Showing results by narrator "Angel Pean" in All Categories

Josephine Thomas has heard every conceivable theory about her mother's disappearance. That she was kidnapped. Murdered. That she took on a new identity to start a new family. That she was a witch. This is the most worrying charge because in a world where witches are real, peculiar behaviour raises suspicions and a woman—especially a Black woman—can find herself on trial for witchcraft. But 14 years have passed since her mother’s disappearance, and now Jo is finally ready to let go of the past. Yet her future is in doubt.

Putting herself first is what Jordana Evans knows how to do best. She’s at the top of her game in her career and no longer haunted by memories of her past threatening to steal her joy. In her mind, being in love is a want, not a need, and she’s convinced that she’ll be just fine without it. Having intimate relations with the opposite sex is something she’s willing to do for one night only. But then came along…him.

Between micro- and macro-aggressions at school, at work, and everywhere in between, it’s tough to prioritize physical and mental wellness as a Black woman, especially with a constant news cycle highlighting Black trauma. Now, with The Self-Care for Black Women you’ll find more than 150 exercises that will help you radically choose to put yourself first. 

Daisy sees dead people—something impossible to forget in bustling, ghost-packed Toronto. She usually manages to deal with her unwanted ability, but she’s completely unprepared to be dumped by her boyfriend. So when her mother inherits a secluded mansion in northern Ontario where she spent her childhood summers, Daisy jumps at the chance to escape. But the house is nothing like Daisy expects, and she begins to realize that her experience with the supernatural might be no match for her mother’s secrets, nor what lurks within these walls…

The first time Aja Owens encounters the man of her dreams, she’s having a panic attack in the frozen foods section of the Piggly Wiggly. The second time, he’s being introduced to her as her favorite bingo buddy’s semi-estranged grandson. From there, all it takes is one game for her to realize that he’s definitely going to be a problem. And if there’s anything she already has a surplus of, it’s problems.

There is no universal adoption experience, and no two adoptees have the same story. This anthology for teens edited by Shannon Gibney and Nicole Chung contains a wide range of powerful, poignant, and evocative stories in a variety of genres. These tales from fifteen bestselling, acclaimed, and emerging adoptee authors genuinely and authentically reflect the complexity, breadth, and depth of adoptee experiences.

Ava Dove - the sixth of the seven famed Dove sisters and owner of Ava Dove’s Landscaping and Specialty Teas - is frantic. Just as her new tearoom is about to open, her herbal teas have gone haywire. Suddenly, her sleep-inducing tea is startling her clients awake with vivid dreams, her romance-kindling tea is causing people to blurt out their secrets, and her anti-anxiety tea is making them spend hours staring into mirrors. Ava is desperate for a remedy, but her search leads her into dangerous territory, as she is forced to face a dark secret she’s been hiding for over a decade.

It’s been years since the fragmented Mayweather clan was all in one place, but the engagement of Addison and Mason’s mom to the dad of their future stepbrother, Theo, brings the whole family to sunny Cancún, Mexico, for winter break. Add cousin Natalia to the mix, and it doesn’t take long for tempers to fray and tensions to rise. A week of forced family “fun” reveals that everyone has something to hide, and as secrets bubble to the surface, no one is safe from the fallout. By the end of the week, one member of the reunion party will be dead—and everyone’s a suspect.

Seventeen-year-old Farrah Turner is one of two Black girls in her country club community, and the only one with Black parents. Her best friend, Cherish Whitman, adopted by a white, wealthy family, is something Farrah likes to call WGS—White Girl Spoiled. With Brianne and Jerry Whitman as parents, Cherish is given the kind of adoration and coddling that even upper-class Black parents can’t seem to afford—and it creates a dissonance in her best friend that Farrah can exploit. 

Growing up with parents that expect nothing but the best from her meant that life hasn’t always been the easiest for Ava Murphy. Fortunately, she’s learned to cope with the cards she’s been dealt. The intelligent beauty is now at a crossroads, torn between pursuing her passion or pursuing the life that has been carved out for her. As a way to distract herself from thinking about her impending future, Ava keeps herself busy with her temporary job at one of Miami’s finest bars.

