Reviews

A Love Song for Ricki Wilde by Tia Williams

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nyxstyx's review against another edition

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5.0

legitimately can't think of the last time a book like this made me cry

chrissys_library's review against another edition

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5.0

I have to say this is simply o Eid my top books of 2024! I believe books come to us and that right time when we need to read them. I absolutely loved this one. 😭

dwinn5's review against another edition

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emotional funny hopeful medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Character
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

4.5

Miss Tia Williams… you’ve done it again and I expected no less. This story is about the three big Ms: Magic, Music, and Mishaps.

I don’t have a lot of thoughts on exactly why, I just genuinely enjoyed this book. The story touched on so many good topics: identity, found family, friendship, the power of music, personal measure of success, the cyclical nature of history, sex and love, generational trauma- the list goes on and on. Of course Ricki and Ezra were the standout; their chemistry was absolutely insane for how little time they actually spent together. I think the real success was how interesting they both were individually outside of the relationship, which is a complaint that I have about a lot of romance novels. They felt like real people who I would absolutely love to sit down and interview, and they were even more fun together.

I’m not normally a huge fan of love at first sight/ whirlwind romances, so while that may have somewhat affected my overall rating of the book (a personal defect, certainly), I was able to mostly put it aside because of the magical elements of the story. I think the main thing that I got caught on, which I actually noticed in Seven Days in June, too, was that she sometimes blurred the lines between perspectives in a slightly confusing way. It’s borderline third person omniscient at certain points, switching back and forth between small details inside Ricki’s head vs Ezra’s, and while it’s small enough to be brushed past, it did occasionally take me out of the story or the emotions of the moment.

TLDR: Highly recommend for fans of magical realism (could be debated if this fits in that category or not, but would recommend it regardless because of the vibes), fated romance, and a light version of dual timelines (much more time spent in the present, doesn’t jump around too much).

P.S. Eva Mercy cameo, iktr.

strugglecity's review against another edition

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emotional fast-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

4.75

njgirloutwest's review against another edition

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emotional hopeful lighthearted mysterious fast-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.0

jewel99's review against another edition

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emotional hopeful mysterious medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Character

4.5

bri_14's review against another edition

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funny mysterious medium-paced

Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

2.5

This book has glimpses of potential but the ideas didn’t come together for me. Personally I would’ve preferred Tuesdays story of being a former child star growing into adulthood. Idk it felt more rich than Ricki opening a flower shop in Harlem 🤷🏾‍♀️ also Ezra’s flashbacks were very entertaining and this book was written SO VERY WELL. That’s what stinks bc Tia Williams can write but it needed to be reformulated to really be a standout for me.

I don’t read much “fated love/soulmate” tropes so maybe this isn’t my ministry but I didn’t see WHY Ezra and Ricki were drawn to one another. Like sure Ezra was

cursed to see Ricki in his dreams, stuck trying to find her in life

but I barely saw the connection on Ricki’s end. Just lust and “This pull…He understands everything about me” mess.

Ms Della dying for The couple was so predictable

didn’t carry much emotional weight. AND ANOTHER THING (I don’t mean to whack this book) I couldn’t stand how Ezra and Ricki spoke to each other after some time. When Ezra asks Ricki why she believes his life story, she goes “when I was little, I had a red coat. It made me believe in magic, it was magical. The world is filled with things we don’t understand, like the Bermuda Triangle or twinkies”. GIRL WHAT LOL at that point I think it was cemented that I was completely and utterly over Ricki and her daydreams

Content Warnings