Top African Amercian Fiction Ebooks

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.

Chart of the most popular African American fiction ebooks was last updated:

Apple Books Top 100 African American Fiction Ebooks

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Parable of the Sower - Octavia E. Butler Cover Art

Parable of the Sower

Parable of the Sower by Octavia E. Butler

From a celebrated, award-winning author, a modern classic about a young girl fighting for survival in a post-apocalyptic world, perfect for fans of N.K. Jemisin and Margaret Atwood. Fifteen-year-old Lauren Olamina lives inside a gated community with her preacher father, family, and neighbors, sheltered from the surrounding social chaos and anarchy caused by climate change and economic crisis. 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. Includes a foreword by LeVar Burton and an afterword by N. K. Jemisin Lauren's story continues in The Parable of the Talents.  "In the ongoing contest over which dystopian classic is most applicable to our time, Octavia Butler's 'Parable' books may be unmatched."— The New Yorker  

2

Push - Sapphire Cover Art

Push

Push by Sapphire

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.

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Love by the Book - Jessica George Cover Art

Love by the Book

Love by the Book A Novel by Jessica George

AN INSTANT USA TODAY BESTSELLER • A New York Times Most Anticipated Book of Spring • "A beautiful and all-too-rare look at the importance of platonic love." — Kirkus Reviews (starred) Friendship is the love story you can count on. Remy is lucky. Her debut novel, based on her three best friends, became an instant bestseller when it was released, and her agent and publisher are clamoring for a follow-up. But just as Remy’s creative inspiration seems to leave her, so too do her friends: one moves to New York, one gets pregnant, and one gets back together with her (awful) boyfriend. After an ill-advised one-night stand complicates matters further, Remy is left deeply alone—and unable to find her next book idea. Simone is successful. A Kindergarten teacher with a passion for kids, and a well-paying side hustle that affords her all the material comforts she desires, she doesn't have time for a robust social life. All Simone needs is her close-knit family—but after the true nature of her work is revealed, they cut her off, and she realizes for the first time just how isolated she is. When Simone and Remy bump into each other (literally) in a bookstore, it isn’t exactly soulmates at first sight. Simone is guarded and prickly, Remy is insecure and heartbroken, and each woman is harboring a secret. And yet they might just be the missing piece the other has been searching for—if only they can let each other in. Can Simone help Remy make one of the most important decisions of her life—and can Remy help Simone recover all that she’s lost? In Jessica George’s heartwarming, funny, and soulful second novel, she explores the restorative nature of female friendship and the life-changing power of platonic love.

4

Addicted to A Dirty South Thug - Myss Shan Cover Art

Addicted to A Dirty South Thug

Addicted to A Dirty South Thug by Myss 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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The Coldest Winter Ever - Sister Souljah Cover Art

The Coldest Winter Ever

The Coldest Winter Ever by Sister Souljah

A New York Times and USA TODAY Bestseller “50 Most Impactful Black Books of the Last 50 Years.” — Essence Nominated as one of America’s best-loved novels by PBS’s The Great American Read The instant classic from the #1 New York Times bestselling author of Life After Death brings the streets of New York to life in a powerful and utterly unforgettable 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. Twenty-five years and over one million copies later, The Coldest Winter Ever is a bestseller and a national treasure, a classic handed down from one reading generation to the next. Whether you are reading it for the first time or have cherished it for years , you will never forget this Winter’s tale.

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The Personal Librarian: A GMA Book Club Pick - Marie Benedict & Victoria Christopher Murray Cover Art

The Personal Librarian: A GMA Book Club Pick

The Personal Librarian: A GMA Book Club Pick A GMA Book Club Pick (A Novel) by Marie Benedict & Victoria Christopher Murray

Over one million copies sold! 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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Sky Full of Elephants - Cebo Campbell Cover Art

Sky Full of Elephants

Sky Full of Elephants A Novel by Cebo Campbell

In this “bold and imaginative” (Tananarive Due) “truly powerful and riveting story” ( Booklist ) set in a world where white people no longer exist, college professor Charlie Brunton receives a call from his estranged daughter Sidney, setting off a chain of events as they journey across a truly “post-racial” America in search of answers. In a world without white people, what does it mean to be Black? One day, a cataclysmic event occurs: all of the white people in America walk into the nearest body of water. A year later, Charlie Brunton is a Black man living in an entirely new world. Having served his time in prison for a wrongful conviction, he’s now a professor of electric and solar power systems at Howard University when he receives a call from someone he wasn’t even sure existed: his daughter Sidney, a nineteen-year-old left behind by her white mother and step-family. Traumatized by the event, and terrified of the outside world, Sidney has spent a year in isolation in Wisconsin. Desperate for help, she turns to the father she never met, a man she has always resented. Sidney and Charlie meet for the first time as they embark on a journey across a truly “post-racial” America in search for answers. But neither of them are prepared for this new world and how they see themselves in it. Heading south toward what is now called the Kingdom of Alabama, everything Charlie and Sidney thought they knew about themselves, and the world, will be turned upside down. Brimming with heart and humor, “this stunning allegory will spark much discussion” ( Publishers Weekly , starred review) about the power of community and connection, about healing and self-actualization, and a reckoning with what it means to be Black in America, in both their world and ours.

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Where the Wildflowers Grow - Terah Shelton Harris Cover Art

Where the Wildflowers Grow

Where the Wildflowers Grow A Novel by Terah Shelton Harris

NAMED A MOST ANTICIPATED BOOK OF THE YEAR BY Goodreads, Essence, Sunset Magazine, SheReads, BookBub, and more! From acclaimed author Terah Shelton Harris comes a poignant story of survival and redemption that questions what it means to stop existing and start living. Leigh is the last of the Wildes. She knows this because she watched them all die. Grief never truly fades and even as the tragedy haunts her, Leigh carries on, because survival is in her blood. So, when the transport bus taking her to prison careens off the road, killing everyone onboard except her, she does what’s in her nature. She survives.  While searching for a place to hide, Leigh stumbles upon an unexpected sanctuary: a flower farm in rural Alabama tucked away from the world. What Leigh doesn’t expect is the found family there who have built something from the wreckage of their own lives. Especially Jackson, the farm’s owner, who sees through Leigh’s defenses, offers her small moments of tenderness, encourages her to face her own tragedies. Slowly, Leigh finds peace with the hard pace and soft nature of the farm, taking comfort in the life blooming around her. Maybe she’s not beyond redemption, not too broken for something good. And maybe, just maybe, Leigh starts to heal. But the past isn't so easily buried. No matter how far she runs, the truth of who she is and the ghosts of the Wildes follow. And when those secrets catch up to her, threatening everything she’s come to love, Leigh will have to truly face what she can survive.

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Bitter Honey - Lola Akinmade Åkerström Cover Art

Bitter Honey

Bitter Honey A Novel by Lola Akinmade Åkerström

Spanning four decades and three continents, Bitter Honey is a story about a mother and daughter divided by long buried secrets, struggling to understand each other as they forge their own paths, from the internationally bestselling author of In Every Mirror She’s Black. 1978: A scholarship draws Nancy from Gambia’s warmth into Stockholm’s frigid winter. When her friendship with charismatic scholar Lars blossoms into something more, she thinks she may have finally found her place. But there’s more to Lars than his charming persona, and Nancy is about to discover the danger of being drawn into his world…  2006: Tina has had her taste of fame as Sweden’s sweetheart pop princess, representing her country at Eurovision. But beneath her glittery façade, she’s uncertain who she really is. Her mother, Nancy, seems desperate to keep the past under wraps, but will the unexpected appearance of Tina’s father—a man she has long thought dead—help open the door to self-discovery? Nancy just wants to protect her daughter from making the same mistakes she did, but Tina longs for the freedom to mess up, knowing her mother will always be there to support her. The two women love each other unconditionally, but can they learn to trust each other as well? This poignant novel delves deep into the complicated relationships between mothers and daughters and delivers a warm, heartfelt story of love, forgiveness, and women finding their voices.

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A Moment of Silence - Sister Souljah Cover Art

A Moment of Silence

A Moment of Silence Midnight III by Sister Souljah

In this electrifying novel, New York Times bestselling author and “an important voice in American literature” (Jada Pinkett Smith) Sister Souljah returns to the story of her beloved character, Midnight. Handsome, young, Muslim, and married to two women living in one house along with his mother, Umma, and sister, Naja: can Midnight manage all that he has on his plate? He is surrounded by Americans who don’t share or understand his faith or culture, and adults who are offended by his maturity, intelligence, and his natural ability to make his hard work turn into real money. He is calm, confident, and cool, Ninja-trained and powerful, but one moment of rage throws this Brooklyn youth into a dark world of dirty police, gangs, guns, drugs, prisons, and dangerous inmates. Everything he ever believed, every dollar he ever earned, and all of the women he ever loved—including his mother—are at risk. Will his manhood be taken, broken, or altered? Can he maintain his faith? Outnumbered, overruled, and deeply envied—how can he possibly survive? Will the streets convert him? What can he keep? What must he lose?

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Good Dirt - Charmaine Wilkerson Cover Art

Good Dirt

Good Dirt A Novel by Charmaine Wilkerson

NATIONAL BESTSELLER • The daughter of an affluent Black family pieces together the connection between a childhood tragedy and a beloved heirloom in this moving novel from the bestselling author of Black Cake, a Read with Jenna Book Club Pick “Engrossing . . . Wilkerson masterfully weaves these threads of love, loss and legacy [into] a thoroughly researched and beautifully imagined family saga.”— The New York Times LONGLISTED FOR THE ANDREW CARNEGIE MEDAL • A BEST BOOK OF THE YEAR: TIME , NPR, Marie Claire, People, Chicago Public Library, Christian Science Monitor, Denver Public Library When ten-year-old Ebby Freeman heard the gunshot, time stopped. And when she saw her brother, Baz, lying on the floor surrounded by the shattered pieces of a centuries-old jar, life as Ebby knew it shattered as well. The crime was never solved—and because the Freemans were one of the only Black families in a particularly well-to-do enclave of New England—the case has had an enduring, voyeuristic pull for the public. The last thing the Freemans want is another media frenzy splashing their family across the papers, but when Ebby's high profile romance falls apart without any explanation, that's exactly what they get. So Ebby flees to France, only for her past to follow her there. And as she tries to process what's happened, she begins to think about the other loss her family suffered on that day eighteen years ago—the stoneware jar that had been in their family for generations, brought North by an enslaved ancestor. But little does she know that the handcrafted piece of pottery held more than just her family's history—it might also hold the key to unlocking her own future. In this sweeping, evocative novel, Charmaine Wilkerson brings to life a multi-generational epic that examines how the past informs our present.

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By Her Own Design - Piper Huguley Cover Art

By Her Own Design

By Her Own Design A Novel of Ann Lowe, Fashion Designer to the Social Register by Piper Huguley

The incredible untold story of how Ann Lowe, a Black woman and granddaughter of slaves, rose above personal struggles and racial prejudice to design and create one of America’s most famous wedding dresses of all time for Jackie Kennedy. 1953, New York City Less than a week before the society wedding of the year where Jacqueline Bouvier will marry John F. Kennedy, a pipe bursts at Ann Lowe’s dress shop and ruins eleven dresses, including the expensive wedding dress, a dress that will be judged by thousands. A Black designer who has fought every step of the way, Ann knows this is only one struggle after a lifetime of them in this gripping historical fiction. She and her seamstresses will find the way to re-create the dresses. It may take all day and all night for the next week to accomplish the task, but they will do it. 1918, Tampa Raised in Jim Crow Alabama, Ann learned the art of sewing from her mother and her grandmother, a former slave, who are the most talented seamstresses in the state. After Ann elopes at twelve with an older man who soon proves himself to be an abusive alcoholic, her dreams of becoming a celebrated designer seem to be put on hold. But then a wealthy Tampa socialite sees Ann’s talent and offers her an amazing opportunity—the chance to sew and design clothing for Florida’s society elite. Taking her young son in the middle of the night, Ann escapes her husband and embarks on the adventure of a lifetime. Based on the true story of one of the most famous designers of the twenties through the sixties who has since been unjustly forgotten, By Her Own Design is an unforgettable historical novel of determination despite countless obstacles and a triumph celebrated by the world.

