Celesta

Zay’s ma always said his mouth would get him in trouble. Sure enough, it got him into his first and only fight, junior year. Expelled from his district, Zay understands that his only hope for redemption is to transfer to Broadlawn Alternative School.

In present-day California, Eleanor Bennett’s death leaves behind a puzzling inheritance for her two children, Byron and Benny: a black cake, made from a family recipe with a long history, and a voice recording. In her message, Eleanor shares a tumultuous story about a headstrong young swimmer who escapes her island home under suspicion of murder. The heartbreaking tale Eleanor unfolds, the secrets she still holds back, and the mystery of a long-lost child challenge everything the siblings thought they knew about their lineage and themselves.

Meet Jane. Newly arrived to Birmingham, Alabama, Jane is a broke dog-walker in Thornfield Estates—a gated community full of McMansions, shiny SUVs, and bored housewives. The kind of place where no one will notice if Jane lifts the discarded tchotchkes and jewelry off the side tables of her well-heeled clients. Where no one will think to ask if Jane is her real name. But her luck changes when she meets Eddie Rochester. Recently widowed, Eddie is Thornfield Estates’ most mysterious resident.

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.

Lisa Hodges needs to make a decision fast. Thanks to her dead husband’s gambling addiction, their savings is almost gone...Her only options are to sell the house and move off-island, or, she could use her cooking and entertaining skills and turn her home into a bed and breakfast. Come visit Nantucket and see how Lisa's new bed and breakfast has an impact on almost everyone in her family.

Widowed and officially retired, Eugeena Patterson throws herself into organizing the neighborhood association. This presents a great opportunity to reconnect with old friends and get to know new neighbors, like recently widowed Amos Jones - that is until Eugeena stumbles upon her estranged neighbor’s dead body. Eugeena’s daughter is fingered as a prime suspect, but where is she? Determined to find her missing daughter, Eugeena and Amos sort through a list of neighbors with shady or unknown backgrounds.