Black Candle WomenDiane Marie Brown
- Genre: African American
- Publish Date: February 28, 2023
- Publisher: Graydon House Books
- Buy on Apple Books | $2.99Buy on Amazon
The top 100 best selling African American Ebooks at Apple's iBookstore. The chart list of the top African American ebook fiction best seller downloads is updated daily.
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1
Black Candle WomenDiane Marie Brown
A Read with Jenna Book Club Pick as Seen on the Today Show “If you like Practical Magic… you will love Black Candle Women.” —Jenna Bush Hager Named a Best Book of the Month by: Shondaland, MS. Magazine, TODAY.com, Reader’s Digest, Katie Couric Media, AARP Sisters, Goodreads, BookRiot A warm and wry family drama with a magical twist about four generations of Black women, a family love curse, and the secrets they keep for and from each other over one very complicated year Generations of Montrose women—Augusta, Victoria, Willow—have always lived together in their quaint California bungalow. They keep to themselves, never venture far from home, and their collection of tinctures and spells is an unspoken bond between them. But when young Nickie Montrose brings home a boy for the first time, their quiet lives are thrown into disarray. For the family has withheld a crucial secret from Nickie all these years: any person a Montrose woman falls in love with will die. Their surprise guest forces each woman to reckon with her own past choices and mistakes. And as new truths about the curse emerge, they're set on a collision course dating back to 1950s New Orleans’s French Quarter—where a hidden story in a mysterious book may just hold the answers they seek in life and in love… “Richly imagined and elegantly told, with plenty of satisfying secrets, heartaches, and twists.” —Sadeqa Johnson, New York Times bestselling author of The House of Eve, a Reese's Book Club Pick “Propulsive and poignant, Black Candle Women concocts an intoxicating potion of warmth, wisdom, and wonder.” —Ava DuVernay
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The Personal LibrarianMarie Benedict & Victoria Christopher Murray
The Instant New York Times Bestseller! A Good Morning America * Book Club Pick! Named a Best Book of the Year by NPR! Named a Notable Book of the Year by the Washington Post ! “Historical fiction at its best!” * A remarkable novel about J. P. Morgan’s personal librarian, Belle da Costa Greene, the Black American woman who was forced to hide her true identity and pass as white in order to leave a lasting legacy that enriched our nation, from New York Times bestselling authors Marie Benedict and Victoria Christopher Murray. In her twenties, Belle da Costa Greene is hired by J. P. Morgan to curate a collection of rare manuscripts, books, and artwork for his newly built Pierpont Morgan Library. Belle becomes a fixture in New York City society and one of the most powerful people in the art and book world, known for her impeccable taste and shrewd negotiating for critical works as she helps create a world-class collection. But Belle has a secret, one she must protect at all costs. She was born not Belle da Costa Greene but Belle Marion Greener. She is the daughter of Richard Greener, the first Black graduate of Harvard and a well-known advocate for equality. Belle’s complexion isn’t dark because of her alleged Portuguese heritage that lets her pass as white—her complexion is dark because she is African American. The Personal Librarian tells the story of an extraordinary woman, famous for her intellect, style, and wit, and shares the lengths she must go to—for the protection of her family and her legacy—to preserve her carefully crafted white identity in the racist world in which she lives.
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The Coldest Winter EverSister Souljah
Nominated as one of America’s best-loved novels by PBS’s The Great American Read . Renowned hip-hop artist, writer, and activist Sister Souljah brings the streets of New York to life in a powerful and utterly unforgettable first novel. I came busting into the world during one of New York's worst snowstorms, so my mother named me Winter. Ghetto-born, Winter is the young, wealthy daughter of a prominent Brooklyn drug-dealing family. Quick-witted, sexy, and business-minded, she knows and loves the streets like the curves of her own body. But when a cold Winter wind blows her life in a direction she doesn't want to go, her street smarts and seductive skills are put to the test of a lifetime. Unwilling to lose, this ghetto girl will do anything to stay on top. The Coldest Winter Ever marks the debut of a gifted storyteller. You will never forget this Winter's tale.
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The First LadiesMarie Benedict & Victoria Christopher Murray
The Instant New York Times Bestseller! A novel about the extraordinary partnership between First Lady Eleanor Roosevelt and civil rights activist Mary McLeod Bethune—an unlikely friendship that changed the world, from the New York Times bestselling authors of the Good Morning America Book Club pick The Personal Librarian . The daughter of formerly enslaved parents, Mary McLeod Bethune refuses to back down as white supremacists attempt to thwart her work. She marches on as an activist and an educator, and as her reputation grows she becomes a celebrity, revered by titans of business and recognized by U.S. Presidents. Eleanor Roosevelt herself is awestruck and eager to make her acquaintance. Initially drawn together because of their shared belief in women’s rights and the power of education, Mary and Eleanor become fast friends confiding their secrets, hopes and dreams—and holding each other’s hands through tragedy and triumph. When Franklin Delano Roosevelt is elected president, the two women begin to collaborate more closely, particularly as Eleanor moves toward her own agenda separate from FDR, a consequence of the devastating discovery of her husband’s secret love affair. Eleanor becomes a controversial First Lady for her outspokenness, particularly on civil rights. And when she receives threats because of her strong ties to Mary, it only fuels the women’s desire to fight together for justice and equality. This is the story of two different, yet equally formidable, passionate, and committed women, and the way in which their singular friendship helped form the foundation for the modern civil rights movement.
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Always Outnumbered, Always OutgunnedWalter Mosley
New York Times bestselling author Walter Mosley introduces an "astonishing character" (Los Angeles Times Book Review) in this acclaimed collection of entwined tales. Meet Socrates Fortlow, a tough ex-con seeking truth and redemption in South Central Los Angeles—and finding the miracle of survival. "I either committed a crime or had a crime done to me every day I was in jail. Once you go to prison you belong there." Socrates Fortlow has done his time: twenty-seven years for murder and rape, acts forged by his huge, rock-breaking hands. Now, he has come home to a new kind of prison: two battered rooms in an abandoned building in Watts. Working for the Bounty supermarket, and moving perilously close to invisibility, it is Socrates who throws a lifeline to a drowning man: young Darryl, whose shaky path is already bloodstained and fearsome. In a place of violence and hopelessness, Socrates offers up his own battle-scarred wisdom that can turn the world around.
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The Good Lord Bird (National Book Award Winner)James McBride
Now a Showtime limited series starring Ethan Hawke and Daveed Diggs Winner of the National Book Award for Fiction From the bestselling author of The Heaven & Earth Grocery Store , Deacon King Kong (an Oprah Book Club pick) and The Color of Water comes the story of a young boy born a slave who joins John Brown’s antislavery crusade—and who must pass as a girl to survive. Henry Shackleford is a young slave living in the Kansas Territory in 1856--a battleground between anti- and pro-slavery forces--when legendary abolitionist John Brown arrives. When an argument between Brown and Henry's master turns violent, Henry is forced to leave town--along with Brown, who believes Henry to be a girl and his good luck charm. Over the ensuing months, Henry, whom Brown nicknames Little Onion, conceals his true identity to stay alive. Eventually Brown sweeps him into the historic raid on Harpers Ferry in 1859--one of the great catalysts for the Civil War. An absorbing mixture of history and imagination, and told with McBride's meticulous eye for detail and character, The Good Lord Bird is both a rousing adventure and a moving exploration of identity and survival.
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The UnsettledAyana Mathis
From the best-selling author of The Twelve Tribes of Hattie , a searing multi-generational novel—set in the 1980s in racially and politically turbulent Philadelphia and in the tiny town of Bonaparte, Alabama—about a mother fighting for her sanity and survival "[A] powerful book.” —Marilynne Robinson, Pulitzer Prize–winning author of Gilead From the moment Ava Carson and her ten-year-old son, Toussaint, arrive at the Glenn Avenue family shelter in Philadelphia 1985, Ava is already plotting a way out. She is repulsed by the shelter's squalid conditions: their cockroach-infested room, the barely edible food, and the shifty night security guard. She is determined to rescue her son from the perils and indignities of that place, and to save herself from the complicated past that led them there. Ava has been estranged from her own mother, Dutchess, since she left her Alabama home as a young woman barely out of her teens. Despite their estrangement and the thousand miles between them, mother and daughter are deeply entwined, but Ava can't forgive her sharp-tounged, larger than life mother whose intractability and bouts of debilitating despair brought young Ava to the outer reaches of neglect and hunger. Ava wants to love her son differently, better. But when Toussaint’s father, Cass, reappears, she is swept off course by his charisma, and the intoxicating power of his radical vision to destroy systems of racial injustice and bring about a bold new way of communal living. Meanwhile, in Alabama, Dutchess struggles to keep Bonaparte, once a beacon of Black freedom and self-determination, in the hands of its last five Black residents—families whose lives have been rooted in this stretch of land for generations—and away from rapidly encroaching white developers. She fights against the erasure of Bonaparte's venerable history and the loss of the land itself, which she has so arduously preserved as Ava's inheritance. As Ava becomes more enmeshed with Cass, Toussaint senses the danger simmering all around him—his well-intentioned but erratic mother; the intense, volatile figure of his father who drives his fledgling Philadelphia community toward ever increasing violence and instability. He begins to dream of Dutchess and Bonaparte, his home and birthright, if only he can find his way there. Brilliant, explosive, vitally important new work from one of America’s most fiercely talented storytellers.
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Parable of the SowerOctavia E. Butler
This acclaimed post-apocalyptic novel of hope and terror from an award-winning author "pairs well with 1984 or The Handmaid's Tale " and includes a foreword by N. K. Jemisin (John Green, New York Times ). When global climate change and economic crises lead to social chaos in the early 2020s, California becomes full of dangers, from pervasive water shortage to masses of vagabonds who will do anything to live to see another day. Fifteen-year-old Lauren Olamina lives inside a gated community with her preacher father, family, and neighbors, sheltered from the surrounding anarchy. In a society where any vulnerability is a risk, she suffers from hyperempathy, a debilitating sensitivity to others' emotions. Precocious and clear-eyed, Lauren must make her voice heard in order to protect her loved ones from the imminent disasters her small community stubbornly ignores. But what begins as a fight for survival soon leads to something much more: the birth of a new faith . . . and a startling vision of human destiny.
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Sorority SistersTajuana Butler
Dear Heavenly Father, Thank you for developing me into a beautiful and talented woman. Thank you for being my protector and my guide. And as I make my way along my journey, bless me with the wisdom to make intelligent choices. So begins Sorority Sisters by Tajuana "TJ" Butler, a dazzling new voice in African-American fiction. In this wonderful debut novel, five young women from diverse backgrounds pledge an African-American sorority and learn the true meaning of sisterhood. CAJEN is a naive freshman whose brief affair with Jason, the campus Romeo, has life-changing repercussions. With hardly a chance to cope with her new circumstances, she finds herself dealing with the stress of pledging while battling feelings of depression and guilt. TIARA grew up as the oldest of five children raised by a single mother in the projects of Gary, Indiana. Motivated by Rhonda, her mentor through the Big Sisters program, she has worked hard for everything she has achieved. Simply being in college is a victory for her. CHANCEY is brilliant, with a photographic memory that has allowed her to breeze through school. In fact, she skipped her freshman year entirely and entered college as a sophomore. She has always been made to feel like an outsider because of her intelligence, and the sorority represents an opportunity for her finally to fit in. STEPHANIE is the spoiled only child of a prominent, wealthy family from Savannah. She is used to getting the best and expects no less. But Stephanie is adopted and harbors a secret about her birth mother that she fears win cause others to think less of her. MALENA is ambitious, talented, and smart. She knows what she wants and is steadfast when it comes to achieving her goals. Her strength and resolve ultimately benefit the group as a whole. These five very different young women are thrust together and soon must learn to unite and draw upon one another's talents. During the course of their pledge process, they struggle to discover and define their futures, finding strength in the group and within themselves. In Sorority Sisters , Butler writes with sensitivity and authenticity about issues revolving around class, friendship, self-discovery, sexuality, and love. She has created characters who remain with you long after the last page has been turned. A gifted young storyteller, Tajuana "TJ" Butler has a voice we'll be hearing from for a long time.
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Deacon King Kong (Oprah's Book Club)James McBride
Winner of the Anisfield-Wolf Book Award for Fiction Winner of the Gotham Book Prize One of Barack Obama's "Favorite Books of the Year" Oprah's Book Club Pick Named one of the Top Ten Books of the Year by the New York Times, Entertainment Weekly and TIME Magazine A Washington Post Notable Novel From the author of The Heaven & Earth Grocery Store , the National Book Award–winning The Good Lord Bird, and the bestselling modern classic The Color of Water , comes one of the most celebrated novels of the year. In September 1969, a fumbling, cranky old church deacon known as Sportcoat shuffles into the courtyard of the Cause Houses housing project in south Brooklyn, pulls a .38 from his pocket, and, in front of everybody, shoots the project’s drug dealer at point-blank range. The reasons for this desperate burst of violence and the consequences that spring from it lie at the heart of Deacon King Kong , James McBride’s funny, moving novel and his first since his National Book Award–winning The Good Lord Bird . In Deacon King Kong , McBride brings to vivid life the people affected by the shooting: the victim, the African-American and Latinx residents who witnessed it, the white neighbors, the local cops assigned to investigate, the members of the Five Ends Baptist Church where Sportcoat was deacon, the neighborhood’s Italian mobsters, and Sportcoat himself. As the story deepens, it becomes clear that the lives of the characters—caught in the tumultuous swirl of 1960s New York—overlap in unexpected ways. When the truth does emerge, McBride shows us that not all secrets are meant to be hidden, that the best way to grow is to face change without fear, and that the seeds of love lie in hope and compassion. Bringing to these pages both his masterly storytelling skills and his abiding faith in humanity, James McBride has written a novel every bit as involving as The Good Lord Bird and as emotionally honest as The Color of Water . Told with insight and wit, Deacon King Kong demonstrates that love and faith live in all of us.
