Book picks similar to
Cynical Heart (Heart Series) by Vivian Rose Lee


african-american-authors
cupcake-southerncharm
romance

Forever is Not Enough


Reecha Agarwal Goyal - 2019
    

The Protective Father


Hannah Schrock - 2021
    

An Education in Love: Historical Western Romance (Wedding Bells for the Widows Book 3)


Rosalee Adams - 2021
    

The Calm to His Savage 2


Latisha - 2019
    Envy breeds disloyalty. Anybody can be bought for a price.” ~Karisma Clipz thinks he has everything figured out. In his mind, if he takes over the streets, he’ll take over the world. Never once does he think about the toes he’s stepping on to get where he wants to be nor the lines that he’s crossing to get there. His actions not only puts his life in danger, but the lives of everyone he loves as well. Frenzy finds out that his whole life has been a lie, and this causes his first outburst with his aunt and the one he grew up loving as a brother. When a disastrous event happens, Frenzy loses his mind. Not only is he now at odds with his cousin, but he no longer feels he’s the one for Ajayah, which causes him to try and push her away. He has to make a decision to go against everything he has stood for in the last few years. One man’s greed causes a chain of events that affects the lives of everyone around him. Secrets are revealed, friends become enemies, lives are taken, and unspoken loyalty is tested. Not every relationship can be repaired, and not every chapter written in a book has been closed. Find out who will reign supreme in the finale of The Calm to His Savage.

Savannah Martin Mysteries 13-15


Jenna Bennett - 2018
    But when her perfect husband turns out to be a lying, cheating slimeball - and bad in bed to boot - Savannah kicks the jerk to the curb and embarks on life on her own terms. With a new apartment, a new career, and a brand new outlook on life, she's all set to take the world by storm. If only the world would stop throwing her curveballs... SCARED MONEY – #13 When Savannah’s real estate company, Lamont, Briggs, and Associates, finds itself embroiled in a closing scam, broker Timothy Briggs asks Savannah’s help in figuring out what happened and who’s behind it. The task is a welcome distraction for Savannah, whose private life is rocky. Carmen Arroyo is in prison in Nashville, nine months pregnant, and no one knows whether the baby is Rafe’s or not. And while Rafe doesn’t seem too worried about it, Savannah can’t say the same. Meanwhile, down in Sweetwater, Savannah’s mother Margaret Anne is hitting the brandy while trying to come to terms with her late husband’s love child and her best friend’s thirty-four year silence on the subject. Between one thing and another, it’s all Savannah can do to keep everything moving along smoothly. The very last thing she needs is someone rocking the boat... BAD DEBT – #14 When every member of a rural Sweetwater family is murdered in their beds, Maury County sheriff Bob Satterfield calls on the Tennessee Bureau of Investigation for help. While Savannah’s husband, TBI agent Rafe Collier, heads to their shared hometown to help the sheriff figure out who and what is behind the grisly massacre, Savannah goes along to assist her old friend Yvonne McCoy’s quest to gain ownership of Beulah’s Meat’n Three restaurant. But when Beulah Odom’s death turns out to have been murder, suddenly Yvonne’s on the hot seat. And with the sheriff occupied elsewhere and Beulah’s family gunning for Yvonne, it’s up to Savannah to figure out the truth before her old friend lands in jail... or six feet under. HOME STRETCH - #15 The end is near. The end of Savannah’s pregnancy, that is. Less than a month to go, and she’ll be the mother of what will surely be the most adorable baby boy or baby girl in the world. But before that, there’s Thanksgiving with the Martins to get through. Not to mention a little spot of murder at the group home where Mrs. Jenkins, Savannah’s grandmother-in-law, lives. A spot of murder that leaves Mrs. Jenkins covered in blood, and with no memory of who else might have hurt night nurse Julia Poole. With Savannah’s friend, homicide detective Tamara Grimaldi, investigating, and Savannah’s husband Rafe insisting that the detective can’t find out about Mrs. Jenkins’s involvement, in case she doesn’t share his rock-solid belief that Mrs. Jenkins would never kill anyone, Savannah’s caught between a rock and a hard place. Can she help Mrs. Jenkins figure out the truth before Detective Grimaldi throws them both in prison… or before the real murderer comes back to finish the job?

The Deal Breaker


Olivia Gaines - 2019
    His luck changes when Shelia Carmichael walks through his office door with a can of pepper spray and an offer he gladly accepted. The friendship is just the beginning of this romantic story as Shelia learns to trust and throw away her list of deal breakers in a relationship.

Flirting with your Single Neighbor: Sweet, Christian Romance (Knight Brother Romances Book 4)


Taylor Hart - 2021
    

Chase Family Collection: Limited Christmas Edition (Chase Family Series)


