Also known as Andrea Johnson, inmate number 194340. Shade was just released from a federal penitentiary, and headed back to St. Louis. She only has two things on her mind, getting back on top of the game. And, getting back the person who put her in that cage. There’s fire in her soul, because her ex-boyfriend Jefferson was the one who put her there since she wouldn’t tell on her best friend Mike. Shade’s loyalty to the code of the streets, and the love of her friend didn’t give her any other option, but to go to prison. Now faced with putting her life back together, and reconnecting with friends, Shade quickly sees that her best friend Tia, which happens to be Mike’s fiancée, doesn’t share the same sentiment, which was evident when Shade was locked up. And, her other two best friends Cali and Renee know that there’s an underlined envy that Tia carries around against Shade. But, when the truth comes out about why Shade went to jail, Mike’s lust for Shade begins to surface. And, Tia sees it from a mile away. While out celebrating Shade’s release, she meets a handsome Jamaican man named Kingston. He’s captivated by Shade’s beauty, but when he finds out she’s just released from jail, his intrigue and obsession begins. They exchange numbers with the possibility of hooking up later. The only interest Shade has in a man right now, is to use him for what’s in between his legs. Because, she’s on a mission, and a man would only complicate things. But what she doesn’t know is that her life is about to change forever.

    For two years, she's slept with another woman's man, wishing she was the one sitting lovely in a mansion, driving the fancy cars, and wearing the lavish clothing. Sadly, she wasn't as fortunate. Neef DeLeon is every bit of a boss. The power behind his name alone paralyzes people with fear. Everyone except for Blake, whose stomach fills with butterflies every time he's mentioned. Unfortunately, the loyalty she has to the man in her life stands in the way of her following what her heart truly desires, making it difficult for her to respond to Neef's advances. But, 'Big Neef' is a go-getter, by any means necessary. When he sees something, or someone he wants, he gets it, no matter what obstacles may stand in his way. When it comes to the plus size beauty, Blake, that obstacle ends up being another woman's man. Ramone "Mone" Brown has an image to uphold, and if you asked him, to be seen even associating with a woman like Blake was a bad look. Still, that didn't stop him from creeping up into her room while the rest of the world slept. Or while his fiancé, Chelsea, slept at least. Unbeknownst to Mone, someone else captivates the heart of his beloved side chick, Blake, and there is nothing he can do about it. He doesn't stand a chance against the smooth talking, well educated, charming, and let’s not forget, handsome Neef DeLeon. Will Blake miss out on true love, chasing a man who is obviously for everybody? Or will she finally be able to see what Neef saw in her all along? There's no doubt about it, Neef wants Blake, but how long is he willing to wait for her to see what he sees in her? Time is ticking, and he's in search of a queen. When it's all said and done, will the lucky woman be Blake?

    In fact, that was the last thing she wanted. However, a chance encounter with Jericko Cook, A.K.A. Ricko, might just change her mind. Then again, it might prove why she’s steered clear of bad boys in the first place. Between shoot outs, other women vying for his attention and a long list of deceptive characters lurking, Arianna might not be able to handle being a dope boy’s woman, or she could find out there’s a lot more thug in her than she thought. Ricko was living life and enjoying the fruits of his labor. As the man in charge, cars, money, hoes and clothes weren’t just a saying to him; it was his everyday reality. He didn’t realize that real love was the only thing he had been lacking, but it could be just what he needed. Mia had it easy. She got all the perks of a relationship except a title. Getting Ricko to commit to her was proving harder than she thought. When he pushes her to the side for what she thought was just the new flavor of the week, she realizes that Arianna isn’t going anywhere. But, Mia will stop at nothing to get what she wants, even if that means making sure no one else can have him. Sophia is Arianna’s best friend, and she is always down to ride. She’s no stranger to the street life like her friend, so when she gets the chance to get with a certified thug in Ricko’s brother, Jabari Cook, she jumps at the chance to be the Bonnie to his Clyde. Will she be prepared for the ride this young thug has in store for her, or will she have to give up? Jabari Cook is looking to get to the money, everything else is irrelevant. He is on a mission to take what he believes is rightfully his and will stop at nothing to claim his throne. Jabari will remove whoever or whatever is in the way of his money; family or not. Sophia wants to be his ride or die, but will she be used as a pawn to get him where he wants to be, or will he finally meet his match? Come take this ride through the streets of Chicago with these two brothers as they build their empire while juggling deception and love.

