It's easier that way. Her needs are taken care of and she doesn't have to give more of herself than she wants to. No messy feelings involved. But when the man she's seeing poses an unexpected question, Kimera quickly realizes that she's not the only woman pulled in by his charm.Their new arrangement doesn't require much from Kimera, but she soon discovers that someone else is pulling the strings. She's not looking for complications, yet she can't help feeling that there's something devious at play.And the truth is more complicated than she could ever imagine . . .

    Pregnant with her second child, she's got a career, a college degree- and enough common sense to know that her boyfriend, Malik, may not be ready for fatherhood. But when Malik surprises her with a marriage proposal, it seems that Kim's got her man for the long haul. Or does she?Despite his honorable intentions, Malik can't seem to stay clear of other women. When Shonda Robinson, the shapely new receptionist at the law firm where Malik works as a paralegal, comes on strong to him, his resolve finally crumbles, along with his heart - and his future plans. Shonda may not be the most moral - or discreet - person around, but she knows a good thing when she's got it. That good thing is her love for Malik, and she intends to keep it at all costs. Unfortunately, she's not the only one who feels that way. What follows is an emotional roller coaster ride of changing plans, changing partners- and a surprising change of heart - as three people wrestle with what's right, what's wrong- and what's real.

    . .After a long bout of misfortune, betrayal, and broken hearts, the Livingstons and their soul food empire are thriving. Toussaint Livingston is the Food Network darling, Malcolm Livingston's BBQ Soul Smoker is still the toast of QVC, and Bianca Livingston's brainchild TOSTS--Taste Of Soul Tapas Style--is a sizzling sensation on L.A.'s Sunset Strip. It seems that nothing can stop the progress of this third generation--until a dish called trouble gets added to the menu.Jefferson Livingston is the only sibling who feels he hasn't made his mark, a fact for which he partly blames Toussaint. But with a recent promotion and a sexy new assistant, Jefferson is ready to show his cousin just how big a mistake he made. Then a fire breaks out, an old enemy rears his ugly head, and a stranger threatens the family's legacy. Jefferson and Toussaint must now work together to keep the dynasty from falling apart. Can they put their differences aside long enough to take care of business? There's only one way to find out. . . ."A great new taste in the literary world." --Carl Weber

    From the death of her parents when she was just eleven years old to when she found herself pregnant and alone at sixteen, Naeema has had to make her own way in the world. She gave up her son for adoption and became an apprentice at a barber shop, making just enough money to pay the bills and get high. She tried being a wife, but ultimately found that she and Tank, now her ex-husband, are better friends and occasional lovers than partners. Naeema prefers to be on her own; no responsibilities, no rules.But the sudden and brutal murder of Brandon, the son she never knew, forces Naeema to reconsider the way she has lived her life. Brandon was involved with a notorious band of Newark bank robbers, and Naeema is convinced his gang life was her fault. Desperate to avenge her son's death and determined to take justice into her own hands, Naeema becomes "Queen" as she infiltrates the gang to discover her boy's killer. But when she starts to fall for the leader of the crew, will she still have the resolve to do what must be done?Filled with gritty realism and unexpected plot twists, this page-turner will keep you guessing as Naeema struggles to do whatever it takes to right her wrongs.

    While seemingly having it all, Denise still feels incomplete. Her nine years of marriage to Jeff have been nothing more for her than a marriage of convenience to raise Deandra in a stable two-parent home. She pretends to be happily married, but allows her husband and best friend to carry on an affair, giving Denise time to get better acquainted with her multimillionaire client, Greg Adams. But when Denise’s husband discovers he isn’t Deandra’s father after all, her carefully built lies come tumbling down. Twisted Seduction lures readers into an orchestrated web of raw emotion, deceit, infidelity, and sex that makes for an exhilarating read.

