From breezy beach days to cozy autumn nights, it’s always the right season for book lovers.
Since the start of summer 2025, thrilling new titles by Black authors have been heating up shelves nationwide — and they’re just as perfect for late-summer escapes as they are for easing into fall. Whether you’re looking for page-turning romances, bold nonfiction debuts, or thought-provoking anthologies, these books will keep your reading list stacked well beyond Labor Day. MadameNoire rounded up 10 of the hottest new releases to take you from sun-soaked afternoons to crisp fall evenings.
Rob Franklin’s debut novel Great Black Hopefollows Smith, a young Black queer man raised in a bourgeois family in Atlanta. Returning to his hometown, Smith is looking to escape his grief after the death of his roommate. Back in Atlanta, Smith faces pressure from the expectations of his affluent family. When he returns to New York, he finds himself drawn to the city’s underworld.
2. All The Men I’ve Loved Again by Christine Pride
All The Men I’ve Loved Again centers a woman named Cora Belle. Cora finds herself in love with the same two men she encountered in her early 20s. Now, 20 years later in her 40s, how will she navigate love this time around? The contemporary romancemarks Christine Pride’s solo debut novel. Pride is known for co-writing the widely popular 2021 novel We Are Not Like Them along with Jo Piazza.
3. The Best Man: Unfinished Business by Malcolm D. Lee
The beloved Black classic The Best Man, which generated two films and a television series is now a novel. There’s more to the story with The Best Man: Unfinished Business co-authored by Malcolm D. Lee and Jayne Allen. The newly released book series picks up from where the 2022 Peacock series, The Best Man: The Final Chapters, left off.
4. God Chose Me by Charles Henry Metcalf III
Have you ever questioned your life’s purpose? With themes about self-improvement, religion and inspiration, God Chose Me is a life-shaping book. Pastor Charles Metcalf of Transformation Church shares powerful insights and relatable stories to help readers maximize their confidence and potential.
5. That’s How They Get You: An Unruly Anthology of Black American Humor by Damon Young
A handful of Black America’s top literary talent join forces in That’s How They Get You: An Unruly Anthology of Black American Humor. This anthology of essays, stories, letters and rants explore how joy and trauma have structured the history of Black humor. The collection features new work from Hanif Abdurraqib, Mahogany L. Browne, Wyatt Cenac, Kiese Laymon, Deesha Philyaw, Roy Wood Jr., Nicola Yoon and Panama Jackson. That’s How They Get You is edited by Damon Young.
6. Florida Water by Aja Monet
An ode to the power of poetry, Florida Water is an intimate collection inspired by the cleansing water of spiritual baths. Aja Monet reflects on her migration to South Florida in search of love, connection, and belonging. Each poem is described as an artifact that reveals raw truths.
7. Make Your Way Home by Carrie R. Moore
Carrie R. Moore is an extraordinary new talent in American fiction. A debut collection of stories, Make Your Way Home revolves around Black men and women who struggle to find love and belonging. Set across the American South in 11 stories, Carrie R. Moore’s anthology invites readers to examine how the past shapes our present.
8. The Great Misfortune of Stella Sedgwick by S. Isabelle
Bridgerton meets The Davenports in The Great Misfortune of Stella Sedgwick. The YA historical romance is about a young Black woman in 1860s England who aspires to be a writer, rather than focus on love and marriage. But an unexpected inheritance forces her to navigate the societal expectations for women during that time period.
9. No Sense in Wishing: Essays by Lawrence Burney
Music journalist Lawrence Burney’s debut collection of essays, No Sense in Wishing combines cultural analysis and self-examination. Burney’s essays take readers on a journey from his hometown of Baltimore to New York City, to Lagos. He explores race, identity, art and culture with an emphasis on Maryland’s Black history.
10. This is Not a Ghost Story by Amerie
This is Not a Ghost Story is the satirical adult debut of Grammy-nominated singer-songwriter Amerie. The novel tells the story of a Black man who walks into a bright light and arrives in Los Angeles. He then becomes a celebrity for being the first visible ghost.
