How is it possible we’re already near the end of January? With the hustle and bustle of the holidays over and now that I’m getting into the routine of a new year, I’m finally settling down enough to share some of the books I can’t wait to read this winter. I’ve included links when possible.
Joy Avery
Honeybees, history, and small-town charm are what Honey Hill, North Carolina, is all about. Its mayor, Lunden Pierce, will stop at nothing to protect the town’s historical landmarks and distinctive character. She’s Honey Hill’s greatest champion.
But everything changes when Lunden’s childhood sweetheart, Quade Cannon, returns to town. Though Quade has fond memories of his summers in Honey Hill, he has no use for the historic inn he’s inherited—or the honeybees living in its yard. His plan is to sell the inn and reap the rewards.
For Lunden, though, the threat to Honey Hill’s history means war. Determined to change Quade’s mind, she immerses him in the town’s charm and its honeybee culture. But while he’s falling for Honey Hill, he falls for Lunden, too—and the feeling is mutual. As their summer romance heats up, Lunden has a choice to make: the town she loves or the man who threatens to change it.
Darby Baham
From the outside, Reagan “Rae” Doucet has it all: a coveted career in Washington, DC, a tight circle of friends and a shoe closet to die for. When one of her crew falls ill, however, Rae is done playing it safe. The talented but unfulfilled writer makes a “risk list” to revamp her life. But forgiving her ex, Jake Saunders, might be one risk too many…
ReShonda Tate Billingsley
An intriguing, heartfelt tale about long held family secrets, truths that won’t stay hidden, and how facing the ultimate loss can force us to find our own ways to make amends and heal…
Raising four very different daughters on her own in rural Arkansas wasn’t easy for Miss Pearly Bell. And she’s always regretted that the sisters went their separate ways for good—and never wanted to see each other again. But when Pearly is stricken with a terminal illness, she summons them all home—determined to somehow help them get right with each other and forgive…But that means dealing with past secrets and lies first.
As the oldest sister, pastor’s wife Maxine took her responsibility way too seriously—and never fails to judge everyone else. But a secret she can no longer keep will explode everything she stands for. Youngest sister Leslie is all about making a very different life with her new love—but she didn’t expect a shattering past truth to be suddenly revealed and uproot everything she ever thought she knew. Elegant PR professional Stella and her earthy twin, Star, don’t see eye-to-eye on anything—and now a long-ago deception could wipe out their last chance at a relationship.
Soon each sister must confront the illusions they’ve taken refuge in for so long and deal with each other woman-to-woman. But can building an all-too-fragile trust repair the damage done—and help them come together when they are needed most?
Suzette Harrison
The dust cloud rolls in from nowhere, stinging our eyes and muddling our senses. I reach for my baby sister and pull her small body close to me. When the sky clears, we are alone on an empty road with no clue which way to go…
Oklahoma, 1935. Fifteen-year-old Faith Wilson takes her little sister Hope’s hand. In worn-down shoes, they walk through the choking heat of the Dust Bowl towards a new life in California. But when a storm blows in, the girls are separated from their parents. How will they survive in a place where just the color of their skin puts them in terrible danger?
Starving and forced to sleep on the streets, Faith thinks a room in a small boarding house will keep her sister safe. But the glare in the landlady’s eye as Faith leaves in search of their parents has her wondering if she’s made a dangerous mistake. Who is this woman, and what does she want with sweet little Hope? Trapped, will the sisters ever find their way back to their family?
California, present day. Reeling from her divorce and grieving the child she lost, Zoe Edwards feels completely alone in the world. Throwing herself into work cataloguing old photos for an exhibition, she sees an image of a teenage girl who looks exactly like her, and a shiver grips her. Could this girl be a long-lost relation, someone to finally explain the holes in Zoe’s family history? Diving into the secrets in her past, Zoe unravels this young girl’s heartbreaking story of bravery and sacrifice. But will anything prepare her for the truth about who she is…?
Alexandria House
You’ll never forget this emotional, steamy, funny new romance by rising star Alexandria House – available in audio first!
Brooklyn Dembélé is still piecing her life together after her divorce and the loss of a lifestyle she’d dreamed of since childhood. The single mother’s time is filled with work at the prestigious Historically Black University Romey U. But despite her focus on rebuilding her life, she can’t seem to forget the mistakes of her past.
Vann London is recovering from a health scare that not only affected him physically, but mentally too. He’s not the same man who spent his life traveling the world, and now he’s returned to his alma mater to seek comfort in family. What he doesn’t expect is to be drawn back into a past love affair with his sister’s beautiful friend. Brooklyn is the one woman he’s never been able to forget – and she’s been harboring complicated feelings for him too.
Their attraction is undeniable, but can these two broken souls embrace their second chance and finally find lasting love?
No Longer Afraid
Christina C. Jones
Not much is known about the prolific writer’s next read, other than it’s coming soon.
Brandon Massey
No one is more shocked than Eric Newton when he discovers he has an adult daughter. Happily married, a successful business owner, and a dedicated father of two young children, Eric vows to make up for lost time with his newfound child, Destiny. He’ll do whatever it takes to be the perfect dad and invites Destiny to move in with his family. But Destiny, twenty-years-old, has her own ideas about Eric’s role in her life–and after a nasty argument one night, Eric wakes to find that she’s vanished without a trace.
Convinced that Destiny’s involvement with her shady boyfriend has landed her in trouble, Eric knows he’s got to find her. He embarks upon a relentless hunt for clues. His search plunges him deep into a shadowy world he never knew existed, a treacherous web of con artists, psychopaths, and buried secrets.
But when tragedy strikes close to home, Eric realizes that the answers may lie in his own tangled past–and that to save his daughter, he must face his worst fears, no matter the cost.
