Hey Girl! Check out these new releases from December 27th-January 2nd.
New Year, New Ci: A Novel by Nicole Falls
What would you do if your life suddenly blew up right before your eyes?
Cienna Lewis was living a perfectly meh existence until her life changed dramatically within the span of a few hours one fateful New Year’s Eve.
Left to pick up the pieces of her shattered life, she finds herself in unfamiliar territory. Instead of going along to get along, she bucks the trends, choosing to chart a new course in life that is wholly centered on finding herself and fulfilling her dreams. And on that new course, she is surrounded by a strong support system who just wants to see her win.
Along the way, there are bumps and bruises, but in the end Cienna learns that time is the greatest salve for anything that ails you.
A Heart’s Connection: Loving a Black Mafia Executioner (Black Mayhem Mafia Saga Book 7) by B. Love
When Rakim Mayhem gave up the only woman he’d ever loved romantically, he closed his heart—for good. Focused only on his son, the mafia, and his legal businesses… Rakim is convinced there’s no love left in his heart for women. Known as the rock who keeps his family steady, the executioner finds it easier to handle his business without the softness, intimacy, and love that comes with relationships. But when he meets Naima Cassidy, all of his past premonitions about his life and love begin to change.
Naima Cassidy left Memphis and her family to get away from the streets. Thousands of miles away, falling for a bad boy lands her right in the illegal lifestyle she’d been trying to avoid. Years later, she’s not just running the streets… she’s ruling them… as one of the greatest smugglers the west coast has ever seen. She has the money, power, and respect, and Naima admittedly has no room for love. The moment she begins to think her life is perfect and can’t get any better, things get worse.
Having taken over her ex’s business, Naima expects him to want it back when he gets out of prison. She’s willing to give it up freely, except it isn’t that easy. He doesn’t just want his throne—he wants the Queen that has been sitting there too. A trip back home doesn’t provide just the safety of her brother, Naeem, but the entire Black Mayhem Mafia. While they are protecting her body, Naima finds it hard to protect her heart from Rakim. Will she allow herself to fall again and trust that he will catch her, or will she walk out of Memphis with the heart of one of the most lethal mafia members in exchange for hers?
Mine Again by Charae Lewis
Down to ride to the very end…
At least that’s what Bronx and Yamesh promised to do until a temporary setback takes place within their marriage. Bronx is in need of support, and Yamesh has every intention on being present for him until she battles through a stumbling block of her own.
The goal was to make it through the storm together but how can they when Bronx is unaware of the trouble Yamesh is in? Loved ones attempt to step in on her behalf but cause even more chaos than intended.
Marriage is for better or for worse but what if the worst is too much to swallow for Bronx and Yamesh?
Just For Tonight: A New Year’s Novelette by Rilzy Adams
Giselle Lorde hasn’t had a man catch her eye in years.
That goes out the window in the lead up to her best friend, Danie’s, island elopement when she meets Roman Brathwaite. Roman is Danie’s fiance’s best friend, but he and Giselle have orbited around each other during their best friends’ entire relationship.
Until Now.
The lust is instant and sparks fly.
It mightn’t be forever but Giselle is willing to let Roman rock her life… even if just for tonight!
Gravity by AshleyNicole
Something always brings me back to you…
Cevyn has more responsibility on her shoulders than should be legal. It’s fine because she was built for this. She’s the strong one, and she’ll carry the world on her shoulders alone if it means her sister is okay.
Cevyn and Kas have been jumping in and out of each other’s beds for years. Up to now, they’ve enjoyed a string and love-free affiliation. No matter what happens, though, they always end up back in each other’s beds.
Tragedy strikes, and she’s no longer able to bear the brunt of the world alone. Suddenly, her friend with benefits is starting to look like her knight in shining armor. Can they help each other through this dark, painful time and come out the other side as something more?
Reindeer Games: An Impromptu Seduction Holiday Edition (In The Heart of A Valentine Book 12) by Stephanie Nicole Norris
When sporadic messages pop up all over the city of Chicago, London Valentine knows her husband is up to something–and in the holiday spirit, she is all in for whatever he has in store.
