Book picks similar to
Been There, Done That by Darrien Lee


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Using What You Got


Karen E. Quinones Miller - 2003
    Quinones Miller returns to her beloved Harlem to spin a dynamic tale that sparkles with the blush of first love and the hard-won lessons that endure." "Eighteen-year-old college student Tiara Bynum" is as pretty as a princess and just as spoiled. Her castle is the Harlem housing project where she lives with her younger sister, Jo-Jo, and her doting father, Reggie. Her fiefdom is the legion of men at her beck and call every time she snaps her perfectly manicured fingers. She has no qualms about flaunting her charms to get what she wants because she's "got it like that."Reggie -- a former professional gambler who was abandoned by his wife -- would do anything for his daughters, even if it means jeopardizing the family finances in favor of his girls' material happiness. Though Reggie's sister, Charlene -- a woman embittered by a disfiguring car accident -- pleads for restraint, her Thursday "family nights" pale in comparison to Reggie's Knicks tickets and shopping sprees.Blissfully unaware of the recklessness of her father's splurges, Tiara believes she's the toast of the world. Her greatest goal is to find a rich, handsome man who will spoil her just as much as he does -- or maybe even more. "Go for the glitter," she urges herself. "Who cares if it's gold?" When two suitors arrive on the scene, Tiara prepares to be smitten. But when the one she secretly adores doesn't like her attitude, Tiara's trademark confidence frays into embarrassment, shame, and confusion.Blindly determined to strike out on her own at any cost, Tiara lashes out against those who love her most. Yet the choices she makes, based on the way she's been raised,threaten to destroy not only Tiara, but her entire family.

Chocolate Star


Sheila Copeland - 1997
    Then the way to fame was leading him toward a mistake that could send him straight to hell...She never looked back.Lies, drugs, too many men-- golden skinned singer Topaz Black would do anything to get a hit to the top of the charts, even walk away from her friends and family. But surrounded by greed and lust, the love the longed for seemed to be slipping away forever.He broke all the rules.Brought up in South Central L.A., movie producer Gunther Lawrence learned early how to get the wealth and women he wanted-- and to turn his back on his roots. Now, blinded by Hollywood's glitter, his illusions may shatter when he discovers who really controls his career.As their lives touch, ignite, and explode, three talented African-Americans pursue fame at any cost...and the price may be their happiness...or their lives..An alternate selection of the Literary Guild and Doubleday Book Club

Groove


Geneva Holliday - 2005
    This funny, sexy book has something for everyone!

Busy Bodies: Chocolate Flava 4


Zane - 2013
    Busy Bodies is filled with erotic escapes and sexy scenarios—from the student in a faraway place who encounters a mysterious man with a supernatural attraction, to a boyfriend who gives his girlfriend a birthday surprise she never saw coming, this diverse collection of stories is an express train to all points of passion and pleasure. Get on board and get busy.

Queen of the City


Tamicka Higgins - 2016
     Freestyle rap artist, Lyric, is at the height of her career. But when, her boyfriend is gunned down in cold blood after a drug deal gone bad, Lyric's life takes a turn for the worse. Trying something new in Chicago only brings about more tragedy for the once-famous rap star. When she finally gives up and moves back home, Lyric tries to get back on her feet again. How can this strong black woman take back the life that was so quickly taken from her? Things start falling into place once she encounters the ambitious and charismatic Nas. His appearance throws her through a loop--he looks exactly like her dead boyfriend. As she and Nas get closer, they realize that they have the same goal: take down the local drug lord--the same man who killed her first love.

Dead Broke


Trista Russell - 2008
    But her memory is ten months behind, and her life went from fabulous to scandalous in the time she forgot. She has no clue that "high class" prostitution was her way of making ends meet. Meanwhile, Sarai's new but forgotten love, Tremel "Mel" Colton, vows to stay by her side. Though she can't remember him, he patiently waits to remind her of the long, steamy nights she spent in his arms. He romances her all over again, but just as lust and love start to blossom, shocking secrets from Sarai's past are revealed and suddenly Mel is unsure of their future together. Also, because she doesn't remember them, some of Sarai's enemies mask themselves as her friends, and Sarai has no idea how much trouble she has gotten herself into. But one thing is certain -- she will never forget her enemies again. In this seductive sequel to her sizzling debut novel, Going Broke, Trista Russell turns down the sheets and turns up the heat in a story about one woman learning that money comes and goes, but good friends, love, and sex are hard to forget.