Vanessa Miller
Alexis Marshall never meant to cause the accident that left Jon-Jon Robinson paralyzed—but though guilt plagues her, her husband hopes to put the past behind them. After all, he’s in the middle of selling a tech business—and if Alexis admits to texting while driving, the deal could collapse and cost them millions. Meanwhile, Alexis’s life is not as shiny and perfect as it may seem from the outside. She has secrets of her own. As she becomes consumed with thoughts of the young man she hit, can she reconcile her mistake with her husband’s expectations?
Trish Robinson is just trying to hold it together after the accident that left Jon-Jon dependent and depressed. As the bills pile up, Trish and her husband, Dwayne, find themselves at odds. Trish wants to forgive and move on, but Dwayne is filled with rage toward the entitled woman who altered their lives forever. Trish can’t see how anything good can come from so much hate and strife, so she determines to pray until God intervenes. Then one afternoon Marquita Lewis rings their doorbell with a baby in her arms and changes everything.
NiaShanta Ross
When Salem Shaw locked eyes with Natalia McClinton roughly four years ago, he just knew that he had to have her as his wife. He’d picked wrong in his first marriage, but figured he’d learned, and that the second time would be the charm.
No matter how hard Natalia McClinton tried to keep Salem Shaw at an arm’s reach, she still managed to fall hard for him. So hard that she opened her mangled heart up to him, and allowed him to change her last name.
What could go wrong with a love that was worth the wait?
Fast forward to the present day, and needless to say, the ink has officially dried on their marriage license, the googly eyes have subsided, and the Shaws are in the thick of what it truly means to walk out the vows that they recited to one another.
When both Salem and Natalia are tempted to return to skeletons in their pasts, will they forfeit the love that they’ve grown accustomed to, or will they realize that they have something worth fighting for?
Toni Shiloh
Brielle Adebayo is fully content teaching at a New York City public school and taking annual summer vacations with her mother to Martha’s Vineyard. But everything changes when her mom drops a bombshell–Brielle is really a princess in the island kingdom of Ọlọrọ Ilé, off the coast of Africa, and she must immediately assume her royal position, since the health of her grandfather, the king, is failing.
Distraught by all the secrets her mother kept, Brielle is further left spinning when the Ọlọrọ Ilé Royal Council brings up an old edict that states she must marry before her coronation, or the crown will pass to another. Brielle is uncertain if she even wants the throne, and with her world totally shaken, where will she find the courage to take a chance on love and brave the perils a wrong decision may bring?
Michele Sims
Miles Moore will stop at nothing to make his dreams of a music empire a reality.
Fame. Secret powers. Fortune. An unrelenting drive for success. He has all the building blocks he needs.
Except for one thing… and the woman he loves holds the keys to his future.
Bella Moore, the Chief Marketing Officer of their growing company, wants nothing more than to help her husband realize his goals. But for her, the choice of family over business is a no-brainer. After discovering more about the competitive nature of the music industry, she fears a growing feud with their competitors will result in bloodshed.
In this romantic and suspenseful tale filled with the power of magic and ignited by the threat of revealed secrets, Miles and Bella discover that the price of their shared success is too high, if it means endangering their lives and the lives of those they love.
Jacquelin Thomas
Wounded marine Trey Rothchild has returned to Polk Island. People call him a hero, but will he ever feel that way after losing his team? Reuniting with high school crush Gia Harris buoys his spirits. Though she’s focused on making her physical therapy clinic a success—and avoiding romance with patients—Gia can’t bear watching the former athlete sit on the sidelines of life. Could helping Trey recover include loving him fearlessly?
J.B, Vample
Can a woman who has spent her life hiding her feelings between the pages of a notebook, gain the courage to bare them to the one she’s meant to be with?
Reign Price has always had a good head on her shoulders. At thirty-two, she’s an editing supervisor, in the process of purchasing a home, and when she’s not journaling her deepest thoughts into one of her notebooks, she’s making time for her loved ones. Reign seems to have it all together-on the outside.
That’s because Reign’s ability to suppress her feelings is unmatched. Putting on a brave face while uttering the words “I’m fine” is a skill she has mastered. While her relationship of six years is on the verge of crumbling, Reign tries her best to remain stoic. However, after a devastating betrayal, she’s forced to face her emotions head on.
Through it all, she rekindles a once-close friendship with Chase Williams-her best friend’s older brother. Leaving a dead-end relationship of his own, Chase realizes that being close to Reign again is what he wants.
As old feelings resurface, and new desires reach fever pitch, Reign finds herself faced with a dilemma: be honest about how she truly feels, or risk losing the best thing that has ever happened to her.
Denise N. Wheatley
Devon Jacobs’s star is definitely in orbit. Despite the cancellation of her weekly sitcom, she lands a job writing for a television drama, then sells her Christmas script to the perfect producer. But her boyfriend, Ryan Roberts, is having no such luck. Down on himself and burning out from all the auditioning, his frustration puts a strain on their relationship, and suddenly they find themselves calling it quits.
A movie shoot in the holiday town of Leavenworth, Washington, is exactly the mental break Devon needs. Until their leading man quits and the producer replaces him with none other than Ryan. Finding the right level of professionalism isn’t as easy as it sounds, especially when this opportunity means everything to their careers—and it’s becoming more obvious with each passing day that neither one of them is successful in saying goodbye.
Can Devon and Ryan find a way to combine their dreams and tie a bow around their relationship—this time for keeps?
Sean D. Young
In this charming small-town romance, it’ll take a miracle to dissolve the decades-old feud between the Bennett and Davis families. But as Franklin Bennett and Kira Davis uncover shocking family secrets, it might just take the love growing between them to set things right.