Note: This is a follow-up story to Impromptu Seduction. I encourage you to read that book first before reading Reindeer Games.
When The Clock Strikes (Oak Ridge Book 1) by Cassandra B. and Skye Moon
What was supposed to be a girl’s trip quickly turns into a sticky situation Yaelle nor Nakia can unglue themselves from.
When the trip host goes AWOL the best friends find themselves cozied up with past loves and new adventures.
Will the trip unveil what they really need when the clock strikes or will things return to the same ol – past upsets turned current and risky adventures with no true reward?
Countdown by J. Chary
Tatum Parker is struggling to get his business off the ground and dropping the ball when it comes to being present with his wife, Ayala, and their three year-old daughter Sunni. When work starts to take precedence over everything else, Ayala withdraws from him. What will it take to make Tatum focus on his family? Find out in Countdown.
Take What’s Yours (Midnight Strokes Series) by Tia Love
What do you do when God gifts a second chance with the one who got away?
For Levi Anthony, the answer is simple – you get your girl back. Ten years and some miles apart have not kept Levi’s mind and heart off his ex. Chanera is the first girl to own his heart, have his body, and the only one he ever saw a serious future with. Because of his own foolish mistakes, she’s the one who got away and the one who wants nothing to do with him.
Ten years ago, Chanera Thomas had her entire life planned out – from the job she would work and the house she would live in, down to the husband she’d give babies to. But Levi, pulled a disappearing act their junior year of college for a reason Chanera still doesn’t know. In the present, he is eternally crossed off her list, and she doesn’t give him a real second thought until he walks into the cabin where she and the rest of the bridal party will spend the next week in celebration of her best friends’ nuptials. Despite Levi’s blatant attempts to fix what he broke all those years ago, she’s not interested in reconciliation. However, her body is ready to violate every boundary for a chance to reunite with the man who taught her everything she knows about making love. What’s a week in the sheets between old lovers?
Will a week secluded in a cozy cabin surrounded by couples in love be enough to help Levi woo his way back into Chanera’s heart? Is Chanera strong enough to give in to her body’s desires and still walk away from Levi the same way he did all those years ago?
Quarter Til Two (A Second Chanced Encounter Book 3) by L.M. Richardson
Paityn and Luz have plans to bring in the new year together away from friends, family, work, and disturbances. Being alone without distractions they find deeper connections, passion, and a hint of contention.
When unrealistic expectations surface, can Paityn and Luz get past their deal-breakers for a shot at true love?
The Friend by Turtleberry
DeeDee agreed to go on a date with a guy she met online. He insisted that they each bring a friend. That ended up working out in her favor.
Kingston by M. Monique
Rising above adversity has never been an issue for Kingston Wells. He’s faced some difficult times and still finds the strength to stand strong. Family is everything to him, but what happens when he’s pitted against his love for his career and his loyalty to his family?
Tiffany Summers is no stranger to men with strong personalities. But when she sets her eyes on Kingston, she isn’t sure how to take him. However, his determined approach captures her attention.
These two have one thing in common: family over everything. When situations arise, will they find themselves fighting for, or against each other?
Digging Up Love (Taste of Love) by Chandra Blumberg
From debut author Chandra Blumberg comes a playful, heartfelt romance about chasing your dreams and finding love in the process.
Alisha Blake works her magic in the kitchen, creating delectable desserts for her grandfather’s restaurant in rural Illinois. Though Alisha relishes the close relationship she has with her family, she can’t help but dream about opening a cookie shop in Chicago. She may be a small-town baker, but Alisha has big ambitions.
Then a dinosaur bone turns up in her grandparents’ backyard. When paleontologist Quentin Harris arrives to see the discovery for himself, he’s hoping that the fossil will distract him from a recent painful breakup. Instead, he finds Alisha—and sparks fly. The big-city academic and the hometown baker seem destined for a happily ever after.