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Sweet Heat - Bolu Babalola Cover Art

Sweet Heat

Sweet Heat A Novel by Bolu Babalola

BOLU BABALOLA IS… “A queen of romantic comedy.” – Oprah Daily • “Incisively funny.” – Entertainment Weekly • “A really great romance writer.” – Quinta Brunson, Harper's Bazaar • “Keeping the hope for true love alive and enjoyable.” –Shondaland • “A rom-com expert.” – New York Times A Rolling Stone Most Anticipated Book of Fall Two exes. One summer wedding. Zero chance of escaping the heat. Prepare to laugh, swoon, and fall head over heels with this irresistible standalone romance from Bolu Babalola, the bestselling author of Honey and Spice, a Reese’s Book Club pick. Twenty-eight-year-old Kiki Banjo hosts the popular podcast The HeartBeat, solving romantic conundrums and dishing out life advice. But behind the mic, career setbacks and a devastating breakup have left her hanging on by a thread. As she’s preparing to be the Maid of Honor in her best friend’s wedding, everything starts to unravel, and Kiki is left wondering if she ever had the answers. Then Kiki finds herself face-to-face with the Best Man, her ex-boyfriend, Malakai—the smooth-talking, absurdly handsome, annoyingly perceptive man who stole her heart and then shattered it. While Kiki’s approaching rock bottom, Malakai’s been on the rise as a filmmaker, and now they have no choice but to play nice until the wedding is over. Both are hell-bent on ignoring the smoldering chemistry between them, but as they navigate the chaos of wedding plans, career ambitions, and Kiki’s growing fears about the future, they can’t ignore the spark that’s only getting hotter. They just have to get through the summer. So why does it feel like playing with fire? “Babalola’s sharp sense of humor, slick pop culture references, and keen sense of the zeitgeist . . . offer a refreshing portrait of what modern love really looks and feels like." — Time “Babalola expertly blends sex with societal discourse in ways that echo Jane Austen and Nora Ephron.” — Vanity Fair "Babalola soars in her rich depictions of intimacy and relationships, in all their grandeur." — The New York Times Book Review 

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Midnight and the Meaning of Love - Sister Souljah Cover Art

Midnight and the Meaning of Love

Midnight and the Meaning of Love by Sister Souljah

The New York Times bestselling author of Life After Death , delivers her most compelling and enlightening story yet about young, deep love, the ways in which people across the world express their love, and the lengths that they will go to have it. Powerful and sensual, Midnight is an intelligent, fierce fighter and Ninjutsu-trained ninja warrior. He attracts attention wherever he goes but remains unmoved by it and focuses on protecting his mother and sister and regaining his family’s fortunes. When Midnight, a devout Muslim, takes sixteen-year-old Akemi from Japan as his wife, they look forward to building a life together, but their tumultuous teenage marriage is interrupted when Akemi is kidnapped and taken back to Japan by her own father, even though the marriage was consummated and well underway. “There’s not one drop of inferiority in my blood,” Midnight says as he first secures his mother, Umma, and sister, Naja, before setting off on a global journey to reclaim his wife. Midnight must travel across three countries and numerous cultures in his attempt to defeat his opponent. Along this magnificent journey he meets people who change him forever, even as he changes them. He encounters temptations he never would have imagined and takes risks that many a lesser man would say no to, all for the women he loves and is sworn to protect.

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Taking What's Hers 5 - Mia Black Cover Art

Taking What's Hers 5

Taking What's Hers 5 by Mia Black

Kiyana has made numerous enemies and is now on the run. With her mind set on getting rid of Ty and saving Candice from making a terrible mistake, Kiyana has to reach out to the one person who she never thought she would. But can she come up with a plan before it’s too late?  Find out what happens in part five of Taking What's Hers!

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Event Factory - Renee Gladman Cover Art

Event Factory

Event Factory by Renee Gladman

“More Kafka than Kafka, Renee Gladman’s achievement ranks alongside many of Borges’ in its creation of a fantastical landscape with deep psychological impact.” —Jeff VanderMeer A “linguist-traveler” arrives by plane to Ravicka, a city of yellow air in which an undefined crisis is causing the inhabitants to flee. Although fluent in the native language, she quickly finds herself on the outside of every experience. Things happen to her, events transpire, but it is as if the city itself, the performance of life there, eludes her. Setting out to uncover the source of the city’s erosion, she is beset by this other crisis—an ontological crisis—as she struggles to retain a sense of what is happening. Event Factory is the first in a series of novels (also available are the second, The Ravickians ; the third, Ana Patova Crosses a Bridge ; and the fourth, Houses of Ravicka ) that Renee Gladman is writing about the invented city-state of Ravicka, a foreign “other” place fraught with the crises of American urban experience, not least the fundamental problem of how to move through the world at all.

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When You Can't Let Go 2 - Mia Black Cover Art

When You Can't Let Go 2

When You Can't Let Go 2 by Mia Black

Marco knows what to say and what to do to get Jericka’s attention, but she’s not sure his intentions are real. She’s seen her fair share of guys who flash their money around like it means nothing to them. Life with Hov continues to spiral out of control. As things get worse at home, she questions her feelings about the man she’s loved for so long and the man who has piqued her curiosity. Maybe Marco is not as bad as she thought. Before she has time to absorb those thoughts, she learns that Hov has gotten himself in another situation. She does what she always does for him, but that kind gesture doesn’t protect her from what comes next. Find out what happens in part two of When You Can't Let Go!

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Across the Way - Mary Monroe Cover Art

Across the Way

Across the Way by Mary Monroe

In this captivating Depression-era set novel by New York Times bestselling author Mary Monroe, two couples find their grudges endangering more than their Alabama small town’s deceptive peace . . .   When good-time couple Milton and Yvonne Hamilton moved one house over from the respectable-but-restless Odell and Joyce Watson, it was a fast friendship of shared secrets—and secret jealousies and betrayals. Their alliance was bound to crash and burn, but the Hamiltons won’t quite let the flame die out, even after scandalous accusations get them arrested . . .   Odell would do anything to be free of his bootlegging, blackmailing, money extorting neighbors and recover the peaceful—and financially prosperous—life he and Joyce once had. But Milton and Yvonne seem to always bounce back from bad luck, and this time they’ve returned angrier, and greedier, than ever. Determined to get what Odell “owes” them, the Hamiltons have a big surprise for Joyce too, one that shows how far they will go to get revenge . . .   Now pushed past his breaking point, Odell is sure he’s got a foolproof plan to end the scheming once and for all. But it soon spirals into lies, shattering violence, and permanent damage that will roil their tranquil community, and alter his and Joyce’s world forever . . .   PRAISE FOR THE NEIGHBORS SERIES   “ Monroe brings the Deep South Prohibition-era world to life.” — Booklist   “Monroe convincingly portrays a time and place where desperation is the norm.” — Library Journal  

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Ambitions Of A Legend 3 - T.L. Joy Cover Art

Ambitions Of A Legend 3

Ambitions Of A Legend 3 by T.L. Joy

It's now or never for Krazy to do what she has to do to get her daughters back. Enemies are lurking from the past, determined to ruin everything she is striving for and consequences may be fatal. The clock is ticking for Egypt and Israel, and Krazy is running out of time!  Find out what happens in the final installment of the Hot Boyz Legend!

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Daddy's Little Hood Princness 2 - Shavekia Layfield Cover Art

Daddy's Little Hood Princness 2

Daddy's Little Hood Princness 2 by Shavekia Layfield

Kyree and Promise are like Romeo and Juliet. They have somehow convinced their fathers that they shared a love that was real, or at least that is what Promise was determined to prove. However, Kyree has a few tricks up his sleeve that leaves everyone on the edge of their seats. Determined to get Promise to see that he is the best man for her, Jeremy takes his time and makes his move. Promise is stubborn and difficult, but Jeremy never backs down even when Promise finds new ways to ignore his presence. It is not long before they realize merging two feuding families is not so good of an idea, especially when both families harbor deadly secrets. Kyree sees Chazz as weak and not the mastermind that everyone has portrayed him to be. Kyree uses that opening and begins to make his moves to take what he thinks belongs to his father. Kyree is faced with a new enemy outside of Chazz by way of an ex-football player named Margo. Along with her new best friend, Promise discovers that her family’s secrets may explain why Margo is seeking revenge on Chazz and Frantz. Promise no longer knows what or who to believe as she filters through years of lies, secrets, and affairs. Will she still think of herself as daddy’s little princess after the smoke clears? Find out in the finale of Daddy’s Little Hood Princess.

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Nookie - Anieshea Dansby Cover Art

Nookie

Nookie by Anieshea Dansby

Eighteen-year-old Joy was a naive girl who found something else to fill the void in her life left by a broken heart and her parents death.  Going purely off of instinct, she survives using what she discovers is the key to getting what she wants: the power of Nookie. She becomes far removed from the downside of her life that left her stranded when things start to look up. Suddenly, she's able to live her life like a queen, with no worries.  But will life in the fast lane leave her set for life, or will it all end before her nineteenth birthday?

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Calling All Blessings - Beverly Jenkins Cover Art

Calling All Blessings

Calling All Blessings A Blessings Novel by Beverly Jenkins

NAACP nominee and USA Today bestselling author Beverly Jenkins celebrates her beloved Blessings series with a heartwarming novel set in Henry Adams, Kansas. “If you haven’t yet gotten your hands on [this] author’s work, you should do so immediately.”—Shondaland Tamar July, town matriarch of Henry Adams, KS, is being haunted by dreams of her humiliating wedding day, sixty years ago, when she discovered her intended, Joel Newton, was already married. The truth left her furious, heartbroken, and carrying a child, her son Malachi “Mal” July. Why are these dreams coming to her now? And is the great horned owl perched on her backyard shed somehow connected? When Joel’s legitimate son comes to Henry Adams wanting to meet his half-brother, Mal, Tamar must deal with her past, her anger, and explore what it means to truly forgive. Tamar isn’t the only one being tested. Teenager Devon July wants to be anyone but himself. When he first arrived in Henry Adams, as an eight-year-old foster child, he wanted to be a preacher. Then, to be like his adopted brother, Amari. Now, he’s decided to be a variant of James Brown—wig included—rather than who he really is, a boy who lost his beloved grandmother and is the son of a mentally challenged woman. Will Tamar be able to guide his spirit quest and place him on the road to finally being at peace within himself? As the big August 1st celebration nears, town owner Bernadine Brown has a lot on her plate, chief among them, what to do with former mayor Riley Curry’s monstrous tribute to his hog Cletus. There are no secrets in Henry Adams, but there’s never a dull moment either. 

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Addicted to a Dirty South Thug 2 - Myss Shan Cover Art

Addicted to a Dirty South Thug 2

Addicted to a Dirty South Thug 2 by Myss Shan

The drama continues in Addicted to A dirty South Thug 2 picking right up where you left off... Cuba was determined more than ever to stay away from the bad guys, but after being bit by the Prince bug, she realizes that she's sick and in love. "No fear and no more running," she tells herself, but with Khi's overwhelming baby mama drama and heat from the Prince brothers, she finds every excuse she can to run from her one true love. Khi is trying everything to get a hold on his life. After getting Dae out the way, the problems seem to continue to fall into his lap. With trying to figure out if Selena is really playing for the other team and keeping an eye on Briana, his love and attention for Cuba seems to fall in last place. With the threat of losing Cuba on his shoulders, will Khi make the right the decision and choose the woman that he's been waiting his whole life for? And what happens when decisions made causes brother to be against brother? They are in the middle of a war, how will they come out on top if they're beefing with each other? KaeDee is no longer able to keep the cool demeanor that he is known for having once he realizes that it's more to Deonna's suicide. Once a pretty Detective walks into his life and turns things upside down for him, KaeDee finds out the woman he married is only one of many. It all seems to break him down and forces him to be angry at the world, even his brothers. Mistakes are made and KaeDee is unable to keep it together and is quickly falling apart, but what happens when the one person he's never noticed is the one to piece him back together? In the midst of all the madness, will KaeDee see that his true soulmate had been hiding in the shadows all along. Dae's finally forced to face his problems now that he has nowhere to turn. Realizing that the only person that he could count on is the one to put him in his predicament, will Dae finally get his life together or will it be too late for him? The newest addition to the Prince brothers saga is home. The wild hair, funny looking eyes Cassidy has touched down and back to claim the only woman he's ever loved but things won't be so easy for him. His past issues was never resolved and the secret he's been holding onto has no choice but to be revealed. He works hard to fix all the issues he's caused. Once the smoke finally clears, will Cassidy have his woman, or will end up paying for more of his mistakes in the end? Things are just heating up in this installment of Addicted To a Dirty South Thug.

