Essence Fest Moderator Picks

Aphrodite and the Duke

A Novel

The DuBells: Book #1

By: J.J. McAvoy
Narrated by: Grace Gray, Drew Rodgers, Kwame Augustine & Rachael Reshma
Length: 10 hours 24 minutes

“Bridgerton lovers have found their next read. J. J. McAvoy is a welcome new voice in historical romance.”—New York Times bestselling author Sarah MacLean

“McAvoy has crafted a lushly romantic tale with a real thread of danger in its pages and a swoony second-chance romance.”—Entertainment Weekly

Aphrodite Du Bell has always resented her name.... Read more

Somebody's Wife

By: Robbi Renee
Narrated by: Wesleigh Siobhan & Jakobi Diem
Length: 9 hours 51 minutes

"Jemma had me at hello... but she was somebody’s wife.”Dr. Ezekiel Green is ready to make a fresh start in a new city afterthe divorce from his high school sweetheart. What was supposed to be aprofessional business dinner with a future colleague quickly trans‐formed into a love at "rst sight encounter... or so he thought. Dr.Jemma Holiday was... Read more

Restore Me

New Haven

By: J.L. Seegars
Narrated by: Bianca Drew & Winston James
Length: 18 hours 2 minutes

Sloane: Dominic Alexander is my late husband's best friend and the last man that I should want. For the last ten years, he's taken a sick pleasure in making me feel paper thin, like my existence is of no consequence to him at all.



But now, things are different.



After a drunken night, and a surprisingly sexy act of heroism, he's started to be . . .... Read more

Love Unsolicited

By: Alexandra Warren
Narrated by: Wesleigh Siobhan & Emmanuel Ingram
Length: 5 hours 21 minutes

"Everything in this world is for sale to the people who can afford it....” Joella Mason knows the difference between what she needs and what she wants. But when the line between the two becomes especially thin, she finds herself on a quest for something missing, not expecting that to come in the package of a sexy stranger with an even sexier... Read more

Taming a Heartbreaker & A Little Bit of Love

By: Brenda Jackson & Synithia Williams
Narrated by: Ron Butler & Adenrele Ojo
Length: 10 hours 55 minutes

Taming a Heartbreaker by New York Times bestselling author Brenda Jackson—Part of the bestselling Westmoreland Legacy series!

A steamy opposites-attract story about a playboy CEO determined never to settle down and a hopeless romantic who knows it just takes the right person to reform a rake.

He’s closed off to love. She’s set on taming his wild... Read more

Out of Office

By: A.H. Cunningham
Narrated by: Marissa Hampton & Jesus E. Martinez
Length: 7 hours 46 minutes

A.H. Cunningham dazzles in this sensual vacation romance exploring what happens when you step out of the office, take a chance on yourself—and discover your deepest desires.

Genevieve Raymond was born an overachiever. After opening a hot new hotel chain location in Panama, she’s on track for a major promotion. But first, she desperately needs a... Read more

We Are Not Like Them

A Novel

By: Christine Pride & Jo Piazza
Narrated by: Marin Ireland, Shayna Small, Kevin R. Free & Chanté McCormick
Length: 11 hours 43 minutes

A GOOD MORNING AMERICA BOOK CLUB PICK

Named a Best Book Pick of 2021 by Harper’s Bazaar and Real Simple

Named a Most Anticipated Book of Fall by People, Essence, New York Post, PopSugar, New York Newsday, Entertainment Weekly, Town & Country, Bustle, Fortune, and Book Riot

Told from alternating perspectives, this “propulsive, deeply felt... Read more

Walk Through Fire

A memoir of love, loss, and triumph

By: Sheila Johnson
Narrated by: Sheila Johnson
Length: 7 hours 42 minutes

The cofounder of BET and first African American woman billionaire shares her deeply personal, “highly readable” (Kirkus Reviews) journey through love and loss, tragedy and triumph—an inspiring story of overcoming toxic influences, discovering her true self, and at last finding happiness in her work and life.

From humble beginnings as a schoolgirl... Read more

The Lagos Wife

A Novel

By: Vanessa Walters
Narrated by: Dami Olukoya & Debra Michaels
Length: 10 hours 44 minutes

This lush and suspenseful Good Morning America Book Club pick “will have you glued to every page” (HuffPost) as it follows a woman to Nigeria to uncover what happened to her missing estranged niece…no matter the cost.

Previously published as The Nigerwife.

