As we get through March, we’re here to support Book Boutique in Atlanta, Georgia. We know Atlanta’s hurting and we want to send our love. We hope reading is part of your healing!

The Unbroken

C.L. Clark

In an epic fantasy unlike any other, two women clash in a world full of rebellion, espionage, and military might on the far outreaches of a crumbling desert empire.
Touraine is a soldier. Stolen as a child and raised to kill and die for the empire, her only loyalty is to her fellow conscripts. But now, her company has been sent back to her homeland to stop a rebellion, and the ties of blood may be stronger than she thought. Luca needs a turncoat. Someone desperate enough to tiptoe the bayonet's edge between treason and orders. Someone who can sway the rebels toward peace, while Luca focuses on what really matters: getting her uncle off her throne. Through assassinations and massacres, in bedrooms and war rooms, Touraine and Luca will haggle over the price of a nation. But some things aren't for sale.

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The Sports Revolution: How Texas Changed the Culture of American Athletics

Frank Andre Guridy

In the 1960s and 1970s, America experienced a sports revolution. New professional sports franchises and leagues were established, new stadiums were built, football and basketball grew in popularity, and the proliferation of television enabled people across the country to support their favorite teams and athletes from the comfort of their homes. At the same time, the civil rights and feminist movements were reshaping the nation, broadening the boundaries of social and political participation. The Sports Revolution tells how these forces came together in the Lone Star State.

Tracing events from the end of Jim Crow to the 1980s, Frank Guridy chronicles the unlikely alliances that integrated professional and collegiate sports and launched women’s tennis. He explores the new forms of inclusion and exclusion that emerged during the era, including the role the Dallas Cowboys Cheerleaders played in defining womanhood in the age of second-wave feminism. Guridy explains how the sexual revolution, desegregation, and changing demographics played out both on and off the field as he recounts how the Washington Senators became the Texas Rangers and how Mexican American fans and their support for the Spurs fostered a revival of professional basketball in San Antonio. Guridy argues that the catalysts for these changes were undone by the same forces of commercialization that set them in motion and reveals that, for better and for worse, Texas was at the center of America?s expanding political, economic, and emotional investments in sport.

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Agent Red:Fatal Target (Teagan Stone Book 2)

Ava S. King

Teagan is used to uncovering secrets, but then she uncovers a plot that threatens to not only bring her harm but also harm her family and her team. Making matters worse, the threat is painfully close to her.

She's in a race against time to prevent the next Prime Minister of Spain's swearing-in and the biggest threat in the history of the country. As the seasoned spy struggles to regain more of her memory and put the pieces of the high-stakes election day together, she's put to the ultimate test—one that she might not survive.

Can she unravel the convoluted mess before innocents are slaughtered in a land far away?

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For this week, we have Black Garnet Books! We are sending love to Minneapolis, Minnesota. Happy reading!

Creatures of Passage

Morowa Yejidé

Nephthys Kinwell is a taxi driver of sorts in Washington, DC, ferrying passengers in a 1967 Plymouth Belvedere with a ghost in the trunk. Endless rides and alcohol help her manage her grief over the death of her twin brother, Osiris, who was murdered and dumped in the Anacostia River.

Unknown to Nephthys when the novel opens in 1977, her estranged great-nephew, ten-year-old Dash, is finding himself drawn to the banks of that very same river. It is there that Dash—reeling from having witnessed an act of molestation at his school, but still questioning what and who he saw—has charmed conversations with a mysterious figure he calls the “River Man.”

When Dash arrives unexpectedly at Nephthys’s door bearing a cryptic note about his unusual conversations with the River Man, Nephthys must face what frightens her most.

Morowa Yejidé’s deeply captivating novel shows us an unseen Washington filled with otherworldly landscapes, flawed super-humans, and reluctant ghosts, and brings together a community intent on saving one young boy in order to reclaim itself.

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Destiny of the Dead

Amber Fisher

A malevolent obsession is driving the innocent to their graves.

Necromancer Kezia Bernard is closing in on her lifelong pursuit of unleashing the magic buried in her DNA. But when a loved one’s sanity cracks, Kezia must put her dreams on hold one last time.

While visiting Chicago to meet a psychiatric specialist, Kezia investigates a series of child deaths in a nearby town. But when she discovers a terrible link between the victims and necromancy, Kezia realizes the corruptions of ancestral magic may be waiting inside her, too. Partnering with a Viking and her own patron ancestors, the necromancer must save the town from generations of hate and a thirst for revenge that can never be sated.