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The Sweetness of Water (Oprah's Book Club) - Nathan Harris Cover Art

The Sweetness of Water (Oprah's Book Club)

The Sweetness of Water (Oprah's Book Club) A Novel by 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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Flexin & Sexin Volume 2 - Ashley Antoinette, Erick S. Gray, JaQuavis Coleman, Treasure Blue, Dashawn Taylor, J. Tremble & Nichelle Waller Cover Art

Flexin & Sexin Volume 2

Flexin & Sexin Volume 2 Sexy Street Tales by Ashley Antoinette, Erick S. Gray, JaQuavis Coleman, Treasure Blue, Dashawn Taylor, J. Tremble & Nichelle Waller

Flexin & Sexin is back with its second installment of urban erotic tales. This anthology is jammed packed with sexy street tales featuring some of today's hottest urban & erotic authors.

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Take My Hand - Dolen Perkins-Valdez Cover Art

Take My Hand

Take My Hand by Dolen 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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Moth to a Flame - Ashley Antoinette Cover Art

Moth to a Flame

Moth to a Flame by Ashley Antoinette

In the little city of Flint, MI, the good die young and the people left standing are the grimiest of characters. With reign over the city's drug trade, Benjamin Atkins made sure that his precious daughter, Raven, was secluded from the grit that the city had to offer. But when Raven's young heart gets claimed by Mizan, a stick-up kid in search of a come-up, there's nothing Benjamin can do about losing her to the streets. She chooses love over loyalty and runs off with Mizan, but her new role as wifey soon proves to be more than she can handle. Puppy love always feels right, but things turn stale, and she soon finds that everyone she loves has disappeared. All she has is Mizan, but when hugs and kisses turn to bloody lips and black eyes, she realizes that Mizan is not who she thought he was. Raven becomes desperate for a way out, but this time, Daddy can't save her. Every time she finds the courage to leave, fear convinces her to stay. Like a moth to a flame, Raven is drawn to Mizan, even though she knows he'll be the death of her. When the hood life she chose becomes unbearable and the only way out is in a coffin, what will she do?

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The Darkest Child - Delores Phillips & Tayari Jones Cover Art

The Darkest Child

The Darkest Child A Novel by Delores 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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Love on the Low 4 - Mia Black Cover Art

Love on the Low 4

Love on the Low 4 by Mia Black

Now that Lacresha has thrown a wrench in his plan, Royce has to own up to his responsibilities, even if that means he has lose the woman he really loves. Mika can’t believe this is happening, but isn’t the type of woman to put her life on hold for a man. Royce made his choice and now he has to live with it. Lacresha got exactly what she wanted, but for how long? Find out what happens in part four of Love On The Low!

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Homegoing - Yaa Gyasi Cover Art

Homegoing

Homegoing A novel by Yaa 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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Burn Down Master's House - Clay Cane Cover Art

Burn Down Master's House

Burn Down Master's House A Novel by Clay Cane

Inspired by true, long-buried stories of enslaved people who dared to fight back, a searing portrayal of resistance for readers of Colson Whitehead, Jesmyn Ward, and Percival Everett, from Clay Cane, award-winning journalist and  New York Times  bestselling author of  The Grift . INSTANT  NEW YORK TIMES  &  USA TODAY  BESTSELLER! As turmoil simmers within a divided nation, smoke from another blaze begins to rise. Sparked by individual acts of resistance among those enslaved across the American South, their seemingly disparate rebellions fuel a singular inferno of justice, connecting them in ways quiet at times, explosive at others. As these flames rise, so will they. Luke, quick-witted and literate, and Henri, a man with a strong and defiant spirit, forge an unbreakable bond at a Virginia plantation called Magnolia Row. Both seek escape from unimaginable cruelty. And sure as the fires of hell, Luke and Henri will leave their mark, sparking resistance among the lives they touch… One is Josephine, a young, sharp, and observant girl who wields silence as her greatest weapon. A witness to Luke and Henri’s resilience, she listens, watches, waits for the moment to make her move. Then there is Charity Butler, her husband a formerly enslaved man who proved his ferocity as a young boy standing alongside Josephine. At his encouragement, Charity fights for her freedom in court and wins – only to battle a deeply unjust system designed to destroy the life they’ve built. And finally, there is Nathaniel, who ruthlessly exploits other Black people and mirrors the cruelty of the white men who, like him, are enslavers. A perversion of the system of slavery, his fragile and contradictory rule will become a catalyst of its own. Inspired by the true stories of the profoundly courageous men and women who dared to fight back,  Burn Down Master’s House  is a singular tour de force of a novel—breathtaking in scope, compassion, and a timeliness that speaks powerfully to our present era.

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Bluebird, Bluebird - Attica Locke Cover Art

Bluebird, Bluebird

Bluebird, Bluebird by Attica Locke

A "heartbreakingly resonant" thriller about the explosive intersection of love, race, and justice from a writer and producer of the Emmy-winning Fox TV show Empire ( USA Today ). "In Bluebird, Bluebird Attica Locke had both mastered the thriller and exceeded it."-Ann Patchett When it comes to law and order, East Texas plays by its own rules -- a fact that Darren Mathews, a black Texas Ranger, knows all too well. Deeply ambivalent about growing up black in the lone star state, he was the first in his family to get as far away from Texas as he could. Until duty called him home. When his allegiance to his roots puts his job in jeopardy, he travels up Highway 59 to the small town of Lark, where two murders -- a black lawyer from Chicago and a local white woman -- have stirred up a hornet's nest of resentment. Darren must solve the crimes -- and save himself in the process -- before Lark's long-simmering racial fault lines erupt. From a writer and producer of the Emmy winning Fox TV show Empire, Bluebird, Bluebird is a rural noir suffused with the unique music, color, and nuance of East Texas.

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Love on the Low 3 - Mia Black Cover Art

Love on the Low 3

Love on the Low 3 by Mia Black

Mika knew things would get complicated when she decided to sleep with Royce, but she never realized how difficult things would become for them. Royce is used to bad situations, but he didn’t think sneaking around with Mika behind Lacresha’s back cause as much trouble as it has. Now, they have a big decision to make. Their secret relationship isn’t the only problem they’ll face if they reveal their relationship. Lacresha has a secret of her own.

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When Stars Rain Down - Angela Jackson-Brown Cover Art

When Stars Rain Down

When Stars Rain Down by Angela Jackson-Brown

Opal is an eighteen-year-old Black woman working as a housekeeper in a small Southern town in the 1930s—and then the Klan descends. A moving story that confronts America’s tragic past, When Stars Rain Down is both heartwarming and heart-wrenching. The summer of 1936 in Parsons, Georgia, is unseasonably hot, and Opal Pruitt senses a nameless storm brewing. She hopes this foreboding feeling won’t overshadow her upcoming 18th birthday or the annual Founder’s Day celebration in just a few weeks. She and her Grandma Birdie work as housekeepers for the white widow Miss Peggy, and Opal desperately wants some time to be young and carefree with her cousins and friends. But when the Ku Klux Klan descends on Opal’s neighborhood, the tight-knit community is shaken in every way possible. Parsons’s residents—both Black and white—are forced to acknowledge the unspoken codes of conduct in their post-Reconstruction era town. To complicate matters, Opal finds herself torn between two unexpected romantic interests—the son of her pastor, Cedric Perkins, and the white grandson of the woman she works for, Jimmy Earl Ketchums. Faced with love, loss, and a harsh awakening to an ugly world, Opal holds tight to her family and faith—and the hope for change. “When Stars Rain Down is so powerful, timely, and compelling . . . an important and beautifully written must-read of a novel.” —Silas House, author of Southernmost 2021 Langum Prize in American Historical Fiction – FinalistStand-alone novelIncludes discussion questions for book clubs

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Love On The Low 5 - Mia Black Cover Art

Love On The Low 5

Love On The Low 5 by Mia 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 Real Dopeboyz of Atlanta 2 - Myss Shan Cover Art

The Real Dopeboyz of Atlanta 2

The Real Dopeboyz of Atlanta 2 by Myss Shan

Poetic knew that when her family found out what she's been up to, things would not be easy, but what she never expected was for her twin sister Lyric to completely turn everyone against her.  Now being completely exiled, Poetic is pushed further into the arms of Ahmeen. The love between them only intensifies when Poe has no one else to turn to but Ahmeen. He treats her like non-other than the Queen she is. The bond she is has with him is more than she could've imagined, especially when The Shakur family takes in her with open arms. Things are blissful but when  Poe finds out that her big brother Maino is in trouble, she's unable to turn her back on him like he did her, ultimately putting her relationship and life at risk.  Ahmeen took four bullets all from his flesh and blood Moni. Moni never expected for Ahmeen to walk away but to his dismay, not only did he, but he's came out stronger and with a heart of vengeance. There isn't anywhere safe that Moni can go with Ahmeen on his trail...but witness protection.  Ahmeen tries his hardest to move on with his life and continue ringing bells in the streets. Now more richer, more respected, and more known than ever, Ahmeen is dealing with knowing that his product is becoming internationally known. With the love of his life by his side, and a me baby on the way, Ahmeen is living every man's dream. The only problem is, he still hasn't told Poe about Kiani. Scared that he will lose Poe, Ahmeen continues to keep his son secret, only digging himself deeper into the grave. Not only that, he still has Maino gunning for him and when the Mexican cartel approaches him will he accept the offer to rid of Maino for them?  Maino must now deal with decisions he's made when the head of Mexican Cartel come for answers about his daughter Eve.  

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Dominion - Addie E. Citchens Cover Art

Dominion

Dominion A Novel by Addie E. Citchens

Long-listed for the Women’s Prize for Fiction Finalist for the PEN/Faulkner Award for Fiction Long-listed for the Center for Fiction First Novel Prize A Best Book of the Year: Elle , Garden & Gun , Electric Literature , Debutiful A Must-Read: New York , People , NPR, Literary Hub , Jezebel , The Millions , Southern Living , Clarion Ledger , Southern Review of Books , BookBrowse An Indies Introduce and Indie Next Pick A Publishers Weekly Writer to Watch A finalist for the 2025 Los Angeles Times Book Prize’s Art Seidenbaum Award for First Fiction “A razor-sharp Southern family drama.” — People Reverend Sabre Winfrey, Jr., shepherd of the Seven Seals Missionary Baptist Church, believes in God, his own privilege, and enterprise. He owns the barbershop and the radio station, and generally keeps an iron hand on every aspect of society in Dominion, Mississippi. He and his wife, Priscilla, have five boys; the youngest, Emanuel, is called Wonderboy—no one sings prettier, runs as fast, or turns as many heads. But Wonderboy, his father, and all the structures in place that keep them on top are not as righteous as they seem to be. And when Wonderboy is caught off guard by an encounter with a stranger, he finds himself confronted by questions he’d never imagined. His response sends shock waves through the entire community. Priscilla and Diamond, two women who love these men, bear witness to their charms and bear the brunt of their choices. Through their eyes and their stories, Dominion offers an intricate, intimate view of how secrets control us, how shame stifles us, how silence implicates us, and how even love plays a role in the everyday violence and casual sins of the powerful. A brilliantly crafted Black Southern family drama told with the captivating force, humor, and tenderness carried in the hearts of these women, Addie E. Citchens’s Dominion wrestles with the many brutal, sinister ways in which we are shaped by fear and patriarchy, and studies how we might yet choose to break free.

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Business is Business PT 6 - Silk White Cover Art

Business is Business PT 6

Business is Business PT 6 by Silk White

Millie Mason has got the entire, Mason family in a bunch of hot water. The only problem is this time she's not sure if she can get them out of such a deep hole. With a bounty on her head, Millie Mason is forced to go to extreme measures to keep herself alive as well as her family.

