Bumpy resets and lots of all kinds of drama in these entertaining and provocative reads.  [8 books, from left to right: Ms. Mebel Goes Back to the Chopping Block, Dolly All the Time, This Song Is About Me, An Ordinary Sort of Evil; 4 stacked trade paperback books, 2 showing only the edges of their pages atop Rani Deshpanda Takes the Wheel, Scandal of the Summer]  Ms. Mebel Goes Back to the Chopping Block by Jesse Q. Sutanto  contemporary fiction  Berkley, April 2026  Mebel Tanadi's hilarious, heartfelt journey starts with an unexpected rejection and concludes with a recommitment to an unapologetic acceptance of self, imperfections included. It's a poignant fish-out-of-the-aquarium-into-the-ocean celebration of leaps of faith, fresh starts, self-love, and friendship.  Dolly All the Time by Annabel Monaghan  contemporary romance  G.P. Putnam Sons, May 2026  A little spin on a PG-13 rated version of Pretty Woman (minus any sex workers) with emot...

Mentorships, Internships, Allyships, Partnerships, Friendships, Relationships...  [8 books, from left to right: There's Only One Sin in Hollywood, Summer Official, Witch Queen Rising, Love By the Book, The Last Page, Without a Clue, Bloodlust, The Shippers; arranged atop 3 trade paperback books with only the outer page edges showing]  There's Only One Sin in Hollywood by Rasheed Newson  1900s historical fiction  Flatiron Books, June 2026  In three parts (acts?) of immersive sliding timelines filled with actual Hollywood, sociopolitical, cultural facts and notable figures, the character of pragmatic Aaron Touissant narrates his life and that of the tragic film star Xavier C. Barlow, a compelling embodiment of cautionary tales of the exponential risks of being a gay, Black man in the mid-20th century with unsentimental candor. Its similarities to present-day realities are disappointing, but not surprising in this brutally direct fictional memoir.  Books menti...

Humans are complicated and the characters in this week's reads embody that truth in every way.  [12 books, from left to right: 3 upright books - First Sign of Danger, It Seemed Like a Good Idea, Heir of Whitestone; 2 books with front covers facing forward atop a bookstack - Fire Sword & Sea, Leave Your Mess at Home; a bookstack of 7 books, from top to bottom - Summer Official, Witch Queen Rising, Love Beyond Reasonable Doubt, Mistakes Were Made, then 3 books with only the outer page edges showing]  Fire Sword & Sea by Vanessa Riley  historical fiction  William Morrow, January 2026  This compelling saga reveals layers of identity for Black and Brown women as they improvise strategies to assert their freedom and amass wealth. A cast of characters led by real-life Jacquotte Delahaye and others who are amalgamations of people from the late 17th into the early 18th centuries, make this adventure vibrate with emotional intimacy and personal stakes in a saturat...

A non-religious definition of  communion from Webster's Dictionary: the sharing or exchanging of intimate thoughts and feelings, especially when the exchange is on a mental or spiritual level  [4 books on a tabletop, from left to right: communion: The Female Search for Love, Archangel's Eternity, The Started Ex, The Last Lady B]  communion: The Female Search for Love by bell hooks  non-fiction memoir(ish)  William Morrow, 2002  This third book in the bell hooks Love Trilogy zooms in on the impacts of patriarchy and narrow gendered expectations on individuals, then zooms out to examine the radial effects on romantic relationships, families, friendships, academic and career pursuits, and how it all infiltrates society .  from the preface:  The women in our culture who have the most to teach everyone about the nature of love are the generations of females who learned through feminist struggle and feminist-based therapy that self-love was the key to f...

It's so exciting to read about a trailblazer who was ethical, thoughtful, generous, and funny in addition to being diligent and multifaceted.   [Positive Obsession atop a bookstack of 7 books - The Last Lady B spine showing, then 6 books showing page edges; Communion propped to the left of the bookstack]  Positive Obsession: The Life and Times of Octavia E. Butler by Susana M. Morris  non-fiction biography  Amistad, 2025  Opening with a quote from Parable of the Sower, this biographer uses every word in the O.E.B. chronology, author's note, introduction, six chapters, epilogue, and acknowledgements to engage readers in an intimate personal study of this extraordinary, talented, driven woman who was vulnerable and complicated in her brilliant humanity. The author's access to the O.E.B. archives adds layers of emotional depth that enrich the context of the details of the author's personal life and creative and professional development. from the Author's Note:...

Even as my friends and I enjoyed a fantastic community event yesterday in and around the Bowie Branch of the Prince George's County Memorial Library System, there was envy in my heart for all of the attendees and participants at the Black Romance Book Festival in Atlanta, Georgia. Reports of issues of crowding just made me happy for the event organizers' success while they posted apologies and corrective strategies for crowd control during the last day.  In the meantime, the new arrivals shelves at the closest library in the neighboring county offered a variety of books by BRBF authors. "Where the Melanated Are Celebrated" indeed.   [9 books, from left to right: Positive Obsession, Communion, Big Girl Blitz (atop a bookstack), The Started Ex, Fire Sword & Sea, Leave Your Mess at Home, Archangel's Eternity, It Seemed Like a Good Idea at the Time, First Sign of Danger]  Currently reading Positive Obsession: The Life and Times of Octavia E. Butler by Susana M. Mo...