Beautiful romance between two Black teenagers. I loved how we got to watch the relationship blossom between these two and how they worked through the awkwardness of young, new love. Will read more from this author.

Thank you to Netgalley and the publishers for giving me free access to the digital advanced copy of this book.

Get ready for a heartwarming and engaging YA romance that will leave you swooning! "Love Radio" by Ebony LaDelle is a delightful blend of Hitch and The Sun Is Also a Star, packed with humor, heartfelt moments, and a dash of teenage love drama.

Meet Prince Jones, the seventeen-year-old love doctor with all the answers—or so it seems. As the host of a popular segment on Detroit's hip-hop show, Love Radio, Prince dishes out advice to the lovelorn souls of the city. But his dreams of becoming a DJ and finding his own love are put on hold as he takes care of his mother, who battles multiple sclerosis, and his younger brother.

Enter Dani Ford, an ambitious writer with her sights set on acing senior year, earning a scholarship, and making it big in New York City. However, she's haunted by a traumatic event from a few months ago, which has hindered her progress and blocked her college essay.

When Prince and Dani cross paths, sparks fly, and a compelling love story begins. Prince is smitten, but Dani isn't looking for distractions. She challenges Prince to convince her in just three dates that he's worth falling for. With their destinies hanging in the balance, these two teens navigate the challenges of love, dreams, and personal growth.

Ebony LaDelle crafts a captivating tale with well-developed and likable characters. Prince and Dani leap off the pages with their authenticity, making it effortless for readers to rally behind them and root for their success. The author deserves applause for the meticulous attention to detail in the characters' backstories, particularly their relationships with their families. These moments add depth and emotional resonance to the story, making them some of my favorite parts.

While Love Radio tackles heavy topics, it also knows how to have fun. The banter between Dani and Prince evolves as they become more comfortable with each other, leading to moments of laughter and even a few blushes. The balance between the serious and lighthearted aspects of the book is masterfully executed.

What truly impressed me about this YA romance was the maturity of the characters. LaDelle portrays Prince and Dani as teenagers with goals, determination, and a solid sense of self. They navigate their challenges with wisdom and resilience, despite the obstacles they face. I found their growth and support for one another truly inspiring.

I would have appreciated a bit more exploration of the romantic DJ aspect and how it shaped Prince's character. While his role as a love doctor was intriguing, it felt slightly overshadowed by the developing romance between Prince and Dani. A deeper exploration of Prince's passion for music and advice-giving could have added another layer to the story.

In conclusion, "Love Radio" is a gem that deserves more recognition. Ebony LaDelle weaves a tale that is both touching and entertaining, leaving readers with warm hearts and a renewed belief in love. Don't miss out on this hidden treasure—I highly recommend giving it a go!

Title: Love Radio
Author: Ebony LaDelle
Release Date: May 31st, 2022
Page Count: 319
Format: Netgalley/Audiobook
Start Date: June 9th, 2023
Finish Date: June 9th, 2023

Rating: 5 Stars

Review:

The messages in this book were intense and powerful. One has to do with a traumatic event. One has to do with struggles that I have no rights to speak about. Things I have never and will never experience. Quite frankly, I wish nobody would ever have to experience. But I digress. The story was also really powerful. We follow two teenagers who have their own struggles. One who has distanced herself due to being afraid of what everybody will think of her after something traumatic happens. The other who has taken on more responsibility than anybody his age should after his mother got sick. I may not be able to relate to the story from a teenage point of view, but I can relate to facing struggles in life. I can relate to feeling alone. I'm so glad that I fell in love with the cover and decided to give the book a shot.

sweet romance with likeable protagonists figuring life and love out. cw for sexual harassment incident. loved the male protagonist.

This was a cute YA romance. I really enjoyed how much effort Prince put in to dating Dani. Dani was going through A LOT and I liked that this book displayed real life issues that teens face. I wish we would’ve gotten to know a little more about Dani.

Overall this was a cute story!

Even though I am well beyond my high school years, I found this to be a heart-warming, lovely read that does an exquisite job at combining romance and coming of age. I found the beginning a bit slow, which is why I'm giving this 4 stars instead of 5, but overall a great read I would definitely recommend!

Dani and Prince, two teens trying to figure life out, plan futures and make the most of what they have. Prince enjoys his job as a DJ and Dani is working towards her future goals. The two cross paths and feel a connection but when something from Dani’s recent past overrides her emotions, she feels the need to step back. A cute love story with chivalry and perseverance. 4 stars!

We love to see an amazing black love story.
This sweet book showcases the story of Dani and Prince, and her attempts not to fall in love with the man who is trying to make her fall in love with him. Phew.
Each date that was planned out was so thoroughly thought through and made me yearn for someone to plan such things for me.
I loved the supporting characters in this book just as much!

