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

3.5 out of 5 books Shauna Robinson’s “The Townsend Family Recipe for Disaster” is a heartwarming and insightful novel that delves into family dynamics and personal identity. The story follows Mae, a bi-racial woman who has spent much of her life feeling disconnected from her father’s Black family while being more integrated with her maternal white relatives. As her wedding day looms, she is concerned because her father’s side of the family has not replied to her wedding invite. When she receives word that her paternal grandmother passed, she decided to attend the funeral and reconnect with that side of her family. As Mae seeks to reconnect with her estranged Black family in the South, she faces the chaos of a family barbecue that stirs both laughter and deep emotional reflections. Robinson masterfully blends humor with emotional depth, presenting Mae’s journey with a mix of introspection and comedic inner monologues. The novel addresses complex themes of familial and racial histories, ...

4 out of 5 books Taylor Johnson is a Black student at a predominately white private school. Vying to fit in with her friends at her school, she is caught up in a shoplifting incident with her wealthy White classmates. Taylor is left to take the blame and is sent to Camp Lanier as part of a community service program for at-risk youth. Taylor’s summer at Camp Lanier quickly turns into a nightmare as she encounters strange hallucinations, hears mysterious crying at night, and learns about the camp’s dark past. Taylor’s determination to uncover the truth about Camp Lanier and this drives the story forward. Her interactions with other camp members, particularly Liam and Mia reveal the present-day horrors that are taking place at Camp Lanier. In a quest to save her life and her friends at the camp, Taylor had to give audience to the horrors of the campsite and learn from the ancestors of Oscarville, an all-black town buried under the waters of Lake Lanier. Sylvester Barzey’s  “Camp Lanie...

  4 out of 5 books Mariah Clark and Sabrina Holland haven't had the easiest sisterhood, what with all the family drama from their childhood. As adults, they barely communicate, both avoiding the other to maintain their peace of mind. Now, they've both got their own messes to sort out. But when their grandma calls them back to Georgetown to run the family restaurant because their grandpa's health is going downhill, they've got to get their act together. They need to save the restaurant and keep the family name shining.  Their grandmother shared letters from their great-great-grandma Tabitha and encouraged Mariah and Sabrina to read them. Her old letters show the sisters that they're not the first in the family to deal with tough times or bad choices. Mariah's not the first to be let down by a guy, and Sabrina's not the first to make hard calls for her kid's sake. Tabitha’s persistent and determination in opening her own restaurant in the Jim Crow south is...

  3.5 out of 5 books “Out of the Office” by A.H. Cunningham is an engaging Afro-Caribbean romance that follows Gabriella, a driven professional in a Miami hotel chain, and Adrián, who values a balanced life when it comes to his career. Gabriella has developed her work ethic from her mother who never seems to be pleased no matter how much effort Gabriella puts forth. When Gabriella and Adrian meet, the chemistry between the two is instant. Gabriella learns to relax and live in the moment in her relationship with Adrian. Cunningham’s vivid writing brings the settings and emotions to life, exploring themes of love, fulfillment, and self-care. I love the romance, island culture, and character development. Perfect summer read. Reviewed by Paula Allen   Get your copy of Out of Office today!         

  3.5 out of 5 books “The Art of Scandal” by Regina Black follows Rachel Abbott, the spouse of an up-and-coming politician, who uncovers her husband’s infidelity on his fortieth birthday. Rachel agrees to keep up the appearance of a perfect marriage until her husband’s reelection campaign concludes, in return for financial stability. However, her life takes an unexpected twist when she meets Nathan Vasquez, a young artist who rekindles her passion for art and life. Their immediate and intense connection forces Rachel to reflect on what she truly desires. The story alternates between Rachel and Nathan’s point of view which I loved because you are privy to both of their emotions. This adds depth to the story. Rachel feels free to follow her true desires, even at the risk of scandal. “The Art of Scandal” speaks of love, ambition, and self-realization. It’s a must-read for contemporary romance lovers who like a little drama and messiness as I do. Reviewed by Paula Allen Get your copy o...

On her second birthday in 1967, Bernice McFadden died in a car crash near Detroit, only to be resuscitated after her mother pulled her from the flaming wreckage.  Firstborn Girls  traces her remarkable life from that moment up to the publication of her first novel,  Sugar . Growing up in 1980s Brooklyn, Bernice finds solace in books, summer trips to Barbados, and boarding school to escape her alcoholic father. Discovering the works of Alice Walker and Toni Morrison, she finally sees herself and her loved ones reflected in their stories of “messy, beautiful, joyful Black people.” Interwoven with Bernice's personal journey is her family's history, beginning with her four-times enslaved great-grandmother Louisa Vicey Wilson in 1822 Hancock County, Georgia. Her descendants survived Reconstruction and Jim Crow, joined the Great Migration, and mourned Dr. King’s assassination during the Civil Rights Movement. These women's wisdom, secrets, and fierce love are passed down like L...

