Book picks similar to
Redbone by T. Styles


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Silent Cries


Sonovia Alexander - 2013
    It’s not the life that she would choose for herself, but she knows that she cannot put her family to shame. China and her girls Ryder, Q, and Jewels are four of the most notorious chics in Queens. Growing up in the same part of town they were known for cutting and shooting chics and dudes when pushed to the limit. They had looks to kill and could draw in any man. Unbeknownst to her, when China hooks up with a pimp, the reputation that she has tried so hard to upkeep is tested. When thinking with your heart and not using your head, you fall victim to things that are clearly a task that you can’t handle. China is put in a situation where her friendships, family and relationship is at risk ending with her losing some of her loved ones. Find out what Silent Cries is really about as you go inside China’s twisted world of betrayal

Before I Let Go


Darren Coleman - 2004
    Nate is a D-O-G with an obsession for conquering as many women as possible. But when he breaks his own rules and falls for two women at the same time, all hell breaks loose. Brendan is the type of man every woman claims to want -- at least until she gets one. Will he ever find a woman as sweet as he is, or is he doomed to be the poster child for "Good Guys Who Love Bad Girls"? Cory is successful, smart, and handsome. He's never gotten over his first love, and when he moves back to his hometown, he has to face secrets and make decisions that will change his life forever. Before I Let Go is a sizzling, entertaining tale of how men come to terms -- in the most startling ways -- with lust, love, and life.

Before We Were Strangers


Brenda Novak - 2018
    Something no one wants to talk about. But she's determined to uncover her family's dark secrets, even if they bury her.Five-year-old Sloane McBride couldn't sleep that night. Her parents were arguing again, their harsh words heating the cool autumn air. And then there was that other sound--the ominous thump before all went quiet.In the morning, her mother was gone.The official story was that she left. Her loving, devoted mother! That hadn't sat any better at the time than it did when Sloane moved out at eighteen, anxious to leave her small Texas hometown in search of anywhere else. But not even a fresh start working as a model in New York could keep the nightmares at bay. Or her fears that the domineering father she grew up with wasn't just difficult--he was deadly.Now another traumatic loss forces Sloane to realize she owes it to her mother to find out the truth, even if it means returning to a small town full of secrets and lies, a jilted ex-boyfriend and a father and brother who'd rather see her silenced. But as Sloane starts digging into the past, the question isn't whether she can uncover what really happened that night...it's what will remain of her family if she does?

Diary of A Young Girl


Mark Anthony - 2010
    Urban favorite Anthony returns with a gripping tale of a young woman who is forced to confront the dangerous lies she told as a teenager, and come face to face with some ugly demons.

Pitbulls In A Skirt 2


Mikal Malone - 2009
    A passionate encounter causes Mercedes more problems than she relalizes. With her guards down, her life is violently put on the line.

TYCE II


Shareef Jaudon - 2011
    The dreaded Diego Alverez is looking for Tyce in the daylight with a flash light…and he’s pissed! When you factor in the drama of a relationshit, murder, deadly secrets, money, and skittles-you have a killer concoction.The ensemble cast is riding smooth but the unpredictable streets of L.A. can get really bumpy. Can Tyce avoid all the pot holes? Will his luck finally dry up? He’s beaten the odds since birth but the game called life doesn’t play favorites. Tyce’s mysterious beginnings threaten to cancel out his bright future as the past launches a surprise attack. Although he’s exceptional, the question is…how much weight can he really bare? After all, you can’t always win-can you?