But Alisha is scared to fall in love. And Quentin’s trying to make a name for himself in a competitive field, which gets even more complicated when the press shows up at the dig site. For love to prevail, the two may have to put old bones aside—and focus on the future.
She Thrived Anyway by Angelia Vernon Menchan
Everything in the room was bright and clean. The walls were bluish grey and the carpets a darker grey and everything on the bed was white. Amelia Verona couldn’t live in less than pristine conditions. Having grown up in what could only be described as a dirty house she required everything clean.
Her mom did not clean up until everything was dirty. All the clothes, the house and dishes. Cleaning held no interest for Grace Verona until she had to. The irony or perhaps the reason was Grace cleaned for a living. Grace cleaned offices, in the earlier years often overnight. Amelia was born when her mother was twenty-three and was now thirty-seven on what would have been her mom’s sixtieth birthday, but Grace passed away two days earlier and Amelia was on her way home to bury her mom, her only relative. Amelia and Grace were the only children of only children, all single mothers and they were all gone. There were no siblings to ease this for her, but she was good. Amelia was always good; she was a survivor and thriver.
For fifteen years Amelia flourished as a multi-preneur. By age thirty she was creating and producing content for HueFlix a very successful streaming television service focusing on inclusive and diverse shows. She also taught one on one courses for those interested in creating and production in addition to hours per week teaching young, black girls to play the cello. But today Amelia was going home to bury the woman she loved, who raised her and provided for her until she was able to do those things for both.
Amelia glanced one last time in her lighted wall mirror to ensure her game face was in place. The beautiful cared for dark chocolate skin required little artifice. Her lashes were naturally long and her skin nearly prefect. All that was required was eyeliner, lipstick and blotting powder to control the shine. It was time.
The Emancipation of Ainsley by CK Brown
Move back home, take her rightful place as the heir to the family business, and finally marry her college sweetheart. Ainsley has a plan, only it was never hers to begin with.
The daughter of a socialite and a music industry legend, Ainsley finds herself bound by loyalty and expectations…. until she meets Quincy, and suddenly nothing about her current circumstances makes sense.
When faced with betrayal, Ainsley is forced to come to grips with reality and the hard decisions that come along with it.
Through fear, she found freedom. Through love, she found herself.
If You Love Something by Jayce Ellis
“A lovingly drawn depiction of Black family dynamics.” —Publishers Weekly on Learned Reactions
A marriage lost is found again in this cheeky new romantic comedy from acclaimed author Jayce Ellis.
As executive chef at one of the hottest restaurants in DC, DeShawn Franklin has almost everything he’s ever wanted. He’s well-known, his restaurant is Michelin starred and he can write his own ticket anywhere he wants. Until his grandmother calls him home and drops two bombshells:
1) She has cancer and she’s not seeking treatment.
2) She’s willing half her estate to DeShawn’s ex-husband, Malik.
Make that three bombshells.
3) That whole divorce thing? It didn’t quite go through. DeShawn and Malik are still married.
And when DeShawn’s shady uncle contests Grandma’s will, there’s only one path back to justice: play it like he and Malik have reconciled. They need to act like a married couple just long enough to dispense with the lawsuit.
Once DeShawn is back in Malik’s orbit, it’s not hard to remember why they parted. All the reasons he walked away remain—but so do all the reasons he fell in love in the first place.
Carina Adores is home to highly romantic contemporary love stories where LGBTQ+ characters find their happily-ever-afters. Discover a new Carina Adores book every month!
Sinfully Loved by Bianca Xaviera
A product of the streets and circumstance, Lavender Love has always been dealt a bad hand. From dealing with her religious zealot of a grandmother to birthing a child that was a product of rape, Lavender deals with more issues at thirteen than most women twice her age. Not ready to be a mother, Lavender leaves her baby on her grandmother’s doorstep and finds the first ride she can out of the city. On a quest to find herself, Lavender rides a rocky road, teetering between life and death. Fifteen years later, she’s still searching for herself when she meets Shyheim Roosevelt.
