But is he really safe?The mysterious observer has come out of the shadows and infiltrated the Dirty Money Crew. Together with his accomplice, he plans to exact revenge on Scar. Meanwhile, Tiphani is plotting her return from Florida to claim her children and also get back at Scar and the mayor who left her for dead. After recovering from his injuries, Derek Fuller is out of prison, looking for redemption.Can Scar fend off all of these enemies and still control the Baltimore drug trade?

    Enter a stranger with a ready grin, who says that his name is Micah and claims to have known Ava’s ex back in high school. Micah is currently “in between” jobs, and Ava feels led to offer him work doing odd jobs around her home. Little does she know that her simple act of kindness will challenge her faith, threaten the lives of the people she loves, and have her running for her life. Ava hopes that somehow she will be saved, but in the end, she may be forced to make a devastating choice in order to survive. Read the novella He Said His Name Was Micah today.

    For Pastor Leroy Paxton of Mount Moriah Baptist Church, this is no imagination. Five years ago, he committed a toxic sin and almost lost his life trying to cover it up. He now comes face to face with his past, which haunts him from the pulpit to his bedroom. And the only way out of this nightmare is to make a decision that could cost him everything.Then imagine being mentored by one of the most revered men, Abraham Winder, whose stance on accountability and sexual purity is taught rigorously within the Mount Moriah mentoring program, only to discover your mentor is not what you expect. This is the reality for Dominic Housten, one of Abraham’s closest and trusted protégés, who accidentally stumbles upon a scene that left him frozen in disbelief. As Dominic struggles with betrayal, he confides in the pastor’s daughter – the only woman he’d secretly loved for years. The only problem with that is the pastor’s daughter is married to Phillip Benjamin, a deacon of the church and an extremely jealous man, who suspects Dominic’s intention runs deeper than just a casual friendship. The intertwined lives of these four men show that the righteous are not perfect, and at times, are tempted to forsake the ways of God. As each of these men battle to regain their focus, they will come to realize that the consequences of their sins are far greater than they’d anticipated – just one stupid mistake could produce a lifetime of hell!

    Now, in a back-to-back publishing event, Parks returns with her next novel of love and friendship and the betrayals of both-some forgiven, some never forgotten. It's been five years since they trusted one another-and betrayed one another - only as friends and lovers could. Beautiful Mia, getting a second chance at love. Christian, who gave up his player card for the one woman he's not sure he can trust. And Brice, as irresistibly bad as ever. One woman can tame him - if he'd give her the chance: Kree, innocent but underestimated, and looking for the kind of passion that can change a life. When she finds it, it's going to come with a price. Sometimes, it doesn't take a lot to tear apart friends like these. All it takes is love.

    But unwelcome medical news changes her trajectory and forces her hand.Fifteen years earlier, they’d made a pact. If they weren’t married by forty, they’d get together.But the news causes Lexi to hold Sean to the promise a decade early. Small Town Girls Don’t Marry Their Back-Ups, but when they do can it lead to happily ever after? Or will his ex-fiancé ruin everything?2

    Her ex-boyfriend thinks she's a booty call. Her fianc� was cheating on her--and his wife... And now he's dead.Twenty-eight-year-old Vanessa Cain had no idea that Eli, her husband-to-be, was already a married man. Or that he had a girlfriend on the side! Then, when Eli is killed by his mistress's husband, Vanessa's crazy world gets even more complicated. Now Eli's hostile widow, who happens to own the hip South Beach condo Vanessa and her young daughter shared with Eli, wants her out. Vanessa loves her home--it's the one stable thing in her life. But to keep it, she has to come up with money. Lots of it.Which means bringing in big business for her boss's motivational speaking agency. And Chaz Andersen is big, the biggest name in life coaching and the hottest man alive. So with a business plan and a bikini, Vanessa heads down to the Bahamas to convince Chaz to sign with her--unaware that this single mama is about to get herself into a whole lot more drama.

    Meemaw has been a doting mother, grandmother, and church mother to her community. Suddenly she's become a slimmed-down, silver-haired, seventy-something fox with a new attitude. And all fingers are pointing at a much younger ex-pro football player, GoGo Walker. When D.C. lawyer Garvin Daniels -- Meemaw's granddaughter -- gets wind of what's happening, she heads back to her hometown determined to help her Meemaw get it together before she goes too far.

    student, walks into Brown Betty Books, her righteousness kicks in to overdrive amid the self-identified "talented tenth" who wear their double degrees and five-hundred-dollar shoes like badges of honor. And then Innocent, a well-heeled investment banker from Côte d'Ivoire, West Africa, walks in and turns her on her head. Innocent seems interested in her -- but he's one of them.Before meeting him, Noire shunned the "bourgie" world of black-moneyed cosmopolitans like Innocent, opting instead for socially conscious (but economically challenged) artists and urban intellectuals. Their mutual attraction blossoms into lust -- and eventually love -- but it lives in the shifting sands of personal beliefs and professional ambitions that are often at odds.Set in New York City with jaunts to Africa, Europe, and the Caribbean, A Love Noire is the story of an unlikely couple that transcends all they've known to learn the redemptive power of love.

