Let Me Introduce You to Some of My Favorite Black Authors

deeheartsbooks
5 days ago
3 min read

Since we’re still getting acquainted and all, I figured this was the perfect moment to put you on to a few of my favorite Black authors and exactly where I’d start if I were meeting them for the first time today.

Whether you’re stepping back into reading, dipping into a new genre, or simply trying to build a Blacker, richer bookshelf (as you absolutely should), consider this your personal starter guide.

Trust me, your TBR will thank you.

Romance

Tia Williams

I first met Tia Williams through The Perfect Find, a hilarious, slightly chaotic age-gap romance that had me laughing out loud and literally kicking my feet. Tia writes Black romance with humor, glamour, and the kind of beautifully flawed characters you can’t help but root for.

Where to start: Seven Days in June:

A slow-burn, second-chance love story between two people who reconnect years after a teenage heartbreak. It’s tender, grown, emotionally layered, and sprinkled with the perfect amount of spice.

If you want a romance that feels like a full sigh, this is the one.

Kennedy Ryan

Kennedy Ryan is known for the Skyland series, but the book I’d use to convert someone instantly?

Where to start: Reel

An actress finally gets her big break and falls for her director. But the film she’s shooting is centered on Desi Blue, a fictional Harlem Renaissance icon whose story unfolds alongside the present-day romance.

You get two beautifully crafted narratives in one.

What makes Kennedy special isn’t just the romance (though she writes chemistry like nobody’s business). It’s the honesty in between: chronic illness, domestic violence, aging parents, grief, healing, self-worth.

You’re almost guaranteed to feel seen in at least one of her books.

Thrillers

S.A. Cosby

If you want books that read like action movies, the good kind, S.A. Cosby is HIM. His thrillers are bold, bloody, cinematic, and somehow still emotional.

I started with Blacktop Wasteland, about a retired getaway driver pulled back for “one last job.” And in true thriller fashion, nothing goes according to plan. (Because why would it?)

Where to start: Razorblade Tears:

Two fathers, one Black, one white, go hunting for the people who murdered their sons, who happened to love each other.

Beneath the violence is a surprisingly tender story about regret, accountability, and the love they withheld until it was too late.

It’s brutal. It’s moving. It’s unforgettable.

Tiffany D. Jackson

Tiffany D. Jackson is the queen of “Excuse me… I know you didn’t just do that to me.” Her thrillers twist, shock, and stick with you long after the last page.

Where to start: The Weight of Blood

A modern, Black reimagining of Stephen King’s Carrie... but make it Southern, make it racist,

make it messy, and make sure everybody gets what they have coming.

Eerie, sharp, emotional, and filled with social commentary.

And yes… she gets her lick back.

Cause sometimes, revenge really is the happily-ever-after.

Historical Fiction

My absolute favorite genre. The category that stays on my neck emotionally, spiritually, and sometimes physically, because the way these stories grip me?

Whew......

Morgan Jerkins

Where to start: Zeal:

A breathtaking story set at the end of slavery, following two soulmates separated by systemic barriers, lack of resources, and the harsh reality of being newly freed Black people in a country that offered them freedom without protection.

Their love and their loss echo across generations until its present-day ripple hits you square in the chest.

Beautiful. Devastating. Unshakable.

Dolen Perkins-Valdez

Where to start: Take My Hand:

This novel follows a young nurse who discovers she’s being used by the government to coerce young Black girls into irreversible reproductive procedures.

Once she realizes the truth, she fights back... for justice, dignity, and the girls who trusted her. It’s gripping, compassionate, and rooted in real events that impacted Black women in America.