African American Contemporary

Sportswriter Nina Richardson had the perfect life away from her family's famous shadow. But a social media blowup and rejection by her boyfriend brought her back to their peaceful Charleston, South Carolina B&B to figure out what went wrong. So there's no way she's going to trust the crazy-hot sparks flying between her and handsome new employee Clinton Jefferson. It's just reckless, rip-his-clothes-off, one-night-and-forget-it lust - right?

Tabitha Knicely is overwhelmed with sorrow and exhaustion caring for her beloved great-aunt, whose dementia is getting worse. When her neighbor Marcus Whittington accuses Tabitha of elder neglect, he doesn't realize how his threats to have Aunt Tweet taken away add to Tabitha's pain. Then Marcus gets to know the exuberant elderly lady and sees up close how hard Tabitha is fighting to keep everything together. Tabitha finds herself leaning on Marcus more and more. And he's becoming more than happy to share her burdens.

Arriving in Washington, DC, to start his own company, with the help of his friends Jada and Wellington, 22-year-old Darius Jones hires a woman from his past, Fancy Taylor, to oversee his West Coast offices, which leads to trouble. Still harboring the wounds of his mother's deception and a childhood without his biological father, caught between an all-consuming pride and the call of his own untrusting heart, Darius has a lot to learn: about life, women, and what it takes to find and nurture real love. And if he's not careful, he might just end up on the bottom of everything.

Heir to the infamous DeLuca drug cartel fortune, Angel DeLuca walked away from it all for a normal life - until a wrenching betrayal shattered his belief in anything but saving his family's hard-won legacy. He's come back to lead the DeLuca empire - no matter the cost. But his most dangerous rival is the one woman whose fierce determination he can't resist....

Carin Douglas is a fearless young girl, thrust into the role of a stickup kid alongside Brooklyn's most notorious thugs. She learns to fight, to survive, and to shine through a series of events that take her from a young girl on the verge to a designer-clad diva with a hot car, an even hotter man, and a million skeletons in her closet. When Carin meets Monty, aka "Money Monty", he sweeps her off her feet with one romantic gesture after another. Their urban fairytale soon erupts into passionate sex, bold power moves, and, eventually, devastating physical violence between them.

After a complicated love triangle found Ne'Vaeh involved with her best friend's man, she thought she had found happiness. Unfortunately, heartbreak continues for her, and now she is struggling to deal with feelings of love lost. Charlene says she is pregnant by Aaron, the man they both loved, and Ne'Vaeh is devastated. Charlene refuses to set the record straight. She doesn't want Aaron, but she's determined to keep him away from her backstabbing former friend. Old feelings resurface, and Ne'Vaeh finds herself falling in love again; however, Charlene's jealousy is about to consume 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.

Maven Edwards was raised on the ruthless streets of Detroit but makes it out in one piece. An executive in the music industry, he has fortune, fame, and good looks, but an ice cold heart from time spent in various orphanages. Maven isn't looking for love, or even one female to share his wealth and success with. He is a bona fide ladies' man. The more arm candy he has to flaunt at celebrity parties, buy high-priced gifts for, and take on luxurious trips, the better. He's all about building his brand, making money, and collecting beautiful women who can coexist as sister wives.

Atlanta's mayor, The Honorable Josiah J. Bishop, has an addiction to his wife, Mink, that is just as powerful as her toxic love affair with heroin. As her life spirals out of control due to her obsession with the needle, his love and devotion to her is slowly shredding his soul into tiny pieces. But he just can't let her go. The brotha's loyalty to the love of his life and the mother of his two young, adorable daughters is deeper than any ocean.

Considered an unlikely pair, Marcus, the reformed dope boy, and Nikki, the pampered princess, have undeniable chemistry. Problems arise when only one of them is willing to be honest and acknowledge the obvious attraction. Because she doesn't feel that he fits into her world or the plan she has mapped out for her life, Nikki curves Marcus without hesitation from their first encounter. Unable to see past her fears, she doesn't realize that rejecting him just may cost her the man she was meant to spend her life with.

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.

Midori Hunter has it all, and on the outside looking in, one would think Midori is happy, but it's another story when you don't marry for love. Tired of her cheating husband and with being lonely, Midori takes a liking to Jaydah B., the sassy best-selling author. They appear to be a match made in heaven. When the lies that both women have told threaten to be exposed, who decides who stays and who goes? Midori and Jaydah have a lot on the line, and both could lose everything they've worked for. That's why their love affair has to remain their little secret.

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.

At 72, Johnny Ribkins shouldn't have such problems: he's got one week to come up with the money he stole from his mobster boss or it's curtains. What may or may not be useful to Johnny as he flees is that he comes from an African American family that has been gifted with superpowers that are a bit, well, odd. Okay, very odd. For example, Johnny's father could see colors no one else could see. His brother could scale perfectly flat walls. His cousin belches fire. And Johnny himself can make precise maps of any space you name, whether he's been there or not.

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.

Celebrated author Cheris Hodges pens romantic tales that hit all the right notes. In Recipe for Desire, Marie Charles’ party-girl days come to a screeching halt with a DWI arrest and a totaled Jaguar. Sentenced to 500 hours of community service at a local women’s shelter, her only bright spot is a fellow volunteer, TV star Devon Harris. But Devon wants nothing to do with Marie and her selfish ways - until her work at the shelter has her turning over a new leaf.

Meet Keisha Montez: a gorgeous college student on the brink of stardom. All she has to do is put her assets to work.... Blessed with a body that won't quit, Keisha is also one very smart, tough woman with big hopes for her future - a future where she'll do whatever it takes to make enough money to get through school and see her dreams become reality....

Picking up where Essence best-selling author La Jill Hunt's Shoulda, Woulda, Coulda left off, Too Close for Comfort follows Paige Michaels and her no-nonsense friends as they search for love. Paige has finally broken loose from her no-good man, and she's loving the single life - until Quincy Westbrooke shows up.

One morning, Felicia is startled to see police at the house of her long-ago lover, Luther. When she learns that Luther's wife and young son have been murdered in their home, she refuses to accept the police's contention that the man she once loved could have committed the crime.