Nicole Oruwari has the perfect life: a handsome husband, a palatial house in the heart of... Read more

The House of Eve

By: Sadeqa Johnson
Narrated by: Ariel Blake, Nicole Lewis & Sadeqa Johnson
Length: 10 hours 37 minutes

“Amazing…I was completely surprised by the ending of this beautifully told and written book.” —Reese Witherspoon

“A triumph of historical fiction” (The Washington Post), an instant New York Times bestseller, and a Reese’s Book Club pick, set in 1950s Philadelphia and Washington, DC, that explores what it means to be a woman and a mother, and how... Read more

Temple Folk

By: Aaliyah Bilal
Narrated by: Amir Abdullah, Chanté McCormick, Soneela Nankani, Leon Nixon & Jade Wheeler
Length: 8 hours 18 minutes

Finalist for the 2023 National Book Award for Fiction

A “splendid and grand collection” (Edward P. Jones, Pulitzer Prize­–winning author of The Known World) portraying the lived experiences of Black Muslims grappling with faith, family, and freedom in America.

In Temple Folk, Black Muslims contemplate the convictions of their race, religion,... Read more

Stash

My Life in Hiding

By: Laura Cathcart Robbins
Narrated by: Laura Cathcart Robbins
Length: 9 hours 28 minutes

“An emotionally absorbing and swiftly paced multisensory experience.” —The New York Times Book Review

Named a Best Memoir of 2023 by Elle

In the vein of Somebody’s Daughter, this wild, vivid addiction memoir from the host of the podcast The Only One in the Room “will inspire, awe, entertain, educate, and help so many readers” (Christie Tate,... Read more

How to Say Babylon

A Memoir

By: Safiya Sinclair
Narrated by: Safiya Sinclair
Length: 16 hours 46 minutes

“The author's growing understanding of her childhood isolation and the world around her helped turn her pain into poetry as she broke free. After reading this memoir I am now interested in reading some of her award winning poetry. Read more

Come and Get It: A GMA Book Club Pick

By: Kiley Reid
Narrated by: Nicole Lewis
Length: 12 hours 52 minutes

“No one writes class and social hierarchy like Kiley Reid. In Come and Get It, Reid turns her eye to a college campus, digging into all the petty drama, backhanded compliments, and codeswitching. The result is an engrossing, explosive story. Read more

The List

A Novel

By: Yomi Adegoke
Narrated by: Sheila Atim & Arinzé Kene
Length: 11 hours 40 minutes

“The List is a tense and agonizing look at the power of social media. When one half of the internet sweetheart couple crowned #couplegoals, #blacklove, is put on a list of abusers, his fiancé will have to decide what to do next. Told with alternating viewpoints between Ola and Michael, this is audio book perfection. Read more

Nightbloom

By: Peace Adzo Medie
Narrated by: Jessica Sarkodie, Ekua Ekumah & Sarah Dorgbadzi
Length: 12 hours 46 minutes

“Medie’s use of multiple perspectives in telling this story of cousins Akorfa and Selasi is extraordinarily effective. We hear their stories from Akorfa’s perspective, then from Selasi’s, and finally from their combined perspectives after they have learned hidden details of each other’s life. Privileged and with a sense of entitlement, Akorfa... Read more

Heavy

An American Memoir

By: Kiese Laymon
Narrated by: Kiese Laymon
Length: 6 hours 17 minutes

“"I wanted to write a lie," Kiese Laymon says in the opening pages of his brutal, beautiful memoir, Heavy. The book is written in the second person, addressed to his mother, with whom Laymon shares a turbulent, intimate relationship. She feeds his mind with books, but critiques the way Laymon feeds his body as he struggles with his weight. She is... Read more

When I Think of You

By: Myah Ariel
Narrated by: DeWanda Wise
Length: 10 hours 47 minutes

“A beautiful cover for a beautiful book! Kaliya's attempt to break into film production is going nowhere - until her ex, Danny, walks into her office and begs her to join him on his passion project: telling the story of his parents' interracial marriage. The passion between Kaliya and Danny is still there, though, and soon they find themselves... Read more

Homegoing

A novel

By: Yaa Gyasi
Narrated by: Dominic Hoffman
Length: 13 hours 10 minutes

“AN EXCELLENT LISTEN. Read more

Acts of Forgiveness

A Novel

By: Maura Cheeks
Narrated by: Jade Wheeler
Length: 8 hours 20 minutes

“A vibrant and moving debut that takes to heart our deferred dreams and the value of remaining hopeful.”—Diane Marie Brown, author of Black Candle Women

How much of their lineage is one family willing to unearth in order to participate in the nation’s first federal reparations program?

Every American waits with bated breath to see whether or not... Read more