She desperately needs something or someone to believe in. She plans her future around Marquise, the father of her toddler daughter. Devastatingly sexy, Marquise is currently in jail on drug charges. Terelle, however, is living for his imminent return and dreaming of the day they can start building a life together as a real family.A cunning seductress, Kai Montgomery is the bi-racial adopted daughter of a wealthy Caucasian couple. Rich, beautiful, and well-bred, Kai is Terelle's polar opposite. After being dumped by an affluent and very married physician, Kai is without a sex partner. When one of numerous trysts results in the best sex of her life, she becomes obsessed and is quickly set on a collision course destined to destroy many lives.

     Tony was an unredeemable ladies' man until Tracie caught his heart. But will his conniving ex, Valarie, let them live happily ever after? Any woman would be lucky to have Benjamin. But his weakness for young women has only made him a target for gold diggers in search of a sugar daddy. Will he ever find true love? And, finally, there's Mark. Still bitter from being rejected by black women when he was young, he seeks acceptance in the arms of a white lover. But will his friends and family accept her?

    They are both excited when Dwight is offered a promotion at work, but the downside is that the job is located in Maryland. After much discussion, Tracey decides that she does not want to leave their new house. Dwight makes the decision to accept the position and return home on weekends. Alicia Dixon has spent her life hating and not trusting men after her father mistreated her mother, but she can't help but fall for the new guy in her company... Dwight. They both try to fight their attraction to one another, but it proves to be a losing battle-Alicia is everything that his southern wife is not. When Alicia ends up pregnant, Dwight decides to end things with Tracey, but the process proves not to be as easy as Dwight had hoped.

    These energetic, sensual street celebrations serve as backdrops to the story of best friends Neet and Shay and their families.When Neet becomes pregnant by one of the corner boys, Shay arranges an abortion that goes terribly awry when Neet begins to hemorrhage. Neet is left unable to bear children and to Shay’s horror slips under the spell of her mother Alberta’s severe, esoteric religious beliefs. Shay is left to struggle with the grief of losing a cherished friendship, while she also bears witness to the the disintegration of her parents’ marriage. The story climaxes during the second block party, during which time it is discovered that Neet and Alberta have disappeared from Cecil Street—the holy-roller mother, Alberta, having finally been set free from the shackles of her church by none other than Shay’s father.

    Taking us inside the glittering world of New York's hip-hop scene with an unforgettable cast of characters, smart dialogue, and a whole lot of attitude, Erica Kennedy grabs the microphone and makes it clear that she is a major new voice in the popular new genre of urban fiction.

    From a speakeasy whorehouse in the bottoms of Alabama to a luxurious high-rise apartment in Kenya, acclaimed author Tracy Price-Thompson crosses boundaries of sexuality, gender, and culture to accentuate the core of black identity: the enormous strength of family.“Ain’t nothing like a Black man. No other man on the face of the earth can hold a light up to him, coming or going. Why do you think women are all the time chasing behind them? Smooth game and all, when a brotha loves you, he loves you right.”—from A Woman’s WorthAbeni Omorru is a stunning Kenyan woman who is haunted by piercing memories. Although her father’s wealth ensures her a life of prestige, childhood trauma has left her emotionally damaged and sexually promiscuous. While Abeni takes on many lovers, none come close to healing the wounds of her heart—and only a man who understands her worth can truly claim her soul. Bishop Johnson is also haunted by his past. Raised by prostitutes in a rural Alabama town, he is a promising teenage boxer—until his dreams are shattered when his parents are murdered during a violent robbery and he takes revenge on the perpetrators. Bishop goes to jail, and when he is released he has a volatile temper and a mean left hook to back it up. Trouble continues to find Bishop, and he is forced to leave Alabama and travel to Kenya with the Peace Corps. There he falls in love with Abeni, and they marry. When Bishop learns the secret of Abeni’s past, he is force to make a decision that may cost him more than one man should ever have to sacrifice.From the Hardcover edition.

    Black drew hard, squinting as the smoke rushed into his lungs."Where do you want to start?"the lawyer said, lighting a cigarette of his own."I guess there’s only one place to start; at Broad and Erie."Johnny Podres, a politician whose record against corruption had been propelling him straight to the mayor’s office, is found murdered in a North Philly crack house.Enter Samuel Jackson, a.k.a. Black, a drug addict who knows better, a man embittered by the fact that he can’t seem to escape from his addiction to crack cocaine or, for that matter, from himself. Though he was once a family man with a wife and son, Black’s only concern these days is getting his next high, that is, until he stumbles across a friend and fellow addict, Leroy, and both become prime suspects in the Podres murder. Black and Leroy hook up with two female pipers: Clarisse, a registered nurse who is slowly losing to crack any semblance of a respectable life, and Pookie, who already has lost it. Soon the hunt is on for all four as they try to stay one step ahead of a police department under tremendous pressure to solve the case—because if a killer isn’t found soon, this could blow up into one of the biggest scandals in Philadelphia history. Solomon Jones weaves a suspenseful story against the backdrop of corruption in the Philadelphia police department and centers it on a group of drug addicts who, in the process of fleeing the law, come to terms with their own addiction, leading to some devastating consequences.

    In this sexy, suspenseful slice of urban fiction, an ambitious womans love ofeasy money and fast living leads her to the brink of destruction.

