. . Essence and Blackboard bestselling author Karen E. Quinones Miller returns with the follow-up to Satin Doll, her debut novel about four sassy women from Harlem. Puddin': Yeah, y'all know I'm gangsta wit' it. And that's why I don't give a hot damn about swindling these stupid wimps for whatever-be it a drink or their precious platinum credit cards. I may not have a college education like Gina and Tamika or a bougie job like Yvonne, but my sexy ass gets the job done.Yvonne: Let's face it: I'm too fine to be alone. I'm intelligent, gainfully employed-and did I mention how fine I am? Well, it's a lot harder to find a good man than you'd think. So why does everybody have a problem with me getting back with my ex? Please! He'd almost be perfect if he didn't still have a wife.Tamika: I guess I'm the most quiet out of all my girls. Marriage, motherhood, and med school will do that to a sista. And, hell, having a full-out drug war land in your home will certainly do the trick. It'll also keep you stressed, angry, and maybe even a little judgmental of your friends when they're sleeping with the enemy.Regina: Yeah, Little Joe ran the game twenty years ago. But it was that same game that helped me jump off my writing career. And after seeing him for the first time in years, I've got to at least talk to the man. Never mind that he looks better than ever and still has that same sexy swagger that I found irresistible. Or that he might not be the best example for my daughter...or that I'm still feeling my politician ex-hubby (just a little bit). Never mind all of that. Because talking never hurt anybody, right? Blending themes of friendship and street angst with tough, sexy, independent female characters, Satin Nights captures the edginess of urban grit and celebrates the strength of sista-hood.

    But the last few men Veron has been with have either added her to their five-woman rotation or relegated her to the dreaded “just friends” zone.After one particularly bad date, Veron caves in and asks her best friend, Demetria Sparks, to share her secrets. Demetria is a gorgeous woman who has something special–men line up to paint her toenails and lavish her with Caribbean cruises and diamond rings. Demetria tries to give Veron a mind-and-body makeover, but sweet Veron struggles with being aggressive. And when Demetria demonstrates her method on Veron’s dream guy, Seaphes, his lack of interest provokes her to pull out all the stops–and forces Veron into a fierce competition between mentor and student. With pressure (and sexual tension) mounting, Veron begins to wonder if changing herself is a mistake. But is it too late to back off her new game now that she’s gotten a juicy taste of just what she’s capable of?

    It’s also home to Ian “Ice” Bailey a man as dangerous as he is sexy. Our story begins on the East side, where we meet Ice and our supporting cast. Kaitlyn “KiKi” Ross and Jaleesa “Tweety” Mitchell; two ladies who can hold their own in the game, making moves and plays as well as any of their male counterparts. Things are fine until Tweety crosses the line, unwittingly dragging KiKi along, and invade Ice’s territory. That’s when everything becomes complicated.Throw in a romantic triangle or three and the fun really starts. Ice has a thing for KiKi, but she has a thing for Tariq. Tariq Taylor is the short order cook she sells smack to and thinks he’s a junkie. Tariq is into KiKi, but Landon, the guy who works for the arena league that KiKi meets at the club, is determined she’s going to be with him. Confused yet? No? Well there’s Tweety’s man Evan, Landon’s friend, who isn’t what he presents himself to be and who also happens to have hidden lust for KiKi.Ice is not a man accustomed to hearing no, or being outwitted in his business. His reaction to both is force, sometimes deadly. Begin the ride with us and meet all the players in our serial drama, starting with the beginning, BEWARE: Thin Ice.

    HARD LUCK. HARD DRUGS. HARD DEALS. HARD TIME. Back in New York City, Seven was the seventh child. But here in Charlotte he's number one on every ladies' list. Even behind bars, he managed to sex a female corrections officer, who lost her job and found herself pregnant. Now Seven is out of the pen and back on the streets. A small-time dealer with big-time dreams, he's ready to take care of business -- for his baby, his baby's mother, his slammin' girlfriend, and his empty wallet. But first, he's got to play the game with the biggest pushers in town. He'll be a soldier for The Man. Then he'll rob the suckers blind before they figure out what's going down. Sure, it could get him killed. But Seven knows there are things in life worth living for -- and things worth dying for. And sometimes you can't tell the difference.

