris's review against another edition

adventurous challenging emotional hopeful inspiring mysterious 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

Graphic: Violence and Racism

Moderate: Cancer and Suicide

carriepond's review against another edition

emotional hopeful 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? No

4.5

A Love Song for Ricki Wilde is a genre-bending romance with a lovely blend of romance, history, and fantasy. As she did in Seven Days in June, Tia Williams creates characters with such  compelling backstories and inner lives that the eventual (or in this case, not-so-eventual) romance feels like a lovely bonus— you like them so much and feel happy that they’re happy. The setting also felt so lush and lovely— 1920s Harlem, present-day Harlem, Ricki’s gorgeous and wild flower shop. I don’t want to give too much away, but I really loved the way Williams handled the fantastical elements of the story— it felt natural and added some cool moments to the book.

I loved this one and highly recommend to romance readers for sure but also anyone looking for a lovely book with fully formed characters, a cool setting, some cool history, and some magic. 

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Violence, Racism, and Suicide

Minor: Fire/Fire injury and Addiction

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

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

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Addiction, Mental illness, Misogyny, Injury/Injury detail, Cancer, Emotional abuse, Suicide, Toxic relationship, Classism, Cursing, Self harm, Blood, Abandonment, Racism, Death, Gaslighting, Grief, Hate crime, and Violence

ivi_reads_books's review against another edition

emotional funny hopeful inspiring medium-paced

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

3.25

I love how Tia Williams writes about female friendships. However, I don't usually enjoy magical realism and this book was no exception. I didn't understend the pull and attraction between female and male lead. I would have preferred this novel to be about female friendship without the romance. 
Weaving Harlem history into the story was expertly done and very enjoyable

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Racism, Terminal illness, Violence, Chronic illness, Grief, Slavery, and Cancer

Minor: Bullying and Suicide

thekrujue's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional hopeful informative mysterious tense medium-paced

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

5.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Racism, Violence, and Suicide

yourbookishbff's review against another edition

adventurous funny mysterious reflective 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

4.0

This is my first by Tia Williams, and I look forward to going back now to read Seven Days In June. Williams set vivid scenes, both in present day Harlem and the Harlem of the 1920s, and her banter was funny and fast-paced. Tonally, this felt like reading a fairy tale, with the mysterious opening from a seemingly omniscient narrator, and the fluidly shifting perspectives through scenes. Even the premise felt like a gender-bent fairy tale with a dash of dark magic and curse-breaking. For those who enjoy magical realism, Williams captures the right balance between whimsical and unsettling, bridging eras in a way that thankfully never felt cheesy.

That said, I struggled a bit with the pacing in the first half, as well as the decision to include several scenes with Ricki's family. We assume her family will be a central conflict, given the opening scene, and they even reappear at the height of the third act, but ultimately I don't understand the purpose of their involvement, as these scenes don't really advance the plot in a meaningful way, and don't add much to Ricki's character development (not much that we hadn't already gathered from her own inner monologue). It felt distracting. And while I don't mind the romance beats feeling expected, I was disappointed that the reveals in the magical plot were fairly obvious. I was hoping for a twistier story, given the set-up. 

The epilogue though. The epilogue was absolutely perfect. It was tender and sweeping in a beautifully panoramic way, bringing the story to such a satisfying conclusion. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Cancer, Death, Suicide, Racism, Murder, Police brutality, Panic attacks/disorders, Mental illness, Violence, and Hate crime

Moderate: Sexual harassment

Minor: Alcohol

Sexual harassment appears in threats to a side character's storyline.