A Love Song for Ricki Wilde

by Tia Williams

Overview

In this sexy modern-day fairytale from the New York Times bestselling author of Seven Days in June, a free-spirited florist and an enigmatic musician share a soul mate connection told through the history, art, and magic of Harlem.


“Tia Williams is a superlative author constantly testing her own boundaries, innovating with each new book. Sparkling, heartbreaking and laugh-out-loud funny…Ezra and Ricki's love story is one for the ages.” – NPR
 
“Tia Williams is a go-to-author for epic love stories.” – Marie Claire, A Most Anticipated Book of 2024


What readers are saying on Goodreads:
 
“I am a Tia stan at this point. It was perfect.” 
 
“Gave me all the feels, and even made me question my own personal goals.”  
 
“Hands down one of the best stories of love I’ve ever read. A true masterpiece.” 
 
“The perfect story of Black love and Black history. I feel like this book was written for my soul.”
 
“Atmospheric, haunting, beautiful, lyrical, I could wax poetic on this story forever and never do it justice.”


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. 

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9781538726709
Publisher:	Grand Central Publishing
Publication date:	02/06/2024
Pages:	352
Sales rank:	6,103
Product dimensions:	6.30(w) x 9.10(h) x 1.30(d)

About the Author

Tia Williams had a fifteen-year career as a beauty editor for magazines including Elle, Glamour, Teen People, and Essence. In 2004, she pioneered the beauty blog industry with her site Shake Your Beauty. She’s the author of The Accidental Diva, the It Chicks series, and The Perfect Find—now a Netflix film starring Gabrielle Union. Her novel, Seven Days in June, was an instant New York Times bestseller and the June 2021 Reese’s Book Club pick. A TV series adaptation is in development with Will Packer Productions. Her latest bestselling novel, A Love Song for Ricki Wilde, was named one of the year’s best romances by New York Times and Amazon.
 
Tia lives with her family in Brooklyn.

Editorial Reviews

★ 12/04/2023

Elegantly blending past and present, romance and fantasy, Williams (Seven Days in June) delivers a gorgeous, transportive love letter to the Harlem Renaissance. The novel begins in the present day, introducing 28-year-old vintage fashionista Ricki Wilde, the youngest in a high-achieving, high-society Atlanta family. While her sisters happily contribute to her father’s funeral home empire, Ricki, who’s considered by her family to be “too flighty, too messy, too much,” wants nothing to do with the family business. She dreams instead of opening a flower shop—and through hard work, an extremely popular floral Instagram account, and a touch of fate, she’s able to move to Harlem and follow her dream. Bouts of crushing loneliness and social anxiety are eased by Tuesday, a former child star who bursts into the shop and becomes Ricki’s new best friend, and Ms. Della, her spunky 96-year-old landlady. And then there’s Ezra, a jazz savant who, Ricki thinks, would be “beautiful in any era, anytime, anywhere”—and indeed he seems somewhat out of place in this one. What begins as a simple romance is elevated by rich history as the story flashes back through Harlem’s past, revealing both its glamor and its danger. This vast time span creates an epic feel that never overpowers the tender heat of the romance. It’s a showstopper. Agent: Cherise Fisher, Wendy Sherman Assoc. (Feb.)

Publishers Weekly

★ 11/01/2023

Ricki Wilde's inability to fit in with her rich, insipid family has made her doubt her ability to connect with others. Disinterested in the family business, she has a chance encounter that spurs her to move to Harlem and pursue her passion for all things floral. Not long after her arrival, she meets Ezra Walker, a reclusive musician whose talent is his primary tether to a world that has caused him much pain. Ezra and Ricki's shared attraction is immediate, so his strong reluctance to get to know her is mystifying. Being together requires them to navigate obstacles larger and less straightforward than their past hurts. However, Ricki and Ezra's found families provide them with the type of support and acceptance their biological families are unable or unwilling to provide. Williams's (Seven Days in June) novel is both a love letter to Harlem and a recognition of its history that gentrification cannot erase. VERDICT This fantastical novel, in which the past and present collide in unusual ways, is sure to be popular where romance, African American fiction, and relationship fiction circulate well; highly recommended for all libraries.—Nicole Williams

Library Journal

2023-12-06
A woman newly arrived in Harlem falls in love with a man out of time.