    But five years ago, her husband of fifteen years walked out on his family without a backward glance. Since then, Yani and her two children have played a waiting game, certain that he is coming back. Now, with the help of her friends and her sister Asia, Yani is finally over her love hangover and ready to get on with her life. At a party, she meets Alex Chance, a prominent New York businessman who's looking for a relationship with a woman who isn't out for everything she can get. Their powerful attraction leads to a whirlwind courtship and a fairy-tale like wedding. But their happy ending is threatened by Jarrin's sudden reappearance, which forces Yani to face the truth about her marriage -- and the life-altering choice she will have to make as another man's wife.With generous helpings of affection, humor, and romantic suspense, Shonda Cheekes has created a story that crackles with wit and the rifs and rhythms of modern life. Alternating between the first-person outlooks of Yani and Alex, Another Man's Wife captivates readers with a sassy tale of brothers and sisters on the move andsearching for love and fulfillment. Imbuded with the author's fresh, unique voice, it is a provocative and seductive look at relationships in the twenty-first century.

    The chance meeting of Capo turns things from upside down to good all around. Take a ride with Jonnae as she realizes your first love isn't always real love & that hood love can be a good love.

    The Clems were a perfectly normal, middle-class American family when 15-year-old Carren became addicted to meth. Her habit shattered the family's world. Within two months of first taking the highly addictive drug, Carren's life had spiraled out of control. She had moved out of her home; spent her entire savings; and had resorted to stealing, dealing, and prostitution to fund her addiction. Frantic with worry, her father Ron returned to his old job as a police officer in a desperate effort to rescue his daughter and almost died in the process. Told with compelling candor and dignity, this brutally honest account is poignant proof of a father's love and the possibility of a life after drugs.

    Playing a clever trick of her own, Williams left her heroine on the brink of death at the end of the novel. Now the second installment of the chronicles reveals what Williams’s readers are dying to know: Is the Bitch Dead, or What?The drive-by shooting that brought her down forces Ritz to look back on her climb to the top and the people she loved, lost, used, and abused along the way. There’s the brief dalliance with Tracee, her best friend, and the romance with a man with some secrets of his own; the loss of her beloved Aunt M; and the recent appearance of the father who abandoned her and is now demanding a financial payoff and fifteen minutes of fame. At the heart of it all is Ritz’s need to figure out where the real-life Ritz ends and the radio bitch begins.For the huge audience hooked on The Wendy Williams Experience and readers itching to find out what happens to the over-the-top star of Drama Is Her Middle Name, Is the Bitch Dead, or What? is packed with all the irresistible shocks and insider dish that make Williams the hottest voice in America today.

    He didn’t know what time it was but he must have slept pretty late because Ryan was gone and he usually felt when she moved. King headed to the bathroom to relieve himself then downstairs where he could hear laughter coming from the kitchen. Ryan was cooking and the twins were in their bouncers. Camron was sitting at the table talking with Harlem Jr. “Hey family.” King made his presence known. “Hey, dad.” Cam spoke. “What’s up, Unc?” King swore that boy was so much like Harlem it was funny. He looked like him and acted like him. “Hey, baby,” Ryan cooed. “So what are your plans for today?” “I’m chilling today, ma. A nigga tired and all I want to do is chill with my family today. Maybe we can go out to eat or catch a movie or something.” He had been neglecting his family because he was working so hard to secure their future but no more. He was going to make sure he made time for them no matter what. “That’s cool with me. We can eve grill some stuff and invite the family over if you want.” That’s why he loved her. She was always so giving. “Yeah we can do that. I’ll call everyone up after we have breakfast.” After they ate breakfast the kids went upstairs to play video games and Ryan cleaned the kitchen. King decided to watch the DVD that had come in the mail the previous day. The package didn’t have a return address on it and when he opened it up the DVD itself didn’t have any words it which was weird. Intrigued, he popped it into the DVD player and sat down. Maybe this act was something worth looking at. Nothing could explain the feeling he felt when the picture popped up on the screen. He saw murder. He didn’t even remember going into the kitchen or how he got there but his hands were firmly around Ryan’s neck and all he could see was red: the color of blood. “You trifling ass bitch! You fucked that nigga in my house? Huh?” He wanted answers but didn’t realize that Ryan couldn’t breathe. The color was draining from her face and he didn’t care. His mind was filled with images of her hugged up with Imran in his house and it looked as if they were fucking. King finally let her go. “I don’t ever want shit else to do with you,” he stated breathlessly. “You better be glad for the sake of my kids that I’m letting you stay here. But if it doesn’t concern them don’t say shit to me. You are fucking dead to me.” King stormed out. Ryan sat on the floor crying. How the hell did he find out? King had his facts wrong. She hadn’t slept with Imran. She’d tried to stop his advances. She had to figure this mess out and quick. She couldn’t lose King. ~ ~ ~ King made his way to Game Over Records with murder on his mind. He couldn’t believe the same nigga he broke bread with and invited to his home was fucking his girl. He was about to beat the shit out of Imran. Ryan had gotten a pass because of his kids otherwise he probably would have killed her.