Can Kezia free the tortured souls from a reign of madness? Or are the sins of the past destined to torment the living forever?

The Rest in Power Necromancy trilogy conclusion is a darkly stirring mystery of grief, family, perseverance, and rebirth. This paranormal mystery series is a must-read for fans of Jim Butcher, Patricia Briggs, and Kim Harrison.

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Oh Sis, You're Pregnant!

Shanicia Boswell

What to Expect When You're Black, Pregnant, and Expecting

"This book stands as the modern-day guide to birthing while Black." ―Angelina Ruffin-Alexander, certified nurse midwife and owner of Touch of Osun Midwifery Services

#1 New Release in Pregnancy & Childbirth and Minority Demographic Studies

Written with lighthearted humor and cultural context, Oh Sis, You're Pregnant! discusses the stages of pregnancy, labor, delivery, and motherhood as they pertain to pregnant Black women today.

Tailored to today's pregnant Black woman. In the age of social media, how do pregnant women communicate their big announcement? What are the best protective hairstyles for labor? Most importantly, how many pregnancy guides focus on issues like Black maternal birth rates and what it really looks like to be Black, pregnant, and single today? Written for the modern pregnant Black woman, Oh Sis, You're Pregnant! is the essential companion to understanding pregnancy from a millennial Black mom's point of view.

Interviews, stories, and advice for pregnant women. Written by Black Moms Blog founder, Shanicia Boswell, Oh Sis, You're Pregnant! manages to tackle some hard topics in a way that truly resonate with modern Black moms. With stories from her experiences through pregnancy, labor, delivery, and motherhood, and lessons learned as a mother at twenty-two, Oh Sis, You're Pregnant! focuses on the common knowledge Black pregnant mothers should consider when having their first baby. It also shares topics beneficial to pregnant women on their second, third, or fourth born. Inside, you'll find answers to questions like:

• How do I financially plan for my impending birth?

• How can I maintain my relationship and friendships during motherhood?

• How will I self-advocate for my rights in a world that already views me as less than?

If you enjoyed books like Medical Apartheid, Mama Glow, The Girlfriends' Guide to Pregnancy, or Cat and Nat's Mom Truth's, then you'll love Oh Sis, You're Pregnant!

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A Queen of Gilded Horns

Amanda Joy

In this sequel to A River of Royal Blood, Eva and Isa must find a way to work together if they want to save their queendom in the thrilling conclusion to this royal fantasy duology.

Now on the run, Eva is desperate for answers about her transformation and her true heritage. Along with Aketo, a small contingent of guards, and the sister she could not kill, Eva flees Ternain in hopes of finding friends and allies to the north--not to mention Baccha--to help her decide what to do next. Princess Isa is a difficult, unremorseful captive, and Eva knows better than to trust her sister, but she wants to. Despite their history, Eva is convinced that to survive the growing unrest in the queendom, she and her sister must make peace. Since the Entwining ceremony, Eva's and Isa's lives have been bonded, and each can only die by the other's hand. This perhaps provides an opening for a truce and a more hopeful future for both the sisters and the queendom, if only Isa would see reason and give up the battle for the throne.

With the two princesses on the run, the Queendom of Myre is on the brink of a revolution. And without Baccha to guide and train her magick, Eva must find a way not only to survive her own metamorphosis, but to unite all the people of Myre, including her sister, by finally taking the Ivory Throne.

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New week, better us! Next Sunday the time changes but you’ll still find Black books right when you need them. So, as we always do right about now, spring forward to Detroit Book City and find your new favorite. Happy reading!

Black Panther: Tales of Wakanda

Edited by Jesse J. Holland

T’Challa faces the gods of his parents. Vampires stalk Shuri and a Dora Milaje in voodoo-laced New Orleans. Erik Killmonger grapples with racism, Russian spies, and his own origins. Eighteen brand-new tales of Wakanda, its people, and its legacy.

The first mainstream superhero of African descent, the Black Panther has attracted readers of all races and colors who see in the King of Wakanda reflections of themselves. Storytellers from across the African Diaspora—some already literary legends, others who are rising stars—have created for this collection original works inspired by the world of the Panther and its inhabitants. With guest stars including Storm, Monica Rambeau, Namor, and Jericho Drumm, these are stories of yesterday and today, of science and magic, of faith and love.

These are the tales of a king and his country. These are the legends whispered in the jungle, myths of the unconquered men and women and the land they love.

These are the Tales of Wakanda.

