Love during Kwanzaa – stories of romance

Holiday of Love (M)
by Kayla Perrin

“With her career as an artist finally taking off and her social life in full swing, Collette Jenkins is happier than ever–until just weeks before the holidays when a letter that’s been lost in the mail arrives.

Still reeling from the stunning news that the only family she ever knew is not her family at all, Collette heads for the Miami home where she was raised, and comes face to face with another specter of her childhood–her first love Dexter Harris. Vowing to uncover the secrets of her past, Collette turns to the one many who offers friendship and support–and makes her heart race with hope for the future.” – publisher

Winter Nights [three stories] (M)
by Francis Ray, Shirley Hailstock, Donna Hill

“Three popular African-American romance writers–Ray, Shirley Hailstock, and Donna Hill–offer up spicy holiday fare in this short story collection. Ray’s “Until Christmas” tells the story of a handsome high-school principal whose unhappy first marriage and steadfast devotion to his twin sons have left him leery of letting another woman into his life, even after he meets vivacious and alluring Samantha Clark.

In Hailstock’s “Kwanzaa Angel,” shy Erin Scott has never lived down the shame of being abandoned at her high-school prom by Raimi Price, but when he returns a few years later for Kwanzaa celebrations with his family, love heals old wounds.

And Hill’s “‘Round Midnight” is set at a hip Washington, D. C., black radio station, where a classy psychiatrist with a successful talk show and her ambitious programming director are surprised to find themselves attracted to each other. Each of these stories presents a different view of holiday traditions, but all convey a strong sense of family and respect for African American heritage and mix in plenty of sex and romance.” – Booklist

Someone Like You (M)
Jacquelin Thomas

“An African American newspaper publishes an unflattering article on Blythe’s upscale department store, prompting her to immediately confront the paper’s publisher. She soon discovers the handsome publisher is determined to teach her the meaning of Kwanzaa. What she doesn’t expect is the other lesson about love.” – publisher