    That was until he laid eyes on Kenzie. From the second he saw her face he knew that she was going to be his.The only problem was that he wasn't sure if his life was something she could handle. Only time would tell, but as far as Dre was concerned, they would have to figure it out because Kenzie was already his.Gun sales and family secrets play a role in their fate but Kenzie and Dre are determined to find a way.

    They were known around the slums of Chicago as The King Brothers. Love and loyalty was the foundation they stood on top of. The King Brothers raised each other while watching their mother finesse the streets. Vice, the oldest brother only valued two things out of life, his family and his money. As he grew older he realized that there was more to life than hustling, kicking it with his trigger finger soldiers and training his pit bulls. He now desired something of substance…a woman… that could become his wife. Boosie was what you would refer to as “more than what meets the eye”. It wasn’t a secret that he loved the streets and the streets loved him back. But once his daughter is born he’s ready to wrap up the fast life for the sake of being around to see his baby girl grow older. Coming home from a five year bid Angelo only had one thing on his mind and that was money. Money ruled everything in his small world even while he was locked down. Whereas the other brothers are itching for retirement, Angelo is just getting started with rebuilding the King’s empire. Vidal, the baby of the bunch is also the troubled child. Picking up his first gun at eight years old everyone around him saw that he was headed for self-destruction…except his brothers. New-comer author, Dream is hitting the ground running with this explosive, mind-blowing page turning series that is guaranteed to grasp your attention. The King’s Brothers are a group of hustlers like no other. When the blood is no longer thick and loyalty is being tested what do they do? Their mother’s past comes back to haunt them and leaves the lives of the ones closest to them in jeopardy. Will the King brothers ever be able to look at their precious mother the same? Will Vidal take heed to his brothers advice and slow down in the fast lane? Will Angelo fall in line and stay out of trouble? Boosie’s only concern is his daughter so will he be able to balance business and being a father? Vice is who makes the decisions but with someone new in his life he’s ready to be done with the game.

    Being a plus sized woman hadn’t always been an easy task, but with the help of the one person she loves dearly, Blu has learned to love all of her. Despite the childish standards of what society has deemed to be beautiful, she has overcome her fears, conquered the world, and taken claim of success in all its glory. However, there’s still something missing in her life: love and companionship. One day, when she least expects it, cupid shoots her with his bow, and she bumps into the fine Mr. LaMir. He’s a hood dude through and through and is different from anyone she’s ever dated, but that’s what makes him special. The attraction between the two is undeniable, and Blu soon finds herself falling head over heels for him. However, there’s one problem: he has a baby mama from hell, and she’s willing to fight Blu tooth and nail to keep him! Thirty-two-year-old LaMir Wallace isn’t your typical hoodlum. When he hustles, he hustles with purpose, and that is to get out of the hood. The streets are the last place he wants to be, and he only uses them until he finds his way out. Now, LaMir is young, successful, and rich with a whole lot to offer a good woman. However, he’s stuck with the mother of his child, who doesn’t appreciate him, and feels like she’s owed the world. The only thing keeping the two together is their child, but is he willing to give up his happiness by staying in a relationship that is eating away at his soul? When Blu Stevens and LaMir Wallace cross paths, they both see and feel something in each other that they’ve never felt before. However, with LaMir knowing his situation, he desperately tries to shake those feelings for Blu, but he can’t, and Blu feels the same about him. Life isn’t always peaches and cream, and each relationship comes with their own set of problems. Will the two’s love be enough to conquer all, or will the trials and tribulations be too much to bare? You’ll see in this wonderful tale of Beautiful: The Epitome Of A BBW.