Lauren Royal - 2020
    

Someone To Call Bae: An African American Urban Romance


Siren - 2021
    

That Bona Fide Hood Love: Lyric & Beatz


Breana Morgen - 2019
    From her burning desire to sing to her desperate pleas for her mother to love and accept her, she has always felt the need to fight for what she wanted and accept what she could not have. At the tender age of sixteen, she finally thought she had everything she wanted in Skylen, her very first love, who happened to be an aspiring musician, much like her father. Lyric quickly learns that having a man in the music industry isn't what it's cracked up to be, when she finds Skylen in an uncompromising position, more than once. After three life-altering events happen to her all in the same day, Lyric's life gets much harder, much faster. Not only is Lyric having to grow up faster than she desires, but in doing so, she loses sight of herself, realizing that her hopes and dreams of singing are not only far-fetched, but a terrible idea. After all, two musicians have hurt her, leaving her with unbearable pain and emptiness - her father and Skylen. Feeling as if no man is worth her time or energy, a decade has passed and Lyric is still very protective of her heart, not wanting to be hurt again. In her opinion, it is better to be without love, since love can always change. Therefore, her focus is on herself and her daughter Harmoni, only. But, since she had to put her hopes and dreams aside for the sake of raising her daughter, Lyric tends to struggle, just a bit. But, no matter how hard things get for Lyric, she's too prideful to ask for help, but when she bumps into a music producer from the past, his acts of kindness prove to her that some men actually come in to restore. But, will she let him? Beatz, a music producer and serial entrepreneur, is all about two things - music and money. Beatz has suffered heartbreak at the hands of both an ex-girlfriend and a family tragedy, so he believes that everyone and everything in life is temporary, except music and money. The only other thing that Beatz is passionate about is helping those in need, since he grew up in the poorest projects South Carolina had to offer. Therefore, when he runs into Lyric, Beatz feels obligated to look out for her, not expecting to fall in love. Lyric doesn't quite expect it either, which causes her to resist him, although he may be the one thing she never knew she needed. Will Lyric allow Beatz to love her past her pain, or will she allow her views of men in the music industry to cause her stray from the one person who is willing to help her and love her, at all costs? Will Lyric realize she can't run from music and the men who love it, forever?

Cowboy Fallin' In Love Again: Western Romance (Brides of Miller Ranch, N.M. Book 6)


Natalie Dean - 2021
    

The Bid Catcher


Anita Davis - 2019
    Failed attempts at sustaining his dream sends him back to Chicago where he knows his restaurant can thrive. Problem is, the prime location for his neighborhood is in major need of revitalization. A bachelor auction planned to raise the remaining funds necessary to restore the hood may be the remedy to Southlake’s problem, but there's no way Jeremy would ever agree to be a bachelor in the auction. Will his stubbornness cost him his restaurant dreams? Naima Grant has moved to Chicago for several reasons: to be closer to her favorite cousin; to spend more time with her grandmother; and to put as much distance as she can from the life she once shared with her ex-husband. Southlake Park may be her good luck charm, especially when she learns she’ll be spending some much-needed time with her childhood crush. Yet just like before, he only sees her as a friend, but she plans to make the most of their time together whether he’s ready for her or not.

Juelz & Justice: Capturing A Boss' Heart


Jammie Jaye - 2019
    She was all about taking care of her kids and making sure they have a good life like the one that her mother provided for her. She had finally gotten to the point where life was good. After going through major heartbreak with her kid's father, Justice made up in her mind that love wasn’t for her. In her eyes, men were a distraction. What Justice didn’t know was that Julez would come bombarding in her life and change all of that. Julez’s only focus was getting money and taking care of his beautiful daughter Jewelz. After dealing with his baby mama Morgan, he knew that being in a relationship was a thing of the past. That all changed when he met Justice. He knew the day that he met her that she was all that he ever needed, but never knew he wanted. Jalissa dealt with so much heartbreak; however, when she meets Gem, she never thought he would be the man that she needed. She had so much going on in her life that she was not ready for the surprise that life had in store for her.  It seemed that things were going good until a family secret comes out and ruins everything. Will they make it through, or will the secret destroy them all?

A Hood Boy's Love is Forever


Taniece - 2019
    Her mother Net leaves her on her grandmother’s doorstep and never looks back. As she gets older, Bambi gets to the point where she pushes everyone away to keep them from leaving her, except her boyfriend Doc and best friend Hershey; that is until Doc breaks her heart and she severs ties. She finds herself in a situation with the sexy, hood boy, Ari XL. The more Bambi finds herself pushing him away, the more she craves him and eventually gives in. Ari XL is the oldest out of three brothers. After his parents died, he took on the duty of making sure that his brothers, Nick and MoneyBagg were straight by any means necessary. He gets distracted by the beautiful slick mouth Bambi and immediately feels a connection to her, but she turns out to be more trouble than he bargained for. Hershey and her boyfriend Surge nears their one year anniversary with thoughts of his infidelities on her mind. Finally getting proof that he’s been cheating on her, she ends their relationship and finds herself in the arms of the handsome, gentle, and kind Nick. She finds out that Nick isn’t who he says he is and it leaves her at a crossroads. Bambi and Hershey both are broken and in need of that unconditional love. Will XL and Nick be able to give them just that? Or will their hearts end up shattered even more?

Everlasting Magic: A Thorne Witches Holiday Novella (The Thorne Witches)


T.M. Cromer - 2022
    He also happens to be the man she’s loved forever, so the stakes couldn’t be higher to clear his name.Simon Blane is royally screwed. Framed as an international kingpin to hide the activities of the actual criminal ring, he faces life imprisonment. Worse still, he’s fallen for the brilliant, determined Evelyn Thorne, a powerful witch with a not-so-law-abiding family, and he’s unwittingly dragged her into the center of a maelstrom. Now they both have a massive target on their backs. Simon and Evelyn will have to throw away the FBI rule book and tap into the Thorne Witches’ power if they have any chance of survival—because the real culprit is determined to keep the truth hidden by any means possible. And as Simon and Evelyn hunt for the evidence to save them, maybe, just maybe, they can find a little Valentine’s Day magic of their own.