A caring, charming, and handsome youth pastor, Shyheim Roosevelt has been tasked with finding Lavender and bringing her back home. Carnal opposites attract when, in finding Lavender, Shyheim finds himself. From her outspoken opinions and alluring personality, she’s everything he could ever ask for in a woman. Her past is of no consequence to Shyheim, who also has a rocky past but has been living how his parents wanted him to for a little over a decade: by the Word. However, after spending just a small amount of time with Lavender, he understands that, like the Bible, people are capable of being multifaceted. The only things standing in the way of their love are Lavender’s reservations, his parents—and the woman he’s due to walk down the aisle with.
By Her Command by Wayne Jordan
Detective Alesha Franklyn goes undercover and has to strut her stuff at a strip club in an attempt to find the women who are missing. Little does she know, she’s the one who will be taken hostage by school teacher, Dane Richards, who has more on his mind than teaching her an English lesson.
UnMasked (A Holiday Snack 2) by Dani Elle
Orion and Safiyah have been best friends since the tenth grade—secretly in love with the other but too afraid to act on out of fear of rejection and messing up a good friendship. Attending the same college for three years, both Orion and Safiyah’s lives are turned upside down swiftly when her family uproots suddenly without a trace. Forcing Safiyah to leave not only school but her first love behind without a warning.
Despite the years and his best effort to erase her from his memory, Orion has never forgotten Safiyah. Living in a new city with his life on the upswing and his company on the fast track to international growth, Orion should be elated. However, an emptiness resides within him—his missing link. Attending his company’s annual New Year’s Eve Masquerade party, Orion lucks seem to turn around instantaneously, especially when he collides into a warm body. One that’s all too familiar.
A long-lost love. A lifelong companion. A lifetime of missed opportunities. A long-awaited reunion. Safiya and Orion were torn apart by uncontrollable events. Reuniting is by an unusual happenstance. Would one night of an unbridled web of passion bring them together for a lifetime? Or would the pain from their past be too great, ending their time together in heartbreak?
**This book has strong language and sexual content. This book is for Mature Readers 18+
***To keep up with release dates, sign up for the mailing list at www.msmanningwrites.com
French Kiss New Year (A Holiday Snack 2) by Robbi Renee
You first met Nia and Garrett in French Kiss Christmas.
Still pretty. Still powerful. Still assertive, but healing her brokenness with him. Nia Bledsoe’s family tragedy crippled her in past relationships until the honey-hued, sexy hazel-eyed Garrett Marx transformed her holiday nightmare into the merriest of Christmases.
Still strong. Still smart. Still alluring. And still everything Nia never knew she required, Garrett Marx keeps catching Nia when she falls. But when he requires protection, is Nia equipped to fortify him, or will she neglect his desires?
Nia and Garrett must navigate the woes of wedding planning while uncovering family secrets that could disrupt the desires of a peaceful and happy New Year.
Please note: It is recommended to read book one first, French Kiss Christmas.
Get Your Freak On (A Holiday Snack Series 2) by Ka’-Dee Allen
Get Your Freak On is the hottest club in Detroit and this New Year’s Eve they are pulling out all of the stops. Owners Malik Allen and Maurice Thomas have created a multi leveled entertainment experience that will satisfy your desires. One can enjoy GYFO from the lower level dance club and concert stage to the upper private guest suites with tailored experiences awaiting.. Which level will you enjoy this New Year’s Eve.
With This Ring (A Holiday Snack 2) by Ara Moore
Note: This is a follow-up story from To Love Again. I recommend you read that story first before reading With This Ring.
Zaire St.James has loved Sakari McIntyre since they were adolescents. Her return home for his cousin’s wedding was the perfect opportunity he needed to make her his one and only. Now blissfully in love and happily engaged they are planning a holiday wedding. When trauma from Sakari’s past threatens their happily ever after, Zaire vows to make sure nothing comes between their date at the altar, no matter what it takes.
