Book picks similar to
The Honey Well by Gloria Mallette


aa-fiction
african-american-fiction
gloria-mallette
hardcover

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.

Married but Still Looking


Travis Hunter - 2002
    He’s a good-looking, smooth-talking former pro-basketball player, but he has a problem: He has never been satisfied with just one woman. Then he meets Terri and everything changes. Sort of.Genesis knows that Terri is perfect for him, and they become engaged. But Genesis just can’t seem to stop cheating on Terri nearly every chance he gets. Genesis’s best friend, Prodigy, constantly warns him that he’s going to mess up the best thing ever to happen to him, but Genesis is not ready to listen.After dealing with a family crisis, Genesis realizes the importance of his relationship with Terri, and he begins to change his cheating ways. He knows that once he says, “I do,” everything will fall into place. But it may be too late, because one of his past indiscretions comes back to haunt him, and Terri has a few surprises of her own for Genesis.

The Harris Family


R.M. Johnson - 2001
    Five years ago, after learning he had cancer, Julius tried to make peace with his three sons. It didn't take. Now, the disease has gone into remission. Overjoyed, Julius is grateful for this miracle, and the time it affords him to make up for his past mistakes. It won't be easy. In Chicago, life isn't exactly simple for his three grown sons. The oldest, Austin, a successful attorney, struggles to be a good father to his children despite his ex-wife's attempts to turn them against him. Marcus, the middle son, wrestles with a fear of commitment that drives away the woman he loves. And young Caleb, just released from prison, fights to rebuild his life and win back his wife and child. The three Harris brothers have a hard enough time being there for each other—let alone a father they haven't seen in years. Nor are they sure they even want him in their lives. Filled with intrigue, romance, and shocking twists, The Harris Family is a deliciously gripping novel of contemporary black relationships and, ultimately, a moving testament to the power of family, love, and forgiveness.

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.

No More Drama


La Jill Hunt - 2004
    Original. 20,000 first printing.

And on the Eighth Day She Rested


J.D. Mason - 2001
    Then into her life come three unforgettable women who turn her world upside down. Feisty, outspoken Bernice, a.k.a. "Bernie," has been there and done that when it comes to love and marriage. Her ex-husband is settled down with his much younger wife and her kids are grown, and Bernie is looking to enjoy her fellow man--in more ways than one--no strings attached...or so she thinks. Sweet Southern belle May has it all: a beautiful home, two wonderful children, and a fine husband who worships the ground she walks on, yet a shadow hangs over what should be her equally perfect life, threatening to shake up her happy home. The older, wiser Clara is their guiding force, and when disaster strikes, all three women rally around her, determined to see her through it. Life is just getting interesting, and if they hold on to each other, they just might make it.J.D. Mason's And on the Eighth Day She Rested is an empowering story of the tough times we all face and the friends who help us through.

Always True to You in My Fashion


Valerie Wilson Wesley - 2002
    Randall is rich, handsome, and charming -- the true-to-life dream lover of these smart, independent women who all find themselves passionately involved with him during the same seven-month period.There's Medora Jackson, an artist who has loved Randall since college and is now desperately trying to cut him loose. But turning Randall Hollis out of her life will end up being far more difficult than she thinks. There's Ana Reese-Mitchell, a wealthy widow and art collector who is haunted by the death of her best friend and the specter of her cruel late husband. She hopes Randall Hollis will be her second chance at love. And there's ambitious Taylor Benedict, a graduate student in art history who is coming to terms with her parents' divorce and problems from her childhood that she can't chase away. She's sure that Randall Hollis will be the first rung on her ladder to success.Randall Hollis is a man for all seasons, representing a different fantasy for each of the women who love him. As the novel unfolds, each woman will discover more about herself than she bargained for. And each, along with the errant Randall himself, will finally know the true meaning of love and the peace that comes with forgiveness.

Chocolate Sangria


Tracy Price-Thompson - 2003
    Although she has a very light complexion, she is proud of her blackness, even as she takes a beating from the very sistahs she tries so hard to emulate. Her only friend, Scooter Morrison, is an upwardly mobile brother who also happens to be young, gifted, and gay. Then a chance encounter with two fine Puerto Rican men changes Juanita’s and Scooter’s lives in ways they could never have imagined. There is Conan, a hardworking man who wrestles with both his love for Juanita and his guilt over his brother’s death; and Jorge, an unscrupulous bad-boy thug who has no problem using what he’s got to get what he wants, until he comes dangerously close to getting scorched by his own flames.Fast-paced, suspenseful, and unpredictable, Chocolate Sangria explores the hearts of two lovers who get caught in the great cultural divide—and the devastating consequences of keeping secrets, telling lies, and betraying those you love.