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This Here Is Love - Princess Joy L. Perry Cover Art

This Here Is Love

This Here Is Love A Novel by Princess Joy L. Perry

Winner of the 2026 Stowe Prize for Literary Activism Longlisted for the 2026 Aspen Words Literary Prize One of the New York Times Book Review's 10 Best Historical Fiction Books of 2025 A Library Journal Best Book of the Year “A luscious storyteller, Princess Joy L. Perry brings to light the profound moral and emotional dilemmas her characters face, making the reader feel the weight of their impossible choices and everyday courage. A fierce and luminous debut.” —Sheri Reynolds, author of The Rapture of Canaan and The Tender Grave Three people—two enslaved, one indentured—living beside each other, struggling against their circumstances, trying to bend destiny. As the seventeenth century burns to a close in Tidewater, Virginia, America’s character is wrought in the fires of wealth, race, and freedom. Young Bless, the only child left to her enslaved mother, stubbornly crafts the terms of her vital existence. She stands as the lone bulwark between her mother and irreparable despair, her mother’s only possibility of hope, as Bless reshapes the boundaries of love. David is a helping child and a solace to his parents, and he gave a purpose to their trials. His survival hinges on his mother’s shrewd intellect and ferocious fight, but his sustenance is his freed Black father’s dream of emancipation for the entire family. Jack Dane, a Scots-Irish boy, sails to Britain’s colonies when his father sells him into indentured servitude as an escape from poverty. There Jack learns from the rich the value of each person’s life. A breathtaking, haunting, and epic saga, This Here Is Love intimately intertwines us with these beautifully drawn, unforgettable American characters. Bless, taken to serve the slaveowner’s daughter, must decide where she belongs: with the enslaved or above them. David, sold away from his people, retreats into himself even as he yearns to unite with others. Jack, acting impetuously, changes his fortune, but will doing so sacrifice his humanity? All three come together on Jack’s land. As they face and challenge each other, they will relinquish and remake beliefs about family and freedom, even as they confront the limits of love.

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The New Moon's Arms - Nalo Hopkinson Cover Art

The New Moon's Arms

The New Moon's Arms by Nalo Hopkinson

From "a singular talent," an "impressive . . .compelling" novel with about a Carribean woman who takes on mysterious orphan in midlife ( The Toronto Star ). First it's her mother's missing gold brooch. Then, a blue and white dish she hasn't seen in years. Followed by an entire grove of cashew trees. When objects begin appearing out of nowhere, Calamity knows that the special gift she has not felt since childhood has returned—her ability to find lost things. Calamity, a woman as contrary as the tides around her Caribbean island home, is confronting two of life's biggest dramas. First is the death of her father, who raised her alone until a pregnant Calamity rejected him when she was sixteen years old. The second drama: she's starting menopause. Now when she has a hot flash and feels a tingling in her hands, she knows it's a lost object calling to her. Then she finds something unexpected: a four-year-old boy washes up on the shore, his dreadlocked hair matted with shells. Calamity decides to take the orphaned child into her care, which brings unexpected upheaval into her life and further strains her relationship with her adult daughter. Fostering this child will force her to confront all the memories of her own childhood—and the disappearance of her mother so many years before. "With sly humor and great tenderness, [Hopkinson] draws out the hope residing in age and change." ― Toronto Globe and Mail "Shows new depths of wisdom, humor, and insight."― Seattle Times

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The First Ladies - Marie Benedict & Victoria Christopher Murray Cover Art

The First Ladies

The First Ladies by Marie 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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Addicted to a Dirty South Thug 3 - Myss Shan Cover Art

Addicted to a Dirty South Thug 3

Addicted to a Dirty South Thug 3 by Myss Shan

Cuba has been through it all, and even then, it seems like her love for Khi grows more and more with each day. After her fairytale proposal and saying yes to the man she loved, Cuba was hit with the bitter and jealous filled rage of Brianna. Cuba's first thought is to run, but Khi isn't going to let that happen. He does everything in his power to show Cuba that she is his queen and he her king and ensures nothing ever happens to her again. Showering Cuba with love, affection, and gifts send these two right down the aisle of matrimony, but what happens just as the two are united? Life and betrayal has sent Khi back to the man that he had so long tried to escape. After everything that happened to his Cuba, Khi becomes the ultimate gentleman at home, but more ruthless than ever in the streets. He and his brothers are determined to reign supreme in the streets and with the new deal that's been handed to them, they plan to take it all while suffering no losses. The money begins to roll in effortlessly and the Prince name is own its way to being a legacy, but while things seem to be going great for them, someone isn't with it, and they're coming for Khi with all they have. KaeDee and Detective Destiny Henson's love story was written before KaeDee had even known. After Deonna's past was revealed and finding out the sacrifices that Destiny has made for him, KaeDee has decided to take things easy and get away for a while. Knowing he's no good for his brothers right now, he and Destiny embark on a journey to see if there a such thing as true happiness. Cassidy tried his best to be a good man to Tangie but one simple mistake causes him to lose his relationship with her. Feeling resentful and as stubborn as ever, Cassidy refuses to beg for forgiveness again and puts his all into the Prince legacy. He no longer wants to love, but when Jourdin the mother of his child walks back into his life and shows him unconditional love and Tangie finally confesses that she no longer wants to live without him, Cassidy finds himself in love with two women unsure of which one deserves his heart the most. Dae awakes from his coma feeling colder than ever. A character you all know pushes Tamar to forgive Dae and his wrongdoings against Taylana for the sake of their child. And now that things seem to be back on the right path, Dae no longer wants what he is now able to have and seeks to win back the heart of the one woman that he cost the most pain to. He wants Amber back and to build the relationship that he coldly tore apart, but she won't make it easy for him and nor will Taylana. Now that Khian, Cassidy, and Daelan are all together, the Prince legacy is in the midst of being written. These brothers have a point to prove and will stop at nothing to do so. You've never seen them so ruthless before especially when the biggest blow to come their way yet involves the last piece to the Prince brother puzzle...Emon. The Prince brothers love hard this round, but gun harder showing you just why everyone is Addicted to A Dirty South Thug.

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Parable of the Talents - Octavia E. Butler Cover Art

Parable of the Talents

Parable of the Talents by Octavia E. Butler

From a celebrated author, the thrilling sequel to  The Parable of the Sower —a cautionary novel ahead of its time, perfect for fans of The Broken Earth trilogy. In 2032, Lauren Olamina has survived the destruction and ruin of everything she knew. Her peaceful community based on her newly founded faith, Earthseed, provides refuge for outcasts facing persecution after the election of an ultra-conservative president. Under his rule, Lauren's colony—a minority religious faction led by a young Black woman—becomes a target for the president’s reign of terror and oppression. Years later, Asha Vere reads the journals of a mother she never knew. As she searches for answers, she 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. "In the ongoing contest over which dystopian classic is most applicable to our time, Octavia Butler's 'Parable' books may be unmatched."— The New Yorker

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Summer on the Bluffs - Sunny Hostin Cover Art

Summer on the Bluffs

Summer on the Bluffs A Novel by Sunny 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—and the perfect setting for a compelling summer novel. 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—a true found family—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, setting the stage for an unforgettable beach read. 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 in this compelling family saga. 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. In a moving story of sisterhood perfect for fans of women's fiction, 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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Leaving Atlanta - Tayari Jones Cover Art

Leaving Atlanta

Leaving Atlanta by Tayari Jones

From the author of the Oprah's Book Club Selection An American Marriage , here is a beautifully evocative novel that proves why Tayari Jones is "one of the most important voices of her generation" ( Essence ). It was the end of summer, a summer during the two-year nightmare in which Atlanta's African-American children were vanishing and twenty-nine would be found murdered by 1982. Here fifth-grade classmates Tasha Baxter, Rodney Green, and Octavia Harrison will discover back-to-school means facing everyday challenges in a new world of safety lessons, terrified parents, and constant fear. The moving story of their struggle to grow up-and survive- shimmers with the piercing, ineffable quality of childhood, as it captures all the hurts and little wins, the all-too-sudden changes, and the merciless, outside forces that can sweep the young into adulthood and forever shape their lives. 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 span

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With Love from Harlem - ReShonda Tate Cover Art

With Love from Harlem

With Love from Harlem A Novel of Hazel Scott by ReShonda Tate

USA TODAY BESTSELLER "Tate blends fact and fiction with elegance...A captivating, emotionally resonant portrait of a singular woman who refused to be diminished." — LIBRARY JOURNAL "Tate has a rare gift for storytelling that strikes straight to the heart." — SADEQA JOHNSON, New York Times bestselling author of Keeper of Lost Children From The Queen of Sugar Hill author ReShonda Tate—a new novel inspired by beloved Harlem jazz performer Hazel Scott and the equal parts exhilarating and tumultuous relationship that changed the course of her life. Harlem, 1943. At just twenty-three, Hazel Scott is a woman on fire. A jazz prodigy, a glamorous film star, and a fierce advocate for civil rights, she’s breaking barriers and refusing to play by the rules. Then Adam Clayton Powell Jr. walks into her life. Harlem’s most electrifying preacher-turned-politician, Adam is as bold and unyielding as Hazel—charismatic, powerful…and married. This kicks off a decades-long relationship that propels them into the center of a political and cultural revolution. As Hazel’s star rises, Adam takes the national stage in Congress and the couple becomes the toast of the country. But when their affair turns into a marriage, behind the glamorous façade is a battlefield of ego, ambition, and sacrifice. Forced to choose between her music and her family, Hazel must decide what she’s willing to lose—and what she refuses to give up. Set against the pulsing backdrop of twentieth-century Harlem and featuring icons like Billie Holiday, Langston Hughes, and James Baldwin, With Love from Harlem is a sweeping, emotionally charged romantic drama, rich with historical detail. ReShonda Tate delivers a powerful portrait of love, art, and the price of being unforgettable. "[A] vivid and compelling picture of the life of this singular woman." — MARIE BENEDICT, New York Times bestselling author of The Queens of Crime

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Assembly - Natasha Brown Cover Art

Assembly

Assembly by Natasha Brown

This visionary and unflinching novel is about a black woman who has spent her life carefully navigating cutthroat worlds of privilege in her career and relationships—until one day she is pulled up short by a life and death decision. Come of age in the credit crunch. Be civil in a hostile environment. Go to college, get an education, start a career. Do all the right things . Buy an apartment. Buy art. Buy a sort of happiness. But above all, keep your head down. Keep quiet. And keep going. The narrator of Assembly is a black British woman. She is preparing to attend a lavish garden party at her boyfriend’s family estate, set deep in the English countryside. At the same time, she is considering the carefully assembled pieces of herself. As the minutes tick down and the future beckons, she can’t escape the question: is it time to take it all apart? Assembly is a story about the stories we live within – those of race and class, safety and freedom, winners and losers. And it is about one woman daring to take control of her own story, even at the cost of her life. With a steely, unfaltering gaze, Natasha Brown dismantles the mythology of whiteness, lining up the debris in a neat row and walking away.

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Love On The Low 6 - Mia Black Cover Art

Love On The Low 6

Love On The Low 6 by Mia Black

Trill has ramped up his efforts to be the new go-to dealer in town. But as he grows his empire, he begins targeting his enemies. It just so happens, Royce and anyone he cares for will fall into that category. With a wedding in their near future, Mika worries that they’ll never get married, especially not with all that’s going on around them. The pressure is on for everyone. Royce and Mika have choices to make. In the meantime, Trill is ready to make a bold move – one that could be deadly.

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His Dirty Secret 2: Kim's Story - Mia Black Cover Art

His Dirty Secret 2: Kim's Story

His Dirty Secret 2: Kim's Story by Mia Black

After reuniting with Lloyd, things are moving and moving fast. Kim's feelings for Lloyd are only getting deeper and deeper, and she can't wait to share the news with her friend Rochelle. But now that Rochelle knows, she might have some news of her own for Kim. Find out what happens in part two of His Dirty Secret: Kim’s Story!