    With a mother who hated her very existence and a father who was locked away in prison for the attempted murder of her mother, she just couldn’t catch a break. With a stressful home life, Dominique's only ray of sunshine is her boyfriend, Kaleb. As teens, the duo was madly in love, with plans to marry and raise a family together. That is until Kaleb unintentionally breaks her heart. Crushed, Dominique does the only thing she can think of, and that is to leave. Kaleb realizes that he’s ruined their chances when Dominique moves away and goes off to college; leaving behind no way for him to contact her. After a few years, Kaleb eventually accepts the fact that Dominique is gone forever. By then he has his life on track and is now a very successful businessman with the world at his fingertips. A chance encounter reconnects the two ex-lovers, and Kaleb sees it as a chance to right his wrongdoings and finally be with the one who captured his heart all those years ago. There’s one problem, not only is Dominique engaged to marry another man, but she is also the mother of her fiancé's son. To make matters worse, Kaleb gets involved with a woman who loves him unconditionally. Although faced with a sticky situation, Kaleb refuses to allow Dominique to slip away again. He vows to get her back at any cost. Even if it means destroying a home that Dominique doesn't know is damaged, to begin with. Will these young lovers reconnect and have their happily ever after, or will they realize that their ships have passed? Find out how Dominique and Kaleb's story unfolds in the complete series of "This Could Be Us But You Playin'".

    They were taught to get money, not fall in love, so they left a wreckage of broken hearts on their road to getting money. Yet, now, as mature men, they realize that you’re not rich until you have something that money can’t buy. And money certainly cannot buy the women that have stolen these brothers’ hard and stubborn hearts. Taye “City” Savage and Akira White’s love story started in the projects. Ten years ago, they met when Akira was only a young girl and City was a grown man getting his hustle started. City and Akira’s bond was strong, and their fate was inevitable, so they thought. However, before their bound could be sealed, life happened. They were torn apart by unimaginable circumstances, and they never saw one another again until a decade later. Yet, by that time, both City and Akira were involved, but they weren’t so loyal to Nova and Davion that they could ignore the passion in their hearts that they still harbored for one another. The only thing that ever mattered to Keandre “Money” Savage was the hustle. He had never fallen in love, not even with his girlfriend of five years, Zoe Moore. Money and Zoe had the typical hood love that involved lots of fussing, fighting, and other women. Yet, Zoe was the only one in the relationship that was in love. Money only kept her by his side because she was the last woman standing. Along the way, he had ruined Zoe with every woman that he cheated on her with, and every lie he told. Now, Money is finally ready to shed his immature ways and settle down. Yet, Zoe finds herself in a desperate state of mind when she realizes that she is not the woman that Money has chosen to settle down with. Shamar Savages’ only love has been his love for art. When his brothers financed his baby, Savage Ink, his only focus was his tattoo shop. Yet, he soon realizes that despite not even wanting it, he was falling for his friend and frequent dip, Taraji Green. However, Taraji had the same mindset as Shamar. Her only focus was becoming the baddest hair stylist in Chicago; not love. The last thing she wanted was a committed relationship with anyone, not even one of the infamous Savage brothers. Sometimes, the last thing a person wants to do is fall in love, but love sucks them in any way. That is exactly what happens with these Savage brothers and the women that adore them. As life always has it, love ain’t that easy to obtain, especially when loving a man that was raised by the streets and whose first love is the hustle. In yet another urban tale by Jessica N. Watkins, death, sex, and chaos leads to unforeseen tragedy and unexpected love.

    Falling for an immediate member of the Konkwo Mafia Family has its privileges as well as its downfalls--for example an over controlling, power hungry father-in-law. Mazi will do any and everything to tear their union apart, even if it means spilling a little blood. Will Fiona and Greek be able to overcome the many obstacles laid before them? Or will they succumb to the forces fighting to keep them apart? Tyler was always looking for the love in the wrong places, and she found it in a smooth talking, sexy Honduran by the name of Cruz. But everything that glitters isn't gold and Cruz is holding a deep, dark secret. Can Tyler make it out alive, and will she ever find the true love she feels she deserves?