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Black CakeCharmaine Wilkerson
COMING SOON TO HULU • NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER • READ WITH JENNA BOOK CLUB PICK AS FEATURED ON TODAY • Two estranged siblings delve into their mother’s hidden past—and how it all connects to her traditional Caribbean black cake—in this immersive family saga, “a character-driven, multigenerational story that’s meant to be savored” ( Time ). “Wilkerson transports you across the decades and around the globe accompanied by complex, wonderfully drawn characters.”—Taylor Jenkins Reid, New York Times bestselling author of The Seven Husbands of Evelyn Hugo, Daisy Jones & The Six, and Malibu Rising ONE OF THE BEST BOOKS OF THE YEAR: Oprah Daily, NPR, BuzzFeed, Glamour, PopSugar, Book Riot, She Reads We can’t choose what we inherit. But can we choose who we become? In present-day California, Eleanor Bennett’s death leaves behind a puzzling inheritance for her two children, Byron and Benny: a black cake, made from a family recipe with a long history, and a voice recording. In her message, Eleanor shares a tumultuous story about a headstrong young swimmer who escapes her island home under suspicion of murder. The heartbreaking tale Eleanor unfolds, the secrets she still holds back, and the mystery of a long-lost child challenge everything the siblings thought they knew about their lineage and themselves. Can Byron and Benny reclaim their once-close relationship, piece together Eleanor’s true history, and fulfill her final request to “share the black cake when the time is right”? Will their mother’s revelations bring them back together or leave them feeling more lost than ever? Charmaine Wilkerson’s debut novel is a story of how the inheritance of betrayals, secrets, memories, and even names can shape relationships and history. Deeply evocative and beautifully written, Black Cake is an extraordinary journey through the life of a family changed forever by the choices of its matriarch.
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The Plug Next DoorSol
Can you imagine what it would be like to live next door to The Plug? God, his name says it all. He's rich, handsome, powerful and has a heart of gold. But don't let his kindness fool you. He's the street king of New York and rules The Empire State with no holds barred. His reign, both lengthy and fierce, is one to reckon with and everyone knows it. With the type of power and respect he has, there's nothing or no one challenging enough to knock him off his game nor his throne. That is until he meets the likes of the gorgeous Dr. Vaughn. Both witty, and domineering, she whisked her way into his life unexpectedly and proved to be his biggest challenge yet. He wants her and will stop at nothing to get her, but there's one problem. He has a family, and his Queen isn’t ready to relinquish her crown just yet. Reese, aka Dr. Vaughn, both beautiful and brainy, has a booming medical career that affords her a luxurious lifestyle. The Doc has just about everything going for herself except for one thing. She doesn't have a man to call her own...not that she's looking. After having her heart broken on numerous occasions, she vowed to never love again. But then she crossed paths with her next door neighbor and he changes her life forever. Young has too much money for his age and is about as handsome as they come. His good looks and endless cash flow makes him the most eligible bachelor in New York. All the ladies love him, yet he can't seem to find the one. Being the go-to, under the watchful eye of his big brother, God, finding time for love has always been a difficult task. Then he meets the baddest chick walking, Alexa. She gives him a run for his money. But you know what they say...you can't run forever. Alexa has played the fool to her long term boyfriend in Texas for years. Once she finally walks away, she has $200 dollars in her bank account and no plan on how she's gonna get by. Along her journey back home to New York, she meets a man who turns her world upside down. Nas hails all the way from Texas and just like the Lone Star State, everything about him is big, especially his ego. His main goal for migrating up north is to find his long lost brothers. However, with less than a hundred grand to his name, he's determined to takeover the street of New York no matter who's toes he steps on in the process. But what if taking over means eliminating the brothers he never knew? In this gripping tale of street love, drugs, lies and murder; many will not make it out alive, some will find love in a hopeless place while others get caught in the crossfire. Dive into the life of women who deserve more, and find out what it’s like to date the plug next door.
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Summer on the BluffsSunny Hostin
New York Times Bestseller! The View cohost and New York Times bestselling author Sunny Hostin dazzles with this brilliant novel about a life-changing summer along the beaches of Martha's Vineyard. Welcome to Oak Bluffs, the most exclusive Black beach community in the country. Known for its gingerbread Victorian-style houses and modern architectural marvels, this picturesque town hugging the sea is a mecca for the crème de la crème of Black society—where Michelle and Barack Obama vacation and Meghan Markle has shopped for a house for her mom. Black people have lived in this pretty slip of the Vineyard since the 1600s and began buying property in the 1800s, making this posh town the embodiment of “old money.” Thirty years ago, Amelia Vaux Tanner and her husband built a house high on the bluffs, a cottage they named Chateau Laveau. For decades, “Ama” played host to American presidents, Wall Street titans, and cultural icons. But her favorite guests have always been her three “goddaughters:” Esperanza “Perry” Soto, a beautiful, talented Afro-Latina lawyer with Ama’s strong, yet guarded personality; Olivia Jones, a gifted Wall Street analyst with Ama’s brilliant, logical mind; and Billie Hayden, a gifted marine biologist and rule-breaker with Ama’s courageous free spirit. Growing up, these three goddaughters from different backgrounds came together each summer at Chateau Laveau. As adults, the cottage is a place this trio of successful yet very different women go to escape, to slow down from their hectic lives, share private time with Ama, and enjoy the gorgeous weather, cool water, and stunning views Oak Bluffs offers. This summer on the Bluffs, however, will be different. An era is ending: Ama, now nearing seventy-one, is moving to the south of France to reunite with her college sweetheart. She has invited Perry, Olivia, and Billie to spend one last golden summer together with her the way they did when they were kids. And when fall comes, she is going to give the house to one of them. Each of the women wants the house desperately. Each is grappling with a secret she fears will hurt her and her chances. By the end of summer, old ties will fray, new bonds will be created, and these three found sisters will discover they aren’t the only ones with something to hide. Ama has a few secrets of her own. What she has to give them is far more than property. Between Memorial Day and Labor Day, she will tell these surrogate daughters she fiercely loves and protects everything they never knew they needed to know.
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Every Man a KingWalter Mosley
In this highly anticipated sequel from Edgar Award-winning "master of craft and narrative," Walter Mosley, Joe King Oliver is entangled in a dangerous case when he's asked to investigate whether a white nationalist is being unjustly set up. ( National Book Foundation) A NYTBR Editors' Choice Selection When friend of the family and multi-billionaire Roger Ferris comes to Joe with an assignment, he’s got no choice but to accept, even if the case is a tough one to stomach. White nationalist Alfred Xavier Quiller has been accused of murder and the sale of sensitive information to the Russians. Ferris has reason to believe Quiller’s been set up and he needs King to see if the charges hold. This linear assignment becomes a winding quest to uncover the extent of Quiller’s dealings, to understand Ferris’ skin in the game, and to get to the bottom of who is working for whom. Even with the help of bodyguard and mercenary Oliya Ruez—no regular girl Friday—the machine King’s up against proves relentless and unsparing. As King gets closer to exposing the truth, he and his loved ones barrel towards grave danger. Mosley once again proves himself a "master of craft and narrative" (National Book Foundation) in this carefully plotted mystery that is at once a classic caper, a family saga and an examination of fealty, pride and how deep debt can go.
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Kingpin Wifeys Part 4: Jada's StoryK. Elliott
King Pin Wifeys, Part 4 is three times as long. At the end of Part 3 Jada made a major mistake. Will her lies finally catch up with her? Sharmari is dealing with major financial issues that will force him to do some things he wouldn't ordinary do to keep up his lifestyle. Will Jada stick by her man. Also the feud between Chris and Black is getting nastier. Will Lani pick a side? Who will she be loyal to? Starr and Trey went to jail in part 3. But who set them up? Will they face charges? In Part 4 K.Elliott takes you on a rollercoaster ride with the usual twist and turns that promises 'drama on every single page'. KingPin Wifeys 4 the best yet!
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Everything's FineCecilia Rabess
“Extraordinarily brave...plain funny as hell, too.” —Zakiya Dalila Harris, New York Times bestselling author of The Other Black Girl “A subtle, ironic, wise, state-of-the-nation novel, sharp enough to draw blood, hidden inside a moving, intimate, sincere and very real love story --or vice versa.” —Nick Hornby On Jess’s first day at Goldman Sachs, she’s less than thrilled to learn she’ll be on the same team as Josh, her white, conservative sparring partner from college. Josh loves playing the devil’s advocate and is just…the worst. But when Jess finds herself the sole Black woman on the floor, overlooked and underestimated, it’s Josh who shows up for her in surprising—if imperfect—ways. Before long, an unlikely friendship—one tinged with undeniable chemistry—forms between the two. A friendship that gradually, and then suddenly, turns into an electrifying romance that shocks them both. Despite their differences, the force of their attraction propels the relationship forward, and Jess begins to question whether it’s more important to be happy than right. But then it’s 2016, and the cultural and political landscape shifts underneath them. And Jess, who is just beginning to discover who she is and who she has the right to be, is forced to ask herself what she’s willing to compromise for love and whether, in fact, everything’s fine. A stunning debut that introduces Cecilia Rabess as a blazing new talent, Everything’s Fine is a poignant and sharp novel that doesn’t just ask will they, but…should they?
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Did You Hear About Kitty Karr?Crystal Smith Paul
REESE'S BOOK CLUB MAY 2023 PICK A multigenerational saga that traverses the glamour of old Hollywood and the seductive draw of modern-day showbiz When Kitty Karr Tate, a White icon of the silver screen, dies and bequeaths her multimillion-dollar estate to the St. John sisters, three young, wealthy Black women, it prompts questions. Lots of questions. A celebrity in her own right, Elise St. John would rather focus on sorting out Kitty’s affairs than deal with the press. But what she discovers in one of Kitty’s journals rocks her world harder than any other brewing scandal could—and between a cheating fiancé and the fallout from a controversial social media post, there are plenty. The truth behind Kitty's ascent to stardom from her beginnings in the segregated South threatens to expose a web of unexpected family ties, debts owed, and debatable crimes that could, with one pull, unravel the all-American fabric of the St. John sisters and those closest to them. As Elise digs deeper into Kitty's past, she must also turn the lens upon herself, confronting the gifts and burdens of her own choices and the power that the secrets of the dead hold over the living. Did You Hear About Kitty Karr? is a sprawling page-turner set against the backdrop of the Hollywood machine, an insightful and nuanced look at the inheritances of family, race, and gender—and the choices some women make to break free of them.
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Native SonRichard Wright
Right from the start, Bigger Thomas had been headed for jail. It could have been for assault or petty larceny; by chance, it was for murder and rape. Native Son tells the story of this young black man caught in a downward spiral after he kills a young white woman in a brief moment of panic. Set in Chicago in the 1930s, Wright's powerful novel is an unsparing reflection on the poverty and feelings of hopelessness experienced by people in inner cities across the country and of what it means to be black in America.
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You Were Always MineChristine Pride & Jo Piazza
The acclaimed authors of the “emotional literary roller coaster” ( The Washington Post ) and Good Morning America book club pick We Are Not Like Them return with this moving and provocative novel about a Black woman who finds an abandoned white baby, sending her on a collision course with her past, her family, and a birth mother who doesn’t want to be found. Cinnamon Haynes has fought hard for a life she never thought was possible—a good man by her side, a steady job as a career counselor at a local community college, and a cozy house in a quaint little beach town. It may not look like much, but it’s more than she ever dreamed of or what her difficult childhood promised. Her life’s mantra is to be good, quiet, grateful. Until something shifts and Cinnamon is suddenly haunted by a terrifying question: “Is this all there is?” Daisy Dunlap has had her own share of problems in her nineteen years on earth—she also has her own big dreams for a life that’s barely begun. Her hopes for her future are threatened when she gets unexpectedly pregnant. Desperate, broke, and alone, she hides this development from everyone close to her and then makes a drastic decision with devastating consequences. Daisy isn’t the only one with something to hide. When Cinnamon finds an abandoned baby in a park and takes the blonde-haired, blue-eyed newborn into her home, the ripple effects of this decision risk exposing the truth about Cinnamon’s own past, which she’s gone to great pains to portray as idyllic to everyone…even herself. As Cinnamon struggles to contain old demons, navigate the fault lines that erupt in her marriage, and deal with the shocking judgments from friends and strangers alike about why a woman like her has a baby like this, her one goal is to do right by the child she grows more attached to with each passing day. It’s the exact same conviction that drives Daisy as she tries to outrun her heartache and reckon with her choices. These two women, unlikely friends and kindred spirits must face down their secrets and trauma and unite for the sake of the baby they both love in their own unique way when Daisy’s grandparents, who would rather die than see one of their own raised by a Black woman, threaten to take custody. Once again, these authors bring their “empathetic, riveting, and authentic” (Laura Dave, New York Times bestselling author) storytelling to an unforgettable novel that revolves around provocative and timely questions about race, class, and motherhood. Is being a mother a right, an obligation, or a privilege? Who gets to be a mother? And to whom? And what are we willing to sacrifice for the sake of marriage, friendship, and our dreams?
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So Deep in My Feelings 2: A Hood Love TaleMyss Shan
With the loss of her brother and then Self being killed right in front of her, Cioni is starting to feel like she might be the one under attack. With a new baby on the way, she is ready to spark things back up with Ledge, but the only problem is, things have changed drastically for him. He is deep in the game, and no one around him wants to see him make it to the top. But as long as the two of them have love, nothing or no one will stop them right? Madden has moved on with her new boo and ready to start her new life. Things are perfect, but her old meddling ways eventually comes back to haunt her. She is no longer letting things slide and is out to get those whom she felt has gotten her. Soon, she realizes that she might be in over her head..
