Book picks similar to
Obsession by Treasure Hernandez


african-american-fiction
urban
urban-fiction
reading

Salty


Aleta L. Williams - 2012
    At the end, you may even feel "Salty" yourself! To some, the city of Los Angeles is the home of the "Angels"; "that's bull crap", says the characters in this ghetto soap opera. Los Angeles for them, is the home of the "Scandalous" and only those that's down for and ready for whatever will last........... Jazz is a seventeen year old, sassy, diva who strives to carry herself with class and dignity. Thanks to her ego struck boyfriend, and envious cousin, she soon finds out that classiness will get you nowhere, but humiliated and heartbroken. Peter went from a nobody to a somebody: money, cars, and big butt light skin girls now make up his worth. Peter isn't blind to the fact that he is being used; he just doesn't care. It's not until he steps on the toes of a known grimy gangster from Compton, that he realizes how dangerous these females really are. Pam can tell you first hand that "love don't love nobody", and that you have to love yourself first. After all, love is the reason she contracted the incurable. Follow the drama as it takes you on a world wind of events that will leave your mouth open and have you lusting for more. alanasbookline.org facebook.com/SaltyAGhettoSoapOpera

The Apple Orchard


Susan Wiggs - 2012
    She loves illuminating history, filling the spaces in people's hearts with stories of their family legacies. But Tess's own history is filled with gaps: a father she never met, and a mother who spent more time traveling than with her daughter. Then Dominic Rossi arrives on the doorstep of the San Francisco shop Tess hopes to buy, and he tells her that the grandfather she never knew is in a coma. Tess has been named in his will to inherit half of Bella Vista, a hundred-acre apple orchard in the magical Sonoma town called Archangel. The rest is willed to Isabel Johansen. A half sister she hadn't heard of. Isabel is everything Tess isn't: all softness to Tess's hard angles, warm and nurturing where Tess is tightly wound. But against the rich landscape of Bella Vista, with Isabel and Dominic by her side, Tess begins to discover a world filled with the simple pleasures of food and family, of the warm earth beneath her bare feet. A world where family comes first and the roots of history run deep.

Blackberry Summer


RaeAnne Thayne - 2011
    As a single mom and the owner of a successful bead shop, Claire leads a predictable life in Hope's Crossing, Colorado. So what if she has no time for romance? At least, that's what she tells herself, especially when her best friend's sexy younger brother comes back to town as the new chief of police.But when the accident forces Claire to slow down and lean on others; especially Riley McKnight; she realizes, for the first time, that things need to change. And not just in her own life. The accident; and the string of robberies committed by teenagers that led up to it; is a wake-up call to the people of Hope's Crossing. The sense of community and togetherness had been lost during those tough years. But with a mysterious "Angel of Hope" working to inspire the town, Riley and Claire will find themselves opening up to love and other possibilities by the end of an extraordinary summer.

A Perfect Life


Danielle Steel - 2014
    . .A Perfect LifeThe epitome of intelligence, high-powered energy, and grace, Blaise McCarthy is an icon in the world of television news, asking the tough questions and taking on the emotionally charged issues of world affairs and politics with courage and insight. A single mother, she manages her well-ordered career meticulously, always prepared on the air or for interviewing world-renowned figures and heads of state. To her audience, Blaise seems to have it all. But privately, and off the set, there is another untold story she has kept hidden for years.Blaise’s teenage daughter, Salima, was blinded by Type 1 diabetes in childhood, and her needs have kept her away in a year-round boarding school with full-time medical care and assistance ever since. When Salima’s school closes after a tragedy, Salima returns to her mother’s New York City apartment, and suddenly they face challenges they’ve never had to deal with before, and that Blaise feels ill-equipped to handle. A new caretaker provided by Salima’s school creates as many problems as he solves. Handsome, accomplished, thirty-two-year-old Simon Ward, with strong opinions on every topic, questions how mother and daughter view themselves and each other. Simon opens new doors for both of them and refuses to accept Salima’s physical limitations. He turns their world upside down, and the three become friends.Then everything starts to unravel and Blaise can’t keep her two worlds separate anymore. A beautiful young anchorwoman is hired at the network; it is no secret that she is being groomed to take Blaise’s place. Her career as she has known it is threatened, and her previously well-ordered life feels totally out of control. For the first time, Blaise’s life is not perfect, but real.In this unforgettable tale, the incomparable Danielle Steel has written a novel that pulsates with emotion and honesty as three people face the truth about themselves. A Perfect Life is about what we do when facades fall away and we can no longer run from the truth. As old ideas fail, everything changes, and life is suddenly brand-new.

Entangled


K. Elliott - 2003
    Entangled is a love story between a major drug trafficker and a history teacher. The subplots include a black DEA agent with divided loyalty. He wants to do his job and rid the streets of drugs but on the other hand he knows that the system is corrupt and it targets minorities, this story has all the elements of a major motion picture.

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.

Two by Two


Nicholas Sparks - 2016
    He is living the dream, and his marriage to the bewitching Vivian is the center of that. But underneath the shiny surface of this perfect existence, fault lines are beginning to appear...and no one is more surprised than Russ when he finds every aspect of the life he took for granted turned upside down. In a matter of months, Russ finds himself without a job or wife, caring for his young daughter while struggling to adapt to a new and baffling reality. Throwing himself into the wilderness of single parenting, Russ embarks on a journey at once terrifying and rewarding—one that will test his abilities and his emotional resources beyond anything he ever imagined.