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Love in a Carry-On Bag - Sadeqa Johnson Cover Art

Love in a Carry-On Bag

Love in a Carry-On Bag by Sadeqa Johnson

Erica Shaw spends her week babysitting the country’s bestselling authors for one of the top publishing companies in New York City. But on Friday nights she escapes to D.C., where her sexy-lipped musician boyfriend, Warren Prince, works and performs. Their connection is fierce, and the couple promises to never miss a weekend together. But when real life walks in—an overbearing father, an alcoholic mother, office politics, and a lucrative job contract—the couple starts unraveling at the seam. Tempers flare, violence breaks, while new lovers eagerly wait in the wings—to claim both of them. Drenched in the perils of passion and the sweet-sounds of jazz, Johnson dives deep into the world of ambition and the stumbling blocks of family. Clever, fast-paced and sexy, Love in a Carry-On Bag is a modern day love story that marks the healing power of forgiveness and begs the question, how much baggage is really too heavy to carry.

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Trouble Is What I Do - Walter Mosley Cover Art

Trouble Is What I Do

Trouble Is What I Do by Walter Mosley

Morally ambiguous P.I. Leonid McGill is back -- and investigating crimes against society's most downtrodden -- in this installment of the beloved detective series from an Edgar Award-winning and bestselling crime novelist. Leonid McGill's spent a lifetime building up his reputation in the New York investigative scene. His seemingly infallible instinct and inside knowledge of the crime world make him the ideal man to help when Phillip Worry comes knocking. Phillip "Catfish" Worry is a 92-year-old Mississippi bluesman who needs Leonid's help with a simple task: deliver a letter revealing the black lineage of a wealthy heiress and her corrupt father. Unsurprisingly, the opportunity to do a simple favor while shocking the prevailing elite is too much for Leonid to resist. But when a famed and feared assassin puts a hit on Catfish, Leonid has no choice but to confront the ghost of his own felonious past. Working to protect his client and his own family, Leonid must reach the heiress on the eve of her wedding before her powerful father kills those who hold their family's secret. Joined by a team of young and tough aspiring investigators, Leonid must gain the trust of wary socialites, outsmart vengeful thugs, and, above all, serve the truth -- no matter the cost.  

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Symphony of Secrets - Brendan Slocumb Cover Art

Symphony of Secrets

Symphony of Secrets A novel by Brendan 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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Their Eyes Were Watching God - Zora Neale Hurston Cover Art

Their Eyes Were Watching God

Their Eyes Were Watching God A Novel by Zora 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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And Then There Was Me - Sadeqa Johnson Cover Art

And Then There Was Me

And Then There Was Me A Novel of Friendship, Secrets and Lies by Sadeqa Johnson

Bea and Awilda have been best friends from the moment Awilda threw her fourteen year-old self across Bea’s twin-sized bed as if they had known each other forever. Bubbly, adventurous Awilda taught sheltered, shy Bea how to dress, wear her hair and what to do with boys. She even introduced Bea to her husband, Lonnie, in college, who pledged to take good care of her for the rest of their lives. But philanderer Lonnie breaks that promise over and over again, leaving Bea to wrestle with her self-esteem and long time secret addiction. Recently Lonnie has plopped the family in a New Jersey upper class suburb, which lacks the diversity that Bea craves but has the school district and zip code envy that Lonnie wants. The demands of carrying a third child and fitting into this new environment while pretending that her husband is not cheating on her again, is more than she can handle. And just when she thinks things can’t get any worst, the ultimate deception snaps the little thread that was holding her life together and all comes tumbling down. Sadeqa Johnson's And Then There Was Me is the story of love and friendship, heartache and betrayal. It’s the journey of a woman stripped down to her lowest point and needing to find the will to press on.

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Jubilee - Margaret Walker Cover Art

Jubilee

Jubilee by Margaret Walker

The bestselling classic about a mixed-race child in the Civil War-era South that "chronicles the triumph of a free spirit over many kinds of bondage" ( The New York Times Book Review ).   Jubilee tells the true story of Vyry, the child of a white plantation owner and his black mistress. Vyry bears witness to the antebellum South in both its opulence and its brutality, its wartime ruin, and the promises of Reconstruction.   Weaving her own family's oral history with thirty years of research, Margaret Walker brings the everyday experiences of slaves to light in a novel that churns with the hunger, the hymns, the struggles, and the very breath of American history.   "A revelation."— Milwaukee Journal   Includes a foreword by Nikki Giovanni

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Honey Girl - Morgan Rogers Cover Art

Honey Girl

Honey Girl A Novel by Morgan Rogers

Named Most Anticipated of 2021 by Oprah Magazine * Marie Claire * Ms. Magazine * E! * Parade Magazine * Buzzfeed * Cosmo * The Rumpus * GoodReads * Autostraddle * Brit & Co * Refinery29 * Betches * BookRiot and others! A LibraryReads Pick   “HONEY GIRL is an emotional, heartfelt, charming debut, and I loved every moment of it.” — Jasmine Guillory, New York Times bestselling author of The Proposal When becoming an adult means learning to love yourself first. With her newly completed PhD in astronomy in hand, twenty-eight-year-old Grace Porter goes on a girls’ trip to Vegas to celebrate. She’s a straight A, work-through-the-summer certified high achiever. She is not the kind of person who goes to Vegas and gets drunkenly married to a woman whose name she doesn’t know…until she does exactly that. This one moment of departure from her stern ex-military father’s plans for her life has Grace wondering why she doesn’t feel more fulfilled from completing her degree. Staggering under the weight of her parent’s expectations, a struggling job market and feelings of burnout, Grace flees her home in Portland for a summer in New York with the wife she barely knows. In New York, she’s able to ignore all the constant questions about her future plans and falls hard for her creative and beautiful wife, Yuki Yamamoto. But when reality comes crashing in, Grace must face what she’s been running from all along—the fears that make us human, the family scars that need to heal and the longing for connection, especially when navigating the messiness of adulthood.

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The Love Songs of W.E.B. Du Bois - Honorée Fanonne Jeffers Cover Art

The Love Songs of W.E.B. Du Bois

The Love Songs of W.E.B. Du Bois A Novel by Honorée Fanonne Jeffers

A Kirkus "Best Book of the 21st Century" An instant New York Times, Washington Post and USA Today Bestseller • AN OPRAH BOOK CLUB SELECTION • ONE OF THE ATLANTIC'S "GREAT AMERICAN NOVELS" • BARACK OBAMA'S FAVORITE BOOKS OF 2021 • WINNER OF THE NATIONAL BOOK CRITICS CIRCLE AWARD FOR FICTION A BEST BOOK OF THE YEAR: New York Times • Time • Washington Post • Oprah Daily • People • Boston Globe • BookPage • Booklist • Kirkus • Atlanta Journal-Constitution • Chicago Public Library Finalist for the PEN/Hemingway Award for Debut Novel • Longlisted for the National Book Award for Fiction • Finalist for the Kirkus Prize for Fiction • Nominee for the NAACP Image Award "Epic. . . . I was just enraptured by the lineage and the story of this modern African-American family. . . . I’ve never read anything quite like it. It just consumed me." —Oprah Winfrey The NAACP Image Award-winning poet makes her fiction debut with this magisterial epic of African American historical fiction—an intimate yet sweeping novel with all the luminescence and force of  Homegoing ;  Sing, Unburied, Sing ; and  The Water Dancer —that chronicles the journey of one American family, from the centuries of the colonial slave trade through the Civil War to our own tumultuous era.  The great scholar, W. E. B. Du Bois, once wrote about the Problem of race in America, and what he called "Double Consciousness," a sensitivity that every African American possesses in order to survive. Since childhood, Ailey Pearl Garfield has understood Du Bois’s words all too well. Bearing the names of two formidable Black Americans—the revered choreographer Alvin Ailey and her great grandmother Pearl, the descendant of enslaved Georgians and tenant farmers—Ailey carries Du Bois’s Problem on her shoulders. Ailey is reared in the north in the City but spends summers in the small Georgia town of Chicasetta, where her mother’s family has lived since their ancestors arrived from Africa in bondage. From an early age, Ailey fights a battle for belonging that’s made all the more difficult by a hovering trauma, as well as the whispers of women—her mother, Belle, her sister, Lydia, and a maternal line reaching back two centuries—that urge Ailey to succeed in their stead. In this powerful coming-of-age story, Ailey must learn to embrace her full heritage, a legacy of slavery and oppression, resistance, bondage and independence, cruelty and resilience that is the story—and the song—of America itself.

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Death of the Author - Nnedi Okorafor Cover Art

Death of the Author

Death of the Author A Novel by Nnedi Okorafor

2026 NAACP IMAGE AWARD WINNER WINNER OF THE LIBBY AWARD FOR BEST SCIENCE FICTION THE INSTANT NATIONAL BESTSELLER Recommended by New York Times Book Review • People • NPR • Rolling Stone • Los Angeles Times • Reader's Digest • and more! “This one has it all.” — George R.R. Martin • “As delicious as it is disorienting.” — Zakiya Dalila Harris • “Suspenseful, timely, and heartfelt.” — People • “Mind-bending.” — New York Times Book Review In this exhilarating tale by New York Times bestselling and award-winning author Nnedi Okorafor, a disabled Nigerian American woman pens a wildly successful Sci-Fi novel, but as her fame rises, she loses control of the narrative—a surprisingly cutting, yet heartfelt drama about art and love, identity and connection, and, ultimately, what makes us human. This is a story unlike anything you’ve read before. The future of storytelling is here. Disabled, disinclined to marry, and more interested in writing than a lucrative career in medicine or law, Zelu has always felt like the outcast of her large Nigerian family. Then her life is upended when, in the middle of her sister’s lavish Caribbean wedding, she’s unceremoniously fired from her university job and, to add insult to injury, her novel is rejected by yet another publisher. With her career and dreams crushed in one fell swoop, she decides to write something just for herself. What comes out is nothing like the quiet, literary novels that have so far peppered her unremarkable career. It’s a far-future epic where androids and AI wage war in the grown-over ruins of human civilization. She calls it Rusted Robots. When Zelu finds the courage to share her strange novel, she does not realize she is about to embark on a life-altering journey—one that will catapult her into literary stardom, but also perhaps obliterate everything her book was meant to be. From Chicago to Lagos to the far reaches of space, Zelu’s novel will change the future not only for humanity, but for the robots who come next. A book-within-a-book that blends the line between writing and being written, Death of the Author is a masterpiece of metafiction that manages to combine the razor-sharp commentary of Yellowface with the heartfelt humanity of Tomorrow and Tomorrow and Tomorrow . Surprisingly funny, deeply poignant, and endlessly discussable, this is at once the tale of a woman on the margins risking everything to be heard and a testament to the power of storytelling to shape the world as we know it. “An ambitious, inventive tribute to the power of storytelling itself.” — Nikki Erlick, New York Times bestselling author of The Measure “A deeply felt dazzle. A blaze. It is true deep to the bones.” — Luis Alberto Urrea, Pulitzer Prize finalist and bestselling author of The House of Broken Angels "There’s more vivid imagination in a page of Nnedi Okorafor’s work than in whole volumes." — Ursula K. Le Guin

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The Side Effects of You - Anna Black Cover Art

The Side Effects of You

The Side Effects of You by Anna Black

Andrea, Samantha, and Josie have one thing in common: an ex they want to forget. Although they've tried to keep it together, there comes a time when you have to move on. However, moving on only seems to make matters worse as they strive to make new lives for themselves. There is always something that keeps luring them back into the drama they're desperately trying to escape. Will these women finally find the path to happiness, or will the side effects of their exes keep them stuck in an unhappy rut?

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My First Love Was a Savage 2 - Myss Shan Cover Art

My First Love Was a Savage 2

My First Love Was a Savage 2 by Myss Shan

In the end of Part 1, Cash's mistakes had caught up to her and caused her to lose the man of her dreams. Now that the cat is out the bag, Giani is gone and she is forced to pick up the pieces of her life in the midst of the drama she caused. Her and her best friend Pumpkin are now the new owners of their own shop Luxe Dollhouse, but what happens when each of them invite the past back into their lives?

