4.75/5

This was such a beautifully written romance filled with magical realism. I especially loved the cameo of characters from Seven Days in June. Once again Williams has created a story that feels so real and authentic. Her characters are always full of passion and creativity. Highly recommended.

Thank you NetGalley and Hachette Audio for sending this book for review consideration. All opinions are my own.

There's so much I can say about this book.
First I want to thank Netgalley for the gifted audiobook! Okay, so Tia Williams did that I was intrigued from the beginning to end. The main character Ricki who was named after her daddy Richard was trying to live up to his standards and fill the shoes she didn't fit in. Their family was wealthy but Ricki knew she wanted more out of life instead of following family. Anyway, Ricki ran into her "granny" and in my opinion life has gotten better for her once she ventured away to do her own thing.
Ricki started doing what she was destined to do but not without love coming out of nowhere and when I say it was love at first sight. They were inseparable.

One has a secret though..

I'm not going to say anymore because I'll tell the whole book.

This is 5 ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ for me! I highly recommend you read once the book is available on 2/6/24!

A Love Song for Ricki Wilde was one of my highly anticipated reads for 2024 and I was so excited to jump into it! I loved Seven Days in June by this author a couple years ago, and while I did enjoy this book too, please know these books are very different. If magical realism isn’t your jam (I personally love it), you might not enjoy this one as much as you hoped to.

We follow Ricki Wilde who comes from a powerful Atlanta family. Her family owns funeral homes and Ricki has always been the more artistic one who’d rather do her own thing. She sets off to New York and ends up renting a Harlem brownstone and opening up the flower shop she always dreamed of. One night she meets a mysterious man who is watching her in a garden, and neither of their lives are the same after that…

This did start off slow for me and took a bit to get into. Once I realized the direction the story was going in, I really started to enjoy it! Like I said this involves magical realism (it gives vibes of The Invisible Life of Addie LaRue) and it was fun to see it all play out, following these two star-crossed lovers and artists, celebrating Black art and history, and set against modern Harlem and Renaissance glamour.

I received an audio ALC from Hachette Audio via NetGalley, all thoughts in this review are my own. The audiobook narrators were amazing and I loved reading this via audio! A Love Song for Ricki Wilde is out February 6, 2024.

Oh my goodness, this was an amazing story. This book caught me by surprise. It was magical. Do yourself a favor, just go in blind and enjoy the ride. The characters are amazing, the setting is lovely, wonderful dialogue and a bit of mystery.

Thank you to Netgalley and Hachette Audio for the advanced listener copy. Narrators Mela Lee and Preston Butler were outstanding, and enhance the overall reading experience.

I highly recommend this book, with the gorgeous cover. The story is wonderful as well.

When I found out Tia Williams had a new book coming out, I squealed out loud. Seven Days in June is an all-time favorite (I've read it more than once...more than twice), so I knew I would love A Love Song for Ricki Wilde. And I absolutely did. BUT believe me when I say the two books could NOT be more different in style AND tone!

A Love Song for Ricki Wilde is magical and miraculous and absolutely enchanting. Ricki is a free-spirited florist who moves to Harlem in pursuit of her own passions and dreams, despite the disapproval of her family. Ezra is a musician with a bewildering secret. It's love at first sight for these two soulmates, but what can you do when you know the person you love is doomed to die? Ezra was cursed with immortality by a woman whose heart he broke, and for the past one hundred years, he's only lived half a life, haunted by a face he's never seen and a partial melody he can never finish. (This gave me some serious Addie Larue vibes.)

Can they break the curse before Ricki's time runs out? How do you make the most of your days, when you know your days are numbered? Williams explores these questions and more in the pages of A Love Song for Ricki Wilde, and I finished the book with tears in my eyes. It was a perfect blend of romance, history, and that enigmantic Harlem magic.

The audiobook is FANTASTIC, if you get a chance to listen to it. Mela Lee and Preston Butler are *perfectly cast," and they both delivered incredible narrations. I will be thinking about this book for a long time...it's earned a place on my shelf, right next to Seven Days in June.

THIS AUDIOBOOK WAS SO FANTASTIC AND WELL DONE I CAN’T EVEN EXPRESS HOW MUCH I LOVED IT!!! What I can I have to say, is that this book is in my top 3 favorite audiobooks of ALL TIME! The life that these narrators put into this already genius beautiful book was just exquisite!!!

