African American Literature Fiction

Tiffany, Tyrisha, and Mezzie all have one thing in common: putting up with men who don't deserve them. While demanding what they're worth, they all end up in a web of deceit, drama, and betrayal.

The beloved #1 Essence best-selling authors of Tryin' to Sleep in the Bed You Made now deliver a novel in which you'll meet their most unforgettable characters yet. Carmen, Jewel, and Regina could not be more different. When they meet as freshmen at Columbia University, they're pretty confident that a friendship among them isn't in the cards.

Mia thinks her life is completely normal. She has a loving boyfriend, great and supportive friends, and a close relationship with her mother. Things take an interesting turn, however, when she is almost run down by a car one day. Then come the messages from an untraceable number. Not to mention the heartbreaking secret that is revealed shortly thereafter. Suddenly, everything that Mia thought was right in her life goes wrong. She has no idea why, but she needs to find out before her secret stalker decides her time is up.

Six months before aging out of foster care, 17-year-old Tori meets a local hustler who makes her an offer she can’t refuse. At first, she enjoys the benefits of being Ricky’s “new girl,” but it’s not long before he’s looking for a return on his investment. After a confrontation with Ricky spirals out of control, Tori goes on the run. Halfway across the country, she meets Dana, a street-wise woman in a similarly desperate situation. The two become quick friends and hatch a plan to move to Reno. But soon Tori is on her own again - and out for revenge.

A star athlete and Olympic prospect, Kal Carter is bound for greatness. Everyone says it, only he's not sure he entirely believes it. Because he's lost something he can't replace, and most days he feels like he's holding up the sky; and doing it all on his own. To maintain focus, he never lets anyone close except in the most superficial ways, and he's become very good at it. Until a long, cold week when the solitary girl next door who never speaks, smiles, or makes eye contact barges into his life and seems poised to upend the whole doggone thing.

Damian and Leslie are college sweethearts and newlyweds. Damian is from Chicago, and Leslie from the Carolinas. They fall in love, marry, and buy a house that proves to be more than they can handle. Like a lot of newlyweds, money can be the source of hardship early on in a marriage. Not only does finances play a part, Leslie meets a ruggedly handsome and financially stable man when she visits home. The two have an affair, and sadly the college sweetheart’s part. Life for everyone changes however when Damian moves across the street from Leslie and her new lover.

Raised by a widowed mother, Jill Reed has come a long way from her difficult youth. But while she may not have had money, Jill never doubted she was rich in love. Her mother, Connie, made Jill the center of her world. Now, even though she has a young family of her own, it’s Jill’s turn to care for her ailing mother. When early dementia begins to set in, Connie starts talking about Jill’s “other life.” Jill assumes it’s just rambling confusion. Still, Connie’s stories about Jill’s childhood, and her father’s early death, never quite added up.

Family over everything! It sounds good in theory. But in reality family can be the first to screw you over. Paris, the stunningly beautiful sister, has always been the golden child, effortlessly captivating everyone around her. However, her breathtaking exterior hides a darker side—one that led her to betray her sister Samaya’s trust by sleeping with her man. Their once inseparable bond, igniting a fierce rivalry filled with resentment and longing. Samaya, on the other hand, is equally beautiful but feels overshadowed by Paris's allure. As she grapples with the betrayal, she finds ...

A young woman is dead, and another is missing. Two cases worlds apart. When an old friend throws Cutter a case involving the disappearance of a young woman from Detroit’s most prominent family, he sees an opportunity to make some quick cash to keep the bookies off his back. But he soon realizes his client’s problems are a lot more sinister than he thought and finds himself in too deep.

Nikki Ashford had it all. Not only was she drop-dead gorgeous with a figure to match, but she was smart – a top student at one of the most elite high schools in town. Moreover, Nikki was used to getting her way. As an only child, she was spoiled rotten by parents who had worked their way out of the hood in order to give her everything she ever wanted. The only problem was that Nikki wanted everything: clothes, money, jewelry... But at the top of the list was Quilon – who, shockingly, didn’t want Nikki. Unfamiliar with being denied what she wanted (and certainly not accustomed to being...

