Book Review: A Love Song for Ricki Wilde by Tia Williams \

 

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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

It has been a minute since I enjoyed a good romance novel. Tia did her thing with this book. In the story we meet Ricki Wilde. Ricki belongs to a prominent family but unlike her father and her older sisters, she always fall short of the high expectations.

Ricki is intent on finding her own way in life and due to a chance encounter with a woman by the name of Della, Ricki is getting an opportunity to open a flowershop in Harlem. Harlem is a magical city, and Ricki soon finds out when she meets Ezra. He is handsome, mysterious and he has a secret that could be DEADLY.

This romance was magical and unique. The story was unlike what I would have expected and for me this made for a rich reading experience. A MUST read.

Book Review: Who Asked You? by Terry Mc Millan

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From the #1  New York Times bestselling author…“Remember Getting to Happy , Waiting to Exhale , and How Stella Got Her Groove Back? Well, you won’t likely forget Terry McMillan’s Who Asked You?  either” ( Raleigh News & Observer ).

Betty Jean already has her hands full when her grown daughter leaves her two young sons in her care. In between dealing with her other adult children, two opinionated sisters, an ill husband, and her own postponed dreams—BJ still manages to hold down a job delivering room service at a hotel.

Her son Dexter is about to be paroled from prison; Quentin, the family success, can’t be bothered to lend a hand; and taking care of two lively grandsons is the last thing BJ thinks she needs. But who asked her?

My Thoughts:

After reading this I can now see why a few of Terry McMillan's books are movies. This title would have made a nice movie as well. In Who Asked You? we meet Betty Jean a mother and grandmother with a lot on her plate. Her daughter Trinetta, a drug addict left behind her two kids and disappeared without a trace.

Betty Jean now has the responsibility of raising two young boys, while having to take care of an ailing husband. Between this and dealing with her other two children Quentin (estranged because he thinks he is better than everyone else) and Dexter who is serving time in prison, Betty Jean keeps wondering where it all went wrong in life because she didn't ask for all this.

Apart from her children we also meet Betty Jean's two sisters Arlene and Venetia who also have problems woth kids and marriage as well. This book speaks about motherhood, family relationships and even forgiveness. I absolutely loved this book and I am going to definitely find and read her other books.