New Books by Black Women to Add to Your May Reading List
May is blooming with brilliant new releases from Black women authors.
At Warm Pages, we’re proud to amplify Black women’s voices in literature. Every purchase through our Bookshop helps support our dream of a physical space dedicated to Black women readers and writers, and you can also listen to these reads through our Libro.fm, where your audiobook dollars support indie bookstores like ours.
~ Lush By Rochelle Dowden-Lord
"A sumptuous treat of a novel." -Bolu Babalola, author of HONEY AND SPICE
For fans of Sweetbitter and The Bear, an intoxicating debut novel set in the glamorous, exclusive, and unexpectedly raucous world of wine.
Four wine experts, each at a crucial point in their lives, arrive at a French vineyard estate for an unforgettable experience-but not the kind they expected. Avery gave up her hard-won but exploitative sommelier job to come, while wine prodigy Cosmo is trying to disguise that his life is in freefall. The chemistry between the pair is unmistakable, but so are the signs of danger. Millionaire Sonny owns a tacky wine brand and can't help aggravating Cosmo, while caustic magazine writer Maëlys hovers with her pen poised....
~ This Could Be Forever By Ebony Ladelle
This compelling and complex romance about love across cultures follows a Black girl and Brown boy who find themselves—and each other—while pursuing their passions the summer before college.
Deja’s got a plan. The first in her large family to go to college, she wants to study chemistry and sell natural skin care products, like the ones she already creates from plants grown on her family’s North Carolina farm. It all starts with the Onward Bound summer program at the University of Maryland, the summer before school officially starts...
~ Bitter Honey By Lolá Ákínmádé Åkerström
Spanning four decades and three continents, Bitter Honey is a story about a mother and daughter divided by long buried secrets, struggling to understand each other as they forge their own paths, from the internationally bestselling author of In Every Mirror She’s Black.
1978: A scholarship draws Nancy from Gambia’s warmth into Stockholm’s frigid winter. When her friendship with charismatic scholar Lars blossoms into something more, she thinks she may have finally found her place. But there’s more to Lars than his charming persona, and Nancy is about to discover the danger of being drawn into his world…
2006: Tina has had her taste of fame as Sweden’s sweetheart pop princess, representing her country at Eurovision. But beneath her glittery façade, she’s uncertain who she really is. Her mother, Nancy, seems desperate to keep the past under wraps, but will the unexpected appearance of Tina’s father—a man she has long thought dead—help open the door to self-discovery?
~ The Manual for Good Wives By Lola Jaye
The Manual For Good Wives, a fast-paced tale of courage and resilience is beautifully written and remarkably moving. An absolute masterpiece' - Mike Gayle, author of All the Lonely People
Everything about Adeline Copplefield is a lie . . .
To the world Mrs Copplefield is the epitome of Victorian propriety: an exemplary society lady who writes a weekly column advising young ladies on how to be better wives.
Only Adeline has never been a good wife or mother; she has no claim to the Copplefield name, nor is she an English lady . . .
Now a black woman, born in Africa, who dared to pretend to be something she was not, is on trial in the English courts with all of London society baying for her blood. And she is ready to tell her story..
~ Only Because It's You By Rebecca Fisseha
"Full of humour and heartwarming moments—Rebecca delivers pure joy!" —Chantel Guertin, bestselling author of It Happened One Christmas
Sometimes you need to take a leap of faith to land exactly where you're meant to be . . .
Miz is not the marrying kind. She's more of the no-strings-attached kind. No labels, only fun. So, when she finds a diamond ring in her casual-but-very-hot hook-up's gym bag, she immediately ends things and runs.
~ Audre & Bash Are Just Friends By Tia Williams
An Indie Next Pick!
Scorching-hot summer. Scorching-hot chemistry. Two teens can't forget they're just friends in this sweet, funny, electrifying romance from New York Times bestselling author Tia Williams. Perfect for fans of Jenny Han and Nicola Yoon.
MEET AUDRE. Junior class president. Debate team captain. Unofficial student therapist. Desperately in need of a good time.
MEET BASH. Mysterious new senior. Everybody's crush. Tall, floppy, great taste in jewelry. King of having a good time...
~ Naturally Me at the Confidence Salon By Gabby Goodwin
Grow in confidence, embrace natural beauty, and imagine possibilities with girl inventor, entrepreneur, and hair salon owner Gabrielle "Gabby" Goodwin in this story about being your authentic self and chasing your dreams.
In this uplifting story, Danica visits Confidence Salon. What special natural hair style will make her feel fresh and proud? Braids? No. Cornrows? Uh-uh. Bubble twists? Nah. As Danica experiences premium wash day pampering along with the love and affirmation of her stylist, she opens up about her insecurities and discovers that the stylist is Gabby herself. As Miss G shares how she found courage and confidence through designing an innovative hair bow and launching a successful female- and Black-owned business, Danica gains confidence in her own beauty and value, and finds boldness to express herself and do hard things...
