Book picks similar to
The Outside Child by Tiffany L. Warren
fiction
african-american
library-books
blood-is-spilled
The Deviant
Tiana Laveen - 2020
In fact, he’s a renown artistic savant with extraordinary abilities. However, sometimes his deep-rooted mistrust of people lands him in trouble.Suri Scott lives far too much in her own head, but embraces her uniqueness like a badge of honor. An NYC emergency dispatch 911 operator moonlighting as a home-stager, she loves her single, carefree life.Neither of them expected to meet the mate of their dreams one fateful night. Things start definitely on the wrong foot, but soon, the connection becomes undeniable.Suri becomes the muse King simply can’t shake. Stepping out of his comfort zone, he starts painting a whole new canvas of life and chance. But will Suri trust her own judgment and let go to make a relationship work? Will King overcome his anger and past hurt to finally accept the love he deserves?A picture is worth a thousand words.Read “The Deviant,” to find out!
Blake
Victoria H. Smith - 2018
I never forgot our conversation or her... taste when I'd been fortunate enough to have it.She had me in a world where she was mine and, even though the experience of her had only been for a short while, I took that memory into the rest of my life, Anita... the girl who spoke of dreams.She reminded me of my dreams and that it was okay to have them. I made those desires into reality years later, after a fallen marriage and a lifetime of hesitance, but never once did Ann leave me.I never thought I needed anyone when the girl with talks of dreaming finally made it back into my life over three decades later, my family and the strong boys I raised into men all I needed. Anita sure proved me wrong, because not only did I need that woman, I lived for her once I had her back in my life.My sudden heart attack may have brought us back to each other, but our history...It gave us both a second chance.Blake by Victoria H. Smith is a 20,000-word story created just for those who demanded to see and read more about Griffin's pop, the head of the Chandler brood who has a love story all of his own. Set in the 1980s with flashes to the present, this contemporary romance will steam up your Kindle and possibly make you shed a few tears along the way! An origin story between Blake and Griffin's stepmom Ann, this short read acts as book six in the Found by You series and is best enjoyed after reading the full-length novel Brody.
Can I Have You? (Madison Grove, #1)
Ja'Nese Dixon - 2019
Ryan’s badge keeps me submissive long enough to formulate a plan. Because I can’t stay.So, I do the unthinkable running back to the only place I consider home, Madison Grove, with Ryan hot on my heels. Then I find Mac again, and he makes my heart ache for more, thanks to his small-town charm and quiet determination. But I’m on borrowed time.I’m trapped between an obsessed cop and an ex-Marine, outrunning my destiny or finding my forever or both. Because I can’t trust love.Or can I?
An Inconvenient Friend
Rhonda McKnight - 2010
Will she get her man or destroy herself and everyone else in the process?
What He's Been Missing
Grace Octavia - 2012
. .Atlanta celebrity wedding planner Rachel Winslow has it all--except what she wants most: true love. Her friends are convinced that her college ex-turned-best friend, Ian, is her Mr. Right--even though he's in a relationship. And when Ian confides to Rachel that he plans to propose, she suddenly wonders if she's letting her best chance at happiness slip through her fingers. In a panic, Rachel becomes determined to win Ian back. But her plan backfires in ways she couldn't have imagined. . .Heartbroken, Rachel finds herself making a series of disastrous decisions--including an affair that leaves everything she values most hanging in the balance. To get her life back on track, Rachel will have to let go of the illusions of the past--and her fears about the future.Octavia pens a great tale. --The RAWSISTAZ ReviewersOctavia's writing style is in a category all of its own. --APOOO Book ClubHolds your attention to the end. This is truly an amazing read. --Romantic Times on Should Have Known BetterOctavia gives Sex and the City a smart Afrocentric update. --Publishers Weekly on Playing Hard to Get
Goldie
Xyla Turner - 2019
She knows all too well, that's a waste of time. Easy come easy go. Therefore when the gruff, rugged bounty hunter/security firm President decided to block her next one-night stand. Not only did Goldie show him, she wasn't the one to be played with, she showed him what over 40 meant. Baxter Church My group, the Defenders, had worked with the Lady Guardians before. So, it was nothing to go to their bar. However, what wasn't normal, was for me to end up between thee woman of all women and some asshat trying to get lucky. Hell, it was a no-brainer. The only person she was going home that night, was me. I'm too old for games. Too experienced for bullshit. Too smitten to not stake my claim. The Lady Guardian isn't having it, though. Now, it's time to go on the offense. This IR/BWWM novella is raw, sexy, over 40's and an HEA. Check out bonus material in the back with a chapter from L. Loren. For more information about the Lady Guardians, visit ladyguardians.xylaworld.com
BFF'S: Best Frenemies Forever Series
Brenda Hampton - 2014
With enough backstabbing, finger-pointing, and disrespect to go around, this trio sticks to their motto of "What she can do, I can do better; and whatever she has, I want a piece of it too." Much competition is thrown in the mix, and jealousy is so thick that there will be no place for anyone to run when the mess hits the fan. Only then will they attempt to put their many differences aside, but when severe damage is already done, it may be possible to forgive, but certainly not to forget.
