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Diary of a Groupie by Omar Tyree


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Between Lovers


Eric Jerome Dickey - 2001
    His latest book is no exception. Set in the San Francisco Bay area, Between Lovers brings together three irresistible characters. The novel's narrator a Los Angeles-based writer is still reeling from being dumped by Nicole after seven good years followed by an aborted trip to the altar. Nicole grew up during their time together, and changed—she became a successful career woman, moved north to Oakland, and fell in love with another woman. But she's still not satisfied. She likes what she has, but misses what she had, and wants to find out if she can have it all. She's playing with fire, not to mention the feelings of the two people who love her most in the world, but Nicole lures her former fiancé back into her new life, opening the floodgates of anger, passion, pain...and refreshing honesty. How these three fascinating people handle this unusual and complex love triangle makes for one of Dickey's most provocative and unforgettable novels.

Platinum


Aliya S. King - 2010
    Alex has been interviewing celebrities and hangers-on long enough to know all that glitters isn’t gold, so she’s determined to get the real scoop. Still, it’s not going to be easy to get past the wives’ gilded cages... Beth Saddlebrook, wife of aging rapper Z. They have three beautiful boys and a seemingly endless supply of cash. But Beth spends her days trying to keep Z off drugs and fielding calls from women hollering she’s just a “small-town white bitch” and claiming to be carrying Z’s baby. Only one person understands what she’s going through... Kipenzi Hill, multiplatinum-selling R&B artist and Beth’s best friend. Her relationship with rap star and record label president Jake is an open secret in the industry. She knows Jake loves her, but he’d rather break up than publicly acknowledge it. Now she has learned that the newest (and much younger) R&B sensation Bunny has been signed to Jake’s label. Josephine Bennett, wife to Jamaican singer and Überproducer Ras Bennett. Josephine doesn’t just want to spend her husband’s money, she wants to contribute. Her fashion company is finally starting to get media attention when her husband admits to something she’s suspected all along — he’s fallen in love with another woman. Cleopatra Wright, every man’s dream girl, a video vixen with a story to tell and scores to settle. Cleo’s got that thing no one can put a finger on and no man (or woman) can resist. Some would call her evil or misguided or both, but Cleo always moves with a purpose and she’ll stop at nothing to get what she wants...Alex realizes she may have more in common with these women than she’d like. What if this is a glimpse of how her life will be if Birdie finally gets signed to a major label? Stuck between her loyalty to this newfound sisterhood and her obligation to write the truth, Alex is forced to rethink everything she knows about work, friendship, and love.

The Heat Seekers


Zane - 2002
    They're sisters of the soul, two girlfriends hitting the clubs in search of that oh-so-rare commodity: single guys. Tempest sports a modest suit, while Janessa runs wild in a skintight minidress—but they both want the same thing: the heat, the passion, the spark to ignite the sensual fires inside. It takes time and patience to find such a special lover. But somewhere among the losers they know there's a match for each of them. The last thing Geren wants is a relationship—most women can't see past his money and his good looks. But when Dvontè—Geren’s best friend and total womanizer—talks Geren into going clubbing, fate leads them to Tempest and Janessa. Attractions flare, connections are made, lives are changed, and secrets come to light. Together, they are the heat seekers, four daring hearts willing to play with fire—and take the risk of getting burned.

Chocolate Star


Sheila Copeland - 1997
    Then the way to fame was leading him toward a mistake that could send him straight to hell...She never looked back.Lies, drugs, too many men-- golden skinned singer Topaz Black would do anything to get a hit to the top of the charts, even walk away from her friends and family. But surrounded by greed and lust, the love the longed for seemed to be slipping away forever.He broke all the rules.Brought up in South Central L.A., movie producer Gunther Lawrence learned early how to get the wealth and women he wanted-- and to turn his back on his roots. Now, blinded by Hollywood's glitter, his illusions may shatter when he discovers who really controls his career.As their lives touch, ignite, and explode, three talented African-Americans pursue fame at any cost...and the price may be their happiness...or their lives..An alternate selection of the Literary Guild and Doubleday Book Club

Bad Girlz


Shannon Holmes - 2003
    The setting this time is the Badlands, one of the toughest and poorest communities in Philadelphia.Bad Girlz takes you into the mysterious and often dangerous lives of young women who turn to the streets and strip clubs as a means of survival. These are girls who, along the way, suffer bad breaks and find themselves ripe for exploitation by men and women who pretend to be their saviors.Tender and Goldie were taken under wing by Kat, a veteran stripper, who enjoyed the life and the risks she had to take to stay in the mix of the sex trade. Both of these young and beautiful girls had ended up in dire straits and in need of Kat's help in different ways, but ultimately for the same reasons: They lacked the love and support that most of us expect to get at home and in our communities. Where they live, illegal money is often the only money to be made, and the difference between the law and the outlaw is tough to discern.Holmes tells a page-turning story of sex, money, and murder in the name of survival and reveals the many ways that good girls, trying to get by in desperate situations, become Bad Girlz.

The Coldest Winter Ever


Sister Souljah - 1999
    Ghetto-born, Winter is the young, wealthy daughter of a prominent Brooklyn drug-dealing family. Quick-witted, sexy, and business-minded, she knows and loves the streets like the curves of her own body. But when a cold Winter wind blows her life in a direction she doesn't want to go, her street smarts and seductive skills are put to the test of a lifetime. Unwilling to lose, this ghetto girl will do anything to stay on top. Featuring a Special Collector’s Edition Reader’s Guide—including an author Q&A, detailed character analyses, and the author’s own remarks about the meaning of her story.