BUY THIS BOOK…BUY THIS AUDIOBOOK!!!! IF YOU HAVE TO DECIDE ON ONE, I’D DEFINITELY RECOMMEND THE 🎧>📖 You truly will not regret it!!!

COME ⭐️FEB 6TH (release day)⭐️ @tiawilliamswrites CAN JUST TAKE ALL MY MONEY🩵💚

Thank you to NetGalley @hachetteaudio and @grandcentralpub for the ALC in exchange for my honest review!

#hachetteaudio #alovesongforrickiwilde #tiawilliams #grandcentralpublishing

A Love Song for Ricki Wilde by Tia Williams
Release Date: 2/6/24
Format: ebook
Rating: ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

I requested this book from NetGalley because I absolutely adored Seven Days In June and when I received an arc in return for my honest opinion, I decided to go in blind. I am SO glad I did and highly recommend doing the same if able.

A Love Song for Ricki Wilde is hands down one of the best stories of love I’ve ever read. It is vivid and you feel like you are walking the streets of Harlem with Ricki and Ezra. The emotions feel palpable and the chemistry between the two of them is so uniquely written, it blew me away!

There is a big part of this story that I wasn’t aware of going in, so I don’t want to say too much about that aspect in case you get to be pleasantly surprised by it as well, but I will say this is a love story with a twist! The way Williams weaves the different elements together was so beautiful and so well thought out.

Not only do we get this incredible romance, but we get two fully developed main characters that show so much growth and compassion throughout the novel. And on top of that? Two supporting characters that will make you wish they were YOUR best friends. Della will have my heart forever.

I dare you to read this one and not have all the feels and all the tears. It is beautiful, it is hilarious and heartbreaking in equal measure, and I cannot recommend it enough. A true masterpiece.

This cover is stunning!

The storyline was great, the character build was good and I loved the audio!

The narrator was good and kept you wanting to listen to see what happened.

Thanks NetGalley for letting me listen and review

The story flowed well and the characters were well developed. I recommend this book and look forward to more from this author.


****Thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for providing an ARC in exchange for my honest review****

thank you to Hachette Audio & Grand Central Publishing for the free audiobook in exchange for an honest review.

Allow me to compliment sandwich this:

I get excited about books set in buckhead/atlanta because I grew up there, but things started going downhill when I realized this book's central plot is driven by magical realism, which is is not my genre. I understand the synopsis was purposefully vague, but that aspect of the story wasn't clear to me through its marketing. In addition, I did not feel connected to the story or its characters and quickly started to lose interest as a result of the lack of clear direction and central conflict driving the story -- other than a privileged, rich heiress trying to run a flower shop on her own. I appreciated the Black historical landscape of the Harlem Renaissance and was really looking forward to a more diverse romance read. Disappointed that this didn't work for me.

✨ARC REVIEW✨

𝔸 𝕃𝕠𝕧𝕖 𝕊𝕠𝕟𝕘 𝕗𝕠𝕣 ℝ𝕚𝕔𝕜𝕚 𝕎𝕚𝕝𝕕𝕖 𝕓𝕪 𝕋𝕚𝕒 𝕎𝕚𝕝𝕝𝕚𝕒𝕞𝕤

Synopsis: A Love Song for Ricki Wilde is an epic love story one hundred years in the making... Ricki Wilde, the impulsive, artistic daughter of a powerful Atlanta dynasty, is the black sheep of her family. While they’re long-stemmed roses, she’s a dandelion: an adorable bloom that’s actually a weed, born to float wherever the wind blows. One evening, Ricki encounters a handsome, deeply mysterious stranger who knocks her world off balance. Ezra “Breeze” Walker is the devastatingly handsome musician that transcends the time to meet and fall in love with Ricki on that fated February night…leap years are a strange, enchanted time. And for some, even a single February can be life-changing…

Review: I was NOT expecting to love this book and these characters like this! I already knew I was a Tia Williams fan from Seven Days in June, but this just solidified my love for her pen. This book gave me everything: Black Love, Fated Love, Mysticism, Found Family, & so much more. I went in blind and I was not disappointed AT ALL. I can’t rave about this book enough. The love story, the history of the mix of the new & old history of the Harlem Renaissance made me have a newfound appreciation of the era. I can’t wait for everyone to experience the love story of Ezra & Ricki. It’s one for the ages.

