Kensington Publishing

After anonymously flirting online, sparks fly IRL between a tattooed playboy and a no-nonsense business manager in bestselling author Lena Hendrix’s spicy, emotional, deeply romantic standalone Kings novel set in small town, coastal Michigan. Perfect for fans of Lucy Score, Elsie Silver, Carley Fortune, and B.K. Borison! *DELUXE LIMITED EDITION PAPERBACK featuring stenciled edges, holographic foil, designed interior covers, chapter headers, and full color special character art!*Royal King is pure mischief wrapped in a cocky smirk and a heated stare.Five minutes in his small town and I knew he was going to be nothing but trouble. He’s an arrogant, tattooed playboy with a secret, and I’m the woman tasked with quietly cleaning up his family’s mess.I never dreamed he could be the mysterious stranger behind my hidden, late-night messages.It doesn’t matter what he says or how hard he tries to get under my skin. I won’t break. Not for him. Not for anyone. But when our secrets are exposed, all bets are off.He knows the rules—just a little fun exploration. Nothing more. But one lesson leads to another . . . and another . . . and soon I realize that he’s set out to break every rule I’ve ever put into place.I refuse to find myself melting under his gaze or swooning at the way he makes the noise around us quieter.I can handle men like him.Everything will be fine as long as we can keep this just between us.

Julius Jr.''s childhood is far less than perfect. He is torn between his mother and father, who are going through a bitter divorce. His world is turned upside down when his father takes him from the comfort of the family home in Benton Harbor, Michigan, to the brutal streets of South Dallas, Texas. When Julius Jr.''s family is gruesomely murdered, his life takes a dramatic turn. His mother, Naje'', moves to Texas to care for her youngest son and finds herself drawn into a conspiracy that threatens not only his life but hers as well. Roll with Julius as he grows into the ultimate hustler and unrelenting killer that the gang-ridden streets of South Dallas often breed. Where pimping, drug dealing, treachery, and betrayal go hand in hand.

Portia grew up in the ass-for-cash game, seeing the best and surviving the worst. At five years old, hungry and huddled near a dumpster, she watched a trick beat the life out of her mother for the twenty dollars she''d just made. Portia sat there for hours until the hunger pains forced her to move, her life forever changed. Portia has followed in the footsteps of her grandmother and mother, turning to prostitution. However, unlike her family before her, she has turned the game into a lucrative enterprise, becoming the madam of an elite prostitution ring in the hood. Honey Williams, aka Honey Dip, is a former junkie trick turned call girl who secretly yearns for a relationship with her daughter and a chance at a normal life. She is tired of the game but doesn''t want to turn her back on the prostitutes that saved her life and welcomed her into their family when nobody else wanted to be bothered. Just when she thinks things couldn''t be any more complicated, she falls in love with a man who is young enough to be her son and declared off-limits by Portia. Sex, drugs, lies, and betrayal - Welcome to the nightlife. You won''t be disappointed.

Reeling from the wake of tragedy, Constance Bell has weathered the storm and found true love.After being viciously violated, then suffering the loss of loved ones closest to her, Constance Bell refuses to let things break her down. Instead, she channels her anger and hunger for revenge another way. This helps her heal and ready herself for not only a real chance at a normal life, but a chance for a real love as well. A love that she has never had before…This all begins when Dasio Vazquez arrives on the scene and captures Constance’s heart right away. Although Dasio has never considered being in a committed relationship, Constance quickly changes his mind by persuading him to open up, and silently encouraging him to dive into love headfirst.Once the unbreakable bond is formed, everything seems to be moving smoothly. That is, until the past catches up with them, forcing them to face the demons spewed upon them—the ugliest one being Harrison’s secret. Now the couple must take extra precautions to ensure no more harm comes to their circle, which they fight so hard to protect.Consisting of only loyal members, the group sticks together to weather the concurrent storms because when it comes down to it, they all realize…only great things happen when you place Family Over Everything.

