I read 179 books this year and some of those storylines were a whirlwind. Shout-out to all of the authors who got me through 2022. Check out my favorite reads of the year, these gems stood up and showed out!

Favorite Series


Preto Village by AshleyNicole

Welcome to Preto Village, a beautiful black community where everybody knows your business and has no qualms about sharing it…


Catching Flights and Catching Feelings by Ladii Nesha

Half-sisters Kendall and Renee are the modern-day versions of oil and water. From the moment they were introduced to one another, the sisters knew they didn’t have anything in common other than their father’s DNA.

Kendall is a natural-born leader; at 26 years old, she is living her best life. With no attachments or responsibilities, Kendall is as free as a bird and that’s just how she likes it.

Renee on the other hand is the complete opposite. From an early age, she craved constant reassurance and validation from those around her. Living above her means is second nature; she’ll do practically anything to stay ahead of her half-sister.

When secrets are revealed and life-changing bombs are dropped, years of jealousy and pent-up aggression send the sister’s over the edge. Dive into this messy tale that will have you wondering who is right and who is wrong.

The flight crew is back and things are messier than ever!

Just when things are starting to look up, chaos erupts, sending everyone into a frenzy. In this drama filled story, Kendall and Renee takes sibling rivalry to the next level. More secrets are revealed, friendships are tested, bonds are broken and somewhere in the middle, love makes a brief appearance. With new lives entering the world, other ones are at stake.

What do you get when you mix drama, hot sex and untreated daddy issues?

A very toxic situation.


The Shorts by Nia Forrester

*Brown Girl Book Geek Note*: Each book has its own description and not every book is connected.

From Book 1: In her life, there have only been three lovers. But Leslie doesn’t lament the meager number, she only truly mourns the second one. In her youthful arrogance, she turned him away, thinking there would be many more chances. Now, she lives two lives—one in the present, and another plagued by bittersweet memories of the past.

But maybe, even now, it might be possible to reconcile the two.


Favorite Black Romance Reads


Two Minute Warning by Alexandra Warren

There’s a lot that can happen in two minutes or less…

Kendall “Snoop” Dogwood has something to prove.

After a devastating ending to his first year with the Houston Skyhawks, getting redemption is the only thing on the veteran quarterback’s mind coming into the new season. But when a picture of him and a woman he barely knows, but wants to get to know, goes viral on social media, it doesn’t take long before Kendall finds himself on a different kind of mission going into year two.

A mission to pursue her.

As a social media influencer and the daughter of a well-known sports bettor, Shakira “Kiki” Knight is used to seeing her face tied to all sorts of internet gossip. What she’s not used to is having an actual crush on whoever she’s rumored to be involved with. But when it comes to Kendall Dogwood, Shakira just can’t seem to contain her attraction, especially once she learns the Skyhawks quarterback is equally interested in her.

Considering the messy way in which her last relationship with an NFL player ended, Kendall is probably the last man Shakira should be checking for. And after Shakira’s sports gambling ties are unveiled, the conflict of interest makes her the woman Kendall should probably be avoiding at all costs. But the instant chemistry between the two of them makes both of those things worth looking past for the sake of being together… until the stakes get higher and there’s more than just a game on the line.


Gravity by AshleyNicole

Something always brings me back to you…
Cevyn has more responsibility on her shoulders than should be legal. It’s fine because she was built for this. She’s the strong one, and she’ll carry the world on her shoulders alone if it means her sister is okay.
Cevyn and Kas have been jumping in and out of each other’s beds for years. Up to now, they’ve enjoyed a string and love-free affiliation. No matter what happens, though, they always end up back in each other’s beds.
Tragedy strikes, and she’s no longer able to bear the brunt of the world alone. Suddenly, her friend with benefits is starting to look like her knight in shining armor. Can they help each other through this dark, painful time and come out the other side as something more?


Everything and More by K. Lashaun

Moments before Rumor Finley is set to board a plane and fly across the country for her baby sister’s wedding, her quick temper lands her in a rental car with a man she loved to annoy, the groom’s cousin, West Vaughn.

West didn’t get Rumor. At all. True, he’d engaged with her in insult battles for the last five years, but the woman was still an enigma he wasn’t sure he wanted to solve. But the close proximity to her weakens his resolve and reveals feelings he thought he’d buried, causing him to look at Rumor with more than feigned annoyance.