Inescapable (Oliveri Mafia Romance- Book One 1)
Melverna McFarlane - 2021
NO CLIFFHANGER.Jessie has sworn off relationships until she can exorcise her secret celebrity crush from her thoughts. More importantly, her fantasies. Crushing on someone rumored to be in the mafia was a red hot no for her. When she comes face-to-face with the man himself, he is more dangerous than she initially thought... and not just to her safety.Gio Oliveri is the wealthy heir to the dubious Oliveri business empire. Ruthless in business and his personal life, Gio never lets an insult go unaddressed. So when a woman embarrasses him, in his own club no less, he sets out to teach her a lesson, only to set his sights on her friend. After a disastrous first impression, be buys himself three months to woo Jessie, who challenges him at every turn. He has to find a way to keep Jessie before his family responsibilities tear them apart forever.As he pursues his deepening desire for Jessie, unknown threats to his business and her life begin to appear. In addition to uncovering the mysterious threats, he has Jessie’s misgivings about his chosen profession to contend with. He must find a way to make his temporary relationship permanent.Exposed to Gio’s mobster persona, Jessie cannot deny the devastating violence he wields so effortlessly and questions if she could one day be on the receiving end.As they navigate their new relationship and the dangerous parties seeking to destroy them, it will take a devastating loss and deep soul searching before they trust each other enough to fight for their love.
The Year We Turned Forty
Liz Fenton - 2016
This time around, she’s determined to bury the secret of Lucas’ paternity, and to repair the fissures that sent her wandering the first time. Gabriela regrets that she wasted her most fertile years in hot pursuit of a publishing career. Yes, she’s one of the biggest authors in the world, but maybe what she really wanted to create was a family. With a chance to do it again, she’s focused on convincing her husband, Colin, to give her the baby she desires. Claire is the only one who has made peace with her past: her twenty-two year old daughter, Emily, is finally on track after the turmoil of adolescence, and she's recently gotten engaged, with the two carat diamond on her finger to prove it. But if she’s being honest, Claire still fantasizes about her own missed opportunities: a chance to bond with her mother before it was too late, and the possibility of preventing her daughter from years of anguish. Plus, there’s the man who got away—the man who may have been her one true love. But it doesn’t take long for all three women to learn that re-living a life and making different decisions only leads to new problems and consequences—and that the mistakes they made may, in fact, have been the best choices of all…
With You Always
Jody Hedlund - 2017
She's had experience as a seamstress, and the New York Children's Aid Society has established a special service: placing out seamstresses and trade girls. Even though Elise doesn't want to leave her sisters for a job in Illinois, she realizes this may be their last chance. The son of one of New York City's wealthiest entrepreneurs, Thornton Quincy faces a dilemma. His father is dying, and in order to decide which of his sons will inherit everything, he is requiring them to do two things in six months: build a sustainable town along the Illinois Central Railroad, and get married. Thornton is tired of standing in his twin brother's shadow and is determined to win his father's challenge. He doesn't plan on meeting a feisty young woman on his way west, though.
An American Marriage
Tayari Jones - 2018
He is a young executive, and she is an artist on the brink of an exciting career. But as they settle into the routine of their life together, they are ripped apart by circumstances neither could have imagined. Roy is arrested and sentenced to twelve years for a crime Celestial knows he didn’t commit. Though fiercely independent, Celestial finds herself bereft and unmoored, taking comfort in Andre, her childhood friend, and best man at their wedding. As Roy’s time in prison passes, she is unable to hold on to the love that has been her center. After five years, Roy’s conviction is suddenly overturned, and he returns to Atlanta ready to resume their life together. This stirring love story is a profoundly insightful look into the hearts and minds of three people who are at once bound and separated by forces beyond their control. An American Marriage is a masterpiece of storytelling, an intimate look deep into the souls of people who must reckon with the past while moving forward—with hope and pain—into the future.
Ericka Kane
Kiki Swinson - 2013
But if Ericka can help it, her stepmother won't have control for very long.
Ravenous
Cali Burem - 2019
When her boyfriend breaks up with her for ‘gaining a little too much weight’, Mia’s best friend decides that Mia is in desperate need of a new and private space away from the bastard. She finds the perfect house in the perfect place with, unfortunately, the worse possible roommate. When Mia first met the almost unbearably attractive Westley Nott, they were pretty much enemies from the get-go. But now, having already signed the tenants’ agreement, she has to live with him and not try murder him in his sleep for at least six months before she can get out of it. … Westley needs a quiet get-away a lot more than he needs to be able to get away from the headache that is Mia Rhodes. With her sharp tongue, proud attitude and sensuous relationship with food, he can think of a million ways of distracting her mouth but none of them would be advised. Westley’s skills in the kitchen however, seem to tame the vexing vixen and as they become closer, he finds that he wants to fill her mouth with more than just his delicious desserts. Mia is afraid of asking for seconds but Westley isn’t the type of man to let a starving woman go hungry.
I Ain't Me No More
E.N. Joy - 2013
There has to be something rooted deep within her to make her feed off of the pain she inflicts on other people. Perhaps it is her own pain that she has suppressed for so many years. It's an unimaginable pain that creates an internal prison in which her mind is the only captive.Whatever the cause, once the demons within her break free, those around her better beware.Helen feels no shame about the fact that she hasn't been saved. Will the divas of New Day Temple of Faith think Helen is worth saving? More importantly, can God save Helen from not only her evil past, but from herself?