African Urban Fiction

Against all odds, Adirah Messa has been accepted to Billet University, a prestigious institution founded in the 1800s for people of color. Determined to excel, she arrives at the university intent on minimizing distraction and focusing on her studies. That goal is soon interrupted when she is noticed by members of the "in" crowd, who invite her to the most popular frat party on campus. Adirah finds herself smitten with someone of another race and is taken on a ride she can never return from. Unbeknownst to her, Adirah's newfound love is not only a master seducer.

Tiffany is trapped in a life she never wanted for herself. The man she fell in love with turned out to be a lazy, good-for-nothing womanizer. Night after night Tiffany comes home to Blake’s physical, mental, and verbal abuse. She’s tried leaving it in the past, but somehow he always finds her. Each time, she comes back and convinces herself things will get better. Then one day Blake beats her for the last time. Tiffany decides death is the only way out - and she’s not the one being buried. Her life takes a drastic turn as she attempts to live the life she’s always wanted.

Jewel climbed up the heap to become queen of the streets, diva of all divas. But now that she's expecting a baby, she's concerned about just one thing - giving her child a good life, away from the guns, the drugs, and the lies. However, that also means a life away from the glitz and glam that Jewel still craves, and she's not quite ready to give it all up...not until she's back on top. Flat broke and miles away from her fugitive baby daddy, Jewel will have to put every bit of her street savvy, as well as her sharp business skills, into action to gain back her place and her power.

Jewel used to be content with being a ride or die chick, playing Bonnie while the men in her life played Clyde. But now she realizes that it was her connections and street smarts that helped her man, Calico, rise to the top, and Jewel wants to be the one in control. She's tired of taking orders from men. She's willing to do anything to be queen of the streets, but when a deal she makes with the enemy comes back to haunt her, her dream is turned into a nightmare. Hopeless and struggling to keep her head above water, Jewel meets Misty, who seems to be her savior.

The Porters are a family of young goons who have mastered every aspect of the game. From robbery to drugs to extortion, there is nothing that the infamous band of siblings hasn’t been involved in. They devise a plan to escape to Mexico and retire at the height of their career - but then the feds come in. With the authorities hot on their heels, the Porters take listeners on a wild ride as they make their way to Mexico to avoid the death penalty.

Ever since he was a child, the only thing Cyril Anderson wanted was to be down with his brother Cane's crew. Cane Anderson, leader of the notorious Bankroll Crips, was invincible - or so Cyril thought. On the night of Cyril's initiation, things take a terrible turn and leave Cane lying dead in a pool of his own blood. Now the leader of a blood-thirsty gang, there is only one thing that Cyril wants to do: seek revenge.

What do you do when your work is used against you? This is a question that Auto, leader of the Eraserheads, faces when an unforeseen and dangerous situation wreaks havoc on everything he's built. It's up to him and his right hand, Code, along with their team of expert car thieves to figure out who's behind the attacks on their livelihood. When a crafty con woman named Smiley and a mysterious businessman named Boots step onto the scene, every player becomes a pawn in a war that is taking over the Trap.

Welcome to Detroit, Michigan, home of the grittiest, illest, most hardcore, crime-infested, poverty-stricken neighborhoods in the country. It's sometimes referred to as the Murder Capital because of the huge murder rate that never ceases to surprise us, the Murder Mitten, or the Dirty Glove because of the state's shape on the US map.

Jonas, the only boy in a family of four children, has always been a fighter. From the neighborhood bullies to the stepfather who uses him and his siblings as punching bags, his life has always been one battle after another. When he crosses paths with rogue homicide detective Louis "Lou" Ceavers, he's offered a bargain that will change the course of his life. Detective Ceavers becomes like a guardian angel and surrogate father to Jonas, teaching him the game and guiding him in his quest for power.