Content Warning: This book contains an incident of sexual assault, as well as its aftermath on the survivor.

Cover Story: Love Cover

Yes, it’s another illustration cover, but IT’S SO GOOD. Dani’s looking straight ahead while Prince is looking at her, which is practically a visual thesis of this book. I’m also loving the very appropriate throwback Motown vibes of the font.

The Deal:

Prince Jones seems like he’s got it all figured out. After all, how else could a 17-year-old have become THE preeminent relationship expert on the Detroit airwaves? But one thing that’s still out of reach is how to balance being the primary caretaker for his family while also pursuing his own dream of becoming a DJ.

Danielle Ford is a girl on a mission: conquer high school and college on her way to becoming a kickass writer. Except the writing part hasn’t been easy, not since that party that changed everything. That changed her.


When fate brings the two of them into each others’ orbits, Dani doesn’t think it’ll work out between them, but Prince thinks otherwise. And all he needs are three dates for her to fall in love with him.

BFF Charm: Heck Yes x 2

BFF Charm Heck Yes - sparklier and shinier than the original BFF Charm
Is there a Scrooge for romance? Because that’s basically Dani. Sure, she might be a little young to be so jaded, but that also means she has the wisdom to point out double standards and call out predatory college guys hitting on high school girls for the pathetic losers they are. But beneath Dani’s prickly exterior is someone who has very relatable struggles with anxiety and writer’s block. (Let’s not talk about how long it took me to write this review.)

BFF Charm Heck Yes - sparklier and shinier than the original BFF Charm
Prince totally lives up to his name (and actually far better than most IRL royals). His mom has multiple sclerosis, so he helps out a lot around the house and with his adorable little brother. And he’s trying to sweep Dani off her feet — very princely indeed! But, of course, who saves the person who’s always trying to save everybody else?

Swoonworthy Scale: 10

Instalove is one of my pet peeves, but it’s thankfully nowhere to be found between our leads. (Sure, Prince has been harbouring a longtime crush on Dani, but that’s like and not love.) Dani and Prince really get to spend time with and know each other, because falling in love IS THE WHOLE POINT. It’s the journey that makes the love so much more meaningful and swoonworthy. (I didn’t give this book the highest score on the scale for nothing, y’all.)

Talky Talk: She Said, He Said, With Love

You know you’re off to a good start with a book when you’re charmed even before it begins in the author’s note of the advance copy. Ebony LaDelle definitely poured her whole heart into Love Radio, writing Dani and Prince’s perspectives with warmth and tenderness.

And that’s not all this debut novelist can do. There’s one part that’s absolutely chilling and masterfully written. Once the realization set in on what just happened, I had to go back and reread what LaDelle pulled off.

Bonus Factor: Black Art


Pop culture references might be commonplace in contemporary YA, but the reverence shown to the many examples of Black excellence in Love Radio goes beyond namedropping. For the uninitiated and the long-time fans alike, there’s a true sense of why these particular films, books, and songs matter so much. (Although readers who are a little less Y and a little more A might want to anticipate the pain of Dani calling her 39-year-old mom’s fave films “old movies”.)

Also, the mention of Verzuz implies that COVID at least existed, albeit in a world that probably has a better handle of the pandemic than the real one.

Bonus Factor: Black Hair

Side profile of Black woman, with hair braided and in a bun
One of my (many) favourite scenes involves braiding hair. It’s such an intimate and caring gesture that I almost felt like I was intruding on a private moment just by reading about it.

Bonus Factor: Detroit

PIcturesque Detroit
As someone who lives in a place that’s often overlooked and even maligned, I deeply related to how LaDelle finds beauty in the ordinary, with her love of Detroit shining through in her writing. It might not be glamourous, but it’s home.

Bonus Factor: The Banks Family Award

Will hugging Uncle Phil and Aunt Viv in a hospital room, with Ashley sprawled out in front of them and Carlton sitting on the floor
For someone who’s so cynical about love, Dani actually has a gold standard example of it in her parents, who are still truly, madly, deeply in love with each other, as well as uplifting and supportive of her.

Bonus Factor: Friendships

Group of friends having drinks at the night club party
In defiance of real-world toxic masculinity, Prince’s social circle is a beacon of positive male friendships. Meanwhile, Dani’s learning the hard way that people come into your life for a reason, a season, or a lifetime.* Some friendships grow with you, and some friendships you outgrow.

*There doesn’t seem to be one definitive source for this phrase, so credit to whomever thought of it first.

