American Contemporary

For more than 15 years, best-selling author and historian Hampton Sides has traveled widely across the continent exploring the America that lurks just behind the scrim of our mainstream culture. In these two dozen pieces, collected here for the first time, Sides gives us a fresh, alluring, and at times startling America brimming with fascinating subcultures and bizarre characters who could live nowhere else. Following Sides, we crash the redwood retreat of a cabal of powerful military-industrialists, and more.

Eight years after moving away from her hometown of Miami, Cherokee is back home to take care of her sickly grandmother. While trying to stay low and off the scene, she puts all her focus into her job and her family. That is, until the man who broke her heart many years ago unexpectedly walks into her life once again.

Aaliyah is determined to celebrate her thirtieth birthday with a boyfriend. And after a failed blind date, the local bartender, Ahmad, suggests she joins a dating app. Filled with lies, catfish, and fetishizing, the wild world of online dating makes Aaliyah think she’s in over her head. And she is. But with her two best friends and a protective bartender by her side, what could go wrong?

Sportswriter Nina Richardson had the perfect life away from her family's famous shadow. But a social media blowup and rejection by her boyfriend brought her back to their peaceful Charleston, South Carolina B&B to figure out what went wrong. So there's no way she's going to trust the crazy-hot sparks flying between her and handsome new employee Clinton Jefferson. It's just reckless, rip-his-clothes-off, one-night-and-forget-it lust - right?

In this sexy page-turning tale of unexpected love, Zuri Day introduces the Morgan men, three fine brothers who have it all - except what their mama wants most for them: wives. As the eldest, it’s up to Michael to pave the way. If only he’d stop running from love.… In the world of sports management, Michael Morgan is a superstar. But his newest client, Shayna Washington, may be his most lucrative catch yet. The record-breaking sprinter with the tight chocolate body has a talent and inner light Michael knows he can get the world to sit up and notice. She’s definitely got his attention....

In the previous installment, Luvleigh and Dagger has proven that not even a family feud can stop what was always meant to be. Now that the two have been secretly joined as one, they are now faced with the dreading task of telling both of the rivaling families. With hopes that the union would help put this feud at its ends, it actually did the opposite. It made things worse. Worse to a point that has left Luvleigh, incoherent and now unable to fend off her attacker.​ In this second installment, Dagger is out for blood and looking for the person who has violated his wife, but when the ...

Ever since his mother passed away two years ago, Caleb Pine has been stuck while the rest of his family seem to have moved on. Alone at Christmas, he finds himself drawn back to Martha’s Vineyard and the Gingerbread Inn, where his family spent a wonderful Christmas holiday when he was a teen. To his surprise, the local girl he almost kissed under the mistletoe all those years ago is now grown up and running the Inn.

In Baby Momma Drama, sisters Jasmine and Stephanie struggle to understand the complicated relationships they have with the men in their lives. Luckily, they’ve got each other to turn to when the going gets tough.

1999, and Sincere has finished his tour in the United States Army. He’s come back home just in time to find his little brother, Maurice, taking his place in the streets. Maurice is hanging out with Drip-Drip and Voltron. The trio commits a home invasion on a stash house belonging to Zulu and executes the occupants inside. Unbeknownst to them, they’ve left behind a survivor who’s seen one of their faces.

Some places are too good to be true. Under a pink moon, there is a perfect little town not found on any map. In that town, there are quiet streets lined with pretty houses, houses that conceal the strangest things. After a couple years of hard traveling, ex-cop Mona Bright inherits her long-dead mother's home in Wink, New Mexico. And the closer Mona gets to her mother's past, the more she understands that the people of Wink are very, very different....

Raised as a debutante, ladylike and reserved, London Jones has stepped into unknown territory. From the moment her life collided with a man who should've been off-limits, a bachelor with a hot reputation - staying out of his way was the sensible thing to do. However, she finds herself caught in a tangled web of passionate fervor whenever he comes near. So much so that her ability to place a barrier between them becomes a futile battle. The heart wants what it wants, and London's heart yearns for him.

