Here’s the situation… It’s Mother’s Day, you haven’t purchased a gift for your mom, and you are looking for a quick solution. Look no further. Why not buy her a good book?
Here is our Top Ten Mother’s Day picks!
I Almost Forgot About You: A Novel
By: Terry McMillan
Available for Pre-Order / Due: June 7, 2016
In I Almost Forgot About You, Dr. Georgia Young’s wonderful life–great friends, family, and successful career–aren’t enough to keep her from feeling stuck and restless. When she decides to make some major changes in her life, quitting her job as an optometrist, and moving house, she finds herself on a wild journey that may or may not include a second chance at love. Like Waiting to Exhale and How Stella Got Her Groove Back, I Almost Forgot About You will show legions of readers what can happen when you face your fears, take a chance, and open yourself up to life, love, and the possibility of a new direction.
A Sinful Calling (A Reverend Curtis Black Novel)
By: Kimberla Lawson Roby
Available for Pre-Order / Due: June 21, 2016
Two years ago, to everyone’s surprise, Dillon Whitfield Black, the secret son of Reverend Curtis Black, boldly moved back home, married a woman named Raven, decided he was going to become a minister, and then founded a church right in the center of his living room. Today he’s pastor of a 1,000-plus-member congregation, and new members are joining weekly. Sadly, behind closed doors, Dillon is far from being a saint. Dillon has become more like the man his father was thirty years ago-consumed with money, power, and lots of women. His family may have let bygones be bygones, but they continue to keep their distance.
Not Alicia, though. This daughter of Curtis Black joins Dillon’s congregation, leaving her father’s church behind. The family has forgiven Alicia for marrying Levi Cunningham, the former drug dealer she had an affair with, but once Alicia realizes they will never fully accept Levi, she decides to see her family less and less. She and Levi are truly happy, however, guilt from her betrayal of Phillip and its aftermath casts a shadow over their wedded bliss.
But when Raven decides she wants a higher position in the church and Alicia hides a devastating secret, the entire family is affected in ways they don’t see coming. In the end, no one will be able to trust anyone . . . and for very good reason.
Stepping to a New Day: A Blessings Novel
By: Beverly Jenkins
Available for Pre-Order / Due: June 28, 2016
In Henry Adams, Kansas, you can’t start over without stirring things up . . .
Many a good woman has had to leave a no-good man, but how many of them took a back-seat to his 600-lb. hog? On her own for the first time, Genevieve Gibbs is ecstatic, even if certain people preferred the doormat version of Ms. Gibbs. Finding someone who appreciates the “new” her has only just hit Gen’s to-do list when T.C. Barbour appears in her life.
A tiny Kansas town is a far cry from his native Oakland, California, but it’s just the change T. C. needs. While helping his divorced nephew acclimate to single fatherhood, T. C. lands a gig driving a limo for the most powerful woman in Henry Adams. It’s a great way to meet people—and one in particular has already made the job worthwhile. All it takes is a short trip from the airport for Genevieve to snag T.C.’s attention for good.
But it wouldn’t be Henry Adams without adding more drama to the mix. When Gen’s ex Riley returns with his hog in tow, it sets off a chain of events that can ruin everything—unless the residents pull together once again to save the day.
By: Reshonda Tate Billingsley
Available for Pre-Order / Due: July 5, 2016
The daughter of an adulterous father deals with the long-rippling effects of his actions in her own love life in this emotionally powerful novel by award-winning and national bestselling author ReShonda Tate Billingsley.
Lauren Robinson knows exactly what it takes to be the perfect mistress. She had a front-row seat when she tagged along with her father on all of his extramarital trysts. She loved “keeping Daddy’s special secrets,” but many family members, especially her mother, consider her an accomplice in helping break up their family.
Years later, Lauren’s mother, Joyce, whose health is failing, cannot let go of the bitterness caused by her husband’s philandering. She continues to blame Lauren, as does Lauren’s brother. Joyce can’t see past her anger and betrayal and has withheld her maternal affection from Lauren for most of her life. This emotional distance and Lauren’s early dating experiences lead her to date married men…
That is until Dr. Matthew King enters the scene. Now poised to become a college president, Matthew is a former beau that left Lauren brokenhearted. He tries to show Lauren that he’s a changed man since their college days. The two truly connect and their relationship quickly escalates.
When Matthew proposes marriage, Lauren happily accepts, but as their very public engagement makes the news, someone is intent on sabotaging their relationship. Someone who watched her own marriage destroyed by Lauren, and won’t be happy until she gives Lauren a taste of her own medicine. Can Lauren stop the cycle of destruction in time to salvage the only love she’s ever known?
