Melanie McGee

It's 1876 and Dr. Viveca Lancaster is frustrated by the limits placed upon female physicians of color. When she is offered the chance to set up a practice in the small all-black community of Grayson Grove, Michigan, she leaves her California home and heads east. The very determined Viveca knows all about fighting for her rights. But she may need more than determination to face down the distractingly handsome Nate Grayson, the Grove's bull-headed mayor.

Her husband is a workaholic, more concerned with his family's financial situation than emotional stability, and he doesn't understand why his wife is unhappy. He doesn't understand why the house and the credit cards and the fabulousness of what he's given her isn't enough. So when Angelique meets someone new, she does something she never thought she'd do - she has an affair. It's addictive, and Angelique wants more and more, but is she willing to give up everything she has for this fantasy come true?

Ne'a comes from a tough childhood and just wants to be loved properly. She's selfless, nurturing, and dealing with codependency at home. The issues she has are like a stain in her life that she wants to wipe away permanently.

For Assistant Professor of Sociology Dr. Deja Evans, it sucks. Hard. Every day. Between the class prep, the meetings, grading student work, trying to find time to complete her own research and the meetings, she didn't have a life, she had a digital calendar that decided whether she got to wallow in her feelings at three p.m. or seven p.m., on Thursday or maybe Sunday. And the worst meeting of them all was the two-and-a-half-hour, once-a-month Faculty Senate, which was drier than her dating life, duller than her skin in winter, and far longer than her attention span.

Pascha St. Claire has nothing to live for. After five years, her once-loving husband, Raymond, decides to end their marriage. He’s unable to deal with her mental health, significant weight gain, or the idea that she cannot seem to birth him a child. She returns home one night to find her belongings on the curb and the locks to her home changed. Her pleading falls on deaf ears as Raymond has made the decision to end their marriage. With no other option, Pascha is forced to leave and never look back.

Mickey Chambers is an expert at analyzing modern literature. But when it comes to figuring out her own story, she’s feeling a little lost. At thirty-three, she’s an adjunct instructor with a meager summer class schedule and too many medical bills, courtesy of her chronic illness. Picking up a bartending gig seems perfect. Sure, Mickey’s never done this before, but the gorgeous, grumpy bar owner, Diego Acosta, might be the perfect man to teach the teacher…if he wasn’t so stressed.

Benjamin Bennett leads a lifestyle that many could only dream of. He's a star quarterback, well educated, and he knows how to get what he wants. But what he stays clear from is love because his ambition and goals don't align with it. Riana is sassy and all about herself. Her world consists of her career as a musician and she doesn't see anything outside of it. Though her intentions are good, she battles issues from the past that hinders her from truly moving forward in life, especially in the love department.

Denali Peters was sure her life would never get any better. She had two children with a man who showed her with time just how impure his intentions were. At the top of her priority list was being a great mom, but working two jobs and raising her man along with their kids began to take a toll on Denali. Eventually, she realized the importance of self-care and her own happiness…but that happiness came with a hefty price.

Mila Ali's fiance Warren is killed in a corporate plane crash. Grief wraps around her heart and soul - cushioning her to the outside world and the reality that is now her life. Nothing could have prepared her for such a devastating loss, yet the fragile bubble she has built around her heart is shattered when Mila comes face to face with Blake Baldwin - billionaire, womanizer, Warren's boss, and the owner of that fateful airplane. Mila is not looking for love - been there, done that, but Blake will not rest until Mila Ali is his.

Kerris Moreton should be the happiest woman in the world: She has a successful business and is about to start the family she's always wanted. But the man of her dreams—the one whose green eyes see straight into her soul and whose hands make her body hum with—is not hers. Each secret moment with Walsh Bennett serves to remind Kerris of what she's missing. And every stolen hour makes it harder to see her future without him. But being with Walsh would betray a sacred promise and upend her perfect life. When tragedy strikes, the razor's edge between love and loyalty grows sharper than ever.