There is no place quite like the local beauty salon, and Sheneska Jackson deftly uses this intimate setting as a backdrop for four women and their concerns about men, motherhood, and parenting. Patricia, the owner of Blessings, has come to terms with her infertility only to discover that her attempt to adopt a child brings its own pains and disappointments. Zuma, independent and financially secure, is plagued by regrets about an abortion in her past and, with her biological clock ticking, resolves to become a mother through artificial insemination. Faye, a widow and single mother trying her best to provide for her family, struggles to control a wild daughter on the brink of womanhood. For Sandy, motherhood is an unwelcome burden, and she blatantly mistreats her children -- until a crisis leads her to make a mother's ultimate sacrifice.  MORE

Someone to Love Me by Francis Ray

Nine years ago, Michelle Grant was at rock bottom--until a chance meeting with a stranger gave her hope...and her first delicious taste of passion. Now a successful businesswoman, Michelle still remembers the man she knew only as B.J.. And when fate brings them together again, the feelings she had for him come rushing back. But as soon as Brad Jamison speaks, Michelle realizes that the caring man she once knew is now a hardened businessman without warmth or tenderness, and he doesn't remember her...

Brad has heard the rumors that Michelle's success may be die more to her looks than her brain--but he doesn't believe them. He knows how hard it can be for a black woman to get ahead in business. Indeed, when Brad finally meets Michelle, her head for business impressed him--while her almond skin and smooth curves send his mind reeling. She seems so sweet...even familiar. But if he discovers the shared past that only she remembers, will it tear them apart forever?  MORE

Boaz Brown by Michelle Stimpson

In her debut novel, Boaz Brown, Michelle Stimpson pulls from her roots as a native Texan and a self-proclaimed church brat to take a poignant look at the ugly truth about racism in the African-American community. It forces Christians of all races to reexamine their roles in the continued perpetuation of segregation and discrimination in the more private areas of daily life. As the main character, LaShondra Smith, finds herself falling in love with a man of a different race, she must grapple with the racist attitudes of friends and family - as well as her own strongly held beliefs.  MORE

Sula by Toni Morrison 

Two girls who grow up to become women. Two friends who become something worse than enemies. In this brilliantly imagined novel, Toni Morrison tells the story of Nel Wright and Sula Peace, who meet as children in the small town of Medallion, Ohio. Their devotion is fierce enough to withstand bullies and the burden of a dreadful secret. It endures even after Nel has grown up to be a pillar of the black community and Sula has become a pariah. But their friendship ends in an unforgivable betrayal—or does it end? Terrifying, comic, ribald and tragic, Sula is a work that overflows with life.  MORE
 

Betrayal of Trust by Leslie Esdaile                                 **From TRR Reviewer

BETRAYAL OF THE TRUST is an engaging and suspenseful story about one woman's lifelong vendetta against the powers that be. Laura Caldwell is out to make those responsible for ruining her once happy childhood and family pay. She has worked her way from Philadelphia's inner city to mixing and mingling with a virtual who's who of Philly's powerful elite. However, her rise to the upper echelons is part of an intricately designed plan to work the system from the inside and execute her plan for revenge.

BETRAYAL OF THE TRUST is a nicely done political thriller that addresses issues of racism, classism and sexism. Once again, Leslie Esdaile-Banks showcases her ability to create strong female characters. Laura Caldwell is fierce - not only does she possess the kind of physical attributes that make most men lose their cool, but she is intelligent, and when necessary, lethal. MORE

The Blackbird Papers by Ian Smith

Professor Wilson Bledsoe is returning from a party celebrating his latest honor when he encounters a broken-down pickup on the secluded country road leading to his home. He instinctively stops to help, calling his wife, Kay, to let her know he’ll be late. When the delay stretches to hours, Kay frantically contacts the local police and Wilson’s younger brother, Sterling, an FBI agent in New York. The next day, the discovery of the professor’s body with a vicious racist epithet carved into his chest leads to the quick arrest of two loathsome white supremacists. Sterling, however, is not quite ready to buy into this pat solution. A look around his brother’s lab and brief interviews with his students, colleagues, and the college’s distinguished president pique his curiosity about Wilson’s current project, a nearly completed paper on the mysterious deaths of hundreds of local blackbirds. But Sterling’s search for answers takes a dangerous turn when a security tape sent to Quantico for enhancement incriminates the agent himself.