Unexpected sparks ignite a slow burn in this grumpy/sunshine workplace romance when a single mom proposes a marriage of convenience to save her boss's brewery. Fans of Lucy Score, Elsie Silver, Carley Fortune, and B.K. Borrison will find their next obsession with this second standalone in bestselling author Lena Hendrix's spicy, emotional, deeply romantic Kings Series set in small town Michigan. *DELUXE LIMITED EDITION PAPERBACK featuring stenciled edges, holographic foil, designed interior covers, chapter headers, and full color special character art!*You might think it's reckless for a single mom to enter into a marriage of convenience with her boss.You would be correct. To make matters worse, Abel King is a grumpy local brewer with a criminal past. He also happens to be my boss and a total stick-in-the-mud. Every time I come to work with a smile and wave, I'm lucky if I can get a grunt in response. When I accidentally-on-purpose overhear that he's having trouble securing a business loan due to his criminal record, I hatch a plan to help the both of us. The arrangement is perfect—a business transaction and nothing more. Like having a roommate without the hassle of other people bugging you for dates. I will definitely not be falling in love with him—no matter how many times he says "my wife" and tingles dance in all the right places. Trouble is, as time goes on, things stop feeling like business and start feeling a whole lot like pleasure . . . and really, that's just my luck . . .

The call of summer, sisterhood, and hearts in need of healing bring two best friends and their college-age daughters to Napa Valley, California’s breathtaking wine country—where a long-held secret threatens to forever alter their relationships . . . Since their fast friendship as teenagers over 30 years ago, Louisiana natives Remi Landry and Bianca Fuentes Perez have seen each other through the best and worst of times. Now, as Remi grieves the sudden death of her beloved husband of 25 years, and Bianca struggles with the fallout of a divorce she didn’t see coming, the women are amid their greatest challenges yet.Remi and Gerard spent their honeymoon and summers in Napa and on the Sonoma Coast. Their love of wine led them to buy a Victorian home in Wine Country—and then a winery on the site of an age-old vineyard. They spoke endlessly about retiring to run their winery. But with Gerard gone, Remi must sort through his things and reevaluate their assets, and her future.Bianca is grateful to be there for Remi. After all, Remi was her rock when Bianca’s husband left—and throughout the breast cancer diagnosis that followed. Now in remission, and with her daughter a thriving college freshman, Bianca hopes for a brighter future. But when Remi unearths a secret about her late husband so shattering even Bianca can’t help, the past casts a shadow over everything—and everyone . . .Emotional and relatable, here is a captivating novel of the bonds of friendship, the power of love and forgiveness, and the revelation that sometimes comfort lies where you least expect it.

For readers of Vanessa Miller, Sheila Williams, Victoria Christopher Murray and Tracy Chevalier, the story of an unconventional woman who overcame adversity to create enduring tributes in stone to her race and times. The life of pioneering Black Neoclassical sculptor Edmonia Lewis ? from the Civil War-era Midwest to Boston?s abolitionist circles, to Rome?s expatriate community ? is resurrected in this stunning debut biographical novel.?I plan to be a sculptor, to memorialize forever the great men and women of my race, and those who have fought for our cause.? At the age of 8, orphaned, precocious Wildfire seems fated to a life of toil selling her handmade crafts to Niagara Falls tourists alongside her Ojibwe aunts. But Wildfire?s older half-brother, Samuel, has been making other plans for his gifted sibling. Soon, she is set on a new trajectory?and with it comes her birth name, Edmonia, and a revelation about her true origins.Ensconced at the home of a trusted benefactor while Samuel makes his fortune in California, Edmonia flourishes?despite her abhorrence for etiquette lessons. Privately nurturing artistic ambitions, she advances through the abolitionist?s prep school and lands at Oberlin College. But at Oberlin lies a devastating trap: Edmonia is accused of poisoning, nearly fatally, two friends, with tainted wine.What ensues is a headline-making trial, a vicious attack by a white mob?and a bold journey that will lead Edmonia from a crucial introduction in Boston to a vibrant community of celebrated expatriate women artists in Rome, and encounters with such distinguished figures as President Ulysses S. Grant, Pope Pius IX, and Frederick Douglass.Still, Edmonia?s success is plagued by stinging critiques, potent racism, and haunting self-doubt. She must decide, too, whether to abandon her romantic entanglements, or devote herself to bringing to life her visions of beauty and justice?and hopefully, forge her place in a rapidly changing world.