Love Frustration


R.M. Johnson - 2002
    Thankfully, in less than a week he will marry Faith Sheppard, the love of his life. But there is one issue -- Jayson's best friend, Asha Mills. Not only is she gorgeous, but Asha and Jayson also used to be lovers. Concerned about Asha's intentions, Faith delivers an ultimatum, forcing Jayson to make the toughest decision of his life: Either Asha goes, or Faith will. Jayson cannot bring himself to end the friendship. When he lies to Faith and tells her Asha is out of the picture, he never expects Faith to learn his secret, but when she does, she decides to get even. Jayson, still believing that things are as they should be, plans to meet Faith at a hotel room for her surprise party. Instead, it is Jayson who receives a horrible shock. He soon learns that not just Faith has been harboring secrets; Asha turns out to be a very different woman from the one he fell in love with years ago. Sexy and real, Love Frustration candidly confronts what happens when people have what they don't want and love what they can't have.

In Sheep's Clothing


Mary Monroe - 2005
    Facing a future of cooking, cleaning and unsatisfying sex, Trudy decides to make some changes while she still can.

God's Gift to Women


Michael Baisden - 2002
    An even better listener. And handsome as heaven on earth. He is God's Gift to Women. Julian Payne gets into bed with millions of women every night. As an after-hours radio talk-show host, Julian captivates his female audience with his deep voice and sensitive spirit. Women can't get enough: They call in, begging for his advice about love, lust, commitment, and betrayal. Julian provides his listeners with the blunt male perspective, and he always has the right thing to say. But when it comes to his own romantic life, or lack thereof, he's at a loss for words. A widower and father to ten-year-old Samantha, Julian wants nothing more than to settle down again with the right woman. Just when he thinks he's found her in Dr. Terri Ross -- smart, stunning, and with her own counseling practice -- Julian is confronted by a ghost from the past: Olivia Brown, a woman with whom he had a one-night stand. Suddenly Julian finds himself in a situation with a woman who's determined to win him over...or make his life a living hell. Michael Baisden's hottest offering yet, God's Gift to Women is a compelling tale about the consequences of sex with a stranger.

Satin Doll


Karen E. Quinones Miller - 1999
    This Blackboard bestseller about making it on your own--despite the mistakes of your past--will appeal to fans of Terry McMillan and Lolita Files.

A Family Affair


Marcus Major - 2003
    The members of the Moore clan come together to celebrate the recent marriage of Myles and Marisa, but a dark secret from the past threatens to tear the family apart.

We Take This Man


Candice Dow - 2008
    They are both excited when Dwight is offered a promotion at work, but the downside is that the job is located in Maryland. After much discussion, Tracey decides that she does not want to leave their new house. Dwight makes the decision to accept the position and return home on weekends. Alicia Dixon has spent her life hating and not trusting men after her father mistreated her mother, but she can't help but fall for the new guy in her company... Dwight. They both try to fight their attraction to one another, but it proves to be a losing battle-Alicia is everything that his southern wife is not. When Alicia ends up pregnant, Dwight decides to end things with Tracey, but the process proves not to be as easy as Dwight had hoped.

Disappearing Acts


Terry McMillan - 1989
    She was pretty and independent, petite and not too skinny, just his type. Franklin Swift was a sometimes-employed construction worker, and a not-quite-divorced daddy of two. Zora Banks was a teacher, singer, songwriter. They met in a Brooklyn brownstone, and there could be no walking away... In this funny, gritty urban love story, Franklin and Zora join the ranks of fiction's most compelling couples, as they move from Scrabble to sex, from layoffs to the limits of faith and trust. Disappearing Acts is about the mystery of desire and the burdens of the past. It's about respect, what it can and can't survive. And it's about the safe and secret places that only love can find. --

Divas, Inc.


Donna Hill - 2004
    They've also been Margaret Drew's best friends since they were children. Margaret has always been the plain Jane of the threesome, living vicariously through the exploits of her friends. But when Tiffany and Chantal head to Europe on an extended vacation, leaving Margaret to tend their apartments, Margaret decides to see how the other half lives. Co-opting their apartments, their boyfriends (current and past), their fabulous lifestyles and Tiffany's very savvy pooch, Virginia, Margaret finally feels like she has found the life she has always wanted and deserved. But her double living begins to catch up with her and Margaret might soon be homeless, manless, and friendless all in one swoop.

I Say a Little Prayer


E. Lynn Harris - 2003
    Lynn Harris is back with another sexy, shocking, and immensely satisfying novel that explores some of today’s toughest and most timely issues.Chauncey Greer is the owner of Cute Boy Card Company, a thriving company in Atlanta. As a teenager, he was a member of a popular boy band, but left in disgrace when word got out that he and his bandmate D were more than good friends. Chauncey is a free spirit, on the brink of forty with a body admired by both men and women. Not into being categorized, Chauncey’s been known to hook up with men and women, but now in the age of the “down low,” he’s found that women ask too many questions, so he’s just focusing on the fellas.After one too many bad dates, Chauncey finds himself in church, where the minister’s message inspires him to follow his dream of a singing career once again. Although he’s lost touch with D, as he starts writing songs his thoughts inevitably turn to his former lover. Chauncey’s powerful performance at the church earns him a standing ovation and an invitation to participate in an upcoming revival. But Chauncey soon discovers that an ambitious fundamentalist preacher plans to use the revival to speak out against gays and gay marriage. Feeling angry and betrayed, Chauncey and other gay members of the church decide to take a stand against the church’s homophobia by staging a “Day of Absence” when all of the gay members and their friends and family stay home. Everything is going as planned... until D appears on the scene and Chauncey has to confront his past and make some hard decisions about his future.I Say A Little Prayer is filled with the delicious plot twists, humor, compassion, and up-to-the-minute controversy fans expect from their beloved “E. Lynn.” Harris has returned with another gem of a novel that will rocket to the top of bestseller lists nationwide.