He has a father he looks up to and an older brother who keeps him under his wing--until the day his father crosses a line that changes everything. Tone is forced to enter a world he knew nothing about. Detective Abraham is obsessed with power and money, so he has figured out a way to play on both sides of the tracks when it comes to organized crime. The only thing stopping him from making it to the top spot is Santiago, one of the most feared suppliers in the country. Santiago's only weakness is his daughter, Serena. Detective Abraham develops a plan that involves his son, Tone, getting close to Serena.Against his better judgment, Tone goes along with his father's plan and sets out to win Serena over with his charm. What he hasn't planned on is Serena turning the tables and stealing his heart. Now Tone is faced with choices that leave him questioning his loyalty to his family.

    Can this exotic dancer turn a customer into the love of her life?

    Fueled by her crooked grandfather s blood and her gold-digging grandmother s teachings, Kyla mastered the arts of manipulation and seduction at an early age. While other girls were learning simple addition and subtraction, Kyla was being trained to divide men from boys in hopes of multiplying her funds. As she propels through adolescence and into her teenaged years, Kyla s heartbreaking beauty and notorious sex appeal become her trademarks. The more attention she receives, the more she craves; and she seizes every opportunity to increase her status in her urban St. Louis community. Kyla truly believes that the world and everything in it is at her disposal. That is, until she meets Shard Phaylon, a suave and powerful young kingpin in the illegal drug trade. From the beginning, the mysterious Shard presents an alluring challenge that spoiled Kyla has never before had to face. In an effort to live up to her family name, she blindly and tirelessly pursues him and his many assets. Kyla s misguided affection quickly blossoms into complete devotion; and she soon finds herself acting as a witness and eventually, an accomplice in Shard s immoral and dangerous schemes. Her newfound love for him begins to eclipse her lifelong love for the Brown family, and she becomes completely torn between the two. Just when Kyla believes that she has her life all mapped out, though, she suddenly begins to unearth bizarre and unsettling clues about Shard s past and present. It is only after Shard commits the ultimate act of betrayal that Kyla discovers the disturbing truth about him and learns an even more disturbing truth about herself.

    . . where money rulesUptown . . . where ambition trumps traditionUptown . . . where politics come before everythingUptown . . . where a family’s secrets will bring them together—or downAfter twenty years away, Avery Lyons returns to New York when her mother and uncle suffer a serious car accident. The tragedy brings the family together, but Avery is not happy about the impromptu reunion. She no longer recognizes the Harlem of her childhood, but the same old family dynamics and secrets are all too familiar . . . Heir to a real estate empire, Dwight is willing to do anything to realize his aging and demanding father’s dream: Dixon Plaza, a luxury high-rise development on Central Park North that will change the face of Harlem forever. There’s only one thing in his way: his cousin Avery has inherited a share of the property. She’s more than willing to sell until a reporter uncovers the truth behind the rumored shady dealings . . . In Uptown a prominent Harlem family is strained to the breaking point by the high-stakes world of the Manhattan real estate industry, and one woman searches for her identity and the will to forgive. Steamy, provocative, and sexy, Uptown is a turbulent and triumphant read.

    Black drew hard, squinting as the smoke rushed into his lungs."Where do you want to start?"the lawyer said, lighting a cigarette of his own."I guess there’s only one place to start; at Broad and Erie."Johnny Podres, a politician whose record against corruption had been propelling him straight to the mayor’s office, is found murdered in a North Philly crack house.Enter Samuel Jackson, a.k.a. Black, a drug addict who knows better, a man embittered by the fact that he can’t seem to escape from his addiction to crack cocaine or, for that matter, from himself. Though he was once a family man with a wife and son, Black’s only concern these days is getting his next high, that is, until he stumbles across a friend and fellow addict, Leroy, and both become prime suspects in the Podres murder. Black and Leroy hook up with two female pipers: Clarisse, a registered nurse who is slowly losing to crack any semblance of a respectable life, and Pookie, who already has lost it. Soon the hunt is on for all four as they try to stay one step ahead of a police department under tremendous pressure to solve the case—because if a killer isn’t found soon, this could blow up into one of the biggest scandals in Philadelphia history. Solomon Jones weaves a suspenseful story against the backdrop of corruption in the Philadelphia police department and centers it on a group of drug addicts who, in the process of fleeing the law, come to terms with their own addiction, leading to some devastating consequences.

    . .Fashion photographer Jada Diamond Tanner may have her pick of fine men, but no one has captured her heart like gorgeous financial advisor Wellington Jones. From their first embrace, Jada knows he is the soulmate she has waited for. But while the love she shares with Wellington is exhilarating, Jada faces challenges she never imagined--from a beautiful rival, hungry for love, and from Wellington's overbearing socialite mother, who believes Jada will never fit into her circle. Forced to make difficult choices, Jada learns painful lessons about trust and commitment. . .and discovers the courage to celebrate each day, with or without the man she loves.