All I Want is Everything


Daaimah S. Poole - 2007
    Poole took readers on a wild, sexy ride with her novel Ex-Girl to the Next Girl. Now in All I Want is Everything we meet a young woman with a hot voice and superstar dreams... Talented Kendra Michelle Thomas always dreamed of becoming a singing sensation. At high school talent shows, she moved people to tears. Everyone thought she'd be the next Mariah Carey. But between Kendra's father abandoning her mother, her mother's alcoholism, and a tragedy that lands Kendra and her siblings in foster care, there's not much opportunity for making dreams come true. Before Kendra knows it, she's twenty-five-years-old, working as a bartender, and trapped in a relationship of convenience. She knows something's gotta give... Determined to break into the industry, Kendra takes her small savings and makes a demo. Her gift and personality soon get her a manager, a series of gigs, and finally a recording contract- plus a check fat enough to move her family into a house, and then some. But when a turn of events lands her right back where she started from, she'll have to make a choice: sink back into obscurity- or discover what she's really made of...

Tastes Like Chicken


Lolita Files - 2004
     What's a girl to do when she finds out her man's been feeding her lies? When readers last saw the girlfriends, Misty had just married her dream man, Rick Hodges, and was off on a fabulous honeymoon. A pregnant and newly engaged Reesy was riding off into the sunset with her fiancé -- reformed ladies' man Dandre Hilliard. But it isn't long before everyone starts misbehaving, and in Tastes Like Chicken, they get what's coming to them. With steamy thrills and disastrous infidelities, Tastes Like Chicken is a tale of two women who find themselves poised at life's crossroads with everything to lose but their friendship. Filled with the humor and personal drama that made her first books national bestsellers, Lolita Files's latest takes the sistahs -- and readers -- on their wildest ride yet.

We'll Never Tell


Kayla Perrin - 2007
    Tailored just for her. The kind that will teach her a lesson not to mess with me."--from We'll Never TellShandra James is a man stealer. It's a sport to her, a game that she always wins. As a pledge of the exclusive Alpha Sigma Pi sorority, she should know her place, and know not to throw herself at a sister's boyfriend. But she's marked a new target: Henry Reid.Henry's fiancée, Phoebe, and her sorority sisters, Miranda and Camille, decide to teach Shandra a lesson one night. A lesson that involves humiliation but nothing more. But unexpectedly the lesson turns deadly and the three women find themselves facing three new rules: Never mention what happened that night, protect each other, and tell no one. Yet when a murderer comes calling, they each discover that rules are meant to be broken. We'll Never Tell is Kayla Perrin's most provocative, suspenseful novel yet.

Pipe Dream (Strivers Row)


Solomon Jones - 2001
    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.

The Ex Factor


Tu-Shonda L. Whitaker - 2006
    Yet lately she’s got a hunch that her sexy husband, Sharief, a New York City policeman, is patrolling more than just the streets. Celeste is sure he’s cheating on her. When she finds out that the home-wrecker is none other than her own sister Monica, all hell breaks loose.Monica never intended to fall in love with her sister’s husband. But who knew that Sharief would make every inch of her body tingle with a single touch? Monica knows she should have righted her wrong before Celeste found out, but she’s in too deep–in more ways than one.Imani is not pleased that her low-life boyfriend, Walik, just got out of the slammer and wants her back. Sure enough trouble comes knocking. But when a fine Puerto Rican DJ named Kree seduces her and showers her son, Jamal, with attention, Imani finally gets a shot at happiness and ghetto-free love.Fielding the curve balls tossed their way, Celeste, Monica, and Imani learn that it takes more than sisterhood to cope with love, life, and men–the ones they’ve got, and that elusive ex factor.

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.

Secrets of A Housewife


J. Tremble - 2006
     A successful career. A beautiful wife and children...and his pick of the sexiest women in town. It seems Tarron has the best of both worlds as he manages to indulge in wild nights out with his lover and quiet nights at home with his family. But the party is about to end...When Tarron's cheating ways are revealed, his cool-headed wife, Secret, handles it like a pro. That's partly because, true to her name, Secret is hiding some bad behavior of her own. And now, as Secret starts to really live out her own fantasies, neither she nor Tarron may be ready for the explosive consequences... "A fascinating debut novel... There are so many exciting twists and turns to this story that you'll be begging for more once you read the very last page." --Urban-Reviews.com