Hello Friends, and welcome to the blog today.
“If we are to preserve culture, we must continue to create it.” — Johan Huizinga
Friends, I hope you are doing well and giving yourself some grace in this new season. Get plenty of rest and stay hydrated, but also check in mentally. We are in a season of chaos, so take care of yourself.
You know I love a book list, and in honor of Black History Month (yes, we still celebrate that), I want to share 10 books by black authors published in 2025 and upcoming.
Here’s the Book List!
Reaper, Jackson P. Brown
July 10, 2025 (publishing)
Fantasy
4.00 ⭐⭐⭐⭐ Good Reads
Amy is an empath, able to sense the auras of the supernatural creatures that stalk London at night. But sorely lacking in knowledge, she spends night after night searching for answers. Gerald is a Reaper – a weapon for hire – on the verge of his Awakening. Of coming into his power and becoming the man his family needs him to be. The man they demand he be.
Till Death, Busayo Matuluko
YA Mystery Thriller
4.14 ⭐⭐⭐⭐ Good Reads
Save the date . . . for a killer wedding! True-crime-obsessed Lara Oyinlola is heading to Lagos for her favorite cousin, Dérin’s, wedding. It’s going to be a holiday filled with glitzy dress fittings, glamorous parties, and, of course, the star-studded event of the year. But everything isn’t perfect in Dérin’s world. She’s been receiving anonymous threats telling her to cancel the wedding . . . or face dire consequences.
Needy Little Things, Channelle Desamours
YA Mystery, Thriller
4.29 ⭐⭐⭐⭐ Good Reads
Sariyah Lee Bryant can hear what people need—tangible things, like a pencil, a hair tie, a phone charger—an ability only her family and her best friend, Malcolm, know the truth about. But when she fulfills a need for her friend Deja, who vanishes shortly after, Sariyah wonders if her ability is more a curse than a gift. This isn’t the first time one of her friends has landed on the missing persons list, and she’s determined not to let her become yet another forgotten Black girl.
Listen to Your Sister, Neena Viel
Speculative Horror, Thriller, Mystery
3.59 ⭐⭐⭐ Good Reads
Twenty-five-year-old Calla Williams has been struggling since becoming a guardian to her brother, Jamie. Calla is overwhelmed and tired of being the one who makes sacrifices to keep the family together. Jamie, full of good-natured sixteen-year-old recklessness, is usually off fighting for what matters to him or getting into mischief, often at the same time. Dre, their brother, promised he would help raise Jamie–but now the ink is dry on the paperwork and in classic middle-child fashion, he’s off doing his own thing. And through it all, The Nightmare never stops haunting Calla: recurring images of her brothers dying that she is powerless to stop.
Death of the Author, Nnedi Okorafor
Science Fiction, Fantasy, Adult
4.17 ⭐⭐⭐⭐ Good Reads
Life has thrown Zelu some curveballs over the years, but when she’s suddenly dropped from her university job and her latest novel is rejected, all in the middle of her sister’s wedding, her life is upended. Disabled, unemployed and from a nosy, high-achieving, judgmental family, she’s not sure what comes next.
Pure Innocent Fun: Essays, Ira Madison III
Essay, Non-Fiction, Pop Culture
3.91 ⭐⭐⭐ Good Reads
You can recall the first TV show, movie, book, or song that made you feel understood—that shaped how you live, what you love, and who you would become. It gave you an entire worldview. For Ira Madison, that book was Chuck Klosterman’s Sex, Drugs, and Cocoa Puffs, which cemented the idea that pop culture could be a rigorous subject—and that, for better or for worse, it shapes all of us.
Good Dirt, Charmaine Wilkerson
Fiction, Contemporary, Mystery
4.19 ⭐⭐⭐⭐ Good Reads
When ten-year-old Ebby Freeman heard the gunshot, time stopped. And when she saw her brother, Baz, lying on the floor surrounded by the shattered pieces of a centuries-old jar, life as Ebby knew it shattered as well.
The Summer I Ate The Rich, Maika Moulite and Maritza Moulite
July 10, 2025 (publishing)
Horror, YA, Fantasy
3.87 ⭐⭐⭐ Good Reads
Brielle Petitfour loves to cook–but with a chronically sick mother and bills to pay, becoming a chef isn’t exactly a realistic career path. When her mom suddenly loses her job, Brielle steps in and uses her culinary skills to earn some extra money. The rich families who love her cooking praise her use of unique flavors and textures, which keep everyone guessing what’s in her dishes. The secret ingredient? Human flesh. Inspired by Haitian zombie lore, The Summer I Ate the Rich scrutinizes the socioeconomic and racial inequity that is the foundation of modern times.
The Ghosts of Gwendolyn Montgomery, Clarence A. Haynes
June 17, 2025 (publishing)
Adult, Fantasy, Science Fiction
5.00 ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ Good Reads
To be a client of Gwendolyn Montgomery’s—New York’s most powerful publicist at Sublime Media—is to be infused with a certain oomph, a mysterious glamour. She seems to have created the ideal life with her handsome new boyfriend, the perfect match. But Gwendolyn has a secret: She’s a mystical practitioner who can tap into the interdimensional, metaphysical realm of the dead known as El Intermedio. Gwendolyn has hidden her powers, buried her old life, and started anew.
The Dream Hotel, Laila Lalami
March 4, 2025 (publishing)
Distopyia, Speculative Fiction, Si-Fi
4.06 ⭐⭐⭐⭐ Good Reads
Sara has just landed at LAX, returning home from a conference abroad, when agents from the Risk Assessment Administration pull her aside and inform her that she will soon commit a crime. Using data from her dreams, the RAA’s algorithm has determined that she is at imminent risk of harming the person she loves most, her husband. For his safety, she must be kept under observation for twenty-one days.
Well, friends, I’ll end today’s post here. I always include two titles from this list in my Good Reads Challenge. I had previously been approved for “The Summer I Ate The Rich,” but I also want to read “The Dream Hotel,” which comes out in March. But then I should be caught up, but who knows? Thanks so much for visiting the blog today. Don’t forget to follow or subscribe. — Peace —