NOVEMBER 2025

DECEMBER 2025

FEBRUARY 2026

FIRE SWORD & SEA - Vanessa Riley Guardians of Justice (Book #2) Harper Collins BUY (13 January) Reviewer:  |  Rating: HISTORICAL FICTION

The Caribbean Sea, 1675. Jacquotte Delahaye is the mixed-race daughter of a wealthy tavern owner on the island of Tortuga. Instead of marriage, Jacquotte dreams of joining the seafarers and smugglers whose tall-masted ships cluster in the turquoise waters around Tortuga. She falls in love with a pirate, but when he returns to the sea, Jacquotte decides to make her own way. In Haiti she becomes Jacques, a dockworker, earning the respect of those around her while hiding her gender.

SWEET ON A YOUNGER MAN - Nina Crespo Bishop Honey Bee Farm (Book #2) Harlequin Special Edition BUY (30 December) Reviewer:  Shirley Fleming | Rating: A CONTEMPORARY ROMANCE

One night of sweet escape. Or the first taste of love? Fabulous, single and almost forty, Ivy Daniels is ready to embrace the life she put on hold while raising her orphaned nieces. With them grown and running Bishop Honey Bee Farm, Ivy embarks on a much-anticipated vacation, where she meets Jaxon Coffield—a sizzling younger man who offers a night of passion that leaves Ivy humming like a beehive.

THE EX DILEMMA - Elle Wright Kensington Books BUY (27 January) Reviewer:  |  Rating: CONTEMPORARY ROMANCE

Wesley Batchelor is desperate for an image reboot—stat. A mysterious social media influencer keeps revealing his many reckless romantic liaisons, putting everything Wesley has worked so hard for at stake. Worse, he’s in deep trouble with his grandmother and Batchelor Enterprises boss, Joyce, his one and only true cheerleader. So he’s stunned and relieved when his gorgeous ex, private detective Albany Keyes, is recruited to track down the leaker . . .

CHAMPAGNE TASTE ON A BAD BOY BUDGET - Zuri Day Harlequin Afterglow BUY (30 December) Reviewer:  |  Rating: CONTEMPORARY ROMANCE

She's a good girl trying to rebuild her restaurant. He's a felon trying to rebuild…everything. Second chances have never been so sweet.For Jamilah Carver, a by-the-books entrepreneur with refined tastes, running her own restaurant has been a dream come true. Until she’s buried in debt and without a chef, her once-bustling eatery on the brink of collapse. Enter Rashad White, a newly released ex-con who happens to be a culinary genius…and likes to play by his own rules.

	WITH LOVE FROM HARLEM - ReShonda Tate William Morrow BUY (27 January) Reviewer:  |  Rating: HISTORICAL FICTION
Harlem, 1943. At just twenty-three, Hazel Scott is a woman on fire. A jazz prodigy, a glamorous film star, and a fierce advocate for civil rights, she’s breaking barriers and refusing to play by the rules. Then Adam Clayton Powell Jr. walks into her life. Harlem’s most electrifying preacher-turned-politician, Adam is as bold and unyielding as Hazel—charismatic, powerful…and married.

	THE RE-DO LIST Denise Williams Berkley BUY (27 January) Reviewer:  |  Rating: CONTEMPORARY ROMANCE
Willow experienced all her big firsts with her high school sweetheart. Now, reeling from their very public breakup, she wants to get a re-do on those important moments. While dog-sitting for her brother during his deployment, she has a chance to start over and spending time with his best friend gives her the confidence to start checking items off her “Re-Do list.”

	WORTH THE RISK - Shelia Goss The Women in Hollywood Collection (Book #1) Honey Blossom Press BUY Reviewer: Shirley Fleming | Rating: A CONTEMPORARY ROMANCE
Charlotte Richards turned ambition into an empire, shaping her legacy one headline, one deal, and one star at a time. Polished, unbothered, and always in control, she promised herself she’d never blur business with pleasure. Then came Sean Maxwell, R&B’s most magnetic performer, with a voice that could move millions and a smile that could make her forget the rules.

THE SEVEN DAUGHTERS OF DURPEE - Nikesha Elise Williams Gallery/Scout Press BUY (27 January) Reviewer:  |  Rating: HISTORICAL FICTION

Javier Valdez hasn’t had much luck with nannies, and he can’t imagine this one will be any different. Octavia Klein is all sass to his stoicism, free spirit to his hard work. But he’s a widower, and with a career in the NBA, he can’t keep doing this alone. Despite Javier’s reservations, Octavia turns out to be the best thing for his four-year-old daughter…and for him. But he’s reluctant to admit it. Javier swore off love after his wife died, and Octavia has her own reasons for avoiding relationships.

JANAE SANDER'S SECOND TIME AROUND - LaQuette St. Martin's Griffin BUY (6 January) Reviewer:  |  Rating: CONTEMPORARY ROMANCE

Wary of love after divorce, Janae Sanders focuses on the best things in her life: her son James and her besties in the Savvy, Sexy, and Single Club. As for romance? Not today, Satan. That is, until high school heartthrob Adam Henderson crashes back into her life at their 20-year reunion. Sparks fly, but just when Janae considers dating again, the new superintendent of James’ school district slashes his beloved arts program. Instead of getting her groove back, Janae gets her protest on.

	THE WINNING PLAY - Lauren Lacey Playing For Keeps (Book #2) Independently Published BUY (20 January) Reviewer:  |  Rating: CONTEMPORARY ROMANCE
Sebastian Boom was born into a life of legacy and expectation, raised to chase perfection on and off the basketball court. Lottie Daniels grew up fighting for peace in a world that never handed her anything easily. He thrives on order. She moves through chaos. They shouldn’t fit, but somehow, they do.

AN APPEARANCE OF IMPROPRIETY - Jayna Breigh A Romantic Legal Drama Kregel Publications BUY (27 January) Reviewer:  |  Rating: LEGAL DRAMA

As the youngest female judge in LA, Mahalia Jackson has her career goals carefully aligned. But when her mentor tells her she needs to break her shell of professionalism and show a little heart by volunteering for the Junior Jurors program, her plans begin to falter. Attorney JD Cash heads up the Junior Jurors program, a project born out of his own troubled past. He leverages his position as an attorney to fulfill God's calling on his life, supporting the orphans and widows of society who have lost beloved husbands and fathers to TransNation's eighteen-wheeled time bombs roaming America's freeways.

LAST FIRST KISS - Julian Winters St. Martin's Griffin BUY (27 January) Reviewer:  |  Rating: CONTEMPORARY ROMANCE

They say you never forget your first kiss. But Jordan Carter wishes he could forget the one he shared with Jamie Peters as teens. And the one they almost shared again last year before Jamie made it clear he wasn’t the “right” man for Jordan to be with while he’s figuring himself out. Now, Jordan’s fully focused on his career at 24 Carter Gold, his family’s event planning company, and ready to move on - until his boss assigns him to plan a new client’s high-profile wedding. The bride’s man-of-honor? None other than Jamie.

SWEET LITTLE HEARTS - Shanora Williams Montlake BUY Reviewer: Wayne Jordan | Rating: A+ CONTEMPORARY ROMANCE

Javier Valdez hasn’t had much luck with nannies, and he can’t imagine this one will be any different. Octavia Klein is all sass to his stoicism, free spirit to his hard work. But he’s a widower, and with a career in the NBA, he can’t keep doing this alone. Despite Javier’s reservations, Octavia turns out to be the best thing for his four-year-old daughter…and for him. But he’s reluctant to admit it. Javier swore off love after his wife died, and Octavia has her own reasons for avoiding relationships.