Ricki Wilde has never fit in with her buttoned-up, high-society Atlanta family—she’s always been a rule-breaker who values creativity over comportment. Her family owns a funeral home business, but she dreams of opening a flower shop. The financial and logistical impediments seem insurmountable, though, until she meets Della Bennett, a 96-year-old woman who’s come into one of the Wilde Funeral Homes to arrange a homegoing for her husband. It turns out that she owns a brownstone in Harlem, and she offers to let Ricki rent out the bottom floor, which has room for both a shop and a small living space. Even with a fairy godmother, opening a new business is hard; she struggles to keep it afloat but draws media attention by placing her dazzling, inventive flower arrangements at sites made famous during the Harlem Renaissance. One February evening, she meets a mysterious man in a neighborhood garden full of night-blooming jasmine, just one of many hints that something magical is bringing them together. Ezra Walker is a traveling musician with courtly manners and an unbelievable secret. The book slowly eases into Ricki and Ezra’s love story, with a secondary timeline set during the Harlem Renaissance providing hints about Ezra’s tragic past. He knows he has no future with Ricki and tries to avoid her, but they’re drawn together like magnets. It’s a beautiful romance, tackling big ideas about the burden of family, the weight of time, and the gift of love. But for a novel with such a careful, meticulous unspooling of plot and characters, the ending is rushed, with the strangely passive lovers surrendering to the same forces of fate and time that initially brought them together.

Richly layered characters give this romance broad crossover appeal.

Kirkus Reviews

Praise for A Love Song for Ricki Wilde 

“Funny, sexy, and breathtakingly romantic. This is the kind of book you wish you could slip bodily into, live within its warm and magical world for as long as it would have you. Another rapturous knockout from Tia Williams.”—Emily Henry, #1 New York Times bestselling author of Happy Place

"Tia Williams writes instant classics, and A Love Song for Ricki Wilde is the perfect vehicle to demonstrate the rare range and insight that make her writing so special. At turns punchy and poignant, sweeping and yet so intimate, this story will steal your heart and surprise you. Make you ache. Make you laugh and cry and yearn. As Williams' most ambitious work to date with layers of romance and heartache and history and magic tucked between these pages, it is your next book of the year.”—Kennedy Ryan, bestselling author of "Before I Let Go"

"This sexy, modern New York City fairy tale between a quirky florist and a stoic jazz musician is brought to life by the beautifully rich history of the Harlem Renaissance. With humor, soulful prose and a touch of magical realism, Williams takes a creative chance with Ricki Wilde that'll make it one of your most memorable reads of 2024. —People Magazine

“Tia Williams brilliantly captures the magic and romance of Harlem—past and present—while giving us a heroine we can all root for. I adore Ricki Wilde and was utterly enchanted by this epic love story. Prepare to be transported!”—Emily Giffin, New York Times bestselling author of "Meant to Be"

“This book reads like the best kind of love song: tender, smart and undeniably sexy. Tia Williams simply doesn’t miss.”—Leah Johnson, bestselling author of "You Should See Me in a Crown"

 “A spellbinding modern fairytale, sexy and warm and full of hope and the power of love.”—Bolu Babalola, author of Honey & Spice

"An enigmatic, enchanting, absolute gift of a love story that transcends time, place, and realm. Williams never ceases to surprise and delight!”—Robinne Lee, author of "The Idea of You"