~ The Battle for the Black Mind
rom a NAACP award-winning historian and Fulbright scholar, a history of education in the United States from the end of the Civil War to the historic ruling of Brown v. Board of Education.
In The Battle for the Black Mind, Dr. Karida Brown explores the struggle to define and control the education of African Americans amid shifting societal attitudes and forms of systemic exclusion. From the perspective of freed slaves seeking empowerment and liberation through education, to the white elites aiming to shape the future of the workforce and consolidate power, The Battle for the Black Mind explores the formation of segregated education systems and the influence of philanthropic organizations, religious institutions, and Black educators themselves in shaping these structures. It also examines the global reach of these education models, particularly their impact on African societies under colonial rule...
~ This Is Your Mother: A Memoir
“A beautiful story about an extraordinary mother’s gift of love and hope.” —Jeannette Walls, #1 New York Times bestselling author of The Glass Castle
From “a writer who’s absolutely going places” (Roxane Gay), a remarkable, inventive debut memoir about a mother-daughter relationship across cycles of poverty, separation, and illness, exploring how we forge identity in the face of imminent loss.
When Erika Simpson was growing up, her mother loomed large, almost biblical in her life. A daughter of sharecroppers, middle child of ten, her origin story served as a Genesis. Her departure from home and a cheating husband, pursuing higher education along the way a kind of Exodus. Her rules for survival, often repeated like the Ten Commandments, guided Erika’s own journey into adulthood. And the most important rule? Throughout her life, Sallie Carol preached the power of a testimony—which often proved useful in talking her way out of a bind with bill collectors...
~ Can't Get Enough By Kennedy Ryan
"Can't Get Enough balances brutal emotion, whip-smart humor, and delicious spice. Moving, romantic, and thrumming with life, this is Ryan's best work yet." ―Talia Hibbert
Hendrix Barry lives a fabulous life. She has phenomenal friends, a loving family, and a thriving business that places her in the entertainment industry's rarefied air. Your vision board? She's probably living it.
She's a woman with goals, dreams, ambitions--always striving upward. And in the midst of everything, she's facing her toughest challenge yet: caring for an aging parent. Who has time for romance? From her experience, there's a low ROI on relationships. Anyway, she hasn't met the man who can keep up with her. Until...him.
~ Allow Me to Introduce Myself By Onyi Nwabineli
Her life. Her rules. Finally.
Anuri Chinasa has had enough. And really, who can blame her? She was the unwilling star of her stepmother's social media empire before "momfluencers" were even a thing. For years, Ophelia documented every birthday, every skinned knee, every milestone and meltdown for millions of strangers to fawn over and pick apart.
~ The Library Thief By Kuchenga Shenjé
A strikingly original and absorbing mystery about a white-passing bookbinder in Victorian England and the secrets lurking on the estate where we she works, for fans of Fingersmith and The Confessions of Frannie Langton
The library is under lock and key. But its secrets can't be contained.
1896. After he brought her home from Jamaica as a baby, Florence's father had her hair hot-combed to make her look like the other girls. But as a young woman, Florence is not so easy to tame--and when she brings scandal to his door, the bookbinder throws her onto the streets of Manchester...
~ The Dangerous Ones By Lauren Blackwood
"A perfect mix of MAGIC, VAMPIRES, STAR-CROSSED LOVE, and writing as SHARP AND DEADLY a spear." - Nisha J. Tuli, author of Trial of the Sun Queen
THE THRILLING ROMANTASY FROM NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLING AUTHOR LAUREN BLACKWOOD!
One vampire to kill. Another to love.
War doesn’t scare Jerusalem. She’s a Saint. Thanks to powerful demigod-style reflexes, endurance, and strength, she’s fearless. And she has one goal - revenge.
But she never expects to team up with the handsome, arrogant Alexei to accomplish it. He’s one of those Ancient Vampires. And ever since her family was enslaved and murdered by one, Jerusalem hates vampires.
~ A Black Girl in the Middle By Shenequa Golding
A blazingly honest essay collection from a refreshing new voice exploring the in-between moments for Black women and girls, and what it means to simply exist
“At thirty-seven years old I can say Shenequa is a big name and I’m a big, bold woman.”
Shenequa Golding doesn’t aim to speak for all Black women. We’re too vast, too vibrant, and too complicated. As an adult, Golding begins to own her boldness, but growing up, she found herself “kind of in the middle,” fluctuating between not being the fly kid or the overachiever. Her debut collection of essays, A Black Girl in the Middle, taps into life’s wins and losses, representing the middle ground for Black girls and women.
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Let’s celebrate, support, and center Black women authors—because we’ve always been the storytellers.