Every year in the month of February, both love and Black History highlighted– a time for –Valentine’s Day and remembering love – emphasizing the importance of love in our lives. It’s not very unusual for us to fail to put 2 & 2 together, but love and grief are intimately related. You can’t have one without the other. You do not grieve unless you love and the risk of love involves the inevitability of grief. We should remember this relationship.
During this time, Black History is a celebration of achievements by African-Americans and a time for recognizing their roles in U.S. history.
This year I am sharing my February reads.
There are soooooo many heros and heroines in the literary world and I recommend you explore them all one book at a time.
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Series: He Who is a Friend By Love Belvin Stand-Alone: Sadik Book 1 Publisher: MKT Publishing Publication Date: December 10, 2018 Genre: Romance Heat Level: Sensual AMAZON
Sadik Ellis blew into my rather insipid world at breakneck speed and with gripping force. He held all the features: striking feline eyes, golden russet skin, incredible sex appeal, wealth exuding like the enticing scent of cologne, and mind-blowing determination.
He was also trouble from the other side of the tracks, something I’d sensed. Sadik was an Ellis man with a solid education, his own thriving businesses, and self-obtained wealth. However, the Ellis family was known for their long underbelly ruling of the state of New Jersey. When Sadik assured his life was separate of his father’s, I believed him each time.
I fell completely and dangerously head over heels for him. And, my God, all the red flags were there. Yet I ignored them all, throwing caution to the winds of naivety just to add a little spice to my mundane world.
A world that will never be the same because I allowed it to be infiltrated by an Ellis.
Publisher’s Note: “He Who Is a Friend” is book ONE of a THREE book series. It ends on a suspenseful CLIFFHANGER. This book contains angst, violence, profanity, sexual explicit content, and gory material. If any of these elements is not what you prefer between the pages of a novel, this is not the venture for you.
Messy Mommy “Soaked In Mercy, Washed In Love” By Shawntay Alfreda Stand-Alone: Yes Publisher: Amazon Digital Services LLC Publication Date: December 25, 2016 Genre: Women’s Fiction Heat Level: None AMAZON
No mommy is perfect, not even the good ones! We all seem to make some type of mess in our children’s lives but thankfully most of those messes aren’t permanent. Some mothers are more disadvantaged than others when it comes to raising children because they have unaddressed issues to deal with. Some mothers have broken spirits. Others have mental instability or a general lack of knowledge about parenting. A large number have had poor examples about what a mother is. An even larger number have found themselves mothers before they know their true identity. These factors have the potential to produce bad moms and out of control children. Thankfully, no matter how big a mess a mommy makes in her children’s lives, God can clean it up. God not only cleans up motherhood’s messes, He repairs any damage the mess has done, and He teaches all those who pay attention, how to avoid (and help others avoid) making those same messes in the future.
Series: Moore Family Saga Book 2 Stand-Alone: Act II: Playing with Fire By Michele Sims Publisher: Green Books Publishing Publication Date: January 30, 2019 Genre: Romance, Interracial, Fantasy Heat Level: Sensual AMAZON
This is the second installation of Cade and Lecia Moore’s romantic suspense story. Cade’s music career is taking off and while finishing a schedule of gigs in Paris, he gets a call from his brother Vincent back in the states, who has been watching over his son, Miles, and his wife, Lecia. Vincent has some surprising news. Miles, now seven, is showing extraordinary abilities that allow him to produce fire. As a member of the Network, a secret society with nearly bottomless resources, Vincent has been able to determine that Miles’s abilities aren’t unique but an extremely rare genetic mutation.
Cade returns to the states to be with his family, but it’s clear that life cannot go on as normal when Miles suffers from an intense illness that leaves him immobile and mute for days. Through Vincent’s Network contacts, Cade and Lecia are able to find adequate care for Miles at a facility that understands his condition. Aside from his unusual ability, Miles shows an affinity for several other skills, from writing as a result of his extensive vocabulary, to singing and dancing. But a dark side also appears: in the notebook he uses to list new words he learns, he’s keeping a separate list—of people who he plans to make disappear.