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Perfect Fit - Brenda Jackson Cover Art

Perfect Fit

Perfect Fit by Brenda Jackson

In this sexy, heartfelt classic from New York Times bestselling romance legend Brenda Jackson, one woman’s run of bad luck may end in the sweetest kind of windfall . . .   Sage Dunbar is dealt a shattering double blow when she discovers that her fiancé has depleted her bank accounts and her father has been having an affair. Reeling with shock, she accepts a job promotion that involves relocating to Anchorage, Alaska. She never expects to cross paths with a man who will challenge everything she thought she knew about love.   Gabe’s “sex-only” relationship policy has been working just fine, keeping him free of messy entanglements and emotional baggage. Then he meets Sage, and his no-commitment ways start to lose their appeal. But Sage isn’t ready to give her heart and trust to another man any time soon. With a single-minded determination that surprises even him, Gabe resolves to convince her that true love can erase every obstacle—real or imagined—in its path . . . “Jackson delivers a sizzling romance . . . and knows how to write crackling love scenes and those burst off the page.” — Entertainment Weekly on Best Laid Plans “Brenda Jackson is the queen of newly discovered love. . . . If there’s one thing Jackson knows how to do, it's how to pluck those heartstrings and stir up some seriously saucy drama.” — BookPage on Inseparable  

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A Dopegirl Needs Love Too 2 - Myss Shan Cover Art

A Dopegirl Needs Love Too 2

A Dopegirl Needs Love Too 2 by Myss 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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Jackal - Erin E. Adams Cover Art

Jackal

Jackal A Novel by Erin E. Adams

RECOMMENDED BY GILLIAN FLYNN ON THE TODAY SHOW • A young Black girl goes missing in the woods outside her white rust belt town. But she's not the first—and she may not be the last. . . . “I read this thriller that is Get Out meets The Vanishing Half in one night.”— BuzzFeed “Extraordinary . . . A terrifying tale of fears and hatreds generated by racism and class inequality.”—Associated Press EDGAR® AWARD FINALIST • BRAM STOKER® AWARD FINALIST • SHIRLEY JACKSON AWARD NOMINEE • PHENOMENAL BOOK CLUB PICK ONE OF THE BEST BOOKS OF THE YEAR: Esquire, Vulture, PopSugar, Paste, Publishers Weekly • ONE OF COSMOPOLITAN’S BEST HORROR NOVELS OF ALL TIME It’s watching. Liz Rocher is coming home . . . reluctantly. As a Black woman, Liz doesn’t exactly have fond memories of Johnstown, Pennsylvania, a predominantly white town. But her best friend is getting married, so she braces herself for a weekend of awkward, passive-aggressive reunions. Liz has grown, though; she can handle whatever awaits her. But on the night of the wedding, somewhere between dancing and dessert, the newlyweds’ daughter, Caroline, disappears—and the only thing left behind is a piece of white fabric covered in blood. It’s taking. As a frantic search begins, with the police combing the trees for Caroline, Liz is the only one who notices a pattern: A summer night. A missing girl. A party in the woods. She’s seen this before. Keisha Woodson, the only other Black girl in Liz’s high school, walked into the woods with a mysterious man and was later found with her chest cavity ripped open and her heart removed. Liz shudders at the thought that it could have been her, and now, with Caroline missing, it can’t be a coincidence. As Liz starts to dig through the town’s history, she uncovers a horrifying secret about the place she once called home. Children have been going missing in these woods for years. All of them Black. All of them girls. It’s your turn. With the evil in the forest creeping closer, Liz knows what she must do: find Caroline, or be entirely consumed by the darkness.

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Hustlin' Divas - De'nesha Diamond Cover Art

Hustlin' Divas

Hustlin' Divas by De'nesha Diamond

In the first book of a fierce new series, meet Memphis's hardest ride-or-die chicks as they fight along with their infamous men to lock down the Dirty South. Memphis is the crime capital of America, and no one knows that better than the women born and raised on its mean streets. It's put sisters Ta'Shara and LeShelle on opposite sides of the street game, where blood means nothing and loyalty doesn't last long. It's also got Yolanda, an ambitious drug mule, and Melanie, a police detective, caught up with the same man--the notorious hustler Python. These four women think they've got the game figured out, but the one man they have in common will have them living double lives and wondering who will come out on top. Forget what you heard about East Coast/West Coast, 'cause real vendettas are born in the Dirty South. "Diamond's ear for street talk comes across loud and clear. . .a violent and profane tale, which launches a gritty new series. The divas here are realistic characters, and the pacing zooms. . .one of the best constructed street lit stories of 2010." -- Library Journal "A nonstop, hard-hitting page-turner." --Tu-Shonda L. Whitaker

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Glory Be - Danielle Arceneaux Cover Art

Glory Be

Glory Be A Glory Broussard Mystery by Danielle Arceneaux

The first in a vivid and charming crime series set in the Louisiana bayou, introducing the hilariously uncensored amateur sleuth Glory Broussard. Perfect for fans of Richard Osman’s Thursday Murder Club. *A Washington Post Best Mystery Novel of the Year* It’s a hot and sticky Sunday in Lafayette, Louisiana, and Glory has settled into her usual after-church routine, meeting gamblers at the local coffee shop, where she works as a small-time bookie. Sitting at her corner table, Glory hears that her best friend—a nun beloved by the community—has been found dead in her apartment. When police declare the mysterious death a suicide, Glory is convinced that there must be more to the story and, with her reluctant daughter, with troubles of her own, in tow, launches a shadow investigation in a town of oil tycoons, church gossips, and a rumored voodoo priestess. As a Black woman of a certain age who grew up in a segregated Louisiana, Glory is used to being minimized and overlooked. But she’s determined to make her presence known as the case leads her deep into a web of intrigue she never realized Lafayette could harbor. Danielle Arcenaux’s riveting debut brings for an unforgettable character that will charm and delight crime fans everywhere and leave them hungry for her next adventure.

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Torn Between A Thug & A Boss 2 - Mia Black Cover Art

Torn Between A Thug & A Boss 2

Torn Between A Thug & A Boss 2 by Mia Black

Alivia never imagined she’d be a kept woman. It’s a lot to get used to and so out of her element. Following Dylan’s strict rules and behaving by a code of conduct isn’t something she’s ever had to do, but it just might be worth it to have the life she’s always wanted. Yet, a vacation to the Bahamas might make their agreement null and void when a meeting with a mysterious man threatens Alivia's new-found lifestyle. Will she choose to remain true to her word or has she found a new path to follow?

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The Kindest Lie - Nancy Johnson Cover Art

The Kindest Lie

The Kindest Lie A Novel by Nancy Johnson

Recommended by O Magazine * GMA * Elle * Marie Claire * Good Housekeeping * NBC News * Shondaland * Chicago Tribune * Woman's Day * Refinery 29 * Bustle * The Millions * New York Post * Parade * Hello! Magazine * PopSugar * and more! “The Kindest Lie is a deep dive into how we define family, what it means to be a mother, and what it means to grow up Black...beautifully crafted.” —JODI PICOULT "A fantastic story...well-written, timely, and oh-so-memorable."—Good Morning America “The Kindest Lie is a layered, complex exploration of race and class." —The Washington Post Every family has its secrets... It’s 2008, and the inauguration of President Barack Obama ushers in a new kind of hope. In Chicago, Ruth Tuttle, an Ivy-League educated Black engineer, is married to a kind and successful man. He’s eager to start a family, but Ruth is uncertain. She has never gotten over the baby she gave birth to—and was forced to leave behind—when she was a teenager. She had promised her family she’d never look back, but Ruth knows that to move forward, she must make peace with the past. Returning home, Ruth discovers the Indiana factory town of her youth is plagued by unemployment, racism, and despair. As she begins digging into the past, she unexpectedly befriends Midnight, a young white boy who is also adrift and looking for connection. Just as Ruth is about to uncover a burning secret her family desperately wants to keep hidden, a heart-stopping incident strains the town’s already searing racial tensions, sending Ruth and Midnight on a collision course that could upend both their lives. Powerful and unforgettable, The Kindest Lie is the story of an American family and reveals the secrets we keep and the promises we make to protect one another.

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Taking What's Hers 4 - Mia Black Cover Art

Taking What's Hers 4

Taking What's Hers 4 by Mia Black

Just when her life can’t get any worse, Kiyana finds herself in a dangerous situation. All secrets will be exposed in this fourth installment of Taking What’s Hers!

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White Doves at Morning - James Lee Burke Cover Art

White Doves at Morning

White Doves at Morning A Novel by James Lee Burke

For years, critics have acclaimed the power of James Lee Burke's writing, the luminosity of his prose, the psychological complexity of his characters, the richness of his landscapes. Over the course of twenty novels and one collection of short stories, he has developed a loyal and dedicated following among both critics and general readers. His thrillers, featuring either Louisiana cop Dave Robicheaux or Billy Bob Holland, a hardened Texas-based lawyer, have consistently appeared on national bestseller lists, making Burke one of America's most celebrated authors of crime fiction. Now, in a startling and brilliantly successful departure, Burke has written a historical novel -- an epic story of love, hate, and survival set against the tumultuous background of the Civil War and Reconstruction. At the center of the novel are James Lee Burke's own ancestors, Robert Perry, who comes from a slave-owning family of wealth and privilege, and Willie Burke, born of Irish immigrants, a poor boy who is as irreverent as he is brave and decent. Despite their personal and political conflicts with the issues of the time, both men join the Confederate Army, choosing to face ordeal by fire, yet determined not to back down in their commitment to their moral beliefs, to their friends, and to the abolitionist woman with whom both have become infatuated. One of the most compelling characters in the story, and the catalyst for much of its drama, is Flower Jamison, a beautiful young black slave befriended, at great risk to himself, by Willie and owned by -- and fathered by, although he will not admit it -- Ira Jamison. Owner of Angola Plantation, Ira Jamison is a true son of the Old South and also a ruthless businessman, who, after the war, returns to the plantation and re-energizes it by transforming it into a penal colony, which houses prisoners he rents out as laborers to replace the slaves who have been emancipated. Against all local law and customs, Flower learns from Willie to read and write, and receives the help and protection of Abigail Dowling, a Massachusetts abolitionist who had come south several years prior to help fight yellow fever and never left, and who has attracted the eye of both Willie and Robert Perry. These love affairs are not only fraught with danger, but compromised by the great and grim events of the Civil War and its aftermath. As in all of Burke's writings, White Doves at Morning is full of wonderful, colorful, unforgettable villains. Some, like Clay Hatcher, are pure "white trash" (considered the lowest of the low, they were despised by the white ruling class and feared by former slaves). From their ranks came the most notorious of the vigilante groups, such as the Ku Klux Klan, the White League and the Knights of the White Camellia. Most villainous of all, though, are the petty and mean-minded Todd McCain, owner of New Iberia's hardware store, and the diabolically evil Rufus Atkins, former overseer of Angola Plantation and the man Jamison has placed in charge of his convict labor crews. Rounding out this unforgettable cast of characters are Carrie LaRose, madam of New Iberia's house of ill repute, and her ship's-captain brother Jean-Jacques LaRose, Cajuns who assist Flower and Abigail in their struggle to help the blacks of the town. With battle scenes at Shiloh and in the Shenandoah Valley of Virginia that no reader will ever forget, and set in a time of upheaval that affected all men and all women at all levels of society, White Doves at Morning is an epic worthy of America's most tragic conflict, as well as a book of substance, importance, and genuine originality, one that will undoubtedly come to be regarded as a masterpiece of historical fiction.

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Family Tree - Barbara Delinsky Cover Art

Family Tree

Family Tree by Barbara Delinsky

NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER•  A superbly crafted novel, Family Tree asks penetrating questions about family and the choices people make in times of crisis. “ Family Tree is warm, rich, textured, and impossible to put down.” —Nora Roberts For as long as she can remember, Dana Clarke has longed for the stability of home and family. Now she has married a man she adores, whose heritage can be traced back to the Mayflower, and she is about to give birth to their first child. But what should be the happiest day of her life becomes the day her world falls apart. Her daughter is born beautiful and healthy, and in addition, unmistakably African-American in appearance. Dana’s determination to discover the truth about her baby’s heritage becomes a shocking, poignant journey.

