Contemporary African American Fiction

**Special Notice: This romance is of the darker variety. The hero is flawed and dirty. Consider yourself warned.** Insomniac. Narcissist. Sex addict. The only description sex therapist, Vanessa Ferris, was given of her newest patient, a fellow psychologist, Dr. Zander Hale. From the moment he entered her office, she knew he’d be trouble—possibly the good kind. What she wasn’t prepared for was how he’d blindside her; how he would challenge everything she thought she knew about her profession, about herself. There are certain lines a doctor is warned never to cross with their patients...

Juleena always knew she wanted to go away to college; she just didn't know it would be in New York. That was until she met and fell in love with her boyfriend, Mooski, a few summers ago. Juleena knew she wanted to be close to him, so she applied to every college possible in the tri-state area just so she could be close to him. Ju's plan was to always attend NYU, so when she got accepted into Fordham University, she felt herself straying from her life's path. Juleena thought moving to New York would make her and Mooski closer. Instead, the two of them couldn't be further apart.

What would you do if you weren't getting attention at home? Crystal, devoted wife and mother, wasn't, and thought she should get it elsewhere until it backfired. Crystal and Aaron were happily married for fourteen years until he started acting strange and distant. Crystal starved for his affection, only to find her desires would be fed, but not by her husband. Caught between the hope for a change in her marriage and the newfound lust for another man. Crystal must make some hard choices, and fast, before it all blows up in her face.

Beautiful disaster. The first thing that comes to mind when I think of her. Who hurt you? The first question comes to mind when I open my mouth to greet her. Although it wasn't the easiest to reach, I knew her heart was pure. Gentle to the touch yet stubborn as a bull, she made it hard to resist her. Unintentionally, she sank her hooks in me. She was the calm before my storm. A thunderous, darkening storm with lightning that graciously exposed the paternity of my brother and me. Though the gloom of it all lingered above both our heads.

Ojasvi "Sin" Sinclair. Fast-forwarding three years after it was finally revealed, what's in a name? Ashira now knows the man she once thought of as a felon laborer is far more than the task she'd bargained for. Yes, he's a convicted felon who works in home-building. He's also convicted in his spiritual walk, a savvy entrepreneur, laboriously supportive, a tad insane, and has possibly run out of patience for her. He's also the father of her three-year-old child.

Loving hard doesn’t do anyone any good when the love isn’t reciprocated. If Rondo Simpson could have a do-over in his love life, he would jump at the opportunity. The woman he’s loved for over ten years has committed the ultimate betrayal and has convinced him that love just isn’t in the cards for him. Even attempts at love before her seemed to be one-sided and left him heartbroken. However, unexpectedly, the type of woman he’s been longing for walks into his life when everything is in disarray, stealing his attention from the word go.

"Black and White in the Morning" follows the fiery relationship between Tom Black, a charismatic yet somewhat arrogant morning show host, and Daiyu White, a determined journalist with something to prove. When Daiyu joins Tom’s show as his co-host, tensions flare immediately. She initially arrives with a secret agenda—to outshine Tom and take over his position. However, their professional rivalry soon gives way to undeniable chemistry, leading to a battle of wits, emotions, and unexpected romance. The story unfolds in the high-stakes world of morning television, where ratings are king ...

Giselle King refuses to wait for time to pass her by without obtaining everything she desires. After fulfilling her goal of becoming a dental hygienist and having financial stability, she knows she’s ready for a family. Years of dating proved to be a waste. An arrangement was made to bless her with two beautiful children, who keep her busy, but she’s still not totally happy. She wants a loving relationship with the man of her dreams… a man that’s perfect for her. Impatience with the dating process causes her to make another arrangement.

Pregnant by a man she learned wasn't who she thought he was and starting a new career, she's forced to step up and show everyone around her she's more than the hothead, feisty, girl they believe her to be.

His ability to launder money has him on the payroll of some of the city's most notorious criminals. When his father was sent to prison for life, Jagger's uncle made it his business to ensure that Jagger didn't suffer the same fate. He sent Jagger to college with plans to keep him on the cleaner side of the business, but unforeseen circumstances put Jagger in the midst of his uncle's empire.