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Their Eyes Were Watching GodZora Neale Hurston
A PBS Great American Read Top 100 Pick “A deeply soulful novel that comprehends love and cruelty, and separates the big people from the small of heart, without ever losing sympathy for those unfortunates who don’t know how to live properly.” —Zadie Smith One of the most important and enduring books of the twentieth century, Their Eyes Were Watching God brings to life a Southern love story with the wit and pathos found only in the writing of Zora Neale Hurston. Out of print for almost thirty years—due largely to initial audiences’ rejection of its strong black female protagonist—Hurston’s classic has since its 1978 reissue become perhaps the most widely read and highly acclaimed novel in the canon of African-American literature.
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MaameJessica George
AN INSTANT NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER! • A Today Show #ReadWithJenna Book Club Pick " Sparkling." — The New York Times "An utterly charming and deeply moving portrait of the joys — and the guilt — of trying to find your own way in life." — Celeste Ng, #1 New York Times bestselling author of Our Missing Hearts "Lively, funny, poignant . . . Prepare to fall in love with Maddie. I did!" — Bonnie Garmus, #1 New York Times bestselling author of Lessons in Chemistry Maame (ma-meh) has many meanings in Twi but in my case, it means woman. It’s fair to say that Maddie’s life in London is far from rewarding. With a mother who spends most of her time in Ghana (yet still somehow manages to be overbearing), Maddie is the primary caretaker for her father, who suffers from advanced stage Parkinson’s. At work, her boss is a nightmare and Maddie is tired of always being the only Black person in every meeting. So when her mum returns from her latest trip, Maddie seizes the chance to move out of the family home and finally start living. A self-acknowledged late bloomer, she’s ready to experience some important “firsts”: She finds a flat share, says yes to after-work drinks, pushes for more recognition in her career, and throws herself into the bewildering world of internet dating. But when tragedy strikes, Maddie is forced to face the true nature of her unconventional family, and the perils—and rewards—of putting her heart on the line. Smart, funny, and affecting, Jessica George's Maame deals with the themes of our time with humor and poignancy: from familial duty and racism, to female pleasure, the complexity of love, and the life-saving power of friendship. Most important, it explores what it feels like to be torn between two homes and cultures―and it celebrates finally being able to find where you belong. "Meeting Maame feels like falling in love for the first time: warm, awkward, joyous, a little bit heartbreaking and, most of all, unforgettable." — Xochitl Gonzalez, New York Times bestselling author of Olga Dies Dreaming
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HomegoingYaa Gyasi
INTERNATIONAL BESTSELLER • WINNER OF THE NATIONAL BOOK CRITICS CIRCLE'S JOHN LEONARD PRIZE • WINNER OF THE PEN / HEMINGWAY AWARD FOR DEBUT FICTION • Ghana, eighteenth century: two half sisters are born into different villages, each unaware of the other. One will marry an Englishman and lead a life of comfort in the palatial rooms of the Cape Coast Castle. The other will be captured in a raid on her village, imprisoned in the very same castle, and sold into slavery. One of Oprah’s Best Books of the Year, Homegoing follows the parallel paths of these sisters and their descendants through eight generations: from the Gold Coast to the plantations of Mississippi, from the American Civil War to Jazz Age Harlem. Yaa Gyasi’s extraordinary novel illuminates slavery’s troubled legacy both for those who were taken and those who stayed—and shows how the memory of captivity has been inscribed on the soul of our nation.
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Love On The Low 5Mia Black
This should be the happiest time of their lives, but Mika and Royce’s life is full of turmoil behind the scenes. While Mika blissfully plans their wedding, Royce keeps an eye on what’s happening in the streets. With the new arrival of Trill, a new enemy working so hard to make a name for himself in the drug game, a turf war has made it almost impossible for Royce to continue with his plans to step away. And Mika has no idea how bad things have gotten. As Trill ramps up his efforts, Royce knows it’s only a matter of time before someone gets hurt. He just hopes that no one he cares about will get caught in the crossfire.
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The Plug Next Door 3Sol
In The Plug Next Door 3 all the secrets are revealed. Last time God spoke to Reese, he ended up fainting at Sloan's house. It sounded like his girlfriend was going to tell him that his daughter had died, but there's no telling. One things for sure, if God loses his child, there will be hell to pay. That said, will he and Reese be able to weather the storm of his darkest hour? Alexa's stripping ways have finally caught up to her. Now that Young knows the truth, what's going to happen between them? Are the two going to be able to get past this or have too many lines been crossed? Nas and Vasii seem to be the only two who can get it right. They're a picture perfect couple until a mysterious voicemail pops up, threatening to shatter their happiness. What happens when you find out that the person you love isn't who you thought they were? Find out the answers to all of your questions in The Plug Next Door 3.
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Parable of the TalentsOctavia E. Butler
Originally published in 1998, this shockingly prescient novel's timely message of hope and resistance in the face of fanaticism is more relevant than ever. In 2032, Lauren Olamina has survived the destruction of her home and family, and realized her vision of a peaceful community in northern California based on her newly founded faith, Earthseed. The fledgling community provides refuge for outcasts facing persecution after the election of an ultra-conservative president who vows to "make America great again." In an increasingly divided and dangerous nation, Lauren's subversive colony--a minority religious faction led by a young black woman--becomes a target for President Jarret's reign of terror and oppression. Years later, Asha Vere reads the journals of a mother she never knew, Lauren Olamina. As she searches for answers about her own past, she also struggles to reconcile with the legacy of a mother caught between her duty to her chosen family and her calling to lead humankind into a better future.
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Honor Thy Boss 2Charmanie Saquea
After being left with the decision of whose life he was going to save, Boss finds himself suddenly stuck between his past and his future. Making the wrong choice could leave his life in shambles and in a complete whirlwind. Not resting until his brother Hendrix is six feet under for all the turmoil he’s caused, Boss turns into the very person he vowed not to be ever again. While trying to keep his right-hand man on track, Han is faced with his own problems. The biggest one of them all being Boss’s sister, Freedom. Just when he thought he was over her, Freedom stepped back on the scene, leaving him shook and confused. Old demons come back to haunt Han, taking him back to a dark place, and if he’s not careful, he may never be able to escape it. Turk is back on the scene, and suddenly, he has a new walk and talk. Realizing what he’s been missing in his life, he wants nothing more than to have his family back and will stop at nothing to make that happen. Even if it means going head up with the man the streets know as Boss. In the second installment, everything that these couples were trying to build, could possibly crumble and fall to pieces. One wrong decision and they could lose it all.
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The Water DancerTa-Nehisi Coates
#1 NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER • OPRAH’S BOOK CLUB PICK • From the National Book Award–winning author of Between the World and Me, a boldly conjured debut novel about a magical gift, a devastating loss, and an underground war for freedom. “This potent book about America’s most disgraceful sin establishes [Ta-Nehisi Coates] as a first-rate novelist.”— San Francisco Chronicle IN DEVELOPMENT AS A MAJOR MOTION PICTURE • Adapted by Ta-Nehisi Coates and Kamilah Forbes, directed by Nia DaCosta, and produced by MGM, Plan B, and Oprah Winfrey’s Harpo Films NOMINATED FOR THE NAACP IMAGE AWARD • NAMED ONE OF PASTE ’S BEST NOVELS OF THE DECADE • NAMED ONE OF THE BEST BOOKS OF THE YEAR BY Time • NPR • The Washington Post • Chicago Tribune • Vanity Fair • Esquire • Good Housekeeping • Paste • Town & Country • The New York Public Library • Kirkus Reviews • Library Journal Young Hiram Walker was born into bondage. When his mother was sold away, Hiram was robbed of all memory of her—but was gifted with a mysterious power. Years later, when Hiram almost drowns in a river, that same power saves his life. This brush with death births an urgency in Hiram and a daring scheme: to escape from the only home he’s ever known. So begins an unexpected journey that takes Hiram from the corrupt grandeur of Virginia’s proud plantations to desperate guerrilla cells in the wilderness, from the coffin of the Deep South to dangerously idealistic movements in the North. Even as he’s enlisted in the underground war between slavers and the enslaved, Hiram’s resolve to rescue the family he left behind endures. This is the dramatic story of an atrocity inflicted on generations of women, men, and children—the violent and capricious separation of families—and the war they waged to simply make lives with the people they loved. Written by one of today’s most exciting thinkers and writers, The Water Dancer is a propulsive, transcendent work that restores the humanity of those from whom everything was stolen. Praise for The Water Dancer “Ta-Nehisi Coates is the most important essayist in a generation and a writer who changed the national political conversation about race with his 2015 memoir, Between the World and Me . So naturally his debut novel comes with slightly unrealistic expectations—and then proceeds to exceed them. The Water Dancer . . . is a work of both staggering imagination and rich historical significance. . . . What’s most powerful is the way Coates enlists his notions of the fantastic, as well as his fluid prose, to probe a wound that never seems to heal. . . . Timeless and instantly canon-worthy.” — Rolling Stone
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The Dopeman's WifeJaQuavis Coleman
Once the streets pull you in, they own you. Or at least that's the way it's been for Nautica. Growing up in the ‘hood, all she's ever known is the fast life—fast money ill-gotten through scandals and relentless scheming. But when a big scam nearly finishes her off, she decides to seek more out of life than the "hustle" and tries to make a new life for herself on the East Coast. It isn't long, though, before she falls in with Manny, a drug kingpin, who sweeps her off her feet. He promises to marry her and make her "Queen of the Street." Then everything falls apart. As their relationship unravels, both of their dark secrets are uncovered, pitting them against each other in this exciting tale of love and deception.
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The Violin ConspiracyBrendan Slocumb
GOOD MORNING AMERICA BOOK CLUB PICK! • Ray McMillian is a Black classical musician on the rise—undeterred by the pressure and prejudice of the classical music world — when a shocking theft sends him on a desperate quest to recover his great-great-grandfather’s heirloom violin on the eve of the most prestigious musical competition in the world. “I loved The Violin Conspiracy for exactly the same reasons I loved The Queen’s Gambit : a surprising, beautifully rendered underdog hero I cared about deeply and a fascinating, cutthroat world I knew nothing about—in this case, classical music.” —Chris Bohjalian, #1 New York Times bestselling author of The Flight Attendant and Hour of the Witch Growing up Black in rural North Carolina, Ray McMillian’s life is already mapped out. But Ray has a gift and a dream—he’s determined to become a world-class professional violinist, and nothing will stand in his way. Not his mother, who wants him to stop making such a racket; not the fact that he can’t afford a violin suitable to his talents; not even the racism inherent in the world of classical music. When he discovers that his beat-up, family fiddle is actually a priceless Stradivarius, all his dreams suddenly seem within reach, and together, Ray and his violin take the world by storm. But on the eve of the renowned and cutthroat Tchaikovsky Competition—the Olympics of classical music—the violin is stolen, a ransom note for five million dollars left in its place. Without it, Ray feels like he's lost a piece of himself. As the competition approaches, Ray must not only reclaim his precious violin, but prove to himself—and the world—that no matter the outcome, there has always been a truly great musician within him.
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The ComingDaniel Black
" The Coming is powerful. And beautiful...This is a work to be proud of."--Charles Johnson, National Book Award winner for Middle Passage Lyrical, poetic, and hypnotizing, The Coming tells the story of a people's capture and sojourn from their homeland across the Middle Passage--a traumatic trip that exposed the strength and resolve of the African spirit. Extreme conditions produce extraordinary insight, and only after being stripped of everything do they discover the unspeakable beauty they once took for granted. This powerful, haunting novel will shake readers to their very souls. "Part homage to the proud and diverse cultures of Africa, part nightmare of the people stolen from those lands, The Coming seduces us with poetry, then breaks our hearts, but ultimately inspires us to celebrate the indomitable soul of humanity." — George Weinstein, author of Hardscrabble Road
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Take My HandDolen Perkins-Valdez
Winner of the 2023 NAACP Image Award for Outstanding Literary Work - Fiction “Deeply empathetic yet unflinching in its gaze…an unforgettable exploration of responsibility and redemption.”—Celeste Ng Inspired by true events that rocked the nation, a searing and compassionate new novel about a Black nurse in post-segregation Alabama who blows the whistle on a terrible injustice done to her patients, from the New York Times bestselling author of Wench Montgomery, Alabama, 1973. Fresh out of nursing school, Civil Townsend intends to make a difference, especially in her African American community. At the Montgomery Family Planning Clinic, she hopes to help women shape their destinies, to make their own choices for their lives and bodies. But when her first week on the job takes her along a dusty country road to a worn-down one-room cabin, Civil is shocked to learn that her new patients, Erica and India, are children—just eleven and thirteen years old. Neither of the Williams sisters has even kissed a boy, but they are poor and Black, and for those handling the family’s welfare benefits, that’s reason enough to have the girls on birth control. As Civil grapples with her role, she takes India, Erica, and their family into her heart. Until one day she arrives at their door to learn the unthinkable has happened, and nothing will ever be the same for any of them. Decades later, with her daughter grown and a long career in her wake, Dr. Civil Townsend is ready to retire, to find her peace, and to leave the past behind. But there are people and stories that refuse to be forgotten. That must not be forgotten. Because history repeats what we don’t remember. Inspired by true events and brimming with hope, Take My Hand is a stirring exploration of accountability and redemption. “Highlights the horrific discrepancies in our healthcare system and illustrates their heartbreaking consequences.”—Essence
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The Bottom LineKenisha Myree
The Bottom Line is an anthology based on ten different women from different walks of life who end up in the strip club. Some make it out in good graces while others get swallowed up by the game. Sex, drugs, greed, and envy are all a part of the game beyond the pole, but through it all, the money is the bottom line!
