Oh, and the occasional random hook-up she indulges in to pass the time. Love? Eh, not so much. Save that crap for a Katherine Heigl or Natalie Portman movie.Jersey’s seen enough in life (courtesy of her Pops) to realize that undying romance is nothing more than a myth used to sell books and movie tickets. As she knows too well, the only thing inevitable in life is death— love is definitely not promised.That’s why when Jersey meets Isaiah “Zay” Broussard with his soulful gray eyes, quick wit and easy charm, she’s determined to remain aloof. She doesn't have time to get sidetracked by fleeting fantasies, even if she does feel an unexplainable connection to Zay she’s never experienced before. But when his interest in her only seems to intensify, despite her attempts to brush him off, she gets to see a side of him and herself she didn’t expect…

    Leaning on each other at every low and celebrating each other at every high. When one needs the other they are always there. So it was no surprise when placed in a position to lose an inheritance, Wellington thought nothing of asking his friend for help. He knew without a shadow of a doubt Olivia would come running, but can their friendship survive something as big as this? Olivia has loved her best friend her entire life but she’s always been afraid to act on it. She’s been content playing in the shadow of being Wellington’s dorky best friend. Even when her heart was telling her to speak up she stayed silent. After her friend asks her to sacrifice her time to help him out of a bind, Olivia jumps at the offer, hoping that eventually he sees her as more. Will she ever speak of her love, or will she suffer in silence forever? Wellington has known he’s loved his best friend since she entered his life. He never wanted to be anything except her man, but he knew she wasn’t ready for the type of love he had to offer, nor did he desire to change their friendship forever. When his longing to make her his became too much, Wellington set a plan in motion to make sure the desires of his heart were made clear. Will lying to his best friend win her heart, or will it ruin their friendship forever?

    Left with a massive—by NYC standards, anyway—apartment and a car lease in the scorching Texas heat, Julia is struggling…except that’s not completely true. Running the charitable foundation of one of the most iconic high fashion department stores in the world is serious #lifegoals.It’s more than enough to make her want to stick it out down South.The only monkey wrench in Julia’s plans is the blue-eyed, smart-mouthed consultant the store hired to take them public. Fellow New Yorker Rocco Quinn’s first order of business? Putting Julia’s job on the chopping block.When Julia is tasked with making sure Rocco sees how valuable the programs she runs are, she’s caught between a rock and a very hard set of abs. Because Rocco Quinn is almost impossible to hate—and even harder to resist.

    That’s when she’s not the dancer on the Gram and TikTok, dating the latest Black Hollywood shooting star.To her, Jas, a construction laborer, is a walking conundrum. He’s fruitlessly ambitious yet steadfast in his spiritual convictions. He’s enigmatic, well-read, regimented, and poor. Oh, and a felon. An incredibly disarming parolee who wants no connection to her. Until he does.Two souls, galaxies apart. He’s an unanticipated UFO about to collide in her world like an unmitigated asteroid.Publisher’s Note: “Mercy” is book ONE of a THREE book series. It ends on a suspenseful CLIFFHANGER. This book contains angst, violence, profanity, sexually explicit content, and potential gory material. If any of these elements is not what you prefer between the pages of a novel, this is not the venture for you.

     Zola Lewis is many things to many people. She’s a marketing extraordinaire by day, and a podcast host by night. She’s also a devoted daughter, a funny and caregiving auntie to her sister’s daughter. But, the one thing she is not, is a wife to a loving husband and she’s beginning to think that could never happen because she’s entirely too opinionated for most men. One night on her live podcast, she experienced a challenging caller who seemed to aggravate her more than a little, and Zola wondered who was more opinionated. Zola or the caller? Khalil Berry was a bit of a nerd growing up, and as a result, also a bit of a late bloomer. Time not spent with girls allowed him to stick with books. His big brain landed him many opportunities and by his mid-twenties, he’d amassed a fortune from his software apps. The latest app he’s developing requires more hands on research and he decides to do the research himself. First stop, listening to a podcast by a woman talking about women; a topic he was beginning to learn more about since his money seems attracts them all the time. The task was simple, listen and take notes. But, her voice is too melodic and her words, well, let’s just say she didn’t know what she was talking about as far as he was concerned. So he calls in to correct her. They’re both great at giving a piece of their mind, but can they hand over their well-guarded hearts?

    Anaya went on many dates, kissed many frogs, and none turned into her prince. But each did leave her with post-worthy rants to her future husband. She met a guy who didn't want to travel. Dear #FutureHusband, I hope your passport is ready. She met a man who had questionable political opinions. Dear #FutureHusband, we don’t have to agree on everything, but we have to be on the same political team. Then she met Russell who seemed to be the future husband she posted about. Russell, on the other hand, was heartbroken — by his fiancé and baby mama — and was determined to stay single. He preferred meeting random women, and enjoyed one night stands, over being vulnerable in a committed relationship. Could Anaya be the woman to heal his broken heart?