Unlike their younger brother, André, whose star as a comedian is rising, neither Dwayne nor Brick Duquesne is having luck with his career - and they're unluckier still in love. Former child star Dwayne has just been fired from his latest acting role and barely has enough money to get by after paying child support to his spiteful former lover, while Brick struggles to return to his uninspiring white-collar job after suffering the dual blows of a health emergency and a nasty breakup with the woman he still loves.

Mary Monroe is the author of Essence best-sellers including The Upper Room. Here, she examines the emotional webs that are woven between friends, lovers, and families. Carmen Taylor is absolutely dependable; she feels responsible for everyone she knows. It will take one reckless night to make Carmen realize that she might be able to lay her burdens down and take a chance on real happiness.

Yazmeen Franklin is as green as they come. Her only real friend is her older sister, who raised her after their mother died. Because of their father’s poor example, Yazmeen has little trust in men, so dating is foreign to her. During her sophomore year of college, she lets her guard down and finally gets close to a man. However, he is a known womanizer, and she keeps him in the friend zone to protect her heart.

Twenty-something Dana is beautiful, talented, saved, and well-educated. She can pay her own bills and then some. That all means that she’s living a charmed life... Right? Unfortunately, she discovers that the husband she thought loved her has been cheating. When everything is said and done, will Dana have a second chance at the happy-ever-after that her heart has always yearned for?

Alexis Fletcher hasn't had a merry Christmas in five years - not since her mother passed away. Every December she remembers the joy her mother brought to everyone during the holiday season and feels the pain of her absence, even more so now that she and her sister are barely speaking. More than anything, Alexis wishes her family could be whole again.

Dena Meadows is a professional woman, wife, and student working on her Ph.D. Her world is shattered when she finds that her husband has been cheating on her with a younger woman. Coming from a family of failed relationships and secrets, Dena is the first in her family to ever get a formal education. With all her knowledge however, she still seems paralyzed by her husband’s betrayal. Eric Allen is wounded beyond words when his wife Elise cheats on him. Eric was faithful, hardworking, and strived to be the best man he could be. Both are on a journey as they find their lives falling apart. ...

Coparenting is easy for Elias and Amanda. Having sex is even easier. When Amanda begins to feel the tether of their bond loosen, she prepares for things to change between her and her baby’s daddy, though her heart has always belonged to him. For Elias, Amanda was too shallow to take seriously as a romantic partner. However, lust joined them for life because of their son. He’s sure they will always be friends and nothing more, until a failed romantic relationship shows him the woman that’s always been by his side—Amanda.

Tori is known for her sassy attitude and having men on her own terms. She’s currently dating Marcus, a handsome guy that’s new to the city, and she has purposely placed Donald in the dreaded friend zone. Everything is perfect in her world of orchestrated dating until Marcus’s secret comes to light and Donald turns up the heat. What will Tori decide when matters of the heart begin to dismantle her perfectly curated dating life? Join Tori as she navigates the ups and downs of dating while she decides if someone borrowed or someone new is best for her.

It’s the summer of 2019, and Professor Pi Suleman is a Black man from Memphis with a lot to endure - not only as a Black man in Trump’s America but in his hard-earned career as an adjunct professor. Pi is constantly forced to bite his tongue in the face of one of his tenured colleague’s prejudices and microaggressions. At the same time, he’s being blackmailed by a powerful professor who threatens to claim he has assaulted her, when in fact the truth is just the opposite, trapping him in a he-said-she-said with a white woman that, in this society, Pi knows he will never win.

Alexis Monroe and Jaceon Palmer were college sweethearts. They’d planned their lives and were set to get married until Jaceon reveals a change in the plans they had for the future. Hit with the devastating blow that he no longer wants children, Alexis breaks things off. Years later, she is married with a beautiful daughter and pregnant with her son. Tragedy strikes when her husband is killed in an unsolved hit-and-run accident. After struggling through her pregnancy and dealing with her grief for a year, Alexis realizes she needs help.