A Love Song for Ricki Wilde

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.