Relationship Status: You Can’t Hurry Love

Just like Prince stretching out his three dates, I wanted to savour every word of this wonderful book. I could go on and on about how much I love it — and I did lol, with all those bonus factors. (I honestly could have included more, but I had to stop somewhere.) So if Love Radio’s taking requests, please don’t stop the music and let’s keep going all night long.

Literary Matchmaking

The Sun Is Also a Star
Nicola Yoon’s The Sun Is Also a Star also explores whether it’s possible to fall in love within a specific time frame.


The Downstairs Girl
Very different vibe with historical fiction, but the advice aspect made me think of FYA Fave Stacey Lee’s The Downstairs Girl.


One True Loves (Happily Ever Afters #2)
For another story that celebrates Black love, check out One True Loves by Elise Bryant.

FTC Full Disclosure: I received my free review copy from Simon & Schuster. I received neither money nor gelato for writing this review (dammit!). Love Radio is available now.

Ebony LaDelle, delivers a spectacular, swoony debut. A novel that makes you care for the characters deeply, and root for their happy ending. So realistic in it's depiction of young love. I'll pick up anything LaDelle writes!

I thoroughly enjoyed watching Prince win over Dani by just becoming her friend. The fact that he has been crushing on her since middle school is beyond cute. He is not just all talk, because he actually listens which is a huge part of the story.

Love Radio deals with a multitude of issues. Prince’s mom has MS and his younger brother has ADHD. His father scooted out when his mom got sick. He’s a responsible young man who steps up to the plate for his family. Then there is Dani, whose father is gone most of the time because he is in the military. Unbeknownst to everyone, Dani is dealing with guilt, trauma, and self-isolation for an event that happened to her. She hasn’t talked to anyone, having chosen to self-isolate.

Well…she does talk to someone. Her typewriter. She writes letters to authors who have struggled with their own issues and survived them. She bares her soul to them. Until a young man named Prince runs into her at the library and we have our first “meet-cute” (chuckle). Dani would hate me calling that, but even her mom would agree with me.

Ebony LaDelle mixes in friendship, romance, and family with ease. I loved Love Radio. I loved hearing about Prince’s love of music and how Black women need to take their own identity back. The hair show rocks. I wish I could have been there in person. LaDelle made me feel it. Then again, LaDelle made me feel everything in Love Radio.

I'm always a critic when it comes to insta love and it was refreshing to have a MC who felt the same. I really loved Dani in this one.

So this whole book is about Dani, a girl who aspires to be an author and has been struggling to finish her college application essays on time after experiencing a traumatic event at a party.

Then we have Prince, the love guru who has his own radio segment where he gives out all the love advice and people eat it up.

Prince has had a crush on Dani for years and when they run into each other at a bookstore, their encounter leads to the challenge of falling in love by three dates.

Prince may be the romantic of the two, but he's got a lot going on at home as well. He helps take care of his little brother (who absolutely stole the show for me) and his mom who has MS. He is dedicated to dismantling toxic masculinity and patriarchal standards which was great to see in a teenage boy MC. We love that. He was a bit too cocky for me but he eventually gets there.

I think the real joy of this book comes from the two MCs separate passions. Prince's passion for music and producing and caring for his little brother shone through. He is absolutely set on finding and showing his brother representation that he can see himself in and that was very moving. Then we have Dani who is working through the aftermath of an attempted sexual assault and struggling with how to move forward. She writes letters to her favorite authors and these showcased her passion of literature and powerful women and telling your story through words. I adored her reconnecting with her friends and slowly but surely learning to trust again.

This is a romance YA but it isn't all about their relationship. There's so many additional points and great character building that the romance is a bonus, not the primary, which I wasn't expecting when I read the summary.

Overall, I genuinely enjoyed this one.

All Black cast, secondary disabled character.
CW: sexual assault.

Love Radio is a compelling YA rom-com that is full of heart. I really loved how healthy friendships and romantic relationships were portrayed.
Thank you to Netgalley and the Publisher for the opportunity to read and review this title. All opinions and mistakes are my own.

I did not have the time to read this book as it got archived. I do believe I would have enjoyed this cute story.

One of my favorites of the year. There’s just something about Black love. I loved their dynamic. And I love how the main character prioritized her mental health in order to have a healthy relationship.

"I didn't fall in love, I rose in it."

I went into Love Radio with no expectations, I fell in love with the cover and that was the start of something beautiful.

Thank you @simon.audio for putting this book on my radar!
The narrators absolutely brought these characters to life. I 100% recommend the audiobook format!

This book is a love letter to Black culture. I absolutely loved how it pays tribute to Black musicians and Black writers.
Also the hair show?! Is this something that happens in life because I would love to experience it one day. Amazing!