    When Janeia Goode, a beautiful undergrad studying psychology at Chicago State University, meets Warren Hamilton, known as Molasses - or Moe for short - she knows he is dangerous, and yet she finds him to be exciting, mysterious, and undeniably sexy. Janeia realizes that she is a good girl in love with a bad boy - and she must keep his life as a hit man a secret, or else. Although Moe does reveal to Janeia his life as a paid killer, and she seems to accept it, his skill as a notorious womanizer proves to be his most dangerous habit. After an attempt on Moe's life lands him in an emergency room, he begins to reconsider his many enemies, but he does not take into account the scorned women he has manipulated over the years, up to and including his current love, Janeia. Soon Moe and Janeia are locked in a deadly game ruled by pride, passion, and the desire for love, loyalty, and vengeance. Cold Blooded will thrill readers who are already hooked on Tyree's racy tales of urban reality and romance.

    And they’ll do anything to fight the obstacles on their way to walk down the aisle.​ Nivea was ready to settle for less to get married, but when she finds out her fiancé has been keeping secrets, she begins a destructive course of action, as she begins to self-medicate with excessive amounts of liquor. Struggling to keep her household from sinking, Vangie is tired of raising her son alone. So when Vangie’s deadbeat baby daddy resurfaces, begins courting her with unrestrained zeal, and spends quality time with their young son, she thinks that they have finally healed their troubled relationship. After a horrifying childhood, Harlow believes she has finally found true love when she becomes engaged to savvy businessman, Drake Morgan. But she’s kept her past a secret, convinced that he would recoil if he knew the truth. Little does she know, Drake may also have a secret that could destroy Harlow’s only chance at happiness. Though holding distinct views and relying on diverse strategies, will any of these women find love, happiness, and commitment, or will they discover that happily ever after is an unattainable dream?

    He is wanted by many attractive women, who will do anything to spark his attention. These thrill seeking women are known to him as his pawns and they anxiously wait for him to fulfill their sexual fantasies. In return, he’s paid generously for his adventurous deeds. His magnetism, good looks, and extraordinary style of love making is the key to getting him everything he wants, but falling in love was not part of the game plan until Candy makes her move on him. Things seem to be headed in the right direction until Candy’s world is turned upside down and Monty finds himself needing to be there to pick up the pieces. As the two grow closer, the balancing act between satisfying his pawns and being with his potential queen becomes a strategic move in wanting to have his cake and eat it too. Will this spontaneous high mean more to him than being with just one woman or will the love of the game entice him to continue to play? Will Candy continue to pursue the man of her dreams or will she ultimately realize that keeping her dignity is more important? One thing for sure is that Monty is going to continue to live life to the fullest and, at all cost, he intends on winning. Play at your own risk.

    Successful Manhattan psychotherapist Brooke Parrish falls for Taylor Hudson, a handsome, ambitious ivestment banker with a prestigious New York firm who is trapped in a loveless marriage, but the situation is complicated when Taylor's wife, Kiernan Malloy, enlists Brooke's aid as her therapist to he

    Just when everything seems to be going their way, jealousy secretly takes hold of their close friend, Tee. Knowing that women are Keith's weakness and downfall, Tee goes out of his way to bring Keith's success to a devastating halt by using the stunning, sexy Selina to set him up. But his plan falls short when Selina and Keith fall for each other.Keith's down chick and baby mama, Tukey, attempts to regain Keith's love by taking a case for him and ending up behind bars, only for Keith to marry the home-wrecking Selina. Baffled, envious, and full of rage, Tukey plans and carries out a plot so vicious, all the money in the world can't help Keith recover.

    He's at the top of his pimp game in Queens, New York, until he breaks one of the cardinal rules of Pimping 101 and falls in love with one of his girls. Destiny was once an innocent young girl tricked into selling her body, but now she's as tough as the most seasoned professionals on the street. Then a tragic turn of events causes her to open her heart once again. When Mack is shot, she stays by his side during his recovery, proving herself to be as devoted as any wife would be to her husband. After she sees that Mack has regained his strength, Destiny finally gathers the courage to leave the life behind her, and Mack is forced to make a decision. He won't stop her from leaving, but he must decide if he will follow her out of the game. Will he stay with what he's always known, or take a chance on love? And even if he does choose to get out, will the streets let him go that easy?