I purchased the physical copy of A Love Song for Ricki Wilde from Aardvark Book Club and requested the audiobook from Netgalley before knowing the book’s synopsis. Having read Seven Days in June, I already knew what a talented writer Tia Williams is and was prepared to happily blindly jump in. One week before beginning to read and listen, I saw After Midnight, a musical revue that takes place "after midnight" in New York's Harlem during the Renaissance featuring jazz pieces by Duke Ellington and framed by the poetry of Langston Hughes. A Love Song for Ricki Wilde alternates eras in Harlem. What are the chances I was so readily prepared to be engulfed in this fascinating cultural setting?! A Love Song for Ricki Wilde gets a glittery five out of five stars from me for providing what it promised: an epic love story. It is an epic love story to: love, music, art, music, family, found family (my favorite), friendship, and Harlem.

The story: Readers who love the Harlem Renaissance, Langston Hughes, musical legends, creativity, a bit of history, and magical realism will devour this. This is a beautifully crafted book filled with magically romantic and poetic characters.

The narration: The narration is just as whimsically poetic as the writing. “Ricki,” “Ezra,” “Miss Della,” and “Tuesday” were the coolest people in my life while I listened. (Della is my favorite!) Each of their voices was like silk, soothing me from the mundane portions of my day into their mysterious whimsical world. I am a nervous flyer; listening to A Love Song for Ricki Wilde on an airplane was the perfect remedy!

This was my first Tia Williams and I get the hype now. In A Love Song for Ricki Wilde she manages to create an epic and magical love story while paying homage to the Harlem Renaissance. Ricki and Ezra’s love was one for the ages and it was so easy to get lost in their story. Williams does a wonderful job of weaving magic into her love story, but we also get a little bit of mystery, found family, and a glimpse into the nightlife and history of the Harlem Renaissance.

I loved the love story between Ricki and Ezra, but I also want to be sure to mention Ricki’s found family. The secondary characters here were great. I loved meeting Tuesday and Della was the kind of honorary grandma we can all dream of having. I wish we had seen a bit more of her backstory, as it sounds like she had quite the life of her own before walking into Ricki’s.

I read this via audiobook and would highly recommend! I loved the dual narrators and thought both did a great job. Their strong, clear voices really gave life to Tia Williams’ words and to Ricki and Ezra.

Thank you to NetGalley & Hachette Audio for an ALC.

I really enjoyed this audio book and thought both narrators did a wonderful job. This was my first Tia Williams book, and I love how she weaved this story together. The magical realism and touch of mystery throughout the book was beautifully done. The timeline jumps around, but it was very easy to follow. I loved the characters journeys, and their romance was so beautiful!

This is an Adult title intended for the "Grown & Sexy". A Love Story for Ricki Wilde is essentially an ode to Harlem. Ricki and Ezra's love is fated; but it is both a blessing and a curse. Will their love conquer all? This multiple perspective, genre-bending Historical Fiction/Contemporary Romance was just what I needed to get me out my reading slump. Get ready for Harlem based history; Magical Realism; a swoon worthy romance; and, a hint of Erotica. This is sure to be a hit with fans of Nicola Yoon's Instructions for Dancing; and, avid watchers of Amazon Prime's Harlem.

The narrators of A Love Song For Ricki Wilde were amazing. Mela Lee who narrated most of the novel brought the characters to life! I enjoyed the story. I love the set up, a young woman who's never fit in with her family moves to Harlem to follow her own dream of running a flower shop. Along the way she makes new friends and find romance. The romance, is of course complicated; here the novel takes a turn into magical fantasy. Ricki and her friends are great characters, however I did have trouble suspending belief and just going with the set up. Tia Williams is a talented writer and I look forward to discovering what she writes next. Also, shout out for the gorgeous cover art!

The magic of a leap year... time and music...

Ricki is criminally unappreciated by her wealthy funeral business family so nobody believes it’s a good idea when she says she’s going to open her own flower shop... one would think that flowers and funerals go hand in hand and I don’t know could have been a wise investment but her family sucks and makes no sense.. they are all about being the same and living their socialite lives and never actually thinking for themselves. So after a chance meeting with an older woman on one of her last days working for her family Ricki leaves Atlanta behind for Harlem and a fresh start. Ricki’s a bit chaotic at times and a little awkward but she gets her business going and even finds a bestie in Tuesday. The woman who helped to make her dream come true Ms Della has become her adopted grandma. Everything is progressing until Ricki meets Ezra. A man who fate has positioned to knock her world off its axis. Why does she feel so connected to this strange man? And what is he hiding? Despite their best efforts to avoid each other it seems rather impossible so they give in to the inevitable. Then the truth comes out. And the truth is far stranger than fiction and only serves to throw Ricki’s life into complete chaos. Because if this is all true destiny brought her here and there’s no avoiding it.

