African American Contemporary Romance

Sometimes you go in search of a new beginning. Other times, it finds you. Tonya Martin enjoys her job as a professional chef for a Wall Street bank, her East Harlem walk-up, and the freedom to live and love by her own rules - right up until the day she finds herself suddenly downsized. But a spontaneous trip to New Orleans opens up a new opportunity. With time on her hands and her daughter soon graduating college, Tonya has the chance to reach for her own long-cherished dream - opening a restaurant on her friend Hannah's beautiful Garden District estate.

Essence best-selling novelist Anita Diggs explores Hercsville, Long Island, an African American town where everyone aspires to be rich and beautiful, and where the hunger for sex, power, and money becomes insatiable. Denzel's Lips follows a tumultuous series of events surrounding four women whose lives are destined to become irrevocably entangled.

When Miriam's fireman husband, Chauncey, dies while rescuing students from a school fire, Miriam feels like her life is over. How is she going to raise her three children all by herself? How will she survive without the love of her life? Luckily, Miriam's sister-friend Emily and Emily's husband, Jamal, are there to comfort her. But all the time that Miriam and Jamal spend together - grieving, sharing, and reminiscing - brings the two closer in ways they never planned...

Layover is the story of a young, attractive real estate broker stuck in a loveless marriage who falls for her brother-in-law after experiencing a layover in his home city. Nya is a stunning go-getter who refused to be a jumpoff to an NBA mega-star. She cashed in his lavish gifts and started her own real estate company. Soon, she met the man of her dreams - or so she thought. Her handsome husband Kenny turned out to be a selfish bully who cared more about appearances than people. Nya sets off on a business trip that would breathe new life into her struggling company.

Monshay Baxter fell in love with Lamar Logan on the very summer night they met. Lamar really enjoys Monshay's company; just not enough to give up all of his other women. In The Night I Fell in Love, you'll see how falling in love can change everything.

Hairstylist Mackenzie Reese is feeling fabulous and free! Her teenage son has gone cross-country to live with her ex, so Mackenzie's got a new lease on life--no men, no kids, no problem! Then sexy disc jockey Ian Kelly moves in next door...and it's more than just the barbecue that heats up. Ian moved to Vermont for a job and his own type of freedom. But he hadn't counted on a beautiful, sassy neighbor to stir his deep, delicious longings.

Sean, Patrick, and Sandra are the Three Musketeers. They do everything together, including work at a successful gym called Boot Camp. Sandra Patterson, is the resident nutritionist, but trainers Sean and Patrick want more than a platonic relationship.

At 39, Josie Bordelon's modeling career as the "it" Black beauty of the '90s is far behind her. Now director of admissions at San Francisco's most sought after private school, she's chic, single, and determined to keep her 17-year-old daughter, Etta, from making the same mistakes she did. But Etta has plans of her own - and their beloved matriarch, Aunt Viv, has Etta's back. If only Josie could manage Etta's future as well as she manages the shenanigans of the over-anxious, over-eager parents at school - or her best friend's attempts to coax Josie back onto the dating scene.

Women call him "the perfect storm", and Jayla Cole knows that Atlanta fire chief Storm Westmoreland lives up to his devastating reputation. A business trip to New Orleans sparks a chance reunion and a scorching, five-alarm weekend. But Jayla has already made plans for a child of her own - and a man famous for blazing affairs that burn out quickly doesn’t figure into it. Now Storm has one chance to prove that together they have the makings of a perfect family.

Every woman dreams of getting married to the man she loves. So why is the independent, vivacious Glover having second thoughts about her engagement to her rich, sexy boyfriend, Lionel? Meanwhile, Louisiana country boy Max decides moving to LA will better not only his career chances, but his love life. It’s just his luck that the beautiful woman who can help him professionally - and personally - is about to be married to another man. A chance meeting at an employment office gives new meaning to the phrase “reality check” as Glover and Max try to sort through the drama that is bound to happen if they get together.

Getting dumped by her fiance right before the holidays was not how Meena imagined things would be. Embarrassed more than anything, she sucks it up and still visits home without her man, only to find out that her first love has been searching for her.

Eve is a recovering drug addict, who was just released from prison to a female Christian halfway house. She signed up for the halfway house not to recover but to learn how to stop using drugs so often. Eve has no intentions of staying clean until she meets Reverend Washington. Reverend Washington's wife dies during childbirth, and Eve seduces the newly widowed reverend until she becomes his new wife and the mother to the reverend's three young children. But Eve is very resentful of the deceased Mrs. Washington and plots to make her husband's first wife look like a lying adulterer.

Three men who have a way with the ladies struggle to keep their heads when each finds that love is more important than sex.

Tressie faithfully prayed every night that God would send her a thug. It wasn't long before her prayers were answered and she met a handsome ex-convict named Payce Boyd. Payce is a fine roughneck and everything Tressie ever imagined and more. That is until Tressie experiences firsthand the reality of being a thug's girl. Seeking solace and comfort in the sanctuary, Tressie soon learns valuable lessons and shocking truths about herself and others.

Love wasn’t supposed to be a part of the deal… Even a famed matchmaker like Nolan Madaris’s great-grandmother can’t get it right every time. Nolan, the notorious fun-loving ladies’ man, could never connect with someone as straitlaced as tech whiz Ivy Chapman. Yet the scheme Ivy proposes is tempting - they can pretend to be a couple, just long enough to satisfy their families. But someone forgot to clue in their hearts. What happens, though, when Ivy’s plan to get her relatives off her back has an unexpected side effect: getting her into Nolan’s bed?

Blu thinks she knows all there is to know about the dope game. She's watched her momma serve out of the same place they lay their heads since she was a little girl. Then her brother's best friend, Budz, shows her that there is more to the game than just selling drugs. With love, loyalty, and wealth on her side, what more could she want? Blu finds out when she is introduced to Black, and Blu is determined to make him her reality. Torn between two men who have secrets and motives of their own, Blu has no idea what she's gotten herself into, but she knows there is only one way out.

Two-time Hurston/Wright Legacy Award finalist Bernice L. McFadden has also been twice honored by the Black Caucus of the American Library Association. One of Library Journal's 25 Key Indie Fiction Titles, this heartbreaking tale follows two damaged but hopeful souls as they struggle to find love despite the ravages of their pasts.

Meeting Porter may be the best thing that ever happened to Winona Fairchild, besides the births of her two beautiful children. But as much as Porter wants to get married, Winona has good reason not to get too close to anyone, no matter how right it may seem. Despite a threat from the past that comes back to haunt him, Porter is willing to stand his ground. But when Winona's long-time secret is revealed to her kids, someone will have to pay.

In this tale of secrets and style, a wealthy Wall Street investment banker, Lyle Johnson, seems to have found an ideal business partner in Tess Aventura Dubois. She is a wealthy widow who has just moved back to New York City with enough cash to make his bar a swinging night spot. But behind her glamorous facade, lays a disturbing secret that could be Lyle’s downfall.

Alexis Fletcher hasn't had a merry Christmas in five years - not since her mother passed away. Every December she remembers the joy her mother brought to everyone during the holiday season and feels the pain of her absence, even more so now that she and her sister are barely speaking. More than anything, Alexis wishes her family could be whole again.