Just Can’t Let Go (The Crystal Series)
By: Mary B. Morrison
Available for Pre-Order / Due: July 26, 2016
Too much is never, ever enough for Alexis Crystal. She’s playing a dangerous game, but she’s finally close to getting 24/7 sizzling satisfaction. With a ring on her finger from James Wilcox and the woman she loves firmly between her sheets, no one can match Alexis when it comes to scheming. And her duplicity just makes her better at helping her siblings get revenge on the lovers who are doing them wrong…
Devereaux Crystal just about has it all. Producer of TV’s hottest new reality show, she’s engaged to entrepreneur Phoenix and will do anything for their adorable two-year-old, Nya. She and Phoenix have always set it off in the bedroom, but lately Devereaux is starting to question whether Phoenix will ever make his own success, much less set a wedding date. Soon, his seductive excuses and tantalizing evasion finally lead her to an unthinkable truth: Ebony, the fiery star of Devereaux’s series, is keeping Phoenix primed, hot, and at her beck and call. But Devereaux is holding all the cards–and she plans to use them to exact the sweetest revenge. . .
With the help of her sisters, Devereaux sets out to blow up Phoenix’s house of lies. But the explosion ignites its own chain of devastating consequences. Because no one should mess with the Crystal women without expecting some fierce payback.
By: Donna Hill
Available Now!
Attorney Khendra Phillips isn’t used to dealing with men on anything more than a business level. After having her heart broken years ago, she has spent her time focusing on her budding legal career, and it has paid off—or has it?
Khendra learns the case that will make her career is being given to hotshot New York City lawyer Sean Michaels, and she can’t deny her attraction to the devastatingly handsome attorney. Can she let go of the past in order to be found guilty of love?
By: Tiffany L. Warren
Available Now!
Felicia Caldwell has a great job, a healthy bank account, and stunning good looks. But she longs for a husband and family to go along with it. So when charismatic superstar pastor Nya Hempstead declares that partnership is on its way, Felicia is elated—until her life becomes filled with more curses than blessings. Five years later, someone has to pay—and that someone is Nya. Soon, Felicia is moving to Dallas and joins the church led by Nya and her co-pastor husband, Gregory…
In the eyes of the public, Nya and Gregory have the perfect life. But their marriage is feeling the strain of Nya’s success. While she’s hitting the talk show circuit and the bestseller list, Gregory is fading into the background. It’s no surprise he enjoys the fawning attention of new church member, Felicia. Little does he know her intentions are far from pure. And as she infiltrates the pastors’ lives it will take a team of prayer warriors and heavenly intervention to save their relationship—and their ministry. Along the way, will they remember the mission they started with?
Deadly Satisfaction (A Dangerous Love Novel)
By: Trice Hickman
Available Now!
It’s been two years since Johnny Mayfield’s murder rocked Amber, Alabama. His death, along with the illicit personal scandals that preceded it, created more drama than the town had ever seen. But now life is back to normal, at least for his widow, Geneva. Or so it seems.
Happily remarried, Geneva has to admit her life is better than ever. Her upscale salon is thriving, and she finally has the baby she always wanted. But when she hires nanny Morgan Whitman, she discovers the deceptively matronly woman is stirring up drama, causing Geneva to question many things—including who really killed Johnny. Add local gossip columnist Shartell Brown and tell-it-like-it-is Donetta Pierce to the mix, and soon vicious rumors, terrifying threats, and long held secrets may add up to another shocking murder—one that will rival even Johnny Mayfield’s.
By: Michelle Cuttino
Available Now!
Roxanne Linden learned the hard way that it’s one thing to be overweight, a lesbian and a cheater, but it’s quite another to take your stepsister, Ayana Linden, as a lover. Forced into a conventional lifestyle with her fiancé, Mark Watkins, Roxanne’s humdrum existence is interrupted when Ayana resurfaces. Roxanne knows her world is about to change, but is she fully prepared for what happens next?
The sisters’ reunion uncovers the truth about Ayana, who is exploring her options with Marlon Fields, while trying to end her volatile relationship with her married lover, Jasmine Willowbrook. This reunion also rekindles sexual urges that lead Roxanne into the arms of flamboyant bar owner, Royal T. Roaman. Royal shares a shady past with her fiancé, and once Mark becomes aware of Roxanne’s latest indiscretions, he is unwittingly trapped in a betrayal he believes is of his own volition.
As all of their lives and relationships begin to intertwine, truths are unearthed, infidelities come to light and futures are threatened. If they aren’t careful in their search for LOVE & HAPPINESS, Roxanne, or one of her lovers, may lose everything—including their life.
Zane Presents… Cougar Cocktales
*** EROTICA / EXPLICIT ***
Edited by: N’Tyse
Anthology Authors: Michelle Cuttino, Shakir Rashaan, Anna Black, Jada Pearl & N’Tyse
Five of the most daring voices in African American literature today explore the sizzling, wildly popular genre of erotica in this unique collection edited by the author who “cleverly delivers all that her name stands for: Never Tell Your Secrets” (Zane).
Dare to embrace your wild side as five of the brightest imaginations in black literature today—Michelle Cuttino, Shakir Rashaan, Anna Black, Jada Pearl, and N’Tyse—come together to weave an unforgettable exploration of female liberation and self-gratifying sexual healing. These risqué tales of steamy passion bloom from illicit affairs, secret fetishes, romantic flings, and pure unadulterated happenstance.