Special thank you to Hachette Audio and Netgalley for an advanced listening copy of this beautiful story.

You know the feeling when you start a book and you know right from the beginning you are going to love it? I had that as soon as I started a Love Song for Ricki Wilde. 

I had never read anything by Tia Williams, and was intrigued to read this as she was coming to a local bookstore for a signing event. I was so happy to be approved for the audio ARC. I started it before the event, then got a physical copy, so I read this half on audio and half on physical. The audiobook version was great and the voice actors were wonderful. They made you feel as though you were in the story itself. 

I loved the development and character arc that Ricki went on. I really loved her right from the get go. And the relationships and found family aspect of well with Tuesday and Ms. Della. The side characters were just as much a part of the story as the main characters and truly made the book that much more special. 

The magical realism intermixed with the historical fiction aspect was done perfectly. And the love story was beautiful. It was a bit insta-lovey, but I got over that pretty quickly as I just loved the characters so much. 

Really just a gem of a book. Would recommend to others. Cannot wait to read more by Tia Williams!

Thank you NetGalley and Hachette Audio for the early release of this book!

Ricki and Ezra… wow. Their cosmic entanglement and soul crushing love will go down in romance history. Tia Williams did an amazing job portraying the high highs and low lows of Ricki and Ezra’s stories. The characters were so loveable, and it felt like I was right there in the story the entire time. Ms. Della was a brilliant secondary character - her life story was so raw, and she absolutely broke my heart at the end….

Mela Lee’s narration was absolute perfection - really enhanced the story and brought the emotions to life. Unfortunately, I did not love the tidbits with the male narrator. Though I understand the point was to help capture Ezra’s experience and make a clear distinction in time …. It still felt disjointed.

this is another incredibly beautiful, unique, emotional, deeply meaningful story from tia williams. I loved Ricki & Ezra’s adorable, deeply tender, unique story, both individually and as they find and fall for each other. the lighthearted & joyful likeableness of Ricki mixed so well with Ezra’s captivating, dryly hilarious tenderness. and the side characters were amazing, marvelous, practically perfect in every way.

the narrating was captivating & allowed me to fully immerse myself in this story. all around beautiful.

thank you for the alc :)

I read this book because Tia Williams has been on my radar with Seven Days in June on my TBR. This book got off to a very slow start for me. I did not feel it for the first 60% and even contemplated DNF for the first third of the book because the audiobook’s narration felt a bit too overstated and melodramatic. However, I’m glad I stuck it out because the final stretch of the book packed in the promised magical realism and Addie LaRue vibes. This book gets points for diversity in representing POC and LGBTQ characters. It was fun to read around Leap Day.

The narrator of this audiobook was perfect! It was so much fun to listen to! I loved the story so much. I am a person who loves books for every holiday and having a leap year book in my library is amazing!

Loved this beautiful, sweet and slightly magical love story/homage to Harlem and the Harlem renaissance. This is a modern day Cinderella story, complete with fairy godmother and wicked sisters…but it’s also very clever and very funny—and romantic! Such a departure from Seven Days in June, yet I so loved this one. The audio was excellent!

I ended up enjoying this one. But it took me a minute to get engaged. I did not quite understand how the jumps in time came into play (until it was explained) and that element took me out of the story a bit.

Once we stayed in present time, I was super invested in the relationship between Ricki and Ezra. In how they decided to stick with their relationship and figure things out (being vague as to avoid spoilers).

I enjoyed the mix of present and past. How the history of Harlem is woven into the story. I enjoyed how Ricki commits to striking out on her own by starting a floral business.

I loved Ricki’s relationship with Tuesday and Ms Della. How they supported and encouraged each other.

All in all, a very enjoyable read.

A Love Song for Ricki Wilde takes place in Harlem, NY spanning from the 1920's to 2024.

Ricki was the unicorn or in her words the dandelion amongst roses, compared to her sisters. Refusing to allow her dream of owning a florist take a back burner to running the family funeral business in Atlanta with her sisters, Ricki's decision would soon thrust her into an alluring life that she never imagined.

Meeting Ms. Della an older woman who Ricki claimed as her grandmother, Tuesday her new BFF who was just as much an outcast as Ricki, and the heart-throb, fine chocolate mystery man who seemed to show up every where, Ricki's life instantly changed.

Running a florist, enjoying Harlem, life would become intriguing and mystical as Ricki became acquainted with the mystery man named Ezra. Taking place over a century from the 1920s Harlem Renaissance leading up to February 29, 2024, the genre-bending (which typically I am not a fan of) was skillfully done. I loved the historical aspect, the romance, and contemporary blends of this fiction.

I loved the characters, except for the sisters that gave mean-girl vibe, but I guess mean girls make for an interesting plot. I loved the relationship between her and Tuesday.