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A Dopegirl Needs Love TooMyss Shan
After witnessing the brutal murder of her mother by the hands of her father, Mulani Gibson is sent to live with her uncle and two cousins Tyson and Dondrae. Mulani's uncle taught everyone under his roof to get it how you live and by any means necessary. Mulani and her cousins took that to heart pouring their blood, sweat, and tears into the streets. Along with her cousins, and best friend Asim Patrick, the game wasn't ready for what they had to offer. Especially not the beautiful, tomboyish, and deadly Mulani. A force to be reckoned with while carrying a no nonsense type attitude, ran off every man that even tried to get close to Mulani, but it didn't matter, because all she ever wanted was Asim. Asim is everything a boss should be. His street status is undeniable and at the young age of 21, he's well on his way to having everything a man his age could ever want. The Respect, the riches...but there was only one thing missing...Mulani. When tragedy brings them together, giving Mulani what she's always wanted, she feels like the streets now has their king and queen and Asim couldn't help but feel the same. But one mistake is all it took for Asim to walk away from Mulani and into the arms of another woman and even down the path of matrimony. After the hurt that Asim has caused, Mulani goes harder than ever unwilling to love again. When a problem arises, Mulani's motivation and undeniable dedication to get it handled is what leads her to meet the sexy Maddox aka Dox from the Bronx. Dox is a boss in his own right and wants to give Mulani all the love that she deserves. The time and attention Dox puts in is enough to break down Mulani's walls. She's ready to give in and ready to move on finally, but someone isn't going to allow that to happen…Asim. There can only be one king in the streets and in Mulani's heart, but who will it be? The fight to the crown will be nothing nice. Who will be the one Mulani choose to show her that love is Unselfish.
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A Forbidden Street King's Love Story 2Sunny Giovanni
Transition isn’t easy, especially when you have to migrate to a whole other state after so many truths had been exposed, and all betrayers have been shown as who they really are. But is there even more underneath the surface than what was already confessed? Nio, critically injured by the rest of the crew, is not only fighting for his life but some type of truth to be told after all was said and done. Was Dante lying about the events of the past, just to get closer to Drea? Was he fabricating some of the wrongful things that his brother may have done just to steal the attention of the crew, and to gain more riches and reach for himself? Drea herself has a hard time transitioning while readying herself for a divorce, but it seems as though the more she peels back about her own reality, the more she finds out. Trina and Flame, still balancing home life and worried about the future of their money, try their best to keep everyone together, all until they receive a visit from Trina’s sister Tahiry. With City living with them, a new love seems to blossom, but it isn’t as easy as it seems with Tahiry being as hard up as her younger sister Trina. When Nadia slithers her way back into the picture, it might as well be a fight to the finish to win over the City Slicker’s love. Smalls and Alaina are as excited as ever to move back home to Brooklyn, yet it opens old wounds and remind them of all they had yet to conquer together. Could they join the growing number of couples who could possibly call it quits before it’s too late? All of the drama comes to a head and even more secrets and tall tales are exposed in this explosive finale. Plenty of blood will be shed before it’s all over. For the women, it will definitely teach them that there are consequences of choosing a forbidden street king.
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The Autobiography of Benjamin SiskoDerek Tyler Attico
The fascinating life of Starfleet’s celebrated captain, and Bajor’s Emissary of the Prophets, celebrating the 30th anniversary of Star Trek: Deep Space Nine. Benjamin Sisko tells the story of his career in Starfleet, and his life as a father and Bajor’s Emmissary of the Prophets. Charting his rise through the ranks, his pioneering work designing the Defiant -class, his critical role as ambassador and leader during the Dominion War, and his sacred standing as a religious leader of his adopted home. Discover the hidden history of his childhood and early career in Starfleet, and the innermost thoughts of the man who discovered the Gamma Quadrant, made first contact with the wormhole aliens, and united Starfleet, Klingon and Romulan forces to defeat the Dominion Empire. See Sisko’s personal take on his confidents Lieutenant Dax and Major Kira Nerys, the enigmatic Garak, and his adversaries, Gul Dukat and Kai Winn, as well as his fatherly advice for his son Jake. From the pages of Anselm to the writings of Benny Russell, from father to son, Sisko’s story is a unique phenomenon in Starfleet and human history, told in the unique way only he can.
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A Dopegirl Needs Love Too 2Myss Shan
They say it's better to have loved and to have lost than to not have loved at all… Mulani and Dox thought they were going to be the king and queen in the streets of Dallas, but what they didn't anticipate was their love story ending abruptly due to foolish mistakes on both ends. One year later and Lani hasn't let anything stop her grind. Losing Dox was a hard pill to swallow, but she never let it alter her steps. Having to step up and take over Dox's operation in his absence has garnered Lani more notoriety and has everyone trying to get a piece of her. Never in a million years did Lani think that she would be the head of a successful drug operation. She's truly in rare form. The only thing that isn't rare is the downfalls that comes with the hustle. Lani is not only facing a threat from her past, but also has a problem with new enemies as well. Lani feels as if she has the streets behind her, her new secret lil boo —and with that, nothing will stop the reign she has on the streets. But with King Dox's return home, Lani soon finds out just how quickly he comes through and shakes up her whole life again. Dox has done another bid in the FEDs all over false charges—and being dumbly in love. Now that he's home, Dox wants to own the game, do it right, and never make the same mistake for a third time. What he doesn't anticipate is that not only has things has changed, but he's forced to work side by side with his ex Lani again. While Dox is convinced that he's over Lani, it isn't long before he finds out that real love is hard to let go. When a secret is revealed, Dox realizes that the only throne Lani belongs on is his. He's now more determined than ever to have his Lil Baby back—even it means he has to go through Asim, Sephora—and Lani's new love interest. With all the losses Dox has taken, the stakes are ridiculously high to prove why he's King. With his brothers Skully and Los right by his side, a win is a must for him. No one will take from him again--not his life, not his freedom, and definitely not his heart. No one is safe. Samuel "Skully" McGuay, Dox's older brother has had his fair share of bad luck as well. Now that he has a new life with his brothers in Dallas, things have been looking up for him. He believes money, power, and respect above all else and then plenty of women to enjoy. Skully's current situation Rianna RiRi Taylor was in need of a saving at the time he met her making it hard for him to turn away from the mother of 3. Now that Skully feels RiRi is where she needs to be in life, he's ready to turn back to his doggish ways having multiple women at his beck and call. Skully never really believed in love considering he'd never experienced seeing a man before him love a woman. When he finally realizes that what he he'd been needing all his life as right by his side, will it be too late for him? Carlos "Los" McGuay, the youngest of the three is a sucka for a big butt and a slim waist which is why he ended up being in love with a stripper. Kenethia "Fire" Atkins is one of the biggest exotic dancers in Dallas always headlining and bringing in plenty of cash. Fire loves her baby daddy Los, but she loves the limelight better. Refusing to give up the life and her sometimes bad girl ways, Fire that easily pushes Los into the hands of another woman. In this sequel of A Dopegirl Needs Love Too, love is proven to never be overrated when the heart of the streets is fighting for it.
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The Cartel Deluxe EditionAshley & JaQuavis
The port of Miami brings in millions of dollars’ worth of cocaine every year, and the Cartel controls eighty percent of it. The Diamond family is a force to be reckoned with, but all hell breaks loose when they lose their leader. The most ruthless gangster Miami has ever seen, Carter Diamond, leaves behind a wife, twin sons, a daughter, and a secret. The secret is his illegitimate son, Carter Jones. When young Carter learns of his father’s death, he comes to town and is introduced to the legacy of the Cartel Miamor is a woman who uses her beauty to enhance her skill as a contract killer. She is the leader of The Murder Mamas. When her crew is hired to take down the Cartel, they get caught slipping, and Miamor loses her sister in the process. She is determined to get revenge. Unknowingly, she meets the son of Carter Diamond, and he immediately catches her heart. She is sleeping with the enemy, and when she finds out, she is torn between love and revenge. Thus begins the saga of the Cartel, the New York Times bestselling series by street lit superstars Ashley & Jaquavis . Every book in the series is full of their trademark fast-paced drama, deceit, and plot twists that will leave you shocked. Now fans can relive the story of the Diamond family in this deluxe edition, with books one through three all under one cover.
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Life After DeathSister Souljah
INSTANT #1 NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER INSTANT USA TODAY BESTSELLER The long-anticipated sequel to Sister Souljah’s million copy New York Times bestseller The Coldest Winter Ever . Winter Santiaga hit time served. Still stunning, still pretty, still bold, still loves her father more than any man in the world, still got her hustle and high fashion flow. She’s eager to pay back her enemies, rebuild her father’s empire, reset his crown, and ultimately to snatch Midnight back into her life no matter which bitch had him while she was locked up. But Winter is not the only one with revenge on her mind. Simone, Winter’s young business partner and friend, is locked and loaded and Winter is her target. Will she blow Winter’s head off? Can Winter dodge the bullets? Or will at least one bullet blast Winter into another world? Either way Winter is fearless. Hell is the same as any hood and certainly the Brooklyn hood she grew up in. That’s what Winter thinks. A heartwarming, heart-burning, passionate, sexual, comical, and completely original adventure is about to happen in real time—raw, shocking, soulful, and shameless. True fans won’t let Winter travel alone on this amazing journey.
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Date for HireReese Ryan
When former high school classmates unexpectedly reunite, will it be a second chance at romance with her unrequited crush? When Amaya Walker hires a landscape designer, the last person she expects is her unrequited high school crush. She was the chubby nerd. He was the handsome heartbreaker who was out of her league. But now this plus-size diva is a record exec who’s calling the shots. Jet Thomas deeply regrets not asking Amaya out in high school, but as a client, she’s off-limits. Their rekindled friendship leads to a forbidden relationship, but can it survive insecurities, family obligations, and secrets from the past? Check out the other books in the series: Fiancé for Hire – Sharon C. Cooper Boyfriend for Hire – Delaney Diamond Date for Hire – Reese Ryan
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Love On The Low 10Mia Black
Royce has vowed to get out of the game, but it’s harder than he thinks to leave it all alone and move away and start building a legitimate business. As he and Mika reunite and try to forge a new path together, the lure of the streets and the fast-money life keeps pulling him back in. If he doesn’t reset and focus on what truly matters, he could lose everything including the woman who has remained by his side when things went bad. Will he make the right choice and finally marry Mika and live the kind of life they both deserve?
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The Thread CollectorsShaunna J. Edwards & Alyson Richman
“An unforgettable story of female strength, hope and friendship. This collaborative work is magnificent—a true revelation!” —Pam Jenoff, New York Times bestselling author of The Woman with the Blue Star “A brilliant story brimming with unexpected friendships and family ties. Historically sound and beautifully stitched, The Thread Collectors will stay with you long after the last page is turned.” —Sadeqa Johnson, international bestselling author of Yellow Wife 1863: In a small Creole cottage in New Orleans, an ingenious young Black woman named Stella embroiders intricate maps on repurposed cloth to help enslaved men flee and join the Union Army. Bound to a man who would kill her if he knew of her clandestine activities, Stella has to hide not only her efforts but her love for William, a Black soldier and a brilliant musician. Meanwhile, in New York City, a Jewish woman stitches a quilt for her husband, who is stationed in Louisiana with the Union Army. Between abolitionist meetings, Lily rolls bandages and crafts quilts with her sewing circle for other soldiers, too, hoping for their safe return home. But when months go by without word from her husband, Lily resolves to make the perilous journey South to search for him. As these two women risk everything for love and freedom during the brutal Civil War, their paths converge in New Orleans, where an unexpected encounter leads them to discover that even the most delicate threads have the capacity to save us. Loosely inspired by the authors' family histories, this stunning novel will stay with readers for a long time.
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Loving The Wrong Man 4Mia Black
After all they been through, Jazmine and Evan are now faced with a life altering event, that could end their budding romance forever. Find out what happens in the final installment of Loving The Wrong Man!
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Wired CourageToby Neal
If Lisbeth Salander and Jack Reacher had a Black/Thai love child…she would be SOPHIE. ✅ Brilliant hacker, MMA fighter, domestic abuse survivor, chronic depressive ✅ Likes kids and animals more than people ✅ Superpower: everyone falls in love with Sophie ✅ Likes to go off the grid and hide under a fake identity ✅ Never, never gives up on a case. Never. Paradise is stalked by a relentless evil. What would you do if your family was threatened? Sophie just wants to settle down with her unusual family—but a powerful presence sweeps in to steal her joy. At her most vulnerable physically and emotionally, Sophie must rise up to hunt down those who would take what's most precious to her. The boundaries of love and friendship are tested as the men in her life grapple with their roles, each trying to help—but in the end, it's Sophie who must face the darkness from her past and vanquish it. "The Paradise Crime books really should be picked up as a film script…they're that good!" ~ Nancy S., Reviewer
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Secrets Of A Sugar Baby 3Mia Black
Jae’s life is turned upside down when her secret relationship with Blake is exposed in the most devastating way. Jae doesn’t know if she will ever be able to make up for what happened, but the one thing she can do is find out who revealed her shocking secret. Find out what happens in part three of Secrets Of A Sugar Baby!
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The Thing About HomeRhonda McKnight
Home is not a place—it’s a feeling. Casey Black needs an escape. When her picture-perfect vow renewal ceremony ends in her being left at the altar, the former model turned social media influencer has new fame—the kind she never wanted. An embarrassing viral video has cost her millions of followers, and her seven-year marriage is over. With her personal and business lives in shambles, Casey runs from New York City to South Carolina’s Lowcountry hoping to find long-lost family. Family who can give her more answers about her past than her controlling mom-slash-manager has ever been willing to share. What Casey doesn’t expect is a postcard-worthy property on a three-hundred-acre farm, history, culture, and a love of sweet tea. She spends her days caring for the land and her nights cooking much needed Southern comfort foods. She also meets Nigel, the handsome farm manager whose friendship has become everything she’s never had. And then there are the secrets her mother can no longer hide. Through the pages of her great-grandmother’s journals, Casey discovers her roots run deeper than the Lowcountry soil. She learns that she has people. A home. A legacy to uphold. And a great new love story—if only she is brave enough to leave her old life behind. “. . . a beautifully written story about family, self-discovery, secrets, and forgiveness.” —Kimberla Lawson Roby, New York Times bestselling author Inspiring contemporary fictionStand-alone novelBook length: approximately 100,000 wordsIncludes discussion questions for book clubs
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Thug Lovin'Wahida Clark
The hood's favorite power couple moves to LA and finds big money -- and major temptation -- in the fourth book of Wahida Clark's thrilling series perfect for fans of Love & Hip Hop . Tasha and Trae, the hood's favorite couple, are still together following the events of Thug Matrimony. Even with their relocation to sunny Los Angeles, the drama of New York cannot be escaped. From running a nightclub to dealing with models, shady lawyers, big money, new kinds of temptations, seductions, and drugs-not to mention new love interests-can this infamous couple weather all the storms and keep it together?