I really liked Ricki and Ezra and Ms Della and even crazy Tuesday. Ricki’s family really sucked so it was nice that she found her own family and her own way in life. Great story and great characters and though I knew what would likely happen it still broke my heart that it did. Um did I mention that Ricki’s family sucked? It bears repeating. Ezra was great though his backstory was a lot. Still as a whole it was an intriguing and magical story that I loved.

The story was absolutely beautiful and the narrators did an amazing job bringing these characters to life. I was able to feel every emotion through their performance. I highly recommend this book via audio or by grabbing a physical copy!

“He was music I could listen to forever”

Beautiful in its writing and setting, along with the dash of Tia Williams humor, was perfect for listening as I did. The female narrator, Mela Lee’s voice made you feel like you were being told a fantastical bedtime love story.

I enjoyed seeing a glimpse of Eva and Shane. Nice touch.

A Love Song for Ricki Wilde is out now!

*Thank you to NetGalley, Hachette Audio, Grand Central Publishing for this ARC.*

If Tia Williams writes it, I will read it. And I will love it!

This book is romantic, magical realism perfection. I loved both main characters so much! Ricki is a wild flower who has her own goals and wants to step away from the path that was planned for her and pave her own path of ambitions and dreams. She takes a chance and is tested and torn but stays true to her dreams throughout. Meanwhile, Breeze is harboring a secret and when he finds himself entangled in Ricki’s life he tries hard to keep her from any peril a relationship between the two would bring. But this is easier said than done!

I loved the different storylines and the way these two characters fit into each other’s lives. I also adore the minor characters Ms. Della and Tuesday! They often stole the scenes! And of course the spice was fiery!

I was fortunate to listen to an early galley of this audiobook and the narrators brought all the passion and captivated me throughout! Awesome job to narrators Mela Lee and Preston Butler!

If you haven’t read anything by Tia Williams yet, what are you waiting for? I can confidently recommend all her books.

Did that go how you thought it would go?? Nope! But did I still love it? Yup!

I went into this book totally blind, but even if you read the summary and a bunch of reviews, you still might not realize what's coming. I read and loved Seven Days in June, so was very excited for a new one from Tia Williams. And I really, really liked it, though it's very, very different than Seven Days!!

I'm not about to spoil anything for you, so I'll just say that you should let yourself sink into the story and the pay off will be there. I thought it took a little while to get going and couldn't understand how the two different timelines/storylines would converge, but they do about halfway through in such a wonderful way.

Tia Williams is a master and I think A Love Song for Ricki Wilde is perfect for readers who really want to enjoy romance, but also often find themselves wanting it to go deeper.

4.5 Stars
This was a lovely book. I was entranced by the Love story of Ricki and Ezra. They are my new favorite book couple. I was transported in time to old Harlem and brought back to the new. There are so many magical moments in this book. Too many to mention and give anything away. the narrator in the audiobook did such a great job and made it even that more enjoyable. You will not be disappointed if you pick this one up.

Thank you to NetGalley, Hachette Audio, and Grand Central Publishing for the opportunity to listen to this audiobook.

I knew absolutely nothing going into A LOVE SONG FOR RICKI WILDE besides a few touch points… modern Harlem with glimpses of the renaissance. A gal who leaves the family business to pursue her dreams of opening a florist shop and a mysterious stranger that leads to a swoony romance….Enough said I had to have it. Also I LOVED Tia Williams previous novel so that helped as well!

This book I encourage you to let the story unfold and don’t delve to much into reviews and synopsis’s. I found this book breathtaking with the imagery Williams creates. I have a physical copy that I’m excited to revisit one day but I went audio route… due to glowing early reviews, and my book wasn’t here just yet. The narration was perfection so if you’re a fan of audio I highly recommend it.

Tia Williams has definitely solidified herself as an auto read for me! Excited to see what she writes next!

Thank you Grand Central Pub and Hachette Audio

Follow me on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/Lyon.brit.Andthebookshelf/

What a book! What an audiobook!

I'm so happy to say A Love Song for Ricki Wilde was my first time reading Tia Williams, and I'm glad I went into this blindly because I was so pleasantly surprised as the story unfolded. I can't wait to read her backlist—Williams is a gifted storyteller.