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Always Outnumbered, Always Outgunned - Walter Mosley Cover Art

Always Outnumbered, Always Outgunned

Always Outnumbered, Always Outgunned by Walter Mosley

"Mournful, insightful, and mystical...Mosley's best work of fiction." —Elle New York Times bestselling author Walter Mosley introduces us to Socrates Fortlow, an "astonishing character" (Los Angeles Times Book Review) in this acclaimed collection of linked stories. "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 own two rock-breaking hands. Now, he has come home to a new kind of prison: two battered rooms in an abandoned building in Watts. Working a dead-end job at the supermarket and moving perilously close to invisibility, Socrates seeks inner truth and redemption amid the violence and hopelessness of South Central Los Angeles. In fourteen intertwining tales, Socrates grapples with situations that are never easy as he attempts to hold on to a job and offer a lifeline to a young man on his same bloodstained path. In Socrates's battle-scarred wisdom, there is hope of turning the world around in this "powerful, hard-hitting, unrelenting, poignant short fiction" ( Booklist ).

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A Dopegirl Needs Love Too - Myss Shan Cover Art

A Dopegirl Needs Love Too

A Dopegirl Needs Love Too by Myss 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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Mama Black Widow - Iceberg Slim Cover Art

Mama Black Widow

Mama Black Widow A Story of the South's Black Underworld by Iceberg Slim

“Iceberg Slim breaks down some of the coldest, capitalist concepts I’ve ever heard in my life.” —Dave Chappelle, from his Netflix special The Bird Revelation The most gritty and real illustration of the black ghetto ever told, from the only man capable of telling it, Iceberg Slim, bestselling author of Pimp . Iceberg Slim ’ s story is now depicted in a major motion picture distributed worldwide. Mama Black Widow tells the tragic story of Otis Tilson, a stunning black drag queen trapped in a cruel queer ghetto underworld. In hopes of escaping the racial bigotry and economic injustice of the South, Otis’ family journeys north from their plantation to an urban promised land. Once in Chicago Otis and his brother and sisters become prisoners to a wasteland of violence, crime, prostitution and rape. This is the gut-wrenching tale of the destruction of a family and the truest portrayal of homosexuality in the ghetto ever told.

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My First Love Was A Savage - Myss Shan Cover Art

My First Love Was A Savage

My First Love Was A Savage by Myss 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?

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Fearless Jones - Walter Mosley Cover Art

Fearless Jones

Fearless Jones by Walter Mosley

In this thrilling 1950s noir, when a beautiful woman comes into Paris Minton’s life, everything starts falling apart—leaving him no choice but to ask Fearless Jones for help. Mosley returns to mysteries at last with his most engaging hero since Easy Rawlins. When Paris Minton meets a beautiful new woman, before he knows it he has been beaten up, slept with, shot at, robbed, and his bookstore burned to the ground. He's in so much trouble he has no choice but to get his friend, Fearless Jones, out of jail to help him.

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The Choir Director - Carl Weber Cover Art

The Choir Director

The Choir Director by Carl Weber

SOON TO BE A MAJOR MOTION PICTURE   New York Times bestselling author Carl Weber takes readers back to church—where preaching isn’t always enough . . .   Bishop T.K. Wilson has done all he can to make First Jamaica Ministries a success. But with his last choir director getting caught in a scandal, attendance and cash flow are down. To fill the pews and collection plates, Bishop is counting on a new choir director, the charismatic Aaron Mackie, to revive the church.   Aaron has been waiting his entire life to prove he has what it takes to be a big-time choir director. But his ways around women, past and present, could cost him more than his job. Soon, the Bishop is dealing with in-fighting, jealousies, and personal vendettas. But a final piece of the puzzle has yet to be revealed: Someone has been robbing the church blind. Someone whose connection to the Bishop is far too close for comfort . . .   CATCH UP WITH BISHOP T.K. WILSON AND CHURCH MEMBERS IN THESE BOOKS   So You Call Yourself a Man The First Lady Up to No Good The Choir Director

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Family - J. California Cooper Cover Art

Family

Family by J. California Cooper

In this wise, beguiling, and beautiful novel set in the era of the Civil War, award-winning playwright and author J. California Cooper paints a haunting portrait of a woman named Always and four generations of her African-American family.

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Main Chick vs. Side Bitch 1 - Solaé Dehvine Cover Art

Main Chick vs. Side Bitch 1

Main Chick vs. Side Bitch 1 by Solaé Dehvine

"Side B*tches are getting bold these days" The finer the man, the more everyone is going to want him and DeWayne Coleman is no exception to the rule. With his main girl Kierra Lawrence by his side, DeWayne rules the town. Sneaking in and out of beds but DeWayne was always about to slither his way out of any whorish problem he got himself into.  DeWayne and Kiara had their share of ups and downs from women to extra kids but they always stayed together until Ariane came along.  Kiara is a lawyer with money and brains but Ariane has a body with hustle and street smarts and with DeWayne mixed in, disaster isn't far behind.  There is no way to stop the madness and with DeWayne caught in the world wind, the women have no choice but to fight for the love of their life, but at what cost?  Find out in Main Chick vs. Side Bitch

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Kingpin Wifeys Season 3 Part 2 The Agreement - K. Elliott Cover Art

Kingpin Wifeys Season 3 Part 2 The Agreement

Kingpin Wifeys Season 3 Part 2 The Agreement by K. Elliott

Stunna is out to finds out who's responsible for raping his sister Mickey . Q is out on bail and he wants to prove his innocence to Starr, but is he? Agent Barry Daniels threatens to expose Jada and Black's rendezvous if she doesn't go along with his shady plans. TeTe wants justice for her sister and Black's murders. The problem is: She doesn't know who she's getting revenge against. Shamari has just learned that his new flame Ava is a high class call girl.

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A Woman of Endurance - Dahlma Llanos-Figueroa Cover Art

A Woman of Endurance

A Woman of Endurance A Novel by Dahlma Llanos-Figueroa

Combining the haunting power of Toni Morrison’s Beloved with the evocative atmosphere of Phillippa Gregory’s A Respectable Trade, Dahlma Llanos-Figueroa’s groundbreaking novel illuminates a little discussed aspect of history—the Puerto Rican Atlantic Slave Trade—witnessed through the experiences of Pola, an African captive used as a breeder to bear more slaves. A Woman of Endurance, set in nineteenth-century Puerto Rican plantation society, follows Pola, a deeply spiritual African woman who is captured and later sold for the purpose of breeding future slaves. The resulting babies are taken from her as soon as they are born. Pola loses the faith that has guided her and becomes embittered and defensive. The dehumanizing violence of her life almost destroys her. But this is not a novel of defeat but rather one of survival, regeneration, and reclamation of common humanity.  Readers are invited to join Pola in her journey to healing. From the sadistic barbarity of her first experiences, she moves on to receive compassion and support from a revitalizing new community. Along the way, she learns to recognize and embrace the many faces of love—a mother’s love, a daughter’s love, a sister’s love, a love of community, and the self-love that she must recover before she can offer herself to another. It is ultimately, a novel of the triumph of the human spirit even under the most brutal of conditions. 

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My Daughter's Boyfriend - Cydney Rax Cover Art

My Daughter's Boyfriend

My Daughter's Boyfriend A Novel by Cydney Rax

MY DAUGHTER’S BOYFRIEND offers up the spicy tale of an impossibly tricky love triangle and marks the debut of a fresh and provocative new writer. Tracey Davenport was only seventeen when she had her daughter, Lauren, and has proudly raised her as a single mom. Now that Lauren is seventeen herself, Tracey is pleased to see that her daughter has taken her advice to heart: Lauren wants to wait instead of having sex with Aaron, a college student and her first real boyfriend. But Lauren’s decision causes a chain reaction that no one could have anticipated. In a few chance encounters, sparks fly between thirtysomething Tracey and twentysomething Aaron. Coming off yet another disappointing relationship with a cheating bachelor her own age, Tracey is surprised to find that her daughter’s boyfriend is mature and understanding beyond his years, and Aaron discovers that his girlfriend’s mom is smart, womanly, and, well, very sexy. Eventually, what begins as a harmless flirtation turns into something much, much hotter. And that’s when things really get complicated. Told in the alternating voices of the three lovers, My Daughter’s Boyfriend is full of sharp, lively observations about mothers and daughters, black men and women, and the truth about love and lust. Audacious and compelling, it’s the book everyone will be talking about.

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By What We Love - Charlene Carr Cover Art

By What We Love

By What We Love by Charlene Carr

Sometimes getting exactly what you want is the worst thing ever. Dream job? Check. Man to make every woman you know stop and turn? Check. But when having one means giving up the other, what's a girl … excuse me, woman to do? Eloise Grant, a successful and driven Public Relations Consultant, has worked her whole life to make sure she never has to depend on anyone but herself. But when she's offered a promotion she feels she can't refuse, depending on herself means leaving her friends, her family, and the man she loves behind. Whatever choice she makes, Eloise's life is about to unravel. Smart and engaging. Heart wrenching and unpredictable. By What We Love, book 3 in the A New Start stand-alone series, is the story of a woman desperate to have it all, while battling with memories of a past she'd rather forget. Here's what readers have to say about By What We Love "This book was delightful , frustrating, hilarious , sad, insightful and hopeful but most of all, it was real ." – Gem Otto " By What We Love is a book that I LOVE. It is full of things to think about, contemplate, ruminate, discuss and perhaps even dream about… if you are a workaholic or are married to, or a partner of, a workaholic, this is a MUST READ ." – Sandra, Goodreads Reviewer "Such feels! Oh the surprises! … this book may be permanently etched on my heart … you should read this book. Seriously." – Kitty's Book Spot " With every page turn, the plot thickens somehow, making it an engaging read with lots of action." – Katie Postlethwaite "Charlene Carr keeps amazing me by her life lessons. Can't wait for the next one!" – Amazon Reviewer "Any career driven woman could sympathize with Eloise… having to choose between their career and their family… you can see yourself in the main character's shoes. " – Lorrea at WhatChaReadin'? "Charlene Carr takes you on a journey of the heart ." – Amazon Reviewer "I have never written a review for a book before but felt compelled to write one for By What We Love . I was drawn into the story from page one … I really enjoyed this book!" – Yvette Hernandez "Eloise is a very likable character… She's strong willed and a go getter. I cheered for her, I laughed with her, my heart broke with hers. Great writing!" – Jolita Aubin Book Club discussion questions are available on the author's website .

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Iola Leroy - Frances E. W. Harper Cover Art

Iola Leroy

Iola Leroy Or, Shadows Uplifted by Frances E. W. Harper

The classic Civil War novel about a Southern woman who is unaware of her mixed-race heritage until she is sold into slavery by her uncle. The beautiful, refined daughter of a wealthy Mississippi planter and slaveholder, Iola Leroy leads a privileged life and attends school in the North. But a family tragedy leads to a stunning revelation: Iola is half Black. She is sold off into slavery and sent away from her family. Eventually freed by the Union army, Iola embraces her newfound identity as a Black woman and becomes a nurse at a military hospital. When the war finally ends, Iola's struggles continue. But she rises to meet the challenge, working hard to improve life not only for herself, but for all Black Americans. Originally released in 1892, Iola Leroy is one of the first novels by an African American woman published in the United States. "Clearly Harper's words prove her awareness of the cultural and political functions of narrative. . . . Iola Leroy is a novel filled with the complexities and contradictions of black-and-female existence in America in the nineteenth century. While the success of the novel is indisputable in terms of copies sold, what is harder to measure is the extent to which it altered cultural and racial attitudes." — The Women's Review of Books

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Clifford's Blues - John A. Williams Cover Art

Clifford's Blues

Clifford's Blues A Novel by John A. Williams

A black musician arrested by Nazis in 1930s Germany endures the horrors of the Dachau death camp in this harrowing novel based on historical fact A self-proclaimed "gay negro" from New Orleans, Clifford Pepperidge made his name in the smoky nightclubs of Harlem in the 1920s, playing piano alongside Bessie Smith, Duke Ellington, and other jazz greats. A decade later, he thrills crowds nightly in the cabarets of Weimar Berlin. But dark days are on the horizon as the Nazi Party rises to power.   Arrested by Hitler's Gestapo during a roundup of homosexuals, Clifford finds himself placed in "protective custody" and transported to a concentration camp. Stripped of his dignity and his identity, and plunged into a nightmare of forced labor, starvation, and abuse, he seeks escape in his music. When a camp SS officer and jazz aficionado recognizes Clifford, the gentle musician learns just how far a desperate man will go in order to survive.   Shining a light on a little-known aspect of the Holocaust, Clifford's Blues is a disturbing portrait of a dark era in world history and a poignant celebration of the resilience of the human spirit and the power of music.  