As the Princess of the Black Mayhem Mafia, Dijon has been able to get every heart’s desire…except Rakim Mayhem. Not only is Rakim forbidden by her brothers but her mother too. After seeing the effect loving the wrong man had on her mother, Dijon is determined to not have the same fate. She’s forced to choose between what she thinks she wants and what her heart really needs. Rakim Mayhem lives by a code of honor, loyalty, and respect. Nothing has ever been worth breaking that code…except Dijon Black.

Raising four very different daughters on her own in rural Arkansas wasn't easy for Miss Pearly Bell. And she's always regretted that the sisters went their separate ways for good - and never wanted to see each other again. But when Pearly is stricken with a terminal illness, she summons them all home - determined to somehow help them get right with each other and forgive.... But that means dealing with past secrets and lies first.

Two must-listen novellas from best-selling author Sabrina B. Scales... Naughty: Recently separated from her on again, off again boyfriend, Darryl, Nedra Brooks finds herself in the arms of her handsome neighbor Justin Steele. Years of sexual tension finally come to a head when she seeks, and finds, temporary satisfaction in Justin's arms. Nasty: Two innocent bystanders are introduced by their siblings with nothing in common but a sexual attraction that they couldn't act upon without breaking all the rules. But rules are made to be broken, right?

When Zara Thompson throws herself a divorce party to celebrate her freedom from her unfaithful husband, she expects it to be the beginning of her new life. What she doesn't expect is for Marcus, her soon-to-be ex-husband, to crash the party with revelations that threaten to shatter everything she thought she knew. In one explosive night, Zara's carefully planned celebration spirals into chaos. A suspicious photo, a drunk therapist, an outspoken exotic dancer, and a series of shocking truths force her to question six months of certainty.

He's rich, successful - and has been faithfully married to his longtime girlfriend for nearly one grueling year. Because for Dr. Dorian Graham, too many women is never too much - no matter how loyal his wife, Shantae, has been since their college days. So when she proposes they celebrate their first anniversary by each spending a no-questions-asked, no-consequences night with their greatest temptation, Dorian is shocked, but can't resist. Especially since Shantae's wild-card younger sister, Reagan, is gorgeous, uninhibited - and the one who got away.

Whether weaving family life and history into dark fiction or writing speculative Afrofuturism, American Book Award winner and Essence best-selling author Tananarive Due’s work is both riveting and enlightening. In her debut collection of short fiction, Due takes us to Gracetown, a small Florida town that has both literal and figurative ghost; into future scenarios that seem all too real; and provides empathetic portraits of those whose lives are touched by otherness. Featuring an award-winning novella and 15 stories, Ghost Summer: Stories is sure to haunt and delight.

Oakland-bred LaVeesha “Vee” Gilliam (Coco Jones) is a determined single mother of an autistic son and a gifted aspiring coder. When Vee loses her job as a food-services worker at the onsite restaurant at Grapengine, a large Silicon Valley tech company, she’s unable to pay for her son’s much-needed specialized education. By a twist of fate, mistaken identity, and her tech skills, Vee meets Troy Wilson (Keith Powers), the company’s wealthy founder and CEO and a wunderkind in the tech industry, who believes that Vee is a college-educated techie who works at his company.

Touré Wallace and Niomi Spencer were close friends at Finley College, the prestigious HBCU they attended. The attraction that simmered between them every semester was a question they never got to ask or answer before soaring ambitions launched them to opposite corners of the world. Both chased their dreams of grit and glamor as high-profile journalists. They got it all...except a shot at being more than friends. Years later, Touré is an award-winning investigative journalist and Niomi is America's most popular morning-show host, but they both feel like something’s missing.

Motherhood isn’t easy, especially when you’re a mother of a Black son. Ten years ago, Cheryl jumped at the chance to send her son, Javonte, to an exclusive boarding school in New England - far away from Atlanta and the violence of the city streets. It was the American dream, or was it? Now settled in Vermont, Javonte is married and well-employed, but Cheryl hardly ever sees him, and when she does, her own son seems like someone she only used to know.

When a desperate woman escapes a dangerous situation and seeks refuge in Wintermoon, she finds herself irrevocably bonded to a possessive wolf shifter in this fated mates, forced proximity romance.