Urban Reviews - Your Source for the Best in AA Fiction!

INSIDE OUT with Jennifer Coissiere - Author of Crossing Over - Jennifer Coissiere is creatively driven in everything she does. She began writing poetry many years ago as a pre-teen, in an attempt to get away from her unhappy home life. Currently, she is a full-time student, mother of three, wife to one, sister to two, and daughter. The stories she write are not necessarily a reflection of her life, but you can find a piece of her in each character she develops. Urban Reviews:  Tell our readers about Crossing Over. Jennifer Coissiere:   Well, Crossing Over is about Rachelle Martin, who lost her mother when she was 15 years old. Over the years she never really gets over the lost and becomes very protective of her twin brother, Raheem, and her father, Dwight. Rachelle dislikes change. However, when her father asks her for the ultimate Christmas present, she finds herself transforming while overcoming grief. Urban Reviews:  Where did the inspiration for th...

Earl Sewell - Cougars - Available Now! - 5 out of 5 books - Jasmine Sallie is a beautiful chemist who loves younger men. She is also a director of a pharmaceutical research team that is trying to create a female sexual enhancement drug. Things get a little steamy at the office when a young chemist name Travis Adams joins the research team. Travis and Jasmine begin a spicy affair that could lead to disastrous results. They soon develop a drug that’s so dangerous that it gets shelved. But Travis isn’t willing to give up so easily. He makes a stronger and more potent formula that has deadly consequences. Soon things spiral out of control and Travis and Jasmine’s lives are changed forever. Cougars is a sexy page-turner by Earl Sewell. This story is much more than your average May-December relationship drama. The character development is one of the things that made this novel stand out. Jasmine and Travis being chemists on a pharmaceutical research team brought a very unique twis...

Jackson Harris - Fully Involved - Available Now - 4 out of 5 books - Captain Nick Jackson is following the footsteps of his grandfather and father by being a firefighter. Nick’s dad David was tragically killed as a rookie while fighting a fire. But when Nick is assigned to the same firehouse that his dad worked, there are some suspicious questions raised in regards to David’s death. Was it truly an accident, or was there something more sinister going on? To make matters worse, Nick’s mother Peggy keeps insisting that someone actually murdered her husband, but no one is listening to her. Nick’s grandfather James is a retired arson chief who knows more about his son’s death that he’s letting on. James' desire to protect his family may lead to disastrous consequences for all concerned. Fully Involved is a gripping debut mystery by Jackson Harris. Harris expertly brings readers into the dangerous yet rewarding world of firefighting. The scenes in this book are so descripti...

D. V. Hent - If You Don't Tell - Available Now! - 3.5 out of 5 books  - Laela has found the man of her dreams in Quinton. She will be married in six months, but she wants to experience a ménage trois first. Quinton likes this idea, but they need to find a willing partner. Once they find the perfect woman, they both may get much more than they bargained for. Quinton also has to deal with his own past coming back to haunt him. Laela’s friend Simone is suffering through depression and a loveless marriage. Simone is searching for comfort, but it’s in all the wrong places. What will become of these three people? If You Don’t Tell is an interesting tale about how a person’s sexual fantasy can shape their future. At first glance, Laela and Quinton seem to have a perfect relationship but you soon learn that they have deeper issues. What’s interesting about this story is that Laela is the one that brings up the ménage to Quinton. There was a fair amount of relationship drama and s...

Allison Hobbs  - Stealing Candy - Available Now - 5 out of 5 books - Saleema Sparks has made helping troubled teenage girls her life’s work through her organization called Head Up, but her agency has to close due to financial reasons. Saleema is trying to figure out a way to get her doors back open. Things get complicated when one of the teen girls from Head Up named Portia goes missing. Without any involvement from Portia's family, Saleema tries save Portia all on her own. She may get more than she bargained for when clues to Portia's whereabouts lead to a murderous pimp named Bullet. Bullet has a trio of teen girls that he lured into a horrific world of prostitution. But these girls just want to go back to their normal lives. Will they ever escape Bullet and will Saleema find Portia before it’s too late? Stealing Candy is an extraordinary novel by Allison Hobbs. Hobbs takes a departure from her erotic stories to delve into a very serious topic: teen sex trafficking...

Kai - Daughter of the Game - Available Now! - 4 out of 5 books - Monique Waters is going to college to pursue her dreams. She's the daughter of a notorious street king named Pete. Pete wants to make sure that Monique stays as far from the streets as possible. But this proves to be a battle when Monique falls in love with a hustler name Armand. Armand has no idea that Monique is the daughter of the same man that wants him dead. Monique also doesn't know that Pete wants to get rid of the love of her life. Soon, a street war ensues and everyone has to choose sides. Which side will Monique and Armand be on? Daughter of the Game is an entertaining street tale with a unique twist by Kai. This story has an interesting mix of characters and situations. You see the two very different sides of Monique. She's a young woman who is trying to not be heavily involved with the street life but can't seem to stay away from it either. Readers will see just how tough Monique b...

