Book picks similar to
Breaking the Cycle by Zane


zane
african-american
fiction
urban-fiction

The Million Dollar Divorce


R.M. Johnson - 2004
    They wait to try for three years and when they finally do, the couple discovers that she is unable to bear children. Any love he once felt for Monica is gone and Nate wants out of the marriage. But he’s worried about losing half of his sixty-million-dollar fortune in a divorce settlement. Desperate for an out, he searches for a way to exploit the infidelity clause in the couple’s prenuptial agreement. Enter Lewis Waters. With his baby's mother addicted to drugs, Lewis is already seriously down on his luck when he accidentally smashes his car into Nate’s Bentley. Without auto insurance or any way to pay for the repairs, Lewis is at the end of his financial rope. But the scheming Nate sees another way for the attractive young man to repay his debt: as sexual bait for Monica. Nate sets up Lewis with all of the accessories he believes Lewis will need to earn Monica's love, or at the very least, her lust: a big house, a fancy car, expensive clothes, and a full bank account. But as is often the case when it comes to matters of the heart, things don’t unfold according to plan. When Monica falls hard for Lewis, Nate panics—was protecting his fortune more important than trying to save his marriage? As he finds himself overwhelmed by second thoughts, Nate is willing to do anything to get Monica back. An inspired fusion of realism and romance, The Million Dollar Divorce is an unpredictable caper of lust, betrayal, and family ties.

Midnight


Sister Souljah - 2007
    In her bestselling novel, The Coldest Winter Ever, Sister Souljah introduced the world to Midnight, a brave but humble lieutenant to a prominent underworld businessman. Now, in a highly anticipated follow-up to her million-selling masterpiece, she brings readers into the life and dangerously close to the heart of this silent, fearless young man. Raised in a wealthy, influential, Islamic African family, Midnight enjoys a life of comfort, confidence, and protection. Midnight's father provides him with a veil of privilege and deep, devoted love, but he never hides the truth about the fierce challenges of the world outside of his estate. So when Midnight's father's empire is attacked, he sends Midnight with his mother to the United States. In the streets of Brooklyn, a young Midnight uses his Islamic mind-set and African intelligence to protect the ones he loves, build a business, reclaim his wealth and status, and remain true to his beliefs. Midnight, a handsome and passionate young man, attracts many women. How he interacts and deals with them is a unique adventure. This is a highly sensual and tremendous love story about what a man is willing to risk and give to the women he loves most. Midnight will remain in your mind and beat in your heart for a lifetime. Her "raw and true voice" (Publishers Weekly) will both soothe and arouse you. In a beautifully written and masterfully woven story, Sister Souljah has given us Midnight, and solidified her presence as the mother of all contemporary urban literature.

Murder Mamas


Ashley Antoinette - 2007
    It doesn't take them long to link up with Hollywood's biggest drug kingpin, who hires them to take out a snitch and a judge. But the plans backfire and they only complete half the job. Robyn gets caught and put on Death Row, and Aries goes on the run. She winds up in the Islands, where she takes up a new life as a mother and wife, and tries to forget who she once was. But unfinished business has a way of coming back to haunt you; and when it's the killing kind, there's a huge price to pay. Now Aries has to put it all on the line as she sets out to finish what the Murder Mamas started, leaving her family and her sanity and her soul behind. . .

God's Gift to Women


Michael Baisden - 2002
    An even better listener. And handsome as heaven on earth. He is God's Gift to Women. Julian Payne gets into bed with millions of women every night. As an after-hours radio talk-show host, Julian captivates his female audience with his deep voice and sensitive spirit. Women can't get enough: They call in, begging for his advice about love, lust, commitment, and betrayal. Julian provides his listeners with the blunt male perspective, and he always has the right thing to say. But when it comes to his own romantic life, or lack thereof, he's at a loss for words. A widower and father to ten-year-old Samantha, Julian wants nothing more than to settle down again with the right woman. Just when he thinks he's found her in Dr. Terri Ross -- smart, stunning, and with her own counseling practice -- Julian is confronted by a ghost from the past: Olivia Brown, a woman with whom he had a one-night stand. Suddenly Julian finds himself in a situation with a woman who's determined to win him over...or make his life a living hell. Michael Baisden's hottest offering yet, God's Gift to Women is a compelling tale about the consequences of sex with a stranger.

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.

We Take This Man


Candice Dow - 2008
    They are both excited when Dwight is offered a promotion at work, but the downside is that the job is located in Maryland. After much discussion, Tracey decides that she does not want to leave their new house. Dwight makes the decision to accept the position and return home on weekends. Alicia Dixon has spent her life hating and not trusting men after her father mistreated her mother, but she can't help but fall for the new guy in her company... Dwight. They both try to fight their attraction to one another, but it proves to be a losing battle-Alicia is everything that his southern wife is not. When Alicia ends up pregnant, Dwight decides to end things with Tracey, but the process proves not to be as easy as Dwight had hoped.