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Noelle: The Mean Girl

Ashley Woodfolk

Meet the Flyy Girls. The group of girls who seem like they can get away with anything. Veteran author Ashley Woodfolk pens a gorgeous and dynamic series of four Harlem highschoolers, each facing a crossroads of friendship, family, and love.

There are only three things that matter to Noelle Lee: her family, school, and the cello. She doesn’t care if people see her as selfish or mean because she knows she has her priorities in order. That’s why when her dad loses his job, Noelle doesn’t hesitate to work more hours at her grandparents’ restaurant. Seeing her girls and dealing with her ex-boyfriend have to take a backseat so she can help her family and prepare for her school’s fall showcase. But things get more complicated when Noelle realizes she can’t stop thinking about Tobyn, one of the other Flyy Girls. With her bad attitude getting even worse, Noelle starts to wonder if working hard even matters, especially if she can’t keep her life from falling apart around her.

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Act Your Age, Eve Brown

Talia Hibbert

Eve Brown is a certified hot mess. No matter how hard she strives to do right, her life always goes horribly wrong—so she’s given up trying. But when her personal brand of chaos ruins an expensive wedding (someone had to liberate those poor doves), her parents draw the line. It’s time for Eve to grow up and prove herself—even though she’s not entirely sure how…

Jacob Wayne is in control. Always. The bed and breakfast owner’s on a mission to dominate the hospitality industry—and he expects nothing less than perfection. So when a purple-haired tornado of a woman turns up out of the blue to interview for his open chef position, he tells her the brutal truth: not a chance in hell. Then she hits him with her car—supposedly by accident. Yeah, right.

Now his arm is broken, his B&B is understaffed, and the dangerously unpredictable Eve is fluttering around, trying to help. Before long, she’s infiltrated his work, his kitchen—and his spare bedroom. Jacob hates everything about it. Or rather, he should. Sunny, chaotic Eve is his natural-born nemesis, but the longer these two enemies spend in close quarters, the more their animosity turns into something else. Like Eve, the heat between them is impossible to ignore—and it’s melting Jacob’s frosty exterior.

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Jayden’s Impossible Garden

Mélina Mangal, Ken Daley

Amidst all the buildings, people, and traffic in his neighborhood, Jayden sees nature everywhere: the squirrels scrounging, the cardinals calling, and the dandelions growing. But Mama doesn't believe there's nature in the city. So Jayden sets out to help Mama see what he sees. With the help of his friend Mr. Curtis, Jayden plants the seeds of a community garden and brings together his neighbors--and Mama--to show them the magic of nature in the middle of the city.

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It’s In The Action

C. T. Vivian

The wisdom acquired during C. T. Vivian's nine decades is generously shared in It's in the Action, the civil rights legend's memoir of his life and times in the movement. Born in Missouri in 1924, Vivian lived twenty-four years in Illinois before moving to Nashville, where he earned a degree in theology and joined John Lewis, Diane Nash, and others to integrate the city in 1960. After being imprisoned and beaten during the Freedom Rides, he joined Dr. King at the Southern Christian Leadership Conference in Atlanta and played leading roles in integration and voting rights campaigns in Birmingham, St. Augustine, and Selma. Over the next half century, he became internationally known for his work for education and civil and human rights and against racism, hatred, and economic inequality. In 2013, Barack Obama awarded him the Presidential Medal of Freedom. Vivian passed away peacefully in Atlanta on July 17, 2020. Vivian was never defined by discrimination and hardship, although he faced many instances of both. The late civil rights leader's heart-wrenching and inspiring stories from a lifetime of nonviolent activism come just in time for a new generation of activists, similarly responding to systems of injustice, violence, and oppression. It's in the Action is a record of a life dedicated to selflessness and morality, qualities achieved by Vivian that we can all aspire to. Bearing a foreword from Andrew Young, the memoir is an important addition to civil rights history and to the understanding of movement principles and strategies.

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When You Were Everything (paperback)

Ashley Woodfolk

It’s been twenty-seven days since Cleo and Layla’s friendship imploded.

Nearly a month since Cleo realized they’ll never be besties again.

Now Cleo wants to erase every memory, good or bad, that tethers her to her ex-best friend. But pretending Layla doesn’t exist isn’t as easy as Cleo hoped, especially after she’s assigned to be Layla’s tutor. Despite budding friendships with other classmates–and a raging crush on a gorgeous boy named Dom–Cleo’s turbulent past with Layla comes back to haunt them both.