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Kiss in the WindDanielle Stewart
Looking back can seem daunting. Moving forward can seem impossible. With an old friend back in her life, will Betty hold on to yesterday even if it tears her apart? The past can’t be rewritten, but the world can be changed—especially if Betty and her family in Edenville have anything to do with it.
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The Last Days of Ptolemy GreyWalter Mosley
A masterful, moving novel about age, memory, and family from one of the literary icons of our time . Coming in March 2022 from Apple Plus , a six-part series starring Samuel L. Jackson Ptolemy Grey is ninety-one years old and has been all but forgotten-by his family, his friends, even himself-as he sinks into a lonely dementia. His grand-nephew, Ptolemy's only connection to the outside world, was recently killed in a drive-by shooting, and Ptolemy is too suspicious of anyone else to allow them into his life. until he meets Robyn, his niece's seventeen-year-old lodger and the only one willing to take care of an old man at his grandnephew's funeral. But Robyn will not tolerate Ptolemy's hermitlike existence. She challenges him to interact more with the world around him, and he grasps more firmly onto his disappearing consciousness. However, this new activity pushes Ptolemy into the fold of a doctor touting an experimental drug that guarantees Ptolemy won't live to see age ninety- two but that he'll spend his last days in feverish vigor and clarity. With his mind clear, what Ptolemy finds-in his own past, in his own apartment, and in the circumstances surrounding his grand-nephew's death-is shocking enough to spur an old man to action, and to ensure a legacy that no one will forget. In The Last Days of Ptolemy Grey , Mosley captures the compromised state of his protagonist's mind with profound sensitivity and insight, and creates an unforgettable pair of characters at the center of a novel that is sure to become a true contemporary classic.
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In Sheep's ClothingMary Monroe
A restless young woman thinks she's found a free ride to happiness and adventure. But it's a trip that may land her in prison—or worse. . . When Trudy Bell lands a job at a travel agency, she feels like a new woman. And her friendly personality soon wins her the adoration of her colleagues—with one exception. Ann Oliver, the only other African American employee, a high-level manager who despises Trudy's low-income background. But no one is going to ruin Trudy's new life. In fact, she's found a way to make it even better. As a secretary, Trudy has easy access to company credit cards. Including Ann's. . . Before long Trudy's leading a double-life—Ann's life—complete with a secret apartment where she entertains the men she meets at upscale bars. But their worlds collide the night Trudy brings home the wrong man—one who has an angry score to settle. With Ann. Now, unless Trudy can convince him she's not the woman he's after, she may pay the highest price of all. . . "Monroe serves up a tasty dish of murder, deception, lust, and just desserts."— Library Journal on She Had it Coming "Monroe's richly drawn characters will stay with readers long after the book is finished."— Booklist
51
LuxeAshley Antoinette
From the New York Times bestseller Ashley Antoinette, author of the Prada Plan series comes a boldly fierce and strikingly dramatic novel, Luxe. Bleu Montclair knew as a young girl that she would one day escape the hard, unrelenting streets of Flint, Michigan, and when her desperate prayers are answered in the form of a scholarship to UCLA, Bleu knows she's struck gold. But soon after arriving, all her beautiful, bright dreams begin to fall apart. Endless temptations abound in the form of cars, clothes, booze, drugs, and Bleu cannot keep up. When her roommate gives her the opportunity to make a lot of money fast, Bleu goes all in-and heads straight down a path of violence and addiction that only her newest protector, Iman, can save her from.
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EnvyVictoria Christopher Murray
The 7 Deadly Sins series that inspired four Lifetime original movies continues with this thrilling novel following a woman who wants more than just a relationship from her newly discovered half-sister—she wants her life . A heart at peace gives life to the body, but envy rots the bones. Gabrielle Wilson has the perfect life: a Beverly Hills mansion, a loving family, and a massively successful PR firm. When her father admits that an affair he had years before resulted in a daughter, Gabrielle is shocked, but is actually happy . Could this be the sister she has been praying for all her life? Keisha Jones’s life is a struggle. Her late mother worked on the streets, and school was its own nightmare. When Gabrielle offers to fly Keisha out of Arkansas to meet the family, Keisha instantly agrees. But Gabrielle doesn’t realize that Keisha has known about the Wilsons for years. Keisha is determined to have everything she has always envied, and nothing can stand in her way. Includes a reading group guide with an author Q&A and discussion questions for book clubs.
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Face Off - The Baddest Chick Part 4Nisa Santiago
Clash of the Twins The relentless rivals Apple and Kola are back in business, and it's about to get real. With her traumatic experiences in Mexico over, Apple is back to being the baddest. Now she's determined to make her tormentors pay for the torture she endured, and no one is prepared for the terrifying takedown she's planning for those she once loved. Kola is dominating the streets of Miami, but the haters and South Beach cartels are itching to see her leave, dead or alive. When she finds betrayal in an unlikely place, she's motivated to come out on top and put Miami on notice. Apple and Kola rage fiery warfare against the enemies determined to bring them down. But now, both contenders stronger than ever, will have to Face Off once and for all.
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His Dirty Secret 3: Kim's StoryMia Black
After many more passion-filled encounters with Lloyd, Kim is all in and can’t see herself with anyone but him. Yet things quickly changes when Lloyd suddenly goes ghost on her. With Kim not being able to get a hold of him and him not calling, this causes her to ponder how events have played out between the two. Did she scare him off? Or did Lloyd just reveal his true colors? Find out what happens in part three of His Dirty Secret: Kim's Story!
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His Dirty Secret 3Mia Black
As if Jayla’s life isn’t complicated enough, now Keon has been hurt. With him to care for in spite of their rocky relationship, it’s all Jayla can do to keep her emotions under control. Sleeping with Darius again wasn’t the brightest idea, but she can’t help herself. She loves him, and, his story is so convincing. But loving the wrong man can bring a new set of problems for Jayla, more dangerous than she can imagine! Find out what happens next in part three of His Dirty Secret!
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The Crime Beat: MiamiA.C. Fuller
A brilliant reporter, haunted by her husband's death... A disgraced cop, tangled in a web of lies... Two unlikely heroes. One unthinkable crime. The Crime Beat, Episode 3: Miami Arriving in Little Havana in Miami, Cole creates a list of potential victims while Warren tracks down an old confidential informant. Desperate to reach a reclusive financier, Cole then makes an unusual friend, who leads her on a wild-goose chase through Miami. All the while, news is breaking around the world that implicates Cole and Warren in the killings, and a mysterious pair has followed them to Miami. Perfect for readers of Michael Connelly and fans of True Detective or Jack Ryan, The Crime Beat is your next bingeable series from bestselling author A.C. Fuller. Get Episode 3 now! The Crime Beat is a nine-episode novella series, designed to be read in order and in its entirety. Although each episode tells a complete portion of the story, the nine novellas--read together--weave one unforgettable tale.
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His Dirty Secret 11Mia Black
Once again, Jayla finds herself questioning why. Why can’t her love life ever be normal and why does it always end up in drastic extremes? Deep downs she cares for Shane, but Jayla still don't know if they can ever get together to have their happy ending and live the life she actually yearns. With so much that has transpired, Jayla will have to decide if she wants to push their tumultuous past to the side and give him another chance, or to walk away from love all together. Find out what happens in the final installment of His Dirty Secret!
58
The One Who Loves MeJoan Embola
IS GOD SOVEREIGN OVER LOVE STORIES? Amara Ikezie is a new grad nurse who is thrilled to start her dream job in Atlanta's biggest children's hospital. But when her best friend gets engaged, Amara is faced with the looming pressure from her mom to find her own man. Determined to escape the pressure to marry, Amara takes on a task to find the 'perfect' man who ticks all the boxes on her list. Raymond Aderinto is a pediatric cardiologist with a wall of accolades and a string of failed relationships. After his fourth girlfriend dumps him, Raymond vows to get confirmation from God first before entering into his next relationship—even though he'd love to find his bride before turning thirty. When Raymond spills coffee on Amara's scrubs, he becomes certain she's the woman God wants to be his wife. But unfortunately for him, Raymond doesn't tick Amara's boxes, and worst of all, Amara is sure her Igbo mom would never approve of a marriage to a man from the Yoruba tribe. Despite Amara's efforts to stay away from Raymond and convince herself he is not the one for her, her growing attraction for his character, values, and vision gives her more reasons to wonder if she was wrong about her prejudices toward him. When another doctor walks into Amara's life who ticks all her boxes and shows interest in her, she is caught between running into his 'perfect' arms, or going with Raymond who is turning out to be more perfect than she thought. The One Who Loves Me , book two in the Sovereign Love series, is a beautiful standalone novel about surrender and learning to take comfort in the sovereign goodness of a loving God who writes the best love stories.
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Rozalyn 5Myss Shan
While Tamar is down, Rozalyn is forced to become the business woman she's always dreamed of... except the business she gets into she knows nothing about. Rozalyn makes a huge mistake that puts a dagger in her and Tamar's relationship that could possibly end them for good. Her lack of knowledge for the game threatens to tarnish Tamar's reputation and leaves him with deciding if this will be the end of his reign. But of course with Tamar, things are never easy. He loves the power and respect more than he loves the money and refuses to settle for anything less than being King of the Streets. One phone call from a beauty by the name of Keysha causes Tamar to revert back to a place that he'd left in his rearview--the ATL. Keysha has everything that Tamar needs to get back on top, but there is only one problem--she wants Tamar for herself and doesn't want to share him---not even with Rozalyn. Will Rozalyn give up the man she's gone through so much for or will she put up a fight? Will the two of them get their happy ending or will Keysha have Tamar all to herself? Latoya has realized the damage she's caused and desperately wants to make things right with Taron. She pays for one of the best legal teams in Miami to fight his federal case hoping he would forgive her for her part in Journey's suicide. But when Tamar lets Taron know that he needs him in the ATL, will Latoya let him leave or will she result to desperate measures to keep him around. With Erica now in prison for almost killing Jamir's brother, Justice, Passion now has Jamir right where she wants him. Things are going good until he's made aware that Erica's life is now in danger. Also, what happens once Erica exposes Passion's secret?
60
Sassafrass, Cypress & IndigoNtozake Shange
Ntozake Shange's beloved Sassafrass, Cypress & Indigo is the story of three sisters and their mother from Charleston, South Carolina. "A jubilant celebration of womanhood—as moving as the moon . . . pure magic." -- Kansas City Star Ntozake Shange's beloved Sassafrass, Cypress & Indigo is the story of three sisters and their mother from Charleston, South Carolina. Sassafrass, the oldest, is a poet and a weaver like her mother before her. Having gone north to college, she is now living with other artists in Los Angeles and trying to weave a life out of her work, her man, her memories and dreams. Cypress, the dancer, leaves home to find new ways of moving in the world. Indigo, the youngest, is still a child of Charleston-"too much of the south in her"-who lives in poetry and has the supreme gift of seeing the obvious magic of the world. Shange's rich and wondrous story of womanhood, art, and passionately-lived lives is written "with such exquisite care and beauty that anybody can relate to her message" ( The New York Times ).
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The FixK'wan
What would you do if you felt like you were dying and the only thing that could save you was the very thing that was killing you? Persia Chandler doesn't know the meaning of the world struggle. After the arrest of her notorious father, she is whisked away from Harlem, the only place she has ever called home, to be raised in an affluent neighborhood in Long Island City. Her mother and stepfather shower her with the best that life has to offer. During her senior year in high school, she convinces her parents to let her transfer from Catholic school to attend public school. That is the start of her problems—but it's hardly the end. In her new school, Persia is reunited with the friends she was forced to move away from, and starts to drift further and further from the life her mother and stepfather have built for her. To the sheltered Persia, the Harlem underworld is like one big adventure. Things promise to get even more interesting when she starts dating a dealer named Chucky. He introduces her to his world of sex, money, and drugs, dragging Persia along with him on a long and bitter ride into the bowels of addiction.
62
What She Don't Know 3Mia Black
Remi took a risk. Now she has to pay the consequences. Kaiden thought he had it all under control. Little did it know that the person in full control is the woman he scorned. One phone call changes everything, and now he has a real problem on his hands. With so much trouble swirling around them, another twist in their sorted tale is about to turn everything upside down. Are they strong enough to withstand this latest surprise? Find out what happens in part three of What She Don't Know!