The author masterfully infused magical realism in this piece of literature, which did not overthrow the beautiful love story that was nicely developed. This book is a sweet reminder of various elements of love and the importance of living your life fully engaged.

Very well written!! Thank you NetGalley, Hatchette audio and Tia Williams for this beauty, in exchange for my honest review.

It's giving Black Time Traveler's Wife. SO much fun to read! I loved the characters, the setting, and the time-traveling element mixed with voodoo.

I absolutely loved this book!! Ever since I read “Seven Days in June” a couple years ago, I have been obsessed with Tia Williams! This one was even more magical!! I loved Ricki and Ezra were so beautiful together! This book is told in alternating POV- Ricki, present day Harlem, and Ezra, 1920’s Harlem. I loved this because we got to see how everything happened and where all the magic came from! I also LOVED Ms. Della.. she was everything you could ever want in a grandma and she just melted my heart. This book made me cry more than once, in a good way. I loved it so much and the narrators did so great bring the characters to life! I will read anything Tia Williams writes.

Tia Williams new novel is a genre bending romance about Ricki Wilde, the youngest daughter in a family dynasty, who chooses to forge a career as a florist instead of joining her family's company. She becomes friends with a woman in her 90s who offers her a place to set up her flower shop in Harlem. This leads her to meeting a mysterious cursed man, who she can't seem to stay away from.
This is a romance, but it's also magical realism (there's a leap day related curse that needs to be broken), and historical fiction (there are flashbacks to Harlem and the south in the 1920s). I listened to this audio and enjoyed the narrators. I especially love when a straight romance has both female and male narrators. The female narrator's voice was unique, just like the book and the FMC, and it really showed the FMC's personality.
Thank you to NetGalley, Hatchette Audio, and Grand Central Publishing for the e-ALC.
ALC was provided by the publisher via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

3.5

I really want to be on the bandwagon with this author. Unfortunately, this is the second book of hers that I'm so-so on. I know this is unpopular - so please don’t throw a 🍅 at me, but I was left feeling disappointed with this one. I think for whatever reason this author is not for me because I also felt the same way about her last book. I so very badly wanted to love this…and the beginning was very strong for me, but ultimately, insta love is not my jam. And that theme is what also kept me from loving SEVEN DAYS IN JUNE. I just was not invested in the romance at all.

For Ricki Wilde…I loved both the main and ensemble characters, I thought the authors research and story that took place during the Harlem Renaissance was FASCINATING, but I did not buy the romance and since that was kind of the whole point…🫥🫥. And also, I love magical realism! However, the voodoo curse thing just seemed a little too…overdone here. Especially with how it resolved.

However, I really want to stress…I really loved the parts of the book that were outside of the romance. It was so well written and researched and important for me to learn about so that is why I’m rating it a 3.5.

The audiobook narrators were great so I have nothing but good things to say about the audiobook. If you love/prefer audio, this is a great way to go!

Thank you very much to Netgalley for the gifted audiobook and Booksparks for the gifted copy.

Review Date: 02/13/2024
Publication Date: 02/06/2024

DFN after 60%

After loving Seven Days in June, I was beyond excited to receive and ALC of A Love Song for Ricki Wilde. Unfortunately, I was unable to connect to the story or the characters. I am someone who usually loves magical realism, but I didn't love how it was done in this book (or the way it was explained, which felt underdeveloped). There were so many things going on in this book, but none of it felt fully explained or fleshed out.

I did however really like the Harlem history that was included in the book.

Thank you to the published for the ALC in exchange for an honest review.

Tia Williams is so captivating as she wraps you in her love stories and takes you along for the ride.

Ricki Wilde isn't one for her family's successful funeral home business. Setting out on her own, in a new city, striving to prove herself and her flower shop business. She isn't usually one for best girlfriends, or actual, respectable men, and yet she finds herself with both. Yet witches and family darkness are still present, and author Tia Williams turns you into a believer as this romance traverses the City, past and present.

This took me so long to write because mannnnn this book took me through the ringer. I have so many thoughts. I cried, I laughed, I swooned, just everything. This entire book had me stuck. I finished this at 3 am in tears. (Why is it always 3 am?) I can’t say I’ll read everything Tia has written, but I will say I’m going to make an effort to look into it all!

I came into this book a little weary because I had tried reading a book by Williams before and it didn’t work out. It had too many drug references for me (as a niece of someone who OD’ed in the past) and I just couldn’t. But, I still said let me try this one. And I got sucked into it. I felt like I was traveling to a jazz club and then Harlem, I could smell the jasmine flowers, just everything. Tia is a great story teller who gave me all the descriptions and small bits to make this story feel as real as it could get. Idk how it happened, but I really got wrapped up in this story.