Series: Bourbon Brothers Series Stand-Alone: Engaging the Enemy by Reese Ryan Publisher: Harlequin Desire; Original edition Publication Date: April 1, 2019 Genre: Romance Heat Level: Sensual AMAZON
‘That’s the deal, Abbott. Take it…or leave it.’
How far will an ambitious heir go to secure his future?
Parker Abbott will do whatever it takes to be the next CEO of King’s Finest Distillery, even play fake fiancé to his childhood nemesis, Kayleigh Jemison. Yet as he and the fiery redhead get reacquainted, sparks fly and real passion emerges. But when her ex wants a second chance, who will Kayleigh choose?
Wonder by Christina C. Jones Stand-Alone: Yes Publisher: Warm Hues Creative Publication Date: January 22, 2019 Genre: Romance Heat Level: Sensual AMAZON
It all came down to me.
The one who followed the rules, never went looking for trouble – I kept to myself. I just wanted to take care of my family. To not constantly look over my shoulder, worried about the things that went bump in the night.
I just wanted to survive.
But that wasn’t meant to be.
As luck – or fate, or something – would have it, the trouble found me.
I followed a rabbit through the wreckage of a half-ruined world to get back what was mine, and wound up at the end of it.
In Wonderland.
But there’s nothing magical about it.
(While Wonder does feature a central love story, it is not a contemporary romance novel)
Born Colored “Life Before Bloody Sunday By Erin Goseer Mitchell Stand-Alone: Yes Publisher: Ampersand, Inc. Publication Date: August 31, 2011 Genre: Non-Fiction Heat Level: None AMAZON
Born Colored is about generations of a family living in the deep South prior to the start of the Civil Rights Movement. Bloody Sunday–March 7, 1965–was the day that 200 troopers beat 500 peaceful marchers with billy clubs, whips and tear gas as they attempted to walk from Selma to Montgomery. Mitchell’s book captures this “boiling over” which she sees as the result of years and years of emotional and physical injuries. By simply telling the truth, she captures the tyranny upon which the Movement was built.
Series: The Justice of Love By Iris Bolling
Stand-Alone: Yes Publisher: Siri Austin Entertainment Publication Date: February 14, 2019 Genre: Romance Heat Level: Sensual Exclusively @Irisbolling.net
A Spark from the Heart Novella
Judge Alex Hylton, a man driven by love of family and the law, has one goal in mind, to become a Supreme Court justice. Living a drama-free life, he is well on his way–until a woman falls at his feet–literally. Or, was she pushed?
For Samantha Emerson, her plan is in motion. Push family and friends away, complete unfinished projects, then close her eyes one night never to hurt again. A ten-year scheme by her ex-husband has driven her to suicide. Her last commitment puts her in front of Judge A. Lawrence Hylton.
Alex, with his quirky half smile, refuses to leave her alone. He desires to be Samantha’s reason to live, her Justice of Love.
She Would Be King by Wayétu Moore Stand-Alone: Yes Publisher: Graywolf Press Publication Date: September 11, 2018 Genre: Historical Heat Level: Sweet AMAZON
A novel of exhilarating range, magical realism, and history—a dazzling retelling of Liberia’s formation
Wayétu Moore’s powerful debut novel, She Would Be King, reimagines the dramatic story of Liberia’s early years through three unforgettable characters who share an uncommon bond. Gbessa, exiled from the West African village of Lai, is starved, bitten by a viper, and left for dead, but still she survives. June Dey, raised on a plantation in Virginia, hides his unusual strength until a confrontation with the overseer forces him to flee. Norman Aragon, the child of a white British colonizer and a Maroon slave from Jamaica, can fade from sight when the earth calls him. When the three meet in the settlement of Monrovia, their gifts help them salvage the tense relationship between the African-American settlers and the indigenous tribes, as a new nation forms around them.
Moore’s intermingling of history and magical realism finds voice not just in these three characters but also in the fleeting spirit of the wind, who embodies an ancient wisdom. “If she was not a woman,” the wind says of Gbessa, “she would be king.” In this vibrant story of the African diaspora, Moore, a talented storyteller and a daring writer, illuminates with radiant and exacting prose the tumultuous roots of a country inextricably bound to the United States. She Would Be King is a novel of profound depth set against a vast canvas and a transcendent debut from a major new author.
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