Dating Games


R.M. Johnson - 2003
    Hennesey, a brilliant straight-A student, is soon off to college on a full scholarship. She's in a strong relationship with Rafe, a recently released convict who's trying to turn his life around after being unjustly jailed. He took a drug rap for his old friend Smoke, who has since become the most ruthless drug dealer in Chicago. Rafe wants nothing more to do with his old friends -- especially when he falls for Hennesey. On the other hand, Alizé is perfectly comfortable relying on her undeniable sex appeal to get what she wants. When Livvy, the girls' mother, announces that they have to move out of her apartment because she is getting a smaller place to save up money and go back to school, Alizé panics as she is in desperate need of some money of her own. She and her girlfriends come up with an outrageous plan to score some fast cash -- persuading the men with fat pockets they meet at clubs to take the girls to a hotel and then drugging them and making off with their wallets and jewelry. Unfortunately for Alizé, one of their first victims is none other than Smoke, Rafe's old buddy. Once robbed, he's bent on revenge -- and the violent chain of events that follow will change the Rodgers family forever.

In No Need For Love


BriAnn Danae - 2018
    Young and living what she assumed was her best life at the moment, she was in no rush to enter into a relationship and possibly fall in love. When she and smooth talker himself, Raazim cross paths Kenzy finds herself spellbound and in awe of his magnetic, yet persistent personality. Breed with mannerisms that were a far cry from what the males in today’s generation possessed, Raazim Coleman had a thing for the chase and allure of a woman. A woman who didn’t need him. Kenzy’s stand-offish ways are what reeled him in and her resitence kept him at bay. With intentions extremely clear, Raazim is determined to capture the bombshell beauty and change the status of her relationship before the seasons evolve. Ashton Levy’s visual of companionship and settling down was the total opposite of Raazim’s; his god brother. His idea of it had been altered ever since his ex-girlfriend Eireann did a disappearing act on him years earlier. With a rolodex full of women at his beck and call, a slightly rude demeanor and irresistible smile, Ashton makes it known his heart only belongs to two women; his sister Ava and his mother. That’s what he believed until the one woman who he knows deserves more from him transforms his frigid heart when it’s least expected. In the event that the love outweighs the lies, revealed secrets, tragedy and deceit throughout this urban romantic tale; this group of friends finds themselves needing love whether they wanted it or not. Regardless of the terms it came along with. National Best-Selling Author BriAnn Danae has returned with a fast enthralling novel that is guaranteed to tug at the heartstrings of her readers.

Please God Let it Be Herpes: A Heartfelt Quest For Love and Companionship


Carlos Kotkin - 2012
    His trouble with females usually begins upon opening his mouth.Here, Carlos shares his ups and mostly downs of bachelorhood, including romantic conquests with a slew of childhood crushes, insane yogis, a Playboy vixen, a STD host, the flaky, the deaf, and the just plain dumb. His unique mating style is not to be duplicated, but it will definitely make readers laugh-and want to get tested ASAP.

Sister, Sister


Eric Jerome Dickey - 1996
    Fresh and in-your-face, this witty novel depicts a world where women sometimes have to alter their dreams, but never have to stop embracing the future.

Vanished


Danielle Steel - 1993
    Though the couple's lives are filled with secrets, Marielle is a devoted wife and mother, and Malcolm is a man everyone admires.On the eve of Teddy's disappearance, Marielle runs into her first love, American expatriate Charles Delauney. And when Teddy is kidnapped, Charles is first blamed, then arrested. But as the search for Teddy widens, even Marielle is scrutinized by the FBI and special agent John Taylor. Suspicions and accusations mingle with terror and heartbreak as every threat, every failure, every fear, is remembered, examined, explored.During Charles Delauney's trial, a series of revalations begins to unravel the about Marielle, Charles, and Malcolm, uncovering the motives and passions controlling their lives.Vanished is a tale of guilt, desire, suspense, and of people drawn inexorably together, seeking the child who... vanished.

