Appeared on best of the year lists from The Washington Post, NPR, The Guardian, and more! Nominated for an NAACP Image Award and Winner of the Believer Book Award for Fiction!Hot Comb offers a poignant glimpse into Black women’s lives and coming-of-age stories as seen across a crowded, ammonia-scented hair salon while ladies gossip and bond over the burn. The titular “Hot Comb” is about a young girl’s first perm—a doomed...

Aja Everett longs to turn her old family ranch into a place where anyone can find rest and healing. But her big heart's bound to get her in trouble if she's not careful—someone wants her gone, and they'll do whatever it takes to drive her away from the land that's her lifeblood. Whether she's willing to admit it or not, she needs help. She needs a man like Ranger Jackson Dean. Jackson doesn't trust love. He once made the mistake of following his heart, and all he'd gotten was pain in retur...

Tracy Brown's Single Black Female is a taut, edgy, deftly spun novel about four friends grappling with the dramatic twists and turns of life, love and what it means to “make it” in America.Ivy Donovan is a successful stylist, entrepreneur, and single mom who has been loyal to her sons’ father, Michael, who’s serving a lengthy prison sentence. But life has gotten lonely over the years, and Ivy wants more for herself. Michael, however, isn’t about to lose hi...

**“Fun and juicy.”—**New York Times**“A solid story of summer growth and exploration.”—**Kirkus ReviewsMarigold Johnson is looking forward to a future full of family, friends, and fashion—but what will she do when it all explodes in her face? When she discovers that her entire life is a lie?Paula Chase, the author of So Done, Dough Boys, and Turning Point, explores betrayal, conformity, and forgiveness—and...

Desperation.Not a phenomenon Tempest could typically claim, but certainly the catalyst for where she’s landed. Not in peril, or pain, but in dire need of the very normalcy she’s often emulated, but never been able to obtain.Now... there’s nothing in her way, except all those years of being everything except what she now has to become.Herself.As soon as she figures out who that is.

Broken.A word typically ascribed to fragmented, useless things – not people.A word most would easily impose upon a woman like Dacia, knowing she’s been through the kind of things that are meant to leave a person fragmented.A word that comes with pre-conceived notions, judgements… limitations.None of which she embraces, or accepts.Because what if putting the pieces back together is the very thing that makes her stronger?

Freedom comes at a cost …Ella was genetically engineered to be the perfect pet—graceful, demure—and kept. In a daring move, she escaped her captivity and took refuge in Canada. But while she can think and act as she pleases, the life of a liberated pet is just as confining as the Congressman’s gilded cage. Her escape triggered a backlash, and now no one’s safe, least of all the other pets. But she’s trapped, unable to get back to Penn—the boy she loves—or help the...

Sometimes, romance is (also) hiding in plain sight.It’s hard to fill out a dating profile when everything you write is a lie. But in her line of work, Lyra can’t exactly tell the truth. And she’s determined to get over the man who broke her heart by moving on, so here she is, lying on a dating app. Then again, so is he.Lyra is no marketing consultant, but a plucky undercover operator. Marcus isn’t really a videogame designer, but he is obsessive over codes. Both of them are...

This time, romance isn’t the only thing undercover(s).It’s not exactly a traditional date night to get involved in a shootout. Then again, there’s nothing traditional about Lyra and Marcus. It was hard enough to hide their undercover work from each other--but discovering that their agencies are sworn enemies? Awkward.Lyra has never been known for her impulse control, but shooting her boyfriend is definitely an all-time low. Marcus isn’t the type of agent to disobey...

Celine Harris’ inheritance hinged on one tiny detail. She needed to marry. Her father will do anything to get access to that money, include marrying her off to the highest bidder. She didn’t expect the shifter she’d been secretly crushing on to step up…Mason Knight was building an empire. That took time, and nearly all his effort. He didn’t have time for dating, nevermind marriage. But…it’s Celine and he nor his panther wanted to let her slip through his fingers.Celine thou...

“Lennox spoke to a part of me that no man ever had.” —MagnoliaMagnolia Baker could be considered the matriarch of her four younger sisters. They’ve endured tragedy and heartbreak together, with Magnolia protecting them no matter the cost. Her heart was made of solid gold and under lock and key. Shielding the part of her that had been broken by the one man who should have guarded it with his life is a top priority for Magnolia. No one has ever been able to ...

“An impressive debut. Emotionally honest with lyricism and charm to spare, Nyani Nkrumah’s Wade in the Water depicts in riveting detail a racially charged Mississippi town, the secrets it holds, and the precious heart and soul of a young girl deserving love.”—Diane McKinney-Whetstone, author of Our Gen and Tumbling“Fearless. . . . Vividly bring[s] to life rural 1980s Mississippi.”—People“A dreamy,...