    He's a witty, charismatic guy who's well liked at the office, but he lacks the "killer instinct" necessary to move up the corporate ladder. To the chagrin of his ambitious wife, it looks as if his career has hit a ceiling. Jason's been sidelined.But all that will change one evening when Jason meets Kurt Semko, a former Special Forces officer just back from Iraq. Looking for a decent pitcher for the company softball team, Jason gets Kurt, who was once drafted by the majors, a job in Corporate Security. Soon, good things start to happen for Jason - and bad things start to happen to Jason's rivals. His career suddenly takes off. He's an overnight successOnly too late does Jason discover that his friend Kurt has been secretly paving his path to the top by the most "efficient" - and ruthless - means available. After all, Kurt says, "Business is war, right?"But when Jason tries to put a stop to it, he finds that his new best friend has become the most dangerous enemy imaginable. And now it's far more than just his career that lies in the balance.A riveting tale of ambition, intrigue, and the price of success, Killer Instinct is Joseph Finder at his best.

    . ." --OOSA BookclubThese women are about to learn more than they ever wanted to know about secrets--and the men who keep them. . .As the owner of Situations, the hottest beauty salon on the south side of Chicago, Noelle Gordon has a direct line to the private lives of her clients. But when an abandoned baby girl appears on her doorstep, Noelle finds herself at the center of a personal drama. Meanwhile, Noelle's employees are discovering that their own romantic relationships harbor a secret or two. The truth isn't always pretty. But can they find the strength to live with it--and with the men they love? "A drama-filled story." --Urban Reviews "Juggles each 'suspicious' intimacy issue in serious soul sistah style." --Publishers Weekly

    Now eight years later, their exes are back, wreaking havoc on the lives they’ve worked so hard to rebuild. Sheridan has found love again after her ex-husband left her for a man, but her old wounds are reopened when her daughter tells her she’s gay and Sheridan blames her ex. Kendall is forced to reunite with her former husband, who left her for her own sister, when her father wass diagnosed with cancer. And Asia must reevaluate her life when her L.A. Laker ex-boyfriend reminds her that her lavish lifestyle will end when their son turns eighteen next year. With her trademark writing that “has the kind of momentum that prompts you to elbow disbelief aside and flip the pages in horrified enjoyment” (The Washington Post), Forever an Ex is Murray’s best novel yet.

    Just when everything seems to be going their way, jealousy secretly takes hold of their close friend, Tee. Knowing that women are Keith's weakness and downfall, Tee goes out of his way to bring Keith's success to a devastating halt by using the stunning, sexy Selina to set him up. But his plan falls short when Selina and Keith fall for each other.Keith's down chick and baby mama, Tukey, attempts to regain Keith's love by taking a case for him and ending up behind bars, only for Keith to marry the home-wrecking Selina. Baffled, envious, and full of rage, Tukey plans and carries out a plot so vicious, all the money in the world can't help Keith recover.

    Morrison introduces her most seductive and vulnerable characters yet with the Crystal women, a family whose bonds are tested by love, lust, and the elusive quest for true happiness.  .  .Blake Crystal has the best of almost everything. She's at the top of her game at work, she has four wonderful daughters, and at fifty, she's more financially secure than she's ever been. In and out of the bedroom, her new younger lover takes her in breathtaking directions that force her to make decisions she never imagined.  .  .On the surface, Alexis Crystal is an ideal daughter. As confident as she is beautiful, she can have any man or woman she wants, so she has both in her collection of bed partners. Determined to add one more, she doesn't care that he's dating a family member. But for all the satisfaction she gets between the sheets, she's left unsatisfied by the one thing that troubles her--the identity of her father is listed as unknown on her birth certificate. Her mother has kept him a secret for twenty-six years. Alexis can't move forward with her life until she stands face-to-face with the man she feels abandoned her. It doesn't help that her three other sisters don't know the identity of their fathers either.  .  .but they've also got their hands full with problems.  .  .As the Crystal women celebrate Blake's big birthday, they realize the issues in their relationships are too big to ignore. To get what they want, they'll have to lie, use their seductive power, battle their insecurities, and if necessary, betray each other.  .  .Book 1 in The Crystal Series