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Message from a MistressNiobia Bryant
From national bestselling author Niobia Bryant comes a sexy, unforgettable novel about love, infidelity, and the importance of keeping your friends close—and your enemies closer. . . Through good times and bad, longtime friends Jaime, Renee, Aria, and Jessa have shared just about everything. But all hell breaks loose when Jessa texts them a shocking revelation: she's been sharing her bed—with one of their husbands. Worse, she refuses to name which husband. And all three wives believe they have reason to worry. . . The betrayed trio vow to stick together. But before the identity of Jessa's lover is revealed, each woman's deepest secrets will be exposed for all to see—and they'll need each other more than ever. "A fast-paced, sexy romp." —APOOO Book Club "Grabs your attention from the first page." —The RAWSISTAZ Reviewers "This novel is packed with unbelievable drama that will capture readers from page one." — Books 2 Mention Magazine
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Pitbulls In A SkirtMikal Malone
Meet The Pitbulls! Mercedes - I love Cameron. And, I love everything about the drug game. I don't even have a problem with my son Lil C being put on when he's ready. I'm that down chick men dream about. But, if pushed I have an evil streak too. Believe it. Kenyetta - I'm easy going. You know the kinda girl who doesn't like a whole lot of drama. But I m also loyal. To a fault. But when needed, I also know how to flip the script. As long as Dyson is loyal to me I m care free. But if not, well...that's another story. Yvette - I run Emerald City! These n****s betta respect me like they respect my man Thick! I ain't got no problem busting my gun if I have to. But at the end of the night, I'm still a woman. Who needs to be loved. But sometimes I think he forgets. Carissa - I'm the cute one. The one they wouldn't expect to break bad. Sometimes I think my beauty is my curse. At the same time, it's what drew Lavelle to me. I'm still down for my girls, no matter what. I just hope I don t have to choose between them and my man. Pray for me. Meet The Emerald City Squad Cameron - I just wanna make this paper, stay on my grind and take care of my family. I just hate when Mercedes keeps pushing me about moving her out of Emerald City. Hell she got everything a hustler's wife could dream of. So what's the problem? Dyson - I m not feeling the exclusive thing. I mean, I'll defend what's mine, but sometimes I want to be set free. You know, to do my own thing. So if asked to choose the money or my woman for me it'll be a toss up. We ll see. Thick - Sometimes my squad is too soft! I hate that they trip off of what their women say. We have an operation to run. If I'm asked to choose between the paper or Yvette my decision is made. I can live without a woman, but I can t live without that old mighty dollar. Lavelle - I m not a sucker for love. I just care about my girl. I hate that it's is all or nothing with my crew. I guess I m riding stuff out and trying to believe our motto. The Emerald City Squad For Life.
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PaparazziMiss KP
Being Kennedi Kramer, the main girl of drug Lord, Sharrod Jones has its ups and downs. The jewels, cars, and furs were a way of life until tragedy struck, destroying their empire, and landing Kennedi in unlikely situation. Soon, she decides to leave everything she once knew behind, including her son, to start a new life on the West Coast. In comes Malcolm, a powerful celebrity with a lot of drama and secrets of his own. Kennedi learns the hard way that all that glitters ain t gold. As things spiral out of control, Kennedi works hard at keeping her dark past hidden, but there's nothing that can protect her from the mark Sharrod has put on her life.
66
His First WifeGrace Octavia
Reprinted Edition Kerry Jackson knows exactly where the other woman lives--the one her husband, Jamison, denies exists. He tried to convince Kerry that pregnancy is making her paranoid. But out at 5 A.M., she's determined to catch him in the act. Instead she ends up arrested, wondering how she went from wealthy Atlanta debutante to jilted wife. But the stakes are too high for regrets, even if it means igniting a chain of events that will have shocking consequences for everyone. Because Kerry is Jamison's first wife, and she plans to be his last, even if it means taking her biggest gamble ever. "Octavia creates a wonderful story of love, betrayal and life." --APOOO Book Club Includes bonus material!
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Exposing Her Secrets 4Kia Summers
Years have passed since Reeva nearly ruined her life, but now at twenty-nine-years old, things haven’t changed much. She’s still looking for the next thrill-ride and giving into bodily temptations. If she doesn’t change her way soon, she’s destined to keep repeating the same mistakes for the rest of her life. She doesn’t know whether she’s tired of fast life or tired of living with consequences, but no matter what it is, Reeva knows she’s running out of time. God had always somehow pulled her threw, will HE help her to jump the largest hurdle of all and finally get her life together?
68
Good Girl Gone BadDanette Majette
Most people think when you say, I do all problems come to an end. When happily ever after seems impossible, three women transform from good girls to bad women. Just when they think they ve made it out of the grimy streets to a more ideal lifestyle in the suburbs, their lavish lives turn sour. Unfortunately, for the sexy threesome they are all suddenly faced with financial hardships that land them between a rock and a hard place. While Alyse and her husband Lance live paycheck to paycheck with barely any money to make ends meet, Jazmine gets brutally abused daily by her husband Vince, a well respected police officer by day and a drug addicted maniac by night. Then there's Roslynn a compulsive shopper who's used to a pampered life style. Roslynn all of a sudden has to make a change when her big secret destroys her marriage. With nowhere to turn, they all mastermind an elaborate scheme to get the money they so desperately need. They plunge themselves into a ruthless game of sex, betrayal, and survival. No one suspects them of any wrong doing until their plan goes terribly wrong. Join these three ladies on an exciting journey from the good life to the desperate life.
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Scandalous Acts 2Kia Summers
Tianna’s marriage to Eric may be over, but that doesn’t mean she can’t pursue a deeper relationship with Derron. As they grow closer, things become more complicated between her and her ex. She wants to keep the restaurant going, but the only way she knows to do that is to continue with her questionable behavior. It’s worked for her so far, but as the pressure grows, she finds her new relationship on shaky ground because God will expose her. Will her secret tactics to remain control of one aspect of her life destroy what could be the best relationship she’s ever had? See what happens next in Scandalous Acts 2: The Tianna Fox Story!
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Days of Rage: A Smokey Dalton NovelKris Nelscott
"Kris Nelscott can lay claim to the strongest series of detective novels now being written by an American author." Salon Chicago, 1969: The trial of eight protestors from the Democratic Convention the previous year has the whole world watching—and all of Chicagoland on edge. Smokey Dalton feels the pressure: more cops on the streets, more FBI in his neighborhood. But when the landlord at one of Sturdy Investments' South Side properties dies alone in his apartment, Smokey agrees to investigate. He finds old human bones in the basement, along with hints of more. Smokey and his girlfriend, Sturdy's CEO Laura Hathaway, worry that Laura's father knew who used that basement and why. Without involving law enforcement, they decide to hold a thorough investigation and discover secrets they never ever imagined, secrets that could threaten Smokey, Laura, Sturdy, and one of Chicago's greatest institutions. Secrets worth killing for. "When Kris Nelscott started her impressive series about Smokey Dalton…, many critics and readers wondered how long she could keep up the pace. Days of Rage, her sixth book in the Dalton series, indicates there seems to be no end in sight." — Chicago Tribune Read the whole gripping series: A Dangerous Road, Book 1 Smoke-Filled Rooms, Book 2 Thin Walls, Book 3 Stone Cribs, Book 4 War at Home, Book 5 Days of Rage, Book 6 Street Justice, Book 7 Kris Nelscott is an open pen name used by New York Times bestselling author Kristine Kathryn Rusch. The first Smokey Dalton novel, A Dangerous Road , won the Herodotus Award for Best Historical Mystery and was short-listed for the Edgar Award for Best Novel; the second, Smoke-Filled Rooms , was a PNBA Book Award finalist; and the third, Thin Walls , was one of the Chicago Tribune's best mysteries of the year. Kirkus chose Days of Rage as one of the top ten mysteries of the year and it was also nominated for a Shamus award for The Best Private Eye Hardcover Novel of the Year. Entertainment Weekly says her equals are Walter Mosley and Raymond Chandler. Booklist calls the Smokey Dalton books "a high-class crime series" and Salon says "Kris Nelscott can lay claim to the strongest series of detective novels now being written by an American author."
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Secrets Of A Kingpin's Daughter 2Mia Black
Courtney knew it would happen, but now she’s not sure falling in love with Antoine was such a good idea. How can she love a man that she can’t trust? Until she can be sure, she must keep him at a safe distance, but that proves to be more difficult than she thought. More love, lies, and secrets will be revealed in part two of Secrets Of A Kingpin’s Daughter!
72
Summer FlingJ. Nichole
Frustratingly Single. That's how Laila entered her summer internship in Jacksonville. It's been a few months since she last heard from her ex-boyfriend, and now Laila is ready to mingle. She meets a couple of guys -- an alum from her university, and an NFL football player. As interesting as they both are, she finds herself reconnected with her high school crush. Is the crush just a fling, or will it be something that will last?
73
They Can't Take Your NameRobert Justice
Laced with atmospheric poetry and literature and set in the heart of Denver's black community, this gripping crime novel pits three characters in a race against time to thwart a gross miscarriage of justice—and a crooked detective who wreaks havoc…with deadly consequences. What happens to a deferred dream—especially when an innocent man's life hangs in the balance? Langston Brown is running out of time and options for clearing his name and escaping death row. Wrongfully convicted of the gruesome Mother's Day Massacre, he prepares to face his death. His final hope for salvation lies with his daughter, Liza, an artist who dreamed of a life of music and song but left the prestigious Juilliard School to pursue a law degree with the intention of clearing her father's name. Just as she nears success, it's announced that Langston will be put to death in thirty days. In a desperate bid to find freedom for her father, Liza enlists the help of Eli Stone, a jazz club owner she met at the classic Five Points venue, The Roz. Devastated by the tragic loss of his wife, Eli is trying to find solace by reviving the club…while also wrestling with the longing to join her in death. Everyone has a dream that might come true—but as the dark shadows of the past converge, could Langston, Eli, and Liza be facing a danger that could shatter those dreams forever?
74
This Other Eden: A NovelPaul Harding
Shortlisted for the 2023 Booker Prize Longlisted for the 2023 National Book Award for Fiction From the Pulitzer Prize–winning author of Tinkers, a novel inspired by the true story of Malaga Island, an isolated island off the coast of Maine that became one of the first racially integrated towns in the Northeast. In 1792, formerly enslaved Benjamin Honey and his Irish wife, Patience, discover an island where they can make a life together. Over a century later, the Honeys’ descendants and a diverse group of neighbors are desperately poor, isolated, and often hungry, but nevertheless protected from the hostility awaiting them on the mainland. During the tumultuous summer of 1912, Matthew Diamond, a retired, idealistic but prejudiced schoolteacher-turned-missionary, disrupts the community’s fragile balance through his efforts to educate its children. His presence attracts the attention of authorities on the mainland who, under the influence of the eugenics-thinking popular among progressives of the day, decide to forcibly evacuate the island, institutionalize its residents, and develop the island as a vacation destination. Beginning with a hurricane flood reminiscent of the story of Noah’s Ark, the novel ends with yet another Ark. In prose of breathtaking beauty and power, Paul Harding brings to life an unforgettable cast of characters: Iris and Violet McDermott, sisters raising three orphaned Penobscot children; Theophilus and Candace Larks and their brood of vagabond children; the prophetic Zachary Hand to God Proverbs, a Civil War veteran who lives in a hollow tree; and more. A spellbinding story of resistance and survival, This Other Eden is an enduring testament to the struggle to preserve human dignity in the face of intolerance and injustice.
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The Sweetness of Water (Oprah's Book Club)Nathan Harris
An Instant New York Times bestseller / An Oprah’s Book Club Pick In the spirit of The Known World and The Underground Railroad , an award-winning “miraculous debut” ( Washington Post ) about the unlikely bond between two freedmen who are brothers and the Georgia farmer whose alliance will alter their lives, and his, forever In the waning days of the Civil War, brothers Prentiss and Landry—freed by the Emancipation Proclamation—seek refuge on the homestead of George Walker and his wife, Isabelle. The Walkers, wracked by the loss of their only son to the war, hire the brothers to work their farm, hoping through an unexpected friendship to stanch their grief. Prentiss and Landry, meanwhile, plan to save money for the journey north and a chance to reunite with their mother, who was sold away when they were boys. Parallel to their story runs a forbidden romance between two Confederate soldiers. The young men, recently returned from the war to the town of Old Ox, hold their trysts in the woods. But when their secret is discovered, the resulting chaos, including a murder, unleashes convulsive repercussions on the entire community. In the aftermath of so much turmoil, it is Isabelle who emerges as an unlikely leader, proffering a healing vision for the land and for the newly free citizens of Old Ox. With candor and sympathy, debut novelist Nathan Harris creates an unforgettable cast of characters, depicting Georgia in the violent crucible of Reconstruction. Equal parts beauty and terror, as gripping as it is moving, The Sweetness of Water is an epic whose grandeur locates humanity and love amid the most harrowing circumstances. One of President Obama's Favorite Books of 2021 Winner of the Ernest J. Gaines Award for Literary Excellence Winner of the Willie Morris Award for Southern Fiction Winner of the Writers’ League of Texas Book Award for Fiction Longlisted for the Man Booker Prize Shortlisted for the Dylan Thomas Prize Shortlisted for the VCU Cabell First Novelist Award Longlisted for the 2022 Carnegie Medal for Excellence Longlisted for the Center for Fiction First Novel Prize Longlisted for the Crook’s Corner Book Prize A Best Book of the Year: Oprah Daily, NPR, Washington Post, Time, Boston Globe , Smithsonian, Chicago Public Library, BookBrowse, and the Oregonian A N ew York Times Book Review Editors' Choice A July 2021 Indie Next Pick
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Addicted to A Dirty South ThugMyss Shan
After being so In love with a thug named Rue, Cuba Lance ends up doing 3 years in prison after he places blame on her for one tragic night that took place. Now that she's home, she's ready to move on with her life. Her cousin Tangie has a job waiting for her and gives her a place to stay. Everything is more than what she could've asked for. But when loneliness sets in, she feels like she's missing something. She vowed after her last relationship that she was done with thugs and all things hood, but when she runs into the sexy, Khi with the cocky and dirty south swag, she realizes that it's something about a bad boy that she can't get enough of. She's convinced herself that there is no need to stop what seems meant to be. But will it be another mistake and this time will she get away with her life? Khian "Khi" Prince is just one of the Prince brothers that has the ladies going crazy. He's a certified boss with what seems to be the weight of the world on his shoulders. His job is to ensure that he and his brothers maintain their status in the streets along with caring for his 2 baby mamas and the kids he shares with them. After failing at love twice, Khi's not ready to give up on finding his queen just yet and when running into Cuba, he's for certain he has finally gotten it right. But when Cuba mends his heart to only be the cause of shattering it all over again, will Khi give up on love once and for all, or will he fight to keep the woman that he feels is everything he's been looking for? Daelan "Dae" Prince is the ultimate bad boy with pretty boy looks and a no nonsense type of attitude. He's feared by many men and lusted after by plenty of women, which he can't get enough of. With the love of his life Amber by his side and their 5-year old son, Daelan seems to have his happily ever after but things are never what they seem. Daelan can't seem to stop messing up. After one bad decision after the other, his loved ones are always there to pick up the shattered pieces he constantly leaves behind. But what happens when Daelan makes a decision that puts he and the lives of everyone around him in danger, will his brothers be there to save him once again? Amber has been with Daelan for five long years. Her high school sweetheart was once sweet and charming, but the streets had a way of changing and hardening a person and that's exactly what happened to Daelan at least that's what Amber believes. With all the lies, cheating, and beatings amongst other things, Amber has always stuck by Daelan's side. She was addicted to him and always forgave him no matter how hurt it left her in the end. But when Daelan does the unthinkable, will Amber be able to walk away from the only love she's ever known or will she once again forgive him? Kaedee Prince, not only is he known in the streets along with his brothers, but also in the courtroom as one not to be messed with. With his wife Deonna by his side, they run the most sought out law firm in the city. Kaedee knew that getting his degree in law would somehow come in handy for he and his brothers, but never once did he think his wife Deonna would ever need his services. Hit with money laundering charges from business she did with her ex, Tyrin Walker, a drug kingpin out of Florida, Deonna learns that your past doesn't always stay behind you. When Tyrin shows up in her husband's office, Deonna finds herself in love with two men at the same time. Straddling both sides of the fence has never been good for anyone and Deonna finds that out the hard way. She's forced to pick the one to have her heart, but when that decision lands someone in a grave, are the Prince brothers ready for a war? Welcome to the life of the Prince Brothers and feel what it's like to be Addicted to A Dirty South Thug.