The Interruption of Everything


Terry McMillan - 2003
    A chef. An interior decorator. A landscape architect, as well as a gardener. I’ve been a painter. A furniture restorer. A personal shopper. A veterinarian’s assistant and sometimes the veterinarian.... An accountant, a banker, and on occasion, a broker. I’ve been a beautician. A map. A psychic. Santa Claus. The Tooth Fairy. The T.V. Guide. A movie reviewer. An angel. God....For a long time I have felt like I inadvertently got my master’s in How to Take Care of Everybody Except Yourself and then a Ph.D. in How to Pretend Like You Don’t Mind. But I do mind." Since Terry McMillan’s breakout novel Waiting to Exhale surged onto the bestseller lists, critics and readers alike have been captivated by her irreverent, hilarious, pitch-perfect tales of women’s lives and contemporary issues. With The Interruption of Everything, her sixth novel, McMillan takes on the fault lines of midlife and family life, reminds us once again of the redeeming power of friendship, and turns her eye toward the dilemma of how a woman starts to put her own needs higher on the to-do list while not shortchanging everyone else.Marilyn Grimes, wife and mother of three, has made a career of deferring her dreams to build a suburban California home and lifestyle with her husband, Leon. She troubleshoots for her grown kids, cares for her live-in mother-in-law, Arthurine (and elderly poodle, Snuffy); keeps tabs on her girlfriends Paulette and Bunny and her own aging mother and foster sister—all the while holding down a part-time job. But at forty-four, Marilyn’s got too much on her plate and nothing to feed her passion. She feels like she’s about ready to jump. She’s just not sure where.Highly entertaining, deeply human, a page-turner full of heart and soul, The Interruption of Everything is vintage Terry McMillan—and a triumphant testament to the fact that the detour is the path, and living life "by the numbers" never quite adds up.

Altered Destiny: A Hustler's Choice


Sherylynne L. Rochester - 2010
    She manages to make a life for herself on the streets, with money, sex, respect, power, notoriety, and even love, and she feels that the choices she has made to get there are the right ones. No one can stop her or tell her otherwise.But it all comes crashing down when one of the choices she has made comes back to haunt her. While living the life of a drug dealer’s girl, entering the game and scheming her way through to get what she wants, she learns that success in this game and the choices she has made do not matter—especially when she faces Him, and He shows her how her choices have altered her destiny. Will Sasha get a second chance to make the right decisions? Or will it be too late?

Queen Sugar


Natalie Baszile - 2014
    Recognizing this as a chance to start over, Charley and her eleven-year-old daughter, Micah, say good-bye to Los Angeles.They arrive just in time for growing season but no amount of planning can prepare Charley for a Louisiana that’s mired in the past: as her judgmental but big-hearted grandmother tells her, cane farming is always going to be a white man’s business. As the sweltering summer unfolds, Charley must balance the overwhelming challenges of her farm with the demands of a homesick daughter, a bitter and troubled brother, and the startling desires of her own heart.Penguin has a rich tradition of publishing strong Southern debut fiction—from Sue Monk Kidd to Kathryn Stockett to Beth Hoffman. In Queen Sugar, we now have a debut from the African American point of view. Stirring in its storytelling of one woman against the odds and intimate in its exploration of the complexities of contemporary southern life, Queen Sugar is an unforgettable tale of endurance and hope.

The Coldest Winter Ever


Sister Souljah - 1999
    Ghetto-born, Winter is the young, wealthy daughter of a prominent Brooklyn drug-dealing family. Quick-witted, sexy, and business-minded, she knows and loves the streets like the curves of her own body. But when a cold Winter wind blows her life in a direction she doesn't want to go, her street smarts and seductive skills are put to the test of a lifetime. Unwilling to lose, this ghetto girl will do anything to stay on top. Featuring a Special Collector’s Edition Reader’s Guide—including an author Q&A, detailed character analyses, and the author’s own remarks about the meaning of her story.

The Girl Who Lied


Suzanne | Sue Fortin - 2016
    Now, Roisin has discovered a secret—one Erin has kept for over a decade—and she’s determined to make Erin pay for her lies.Erin wants nothing to do with Roisin. She has a new life in London and no intention of going back home. Yet when her father is mysteriously and critically injured, Erin has no choice but to return and face Roisin—and her past. Erin knows if the secret of what she gave up got out, the consequences could be devastating.When Roisin suddenly disappears, suspicion soon lands on Erin. She would do anything to protect her family, but just how far is she willing to go when time is running out…?