    Shanice is just a young vibrate teenage girl that is trying to focus on graduating college and making something out of herself. When she meets Money, a young rapper that captures her heart and changes the course that she is directed in, instead of only doing her she does him, but will loving him get her burned in the end? JaeCia is going through the motions being that her dad is locked up and her mother doesn’t care about her. She finds solace from her crazy world in TJ, someone who has always been there for her but will she allow her heart to open and be loved? Amora is living her days in hell, hiding secrets left and right but trying to keep a cool exterior. She just wants to be loved and focus on school but when she meets Bangga she finds herself doing things she would have never done and telling him things she never would tell even her two bffs. Will Bangga he be her diary? Or will their pages be burned?Authors Shantay, Yanni and Lola Bandz weave together a story of young love, heartbreak, truth and lies and will have you asking yourself is it worth it to really love a thug in this 1 part of a 2 book explosive love series. Come find out why Every Girl Needs a Thug.

    She's sweet as brown sugar with candied yams... Honey-coated complexion... Music camay... Let's hear it for the girl... She's from around the way... Sade is not your typical around the way California girl. Coming from a good family, in the rough part of Compton, the senseless murder of her mother at a young age leaves her family in shambles, and Sade forging a way as a woman without the gentle guidance that only a mother can provide. With her razor sharp tongue, and free spirit, Sade is trying hard to blaze her own trail, despite the wishes of her controlling father and bougie ex boyfriend. Q is the Robin Hood of Tree Top Piru. Under the hardened, heartless exterior that he puts up, is a man longing for the stable love he’s been missing from his baby mama Camari. With enemies lurking around every corner, and treacherous women always trying to claim his heart, a chance encounter on a doomed night sets him on the path to finding the sense of calm that he’s been longing for in his chaotic life. Is Q even capable of loving someone that needs to be loved? Or has his heart been entirely shut off from love because of the ways of the women in his past? Will shared experiences create unbreakable bonds between Q and Sade? Or will secrets, lies, and jealousy rip them apart before their love affair even begins? Get into the story of Q and Sade, two star crossed lovers from Compton. Romeo and Juliet ain’t got nothing on this real hood love story!

    

    Instead of going away to college or turning up every weekend, she spent her days behind the counter at McDonalds. With a mother fighting Lupus and bills that had to be paid, Azuri put her life on hold to be whatever her mother needed her to be. A night working the late shift changed her life. It was the day she met Kashmir “Gotti” Banks. Gotti is an arrogant, smart mouthed boss from Harlem and used to getting everything he wanted, that is until he met Azuri. Love ‘em and leave ‘em had been his way of life for the past twenty five years. Chasing women was never his style and being caught, had never been Azuri’s style. The chemistry between the two was far more than either of them could ever imagine. Not sure if Gotti is good for her, Azuri built a wall up that he was determined to tear down. A day at the Rucker started a whirlwind romance between the two, but will they have a happily ever after? Lies, drama, murder, sex and deceit threaten to destroy the union the two have built. Will their love stand the test of time? Or will too many lines being crossed, tear the two apart? Find out in this juicy tale, unlike anything you’ve ever read...

    After surviving traumatizing events in their past Tino and Falen have finally taken a legitimate stab at being together. Their relationship is explosive, yet endearing. The two have genuinely found solace in one another, but all good things must come to an end. There are several people who hate that Tino and Falen have united, and will stop at nothing to end their relationship. Will Tino and Falen’s love be strong enough to survive the viciousness of the haters, and will they fold under pressure? Toya is still in the game, hustling better than most men. Her bank account is stacked, while she feels a deep sense of emptiness in her love life. In a world dominated by the opposite sex, she seems to intimidate most. She begins to believe that love just isn’t for her. Then enters Tino’s cousin, Keesy. In true Wiltz’s fashion, he’s arrogant, flashy, and fly. A true reflection of Toya. The two are so much alike that it’s an immediate clash. Still, the chemistry is off the Richter scale, but there’s one problem…Keesy’s girlfriend Skyy. Will Toya finally find love? Or will she find herself in a tangled web of lies and deception? With all the uncertainties in the atmosphere, there’s still one thing for sure. Toya and Falen both carry hustlers’ spirits, and they most definitely gotta get it.