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A Lesson Before DyingErnest J. Gaines
NATIONAL BOOK CRITICS CIRCLE AWARD WINNER • A deep and compassionate novel about a young man who returns to 1940s Cajun country to visit a Black youth on death row for a crime he didn't commit. Together they come to understand the heroism of resisting. "An instant classic." — Chicago Tribune A “majestic, moving novel...an instant classic, a book that will be read, discussed and taught beyond the rest of our lives" ( Chicago Tribune), from the critically acclaimed author of A Gathering of Old Men and The Autobiography of Miss Jane Pittman. " A Lesson Before Dying reconfirms Ernest J. Gaines's position as an important American writer. " —Boston Globe " Enormously moving.... Gaines unerringly evokes the place and time about which he writes ." —Los Angeles Times “A quietly moving novel [that] takes us back to a place we've been before to impart a lesson for living.” — San Francisco Chronicle
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The Family Business 6Carl Weber & La Jill Hunt
New York Times bestselling author Carl Weber and Essence bestseller La Jill Hunt return with a story of love, money, power, and respect in the next addition of the popular Family Business series. Five years ago, Orlando Duncan created the perfect drug in HEAT. It made the Duncans more than two hundred and fifty million dollars and was on its way to making them billionaires. However, they abruptly stopped manufacturing the drug when it was proven to cause cancer in rats. Yes, even as drug distributors, they still had a moral compass, placing lives over profit despite the overwhelming demand. When Orlando is awakened by an alarm in his old lab, he discovers that not only have all his computers, equipment, and notes been stolen, but the robbers have also taken over a million tabs of HEAT that he’d left behind for future experiments—tabs that he had sworn to his family he would destroy. Dr. Brandi Richardson is one of the most brilliant research chemists in the world, but her propensity for cutting corners led to her firing from both Dow Chemicals and Dupont. She’s now working at CVS as a clerk, but things are about to change for her in a big way. Billionaire Alexander Cora is known as the Moor by business associates and enemies. His company, Cora International, is a publicly traded EU defense contractor. It is also a front for one of the largest weapons, drugs, and illegal contraband smuggling rings in the world. For some reason, he has set his sights on the Duncan family. That can’t be good, because Alexander plays for keeps, and he has not been known to lose. Niles Monroe, the handsome hit man and Paris Duncan’s one true love, is back from the dead, and it’s only a matter of time before he comes looking for her. These rich and powerful people are on a collision course. When the dust settles, who will still be alive, and who will be on top?
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S.A. CosbyAll the Sinners Bleed
#1 New York Times Bestseller USA Today Bestseller INSTANT NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER “Fresh and exhilarating. . . Cosby keeps his eye on the story and the pedal to the metal.” —Stephen King, TheNew York Times Book Review A Black sheriff. A serial killer. A small town ready to combust. The new novel from New York Times bestselling and Los Angeles Times Book Prize-winning author S. A. Cosby, "one of the most muscular, distinctive, grab-you-by-both-ears voices in American crime fiction.” —Washington Post. “An atmospheric pressure cooker.” —People Titus Crown is the first Black sheriff in the history of Charon County, Virginia. In recent decades, quiet Charon has had only two murders. But after years of working as an FBI agent, Titus knows better than anyone that while his hometown might seem like a land of moonshine, cornbread, and honeysuckle, secrets always fester under the surface. Then a year to the day after Titus’s election, a school teacher is killed by a former student and the student is fatally shot by Titus’s deputies. As Titus investigates the shootings, he unearths terrible crimes and a serial killer who has been hiding in plain sight, haunting the dirt lanes and woodland clearings of Charon. With the killer’s possible connections to a local church and the town’s harrowing history weighing on him, Titus projects confidence about closing the case while concealing a painful secret from his own past. At the same time, he also has to contend with a far-right group that wants to hold a parade in celebration of the town’s Confederate history. Charon is Titus’s home and his heart. But where faith and violence meet, there will be a reckoning. Powerful and unforgettable, All the Sinners Bleed confirms S. A. Cosby as “one of the most muscular, distinctive, grab-you-by-both-ears voices in American crime fiction” (The Washington Post).
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Wired HardToby Neal
WIRED ROGUE, Book 2, is zero pennies! Grab that one too! If Lisbeth Salander and Jack Reacher had a Black/Thai love child…she would be SOPHIE. ✅ Brilliant hacker, MMA fighter, domestic abuse survivor, chronic depressive ✅ Likes kids and animals more than people ✅ Goes off the grid and hides under a fake identity ✅ Never, never gives up on a case. Never. Paradise hides a thief with an obsession. What would you do to save something priceless? Security specialist Sophie Ang has a new case: someone is looting artifacts from a royal Hawaiian archaeological site on Maui. Things get deadly fast, and Sophie's friend, Detective Lei Texeira, takes the case. The women track a killer whose tangled motives extend high into the world of Hawaiian cultural affairs, and deep into the darkest of human motivations—and all the while, Sophie walks a tightrope between new love and heartbreak. "Neal's female leads are strong, fierce, independent and fabulous although rough around the edges. She writes with such exquisite detail...immersing you into the island surroundings as though you are there. Exhilarating, suspenseful, thrilling, fast paced, action packed, easy flow, engaging, immersive, vulnerable, and scintillating." ~ F. Thorn, reviewer
81
My First Love Was A SavageMyss Shan
Cassiana "Cash" Lowes has been with her boyfriend A'Neeko "Neeko" Harley since middle school. They were inseparable and knew that their love story would go on forever. Well that was until Cash's back was against the wall causing her to commit a crime she never thought she would commit. Forced into the penal system, Cash can now only keep up with Neeko through the pages of the letters that she sends him every week. They say that when you're locked up, time seems to sit still while everyone in the outside is moving on without you. And that's exactly what Neeko did... Neeko is the youngest of 3 Harley boys. Although he loves his girlfriend Cash to the death of him, the streets and time changed him, forcing him into a lifestyle that he's sure was meant for him. The streets were never the same once the Harley boys marked their territory. Getting money hand over fist was nothing to them. Their only feat was the bad chicks and vexed ni**s that wouldn't stop coming for them. Neeko thought that he had the love of his life and had treated any woman he encountered as temporary, until Cash came home, but when he meets Blanco, feelings unexpectedly becomes involved. Blanco forces Cash to stay far in the back of Neeko's mind, with only the pages of her letters as remnants of her. Years later, Cash returns home only to see that Neeko has changed and moved on completely without her. Cash is now forced to catch up and move on with her life, as well. Although hurt, it doesn't take her long to meet someone willing to love every messed up part of her. But what happens when Neeko suddenly finds himself in the same position as Cash was earlier, will she ride for him or will her new love interest Giani already have her heart?
82
Hold You DownTracy Brown
Hold You Down is an edgy novel from rising star Tracy Brown about the perils of love and the ties that bind… New York City. Late 1980s to early 1990s. Mercy and Lenox Howard have always only had each other. Growing up on the mean streets of Harlem with an absentee mother meant that they had to have each other's backs. Now young, smart mothers they are determined to survive in New York City while raising their two sons, who have bright futures ahead of them. Mercy is the quiet, straight laced hospital administrator, struggling to make ends meet. At night and on weekends, she pours her heart into her cooking and her dream of owning her own restaurant. Lenox is the diva, the wild child, looking for excitement and her big come up in life and love. Their boys, Deon and Judah, have been raised more like brothers than cousins, forging a bond that is unbreakable. When Lenox heads down a path that she believes will bring success and power, it changes the entire course of her life and her family’s life forever. As a result of their mother’s choices, cousins Deon and Judah soon find themselves in uncharted territory.
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Honor Thy BossCharmanie Saquea
Trust and loyalty are two key factors that Boss, the king of the mean Detroit streets, live by. When the only woman to ever steal his heart goes against him, leaving him to become a single father, Boss puts all his emotions, time, and focus on his daughter and his empire. That was until he just so happens to run across the young, sexy, and ambitious Choyce. Sharing a similar story, Choyce was also forced to become a single mother at a young age when the father of her child switched up on her. She had no interest in finding love and just wanted to accomplish the goals she had set for herself. Falling for the sexy, dominant, and sometimes callous Boss, was nowhere in her plans, but you can't help who you fall for. Will these two broken and guarded people be able to put their pasts behind them and form a love that no one will be able to penetrate? Or will the pain from previous betrayal cause them to push one another away? Take a journey through the streets of Detroit as Boss and Choyce show us that dealing with love is not as easy as some may think.
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The Emperor of Ocean ParkStephen L. Carter
In his triumphant fictional debut, Stephen Carter combines a large-scale, riveting novel of suspense with the saga of a unique family. The Emperor of Ocean Park is set in two privileged worlds: the upper crust African American society of the Eastern seabord—families who summer at Martha’s Vineyard—and the inner circle of an Ivy League law school. Talcott Garland is a successful law professor, devoted father, and husband of a beautiful and ambitious woman, whose future desires may threaten the family he holds so dear. When Talcott’s father, Judge Oliver Garland, a disgraced former Supreme Court nominee, is found dead under suspicioius circumstances, Talcott wonders if he may have been murdered. Guided by the elements of a mysterious puzzle that his father left, Talcott must risk his marriage, his career and even his life in his quest for justice. Superbly written and filled with memorable characters, The Emperor of Ocean Park is both a stunning literary achievement and a grand literary entertainment.
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Yinka, Where Is Your Huzband?Lizzie Damilola Blackburn
“Yinka is a lovable and relatable disaster—which is to say, she isn’t actually a disaster at all...I adore her.” —Emily Henry, #1 New York Times bestselling author of Book Lovers “Feel good, funny, and clever, it’s got smash-hit written all over it!” –Josie Silver, New York Times bestselling author of One Day in December Meet Yinka: a thirty-something, Oxford-educated, British Nigerian woman with a well-paid job, good friends, and a mother whose constant refrain is “Yinka, where is your huzband ?” Yinka’s Nigerian aunties frequently pray for her delivery from singledom, her work friends think she’s too traditional (she’s saving herself for marriage!), her girlfriends think she needs to get over her ex already, and the men in her life…well, that’s a whole other story. But Yinka herself has always believed that true love will find her when the time is right. Still, when her cousin gets engaged, Yinka commences Operation Find-A-Date for Rachel's Wedding. Aided by a spreadsheet and her best friend, Yinka is determined to succeed. Will Yinka find herself a huzband ? And what if the thing she really needs to find is herself? Yinka , Where is Your Huzband? is a fresh, uplifting story of an unconventional heroine who bravely asks the questions we all have about love. Wry, moving, irresistible, this is a love story that makes you smile but also makes you think--and explores what it means to find your way between two cultures, both of which are yours. NAMED A MOST ANTICIPATED BOOK OF 2022 BY MARIE CLAIRE , PARADE , ESSENCE , MS. MAGAZINE , POPSUGAR, BUSTLE, BOOKRIOT, DEBUTIFUL AND MORE!
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The Darkest ChildDelores Phillips & Tayari Jones
A new edition of this award-winning modern classic, with an introduction by Tayari Jones ( An American Marriage ), an excerpt from the never before seen follow-up, and discussion guide. Pakersfield, Georgia, 1958: Thirteen-year-old Tangy Mae Quinn is the sixth of ten fatherless siblings. She is the darkest-skinned among them and therefore the ugliest in her mother, Rozelle’s, estimation, but she’s also the brightest. Rozelle—beautiful, charismatic, and light-skinned—exercises a violent hold over her children. Fearing abandonment, she pulls them from school at the age of twelve and sends them to earn their keep for the household, whether in domestic service, in the fields, or at “the farmhouse” on the edge of town, where Rozelle beds local men for money. But Tangy Mae has been selected to be part of the first integrated class at a nearby white high school. She has a chance to change her life, but can she break from Rozelle’s grasp without ruinous—even fatal—consequences?