A New Years to Remember : One Night Only by Joi Miner
Two strangers. Unexpected circumstances. One night…
Monaca “Mona” Green was a Plain Jane who stayed under the radar and in her comfort zone. With her thirtieth birthday fast approaching, her best friend challenges her to make a bucket list and follow-through. A simple plan turned into an adventure she never could’ve seen coming, and a man who changes her life— forever.
Jacob “Deuce” Johnson is a boss who is coming back from making big moves to go legit. When he ends up stranded in the airport, and steps in to save a damsel in distress, he finds himself in compromising situations that can cause him more problems than he bargained for.
When you take a chance, you may be surprised how it turns out. Monaca finds a new self on New Year’s Eve. Deuce learns where his loyalty lies and who it’s to. Both of these strangers form a bond that’s unbreakable and unforgettable, forged in the presence of one another’s company. They choose to make the most of each moment shared, both knowing that all they have is One Night Only.
His To Defend by Sharon C. Cooper
A romantic reunion
…threatened by their past.
Amina Kelly broke Sergeant Maxwell Layton’s heart when she married his best friend. But the detective never forgot her…or the sizzling attraction they never acted on. Years later, while Maxwell and Amina work together to find her ex’s killer, Maxwell finds his desire for the nurse stronger than ever. As he puts his life on the line to keep Amina safe, Maxwell realizes that the greatest risk of all might be to his heart.
From Harlequin Romantic Suspense: Danger. Passion. Drama.
The Bad Boy Experiment: An opposites attract, single mom romance (The Bourbon Brothers Book 6) by Reese Ryan
A steamy fling with an old crush who doesn’t do commitment? What was she thinking! Find out in the conclusion to Reese Ryan’s Bourbon Brothers series.
What happens when you say yes to a bad boy?
Even if divorcée Renee Lockwood were willing to give love a second chance, she wouldn’t choose Cole Abbott. The sexy, successful real estate developer doesn’t do commitment. But he’s perfect for a no-strings fling—exactly what Ren needs now that she’s moved back home to raise her son. Mind-blowing pleasure with the man she once crushed on is harder to quit than Ren expected. Impossible, in fact. Is time running out before the bad boy bolts…or will the results of her experiment surprise her?
From Harlequin Desire: A luxurious world of bold encounters and sizzling chemistry.
Snowed In With The Billionaire by Rose M. Cooper
Talk about trapping a man…
Realtor Imani Banks did not expect to find her ex at her new listing. Just her luck, Jaden Holder is the billionaire client she’s supposed to make very happy, according to her boss. Even more fun, a blizzard strands them at the remote one-room cabin and reminds them of just how good they used to be.
With no way to avoid each other, they have plenty of time to work out the issues that broke them up before.
And plenty of time to relive the good times that just might get them back together…
A Perfect Holiday Love by W Parks Brigham
A Perfect Holiday Love
A Second Chance Series Book 8 (in Blackmore, Texas)
Jordan Bennett was never an envious person, lonely but never envious. She was happy her best friend had a second chance with love. Afterall, they were guilty of making the same mistakes, being gullible, and traveling down the same road of marrying the wrong man. Now, the holidays are near and Jordan does not want to spend them alone or any other day for that matter. Shoot, she was ready for her own second chance!
Dakota Whitfield has never had a problem attracting women. Not bragging, he didn’t have too in his line of work, as a professional handyman. Women flirt and approach him all the time. The woman he’s chosen to make a life with, however is making it difficult for him to get close to on that level. Can you believe that? That’s cool, because he has a plan that’ll put him in a win-win position.
New Year’s Kiss: A New Year’s Short (Away To Africa) by Unoma Nwankwor
“I knew when I met you a grand adventure was about to happen”
Arinze and Jasmine are two souls drawn together on New Year’s Eve.
Will this be the beginning of a great adventure or just a moment in time?
This is a super short story. If these aren’t your cup of tea, please check out some of my other longer projects.
If there are any new releases that we missed, feel free to send them our way and we will add them ASAP!