What do you do when the love of your life forgets? Not the good times. Not the love. Not the passion. But the pain and heartbreak and betrayal. He doesn't remember that he broke my heart. But I do. He doesn't remember the darkest parts of our marriage. He doesn't remember that six months ago, I said goodbye. What do you do when the love of your life remembers your marriage but not your divorce?

Award-winning authors Victoria Christopher Murray and ReShonda Tate Billingsley are both beloved for their strong female leads and juicy plotting. In Sinners & Saints, Murray and Billingsley join forces to tell a tale packed with drama, scandal, and redemption. Jasmine Bush and Rachel Adams both want their husbands to be elected president of the National Baptist Association, and they’re willing to use plenty of low-down tricks to win. But when another woman joins the fray, she proves more devious than either of them could imagine.

Saphire married Clay Matthews, a handsome, down to earth and loyal man who worships the ground her designer shoes walk on. But no matter how hard she tries to love him, her heart yearns for another. ​ Gade, Saphire's younger sister, married the man of her dreams. Lamonte Singletary is everything a red-blooded woman could ever want in a man. After the birth of their son, life has been picture perfect. That is, until Joe Burrels, a bittersweet memory from the past, returns with a haunting secret he is determined to reveal. ​ Now the bond of sisterhood could be destroyed forever.

Jordan Davis is an image consultant for Pro Athletes. He does damage control, branding, marketing and most of all he fixes problems when they arise. His worst client is All Pro Wide Receiver Terrell Cummings, a player with the potential to be a Hall of Famer on the field, but who keeps having character issues off the field. Whitney Cummings, Terrell’s wife has always been aware of her husband’s indiscretions, but she had learned to turn a blind eye despite the fact that she was with him when he had nothing and helped to mold him into the man he is today. She has been a dutiful wife, ...

Dear Diary, Zay is so Fine follows the journey of Treasure White, a recent college graduate with big dreams and a heart full of ambition. Focused on her career and supported by her best friends, Desiree (Dez) and Tiana (Ti), Treasure has always kept her head above the drama until Zayvion Carter enters her life. Zay is everything Treasure thought she didn’t need: tall, dark, dangerously sexy, and carrying the weight of a complicated, secretive lifestyle. Their chemistry is undeniable, but Zay’s world of power, money, and unshakable control threatens to disrupt the careful balance ...

A sweet friends-to-lovers romance filled with laughter and romance… Rose Dolson was there for her younger sister’s wedding. She didn’t expect to end up hanging out with an adorable ginger cowboy with the power to change the course of her future. Rose has been chasing stardom without much luck and is at a crossroad in her life. If she gives up her dream, what will she do? Elijah Clemmons believed he had seen Rose before but couldn’t recall where. Making friends with her seemed the perfect way to jog his memory until he got caught up in the fun of hanging out with her. She isn’t ...

When Miriam's fireman husband, Chauncey, dies while rescuing students from a school fire, Miriam feels like her life is over. How is she going to raise her three children all by herself? How will she survive without the love of her life? Luckily, Miriam's sister-friend Emily and Emily's husband, Jamal, are there to comfort her. But all the time that Miriam and Jamal spend together - grieving, sharing, and reminiscing - brings the two closer in ways they never planned...

⭐ ⭐ ⭐ WHICH IS MORE POWERFUL: MOTHER NATURE'S LIMITLESS HEALING POWER OR CHEMICAL COMPOUNDS MADE IN A FACTORY?⭐ ⭐ ⭐ YES, YES, YES Make your decision now... Do you believe that traditional medicine does nothing more than numb your pain while draining your energy reserves? Are you seeking an alternative to chemical-based treatments, where the risks are less well understood, and a more natural way to heal? These days, many people are looking for ways to improve their health and the health of the planet that are less dependent on artificial means and more in harmony with nature. ...

After finding out that my boyfriend cheated on me, I packed my bags and moved to Sunshine Falls. My uncle's ready to retire, and he has always dreamed of me taking over his partnership at the animal clinic in town. My surprise came when he introduced me to my new partner—and it's the cute guy I was talking to at the coffee shop. It's okay, though. I'm not looking for a relationship. My priorities are my career and starting over. Ivan and I clash at every turn, and our transition is anything but smooth. Throw in the exotic animals that keep showing up, and I think we're doomed.