Book picks similar to
Full Circle by Ayana Ellis


abuse
urban-fiction
african-american
drama

Into the Free


Julie Cantrell - 2012
    But she’s the only one strong enough to break the family cycle.In Depression-era Mississippi, Millie Reynolds longs to escape the madness that marks her world. With an abusive father and a “nothing mama,” she struggles to find a place where she really belongs. For answers,Millie turns to the Gypsies who caravan through town each spring. The travelers lead Millie to a key that unlocks generations of shocking family secrets. When tragedy strikes, the mysterious contents of the box give Millie the tools she needs to break her family’s longstanding cycle of madness and abuse. Through it all, Millie experiences the thrill of first love while fighting to trust the God she believes has abandoned her. With the power of forgiveness, can Millie finally make her way into the free?Saturated in Southern ambiance and written in the vein of other Southern literary bestsellers like The Help by Kathryn Stockett and CrookedLetter, Crooked Letter by Tom Franklin, Julie Cantrell has created Into theFree—now a New York Times bestseller—a story that will sweep you away long after the novel ends.

Getting Rid Of Matthew


Jane Fallon - 2007
    The only trouble is, she doesn't want him any more. Now she has to figure out how to get rid of him...

Congratulations


Darrin Lowery - 2007
    That's why no one is more surprised than her when she starts dating Thomas Anthony Young, the fit and handsome office heartthrob. After eight months together, Tiffany is sure that he's about to propose at any minute.Instead, she's taken off guard when they have a senseless argument. Thomas abruptly departs for a business trip, leaving Tiffany hurt and confused. In an effort to cheer herself up, she calls her friend Alicia for some company. Alicia already has plans to attend the wedding of a cousin she's not too fond of. She suggests that Tiffany go with her. They'll make a brief appearance and then spend the rest of the day together, shopping and catching up. Neither one of them is prepared for the pandemonium that breaks loose when they get to the wedding and Tiffany discovers that Thomas is the groom!

The Liar's Club


Layla Jordan - 2010
    What no one knows is that Sinclair used to be Detroit hustler Ms. Tracy Franklin, wife of Kwame Franklin, who is now in jail. When Kwame is released from prison, he tries blackmail. Then the tabloids get involved.

Snapped


Tracy Brown - 2009
    After all Frankie and their life together are her whole world. So Camille tries not to be bothered by his closeness with his coworker and dear friend Gillian. But it soon becomes clear that Camille's suspicions are correct. When his indiscretions become a public matter for the world Camille is pushed to a dangerous breaking point that spells disaster for them all.Camille's sister Misa is newly divorced and clueless about men. She smothers men with phone calls, emails and pops up unannounced at their homes. She hacks into their voicemail and email and causes drama. So when she sets her sights on Baron, he has no idea what hit him. Will her quest to win his heart cost her everything?Dominique Storms appears to have it all - a great career, a beautiful NYC condo and a gifted teenaged daughter. Her only problem is that the man she loves is incarcerated. While trying to juggle the demands of motherhood, work, and friendships, she manages to make her man Jamel a priority in her life. But is he doing the same? And is she too distracted to notice what is going on with her daughter?Latoya Blake seems to be the one who has life all figured out, that is, until some skeletons are discovered in her closet. When her well-put-together façade crumbles, will she crumble as well?

Hell House


Brenda Hampton - 2012
    Whatever happens, the last person standing will have bragging rights, but they also may have lifetime scars to go along with it.For three months, living in one bedroom, using one bathroom, dining at the same kitchen table, sharing one TV and having no access to family or cell phones, this may be a serious problem for the most controversial characters you’ve grown to love or possibly hate.Roc Dawson from Full Figured, Chase Jenkins from Don’t Even Go There, Sylvia McMillan from SLICK, Jada Mahoney from How Can I Be Down?, Jamal “Prince” Perkins from Street Soldier and Jaylin Rogers from the Naughty Series will attempt to put their overwhelming differences aside and calm their unique personalities. Without supervision, though, anything inside of this house is bound to happen, and nothing or no one is off limits. Drama will be the main course, and it will be served by cutthroat individuals determined to have it all. Topped with a hint of raunchiness and manipulation, some may not be able to resist temptation. But survival by any means necessary will remain the primary motive. Who will be the last woman/man standing or who will walk out, slamming the door behind them screaming…damn!

Deadly Reigns


Teri Woods - 2005
    http://69.131.42.194/showpic.php?imag...

The Ties That Bind


Electa Rome Parks - 2001
    A first novel. Original.

A Dollar and a Dream


Carl Weber - 2003
    Reprint.