This collection of narrative essays by sex workers presents a crystal-clear rejoinder: There's never been a better time to fight for justice. Responding to the resurgence of the #MeToo movement in 2017, sex workers from across the industry - hookers and prostitutes, strippers and dancers, porn stars, cam models, Dommes and subs alike - complicate narratives of sexual harassment and violence, and expand conversations often limited to normative workplaces.

Ellie knows what she wants in life: Open a glassblowing shop in the art district; See her father retire; Marry for love (if she can find someone who can keep up, that is). Winning the fae prince's heart doesn't make the list. So, when Prince Evander throws a ball to find a human bride, Ellie respectfully declines. When she reads the morning paper and discovers the prince danced the night away with a mysterious stranger, only for the woman to flee at the stroke of midnight, Ellie can't help but laugh.

Dane Golden - best friend. Temptation in football cleats. Roommate? I’m screwed. His followers don’t call him Pretty Boy D for nothing. The guy is, literally, God’s gift to women. I should know. I’ve watched chicks throw themselves at him since puberty. Sharing his loft should be simple. Easy. But shortly after I settle in, we realize being "just friends" was so much easier when we weren’t sleeping under the same roof. Seven years of thinking we had this down to a science goes out the window the night Dane sees my “Never Have I Ever” list. 

Romantic love has been one of the most essential elements of storytelling for centuries. But for Black people in the United States and across the diaspora, it hasn't often been easy to find Black romance joyfully showcased in entertainment media. In this collection, revered authors and sparkling newcomers, librarians and academicians, and avid fans and reviewers consider the mirrors and windows into Black love as it is depicted in the novels, television shows, and films that have shaped their own stories.

Following the innovative collection Spill, Alexis Pauline Gumbs's M Archive - the second book in a planned experimental triptych - is a series of poetic artifacts that speculatively documents the persistence of Black life following a worldwide cataclysm. 

Since the first day of high school, Simon and I have competed. Top grades? Simon wins. Better manners? Simon wins. Irresistible stare? Simon definitely wins. So when the bossy billionaire suggests an enemies with benefits arrangement, I dive in headfirst. No feelings. No strings. No falling in love. It's perfect...in theory. Only the Simon who shares my bed isn't cutthroat and arrogant.

In Reckoning with Slavery, Jennifer L. Morgan draws on the lived experiences of enslaved African women in the sixteenth and seventeenth centuries to reveal the contours of early modern notions of trade, race, and commodification in the Black Atlantic. 

Meet Odder, the queen of play. Nobody has her moves. She doesn’t just swim to the bottom, she dive-bombs. She doesn’t just somersault, she triple-doughnuts. She doesn’t just ride the waves, she makes them. Odder spends her days off the coast of central California, practicing her underwater acrobatics and spinning the quirky stories for which she’s known. She’s a fearless daredevil, curious to a fault. But when Odder comes face-to-face with a hungry great white shark, her life takes a dramatic turn, one that will challenge everything she believes about herself.

When Julia asks her deceased husband to take her with him, she doesn’t expect an answer. But when it’s vampires who hear her request, she’s given a choice: follow her husband to the hereafter...or become a witch and assist the undead. As Julia tries to solve the mystery of her husband's death, she will get to know Ludovic, a charming Italian vampire who pledged to never fall in love with a witch again.

I was the average daughter. The troublemaker. The side character in my sister's story. My sister was a Prodigy; endowed with exceptional skills and bonded with a guardian. In a world where all leaders, scientists, and artists are selected and pledged to shifters, she was born for greatness. I was born to live in her shadow. In a moment of rebellion, I trespassed on pack lands and an alpha guardian shifter, Theo, bonded to me. Tragedy makes me reject the pairing. They say I am a Prodigy now—someone special. I think they’re wrong.