To their surprise, during the road trips, sparks fly and feelings they’d suppressed after a night of passion years ago resurface for the sworn enemies.

Could these opposites discover that what they find in each other is everything they need and more?


Bash: Wolf Warriors M.C. by K.C. Mills

Bash & Cambri

“If you’re going to give your heart to someone, make sure they’re a rider.”
-Wolf Warriors MC


I Got You by Miss Jenesequa

“I got her and everything that comes with her. All the good, bad, and crazy, I’ll be taking. Anything she needs, consider it hers and with her in my life, I’ll forever be whole.” — Genesis Washington

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.

Being the son of a hood legend means absolutely nothing to Genesis Washington. His only priorities are taking care of the two people who have his heart – his sister and his nephew – and running the multimillion dollar company that keeps his pockets fat. Juggling love and business just never made sense to a man like him so he chose the latter. But crossing paths with Jordana Evans suddenly changes everything for him and she becomes the only woman he wants. And he isn’t the type of man who shies away from whatever he desires.

When Jordana and Genesis lay eyes on each other, they’re unable to fight off the feelings that form from their very first encounter. What starts off as a onetime thing quickly turns into an addiction neither of them can get enough of, but the pain of Jordana’s past has her determined to keep their new arrangement strictly between the sheets. Can Genesis truly be the one to ease Jordana’s heavily guarded heart or will family do more damage to Genesis and Jordana before they fully have the chance to prosper?


Bounce Back by Nicole Falls

“This thing between us is unexpected for me…”

With her professional basketball career seemingly in her rearview, Micaiah Kennedy is trying to figure out what the future holds for her. Despite working tirelessly through her adolescence and adult years, she’d never quite accomplished the one thing in life that was the highest on her bucket list – playing for the Women’s National Basketball Association. Dreams of hooping in the W dashed, she instead set her sights on playing professionally abroad, going on to excel and make a name for herself outside of the States.

Victor Covington is a full-time single father and professional athletic trainer whose only concerns are making sure his baby girl is doing well and that the players within his care remain healthy and active. The looming unknowns of the pandemic however keep both of these precariously hanging in the balance, compounding his stress.

A serendipitous call from the Nashville Nymphs and an opportunity to check the last item off her bucket list sends Micaiah off to Florida where she reconnects with Victor, a former childhood crush. All grown up and still feeling the draw of attraction from their youth, Micaiah and Victor get reacquainted with one another in the confines of the WNBA bubble. Learning how to navigate in an unprecedented environment while getting closer to one another, Micaiah and Victor embark on a journey and discover that the road to getting what you’ve always wanted isn’t always the easiest.

Set in “The Athens of the South” Nashville, Tennessee, The “Nymphs & Trojans” series is a sports romance collaboration by Nicole Falls and Alexandra Warren that follows two fictional professional basketball franchises – the Nashville Nymphs Women’s Team and the Tennessee Trojans Men’s Team.


Fraud by Ladii Nesha

Welcome to Pieces !!

The place where husbands have work wives and women are juggling more than they can handle. The place where new hires are treated like fresh meat and then tossed aside for the next batch. The place where the person standing next to you can become your lover, homie, friend or enemy. Pieces, where the faithful are tested and the line leads are king.

See what happens when work life spills into the real world and all hell breaks loose. Enter a world of nonstop drama and just when you think you have it figured out …. you don’t !


A Beautiful Surprise by Robbi Renee

Kismet or Karma?
Fate or Far-fetched?
Love or Lust?
Friend or Foe?

Jameson Davenport’s sexy swag is undeniable in Haven Pointe. The youngest son of the Davenport family dynasty, Jameson is not a man who promises any woman tomorrow. What you see is what you get. And what the ladies get from Jameson is an unforgettable night of fiery, thigh-aching passion. But what happens when his playboy behaviors are no longer fulfilling?

Giselle Dean, owner of Bonafide Beauty Boutique, is a pretty, curvaceous beauty, and wellness extraordinaire who’s more than ready to ring wedding bells with her fiancé. However, love plays unsuspecting tricks on her when she finds herself massaging more than her best friend’s injuries, causing her to reflect on what she really wants… or who.