Ricki is an heiress to her family's very successful funeral home franchise, and she's the only one of her sisters who doesn't fit in. She's also the one everyone always counts out, and she constantly pushes against her family's refusal to uplift her, her dreams, and her desires. She decides to move to Harlem and open a flower shop, where a series of magical and fated events take place. In Harlem, Ricki is thrust into two different worlds: one where forces draw her to places and people and the historical fallout of the Harlem Renaissance a 1920s world that seemingly no longer exists but is still very much alive and breathing in this story.

This isn't just a love story; it's a story of found family, sisterhood, and a woman coming of age at an age where everyone thinks she should already have everything figured out. It tells of resilience, Black brilliance, creativity, love, and the importance of accountability. I adored every single character who loved Ricki. Ricki was a breath of fresh air, a woman committed to finding the beauty in every moment, seeing the best in the undeserving, and living every day as if it were her last.

There are a few topics within that might require trigger warnings, but Williams handles everything with the utmost care.

Thank you to Grand Central Publishing and NetGalley for providing an ARC audiobook.

5 ⭐️s
2.5 🌶️
Pub Date: 2/6/14

Tia Williams has such a distinct writing style; she writes beautiful love stories while still managing to be provocative and gritty. I enjoyed the dual timeline, multi POV that toggled between current and 1920s Harlem. I loved the diverse cast, the found family and learning about the rich cultural history of the Harlem Renaissance and the gentrification of current Harlem. I also really loved the cameo we got from Eva and Shane from SDIJ.

While I really loved a lot of things about this one, overall I just I didn’t LOVE it.

It was a bit too slow of a start for me; the first 30-40% felt like a really long prologue. I don’t want to give too much away, but this book could have been written by Eva from Seven Days of June, which is definitely not my taste in romance. I think many will love this, but for me, the magical elements lost me a bit. So I guess this was a case of personal preference over actual content, if that makes sense.

The audio narration was incredibly well done; read by two narrators, one of whom had previously read Seven Days in June, it really brought the story to life.

This is a book that follows Ricki Wilde as she moves from Atlanta to Harlem in an effort to start over with her own business separate from her family's funeral business. After an encounter with Miss Della, she has a place to stay and start her business in Harlem. After opening her own flower shop, she develops a friendship with a former child star, Tuesday. Things are going well, but she begins to notice strange things happening during the month of February (leap year).

This book jumps between timelines in the 1920's and the year 2024. I usually love books that have dual timelines and a bit of time traveling aspect, but this book just didn't make sense to me. I was lost several times (I blame long chapters) and I just wasn't invested in the love story of the two main characters.

The narrators did a great job with the audiobook. I liked hearing from both Mela Lee and Preston Butler as they read from the characters POV.
2.5 stars - rounding up to 3.

Thank you NetGalley, Grand Central Publishing, and the author for the ALC of A Love Song for Ricki Wilde.

Have you ever started reading a book and knew it was going to change you? That was this book for me. From the first chapter I was drawn in to the characters and invested in the plot. Tia Williams is a brilliant story teller with amazing character development and a great attention to detail. A lovely mix of history, wisdom, tragedy and love. A story that proves that staying true to yourself will bring the most reward in the end. I listened on audio and truly believe the narrators brought it to life. Thank you NetGalley for allowing me access to one of my new favorite stories.

This book was so magical, heartwarming, whimsical, and mysterious. It was a fun read to experience. It had romance, some mystery, some historical fiction and a tied up happy ending. I thoroughly enjoyed every minute of it.

Thanks to Netgalley and Hachette Audio for the early audio copy!

Wow! This was such a heartwarming love story infused with Black history and Black culture. I loved the look into modern day Harlem and the Harlem Renaissance of the 1920s. Tia Williams writes soulmates so well. I liked Seven Days in June more than this one but I still think readers will love this. We also got a Shane and Eva cameo (!!) I read this via audio and I’d definitely recommend the audio for the dual narration. Thank you NetGalley and to Hachette Audio for the ALC.

Thank you NetGalley and Hachette Audio for this ALC.

This was, for lack of a better word, a beautiful story. Atmospheric, vivid, gripping, and lyrical, this novel will transport you though time. You cannot help but feel for Ricki, Della, and Ezra. They were the perfect characters for this story that focuses on love, history, letting go of the past, and hope. The premise is original and intriguing. I loved everything about this novel.

Okay, I loved this so much! The storytelling was everything 😍 I fell in love with Ricki from the moment I met her and you will too.

I went in blind to this so I wasn’t sure where we were going but I was all in for the ride and it was a good one.

This was a beautifully written love story that was more than just romantic love but also love of self, love of friendship, and love of and for your chosen family.

I’ve been trying to read a little romance here and there and @tiawilliams has earned her spot as an auto buy author for me.

Read this if you like:
Dual POV’s
Magical realism
The Harlem Renaissance
Found family
Love stories that transcend all