"Elegantly blending past and present, romance and fantasy, Williams (Seven Days in June) delivers a gorgeous, transportive love letter to the Harlem Renaissance. What begins as a simple romance is elevated by rich history as the story flashes back through Harlem’s past, revealing both its glamor and its danger. This vast time span creates an epic feel that never overpowers the tender heat of the romance. It’s a showstopper."—Publishers Weekly, (Starred)

"[A Love Song for Ricki Wilde] is both a love letter to Harlem and a recognition of its history that gentrification cannot erase."—Library Journal, (Starred)

"A truly original romance that is quirky, suspenseful, and unforgettable."—Booklist, (Starred)

"Williams' previous novels have been expertly written, full of longing emotion, but there's a surprising new ingredient this time: a sense of enchantment around every corner. Tissues are recommended, even if simply for the beauty of Williams' writing. Once you've finished A Love Song for Ricki Wilde, you'll undoubtedly be jealous of those who get to experience it for the first time." —Bookpage, (Starred)

Praise for Seven Days in June - A New York Times bestseller and a Reese Witherspoon Book Club Pick!

“[Seven Days in June is] filled with important observations and tidbits about Black life, giving the reader something that goes a step beyond the basic rom-com format.”

—USA Today

“While this is a sumptuous, fun, romantic story about two authors who reunite at a conference, it's also an ode to anyone who goes through life wishing they were more normal.”

—Good Morning America

“Steamy.”

—Essence

“Gutting, arousing, and sparklingly witty… a love story with depth.”—Vogue

“This summer’s best romance ... very well-rendered and plenty satisfying.”—Los Angeles Times

“An intense romance between troubled teens reignites when Eva and Shane reconnect years later as superstar authors. Full of wit, warmth, and passion.”—People

“Tia’s prose reads like you’re talking to a friend, like someone’s sitting next to you divulging all their deepest, darkest, funniest secrets, and you want to share them right back with her.”—Entertainment Weekly

“Seven Days in June is about the intoxicating, all-consuming power of first love, of young love, but it’s also about the deepening and complicated love between two people who run into each other years later, hearts still tender and bruised, and recognize that their feelings for one another have become something even stronger with time.”—Vulture

“Williams’ complex, developed characters dive into the highs and lows of Black life, sexism in publishing, living with an invisible disability, and self- harm, among other topics. Seven Days in June is a dynamic contemporary romance novel that packs a powerful punch.”—Seattle Times

“This is a captivating and compulsive read.”
 —Winston-Salem Journal

“Tia Williams is kicking off the summer hot and heavy with Seven Days in June, which is sure to give us all the Black romance genre feels we deserve.”—Ebony

“One of the most anticipated romance novels of the summer ... Eva and Shane’s story gets steamy, so be sure to read by the water so you can cool off.”
 —Oprah Daily

“It’s Black without apology, qualification, or race-related tragedy ... It’s rarer than you think. It’s been a while since I read a book I was delighted by—a book that made me smile wide for no reason, because of how touching or cute it is."—New York Magazine’s The Strategist

“Readers will delight in the opportunity to become a part of Eva’s world, in a novel that seamlessly weaves young love, true love, addiction, pain, and hope.”—Shondaland

"Very steamy."—The Skimm

From the Publisher

Narrators Preston Butler III and Mela Lee beautifully portray a modern-day love story with deep connections to the Harlem Renaissance. Lee's upbeat tone and expressive voice embody Ricki Wilde, a bright, impulsive young woman who is opening a flower shop in Harlem with the help of her feisty 96-year-old landlady, Ms. Della. Lee has an uncanny way of adding and removing years from her voice as Ricki and Ms. Della become more like family. Ricki soon finds herself preternaturally drawn to Ezra Walker, a mysterious musician whose secrets lie 100 years in the past. Butler's smooth voice transports listeners as the story moves through time. Butler's performance exudes the quick pace and rhythm of 1920s slang. Listeners will be captivated by this time-defying romance, which could end in peril. J.E.C. © AudioFile 2024, Portland, Maine

MARCH 2024 - AudioFile