The characters I think are the best part about this tho. I actually related so much to Ricki. She doesn’t fit in with her sisters because she’s feels they’re too bougie lol And she’s always flitting around all over to different jobs while they’ve gotten their one, having to do with the family, all while making fun of her. The stranger that she finds is even more interesting as a character. I loved seeing his travels through time. That was cool to see the different people he “played for and with.” And I’m not one who likes historical books, but this one is just really cool. I think Mrs. Della was my favorite tho. She was the sweetest person and I loved her like my own grandmother. In my heart of hearts, I feel like she was meant to find them two.

As I said I’m not a huge historical fiction person. If you’ve been following this blog for any amount of time you know that. But the part about this that I did love that stood out to me was the paranormal aspect. I loved it. Besides the characters, that was my favorite part. From the magical flower, to the curse or hex, to the time travel, and just everything. I loved this world. And I don’t think there was anything I’d change about it besides putting more people in the historical part, or making them have a more active role. And obviously that’s just my personal opinion lol

Now, the love story itself was amazing. I can’t stress enough that the two of them were endgame. I loved them so much! And the ending was so good. I was BAWLING and I stayed up until 3 am on a work night making sure that I got to the end of this book. But for whatever reason they felt so real to me. Even with the time travel and all the love stories over and over again, their love story was so sweet. I can’t imagine the heartbreak that he went through each time he had to remove himself from her when he met her. And I can’t imagine the way she felt when she figured out that he was telling the truth. How she let love win and just gave in, even knowing what was going to happen. I just loved how brave she was and how she championed their whirlwind of a love.

This book was so well written and beautiful. I pictured this in my mind’s eye about as clear as watching a movie. I hope to try and love more of her works in the future. Tia Williams has become a favorite from just this book alone.

This book was an absolute surprise, and I’m so happy I picked it up. It’s one of those stories that starts out as one thing and then evolves into something so much more.

On the surface level, this is the story of Rikki Wilde escaping the conformity of her family, and creating her own identity by following her passions to Brooklyn, and opening up her own floral shop. Finding success in your business, and in love comes with more surprises than she anticipates…

I had the absolute pleasure of experiencing Rikki Wilde through audiobook and I found it was one of those books you can listen to ceaselessly. Mela Lee and Preston Butler’s narration created an immersive listening experience. Not only did the narrators match their characters perfectly, they were able to assist the story by creating a soundscape for this heavily musical inspired story.

I can’t recommend this book and audiobook highly enough. I thought I knew what I what to expect and found so much more!

Thanks to Hachette Audio for the audio review copy. Opinions are my own.

Thank you @hachetteaudio and @netgalley for the complimentary audiobook.

A beautiful and magical story of fated lovers. Not a trope I normally gravitate towards, but since Tia Williams wrote it, I had to read it. I was not lucky enough to receive an ARC, so I decided to give the audio a chance when I saw it on Netgalley. I’m so glad I did. Wow! All the stars for Mena Lee and Preston Butler who had me sitting in my car long after I got home one afternoon because I had to finish the chapter. Ricki is the odd one out in her family and she decides to strike out on her own in Harlem and build her own business from the ground up. Once out from under her family’s oppressive expectations Ricki really shines and finds family in Ms Della, who is now one of my favorite side characters. The chemistry between Ricki and Ezra was off the charts, and the story of how their love came to be added some darkness and depth to what could have easily havet felt like yet another insta-love story. There was just one weird scene that I honestly didn’t love, didn’t think it added anything to the story, but other that that I loved every minute of this.

A LOVE SONG FOR RICKI WILDE is Ricki and Ezra's magical love story spanning between modern-day NYC and the Harlem Renaissance.

Since reading Seven Days in June, I have loved Tia William's books and was so excited for this new release of hers! I went into this book almost completely blind and honestly, I wasn't sure if I was going to love it. Thankfully, it turned out to be a read I thoroughly enjoyed!

Tia Williams mixes the perfect amount of romance, spice, magical realism, found family, rich Harlem culture and Black brilliance throughout the book. The first half felt slow but picked up in the second half with lots of plot twists. I love that this book is set in real time (Feb 2024, which happens to also be a leap year.) It adds another magical element to this unique romantic story.

I loved the majority of the characters and the individual growth they had as well as the relationships that were built between them. The moments between Ms Della and Ricki absolutely warmed my heart and the friendship between Ricki and Tuesday made me laugh out loud multiple times.

Overall, this is another fantastic book by Tia Williams and the perfect read for February.

Also, the cameo from the characters of Seven Days in June was the perfect touch to this story!

Thanks to the publisher for the gifted ALC.

A great read or listen for February (Valentine's Day and Black History Month). A lovely homage to Black culture and Black female entrepreneurship. While I didn't love all of the dialogue, the setting and characters were transportive.

I didn’t think Tia Williams could outdo herself, but I have been proven wrong. This book is incredible. I hope it gains the traction it deserves