I don't really have much to say on this one! I thought that Prince & Danielle had cute moments but I never really felt the love between them. I felt like they were both just in their own little worlds & it wasn't until the end that I felt any real connection. I would recommend this if you are looking for a cute light read but I was kind of hoping for more!

Thanks to Ebony LaDelle & NetGalley for the chance to read this book in exchange for an honest review!

Thank you Netgalley and the publisher for an advance copy of this book in exchange for an honest review. This was a really cute story, loved the characters and how their story unfolded, going to keep an eye out for this author in the future

Thanks to NetGalley and Simon & Schuster Canada. This was a good read. I like the flow of the book and the radio station part with Prince. The. book had great family involvement as well as friends that just made the book almost feel like a movie. A good read for the YA audience as well as myself who likes to read YA even though I am not in that age bracket.

Love Radio - Ebony LaDelle

This was such a beautiful story that I’m really glad I picked up. We follow Danielle and Prince, who are both going through personal struggles, and find each other at the right time. Prince convinces Danielle to let him take her on 3 dates to make her fall in love. The dates were SO cute, one of them was in a bookstore. 🤩 I loved the relationships each character had with their family and friends, I love the growth both characters went through. This book deals a lot with the passions of both characters, for Prince it’s music, and for Danielle it’s writing. This was a really beautiful and well written story and I’m excited to pick up more by this author!

I picked up this book because I saw it being connected to The Sun Is Also A Star and with me being a massive fan, I knew I had to read Love Radio.

This book was an absolutely beautiful depiction of a romance between two Black teens, Dani and Prince, both of whom are dealing with problems of their own. I loved the way that Dani’s trauma was handled and how Prince respected her every step of the way. Also, the fact that Dani was able to help Prince dream bigger and act on those dreams was extremely heartwarming. Learning more about Black creators such as authors and musicians was very interesting and a nice touch on the authors part.

Overall, Love Radio was a delightful romance that portrays love as a beautiful bond. I think every person, whether you are a hopeless romantic or not, should read it.

Thank you so much to NetGalley for this arc!

A beautiful story about two Black teens falling in love over the course of their senior year. Set in Detroit, Michigan, this debut YA romance gave me all the feels!! Prince is a music DJ and self-proclaimed "Love Doctor," doling out relationship advice during his radio show. Dani is focused on getting into NYC and pursuing her love of Black women writers like Maya Angelou, Bell Hooks and Toni Morrison.

The two bond over their passions for music and books and I really loved how strong a caregiver Prince was for both his mother dealing with MS and his brother with ADHD. Mental health is also given a strong focus in this book as Dani tries to cope with a sexual assault trauma, ultimately seeking help through therapy. Highly recommended for fans of books like Excuse me while I ugly cry by Joya Goffney and Happily ever afters by Elise Bryant. Much thanks to NetGalley and Simon and Schuster Canada for my advance review copy!

THIS WAS AMAZING SPECTACULAR SHOWSTOPPING NEVER THE SAME AHSHSBNSNS
the sun is also a star vibes I loved it so much😭

(CW: SA).

This is a wonderful depiction of the difference in classes and the overt challenges of the working class, put on display by Prince's lack of college applications and future ambitions due to his grown-up role of being the man of the house due to his ill mother. Prince is thrust into the role after his father abandons the family upon learning of his mother's illness. Despite all of theses obstacles, Prince constantly remains optimistic and is universally loved across his community for his radio show segment. He has recently been heartbroken by his ex, but he still harbors a soft-spot for his crush since middle school, Danielle.
We've got Danielle, a girl who is still reeling from the events of a party she went to months ago, who's been reclused for the past few months, trying to differentiate between her real friends and her fake ones. She is very slow and hesitant to trust, she has had a wonderful relationship with both her parents until recently, because she can't tell them what happened at the party and they can tell something is wrong with their daughter.
In comes Prince, charming, love-expert, all the girls love him. Just the type of guy that Danielle thinks she knows all about already. Or does she?
Basically this is a wonderful story about learning there's more to meets-the-eye than a cocky know-it-all voice from the radio, and more than a rigid, flaky, timid girl who's slow to trust. This is a coming of age story about two characters learning to open up to each other, challenging our misconceptions about love and class, and most importantly, is a great addition to a wonderful genre of black pure wholesomeness. This book is heavy at times, but most of the time remains lighthearted. This is a happy-feeling book about two black teens, who are just living their lives as black people and loving and being loved, being happy. These stories are beyond refreshing and vital to exist.
This being said, I'm going to go into one of my biggest hindrances to my enjoyment of this story. Some warning for minor spoilers ahead, as it does have to do with Dani and Prince's "first" meeting, read ahead with caution.
Basically, Prince approaches Dani in the library, long story short she sees he has childrens' books (for his little brother but unbeknownst to her) and tells him that she isn't interested in guys with kids. Well basically, he rips her a damn new one for that, because one of his best friends is a teenage father and has a daughter who the entire squad adores, and then after that every single character in the story is telling Dani that she's an asshole and telling Prince that she was absolutely whack for saying that to him. Dani eventually feels bad and goes over to apologize. This felt to me like a gigantic AITA post mid-plot. My question is, why are we demonizing women that don't want children? As someone who remains childfree, this strong judgmental subtext towards women that don't want children just felt very ick to me. Like, Danielle is a literal teenager and her FATHER is telling her she's wrong for having said that? I don't think it was judgmental for her to say that, definitely jumping to conclusions, but a quick correction would have sufficed rather than a character-wide Danielle-witch-hunt. Long story short, how DARE Danielle enforce any sort of boundaries, and that just rubbed me the wrong way the entire rest of the story. I think this was a terrible and toxic way to start their relationship, just because Danielle doesn't want to date a man with kids doesn't mean she's immediately judgmental of others with children. I questioned all of her characters' autonomy after that.

Love Radio was sold as "Hitch" (young people: thats a movie from 2005 starring Will Smith), I understand why is it being compared to Hitch, but this is so much better. Whereas movies in 2005 are full of relationship red flags, Prince Jones is pure gold.

Prince Jones, teenage radio DJ who gives relationship advice, has has a crush on Dani, who is much more guarded with her heart. Prince is determined to get Dani to date him, and in a fresh take to the entire bet relationship trope, he goes about it like a complete gentlemen with complete honestly.

This book filled me with so much hope for the way the the YA genre is going. That this can be the type of role models that teenagers currently have for their relationships: characters that care about each other, their futures, and their family, characters who speak openly about their feelings, stories where when there could be a miscommunication, they discuss it, a female main character that knows she can say NO at any time, and a male main character who listens to that answer without asking questions, characters who each have their own struggles/trauma but do not become dependant upon each other. This is so refreshing.