That Devil's No Friend of Mine by J.D. Mason

When Bishop Fontaine passed away, he left behind more than a list of good deeds. He was known as a caring friend and doting father...but he was also manipulative and controlling, especially to those he loved.

His death begins to unravel deep secrets and shocking desires among the people he cared most about. Five very different people whose lives are only connected by Bishop suddenly find themselves up close and personal as desires, dreams and passions collide.

Johnnie Wise's grandmother, Josephine Baptiste, at age sixteen, has just been promised in marriage to the heir-apparent to the throne of Nigeria. A life of riches and royalty may appeal to some girls her age, but she's not about to enter a loveless union with someone old enough to be her father. Especially since she’s in love with his much younger brother…

The night before the marriage is set to take place, she and her lover decide to take a chance on their romance and flee. Their freedom is short-lived, however, when they’re captured by Dutch slave traders and taken aboard a ship about to sail to the Americas. Landing in Santa Domingo, they’re sold together to a wealthy plantation owner as they prepare to embark on a life of servitude. But how long will they suffer their new state before they try to escape? And will their love survive lust, lies and power struggles in their New World?

Bring on the Blessings by Beverly Jenkins

On Bernadine Brown's fifty-second birthday she received an unexpected gift—she caught her husband, Leo, cheating with his secretary. She was hurt—angry, too—but she didn't cry woe is me. Nope, she hired herself a top-notch lawyer and ended up with a cool $275 million. Having been raised in the church, she knew that when much is given much is expected, so she asked God to send her a purpose.

The purpose turned out to be a town: Henry Adams, Kansas, one of the last surviving townships founded by freed slaves after the Civil War. The failing town had put itself up for sale on the Internet, so Bernadine bought it. Trent July is the mayor, and watching the town of his birth slide into debt and foreclosure is about the hardest thing he's ever done. When the buyer comes to town, he's impressed by her vision, strength, and the hope she wants to offer not only to the town and its few remaining residents, but to a handful of kids in desperate need of a second chance.

Not everyone in town wants to get on board though; they don't want change. But Bernadine and Trent, along with his first love, Lily Fontaine, are determined to preserve the town's legacy while ushering in a new era with ties to its unique past and its promising future

Before I Forget by Leonard Pitts, Jr.

Moses Johnson isn't an old man—though he's a long way beyond his glory days as one of the most popular soul stars of the 70s. But at just about 50, he's shattered to learn that he's developing early-onset Alzheimer's Disease. The prospect is bleak; he's only got a brief amount of time before he loses his memory, and his conscious self, altogether. Mo's been lucky, and he knows it—more successful than most, with at least one unforgettable hit to his name—but there's plenty in his life he regrets.

Most of those regrets have to do with his son, Trey—who Mo's largely ignored for most of 19 years, whose fortunes have taken a turn for the worse when he gets caught up in a stickup gone bad organized by bad-news friend from the hood. And with his own father, Jack, who he hasn't spoken to for almost three decades, after the tragic violent death of his mother. When he learns his father is dying from cancer, Mo decides to take Trey west, from their home in Baltimore, on a cross-country road trip to Los Angeles, where he grew up and where Jack still lives.