Three-Fifths


John Vercher - 2019
    The son of a black father he’s never known, and a white mother he sometimes wishes he didn’t, twenty-two year-old Bobby Saraceno has passed for white his entire life. Raised by his bigoted maternal grandfather, Bobby has hidden the truth about his identity from everyone, even his best friend and fellow comic-book geek, Aaron, who has just returned home from prison a newly radicalized white supremacist. Bobby’s disparate worlds crash when, during the night of their reunion, Bobby witnesses Aaron mercilessly assault a young black man with a brick. Fearing for his safety and his freedom, Bobby must keep the secret of his mixed race from Aaron and conceal his unwitting involvement in the crime from the police. But Bobby’s delicate house of cards crumbles when his father enters his life after more than twenty years, forcing his past to collide with his present.

A House Without Windows


Nadia Hashimi - 2016
    But her quiet life is shattered when her husband, Kamal, is found brutally murdered with a hatchet in the courtyard of their home. Nearly catatonic with shock, Zeba is unable to account for her whereabouts at the time of his death. Her children swear their mother could not have committed such a heinous act. Kamal’s family is sure she did, and demands justice. Barely escaping a vengeful mob, Zeba is arrested and jailed.Awaiting trial, she meets a group of women whose own misfortunes have led them to these bleak cells: eighteen-year-old Nafisa, imprisoned to protect her from an “honor killing”; twenty-five-year-old Latifa, a teen runaway who stays because it is safe shelter; twenty-year-old Mezghan, pregnant and unmarried, waiting for a court order to force her lover’s hand. Is Zeba a cold-blooded killer, these young women wonder, or has she been imprisoned, like them, for breaking some social rule? For these women, the prison is both a haven and a punishment; removed from the harsh and unforgiving world outside, they form a lively and indelible sisterhood.Into this closed world comes Yusuf, Zeba’s Afghan-born, American-raised lawyer whose commitment to human rights and desire to help his homeland have brought him back. With the fate this seemingly ordinary housewife in his hands, Yusuf discovers that, like the Afghanistan itself, his client may not be at all what he imagines.A moving look at the lives of modern Afghan women, The House with No Windows is astonishing, frightening, and triumphant.

Before the Storm


Diane Chamberlain - 2007
    But his mother sees a boy with a heart as open and wide as the ocean.Laurel Lockwood lost her son once through neglect. She's spent the rest of her life determined to make up for her mistakes, and she's succeeded in becoming a committed, protective parent—maybe even overprotective. Still, she loosens her grip just enough to let Andy attend a local church social—a decision that terrifies her when the church is consumed by fire. But Andy survives…and remarkably, saves other children from the flames. Laurel watches as Andy basks in the role of unlikely hero and the world finally sees her Andy, the sweet boy she knows as well as her own heart. But when the suspicion of arson is cast upon Andy, Laurel must ask herself how well she really knows her son…and how far she'll go to keep her promise to protect him forever.

Rich Girl Problems (Millionaire Wives Club)


Tu-Shonda L. Whitaker - 2013
    Whitaker's Millionaire Wives Club are back for a third season of explosive lies, forbidden sex, and scandals like you've never seen before!Step into the world of cable TV's hit reality show and meet new bride and new mother Milan, who finally has everything she's ever dreamed of. Problem is her perfect life doesn't work for TV. What will she do when the producer threatens to fire her? Editor-in-chief Chaunci isn't feeling the fame and the last thing she needs is to share the spotlight with her worst enemy, newcomer Journee. Socialite Journee expected her eighty-two-year-old husband to only live four days past their wedding night, but it's been four years. And just when it seems that he's ready to meet his maker, his son--Journee's ex-lover--shows up. Hair care mogul Vera is struggling with her failing marriage and the last thing she needs is her drug-addicted mother to further ruin her life or her image. Jaise is finally standing by her man. But will she live the life she thinks or will it cost her everything?