Jameson and Giselle find themselves in unfamiliar territory. However, it’s one filled with unexpected pleasantries and revitalizing passion. What happens when best friends collide? Is it a beautiful surprise or a hideous catastrophe? Check out Jameson and Giselle and see how they tow the line of becoming lovers and friends.


Let Me Be Your Motivation by Tay Mo’Nae

How do you deal with another woman coming to YOUR wedding and confessing she’s already married to your fiancé and carrying his child?

That was Jordyn’s reality after her world was turned upside down, she’s encouraged by her best friend to still go to Cabo for a week stay to get over her heartbreak. What Jordyn wasn’t expecting was running into her high school crush.

Newly single, NFL running back Amir Hamilton is the man most women would dream to have. When he takes a vacation to Cabo to let loose before the upcoming season, he didn’t expect to meet the shy beauty in a drunken state.

What was supposed to be one night of pleasure for both quickly turns deeper and the two of them quickly learn it’s not easy to forget about the other. In this standalone join Amir and Jordyn and learn if the bond they form in Cabo is strong enough to ignore their ex’s from their past.


Feel Me In The Dark by Tucora Monique

“Worried about it, I’m putting pressure. You’ll only cut me if I let you. No, we ain’t doing this just for pleasure. Either learn me or I’m a lesson.” — H.E.R

Work.
Health.
Finessing.
That’s the hierarchy of Finley Thomas’ life. The loc-haired, stenographer was raised by a proud gold digger and against her delight, she inherited mischievous qualities from her mother. After receiving a devastating prognosis, the twenty-eight-year-old finds herself wrapped in a double-life and overly preparing for a day that may never come. Amid her downward spiral, Finley’s small circle is cracked, giving outsiders the chance to snatch her from her comfort. Mounted in the crosshairs of a fraudulent deal, Finley finds herself confronted with her secrets and forced to move her ears from her pockets to her heart or end up in the dark alone.

Business.
Family.
Business.
For five years, that’s all Preach Carbine has thought about. Knowing the weight of his last name, the meticulous man has always been strategic with his moves and as a member of a notorious street family, the arms dealer is known for meditating one minute and cutting out tongues the next. Nonetheless, with Preach knocking on thirty, he is ready to set aside family traditions and put his dreams in motion. On the flip, a tainted arrangement triggers the high-powered man to turn his scope to the people he loves and a woman he can’t seem to shake.

It’s been said that seeing is believing. What happens when one’s vision is blurred and the only thing you can trust is what you feel?


Favorite MM Romance Reads


Don’t You Dare by C.E. Ricci

It was never meant to be more than a dare.

A party game. A dare. A single kiss.

That’s all it took to flip my world upside down.

I’ve always classified myself as straight, and as far as I can tell, so has he.

I didn’t think one kiss would change that, but I was so wrong.

Now, I can’t stop thinking about him. In all the ways I shouldn’t.

My best friend.

Aspen.

His taste is branded in my memory, his touch seared in my skin.

And I want more.

This simmering attraction I feel only grows with passing time.

Which is why I start tossing out new dares.

Riskier ones that toe lines we never thought we’d cross.

I’m gambling with our friendship, knowing it could ruin us.

But there’s so much more at stake here.

Like my heart.


The Long Game by Rachel Reid

Shane and Ilya’s story, first seen in Heated Rivalry, continues in this long-awaited hockey romance from Rachel Reid.

“Everything you could want from this magnetic couple! A passionate, sexy, emotional sequel that grips your heart! Shane and Ilya forever!” —#1 NYT Bestseller Lauren Blakely, author of Hopelessly Bromantic

To the world they are rivals, but to each other they are everything.

Ten years.

That’s how long Shane Hollander and Ilya Rozanov have been seeing each other. How long they’ve been keeping their relationship a secret. From friends, from family…from the league. If Shane wants to stay at the top of his game, what he and Ilya share has to remain secret. He loves Ilya, but what if going public ruins everything?

Ilya is sick of secrets. Shane has gotten so good at hiding his feelings, sometimes Ilya questions if they even exist. The closeness, the intimacy, even the risk that would come with being open about their relationship…Ilya wants it all.

It’s time for them to decide what’s most important—hockey or love.

It’s time to make a call.


A Million Little Moments by Riley Hart

Sutton
Jasper’s been my best friend my whole life. From losing my family when I was young, to living together and running our business, it’s always been me and Jasp. I feel more for him than I should, but confessing the truth would be the first step to losing him.

