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arireadsitall's review against another edition
emotional
hopeful
inspiring
mysterious
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? It's complicated
5.0
This book was absolutely beautiful and wow did I ugly cry at the end. Ricki and Ezra are goals and I’m never going to be over their love. The magical realism gave me the same butterflies I got from the seven year slip (and tbh that’s the best feeling) please do yourself a favor and read this book!
Content Warnings
Moderate: Drug abuse, Racism, and Suicide
literaryintersections's review against another edition
emotional
funny
hopeful
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
“that Blackness wasn’t a concept, an idea for sale. There is no correlation between our value and white people buying in”
Finishing this book while watching the Grammy’s was something. A book that at its heart is about love, grief, not fitting in and being too much, but also is about our societies ability to forget about Black people and Black music. Black folks changed the game in music - jazz, blues, swing, country. Always at the forefront but always last to be recognized. I loved how Tia immerses the reader in Harlem, the Harlem Renaissance and Black excellence, while also reminding you that the very places where Black excellence shone are now condos, Starbucks, parking lots.
This book was so emotional to me. I was on a journey where I truly didn’t think it was going to end happy. You have to go into this book without knowing anything because the joy of trying to figure out wtf is going ok is so fun but also mildly anxiety inducing lol.
Ricki and Ezra were beautiful together. “Promise me that you’ll choose to love each other hard.” Every moment, every word, every touch was gorgeously rendered on the page. You feel everything. And Williams created wonderful side characters: particularly Tuesday (the hilarious best friend everyone wants) and Ms. Della (the spunky old lady everyone wants to be).
This review is a mess because I am a mess. Y’all have to get this book now. And thank you to Grand Central Pub for my digital copy to review.
Finishing this book while watching the Grammy’s was something. A book that at its heart is about love, grief, not fitting in and being too much, but also is about our societies ability to forget about Black people and Black music. Black folks changed the game in music - jazz, blues, swing, country. Always at the forefront but always last to be recognized. I loved how Tia immerses the reader in Harlem, the Harlem Renaissance and Black excellence, while also reminding you that the very places where Black excellence shone are now condos, Starbucks, parking lots.
This book was so emotional to me. I was on a journey where I truly didn’t think it was going to end happy. You have to go into this book without knowing anything because the joy of trying to figure out wtf is going ok is so fun but also mildly anxiety inducing lol.
Ricki and Ezra were beautiful together. “Promise me that you’ll choose to love each other hard.” Every moment, every word, every touch was gorgeously rendered on the page. You feel everything. And Williams created wonderful side characters: particularly Tuesday (the hilarious best friend everyone wants) and Ms. Della (the spunky old lady everyone wants to be).
This review is a mess because I am a mess. Y’all have to get this book now. And thank you to Grand Central Pub for my digital copy to review.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Racism and Suicide
Moderate: Drug abuse and Miscarriage
babeinlibrary's review against another edition
adventurous
emotional
funny
hopeful
informative
inspiring
mysterious
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? It's complicated
5.0
Content Warnings
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
dark
emotional
hopeful
mysterious
reflective
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
5.0
"An intriguing genre-bending story" is what I blandly started to write, which is true but bloodlessly inadequate. This story is stacked and packed with creativity and vitality, with sparkling historical fiction, steamy contemporary romance, time-addling magical realism, dark drama, and characters who are hilarious, powerful, misplaced, wise, awkward, desperate, passionate, generous, and nuanced. It celebrates Black history, Black resilience, Black art, Black joy, and timeless Black love in a tale spun of music, voodoo, lush flowers, fashion, Harlem, leap years, found family, wry commentary, and fated love. Like its protagonist, it may be a bit much for some, but dang — I'm going to be over here thinking and rethinking on it for days and weeks to come, wondering what voodoo allowed Tia Williams to get *gestures expansively* all that into one impressively coherent love story.
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.
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.
Content Warnings
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
brewdy_reader's review against another edition
adventurous
funny
mysterious
medium-paced
- 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
𝘊𝘰𝘯𝘵𝘦𝘮𝘱𝘰𝘳𝘢𝘳𝘺 𝘙𝘰𝘮𝘢𝘯𝘤𝘦 • 𝘏𝘪𝘴𝘵𝘰𝘳𝘪𝘤𝘢𝘭 𝘍𝘪𝘤𝘵𝘪𝘰𝘯 • 𝘔𝘢𝘨𝘪𝘤𝘢𝘭 𝘙𝘦𝘢𝘭𝘪𝘴𝘮
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.
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.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Addiction, Death, Drug abuse, Drug use, Hate crime, Racism, Suicide, Death of parent, and Abandonment
danahh's review against another edition
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
Content Warnings
Graphic: Hate crime and Suicide
Moderate: Cancer, Death, Mental illness, Terminal illness, Violence, Grief, Death of parent, and Murder
Minor: Addiction, Drug abuse, and Racism
As with many of Tia Williams books, it starts pretty slow. But, when it gets going.... wow. Great book.
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