It honestly makes my heart happy to know there’s a book like this out there for Black teens. While I love books about racism and all the awful things BIPOC go through, it’s important for them to have books about love too.

I have such a hard time believing this is a debut novel! It was so beautifully written.
It had everything I look for in a YA book. It had depth, struggle, growth, amazing characters, and a sweet love story.

I enjoyed having a dual POV. Prince is by far my favorite, his love and knowledge of music is fantastic. Danielle was also a great character, I loved watching her grow throughout the book.

Love Radio celebrates music, literature and Black Love. I cannot recommend this one enough.

Thank you to netgalley for providing an e-galley for review. Love Radio is so sweet! I adored the old skool R&B references that Prince refers to on his call in love advice radio show. This book gives nostalgic vibes while being fresh and modern. This also shows Black kids in love and in happy (for the most part, no spoilers) circumstances which makes for such a refreshing read.

Love Radio is a hard-hitting, heart-warming, YA-Romance following two teens in Detroit approaching the end of their high school years.

Prince Jones, our male lead, has an Uncle who is a popular radio-DJ. Prince, being raised with his Uncle as a strong influence in his life, loves all things music. He also loves helping people. So, when his Uncle offers him a segment on his popular hip-hop show, Love Radio, Prince graciously accepts. His mission, to give romantic advice to those seeking it. He is dishing advice and good music. It's perfect.

Dani Ford, our female lead, dreams of moving to NYC and going to college to become a writer. She has always dreamed of becoming a writer. The only thing standing in her way at this point is the dreaded college essay. You would think that would be an easy task for an aspiring author, but Dani had something happen to her a while back, a traumatic event, that has ended up having an lasting impact on many different facets of her life.

Dani has started to withdraw a bit from her peers, a fact her loving parents definitely recognize, yet they've been unable to get Dani to open up to them about what's going on.

When Dani and Prince meet, he's smitten. He's actually been noticing her for a while, but has never had the courage to speak to her, but how can he give out serious love advice if he can't even follow it himself. While their first real encounter isn't perfect, the two definitely make an impression on one another.

From there, we follow the two as they get to know one another and Prince vows to win Dani's heart over just three dates. The Reader gets a front row seat not just to the exquisitely-adorable dates, but also to what's going on behind the scenes in both Prince and Dani's home lives. Will the self-proclaimed teen love doctor be able to get the girl, or is all his love talk just hot air?

I absolutely adored this story. From the very start I was enamored with these two characters. Both of them were very well-developed and likable. It was so easy to get behind them and cheer them on. For me, one of the highlights was all the incredible heart-felt details that LaDelle put into both of their backstories. Both Prince and Dani were very committed to their families and the scenes involving their family members were indeed some of my favorites.

And even though there are a lot of heavy-hitting topics explored, there was also a lot of fun and humor in this as well. The banter between Dani and Prince, as they got more comfortable with one another, had me laughing out loud and, at times, blushing a little.

I loved how mature these two characters were. Even though they were teens, that didn't mean they couldn't have their heads on straight. They both had goals, and in spite of outside influences, they both were steadily working towards achieving the things they wanted. Additionally, I liked how they learned to support each other and help one another work through their difficulties.

I did listen to the audiobook and one thousand percent recommend that format. The narration was so spot on. The narrators absolutely brought these characters to life. I went through it over the course of this story, feeling pretty much every emotion under the sun. I learned from these characters and was inspired by them. It melted my heart.

Overall, as you can tell, I loved this. It had so many strengths as a story and I feel like it is so underrated at this point. I really hope more people discover this wonderful book and give it a go. Thank you so much to the publisher, Simon & Schuster Books for Young Readers, for providing me with a copy to read and review. I cannot wait to read more from Ebony LaDelle!!!

Dani is a high school senior trying to ace school, get into college in New York, Dani’s passion is writing, but she has been suffering from writers block, which is hindering her ability to write her college essays..
Prince is also a senior who has secretly had a crush on Dani since middle school. Prince works at a local radio station as a Love DJ. Prince desires to go away to college, but his moms illness and taking care of his brother is one of his main priorities.
A chance encounter between Dani and Prince at the library starts off rough, but soon they start hanging out together and their friendship beings to blossom, but Dani is hiding a secret. Dani is suffering in silence, and hasn’t told anyone what happened to her a few months ago. Prince is determined to figure out what’s going on with Dani, and show her he cares and can get her to fall in love with him.
I absolutely loved this book, the writing is amazing and I never felt like I was reading a YA book. The characters had depth and great character. This is a book you need to read.

Thank you Simon & Schuster, and NetGalley for this ARC