African Urban Fiction

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.

When souls are tied, it's never goodbye. A boy I was that summer evening I met you, pulling your belongings out of the truck and into your new home. I knew it was love then. A whole man I was the day that you met me at the altar and agreed to love me until death do us part. A shell of a man I've become since it did, unable to move on, move forward, or progress in any way until I discovered that not even death was permanent enough to keep us apart. A better man I'm destined to be, knowing that, at some capacity, you're still with me. Our love is one that never dies.

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.

Nia Hudson, fashion powerhouse and philanthropist, swore love wasn't for her because she was too busy chasing after her dreams. But when a blast from the past resurfaces and refuses to take "no" for an answer, Nia decides to give him one hour of her time. Before she knows it, the two have become a couple. East and Nia have nothing in common; he's the complete opposite of everything for which she stands. East is definitely living life in the fast lane, selling everything he can get his hands on and not knowing when the Feds - or friends disguised as enemies - might come after him.

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.

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.

Teenage beauty Johnnie Wise has seen her share of hardship. Sold into prostitution at an early age, she is an accessory to a murder that sparks terrible race riots. Her boyfriend, Lucas, wants to give her a better life, but Johnnie has a powerful effect on men, and gangster Napoleon Bentley will stop at nothing to have her.

They were just kids when Claudette McPhearson took them all in. Eight of them all together. All different races and ethnic makeups, but she loved them as her own. One woman taught them how to love, trust, and respect one another. She was the only glue that kept them together, the only one they wanted to please and never let down. She had been their light at the end of a long troublesome tunnel - it shined so bright. Then, one dreadful day, it all came to a crashing halt.

Ropa dropped out of school to become a ghostalker - and they sure do love to talk. Now she speaks to Edinburgh’s dead, carrying messages to those they left behind. A girl’s gotta earn a living, and it seems harmless enough. Until, that is, the dead whisper that someone’s bewitching children - leaving them husks, empty of joy and strength. It’s on Ropa’s patch, so she feels honor-bound to investigate. But what she learns will rock her world.

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.

There can be only one: one man with two loyal friends and secrets from the past that will ultimately shake up the entire hood in Chicago; one man on a mission to destroy anyone who doesn't abide by his rules, including tricky bitches who drop to their knees behind closed doors yet stand tall against him when the time comes to collect the almighty dollar; one man with enough swagger in his walk and confidence in his talk and the skills and mindset to build an empire.

Harmony used to love love. She loved the idea of being in love. As a result, Valentine’s Day was her favorite holiday...was. Now, she hated the very thought of it. Cody had ruined it for her and any chance of her ever falling in love again. He ruined it so much that when she met Dallas, she didn’t trust him to lead her to fall in love with love again.

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.

The day Lisara Compton caught her husband in a rather compromising position changed her life in a way neither she nor her sons ever saw coming. Realizing too late that divorcing him would cause a domino effect of turmoil, she is now forced into an uncomfortable life that she can't seem to stay afloat in. With her eldest son acting out and a nonexistent ex-husband, Lisara feels things can't get any worse. That's until her ex betrays her and their son in a way that leaves her in need like never before. It seems she just can't catch a break, until she meets him.

Meet Heaven: a young girl who is loving, submissive, and beyond appreciative of her husband, Ross. As a teenager, Heaven lived solely for her sister, Divine, and her daughter, Sunshine. Because her mother is mentally ill and her father ran off, Heaven had to do some unimaginable things just to feed the family. Then came Ross, and everything changed. He wasn't some filthy rich, dope boy that some young girls dream of, but Heaven felt like Ross was her blessing.

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.

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.

In the Frederick Douglass Housing Projects, the name of Jada Butler is synonymous with drama. Malika is a young, single mother trying to make a life in public housing. When she meets Teddy, she has new hope for the future. Gucci’s fiancé is now a rising star in the music industry. She’s thrilled when his tour brings him to New York. But she doesn’t know it’s more than music bringing him back.

It's about to be an all-out war. While an ambitious rival has taken over Diamonds' crew, Diamonds lies in wait in exile, carefully planning his next move to come back and reclaim his position as king of the streets of New York for good. But when an unexpected enemy from the past one-ups Diamonds and beats him at his own game, Diamonds needs to dig deep into his bag of tricks - and make an unlikely alliance - in order to climb back to the top.