Caught Up


Shannon Holmes - 2015
    She is a hustler’s wife, the mother of a beautiful daughter, and she owns a town house and a nice car—she’s living the life. But when the feds arrest her man, Dixyn’s whole world begins to crumble. Quickly things go from bad to worse—as the bills begin to mount, her ability to continue to maintain her lavish lifestyle is put to the test. Strapped for cash, her good intentions lead to bad decisions.Enter Brian Winters, B-Dub, and her one saving grace, or so she initially believes. In Dixyn’s time of need, B-Dub turns out to be no more than an opportunist with his own agenda. Dixyn becomes indebted to him and is forced to do his bidding in order to survive. With B-Dub on her back, she submerges herself into the murky waters of street life and is soon entangled in a web of lust, betrayal, blackmail, and deceit. She ultimately discovers that there are no rules in the game. In the game, loyalty is limited. Trust will get you hurt and love will get you killed.

Fly Betty


Treasure Blue - 2013
    All of these women are vying for one thing – an opportunity to live a luxurious, lavish lifestyle by snagging a rich and famous singer, rapper or athlete. But being drop-dead gorgeous and super fly are only pieces of what it takes to catch one of these wealthy and highly sought after young millionaires. Where luck, timing and persistence can be determining factors on the surface – deceit, lies and manipulation are what it really takes to have a chance at catching their men. Betty Blaise, or Fly Betty to those who truly know her, was not in it to be a wife or even the baby momma of a wealthy public figure – she had her sights set higher, much higher. While most of these women use sex as their weapon of choice, Betty, a senior majoring in psychology, has developed a weapon that proves much more powerful. Up until now Betty has lived her life according to her own strict rules and standards, refusing to compromise for anyone, even if it potentially meant shielding herself from true love. But when she encounters a man that she would never have anticipated falling for in a million years, soon, the very rules Betty once lived and died by are going to be put to the test. The very tools she used so effectively against wealthy men begin to turn against her – and deadly consequences are sure to follow.

Grindin'


Danielle Santiago - 2006
    Later that night, Kennedy gets a call that Nina is being beaten up by her boyfriend- again. Kennedy rushes over to help, but it's too late: Nina dies in Kennedy's arms after making her promise to take care of her children.Stepping up to the plate, Kennedy becomes the mother of three more kids and moves them into a Harlem brownstone. She knows she needs to refocus her life, and gets her chance when she meets Chaz, a successful hip-hop artist who sees star quality written all over her. She's offered the chance to become a rapper and leave the streets behind- or at least shift to another kind of grind. But once in the music world, Kennedy realizes that the setting may have changed, but the hustle remains the same.

White Lines


Tracy Brown - 2007
    She partied hard, and life seemed good when she was with Born, the neighborhood kingpin whose name was synonymous with money, power, and respect. But all his love couldn't save her from a crack addiction. Jada goes from crack addict and prostitute to survivor and back again before she finds the strength to live for herself and come out on top. And her stormy romance with one of the fiercest hustlers on the streets makes White Lines one of the most unforgettable urban loves stories of the year.

Harlem Heat


50 Cent - 2007
    She was also a mom at fourteen years old, and did what she had to do to raise her daughter, Chyna. Now Chyna's all grown up, a stunningly beautiful exotic dancer with a baby girl of her own, while super-sexy Roxy is at the height of her power running Harlem Heat, a gun-trafficking ring. It's a lucrative life- style some would do anything to have. And when former drug kingpin Panama Pete returns to the hood after serving fifteen years in prison, a spiral of violence traps Roxy and Chyna and has them running from the law - and running for their lives.

Demon Rumm


Sandra Brown - 1987
    She may have been writing the book about her late husband, aeronautical daredevil Demon Rumm, but she didn’t see the need to play host to the arrogant bad-boy actor starring in the film version’s title role. Still, for the good of the project, Kirsten agreed to share her beachfront home with the impossibly sexy screen idol. Any other woman would do anything to be in her sandals, but Kirsten wasn’t falling for Rylan North, even if he did play his role of male lead to perfection. His down-home charm, his gentleness and virile charisma, might be seducing her in every sense of the word, but he was an actor, after all. Seducing an audience was his job. Rylan could have any woman he wanted. So why was he so desperately pretending to want her?From the moment he saw her, Rylan North knew that Kirsten Rumm was the woman he’d been waiting all his life to cast as the star in his real-life love story. What did it matter if he was every woman’s fantasy if he couldn’t get Kirsten to so much as glance his way? He’d caught the look of past hurt behind her sky-blue eyes–a dark secret that shadowed the sparkle. Rylan was determined to find out what tragedy held this passionate woman back from a second chance at love even if it cost him his reputation, his career, and his life. But first he’d have to get Kirsten to act on her instincts . . . and to trust the flesh-and-blood man behind the fantasy.

Thirsty


La'Tonya West - 2013
    She doesn't give her goodies to just anyone though. She prefers wealthy Caucasian men. Brothers are not to her liking. She has a thirst for the good life that she feels they cannot fulfill. That is until she crosses paths with Thrill. Initially uninterested Kaliyah has no words for Thrill but once she finds out about the paper that he is sitting on it changes the game. Will her thirst end up being her downfall?

Damaged


Kia DuPree - 2010
    After she is sexually and emotionally abused by her foster parents, she turns to the one person she knows she can trust--her boyfriend Chu, a mid-level drug dealer. But when life finally starts looking up for Camille, Chu is brutally murdered. Again feeling abandoned and helpless, and refusing to return to the system, Camille finds herself living with a stable of women in a tiny run-down apartment building in Washington, D.C., working for Nut, a deranged pimp. Fed up with her life, Camille is forced to right her wrongs, and slowly learns that her past does not necessarily determine her future.