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kmshobbs's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
emotional
funny
hopeful
inspiring
mysterious
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
5.0
Content Warnings
Minor: Cancer, Cursing, Hate crime, Miscarriage, Racism, Suicide, Death of parent, Murder, and Fire/Fire injury
nataliebootlah's review against another edition
emotional
mysterious
- 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
3.5
“What they heard as frenzied abandonment was the sound of his rage. Their joyous release was his escape, his chance to outrun the memories that stalked him. Jazz was freedom, but grief was his fuel. It was that simple, and that terrible.”
Ricki is the outcast of her wealthy, perfect family. Ezra is the mysterious hottie on the block, with an aura Ricki can’t quite stay away from. What plays out is a love song one hundred years in the making, one leap day at a time.
I went into this mostly blind, it was available immediately from Libby and I was most definitely intrigued by the beautiful cover. I stayed for the Harlem-era journey, genre-bending between romance and magical realism, musical landscape, and sassy characters. I especially loved the minor characters and their stories. What didn’t quite stick for me was the romance, it felt rushed and a bit shallow. That said, I enjoyed it as a quick summer read!
Content Warnings
Graphic: Racism
Moderate: Sexual content, Suicide, and Murder
Minor: Addiction
mayayandal's review against another edition
inspiring
lighthearted
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Racism, Suicide, and Abandonment
Moderate: Domestic abuse, Drug abuse, and Murder
nstyner's review against another edition
emotional
funny
hopeful
lighthearted
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? Yes
4.0
I love everything about this story! I thought it was so cute. It felt like a nice warm hug lol and I LOVED the supernatural spin to it too!!!! This book made my heart happy and calm.
Content Warnings
Moderate: Hate crime, Racism, and Murder
mmccombs's review against another edition
emotional
funny
lighthearted
mysterious
medium-paced
4.0
One of the swooniest, most magical romances I’ve ever read! Simply fantastical and outlandish, it is warm and sweet and funny because it never compromises on the magical part to its realism. I love the way Williams writes, there is something so breezy and effortless to her prose. While sometimes I was like “ugh cheesy!” it all worked to create a compelling, fun romance that also dipped into more serious themes. I loved these characters and their chemistry, the puns and pop-culture references were on the whole well executed, and the sense of place in Harlem (both historical and present) was so vivid. I loved Seven Days in June and loved this one too, I can’t wait for more romances (and hopefully some great movie adaptations, too!)
Content Warnings
Graphic: Death, Racism, and Grief
Moderate: Miscarriage and Murder
jessica_thelen's review against another edition
emotional
funny
hopeful
inspiring
mysterious
reflective
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? No
5.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Death and Suicide
Moderate: Murder
Minor: Miscarriage
mamaofperfectpayton's review against another edition
emotional
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? Yes
4.25
Content Warnings
Graphic: Death, Suicide, and Death of parent
Moderate: Drug use and Murder
znvisser's review against another edition
adventurous
emotional
mysterious
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Loveable characters? Yes
4.5
Eesh, Tia Williams can write romance! And with so many more elements that I loved: dramatic and classist family members that could’ve come out of an Austen novel, magical realism, pop culture references that aren’t cringey, and admirable women all over the place. I loved Ricki with all her passion and colourfulness (“Because she (a) found fashion calming and (b) was dramatic, Ricki had dressed carefully for this occasion”.); and Ezra being funny and attractive (“Ricki barely heard him, as she was mid-epiphany. Was Warm Weather Ezra the sexiest Ezra?”) and their entire art-drenched love story, in which their love itself is so wonderfully uncomplicated, despite the circumstances they’re facing together. Loved this!
Content Warnings
Graphic: Hate crime, Murder, and Fire/Fire injury
Moderate: Addiction, Cancer, Drug abuse, Infertility, Miscarriage, Racism, Suicide, Terminal illness, Death of parent, Abandonment, and Classism
Minor: Toxic relationship and Blood
simplymodest's review against another edition
adventurous
emotional
funny
hopeful
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? No
5.0
What can I say about A Love Song for Ricki Wilde? The book was written so beautifully. It takes you on a whimsical journey of two lovers destined to be together. On the backdrop of Harlem over the span of 100 plus years you will fall in love with all these characters and not want to put this book down. I loved everything about this book. The plot, the characters, and it is set in February in a LEAP YEAR!!!! I didn’t want to put it down and I will think about these characters for a long time. @tiawilliams did her thing with this book. Definitely recommend this book!!!!
Content Warnings
Graphic: Mental illness, Racism, Suicide, and Murder
Moderate: Addiction, Infertility, and Death of parent
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.
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.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Cancer, Death, Hate crime, Mental illness, Panic attacks/disorders, Racism, Suicide, Violence, Police brutality, and Murder
Moderate: Sexual harassment
Minor: Alcohol
Sexual harassment appears in threats to a side character's storyline.