Determined to clear his name and bring his brother’s killer to justice, Sterling eludes the local police and makes his way back to New York City, where he pulls out every trick he knows to stay one step ahead of the FBI and the NYPD. As he calls in favors from longtime friends at the Bureau and checks out leads from scientists familiar with his brother’s work, Sterling realizes that Wilson’s murder is part of a sinister scheme that reaches from the Dartmouth campus to big-money interests in the Midwest, to the offices of some very influential people in Washington.  MORE

Meridian by Alice Walker

Meridian Hill is a young woman at an Atlanta college attempting to find her place in the revolution for racial and social equality. She discovers the limits beyond which she will not go for the cause, but despite her decision not to follow the path of some of her peers, she makes significant sacrifices in order to further her beliefs. Working in a campaign to register African American voters, Meridian cares broadly and deeply for the people she visits, and, while her coworkers quit and move to comfortable homes, she continues to work in the deep South despite a paralyzing illness. Meridian's nonviolent methods, though seemingly less radical than the methods of others, prove to be an effective means of furthering her beliefs.  MORE
 

**From RAWSISTAZ Reviewer

The Preacher's Son by Carl Weber

Caught in the Mix by Candice Dow                           

Caught Up In Dreams For Clark Anderson, senior year at Hampton University promises to be her finest yet. The smart sister from Baltimore City has looks, brains, a promising job offer, and now, it looks like she’s met her dream guy in handsome law student, Devin Patterson. Though their backgrounds couldn’t be more different, wealthy, sheltered Devin falls hard for savvy, inner-city Clark. They’re more than lovers; they’re soul mates, and their storybook romance is the envy of the campus.
Caught Up In Love But out in the real world, their bond will be tested again and again. From the strain of long-distance love and the pull of two high-powered careers to the well-meaning-but-misdirected advice of friends, the prejudices of family, and the strong allure of new passion and players, Clark and Devin are in for a ride that could tear them apart for good.

Caught In The Mix Now, for two people caught in the mix of secrets, family drama, lies, career struggles, and the hard truths of growing up and moving on, love is anything but easy…and doing the right thing by yourself is the hardest lesson of all.  MORE

Babylon Sisters by Pearl Cleage

Book Description
Catherine Sanderson seems to have it all: a fulfilling career helping immigrant women find jobs, a lovely home, and a beautiful, intelligent daughter on her way to Smith College. What Catherine doesn’t have: a father for her child– and she’s spent many years dodging her daughter’s questions about it. Now Phoebe is old enough to start poking around on her own. It doesn’t help matters that the mystery man, B.J. Johnson–the only man Catherine has ever loved–doesn’t even know about Phoebe. He’s been living in Africa.

Now B.J., a renowned newspaper correspondent, is back in town and needs Catherine’s help cracking a story about a female slavery ring operating right on the streets of Atlanta. Catherine is eager to help B.J., despite her heart’s uncertainty over meeting him again after so long, and confessing the truth to him–and their daughter.

Meanwhile, Catherine’s hands are more than full since she’s taken on a new client. Atlanta’s legendary Miss Mandeville–a housekeeper turned tycoon–is eager to have Catherine staff her housekeeping business. But why are the steely Miss Mandeville and her all-too-slick sidekick Sam so interested in Catherine’s connection to B.J.? What transpires is an explosive story that takes her world–not to mention the entire city of Atlanta–by storm. MORE

Soul on Ice by Eldridge Cleaver

Book Description
The now-classic memoir that shocked, outraged, and ultimately changed the way America looked at the civil rights movement and the black experience.

By turns shocking and lyrical, unblinking and raw, the searingly honest memoirs of Eldridge Cleaver are a testament to his unique place in American history.  Cleaver writes in Soul on Ice, "I'm perfectly aware that I'm in prison, that I'm a Negro, that I've been a rapist, and that I have a Higher Uneducation." What Cleaver shows us, on the pages of this now classic autobiography, is how much he was a man.  MORE
 

A One Woman Man

The Interruption of Everything by Terry McMillan

Wednesday's Woes by Gayle Jackson Sloan

I Know Why The Caged Bird Sings by Maya Angelou