     Nia Winston, a young high school principal, stands in a fan line at the Essence Festival in New Orleans, hoping to get Justin Ray, the hottest R&B singer, to donate to her non-profit. When they meet sparks fly, or maybe it was just Nia's imagination. Until Nia has a surprise meeting with Justin, a month later while she is in Atlanta and Justin asks her to spend one week with him no strings attached. Wanting to escape her own problems back at home, she agrees and has the most passionate time of her life. As real love develops inexplicably between Nia and Justin, she can no longer hide the truth. And when her truth threatens to harm Justin's white-hot career, she leaves him one night with only a goodbye text. Two years later, Justin unexpectedly comes back in her life, demanding answers. All of her emotions come rushing back, but is she ready to give up everything she cherishes for a man she knew for only one week and a world she never wanted?

    I would have said it was a setup that was doomed to fail each and every time. I had friends who had been there, done that, and got the keyed car and broken windows to prove it. I didn’t need to experience it for myself to know that I was good on that. That’s what I would have said before if anyone wanted to know my opinion. In a way, I still thought like that, except… I’d known Aisha since I was thirteen years old and if you would have asked me, I would have said I knew her pretty well. That couldn’t have been further from the truth, and when she revealed some things to me—things I had somehow missed over all these years—I found myself uttering words I never thought I’d say. It was just an agreement. You could almost call it a selfless act on my part. I was just being a good friend. The thing was, I forgot who drew the lines in the sand and before long I found myself caught up in the more-than-friendly benefits with my very good friend. Author’s Note: This is short, steamy read featuring explicit language and situations. If either of those offend you, this might not be the story for you.

     Harper Bennett’s motto is work hard, play hard. Lately, she’s forgotten the latter and has focused her time as part-owner, along with her brothers, of the hottest nightclub in Atlanta. When an intriguing client enters, Harper forgoes her promise to never date a man that doesn’t live in the same city and she finds herself playing hard to get with Hunter Arrington. The passion that has ignited between them can’t be extinguished, and she dreads the day he has to leave. Hunter travels the world because of his career and has no intentions of settling down until his eyes land on Harper Bennett. There’s something about the petite, sassy woman that he adores and makes him feel at home for the first time in years. Now he’s faced with a life-changing decision and the thought of being without Harper isn’t an option. Be sure to check out the other novellas in this series. (The novellas can be read in any order) A Passionate Kiss by Sharon C. Cooper A Passionate Love by Delaney Diamond

    We had finally called it quits, and I was ready to move on. Quickly.I was ready for something fun — something to take the edge off of being newly single. My friends suggested dating, but I declined and took their generous offer of receiving a spa day instead.What was supposed to be a relaxing experience, turned into a spine-tingling, soul floating, toes curling, body trembling orgasm. And it was from my high school crush, Garlen.The thing was, he wasn’t my only crush back then. I had one on him and his fine friend, Jerik. After the way he made my body come alive, forbidden, nasty thoughts of sampling them both invaded my mind. Not just alone, but together.I wanted them both.At the same time.And, have them do things to me I only fantasized about.But, I didn't know how to tell them.Do you ask for something like this or just submit and just say yes?

    

    Now that she’s marrying the man of her dreams, she’s sure this is the life she’ll get. Then Marnie meets Blix Holliday, her fiancé’s irascible matchmaking great-aunt who’s dying, and everything changes—just as Blix told her it would.When her marriage ends after two miserable weeks, Marnie is understandably shocked. She’s even more astonished to find that she’s inherited Blix’s Brooklyn brownstone along with all of Blix’s unfinished “projects”: the heartbroken, oddball friends and neighbors running from happiness. Marnie doesn’t believe she’s anything special, but Blix somehow knew she was the perfect person to follow in her matchmaker footsteps.And Blix was also right about some things Marnie must learn the hard way: love is hard to recognize, and the ones who push love away often are the ones who need it most.

    To her friends, she’s reliable and selfless, which is how she winds up a bridesmaid in five weddings in six weeks. Anything for her three best friends and two (younger) siblings, right? Even if her own love life is…well, she’d rather not talk about it. To keep her sanity, Lily needs a safe place to vent.And so her anonymous blog, Bridesmania, is born. The posts start pouring out of her: all the feels about mom-zillas, her vanishing bank balance, the wicked bridesmaids of the west, high-strung brides-to-be, body-shaming dress clerks, bachelorette parties, and Spanx for days, not to mention being deemed guardian of eighty-eight-year-old Granny (who enjoys morning mimosas in the nude) for her brother’s destination wedding.So far the blog has stayed anonymous. But as everyone knows, few things online remain secret forever…When all is said and done, can Lily help all five couples make it to happily ever after? And will her own happy ending be close behind?