An unlikely lord finally meets a problem he can't flirt his way out of in this adventurous and slyly light-hearted queer cozy fantasy featuring pirates, dragons, kidnapping, tea, and other high-fantasy delights for readers of Rebecca Thorne, TJ Klune, Sarah Beth Durst, and Travis Baldree. Deluxe Limited Edition Paperback with Stenciled Edges! In theory, the dragoness of Summer can make any resident on her island the ruler, if the previous Lord Summer is so careless as to die without an heir. In practice, absolutely no one expected her to choose Teddy, the last lord's middle-aged fancy man. With his quick wit, heaps of charisma, and excellent dress sense, Teddy brings plenty of virtues to his new role, but statecraft, pedigree, and decorum are not among them. That's all right: he's done his duty to the island, and his five-year-old daughter, Zinnia, will make a brilliant Lady Summer when her time comes. Except when a ship of desperate mainlander thieves arrives, Zinnia's caught in the fracas and taken hostage. Teddy jumps into the rescue mission without delay, even though his days of adventures on the mainland are long buried with his lover. But his sailors have never seen their destination, and worse, the hard-liner admiral who leads them thinks Teddy's a worthless dandy. Against a conniving robber baron, a sorceress who's tamed her own dragon, and ordinary people with everything to lose, the crew faces terrible odds. But with all he loves in danger, Teddy must prove there's more to him than he'd ever intended to show.

The epic saga of Smoke Jensen takes a wild and dangerous turn when the legendary mountain man joins a wagon train of war widows—on a doomed journey through hell . . .Big Rock, Colorado, has seen its share of wagon trains pass through town, but never one like this. For starters, it’s led by a woman—a sweet southern belle named Annabelle—and the passengers are young Civil War widows and orphans. The only man on board is Annabelle’s father, a former colonel blinded in the war.  They’re on their way to Purgatory Butte, Wyoming, to run the ranch the colonel inherited. Smoke’s wife, Sally Jensen, thinks it’s a noble goal and wants to help the women out—by volunteering her husband’s protection on the treacherous journey north. In spite of his doubts, Smoke agrees.The trouble starts before they even leave town. First a pack of ruffians harass the women, then a pair of saloon girls decide to join the wagon train. To top things off, Sally insists on coming along,—giving Smoke one more thing to worry about.They say the road to hell is paved with good intentions. But this road has plenty of bad ones, too. If Smoke Jensen can’t figure out which is which, this whole train will be dead on arrival.Johnstone Country. Where Legends Are Born . . . To Be Killed.

A warm-hearted, generous businesswoman discovers her dark side when she’s betrayed by both the younger man she thought was the love of her life and the best friend she’s always trusted—with shattering consequences—in New York Times bestselling author Mary Monroe’s final standalone novel set in the outrageously scandalous, colorful town of Lexington, Alabama.The daughter of a hardworking restaurant owner, Louise Brooks always sees the best in people—and in helping them no matter how difficult her own life gets. She''s lived through tragic loss and working in the family business, even after enduring a failed marriage and raising a child. So she''s delighted when she finds a best friend in Della Thornton, a woman struggling with bad breaks and unlucky romances. Many years later, when Louise''s father and her prosperous second husband pass away, Louise takes Della in and gives her a role in the restaurant as it grows more successful than ever . . .Louise is now convinced lasting love is not in the cards for her—until she runs into handsome Malcolm Purdy. He''s everything she could want—outgoing, charming, and attentive. Soon they become engaged. And although Louise is dismayed that Della and Malcolm hate each other from the start, she does her best to keep the peace between the two people she cares about and trusts the most . . .But a chance encounter from the past shows Louise that neither Della nor Malcolm is quite who they say they are—and their deceit runs deeper and deadlier than she imagined. With her illusions in ruins, how far will she go to see justice served? And will her final shocking move cost her more than she’s willing to lose?

Urban Books is bringing back Brenda Hampton’s beloved romance series, Naughty, for a special anniversary edition. Return to the world of wealth, lust, and true love.Jaylin Jerome Rogers, an investment broker worth millions, lives a high-class life with plenty of women to share it with. Nestled in his lavish home in Chesterfield, Missouri, he captures women with his wealth, charm, nine-plus inches of goodness, and amazingly good looks. Although his bed is never empty, his heart is. He feels nothing for the women who love him dearly and continues his search for the perfect one.When Scorpio Valentino, an attractive, seductive, and charming woman, saunters into his view, she offers Jaylin a life of altering changes. Her intention is to make his life a living hell; however, Jaylin is not about to take the fall. Surprisingly, soon, love presents itself. Not for the women in Jaylin''s life, but he experiences love through becoming a father to Scorpio''s five-year-old daughter, Mackenzie. She''s his guardian angel and is there for Jaylin through the tough times he''s bound to face.