    No matter how hard he works at his job at UPS, it is never enough to take care of himself and his long-term girlfriend. After continuous pressure from his older cousin, Ching, Omari finally traded in busting his ass for working under Ching hustling three major blocks on the Westside. All is good as Omari juggles work and the drug game. That is, until Ching involves him in the murder of, who ends up being, the Governor’s nephew. As he dodges homicide detectives, Omari is also trying to dodge getting caught between two loves. He’s been committed to Aeysha for seven years, but is falling each day for Simone, an older more established woman who is at his every beck and call. After years of playing the side chick, Simone finally finds love that she thinks is all her own. Just as she settles into loving Omari, she finds out about Aeysha and her desperate mind begins to plot on how to finally win her man. Simone’s best friend, Tammy, thinks Simone is crazy as she herself is running from an obsessed ex-boyfriend who is persistent in trying to kill her. Tammy lives in hiding for months as she asks herself this burning question; how can a man love a woman with the same hands that he is willing to kill her with?As the murder investigation leads to arrests, the walls come down on these lovers. Murder, sex, and indictments lead to unforeseen tragedy and unexpected love.

    Based on a General Hospital storyline, this book lets you experience a young woman's coming of age through her own heartfelt story of love, romance and family ties in the turbulent 1990s.

    And once again she's got an itch only another man can scratch—specifically, her married boss. But when her scandalous ways catch up with her, she flees to the home of her best friend in St. Louis, Nikki Truth. Only Nikki is having marital problems of her own...Nikki's husband, Donovan, has no idea what she was up to while he was out of the country. As Nikki does her best to reconnect with him, she must also deal with disturbing calls from a man with whom she had a brief affair. And when Donovan finds out, he sets on a path of destruction that may put Nikki and their son in danger. Can Nikki and Trinette band together to save their children, their marriages—and their futures?

    His former identity as a successful investment banker and eligible bachelor has disappeared. A beleaguered graduate student, she's got no money, no man, and no Ph.D., yet. A year of predoctoral research in Haiti leaves Noire drained. And a trip home to Côte d'Ivoire offers Innocent little more than intermittent sexual gratification. In the aftermath of 9/11, Innocent and Noire are back in New York City and find solace in each other's bed. But even that arrangement collapses under the weight of Innocent's revelation that he has unfinished business in Africa. For Innocent and Noire, patching together their unraveling lives becomes an exercise in hope and humility. With Hunger, Turnipseed lives up to the promise of A Love Noire and has matured into a writer who fearlessly explores the intersection of sex, love, identity, and loss in a cross-cultural context.

    Now that Lauren is seventeen herself, Tracey is pleased to see that her daughter has taken her advice to heart: Lauren wants to wait instead of having sex with Aaron, a college student and her first real boyfriend. But Lauren’s decision causes a chain reaction that no one could have anticipated. In a few chance encounters, sparks fly between thirtysomething Tracey and twentysomething Aaron. Coming off yet another disappointing relationship with a cheating bachelor her own age, Tracey is surprised to find that her daughter’s boyfriend is mature and understanding beyond his years, and Aaron discovers that his girlfriend’s mom is smart, womanly, and, well, very sexy. Eventually, what begins as a harmless flirtation turns into something much, much hotter. And that’s when things really get complicated . . .Told in the alternating voices of the three lovers, My Daughter’s Boyfriend is the spicy tale of an impossibly tricky love triangle, full of sharp, lively observations about mothers and daughters, black men and women, and the truth about love and lust. Audacious and compelling, it’s the book everyone will be talking about.

    Reprint. 25,000 first printing.

    Jolene is half of P.G. County’s number-two couple–and she desperately wants what she doesn’t have: namely Barbara’s husband. Pearl owns a hair salon and lives on the outskirts of the posh community with her son, Kenyatta. She’s not only juggling a growing business and a bad divorce, but now she’s has to cope with Kenyatta’s less-than-ideal girlfriend. Candice is white and liberal, but her daughter’s new beau tests her beliefs–and opens a can of worms she never knew existed. Lee is a runaway teen, a girl whose only connection to her father is an old photo and the belief that he’s well-off and waiting for her in . . . P.G. COUNTYFrom the Trade Paperback edition.

    They're the talk of D.C. for their daring robberies and fly gear. And their latest caper is penned by Ashley Antoinette (of Ashley & JaQuavis) at her sultry, streetwise best.When the innocent, na�ve Gucci recognizes ringleader Sunny Raegan during a holdup, that's her in with the Bandits. Knowing she's got a lot more beauty than brains, Gucci sees the gang as her meal ticket. More likely, they'll be her ticket to the morgue!The Bandits may be lawless, but they play by a few simple rules: Get in and get out. . .shoot first and ask questions later. . .never leave without the money. . .and innocent people don't get hurt. But it's only a matter of time before all these rules get broken--and that's when Gucci gets caught!If there's one thing a girl needs, it's a little help from her friends. But her friends have skipped town without giving her a second thought. And Sunny is distracted by her new baby and her violent ex-lover. So Gucci's on her own. She's on trial for her life, and she must decide whether to snitch on the girls--or take the fall all by herself. Whichever she chooses, it may be her death sentence.

    Misty's work life is thriving & she has found Mr. Right at last. Although Reesy's trying to be happy for her friend, she is troubled by this intrusion into the one friendship that has always come first for both women. Nonetheless, Reesy's dreams of a dance career have become reality & she is also seeing a man who might be a keeper. Unfortunately, her self-destructive tendencies threaten to destroy her, until true love & friendship save the day.