    WITH A TWIST THAT WILL LEAVE YOU SHOCKED! At nineteen years old, Celess and Tina are at the top of their game. They've got the looks and the bodies to attract attention from men wherever they go -- and they work it. From New York to Philly to Vegas, they hit all the clubs and every big party dressed to kill. And they don't pay for a thing -- not with men like O, Tariq, and James lining up to buy them designer clothes, the hottest jewelry, and luxury cars. But their fast, packed lives are about to catch up with them. The two share a devastating secret, and when it's revealed, Celess will need every ounce of her street smarts to survive....

    Lisa Miller has a wonderful life while her sister and their friends have been searching for love in the wildest of places. She invites them to join her in Jamaica where she plans to share heart-wrenching news, and hopes the pain in her life will give them a reason to stop taking theirs for granted. Renee Moore is a best-selling author with an insatiable appetite for men. She plans on spending her vacation, engaging in a fling that will give her reason to exhale. Unfortunately, she soon finds out it’s not always sunny in paradise. Attorney Nadine Hill has been living in denial for far too long. By the end of the trip, she needs to decide if she’s going to continue to live for everyone else or take a chance at her own happiness no matter the consequences. Kayla Sparks has always dreamed of being a preacher’s wife. When a handsome minister walks into her life, she thinks God has answered her prayers. Only his wife would probably disagree. **this book was originally published in 2006**

    from Middle English "wenchel," 1 a: a girl, maid, young woman; a female child.Tawawa House in many respects is like any other American resort before the Civil War. Situated in Ohio, this idyllic retreat is particularly nice in the summer when the Southern humidity is too much to bear. The main building, with its luxurious finishes, is loftier than the white cottages that flank it, but then again, the smaller structures are better positioned to catch any breeze that may come off the pond. And they provide more privacy, which best suits the needs of the Southern white men who vacation there every summer with their black, enslaved mistresses. It's their open secret.Lizzie, Reenie, and Sweet are regulars at Tawawa House. They have become friends over the years as they reunite and share developments in their own lives and on their respective plantations. They don't bother too much with questions of freedom, though the resort is situated in free territory–but when truth-telling Mawu comes to the resort and starts talking of running away, things change.To run is to leave behind everything these women value most–friends and families still down South–and for some it also means escaping from the emotional and psychological bonds that bind them to their masters. When a fire on the resort sets off a string of tragedies, the women of Tawawa House soon learn that triumph and dehumanization are inseparable and that love exists even in the most inhuman, brutal of circumstances–all while they are bearing witness to the end of an era.An engaging, page-turning, and wholly original novel, Wench explores, with an unflinching eye, the moral complexities of slavery.

     After eleven years of marriage, Georgia Brown is fed up with her husband, Marvin, a popular radio personality. It's not just because she suspects he's having an affair, or because she's suddenly expected to raise his thirteen-year-old daughter, Chloe-whom she never even knew existed. It's because of the comments he makes about her weight, their marriage, and their sex life...on national radio! Now, to save their marriage, Marvin invites Georgia to the station for an on-air rebuttal, having no idea it will launch her career. Or that what began as a battle at home will now be a blistering war for all to hear....

    . . where money rulesUptown . . . where ambition trumps traditionUptown . . . where politics come before everythingUptown . . . where a family’s secrets will bring them together—or downAfter twenty years away, Avery Lyons returns to New York when her mother and uncle suffer a serious car accident. The tragedy brings the family together, but Avery is not happy about the impromptu reunion. She no longer recognizes the Harlem of her childhood, but the same old family dynamics and secrets are all too familiar . . . Heir to a real estate empire, Dwight is willing to do anything to realize his aging and demanding father’s dream: Dixon Plaza, a luxury high-rise development on Central Park North that will change the face of Harlem forever. There’s only one thing in his way: his cousin Avery has inherited a share of the property. She’s more than willing to sell until a reporter uncovers the truth behind the rumored shady dealings . . . In Uptown a prominent Harlem family is strained to the breaking point by the high-stakes world of the Manhattan real estate industry, and one woman searches for her identity and the will to forgive. Steamy, provocative, and sexy, Uptown is a turbulent and triumphant read.

    In her bestselling novel, The Coldest Winter Ever, Sister Souljah introduced the world to Midnight, a brave but humble lieutenant to a prominent underworld businessman. Now, in a highly anticipated follow-up to her million-selling masterpiece, she brings readers into the life and dangerously close to the heart of this silent, fearless young man. Raised in a wealthy, influential, Islamic African family, Midnight enjoys a life of comfort, confidence, and protection. Midnight's father provides him with a veil of privilege and deep, devoted love, but he never hides the truth about the fierce challenges of the world outside of his estate. So when Midnight's father's empire is attacked, he sends Midnight with his mother to the United States. In the streets of Brooklyn, a young Midnight uses his Islamic mind-set and African intelligence to protect the ones he loves, build a business, reclaim his wealth and status, and remain true to his beliefs. Midnight, a handsome and passionate young man, attracts many women. How he interacts and deals with them is a unique adventure. This is a highly sensual and tremendous love story about what a man is willing to risk and give to the women he loves most. Midnight will remain in your mind and beat in your heart for a lifetime. Her "raw and true voice" (Publishers Weekly) will both soothe and arouse you. In a beautifully written and masterfully woven story, Sister Souljah has given us Midnight, and solidified her presence as the mother of all contemporary urban literature.

     Jacquelin Thomas has embraced the power of love and forgiveness in her award-winning novels. Now she explores the rewards of Redemption as a woman's desperate choices threaten to destroy her.