No Take-Backs, Only Steps Forward

[8 books from left to right: The Love Audit, August Lane, Heated Rivalry, The Long Game, India: 5,000 Years of History on the Subcontinent, Remember That Day, Son of the Morning, The Bodyguard Affair]

Read

August Lane by Regina Black

contemporary romance

Grand Central Publishing, 2025

Fool me once, shame on you.

Fool me twice...

August Lane has legitimate cause for hating Luke Randall. Maybe if she'd never loved him she could forget him, but he's coming back to their home town and she has a plan that includes making him an offer he can't refuse without exposing himself to public ruin. Will it destroy or renew them? Their struggles, failures, and victories lead them back to each other in this achingly lush, layered narrative.

The Love Audit by Lucy Eden

contemporary romance

Forever, 2025

Succession collides with a Hallmark Channel movie in this spicy tale of regrets and redemption. Jasmine and Derek are forced to work together despite their festering wounds from their shared past. A quirky town, adorable dog, and family secrets add charm and depth to their love story.

Reread

Heated Rivalry (Game Changers #2)

The Long Game (Game Changers #6) by Rachel Reid

Since reading most of the Game Changers series 5 or 6 years ago, binge-re/watching the show made me curious about the subtle differences between them. The show amplifies all of the respect, love, joy, and drama of the books, and each show modification enriches every compelling, worthwhile element.

Currently Reading

India: 5,000 Years of History on the Subcontinent by Audrey Truschke

So far it's fascinating, accessible, and really saturated with information. It'll probably take me until this summer to read all of it.

TBR

Son of the Morning by Akwaeke Emezi

Remember That Day by Mary Balogh

Works in Progress

Started another round of revisions on a completed manuscript from 2019 that was submitted and rejected twice in 2020, then revised again in 2023 but not submitted anywhere else.
Still brainstorming my anthology idea that currently has about 20k words.
My speculative project has about 30k words.
My BACissues (Book Acquisition Compulsion) continue.

Always wishing you good health, peace of mind, safety, joy & some pleasure every day

Comments

New Arrivals Giving BRBF Vibes + BAC Issues

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...

When What Doesn’t Kill You Makes You Funny

Need to laugh out loud? To feel inspired? To feel seen? To feel encouraged to pursue your heart's most ambitious desires despite overwhelming odds against succeeding? Read Zarna Garg's memoir, which offers an intimate, compelling coming of age, immigrant's journey, family saga, and keen observations about humans and life as experienced by a hilarious, intrepid individual. [front cover of "Zarna Garg, This American Woman: A One-In-A-Billion Memoir" showing the Statue of Liberty holding the author in her arms with the New York City skyline in the lower half of the background] This American Woman: A One-In-A-Billion Memoir by Zarna Garg non-fiction memoir Ballantine Books, April 2025 Universal themes of family love and family conflict, support and abandonment, grieving as a years' long process with lulls, parenting and being parented (or not), finding your people in friendship, romance, community presented and dissected with the author's sharp wit ...

The Best Man: Unfinished Business by Malcolm D. Lee with Jayne Allen Delivers All the Feels

Black love. Black joy. Black drama. Humanity in its vast melanin array. [front cover of a paperback ARC for The Best Man: Unfinished Business; silhouette of three adults] The Best Man: Unfinished Business by Malcolm D. Lee with Jayne Allen adult contemporary fiction with romantic elements Storehouse Voices, July 2025 First, dedicated fans of The Best Man franchise and its beloved characters need not fear how they’re treated in this first of three novels. In fact. One thread of Harper’s storyline seems to reflect the real-life author/screenwriter/director’s battle to protect and maintain the integrity of The Best Man universe. Mission accomplished. Second, once readers - fans or not - start this novel they won’t want to stop. The compulsion to re/watch The Best Man movies and limited series and maybe even to reread this book while anticipating the release of book two in 2026 will prove difficult to resist. Who are you? Who are your people?...

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