Alternating between time lines of Then and Now, When You Were Everything blends past and present into an emotional story about the beauty of self-forgiveness, the promise of new beginnings, and the courage it takes to remain open to love.

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Learned Reactions

Jayce Ellis

Carlton Monroe is finally getting his groove back. After a year playing dad to his nephew and sending him safely off to college, it’s back to his bachelor ways. But when his teenaged niece shows up on his doorstep looking for a permanent home, his plan comes to a screeching halt. Family is everything, and in the eyes of social services, a couple makes a better adoptive family than an overworked bachelor father. A fake relationship with his closest friend is the best way to keep his family together.

If things between him and Deion are complicated, well, it only needs to last until the end of the semester.

Living with Carlton is a heartbreak waiting to happen, and once the adoption goes through, Deion’s out. He’s waited two decades for Carlton to realize they’re meant for each other, and he’s done. It’s time to make a clean break. But it’s hard to think of moving away when keeping up the act includes some very real perks like kissing, cuddling and sharing a bed.

Even the best charades must come to an end, though. As the holidays and Deion’s departure date loom, the two men must decide whether playing house is enough for them—or if there’s any chance they could be a family for real.

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Hey hey! New month, new books, new Black authors for y’all to support. Don’t worry though, you can go to Marcus Books out in Oakland, CA to double your impact. See, isn’t that easy? Now go forth, and as always, happy reading!

The Conductors

Nicole Glover

As a conductor on the Underground Railroad, Hetty Rhodes helped usher dozens of people north with her wits and magic. Now that the Civil War is over, Hetty and her husband, Benjy, have settled in Philadelphia, solving murders and mysteries that the white authorities won't touch. When they find one of their friends slain in an alley, Hetty and Benjy bury the body and set off to find answers. But the secrets and intricate lies of the elites of Black Philadelphia only serve to dredge up more questions. To solve this mystery, they will have to face ugly truths all around them, including the ones about each other.

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What’s Mine and Yours

Naima Coster

A community in the Piedmont of North Carolina rises in outrage as a county initiative draws students from the largely Black east side of town into predominantly white high schools on the west. For two students, Gee and Noelle, the integration sets off a chain of events that will tie their two families together in unexpected ways over the next twenty years. 

On one side of the integration debate is Jade, Gee's steely, ambitious mother. In the aftermath of a harrowing loss, she is determined to give her son the tools he'll need to survive in America as a sensitive, anxious, young Black man. On the other side is Noelle's headstrong mother, Lacey May, a white woman who refuses to see her half-Latina daughters as anything but white. She strives to protect them as she couldn't protect herself from the influence of their charming but unreliable father, Robbie. 

When Gee and Noelle join the school play meant to bridge the divide between new and old students, their paths collide, and their two seemingly disconnected families begin to form deeply knotted, messy ties that will shape the trajectory of their adult lives. And their mothers--each determined to see her child inherit a better life--will make choices that will haunt them for decades to come.

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The Old Boat

The Pumphrey Brothers

The creators of The Old Truck set sail with an old boat and an evocative, intricately crafted exploration of home and family.

Off a small island,

an old boat sets sail

and a young boy

finds home.

Together, boy and boat ride the shifting tides, catching wants and wishes until fate calls for a sea change. Brothers and collaborators Jarrett and Jerome Pumphrey’s newest picture book is a masterfully crafted celebration of the natural world and tribute to the families we make and the homes that we nurture.

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How to Dispatch a Human

Stephanie Andrea Allen

In this daring collection of speculative fiction, Stephanie Andrea Allen attends to the lives of Black women, mostly lesbian or queer, all keenly aware of the forces seeking to consume them.

A Black lesbian working the gig economy runs into a trio of motorized scooters and helps them escape from Earth. An enchanted sleep mask gives a woman the gift of slumber, but what will it cost her? A suburban housewife is framed for murder by her homophobic neighbor. And in the follow up to “Luna 6000,” a young woman investigates her mother’s untimely death, and learns the truth about her family.

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Mutual Agreement

Chiquita Dennie

I’m Sebastian Hunter, President of the United States. My job and reputation rely on discretion. Those around me know their roles. My rivals can’t wait for me to make a mistake. Now that I’ve met her, they have their chance, and they intend to use it to their full advantage.

She and I had an agreement—one and done, but she broke our agreement and I’m left to pick up the pieces and deal with the fallout.

This isn’t what I signed up for, but it’s my reality. If I handle this right and hope I don’t lose her in the process.

Content Note: This is fast paced, adult language content with explicit scenes, alpha male. Don't read if you’re not into steamy content.

