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

Reviews tagging 'Racism'

A Love Song for Ricki Wilde by Tia Williams

88 reviews

xereads's review against another edition

emotional funny hopeful inspiring 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

Okay wow, I really liked this book! Any book that makes me feel is always a 10/10. At first I was a little confused especially at the dynamics of Ricki and her family (cause why was the dad talking about his kids like that lol lol). I also was like girl is this romance/sci-fi causeeee no. BUT I kept listening and it is more of romance, historical fiction, and a splash of fantasy and it hit the mark. I loved Ricki’s character development especially and how the author had her navigate relationships (family, sisters, men, supports, and friendships), especially as a late 20 something. And the connection with Mrs. Della whew, really did it for me. The turns in the book are funny and eyebrow raising but kept me engaged. Would absolutely recommend to others !

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lit_with_lauren's review against another edition

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4.0

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bookishmillennial's review against another edition

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emotional funny hopeful inspiring mysterious reflective medium-paced

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

disclaimer: I don’t really give starred reviews. I hope my reviews provide enough information to let you know if a book is for you or not. Find me here: https://linktr.ee/bookishmillennial

STAR CROSSED LOVERS! BREAKING A CURSE! HARLEM RENAISSANCE! MOVING TO NEW YORK CITY! LEAVING YOUR FAMILY AND THE FAMILY BUSINESS BEHIND! FOLLOWING YOUR HEART!

I listened to the audiobook (thank you Libby), and I highly recommend that format if it is accessible to you. I rooted for Ricki and Ezra so hard, and was so upset when I found out about the curse. If you like a bit of surrealism with your romance, pick this one up!

steam rating: 3 out of 5

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jennazim's review against another edition

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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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brittonmc1221's review against another edition

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emotional reflective

4.5

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alexisgarcia's review against another edition

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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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mmccombs's review against another edition

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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!)

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amateur_bookworm's review against another edition

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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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amberlfaris's review against another edition

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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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lauraelovesbooks's review against another edition

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adventurous emotional 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

Not what I was suspecting but delightful nonetheless! Tia Williams’ writing is so beautiful and her characters are so rich

Around the 50% mark, when the direction of the plot was revealed, it wasn’t difficult to see how the story would play out. But the beauty here was in the journey, not the twists.

I am not generally a fan of insta-love, but Ezra and Ricki had enough of the star-crossed, fated feeling that I didn’t mind it as much as I normally would. There was still that undercurrent of pining and longing that I love most

This book is magical realism done well. I’m very interested to see where future books set in this world will go

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