    Nice Guy who's found companionship and comfort with Marsha.  The only problem is that he's become too comfortable.  Weighing seventy-five pounds more than when the courtship first began, the newly food-obsessed Sonny just can't stay away from Marsha's marvelous dishes, even in the middle of their breakup conversation.Determined to slim down and get his girlfriend back, Sonny joins the FutraSystem weight-loss center and meets potential love interest Kayla, as well as a host of other colorful characters. In a heartwarming tale that is alternately hilarious, wise, and ultimately self-affirming, Whitfield has created a thoroughly delicious and engaging novel sure to be enjoyed by those who have waged the battle of the bulge, or know someone who has.

    Randall is rich, handsome, and charming -- the true-to-life dream lover of these smart, independent women who all find themselves passionately involved with him during the same seven-month period.There's Medora Jackson, an artist who has loved Randall since college and is now desperately trying to cut him loose. But turning Randall Hollis out of her life will end up being far more difficult than she thinks. There's Ana Reese-Mitchell, a wealthy widow and art collector who is haunted by the death of her best friend and the specter of her cruel late husband. She hopes Randall Hollis will be her second chance at love. And there's ambitious Taylor Benedict, a graduate student in art history who is coming to terms with her parents' divorce and problems from her childhood that she can't chase away. She's sure that Randall Hollis will be the first rung on her ladder to success.Randall Hollis is a man for all seasons, representing a different fantasy for each of the women who love him. As the novel unfolds, each woman will discover more about herself than she bargained for. And each, along with the errant Randall himself, will finally know the true meaning of love and the peace that comes with forgiveness.

    . . Essence and Blackboard bestselling author Karen E. Quinones Miller returns with the follow-up to Satin Doll, her debut novel about four sassy women from Harlem. Puddin': Yeah, y'all know I'm gangsta wit' it. And that's why I don't give a hot damn about swindling these stupid wimps for whatever-be it a drink or their precious platinum credit cards. I may not have a college education like Gina and Tamika or a bougie job like Yvonne, but my sexy ass gets the job done.Yvonne: Let's face it: I'm too fine to be alone. I'm intelligent, gainfully employed-and did I mention how fine I am? Well, it's a lot harder to find a good man than you'd think. So why does everybody have a problem with me getting back with my ex? Please! He'd almost be perfect if he didn't still have a wife.Tamika: I guess I'm the most quiet out of all my girls. Marriage, motherhood, and med school will do that to a sista. And, hell, having a full-out drug war land in your home will certainly do the trick. It'll also keep you stressed, angry, and maybe even a little judgmental of your friends when they're sleeping with the enemy.Regina: Yeah, Little Joe ran the game twenty years ago. But it was that same game that helped me jump off my writing career. And after seeing him for the first time in years, I've got to at least talk to the man. Never mind that he looks better than ever and still has that same sexy swagger that I found irresistible. Or that he might not be the best example for my daughter...or that I'm still feeling my politician ex-hubby (just a little bit). Never mind all of that. Because talking never hurt anybody, right? Blending themes of friendship and street angst with tough, sexy, independent female characters, Satin Nights captures the edginess of urban grit and celebrates the strength of sista-hood.

    Playing a clever trick of her own, Williams left her heroine on the brink of death at the end of the novel. Now the second installment of the chronicles reveals what Williams’s readers are dying to know: Is the Bitch Dead, or What?The drive-by shooting that brought her down forces Ritz to look back on her climb to the top and the people she loved, lost, used, and abused along the way. There’s the brief dalliance with Tracee, her best friend, and the romance with a man with some secrets of his own; the loss of her beloved Aunt M; and the recent appearance of the father who abandoned her and is now demanding a financial payoff and fifteen minutes of fame. At the heart of it all is Ritz’s need to figure out where the real-life Ritz ends and the radio bitch begins.For the huge audience hooked on The Wendy Williams Experience and readers itching to find out what happens to the over-the-top star of Drama Is Her Middle Name, Is the Bitch Dead, or What? is packed with all the irresistible shocks and insider dish that make Williams the hottest voice in America today.

    They pray for prosperity but never receive it. Why? Because they don’t know how to use a godly imagination correctly. They don’t see themselves healed. They don’t see themselves prosperous. They don’t see themselves victorious. In The Power of Imagination, Andrew Wommack will unlock the power of your imagination and explain how you can put it to work giving you hope for the future. Without it, you’ll never fulfill God’s plan for your life. Circumstances will divert you and hardship will steal from you. But with it, you won’t be able to lose for winning! Never underestimate the power of your imagination!

    Working their way up from the humblest of beginnings, the Langstons have thrived beyond anything they could have ever imagined. Now they live in the finest home, drive the best cars, and indulge in all the trimmings that signify their massive success. But then the recession hits and rips apart the family’s financial stability. Unable to support their three children and other relatives, Adam and Evia find themselves drowning in financial trouble and teetering on the brink of complete disaster. With nowhere to turn, the Langstons have no idea what to do. Until Shay-Shaunté, Evia’s multimillionaire boss, comes to the Langstons with a five-million-dollar offer that seems so hard to refuse. Will the Langstons make this deal? Or will they recognize that the glitter of five million dollars may be far from gold?

    Although they've tried to keep it together, there comes a time when you have to move on. As they strive to start over and make new lives, there are hurdles to leap over, not to mention something about the ex that keeps pulling them back in. Will these women finally find happiness, or will the side effects of their exes, keep them stuck in an unhappy rut? Will they let the new opportunities to be free of their past into their lives, or slip through their fingers? See if they will they fight for their independence in The Side Effects of You