Our lives are so entwined, it’s hard to tell where one of us ends and the other begins. It’s killing me more each day to be this close to him and not be able to call him mine, so when it hurts too much, the only choice is to walk away.

Jasper
My life is perfect. I have my family, my business, and my best friend. But when Sutton starts pulling away, everything changes, and it’s ripping me apart, forcing me to admit hard truths—that I feel different when he touches me; that I need him always by my side.

The thing is, I’m in love with Sutton, and apparently he feels the same. Loving Sutton is as easy as breathing, yet knowing my parents won’t accept us, not with all the backward things they raised me to believe, makes each day a struggle.

But one thing I know for sure—the world doesn’t make sense if Sutton and I aren’t together. We’ve had a million little moments to prove it. And to be the man he deserves, I have to fight for him, for us, and maybe that means fighting for myself too.

A Million Little Moments is a double bi-awakening, friends-to-lovers romance filled with first times, self-discovery, and two men destined to be together.

This book deals with themes of homophobia and contains homophobic language.


Gravity by Tal Bauer

C’est cela l’amour, et tu es mon rêve…

Bryce:

Hockey is my life. This game pulled me from my tiny Quebec hometown all the way to the NHL, and now? I’m the number one player in the league. Team capitane for the Montréal Étoiles. I’m shattering records and packing arenas every night, and I’ve promised my team: we’re going to win the Stanley Cup this year.

But I’m keeping big secrets. I’m thinking dangerous thoughts, and dreaming about impossible things. Like how a man’s lips might taste, or how his body might feel in my arms.

I can’t go there. I’ve got to focus. Team. Hockey. Cup. What my heart wants doesn’t matter.

So why am I falling head over heels at the NHL’s All-Star Weekend?

I can’t do this. I can’t fall for Hunter Lacey. He’s a hockey player. We’re both in the NHL. He’s on a different team. And, oh yeah, he’s straight.

Hunter:

I’m a middle-of-the-road, nothing-special hockey player. Good enough to be drafted into the NHL, and I’ve been on the roster for the past two years, but I’ll never make the Hall of Fame. I’m just trying to keep my head up and get through each day, until this wild ride comes to an end.

Deep thinking isn’t really my thing. Look inside myself? Lotta beer and burgers there.

I never thought I’d be invited to the All-Star Weekend, but here I am. And there’s my hero: Bryce Michel, league superstar.

Saying hello to Bryce turns into hours spent together on the ice, and then an invite to dinner, and then days at each other’s side. I’m in heaven. He’s my hero, and this is the coolest—

Then Bryce’s lips land on mine, and the world turns upside down.

Gravity is an MM romance featuring bi/gay awakening, friends to lovers, team shenanigans, fast-paced hockey, ice-melting sizzle, and swoony Québécois love songs.


You & Me by Tal Bauer

A single dads, friends-to-lovers MM Romance.

Landon Larsen is the envy of all the dads in Last Waters, Texas. He’s cool, confident, and put together. He and his son—the high school’s all-star quarterback—have the perfect father-son relationship. He’s such a Super Dad, it’s almost sickening.

I’m not cool, or confident, and my relationship with my son couldn’t be worse. He’s barely speaking to me, and a year after my wife died, we’re both clinging to the wreckage of our family.

Landon’s son and mine are best friends and—of course—Landon is the football Team Dad. And though I know nothing about football, Landon convinces me to volunteer to be closer to my son. Volunteering might give him and me a chance to rebuild what’s broken between us. Now I’m spending all my free time with the team—and with Landon—and the more we’re together, the deeper our friendship grows. My son is opening up, too, little by little. I think I’m getting him back.

There’s just one giant problem.

I’m head over heels for Landon.

I’ve never been attracted to men in my life… until him. Landon draws me in without even trying, and the harder I fight this, the deeper I fall.

Crushing on my son’s best friend’s father must be my biggest parenting failure ever, but I can’t get enough of Landon. Falling for him puts each fragile moment I’ve rebuilt with my son at risk. What would he think if he knew I craved his best friend’s dad? I’m playing with fire, but I can’t turn off these feelings Landon has unlocked inside of me.

Of course, a guy like Landon could never fall for someone like me. It’s pointless to even imagine we could be something together.

So why did I just kiss him?

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