e-Audio, 11:42:58
Narrated by: Mela Lee & Preston Butler
Release Date: February 6, 2024
Published by: Hachette Audio
Read from: February 6-8, 2024
Stand-alone
Source: Netgalley (I received a copy of this audiobook from Netgalley and the Publisher in exchange for a just and honest review. This did nothing to influence my review.)
TW: Suicide, Racism, Hate Crime, Death, Cancer, Grief, Drug Use, Drug use of a Family Member (Never on page), Miscarriage
For Readers Interested In: Paranormal, Romance, Weird Timeline, Tear-Jerkers, Most Anticipated, AdultFrom the New York Times bestselling author of Seven Days in June, A Love Song for Ricki Wilde is an epic love story one hundred years in the making…
Leap years are a strange, enchanted time. 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.
Set against the backdrop of modern Harlem and Renaissance glamour, A Love Song for Ricki Wilde is a swoon-worthy love story of two passionate artists drawn to the magic, romance, and opportunity of New York, and whose lives are uniquely and irreversibly linked.
*MY THOUGHTS*
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.
Overall, I give this