Terrance Dean, James Earl Hardy, Stanley Bennett Clay - Visible Lives - Available Now! - 3.5 out of 5 books - Visible Lives is a collection of short stories by authors Terrance Dean, James Early Hardy and Stanley Bennett Clay, and all of which were written as a tribute to the late E. Lynn Harris. At the beginning of each story, the author’s took the time out to reflect on a memory of either how E. Lynn Harris impacted them into being a writer or some sort of memory of him. The first story, The Intern by Terrance Dean, was my favorite out of the three. It was the story of a man named Chase who's in his late 30’s and is the Vice President of Production for GBS Television. Chase seems to have it all, that is, except a partner to share his life with. Tired and fed up with the lies some of the men in his past have put him through, he just about gave up on love. But then a new young intern shows up. No matter how hard Chase tries, he can not deny the att...

Wahida Clark, et. al. - What's Really Hood! - Available Now! - 1.5 out of 5 books - What's Really Hood, edited by Wahida Clark, is a collection of tales from the streets written by authors Wahida Clark, Victor L. Martin, Bonta, Shawn “Jihad” Trump and LaShonda Teague. Black Is Blue by Victor L. Martin is about Raleigh, NC legal assistant Desiree who just so happens to lust over one of her clients, not really knowing that he is deeper in the game than she could of ever imagined. By the time she realizes this, it may be too late to walk away with her life. In The "P" Is Free by LaShonda Teague, 18-year-old Wiz is making money hand over fist selling drugs. Then he meets Crystal, who already completing two years of college and had it together. When she was introduced to crack, everything went downhill. Wiz could not understand why Crystal seemed to love crack more than him, so he decided to figure it out for himself, leaving them both strung out. ...

INSIDE OUT with Dolen Perkins-Valdez Dolen Perkins-Valdez was born and raised in Memphis, TN. She is a graduate of Harvard and George Washington University. She has published fiction in The Kenyon Review and elsewhere. Wench is her first novel. Urban Reviews:  Tell our readers about Wench. Dolen Perkins-Valdez:   WENCH tells the story of four women who are the enslaved mistresses of their masters. They meet at a summer resort in 1850s Ohio and begin to contemplate escape when the spirited Mawu arrives. She pushes them to think about running and leaving behind their plantations. Yet the decision is a difficult one, especially for my protagonist Lizzie who believes she loves her master and that he loves her. The novel examines the complicated dynamic between a female slave and her white male master. Urban Reviews:  How did you come up with the idea for this book? Dolen Perkins-Valdez:   I was reading a biography of W.E.B. Du Bois and, during a section abo...

LaShanda Michelle - Sweeter Than The Honey - Available Now! - 3 out of 5 books - Kamilah Wright is entering her senior year in high school. But instead of enjoying the joys of her upcoming senior year, she’s forced to raise her seven siblings while her mother works. It doesn’t help that Kamilah's philandering father comes and goes as he pleases. She’s also dealing with being a rape victim, and she hasn’t told anyone but her best friend Eric. With all of this going on, Kamilah is trying to get an academic scholarship so that she can go to college and start a new life. But her world is turned upside down when she meets a new girl at school name Summer Freeman. Summer soon introduces her into a whole new world which includes a same-sex relationship. Kamilah is struggling with her love for Summer and her Christian upbringing. What will Kamilah ultimately do? Sweeter Than the Honey is a thought-provoking tale by LaShanda Michelle. Michelle did a good job of creating so...

Bernice L. McFadden - Glorious - Available Now - 5 out of 5 books - Easter Venetta Bartlett left her tumultuous upbringing in Georgia hoping for a better life. Easter arrives in Harlem and submerges herself into the city’s rich culture. She becomes a writer during the Harlem Renaissance and is rubbing shoulders with legendary figures such as Langston Hughes. Easter’s success becomes even greater when she moves in with a benefactor who just wants her to eat, sleep, and write. But Easter’s carefree writing career may come to a halt due to an ultimate betrayal by someone near and dear to her. Glorious is a heart-wrenching novel by Bernice L. McFadden. McFadden crafted a wonderfully imaginative tale that incorporated the eras of the Jim Crow South, Harlem Renaissance, and the Civil Rights Movement. You will feel like you’re right there with Easter as she celebrates her triumphs and as she learns from her trials. McFadden did an excellent job of including some historical events ...

  Contest for Moonshine by Alaya Johnson - Details Inside...

Contest for What's Really Hood by By Wahida Clark - Details Inside...

Contest for Platinum by Aliya S. King - Details Inside...

Contest for Sons of Liberty by Alexander Lagos and Joseph Lagos - Details Inside...

Contest for More Church Folks by Michele Andrea Bowen - Details Inside...

  Contest for Queen Pin by Jemeker Thompson-Hairston and David Ritz - Details Inside...

P.L. Wilson - Sweetwater Sinners - Available Now! - 4 out of 5 books - Just when you think things have calmed down at Sweetwater Powerhouse of God, things get worse. While Reverend Goodlove is giving an electrifying sermon, he passes out on the pulpit and goes into a coma. With their leadership in question due to the Reverend's illness, the church becomes a modern version of Sodom and Gomorrah. First Lady Theola thinks she has a free pass to do anything and anyone she wants. Soon she realizes that the grass is not always greener on the other side. Goodlove's oldest son, Damien, is trying to prolong his divorce ever since he has found out that his not-so-soon to be ex-wife Michelle just might become a millionaire. Now, if you read Holy Hustler (the first book), you know that Michelle was in a heap of trouble. If Damien does not watch his back, Michelle might be more determined to follow through this time around. With all of this is going on, Reginald is trying to figur...