(Swipe for vibes)

ᴛʜɪɴɢꜱ ɪ ʟᴏᴠᴇᴅ ᴀʙᴏᴜᴛ ᴛʜɪꜱ ʙᴏᴏᴋ:
• ʙʟᴀᴄᴋ ʟᴏᴠᴇ 🖤
• ꜰᴀᴛᴇᴅ ꜱᴏᴜʟᴍᴀᴛᴇꜱ 💘
• ʜᴀʀʟᴇᴍ ʀᴇɴᴀɪꜱꜱᴀɴᴄᴇ ᴀᴇꜱᴛʜᴇᴛɪᴄ 🎺
• ꜱᴛʀᴏɴɢ ʙᴜꜱɪɴᴇꜱꜱ ᴏʀɪᴇɴᴛᴇᴅ ꜰᴍᴄ 💐
• ᴍᴜꜱɪᴄɪᴀɴ ᴍᴍᴄ 🎹
• ꜰᴏᴜɴᴅ ꜰᴀᴍɪʟʏ 🫶🏾
• ʜᴇᴀʟɪɴɢ ꜰᴀᴍɪʟɪᴀʟ ᴛʀᴀᴜᴍᴀ 🫂
• ʜᴀᴘᴘɪʟʏ ᴇᴠᴇʀ ᴀꜰᴛᴇʀ 👩‍❤️‍💋‍👨

Thank you to @netgalley , @grandcentralpub , & @tiawilliamswrites for the ARC in exchange for an honest review.

Pub Date: 06 Feb 2024

#netgalley #bookreview #alovesongforrickiwilde #tiawilliams

I ended up enjoying this book a lot. Starting out, I had a little bit of a hard time with it, but I’m glad I persevered. It turned out to be a great book. The relationship between Ricki and Ezra was the main plot of the book, and it was great. I enjoyed how Ricki went out on her own instead of following in the footsteps of her family. I could not stand her sisters, they were horrid people, but very well written.
I was pleasantly surprised to find Eva and Shane, from Seven days in June, make an appearance in this book. I was a big fan of the audio version, the narrators did a great job, and they made the story flow very nicely.

Tia Williams writes books that feel like warm honey.

They are so encompassing you get sucked into whatever world she builds.
This story was magical. The characters are so lovable. The slow burn build worked so well.

There is so much I want to say about this story, but I just can’t. I went into this blindly and I couldn't be happier with that decision. I wholeheartedly believe that’s how you should do it too. You’ll want this story to take you by surprise.

The stunning book cover will draw you in, but the story will keep you there.

4.5

4.5⭐️ This leap year, prepare to fall in love with the magic that is Ricki and Ezra in this fantastic ode to New York City and the Harlem Renaissance.

Ricki Wilde, heir to the Wilde Funeral Dynasty, is unwilling to conform to expectations and join the family business. Ricki is determined to remain the outsider and forge her own path in the world. With the help of her grandmother, she opens Wilde Things, an unconventional florist shop in the heart of modern Harlem steeped in the rich history of the renaissance. Soon, she is encountering a mysterious stranger who shakes up her world, but seems just out of reach.

I have never gone into a book as blind as I did this one, and I am so glad I did. I had zero idea what kind of world awaited me and it tuns out Tia Williams has spun a majestic one.

It has every element you could want in a read - swoony romance, a backdrop of the Harlem Renaissance, an air of mystery, found family, amazing floral puns and so much more. Every scene is lush with the most vivid imagery, it’s hard not to envision this as a movie while reading/listening to it. It even exudes vibes of Pushing Daisies (IYKYK). And the characters? They felt like old friends.

If you want a treat, listen to this one on audio, or even better do an immersive read with the book and audio. Mela Lee (who gives voice to Seven Days in June) and Preston Butler narrate this story to perfection.

Read if you like:
•messy love stories
•fated mates
•floral references
•historical fiction
•the Harlem renaissance
•dual timeline
•Adding LaRue

Thank you {partners} Grand Central Pub and Hachette Audio for my gifted copies.

This was exquisite. Hit it out of the park. I can’t wait to get to the rest of the authors books! Seven days in June has been sitting on my book shelf for the longest smh.

