American Contemporary

🔥 She’s done running. He’s done playing it safe. But some pasts refuse to stay buried. 🔥 Carla Baxter has fought for everything she has—her freedom, her career, and her peace. After years behind bars, she’s built a thriving freight business, proving that she’s more than the mistakes of her past. But some ghosts don’t fade easily, and one in particular—her violent ex, Monster—still lurks in the shadows, determined to reclaim what he thinks is his. Enter Terrance Watson—a sharp-dressed, successful businessman who seems like the perfect escape for a no-strings-attached ...

The United States is undergoing a period of intense political and social change. From the rise of the Tea Party to social media's effect on American life and politics, this new edition fills in the gaps of this Nation's story. Award-winning political journalist and history writer Steve Wiegand guides you through the events that shaped our nation, from pre-Columbian civilizations to the 21st century. The explorers, the wars, the leaders, and the eras are all fully explored and explained, demonstrating how the past influences the future.

Picking up where Essence best-selling author La Jill Hunt's Shoulda, Woulda, Coulda left off, Too Close for Comfort follows Paige Michaels and her no-nonsense friends as they search for love. Paige has finally broken loose from her no-good man, and she's loving the single life - until Quincy Westbrooke shows up.

Plus One – A Fake Dating, Opposites-Attract Romance 💖 One night. One deal. One unexpected love story. 💖 Gerald Harrison doesn’t do relationships. As a sharp, no-nonsense businessman, his focus is on securing a major investment—and to impress his potential partners, he needs a polished, sophisticated date by his side. Asia Gates is bold, confident, and completely uninterested in playing the role of anyone’s arm candy. But when her sister’s injury leaves an unexpected job opening for a pretend girlfriend, Asia steps in, thinking it’s just easy money and one awkward evening. ...

With smoking hot hits like Lies Lovers Tell and What Love Tastes Like to her credit, Zuri Day has built a considerable fanbase for her scorching contemporary romances. When 40-year-old teacher Gwen Smith travels home to care for her sick mother, she meets a potential new mate who makes her head spin. A “black Fabio,” 26-year-old Ransom Blake knows his way around the bedroom—and he’s about to take Gwen back to school for some lust lessons.

He's successful, kind, and sensitive - the type of man every woman wants. And truck driver Calvin Ramsey just loves women - especially the lonely, unappreciated ones he meets online, like Lola Poole. His deceitful ex-wife taught him that women really appreciate someone who cares about their deepest feelings and problems.

In this gripping tale of street love, drugs, lies, and murder, many will not make it out alive, some will find love in a hopeless place, while others get caught in the crossfire. Dive into the life of women who deserve more and find out what it's like to date the plug next door.

Listeners of this book will gain a clear understanding of what makes the Japanese, and their society, tick.

Demonstrating the same verve for storytelling that rocketed her previous novels onto the best seller lists, Deliver Me from Evil introduces Christine Thurman, a vivacious 31-year-old about to enter a dangerous new phase in her life.

Nala Carter is a woman after God’s own heart. She’s beautiful, humble, and generous — an all-round good person. But that doesn’t make her perfect. She’s had her demons in her past, yet she’s fought and conquered them. When she meets handsome car dealership owner, Aaron, she’s pleasantly surprised that he has a heart for God that is just as humble as her own. There’s definitely a mutual attraction between the two, but in the end, can a moment of generosity spark and ignite heaven on Earth for Nala and Aaron?

Desire raises the stakes - and the danger. This collection includes Desperate Housewife, Sinful, and L.A. Confidential.

Angie is taking a serious break from dating. At least, she thought she was until she comes across the finest man she’s ever seen — the new handyman in her building. Angie knows what she wants in a man, and Law doesn't seem to be it. But that doesn’t mean she can’t get to know him, right? Law is focused on rebuilding his life as a free man. That rebuild doesn’t include getting involved with anyone, especially not the bougie girl at his job who always needs something fixed.

Dr. Allison Hall is staring down the prospect of her first Christmas in a new town and her first without her son, who is spending the holiday with her ex. As the new doc on the block, she's on duty for the Christmas shift and glad of it. When one of her favorite patients lands back in the hospital, and it looks like this might be his last Christmas, she hopes she can help connect him to his estranged daughter. Dante Price thinks Allison should mind her own business. He's a nurse - and admittedly a bit of a Christmas Scrooge.

She's smart, gorgeous, and mysterious. For business executive Nathan Carver, a man with everything, Jessica Bolton is the first woman he can't simply charm, buy, or seduce. And even before Jessica gets a taste of his luxurious lifestyle and irresistible moves, she's determined to eliminate the competition and become this handsome bachelor's one and only. But Jessica's deceptive allure is just the beginning.

Andre Monroe is ready to move on from heartbreak, and the first step is bringing home his rescue pup. He’d bonded instantly with the playful Zeus and was already planning their first adventures. But one thing he definitely hadn’t daydreamed about was Zeus accidentally being promised to someone else - or that he might go home empty-handed and brokenhearted all over again.

Can the Broken Ever Truly be Redeemed? As a child, Lana Harrington loved the Lord. But then life happened, and Lana didn’t want anything to do with religion or Christ. As the owner of a successful cookie shop, one would think that things are perfect for the beautiful Lana. But outside appearances are often deceptive — just a mask for the turmoil that is really going on inside a person’s heart, soul, and mind. When Lana decides to take a hard look at her sense of spirituality, she starts to feel as if something is wrong, something is missing. Sometimes, when a sista seems broken beyond...

JARED - If I had a dollar for every time Banner Morales made my heart skip a beat...The heart everyone assumes is frozen over. Her anger is...arousing. Every glare from those fire-spitting eyes, every time she grits her teeth, gets me...well, you know. If I had a dollar for every time she's put me in my place, I'd be an even richer man. I'm a successful sports agent because I assume "no" means you'll think about it. I'm sure what you meant to say is, "Coming right up." They say even rich men don't always get what they want, but those men don't know how to play the game.

Thirty-three year old Sierra North is beautiful, saved, and single. She has patiently looked on as her younger sisters have all gotten married. Sierra is happy for her siblings, but she can’t help but want a special someone for herself. When she develops an attraction to the handsome manager of her local supermarket — Camden Mason — she thinks she’s found her soulmate. Her family and friends try to convince her that Camden isn’t the one for her, but she doesn’t want to hear about that. She finally forms a friendship with Derek Young, a talented, saved contractor who’s settled ...

In this striking and bleak, yet luminous debut collection, Nathan Ballingrud, winner of the inaugural Shirley Jackson Award, uses the trappings of the Gothic and the uncanny to investigate a distinctly American landscape: The loneliest and darkest corners of contemporary life. Ballingrud’s stories are love stories. They’re also monster stories. Sometimes the monsters collected here are vampires or werewolves.

Monica, a CEO with celebrity clients, loves her life. But when her man loses his high-powered corporate job and pressures her to start a family, Monica finds herself involved with a client who wants to mix business with pleasure - or else…Successful author Keesha is blowing through her money - and cheating on her fiancé. When her new friend, Jeremiah, discovers her deception, Keesha stands to lose everything....