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Flipping BoxcarsCedric the Entertainer
The first novel from one of the original Kings of Comedy, Cedric “The Entertainer,” an engaging and entertaining crime caper that is a valentine to close-knit black families and tightly woven communities struggling to get by during the Depression and World War II. Babe is a charismatic and widely loved man, a gambler with a gift for gab that often gets him out of tricky situations. He’s also a dreamer, something he shares with his patient and loving wife, Rosie. They both yearn for financial stability and see the land they own as insurance for future generations. But when Babe and a few comrades enlist in a scheme that improbably falls apart, he endangers the little security the family has. On the verge of losing everything, what’s a family man to do? If you’re a gambler like Babe, you double down and risk it all for one big score—this time, a plan involving railroad boxcars. Will Babe succeed? Will Rosie continue to support her husband? Are the Feds on to his make-or-break scheme? Flipping Boxcars is Cedric “The Entertainer” at his most engaging best—a charming, fast-paced novel that pays homage to his beloved grandfather and a generation past, anchored by rich, multi-dimensional characters and oozing with irresistible charm.
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The Prada Plan 3:Ashley Antoinette
Leah has been trying for years to get rid of her competition, and all her crazy scheming has finally paid off—or so she thinks. Now that YaYa is out of the picture, she's ready to step into her shoes and have the life she always dreamed of. The scars that she earned in the fire almost seem worth it if they mean she'll finally be able to have all the money, the family, and most importantly, to have Indie's love to herself. There's only one problem. Disaya Morgan isn't dead. She survived the fire too, and she's healing under the watchful eye of one very powerful woman who's ready to help put YaYa on top. With her newfound connections, YaYa could have Leah taken out with the snap of her fingers—but that's not good enough for her. The only way YaYa can battle the demons that are still haunting her is to finish Leah off herself. YaYa is out for blood. There can only be one winner, and these two are on a collision course that could send one of them straight to hell. Ashley Antoinette is back and better than ever with the third installment of The Prada Plan series. A case of mistaken identity left readers reeling at the end of part 2, but part 3 is a heart-pounding saga that will leave you breathless.
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A Savage's Pretty Little ThingKai'or Elle
The prettiest faces tell the saddest stories. When Malia’s mother unexpectedly dies, she’s left to feel like she has nothing or no one. As the outcast of the family, she quickly finds herself homeless with nowhere to go. In her world, fairytales don’t exist, and she knows that there will be no Prince Charming coming to save her, or at least that’s what she believes. The definition of a savage is something wild, untamed, and not under human control. When it comes to Markell, that couldn’t be any truer. His whole life it’s been one thing after another, until he eventually turned into the savage that he is. When unfortunate circumstances bring him face to face with Malia, he’s plagued with curiosity. He knows she’s not only a pretty face, but she’s not so open to letting him into her world. Can Markell pull Malia out of her sorrow? Can Malia open herself up to him and show him where it hurts? Or will the tables turn, leaving him to need her more than she ever needed him?
90
MidnightSister Souljah
New York Times bestselling author Life After Death , the hip-hop generation's beloved and most compelling storyteller, delivers a powerful story about love and loyalty, strength and family. In her bestselling novel, The Coldest Winter Ever , Sister Souljah introduced the world to Midnight, a brave but humble lieutenant to a prominent underworld businessman. Now, in a highly anticipated follow-up to her million-selling masterpiece, she brings readers into the life and dangerously close to the heart of this silent, fearless young man. Raised in a wealthy, influential, Islamic African family, Midnight enjoys a life of comfort, confidence, and protection. Midnight's father provides him with a veil of privilege and deep, devoted love, but he never hides the truth about the fierce challenges of the world outside of his estate. So when Midnight's father's empire is attacked, he sends Midnight with his mother to the United States. In the streets of Brooklyn, a young Midnight uses his Islamic mind-set and African intelligence to protect the ones he loves, build a business, reclaim his wealth and status, and remain true to his beliefs. Midnight, a handsome and passionate young man, attracts many women. How he interacts and deals with them is a unique adventure. This is a highly sensual and tremendous love story about what a man is willing to risk and give to the women he loves most. Midnight will remain in your mind and beat in your heart for a lifetime. Her "raw and true voice" ( Publishers Weekly ) will both soothe and arouse you. In a beautifully written and masterfully woven story, Sister Souljah has given us Midnight , and solidified her presence as the mother of all contemporary urban literature.
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Honey and SpiceBolu Babalola
INSTANT NATIONAL BESTSELLER • A REESE'S BOOK CLUB PICK • A TIKTOK BOOK CLUB PICK "Sexy, messy and wry, Honey and Spice more than delivers." — New York Times Book Review "A vibrant debut novel . . . Babalola is incisively funny, capturing the kick and sweetness of her title with her words." — Entertainment Weekly Named a Best Book of the Year by Time • Esquire • Vanity Fair • Oprah Daily • Cosmopolitan • Elle • Harper's Bazaar • Southern Living • Buzzfeed • Women's Health Magazine • AudioFile • Popsugar • and more! Introducing internationally bestselling author Bolu Babalola’s dazzling debut novel, full of passion, humor, and heart, that centers on a young Black British woman who has no interest in love and unexpectedly finds herself caught up in a fake relationship with the man she warned her girls about Sweet like plantain, hot like pepper. They taste the best when together... Sharp-tongued (and secretly soft-hearted) Kiki Banjo has just made a huge mistake. As an expert in relationship-evasion and the host of the popular student radio show Brown Sugar, she’s made it her mission to make sure the women of the African-Caribbean Society at Whitewell University do not fall into the mess of “situationships”, players, and heartbreak. But when the Queen of the Unbothered kisses Malakai Korede, the guy she just publicly denounced as “The Wastemen of Whitewell,” in front of every Blackwellian on campus, she finds her show on the brink. They’re soon embroiled in a fake relationship to try and salvage their reputations and save their futures. Kiki has never surrendered her heart before, and a player like Malakai won’t be the one to change that, no matter how charming he is or how electric their connection feels. But surprisingly entertaining study sessions and intimate, late-night talks at old-fashioned diners force Kiki to look beyond her own presumptions. Is she ready to open herself up to something deeper? A gloriously funny and sparkling debut novel, Honey and Spice is full of delicious tension and romantic intrigue that will make you weak at the knees. "A smart, sexy summer read, which hits your brain and your romance buttons in one shot." — Los Angeles Times "The ultimate summer romance . . . It’s got all the juiciest, most satisfying romance tropes, but in Babalola’s capable hands, the story feels fresh and unique." — The Cut, New York magazine “Divine summer reading. Hilarious, hot, and heartfelt. ” — Meg Cabot, #1 New York Times bestselling author
92
PushSapphire
A new 25th anniversary edition of the instant classic that inspired the major motion picture and Sundance Film Festival winner Precious: Based on the Novel by Sapphire, whose power and ferocity influenced a generation of writers. Precious Jones, an illiterate sixteen-year-old, has up until now been invisible to the father who rapes her and the mother who batters her and to the authorities who dismiss her as just one more of Harlem's casualties. But when Precious, pregnant with a second child by her father, meets a determined and radical teacher, we follow her on a journey of education and enlightenment as she learns not only how to write about her life, but how to make it truly her own for the first time.
93
Symphony of SecretsBrendan Slocumb
A gripping page-turner from the celebrated author of book club favorite The Violin Conspiracy : Music professor Bern Hendricks discovers a shocking secret about the most famous American composer of all time—his music may have been stolen from a Black Jazz Age prodigy named Josephine Reed. Determined to uncover the truth that a powerful organization wants to keep hidden, Bern will stop at nothing to right history's wrongs and give Josephine the recognition she deserves. “A maestro of musical mystery...Slocumb’s writing is invigorating, and the detail in his character work makes the main characters in both time periods easy to root for.... Thrilling.” — The New York Times "At once a celebration of music and also a cautionary tale about legacy, privilege, and creative genius." —Nita Prose, #1 New York Times bestselling author of The Maid Bern Hendricks has just received the call of a lifetime. As one of the world’s preeminent experts on the famed twentieth-century composer Frederick Delaney, Bern knows everything there is to know about the man behind the music. When Mallory Roberts, a board member of the distinguished Delaney Foundation and direct descendant of the man himself, asks for Bern’s help authenticating a newly discovered piece, which may be his famous lost opera, RED , he jumps at the chance. With the help of his tech-savvy acquaintance Eboni, Bern soon discovers that the truth is far more complicated than history would have them believe. In 1920s Manhattan, Josephine Reed is living on the streets and frequenting jazz clubs when she meets the struggling musician Fred Delaney. But where young Delaney struggles, Josephine soars. She’s a natural prodigy who hears beautiful music in the sounds of the world around her. With Josephine as his silent partner, Delaney’s career takes off—but who is the real genius here? In the present day, Bern and Eboni begin to uncover more clues that indicate Delaney may have had help in composing his most successful work. Armed with more questions than answers and caught in the crosshairs of a powerful organization who will stop at nothing to keep their secret hidden, Bern and Eboni will move heaven and earth in their dogged quest to right history’s wrongs.
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Love on the Low 2Mia Black
Mika knows making her feelings for Royce known will change everything. All she has to do is focus on her new job and creating a new life for herself, but that’s easier said than done when the man she loves is right in front of her face…with another woman. There’s no denying that Royce wants Mika, but his life is complicated, and now that he’s added Lacresha to it, it’s even more complicated than he could have imagined. If he gives into his desires, he fears what will happen. If he ignores his feelings, he fears what he’ll do without Mika. Find out what happens in part two of Love On The Low!
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Love On The Low 7Mia Black
Mika and Royce have been through a lot more than either thought they could handle. Now that their wedding is off, it’s time for Mika to move on and heal her broken heart. She thinks Detroit is the perfect place to begin that journey. Her future looks brighter, but before she leaves, she meets someone new. The only problem is what looks like perfection may bring her life with Royce full-circle. Royce is consumed by rage. His sole focus is to get revenge for Keith’s murder, but he’s still pining over Mika and what they could have had together. He can’t get her out of his head and he’s not sure he’s completely ready to let her go – at least, not like this. The combination of revenge and heartache make him start to lose his grip and actively search for the man he blames for his losses.
96
The Cartel 3:Ashley & JaQuavis
The Cartel has come full circle with this fast-paced, groundbreaking novel, the finale to the hit series by New York Times bestsellers Ashley & JaQuavis. Miamor is fighting for her life in the belly of the beast. She's been kidnapped, and she's staring death in the eye. Is the reign over for the head of the Murda Mamas? Carter is in federal custody and leaves the Diamond Empire to Zyir and Mecca. When the past comes back to haunt Mecca and the truth finally comes to light, will The Cartel rise or fall? Breeze is in the clutches of the crazed Ma'tee, and she desperately searches for a way out. Will she escape, or die his love slave? The answers to these questions lie inside the pages of Cartel 3: The Final Chapter. Open it to discover the shocking truth, and prepare yourself for the unpredictable conclusion of one of the best street series of all time.
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PassingNella Larsen
Nella Larsen was an important writer associated with the Harlem Renaissance. While she was not prolific her work was powerful and critically acclaimed. Passing confronts the reality of racial passing. The novel focuses on two childhood friends Clare and Irene, both of whom are light skinned enough to pass as white, who have reconnected with one another after many years apart. Clare has chosen to pass while Irene has embraced her racial heritage and become an important member of her community. The Novel examines how people pass on many different levels and in many different ways. Some forms of passing are perfectly acceptable while others can lead to disaster.
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The UntellingTayari Jones
From the author of the Oprah Book Club Selection An American Marriage , here is an emotionally powerful novel that "succeeds mightily...truly a wonderful story" (Boston Globe). Aria is no stranger to tragedy -- as a young girl, she and her older sister and mother survived a car crash that took the lives of their father and beloved baby sister. And although relations with her remaining family are strained, she's done her best to establish a solid, normal life for herself, living in Atlanta and teaching literacy to girls who have fallen on hard times. But now she has a secret that she's not yet ready to share with Dwayne, her devoted boyfriend, or Rochelle, her roommate and best friend: Aria is pregnant. Or so she thinks. The truth is about to make her question her every assumption and reevaluate the life she has worked so hard to build for herself...as it sends her reeling in a direction she had no idea she was destined to go. Praise for Tayari Jones "Tayari Jones is blessed with vision to see through to the surprising and devastating truths at the heart of ordinary lives, strength to wrest those truths free, and a gift of language to lay it all out, compelling and clear." -- Michael Chabon "Tayari Jones has emerged as one of the most important voices of her generation." -- Essence "One of America's finest writers." -- Nylon.com "Tayari Jones is a wonderful storyteller." -- Ploughshares
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Narrative of the Life of Frederick DouglasFrederick Douglass
Narrative of the Life of Frederick Douglass is an 1845 memoir and treatise on abolition written by famous orator and former slave Frederick Douglass. It is generally held to be the most famous of a number of narratives written by former slaves during the same period. In factual detail, the text describes the events of his life and is considered to be one of the most influential pieces of literature to fuel the abolitionist movement of the early 19th century in the United States.
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The House Behind the CedarsCharles W. Chesnutt
The classic novel of two mixed-race siblings who flee the South after the Civil War, hiding their identities—until a romance brings the truth to light. A landmark in African American literature, The House Behind the Cedars tells the tale of Rena Walden, who runs away from North Carolina to start a new life with her brother. Their mixed ancestry allows them to “pass” as white—and they settle into life in Clarence, South Carolina, keeping their past a secret. But Rena eventually becomes romantically involved with a white man from a prominent and wealthy family—and their lives are turned upside-down when her true heritage is revealed. “A story of sustained strength and interest, wrought out to an artistic finale.” — Detroit Free Press