*DNF at 30%*

plot line:
And for some, even a single February can be life-changing.

Ricki Wilde has many talents, but being a Wilde isn’t one of them. As the impulsive, artistic daughter of a powerful Atlanta dynasty, she’s the opposite of her famous socialite sisters. Where they’re long-stemmed roses, she’s a dandelion: an adorable bloom that’s actually a weed, born to float wherever the wind blows. In her bones, Ricki knows that somewhere, a different, more exciting life awaits her.

When regal nonagenarian, Ms. Della, invites her to rent the bottom floor of her Harlem brownstone, Ricki jumps at the chance for a fresh beginning. She leaves behind her family, wealth, and chaotic romantic decisions to realize her dream of opening a flower shop. And just beneath the surface of her new neighborhood, the music, stories and dazzling drama of the Harlem Renaissance still simmers.

One evening in February as the heady, curiously off-season scent of night-blooming jasmine fills the air, Ricki encounters a handsome, deeply mysterious stranger who knocks her world off balance in the most unexpected way.

my thoughts:
I hope this book gets the recognition it deserves from all the readers who enjoy this style of writing and overall plot.

however , unfortunately this book just wasn’t for me - I was really hoping it would be but I was struggling to understand the plot and setting this book was trying to follow.

I would also like to add that this review / my thoughts should not dictate whether or not you should read this book or if the authors work (both present and past) is worth reading or not - I believe this book will reach its target audience and I look forward to read more of Williams’ work in the future.

*please ignore the rating I have given as I did not finish this book (it should be left blank) - I wanted to share my thoughts and needed to rate the book in order to do so*

I would like to thank netgalley for allowing me to read this book in return for an honest review.

This audiobook was well done. I thought the narrators did a great job embodying each of the characters in the story. I started reading this on ebook and I loved having the audio because it brought a voice to each of the characters personality. At times though the story kind of read like it was YA since Tuesday and Ricki were pretty young in sound so that was the only set back about the audio.

Thank you to the publisher for allowing me the chance for an early listen in exchange for an honest review.

I'm not going to do a synopsis of this book for two reasons: 1) I don't think I could do it justice and 2) I think the best way to read this book is to go in fully blind!

I loved this book! I think Tia Williams writes incredibly vibrant characters that make me immediately invested in both the characters and the story. We get to know Ricki so well pretty immediately and understand her motivations which I think is quite the feat that the author is able to pull off!

I loved the relationship between Ricki and Ezra - it felt inevitable but in a way that I was totally sucked in by. As much as this is a romance there is also a really strong undercurrent of found/chosen family. While Ricki's relationship with her family is at the forefront for the first chapter or so, those relationships also fall to the wayside when she moves to Harlem and connects with her elderly landlady as well as others.

And to those wondering, there is a brief cameo of Eva and Shane and it was everything.

I loved the dual narration by Mela Lee and Preston Butler. I think they brought both characters to life and the audio really added to my enjoyment of the book! I do wish there had been some sort of musical addition given how much music is a core piece to the story.

I highly highly recommend this! Huge thank you to Netgalley and Hachette Audio for the ALC. All thoughts and opinions are my own and I am leaving this review voluntarily.

I went into this book fairly blind only knowing that I was a HUGE Tia Williams fan and was fairly confident this would be another win. TLDR: IT WAS!!

Full of a strong cast of main and side characters, this book was more than just a great star-crossed lovers romance, it also had lots of African American history, a mix of fantasy and magical realism, and yes, a swoony love story for the ages.

Great on audio too narrated by Mela Lee and Preston Butler. This book is perfect for fans of The invisible life of Addie LaRue and authors like Alice Hoffman or Ryan Kennedy. Many thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for an early digital and audio copy in exchange for my honest review.

Steam level: open door

Ricki Wilde moves from the South to NYC to chase her dreams and open a flower shop in a historic Harlem neighborhood. One night she meets a mysterious stranger who turns her world upside down.

Tia William writes such beautiful prose and this was timeless love story that was equal parts heartwarming, funny, factual and steamy. Sadly, I always struggle a bit with fated mates and was not as invested in the story until about half way through when some plot points were revealed.

I loved this on audio. It was so easy to get swept away.

Read if you like:
-Fated mates
-The Harlem Renaissance
-Jazz music
-Open door romances
-Seven Year Slip