Born into slavery on a Mississippi plantation, Elizabeth Taylor Greenfield has been raised in the safety of Philadelphia’s Quaker community by a wealthy adoptive mother. Sheltered and educated, Eliza’s happy childhood always included music lessons to nurture her unique gift: a glorious three octave singing voice that leaves listeners in awe. But on the eve of her twenty-fourth birthday, young Eliza’s world is thrown into a tailspin when her mother dies. Eliza’s inheritance is contested by her mother’s white cousins, leaving her few options. She can marry her longtime beau, Lucien, though she has no desire to be a wife and mother. Or she can work as a tutor for rich families. Her mother’s dying wish was for Eliza to pursue her talent and become a professional singer, but that grand vision now seems out of reach. When a chance performance on a steamboat to Buffalo, New York, leads to a surprising opportunity, fearless Eliza seizes her moment. Within a year she is touring America, singing...

In 1919, a high school teacher from Washington, D.C arrives in Harlem excited to realize her lifelong dream. Jessie Redmon Fauset has been named the literary editor of  The Crisi s. The first Black woman to hold this position at a preeminent Negro magazine, Jessie is poised to achieve literary greatness. But she holds a secret that jeopardizes it all.   W. E. B. Du Bois, the founder of  The Crisis , is not only Jessie’s boss, he’s her lover. And neither his wife, nor their fourteen-year-age difference can keep the two apart. Amidst rumors of their tumultuous affair, Jessie is determined to prove herself. She attacks the challenge of discovering young writers with fervor, finding sixteen-year-old Countee Cullen, seventeen-year-old Langston Hughes, and Nella Larsen, who becomes one of her best friends. Under Jessie’s leadership,  The Crisis  thrives…every African American writer in the country wants their work published there.   When her first novel is releas...

A marriage of convenience saved Lady Abigail Worthing’s family from disgrace, but she’s finding her absent husband's endless conditions increasingly repressive. Unable to stay at their London home during the oncoming winter, she accepts a ride to the country from her neighbor, Stapleton Henderson. However, she's less than delighted that she’s his excuse to avoid a dinner held by Lord Charles Duncan, one of London's most powerful—and relentless—magistrates. More irritating, women are decidedly unwelcome at the evening’s prestigious discussion of criminality—even though Abigail and Stapleton have solved several cases together . . .   Then an unexpected blizzard strands them at Lord Duncan’s with his now-houseguests. Suddenly, an evening of fine dining, fine brandy, and insightful debate becomes an inescapable—and deadly—ordeal. The ultimate test for Abigial’s skill. One of the dinner guests is found dead in front of the Berkley Square mansion. And when another party is murder...

It Happened One Homecoming: A Collection of Short Stories. . . It’s Time For Us She is . . . Shauna Carter is a fashion designer getting ready to launch her signature line of fashion, but before she puts on her fashion show, she has to celebrate her classmate’s second chance at happily ever after. She didn’t expect to run – chest first—into the groomsman who she was quietly crushing on when she was an undergraduate at Johnson C. Smith University, an HBCU in Charlotte, North Carolina. He is. . . Michael “Mike” Broussard has one regret in life and that’s letting Shauna Carter get away. Sure, he was a notorious playboy in college, but that was only because he knew he couldn’t be the partner that Shauna deserved. But times have changed and he’s ready to show her that now is the time for them to make that move to be together. After Halftime Sometimes, a dream can become a nightmare. . . Autumn Brown-Robinson has one wish before a terminal illness takes her life. She wants to reunite her col...

Since he was old enough to dream, all Antoine Grimm ever wanted was to be a soldier like his grandfather, Big Ben Grimm. Coming from a military family, he has always been taught that there is no greater honor for a man than to serve his country. This is what motivated him to steal his older brother’s identity at the age of sixteen and sneak off to enroll in the United States Army. He left in search of the glorious stories he’d heard his grandfather tell, but what he found was the bitter truth that came with war. When Grimm left, he had been a doe-eyed kid with dreams, but upon his return to U.S. soil, the kid he left as has become a battle-hardened soldier trying to cope with post-traumatic nightmares. When Grimm returns to his home, he finds that not only has he changed, but so has his neighborhood. The drug epidemic has ravaged the streets he grew up playing in and decimated everything in its path, including his family. Unable to sit idle while the community he grew up in crumbles un...