African Urban Fiction

Dad, I just want to know how to not become a hashtag. In this gripping read, biracial siblings Reed and Olive hadn’t planned on navigating racial inequality or being roughed up by police on the subway, but as they face the truths and pains of being a person of color, they also lean into...

Derek Harper, a young African American man who dreams of becoming a successful songwriter, pursues his ambitions amid the colorful fast lane of the 1980s music industry, with only his parents to act as his conscience during his odyssey.

When Jalen Wilson returns from his summer vacation, the only thing on his mind is relaxing before going back to teaching. However, that all changes when he runs into his curvy former student at a local coffee shop. Instantly, Tanisha finds herself drawn to him like a moth to a flame, and turning him out will be unlike anything she's ever done.

The lead scorer on the women’s basketball team, Destiny, falls for Antonio’s charming ways, and after one night of drunken steamy lovemaking, it was all it took for this innocent virgin to fall pregnant. Now Antonio could lose it all, but only if someone finds out. Destiny finds it hard to resist memories of that steamy night, knowing how good another one with him could be. But is she ready for motherhood and to be a mistress to a married man?

Ever since their heated kiss, Kayla can’t keep her mind off of Tyrone. She kept playing the scene over and over in her head. The way his hands brushed her skin, her heart thundering in her chest, and the deep ache she felt when his lips finally left hers. How could she not think about Tyrone? There’s only one problem: Tyrone is forbidden fruit. Not only is Tyrone Kayla’s sous chef roommate, but Kayla is already in a relationship with another man.

For some, love starts with a smile, grows with a kiss, and ends in tears. For four friends from Queens, it's about to get complicated....

Hip music critic Dwayne Robinson has two main gigs: defending rap's rightful place in the music industry and scoring as many women as possible. But this smooth-talking b-boy has yet to try working love into his lingo - until "buppie" Danielle Embry slides into and rocks his world. A Connecticut suburbanite, Danielle is as far removed from Dwayne's Brooklyn ghetto upbringing as it gets. Yet despite this clash, these unlikely lovers are drawn together.

Fed up with her married Miami boyfriend, savvy Dulce has no problem stealing his drug-dealer stash and fleeing to the Caribbean. Between her special skills - and an eye for very rich and/or very smokin' men - Dulce stays a hustle ahead of trouble and makes her new life one endless party in Puerto Rico. Until she's caught in Hurricane Maria - and witnesses both the heartbreaking disaster of climate change, and the international vultures who plunder the tragedy for a financial killing, making shady use of relief funds to devastate the island even more....

Sisters from Trinidad, Violet and Lily have never had much in common. Stunning Lily arrives undocumented in New York and makes her way as a stripper. But Harvard-educated Violet is this close to the perfect assimilated life, thanks to a prestigious job, and her rich bougie fiance.... Until she's wrongly accused of helping a notorious strip-club mogul embezzle millions of his workers' earnings. Violet loses everything - except the determination to get her life back. Now Violet's on his track with the help of his vengeful ex-wife and the Lower East Side Women's Health Clinic's resourceful crew - which includes Lily.

Carl Weber brings the best of urban street lit authors together, all telling their own dramatic tales of life in the streets in known cities across the USA. The second installment continues with Treasure Hernandez telling the tale of the Dirty South.

Rhea's neighborhood is fading away—the mom-and-pop shops of her childhood forced out to make space for an artisanal kombucha brewery here, a hot yoga studio there. And everywhere, the feeling that this place is no longer meant for her. Because while their little corner of South L.A. isn't perfect, to Rhea and her two best friends, it's something even more important—it's home. And it's worth protecting. But as more white people flock to their latest edgy, urban paradise, more of Rhea's friends and family are pushed out. Until Rhea decides it's time to push back.

"Nine Lives" by Kiki Swinson: Wild-card Aiden. Dead-shot Ava. Killing nine targets in 10 days will be this brother-sister hit team's biggest score yet. But as Ava sets up their final target, she falls hard for him and a chance at a normal life. "The Crushed Ice Clique" by Noire: At first all ghetto princesses Honore and Cucci want is quick cash-flow. But after sexing jewelry distributor Slimy Sam and learning his illegal tricks of the trade, they assemble a crack team of thieves for one dazzling scam.

Do you remember your first love? Meagan will never forget hers because he held an important role in her life that should have prevented them from coming together as one. There were so many reasons for her and William not to be together, such as their 21 years age difference just to name one. Tragedy took the lives of those who would stand in their way and Megan was happy that it did...at first. It was those same people, may they rest in peace, that taught her the deadly game that provided her the keys to open Pandora’s Box at an early age, which sent her into William’s arms.

When love leaves 19-year-old Loyalty Wallace with nothing but a pair of bruised ribs, she finds herself with $500,000 in stolen cash from her boyfriend, Whip, and a target on her back. She plans to use that money to escape her toxic relationship, but what she doesn’t know is the money she stole wasn’t his to keep. It was a loan from the Belmonte family, one of the most dangerous families in the heart of the Big Apple.

The honeymoon stage for the four couples is over, and Nic is feeling extremely vulnerable due to her current situation. Much to her dismay, she has plenty reason to feel unsafe. The King brothers have enemies coming from every which way, and they're not just after the brothers but their women too. Can the brothers protect their operation, all the while keeping their ladies happy? Or will both worlds collide causing them to lose one?

NEW YORK TIMES BOOK REVIEW EDITORS’ CHOICE A blazingly original story collection about the interconnected lives of the residents of a public housing project on the South Side of Chicago “The residents and their buoyant dreams are documented, celebrated, honored. I bow to this writer...

Magic and magical creatures. Immortal gods and goddesses. History and mythology. Strap in for this action-packed YA novel that that takes place over the days leading up to World War II, when Ziva must rely on her wit and magic to outmaneuver Nazis and ancient Egyptian gods to prevent global...

Nikki Turner, Queen of Hip-Hop Lit, is back with one of her gutsiest female characters yet, a glamorous chick with a high-end hustle that can rival any man’s game. As the respected, renowned concierge for a luxury hotel chain, Beijing Lee caters to the wealthy and famous. Whether it’s...

The reigning queen of hip-hop lit, Nikki Turner, takes on the music biz in this tale of a young woman who risks everything to be a superstar. Fabiola Mays was born to sing. She has a voice like honey and a body to match, but one heartbreaking setback after another threatens to derail her dreams...

Sometimes three is deliciously better than two Raleigh McKean has borne witness to every conceivable way one person can take advantage of another. He sees it all the time in his job as a book publicist, especially working alongside his boss’s daughter. Everley Shannon would be amazing if she...