For fiercely independent Sincere Watkins, her stunning beauty is an obstacle to be overcome. Growing up in New Orleans'' most dangerous neighborhood, she caught the eye of Lorde, leader of the ruthless local gang, The Saints. Despite Lorde''s unstoppable obsession with her, Sincere is making a life for herself. She won''t let him stand in her way-even after he takes out someone she cares for. Sincere just focuses on fulfilling her dreams-and holds love at a distance to keep others safe... But when Lorde upends Sincere''s world irrevocably, she evades his every merciless move with strength, savvy, and resilience she never knew she had. And their battle of wills becomes all-out war when Lorde''s second-in-command, Supreme, falls hard for Sincere''s dignity and determination... Now she will work every angle by igniting long-buried resentments and lethal rivalries among The Saints. For in the Dirty South, where grudges run deep and life is short, power lies in how you seize it. And Sincere will pay any price, rack up any cost to get revenge-and all she deserves. Even if all that''s left is heartbreak-and smoking ash...

Deneisha Lewis has graduated from petty theft to the big leagues—life as a Stick-up Girl.When Deneisha Lewis was released from the Cobb County Adult Detention Center after doing a year for shoplifting, she knew that she had to do something other than boosting if she was going to make real money, so she became a Stick-up Girl. The kind that sticks a gun in somebody’s face and takes what she wants. After a string of murders in Atlanta, Deneisha travels south to Jacksonville to lay low. There, she meets Dallas, who robs drug dealers. He tells her that he doesn’t come out of the house for less than ten thousand dollars and teaches her how to stick-up his way. He has one rule: come through the door blasting and don’t leave any witnesses or muthafuckas that wanna come after us.  Their fateful connection will lead Deneisha on a wild ride that she never could have expected.

This is a heart-stirring story about domestic abuse and finding the strength to leave.They say in life you’ll experience a love with someone that’s hard to let go. No matter how many times they have you out there looking stupid, covering bruises, and lying to your family about different situations, you remain loyal and down for the ride. But what happens when you’re fed up with the toxic love and just want to be free from it all?Sunshine was a young girl who was stupid in love with Monsta, a street menace. Although he claimed to love her with everything in him, his own problems made it hard for him to show his love without resorting to aggressive behavior or even using his fists at times. Now, with a baby on the way and feeling hopeless, will Sunshine be able to find love elsewhere, or will Monsta control her heart forever?

Gone without a trace... Once the most cunning luxury-car thief in the game, Ava Frost gladly gave it all up to become the wife of a successful Norfolk, Virginia, businessman, and raise their two children in better circumstances than she ever knew. But when the children are abducted - and held for a two-million-dollar ransom - Ava is stunned to discover her husband''s bad deals have drained their fortune. Determined, she pursues her best, and toughest, option: Her ex-boyfriend, the mastermind behind the South''s biggest car theft ring, offers her a chance to gain the money. But nothing ever comes for free, and Nick has a small request... Racing against the clock... Soon Ava is targeting one-of-a-kind cars that must be stolen within impossibly short timeframes. The excitement of the hunt and Ava''s vulnerability is reigniting dangerous heat between her and Nick - just as she''s finding out her husband''s betrayal runs deeper and more hurtful than she ever expected... Running out of time... Now with one heist gone very wrong and the police closing in, Ava''s down to her final chance to keep her bargain with Nick. But with hidden agendas and secret obsessions in play, will even her most skilled moves succeed in bringing her children home - or destroy everything she''s fighting to save?

These days, Annette Goode Davis has a full plate - literally and figuratively. Although she''s trying to reconcile with her husband, Pee Wee, she''s still seeing other men on the side. A woman''s got to cover her bases, right? With her love life hopping, Annette should be pleased as punch. Instead, the stress has her eating everything in sight and packing on the pounds. Meanwhile, Annette''s best friend, Rhoda O''Toole, has her hands full dealing with her wild child daughter, Jade. When Jade''s antics almost cost Rhoda her man, Rhoda throws her out. But Jade soon finds a way to make Rhoda regret her choice... Annette thanks her lucky stars that her daughter, Charlotte, has her head on straight. And she''s doubly blessed to have a strait-laced neighbour look after Charlotte when she''s caught up in Pee Wee and Rhoda''s problems. But when Annette''s world is rocked by a terrible revelation, she''ll discover that appearances can be very, very deceiving - and she''ll have to summon every ounce of strength to protect the ones she loves.