Side Chick Catching Main Chick Feelings


B.M. Hardin - 2015
    All caught up in her feelings for him, Moet was willing to do anything to make Drake love her the way that she loved him, but nothing ever seemed to work and nothing she tried ever seemed to be good enough. What's a side chick to do once she start catching feelings? Should she stay? Or would it would be best at that point to just walk away? Moet had to make a choice. Though her feelings for Drake, aka Dray were stronger than ever, Moet or better known as Moe, knew that she couldn't be his side chick forever. So she started looking in another direction. But when what she thought was the best decison of her life actually turns out to be the worst, now her heart wasn't the only thing on the line. Her life was too. Just because it glitters that doesn't mean that it's gold and Moe finds herself caught up in a love and war situation. Everything that she had worked for was about to be destroyed unless she agreed to do one thing. And that was to become someone else's side chick once again. But being the other woman wasn't all that it was made out to be and Moe knew that the only way out of a terrible situation was to eliminate the problem with a terrible solution. Death. With twists and turns, secrets and lies, Moe learns why side chicks should never catch main chick feelings. Its much easier to just play their part on the side.

No More Drama


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

Good Peoples


Marcus Major - 2000
    A first novel. Reprint.

Johanna Lindsey CD Collection 6


Johanna Lindsey - 2009
    Worse still, he is engaged to a stranger who has mocked him in public. But his bride-to-be, Ophelia, has been guiding a lovely and witty, if dreadfully inexperienced, country girl named Sabrina through the latter's all-important first coming-out season. The enchanting Sabrina enthralls Duncan much more than his own intended does, and she shares his passionate feelings as well. But duty and circumstance - plus a scandal in Sabrina's family past - have made it impossible for her and the dashing highlander to be together . . . unless true love can somehow, miraculously, find a way.The Devil Who Tamed Her:Ophelia Reid is an incomparable beauty with a reputation for starting rumors and spreading them. Having purposely wrecked her engagement to Duncan MacTavish, a future marquis, which her social-climbing father arranged, Ophelia wants to return to London’s marriage mart and make her own choice of a wealthy husband. But on her journey home, something unexpected happens…The heir to a dukedom, Raphael Locke, Viscount Lynnfield is – in spite of his disinterest in marriage – the most sought-after young lord in England. He instantly disliked Ophelia when she caused a scandal to avoid marriage to his friend MacTavish, but having comforted her in a tearful moment, he begins to wonder if she’s not all bad. So when MacTavish claims that Ophelia will never be anything but a spiteful beauty, Rafe bets his best friend that he can turn her into a kind-hearted lady who will one day make a good match, just not with him.With her parents’ blessing, Rafe commandeers Ophelia’s coach and whisks her – chaperoned, of course – to his remote estate in the countryside. There, as he tries to show his furious, sharp-tongued “guest” the error of her ways, he discovers the surprising reasons for her bad behavior. Soon his daily lessons with Ophelia take effect and he finds himself irresistibly attracted to her. When Rafe champions the new and improved Ophelia’s re-entry to London society, marriage proposals pour in. Only then does Rafe start to wonder whether he hasn’t gone and fallen in love with Ophelia himself.A Rogue of My Own:How does an innocent lady find herself forced to wed a royal spy who seduced her – by mistake? For Lady Rebecca Marshall, a whirlwind of passion and excitement begins when, to her mother’s great delight, she becomes a maid of honor at the court of Queen Victoria. Rebecca’s mother sees this appointment as a golden opportunity for Rebecca to make a good match.At court, Rebecca innocently steps into the rivalry between the queen’s spymaster and the noblewoman in charge of the maids of honor who is using the maids to spy on powerful courtiers. Soon Rebecca is entangled in a web of deceit with the charming marquis Rupert St. John. The devastatingly handsome n’er-do-well is the cousin of Raphael Locke, with whom Rebecca was once infatuated. What she doesn’t know is that Rupert is a secret agent of the crown who leads a double life.When Rupert obtains proof that Rebecca is spying on him, he seduces her. He hardly suspects her guileless nature. Forced to the altar, Rupert believes that Rebecca has set a trap of the worst sort in order to marry into his powerful family. Although he vows never to be faithful to his beautiful wife, as Rupert comes to know Rebecca’s wit, adventurous spirit, and generous nature, his vow of revenge turns into a desire to share many passionate nights only with his wife for the rest of his life.Warm, witty, and filled with the “deliciously sexy” (Booklist) flirtation that makes each of her bestsellers an irresistible gem, A Rogue of My Own will have listeners falling in love with Johanna Lindsey all over again!