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The Last Affair

A. C. Arthur

Attending a sex retreat at a luxurious Finger Lakes ski resort isn’t exactly Desta Henner’s vision of an ideal weekend. But if she plays her cards right, she’ll uncover sweet multiorgasmic rewards. Because after three months of unbelievably hot verbal foreplay and straight-up sexy fantasies about “Dear Lover 1686,” Desta’s ready to meet her naughty mystery man in person.

Only, “Dear Lover 1686” isn’t the anonymous stranger Desta expects. He’s Maurice Gold—the hot and delicious glitterati millionaire. To the world, he’s a charming playboy. To Desta, he’s a coworker and friend…whose family owns the renowned fashion house she works for. Now, for the first time ever, sparks are flying!

They have only one weekend to explore the explosive chemistry they’ve just discovered. Come Monday, they must return to their lives—and working relationship—in New York’s high-profile, high-stakes fashion world. But what happens at a sex retreat doesn’t always stay there. And Desta and Maurice’s risky little tryst is about to put their reputations—and their hearts—on the table for one last walk of chance.

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Welcome back to another week of reading Black stories! Your TBR is reeling right now, and today is just another body blow. We’re supporting Niche Book Bar in Milwaukee, WI this week, so please make sure to send them love and business now and into the future. Happy reading!

Honey Girl

Morgan Rogers

With her newly completed PhD in astronomy in hand, twenty-eight-year-old Grace Porter goes on a girls' trip to Vegas to celebrate. She's a straight A, work-through-the-summer certified high achiever. She is not the kind of person who goes to Vegas and gets drunkenly married to a woman whose name she doesn't know...until she does exactly that.

This one moment of departure from her stern ex-military father's plans for her life has Grace wondering why she doesn't feel more fulfilled from completing her degree. Staggering under the weight of her parent's expectations, a struggling job market and feelings of burnout, Grace flees her home in Portland for a summer in New York with the wife she barely knows.

In New York, she's able to ignore all the constant questions about her future plans and falls hard for her creative and beautiful wife, Yuki Yamamoto. But when reality comes crashing in, Grace must face what she's been running from all along--the fears that make us human, the family scars that need to heal and the longing for connection, especially when navigating the messiness of adulthood.

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Like Home

Louisa Onomé

Chinelo, or Nelo as her best friend Kate calls her, is all about her neighborhood Ginger East. She loves its chill vibe, ride-or-die sense of community, and the memories she has growing up there with her friends. Ginger East isn’t what it used to be though. After a deadly incident at the local arcade, most of her friends’ families moved away. Kate, whose family owns the local corner store, is still there and as long as that stays constant, Nelo’s good.

When Kate’s parent’s store is vandalized and the vandal still at large, Nelo is shaken to her core. And then the police and the media get involved and more of the outside world descends upon Ginger East with promises to “fix the neighborhood.” Suddenly, Nelo finds herself in the middle of a drama unfolding on a national scale.

Worse yet, Kate is acting strange. She’s pushing Nelo away at the exact moment they need each other most. Now Nelo’s entire world is morphing into something she hates and she must figure out how to get things back on track or risk losing everything—and everyone—she loves.

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Jackson

LaQuette

Aja Everett longs to turn her old family ranch into a place where anyone can find rest and healing. But her big heart's bound to get her in trouble if she's not careful—someone wants her gone, and they'll do whatever it takes to drive her away from the land that's her lifeblood. Whether she's willing to admit it or not, she needs help.

She needs a man like Ranger Jackson Dean.

Jackson doesn't trust love. He once made the mistake of following his heart and all he'd gotten was pain in return. But when city-slicking do-gooder Aja Everett asks for his help, he can't stay away...and as attraction sizzles and protective instincts flare, she may be the only woman able to restore the heart of this Texas Ranger.

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Girl of Flesh and Metal

Alicia Ellis

The cybernetic arm was supposed to help Lena—not turn her into a monster.

Now, she's stuck with it, and her friends are terrified of her. And maybe they should be.

The arm’s artificial intelligence acts when she doesn’t tell it to, even when she’s asleep. Ever since she got it, she’s been sleepwalking and waking in odd places. To Lena, this is just another example of how CyberCorp—her parents’ company and the manufacturer of the arm—screws up everything.

As the rollout of CyberCorp’s new android approaches, a murderer targets children of the company’s employees. And thanks to her sleepwalking, Lena doesn’t know what she was doing during the murders.

When the evidence points to her, Lena must prove her innocence—or her guilt.

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