Contemporary African American Fiction

Life can be hard to navigate at times, but for Lazarus Mitchell, it’s been a constant battle. Marrying his high school sweetheart and putting his dreams on hold to help her fulfill hers, he kept pushing through life’s adversities in hopes of seeing better days. Throughout the journey, he realized that she didn’t have the tenacity he had or the wherewithal to look difficulty in the face and choose to overcome it.

There’s a saying that if you come from my part of town, you're from around the way. Urban Books bestsellers Treasure Hernandez and Marcus Weber bring listeners a fast-paced look at the lives of some street-smart women who think they know it all.

Fate brought Terrence Montgomery and Tiffany Tate into each other’s lives. They seem like the perfect match. However, they couldn’t have met at a more inopportune time. Terrence is considering divorce from his wife, Patricia, who he’s never truly been in love with, while also struggling with the recent and sudden death of his father. Tiffany just got wind that her ex-fiancé, David, is battling cancer—supposedly. His dying wish is that she’ll give him another chance at love. Her heart wants to be there for him, but will this cost her newfound love with Terrence?

Yves worked so hard to build a better life and rid herself of her ex-husband. When she sees him in Vee’s kitchen, her entire world feels like it went back to the day her daughter died. With her ex-husband back in her life, she has to deal with all the past traumas that their marriage has caused. If Khalif re-entering her life isn’t enough, a blast from the past comes back into her life proving to still have the keys to her heart.

No matter how many times she promised herself she wouldn’t go there, Reign couldn’t resist Jahiem, her best friend’s brother. Now caught between her friendship and her relationship, Reign is forced to prove where her loyalty lies. Jahiem had no intentions of ever starting a relationship with Reign because he was already in a relationship with Samantha. Now that he’s broken things off with her, Samantha shows up, and she’s not alone. Jahiem finds himself in a difficult situation when he realizes he’s torn between two women who have more in common than he thought.

Meet Simone Monroe. Months ago Simone had a fairytale wedding only to realize the actual marriage didn't fit what she had in mind. As she learns the truth behind her marriage, she is faced with realizing not all fairytales have happy endings. Meet Taylor Ross. Taylor has made a life for herself as one of the most talented artists of her generation. When Taylor tries to take on mental illness she is faced with the reality that some things in life cannot be fixed with a paint brush.

For seventeen-year-old Delaney Ragein McGuff, life hasn't been easy. Both of her parents are strung out on drugs, so Delaney, the oldest of five siblings, skips straight over her childhood and focuses on being there for her sisters and brothers. At work one day, she meets Onijae Love, and she’s instantly attracted to the older man. Onijae, a well-known businessman, is twenty-four and one of the handsomest men living in the state of Texas.

In the summer of 1985, Lisa Whitaker is a church kid headed to college on a scholarship while her best friend, Dana, is floundering in the wake of her mother’s latest eviction. Though Lisa tries to help, their paths diverge. Fifteen years later, Lisa has a beautiful family and is stepping into her dream job as the director for a social services organization. Everything is going right—until her future is snatched away by identity theft. Her life begins to unravel, and Lisa wants nothing more than to see the woman responsible pay for her crimes.

Twentysomething and restless, Skye flits between cities and stagnant relationships until she meets Scottie, a disarming and disheveled British traveler, and Pieces, an enigmatic artist living in New York. The three recognize each other as kindred spirits - Black, punk, whimsical, revolutionary - and fall in together, leading Skye on an unlikely adventure across the Atlantic. They live a glorious, subterranean existence in 1990s London, until their existence is jeopardized by the rise of CCTV and policing.

Hip music critic Dwayne Robinson has two main gigs: defending rap's rightful place in the music industry and scoring as many women as possible. But this smooth-talking b-boy has yet to try working love into his lingo - until "buppie" Danielle Embry slides into and rocks his world. A Connecticut suburbanite, Danielle is as far removed from Dwayne's Brooklyn ghetto upbringing as it gets. Yet despite this clash, these unlikely lovers are drawn together.

College Professors Grace and David Andrews are a married couple keeping secrets from each other. This is no run-of-the-mill marital infidelity, though. David doesn’t know that his someone-on-the-side shares a painful link to Grace’s past. One man's actions have resulted in the dismemberment of three families. Now that the loose ends have begun to unravel, will any of them be able to pull their lives back together?

Ebony, Phoenix, and Joi are three 30-somethings with some serious man problems!

Part two of Borderline takes place one year later, amid the pandemic of 2020 and civil unrest in the United States. Not only has the current political climate affected Natasha’s mental health, but so has the mandatory isolation caused by being in quarantine. While briefly abandoning her therapy sessions, Natasha struggles to bridge a relationship with her siblings and mentally ill mother. As if all the chaos in her world isn’t enough, Natasha regresses to her old unhealthy habits, including entertaining the wrong men.

All hail to the West Coast, where its natural resources of breathtaking beaches, smokable trees, and beautiful women are unlimited. From the freezing top of Mt. Denali in Alaska to the fly-ass architectural marvel of California's Golden Gate Bridge, the region is one of the most desirable places to visit on Earth. But for a problematic girl like Temper Chey, it's a prison, and she's dying to be freed.

Owning the Stone-Chance Protection Agency has its perks. It’s a profitable company that allows Ramsey and Keilah Stone to enjoy the finer things in life; however, it has also added an element of danger to their otherwise normal lifestyle.

Some secrets will kill you. No one knows that better than Jada, Alex, Miranda, and Candace, who’ve previously lost one of their friends, Stephanie, following a heartbreaking betrayal. Now Stephanie’s boyfriend, Corey, is hitting the streets of Atlanta with a vengeance in an effort to get the haters that took his girlfriend’s life, all while trying to take back his title as the king of the hood. Stephanie may be dead now, but the secrets lingering between the rest of the crew seem to just keep piling up and coming to the forefront.

True friends are hard to come by, and even when you find them, it can be an all-or-nothing situation. Jada battles with being the glue that holds her group together, and she finds herself continuously stuck in the middle of her four girlfriends’ family and relationship drama. Together, the girls witness life and death, sticky situations, and the pros and cons of relationships. Their true dedication to their friendship is tried again and again, but there’s only so much a chick can take. Once each girl has reached her boiling point, there’s no telling who will get burned.

An ex-con learns the hard way that it’s better to be with God than without. Deon “Rocky” Rockford is released after spending time in jail. He may have been “saved” on the inside, but now his term has been overturned. He is also free from the shackles of the prayers of the men’s ministry of the New Hope Church and wants only to focus on himself. Fearless and strong, this big guy won several fights behind bars and feels ready to forge a new life in Shelton Heights. Soon he will see that the only “rock” he can count on is God.

Embria Taylor is an expert on fixing the lives of others but can’t seem to make sense of her own. When a handsome stranger forces his way into her world, she quickly learns that being open to new possibilities just might be the missing ingredient to securing her happily ever after. Rahshon Allen is a man that speaks his mind and makes no apologies for who he is or how he feels. Those characteristics are what land him right in the middle of the chaos that seems to be just what he needs to escape his dark past.

LaMeka and Gavin fell for each other fast and furiously, but will it fizzle before it has a chance to get off the ground? Although Lucinda is heartbroken over Aldris, she’s also tasted the forbidden fruit, and she wonders if she can now live with the decisions she’s made. Charice is living the dream. She has her life with Ryan and her love with Lincoln, but can she continue to have her cake and eat it too? As Terrence’s life hangs in the balance, Trinity’s happiness is as uncertain as her safety.