The Ugly Side of Me


Nikita Lynnette Nichols - 2015
    It was lust at first sight, and Rhapsody isn't going to let young Malcolm leave her presence without a promise to fulfill her fantasy.Malcolm had no idea when he accepted Rhapsody's invitation to her bedroom that he was selling his soul to the devil. Malcolm thinks he can bed Rhapsody and simply walk away, but she is not one to settle for a one night stand. Rhapsody goes to desperate measures to keep her cub extremely close to her. Gifting Malcolm a very expensive SUV, filling his belly with home cooked meals and funding a trip to Cancun are just a few of the tactics that Rhapsody uses to ensure that Malcolm spends his nights in her bed and no one else's. However, when Rhapsody finds a mysterious package on her doorstep containing proof of Malcolm's betrayal and deception, she seeks revenge and seals her own fate.

Diamond Life


Aliya S. King - 2012
    . . Set in the highest ranks of the music industry’s fame machine, Diamond Life is an intoxicating story of love, sex, ambition, money, betrayal, and the surprising realities of making it big. Alex Maxwell’s career as a journalist and celebrity ghost writer is taking off, despite the slightly embarrassing authorship of hip-hop super-groupie Cleo Wright’s memoir. And while Alex’s star is on the rise, it pales in comparison to her husband Birdie’s multiplatinum debut and world tour. Slowly but surely, everything they swore would never happen begins to come true, like leaving Brooklyn for a mansion in suburban Jersey and letting a reality TV crew into their home. Birdie is confronted time and again by the sexy groupies who pursue famous rappers like heat-seeking missiles and he’s forced to make some life-changing choices. Meanwhile, aging rapper Z, in recovery from drug addiction, is too busy trying to repair his marriage to leave much time for his son Zander, newly signed to Z’s label and struggling to maintain his appeal in the wake of a domestic violence scandal with his diva girlfriend Bunny. Record label president Jake is trying to deal with the death of his wife, multiplatinum R&B artist Kipenzi Hill, by drowning his sorrows in alcohol and women. When he meets Lily, a beautiful, quiet waitress, he can’t get her out of his head. But Lily has her own problems to handle and she wants nothing to do with the fame, drama, and baggage that Jake carries with him. This juicy follow-up to Aliya S. King’s Platinum is a scintillating roman à clef that takes readers behind the curtain once again for the real scoop on the biggest players in the hip-hop game—and the first ladies who hold them together.

The Printed Letter Bookshop


Katherine Reay - 2019
    But by the time Madeline inherits the shop nearly twenty years later, family troubles and her own bitter losses have hardened Madeline’s heart toward her once-treasured aunt—and the now struggling bookshop left in her care.While Madeline intends to sell the shop as quickly as possible, the Printed Letter’s two employees have other ideas. Reeling from a recent divorce, Janet finds sanctuary within the books and within the decadent window displays she creates. Claire, though quieter than the acerbic Janet, feels equally drawn to the daily rhythms of the shop and its loyal clientele, finding a renewed purpose within its walls. When Madeline’s professional life takes an unexpected turn, and when a handsome gardener upends all her preconceived notions, she questions her plans and her heart. She begins to envision a new path for herself and for her aunt’s beloved shop—provided the women’s best combined efforts are not too little, too late.The Printed Letter Bookshop is a captivating story of good books, a testament to the beauty of new beginnings, and a sweet reminder of the power of friendship.

Stolen by A Billionaire


Miss J. - 2021
    

Natural Born Hustler


Nikki Turner - 2010
    She has more game in the streets than a basketball player does on the court, and her boyfriend, Fame, loves every single inch of her. But unlike her mother, who has been in one bad relationship after another, Desember is not going to wait on a knight in shining armor to save her, and even her love for Fame can’t stand in the way of Desember selling anything and everything—legal or illegal—that can turn a profit, so that she never has to depend on a man. The only thing Desember feels she’s lacking is a father to call her own. And her mother refuses to tell Desember who he is.When Fame finds himself at the wrong end of a gun, fighting for his life, Desember wants nothing more than to stand by her man, but Fame warns her from his hospital bed that she isn’t safe. Desember wonders if she was the real target. Her mother, concerned for Desember’s safety, arranges for her daughter to travel to Richmond, Virginia, to live with Desember’s father and his wife.And when her father’s identity is finally revealed, Desember learns that she is a Natural Born Hustler.But are her troubles really over? Or is the worst yet to come?

Goodnight, Beautiful


Dorothy Koomson - 2008
    So when Mal and his wife, Stephanie, ask Nova to be a surrogate mother, she agrees—despite her reservations about what it might mean for their friendship. Then Nova’s fears are realized. Halfway through the pregnancy, Stephanie finds a text from her husband to Nova that reads “Goodnight, beautiful.” Already suspicious of their deep connection, Stephanie demands that Mal cut all ties to Nova and their unborn baby, leaving Nova to raise the child alone. Eight years later, Nova is anxiously waiting for her son, Leo, to wake up from a coma, while childless Stephanie is desperately trying to save her failing marriage. Despite her anger and hurt, Nova wants Mal to have the chance to know his son before it’s too late. Will it take a tragedy to remind them all how much they mean to one another?