    They wait to try for three years and when they finally do, the couple discovers that she is unable to bear children. Any love he once felt for Monica is gone and Nate wants out of the marriage. But he’s worried about losing half of his sixty-million-dollar fortune in a divorce settlement. Desperate for an out, he searches for a way to exploit the infidelity clause in the couple’s prenuptial agreement. Enter Lewis Waters. With his baby's mother addicted to drugs, Lewis is already seriously down on his luck when he accidentally smashes his car into Nate’s Bentley. Without auto insurance or any way to pay for the repairs, Lewis is at the end of his financial rope. But the scheming Nate sees another way for the attractive young man to repay his debt: as sexual bait for Monica. Nate sets up Lewis with all of the accessories he believes Lewis will need to earn Monica's love, or at the very least, her lust: a big house, a fancy car, expensive clothes, and a full bank account. But as is often the case when it comes to matters of the heart, things don’t unfold according to plan. When Monica falls hard for Lewis, Nate panics—was protecting his fortune more important than trying to save his marriage? As he finds himself overwhelmed by second thoughts, Nate is willing to do anything to get Monica back. An inspired fusion of realism and romance, The Million Dollar Divorce is an unpredictable caper of lust, betrayal, and family ties.

    Even when we had a black president! Now that we have a new set of overlords, with President Trump at the head, wouldn’t it be nice to get a little advice on how not to get shot?"From the elections of Barack Obama and Donald Trump to the tragic events of Ferguson and Charlottesville, the subject of race has come to the forefront of American consciousness. Legendary satirist D. L. Hughley offers his own cutting observations on this contentious issue that continues to traumatize the nation, a wound made more painful by the ongoing comments and actions of the 45th president.Hughley uses humor to draw attention to injustice, sardonically offering advice on a number of lessons, from "How to make cops feel more comfortable while they’re handcuffing you" and "The right way to wear a hoodie" to "How to make white food, like lobster rolls" and "Ten types of white people you meet in the suburbs."Filled with illustrations and pictures that illuminate these "lessons," How Not to Get Shot is a much-needed antidote in these distressing times.

    But memories of tragedy and betrayal have kept him entrenched in the past, as have the living reminders of his former life, including his down-on-her-luck sister, Nadiah; JaQuan, Nadiah’s thugged-out teenage son; and Karim’s older brother, Omar, serving a life sentence for a crime he didn’t commit. As emotions reach a boiling point, does Karim have what it takes to set JaQuan on a straight path, clear his brother of a bogus indictment without jeopardizing his own future, and hold together the family that he so desperately loves?As Travis Hunter skillfully draws us in with strong, believable characters with endearing flaws and broken dreams, A Family Sin, full of riveting twists and turns of plot, unravels the mystery of a long-buried secret that threatens to tear a family apart.

    But things really get interesting when Caesar and his boy Canyon come into the picture. These rich thugs have always been ones to get whatever they want--even sexy, stubborn women who think they can't be tamed!

    The original “Maintenance Man” followed a litany of releases, including “Men Cry In The Dark,” “God’s Gift To Women”, “Do Men Know What They Want” and solidified his stance as one of the most successful self-published male authors on the literary scene.With “Maintenance Man II,” Baisden broadens the storyline as Tremell comes out of retirement to not only rebuild his contact list of high-end female clientele, but also franchise a male escort service worldwide. Intrigue, drama and danger quickly come into play when Tremell liaisons with the wife of a powerful and corrupt Republican senator. When they unwittingly uncover the senator’s underhanded deal with the powerful Kross brothers for political control, Tremell will have to tap his military training and street smarts to not only save his life, but also those closest to him.Baisden, once again educates as he entertains, brilliantly engaging his readers. Utilizing Malcolm Tremell as the ultimate Renaissance man protagonist, he brazenly unveils several harsh and dark realities behind the current political process. He skillfully touches on some of the most critical political issues to date, including voter suppression as well as corporate greed, seamlessly interspersing them between a romantic and politically charged plot. The novel’s tone is captivating and inviting, whisking the reader into a non-stop escapade of sex, action and adventure.After years of being out of the gigolo lifestyle, Malcolm has to rebuild his list of contacts and high-end clientele. But he still has his good looks, his Rolodex, and his reputation. This time he vows that nothing will stand in his way of getting back on top and creating a franchise of escort services worldwide. He disguises his gigolo lifestyle as a nightclub owner in Miami—the perfect cover to mix business with pleasure.