With a unique style, Noire tantalizes readers with erotic tales and wildly entertaining urban dramas. Featuring one of her most unforgettable characters, Natural Born Liar follows the escapades of Mink LaRue - straight out of Harlem and looking to take a big step up in life. Mink’s got a taste for fine living, and when her resemblance to a missing oil heiress gives her an opportunity to take up residence in a 20-room mansion, you better believe she’s going to jump at the chance.

The Cartel runs Miami, and loyalty to their organization runs deep, but when someone breaks the rules, things may be beyond repair. A snitch in the crew has dismantled the notorious Cartel, and now disloyalty threatens to tear the family apart. Young Carter is in the fight for his life as he faces drug kingpin charges due to the treachery of his best friend, Ace. Kidnapping, murder, deception, and seduction fill this thrilling sequel. Will Zyir find out that Breeze is still alive? Will Mecca be exposed as his brother’s killer?

Nothing prepares Tyler Blake for the fast-paced living of New York City. A small-town girl from Georgia, she quickly gets caught up in the glamorous entertainment industry. While pursuing her dream of becoming an actress, Tyler continually gets sidetracked by men who promise to help her and finds herself going from one dysfunctional relationship to another. Just when Tyler finally believes she has found her ideal man in hip-hop producer Brian McCall, everything begins to go horribly wrong. Trapped in a nightmarish relationship, Tyler is determined not to go down without a fight.

Porsha, the ghetto princess; Sahara, the scandalous baby mama; Frankie, a.k.a. Francine, the con artist: these three girls live in one apartment and are into all kinds of hood foolishness while having fun—until the day they find an eviction notice taped to their door. Now they have 72 hours to come up with all the money they owe in months of back rent.

N. K. Jemisin is one of the most powerful and acclaimed speculative fiction authors of our time. In the first collection of her evocative short fiction, Jemisin equally challenges and delights listeners with thought-provoking narratives of destruction, rebirth, and redemption.

Someone wants every member of the consortium dead, and they'll stop at nothing to make that happen. Meanwhile, Shan has transferred back into Redbone and has taken it to a whole new level. Nick suspects Shan is still in love with Briggen, even though she is with him. Janay has a new lease on life, but her ties to Crystal are always a challenge. Everyone is gunning for Dark, and with The List in the hands of Cisco's wife, Joy, Dark's chances of taking over Detroit are threatened more than ever before.

Derrick. Ricky. Jamal. One's responsible; one's still a player; one's upwardly-mobile. Sentenced to the Branch Avenue Boys' Youth Institute at 12, they grabbed the chance for better futures. They beat the odds and turned their lives around. But now, these three best friends will go head-to-head with ambition, deception - and each other.

Jason Gaines, better known as Hot Shot, has just buried his mother, father, and little brother after a home invasion. Now the only thing on his mind is finding the people responsible and punishing them severely for taking all that he cared for in this world. Before he can take action, he has to get his money right, and that means turning up his hustle. So, Dallas is off to get money from the streets. He has the connections to get him anything from drugs to weapons. His hustle has to remain on point, so he can then redirect his focus on finding the people who murdered his family.

Lyle DeLeone has always had the mentality of a hustler. Having grown up with a weak, drug-addicted mother and an ignorant, misogynistic father, she had to learn early on to protect herself and handle her own. Unfortunately, her ways caused those around her to deem her unlovable. So, it was no surprise that when she met the handsome Rashawn, she quickly snatched him up, hoping to prove that she, in fact, could be loved by a man. Married life with Rashawn isn't bad, but it isn't good either.

Ashley and JaQuavis introduce listeners to London, a beautiful immigrant from Trinidad. She was given to her husband by her father in order to settle a debt. Standing by her husband's side to make him the envy of his associates is a day in the life, but behind closed doors, their relationship becomes cold, and the abuse that she encounters has her looking for a way out.

For successful African American businesswoman Zoe Reynard, finding the pleasure she wants, the way she wants it, is not worth the risk of losing everything she has: marriage to the man she has loved since childhood, a thriving company, three wonderful children. But Zoe feels helpless in the grip of an overpowering addiction—to sex.