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The Pastor's Scandal 5 - Kia Summers Cover Art

The Pastor's Scandal 5

The Pastor's Scandal 5 The Mia Wilds Story by Kia Summers

Just as Mia makes peace with her issues with rejection, abandonment, and secrets, she discovers they aren’t the worst of the pain she’s known. The Deacon from Endless Love Baptist Church, makes another appearance in Mia’s life and is bringing all the old pain and anguish back to the surface for her. As he grows closer to her, Mia must find a way to remain vigilant, strong and have a voice or the pain from her past will wreak havoc on the new, happier life she’s trying to hold onto with everything she’s got. Now that she’s rededicated her life to God. Will she put all the Lies, Secrets and the “Pastor Scandal” behind her? Find out what happens in part Five of The Pastor's Scandal: Finding Her Faith!

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BFF'S - Brenda Hampton Cover Art

BFF'S

BFF'S by Brenda Hampton

Kayla, Evelyn, and Trina have been on-and-off-again girlfriends for many years, but the lines of true friendship will be crossed, the knives that go into another friend's back will cut deep, trust will not apply, and no one will share their dirty little secrets. With enough backstabbing, finger-pointing, and disrespect to go around, this trio sticks to their motto of "What she can do, I can do better; and whatever she has, I want a piece of it too." Much competition is thrown in the mix, and jealousy is so thick that there will be no place for anyone to run when the mess hits the fan. Only then will they attempt to put their many differences aside, but when severe damage is already done, it may be possible to forgive, but certainly not to forget.

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Days of Southern Comfort - A Sensual Interracial BWWM Sexy Romance Short Story from Steam Books - Crystal White Cover Art

Days of Southern Comfort - A Sensual Interracial BWWM Sexy Romance Short Story from Steam Books

Days of Southern Comfort - A Sensual Interracial BWWM Sexy Romance Short Story from Steam Books by Crystal White

Raised in an old fashioned town in Georgia, Silas still works on his parents' farm. When Luna, a polite, quiet young black girl comes to apply for stable work for his parents, he's upset by how easily they brush her off. Silas strikes up a friendship that quickly becomes heated by fiery passion. WARNING: This 3,764-word story is a steamy read that features passionate interracial lovemaking between a black woman and white man, romance, sex in the outdoors, and may be too hot for some readers to handle! 

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The Guy Next Door - DL White Cover Art

The Guy Next Door

The Guy Next Door by DL White

"Evonne busted into Taj's life like a wrecking ball!" Quiet, reserved musician and Registered Nurse Taj Wright has his world turned upside down when he rents his guest house to Evonne, a spunky hair stylist who's a big fan of murder podcasts. The attraction between them at first sight is immediately electric. When a storm ravages Potter Lake, and they're forced to share close quarters, they can no longer resist each other. But... now what? Evonne is on a mission to prove that she isn't the screwup that was sent home from Spelman College ten years ago. Taj is floundering, trying to tamp down a desire that can't be stifled. The last thing either of them wants is an emotional attachment to a temporary relationship.. but does it have to stay temporary? On a rainy night in Georgia, two hearts meet. They're never the same again. Grab this fun and funny small town Black romance.

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Spirits in My Bedroom - DAYLITE THOMPSON Cover Art

Spirits in My Bedroom

Spirits in My Bedroom by DAYLITE THOMPSON

Adultery, homosexuality, murder, lies, and deceit—it will take an act of forgiveness to release you from the pain someone causes you. This heart-throbbing story is based on actual events. Kyle is a young boy who wants to enjoy life as a child, but he can't because his childhood images of what a man is supposed to be have been shattered by the mental and physical abuse of his stepfather. Growing up in a house full of debauchery, drugs, and stepmothers, Kyle believes he must sleep with as many women as he can to conquer his craving for women and his homosexual thoughts. Kyle took on the responsibility of raising his younger sister Mya in hopes of giving her a better life than what his stepfather provided for them, but Mya will have to deal with her own set of issues when she's caught in a love triangle with her high school sweetheart and a married man. There comes a point in everyone's life where you will fall to your knees and ask for forgiveness, and Kyle and Mya must confront the pain of their past and the lust of their sheets, and learn how to forgive their trespassers. Spirits in My Bedroom is not just their story, but it's a story of how true forgiveness can change your life. Their story and others like it will empower you to deal with the difficulties of abuse, sex, drugs, and lies, while teaching the significance of forgiveness . Matthew 6:14-15 says: "For if you forgive men their trespasses, your heavenly Father will also forgive you.  But     if you do not forgive men their trespasses, neither will your Father forgive your trespasses.

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Recipe For Desire - Cheris Hodges Cover Art

Recipe For Desire

Recipe For Desire by Cheris Hodges

Marie Charles' party-girl days come to a screeching halt with a DWI arrest and a totaled Jaguar. And this time, her famed attorney father isn't going to pull any strings to get her out of this self-imposed calamity. Sentenced to 500 hours of community service at a local women's shelter, her supervisor is renowned chef and TV star Devon Harris volunteers at My Sister's Keeper. And he's not happy Marie is going to be working him and the ladies he's been helping. All he knows about her is that she's an entitled party girl who makes headlines for the wrong reasons. But as Marie outgrows the selfish girl she was, Devon is turned on by the woman she's becoming. .

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The Dust Storm (A Short Story) - Katrina Parker Williams Cover Art

The Dust Storm (A Short Story)

The Dust Storm (A Short Story) by Katrina Parker Williams

The Dust Storm (A 3936-Word Short Story) Also Read Trouble Down South and Other Stories and Mo' Trouble Down South In the 1930's, during the Great Depression, Muriel must contemplate moving back East with her daughter and Maw Maw, after spending several years with her husband, Palmer, in the Dust Bowl of Texas. The idea of owning his own farm has been Palmer's dream all of his life. It has been a long, hard, painful year for Muriel's family, and the constant dust storms that have wreaked havoc across the Mid-West have left her disillusioned and ready for a change. Will she leave her husband behind? Will he leave with her?

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LITTLE MOBILE HOME ON THE TUNDRA - TD Flenaugh Cover Art

LITTLE MOBILE HOME ON THE TUNDRA

LITTLE MOBILE HOME ON THE TUNDRA by TD Flenaugh

Little Mobile Home on the Tundra: Interrupting Generational Dysfunction is a richly layered literary novel that chronicles the emotional, spiritual, and psychological formation of a young Black girl growing up in the remote interior of Alaska. Set beneath the surreal light of the midnight sun, the novel examines how childhood environments, family systems, faith traditions, and unspoken trauma shape identity across generations. Told through the perceptive voice of Tawny, the story begins with her family living in a fragile mobile home on the tundra-an impermanent structure that mirrors the instability of her early life. As Tawny moves through childhood and adolescence, she encounters poverty, racism, rigid religious expectations, parental absence, emotional neglect, and the quiet violence of silence within families. Yet she also experiences moments of tenderness, intellectual awakening, and deep longing for belonging and safety. The Alaskan landscape functions as more than a backdrop; it is a living presence that reflects both isolation and possibility. Against this stark environment, Tawny learns to observe the contradictions of adult authority, the weight of inherited pain, and the unexamined patterns passed from parent to child. Education, storytelling, and spiritual questioning become tools through which she begins to understand herself and imagine a future beyond survival. As the narrative unfolds, the novel traces Tawny's growing awareness of generational dysfunction-how trauma is transmitted through behavior, belief systems, and the difficult, often lonely work required to interrupt it. Rather than offering simple resolutions, the story honors the complexity of healing, emphasizing reflection, accountability, and the courage to confront the past. Written with lyrical precision and emotional honesty, Little Mobile Home on the Tundra is a coming-of-age novel that speaks to readers interested in family dynamics, cultural identity, faith, resilience, and the long arc of healing. It is particularly suited for readers of literary fiction, book clubs, academic and therapeutic settings exploring intergenerational trauma and personal transformation.

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Butterfly - Ashley Antoinette Cover Art

Butterfly

Butterfly by Ashley Antoinette

Butterfly is the first novel in an all new series by New York Times bestselling author Ashley Antoinette and an instant USA Today bestseller! “Run away from the boy that gives you butterflies, he's going to break your heart.” Morgan Atkins had been told that phrase ever since she was a little girl and still she allowed herself to fall for the boy that made her heart flutter. After losing her first love, Morgan is terrified to love again. She's settled for a comfortable life with a respectable man. She has everything. She's living in the lap of luxury and although she's comfortable, she's bored out of her mind. When a ghost from her past blows into town, she finds herself entangled in an illicit affair. It's wrong, but she can't fight the butterflies he gives her and honestly, she doesn't want to. She can't hide the natural attraction she feels and soon, she's so deep involved that she can no longer tell where the boundary between right and wrong lies. Her heart is telling her one thing, but her head is saying another. Morgan Atkins has always been a spoiled girl and she tries to have it all, but when she's forced to choose between a good man and a bad boy, someone will end up hurt. Someone just may end up dead. Morgan Atkins has been through more tragedy than one girl can bear. Will she weather this storm? Or will the ultimate heartbreak ruin her for good?

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The Dopeman's Wife - JaQuavis Coleman Cover Art

The Dopeman's Wife

The Dopeman's Wife by JaQuavis 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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Deacon King Kong (Oprah's Book Club) - James McBride Cover Art

Deacon King Kong (Oprah's Book Club)

Deacon King Kong (Oprah's Book Club) A Novel by 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 New York Times Readers Pick: 100 Best Books of the 21st Century 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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The Violin Conspiracy - Brendan Slocumb Cover Art

The Violin Conspiracy

The Violin Conspiracy A Novel (Good Morning America Book Club) by Brendan 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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Kiss in the Wind - Danielle Stewart Cover Art

Kiss in the Wind

Kiss in the Wind by Danielle Stewart

Looking back can seem daunting. Moving forward can feel impossible. With an old friend back in her life, will Betty hold on to yesterday even if it tears her apart?  Betty's life takes an unexpected turn when a friend, long thought lost in the passages of time, re-enters her world. This reunion stirs up a whirlwind of memories, some heartwarming and others painful. As Betty reconnects with this important figure from her past, she is forced to confront questions she has long avoided. Can she embrace the future without letting go of everything that has shaped her? 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. Everyone she loves is now by her side. But will it be enough to confront the darkness that's threatening to take over. 

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God Don't Like Ugly - Mary Monroe Cover Art

God Don't Like Ugly

God Don't Like Ugly by Mary Monroe

The captivating first book in the acclaimed, award-winning and New York Times bestselling God series sweeps readers back to the streets, porches, and parlors of civil rights-era Ohio to bring to life the beginning of an enduring friendship between two girls from opposite sides of the track. "Reminiscent of Zora Neale Hurston." — Publishers Weekly Annette Goode is a shy, awkward, overweight child with a terrible secret. Frightened and ashamed, Annette withdraws into a world of books and food. But the summer she turns thirteen, something incredible happens: Rhoda Nelson chooses her as a friend. Dazzling, generous Rhoda, who is everything Annette is not—gorgeous, slim, and worldly—welcomes Annette into the heart of her eccentric family, which includes her handsome and dignified father; her lovely, fragile “Muh’Dear;” her brooding, dangerous brother Jock; and her colorful white relatives—half-crazy Uncle Johnny, sultry Aunt Lola, and scary, surly Granny Goose. With Rhoda’s help, Annette survives adolescence and blossoms as a woman. But when her beautiful best friend makes a stunning confession about a horrific childhood crime, Annette’s world will never be the same.

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So Deep in My Feelings 2: A Hood Love Tale - Myss Shan Cover Art

So Deep in My Feelings 2: A Hood Love Tale

So Deep in My Feelings 2: A Hood Love Tale by Myss 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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Black Cake: A Read with Jenna Pick - Charmaine Wilkerson Cover Art

Black Cake: A Read with Jenna Pick

Black Cake: A Read with Jenna Pick A Novel by Charmaine Wilkerson

NOW A HULU STREAMING SERIES • 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.