Allure of the Game


Danielle Santiago - 2009
     Twenty-year-old Arnessa didn’t grow up on the streets. But when her mentally ill mother abandons her and her older brother is murdered, Arnessa has no choice but to hustle just to keep herself and her little sister alive. Kisa “Kane” Montega, on the other hand, has a wonderful marriage, two beautiful children, and lives in a stunning home on the outskirts of Charlotte. Her cousin, Kennedy, has spent two years away from the volatile music industry, focusing on her children and building a solid foundation with her rap star fiancÉ, Chaz. But in spite of their success, both Kane and Kennedy are gravitating back to their old ways and the game they thought they’d left behind. After a chance meeting, Arnessa goes from being a low-level dealer to partner in their cartel. But the bigger their empire gets, the more haters they have to contend with—and the more each one of them stands to lose. Sexy, suspenseful, and unflinching, Danielle Santiago’s Allure of the Game gives fans exactly what they’ve been hoping for—a deeply satisfying conclusion to an unforgettable trilogy, packed with insight into the mean streets she knows so well.

Satin Doll


Karen E. Quinones Miller - 1999
    This Blackboard bestseller about making it on your own--despite the mistakes of your past--will appeal to fans of Terry McMillan and Lolita Files.

Got A Man


Daaimah S. Poole - 2003
    Pregnant with her second child, she's got a career, a college degree- and enough common sense to know that her boyfriend, Malik, may not be ready for fatherhood. But when Malik surprises her with a marriage proposal, it seems that Kim's got her man for the long haul. Or does she?Despite his honorable intentions, Malik can't seem to stay clear of other women. When Shonda Robinson, the shapely new receptionist at the law firm where Malik works as a paralegal, comes on strong to him, his resolve finally crumbles, along with his heart - and his future plans. Shonda may not be the most moral - or discreet - person around, but she knows a good thing when she's got it. That good thing is her love for Malik, and she intends to keep it at all costs. Unfortunately, she's not the only one who feels that way. What follows is an emotional roller coaster ride of changing plans, changing partners- and a surprising change of heart - as three people wrestle with what's right, what's wrong- and what's real.

You Gotta Sin to Get Saved


J.D. Mason - 2008
    Too much love, too much attention, and had too many big dreams.   It was how she ended up abandoning her two daughters, Connie and Reesy to chase after a man and the promise of a dream life.   But Charlotte never anticipated how her world would be irrevocably changed.  Now, twenty-seven years later, her whole world shifts yet again with a letter from one of her daughters.  And the past is about to bust wide open.   Reesy has always been obsessed with something.  Obsessed with finding her birth mother. Obsessed with her sister’s life. Obsessed with her own adopted daughter never finding out that Reesy is really her aunt.  With a neglected husband, who is unknowingly drifting further and further away, a sister who is trying to escape her well-meaning clutches, and a daughter becoming more and more curious about her true parentage, finding the mother she always dreamed about seems to be an answered prayer to Reesy.  That is until Reesy is brought crashing back to earth to find that her perfect life is in tattered pieces.Connie has always expected too little. Too little from the man she’s been living with for years. Too little from her modest jewelry business.  And too little from her relationships, or lack thereof, with her daughter, mother and sister. And too little from herself.  Until she discovers she is pregnant again and decides that this time she is keeping her baby, sending her life and her relationship into a tailspin.  And rediscovering the mother who left them behind is the last thing she wants.  Thrown back together again, in a maelstrom of shocking truths, Charlotte, Reesy and Connie will discover on their journey to forgiveness and redemption that you just might have to sin first in order to be saved.

Upstate


Kalisha Buckhanon - 2004
    Antonio and Natasha's world is turned upside down, and their young love is put to the test, when Antonio finds himself in jail, accused of a shocking crime. Antonio fights to stay alive on the inside, while on the outside, Natasha faces choices that will change her life. Over the course of a decade, they share a desperate correspondence. Often, they have only each other to turn to as life takes them down separate paths and leaves them wondering if they will ever find their way back together.Startling, real, and filled with raw emotion, Upstate is an unforgettable coming-of-age story with a message of undeniable hope. Brilliant and profoundly felt, it is destined to speak to a new generation of readers.

Insatiable


Allison Hobbs - 2004
    She desperately needs something or someone to believe in. She plans her future around Marquise, the father of her toddler daughter. Devastatingly sexy, Marquise is currently in jail on drug charges. Terelle, however, is living for his imminent return and dreaming of the day they can start building a life together as a real family.A cunning seductress, Kai Montgomery is the bi-racial adopted daughter of a wealthy Caucasian couple. Rich, beautiful, and well-bred, Kai is Terelle's polar opposite. After being dumped by an affluent and very married physician, Kai is without a sex partner. When one of numerous trysts results in the best sex of her life, she becomes obsessed and is quickly set on a collision course destined to destroy many lives.

Daddy Long Stroke


Cairo - 2010
    Daddy Long Stroke, is a womanizer. Arrogant and self-indulged, he is what every woman secretly craves in the bedroom—rough, rugged, and ravenous. And he is always happy to deliver. Alexander knows no boundaries when it comes to pleasing a woman, leaving no area untouched, not even her heart—or her wallet. But love is the last thing on his mind. Getting paid, and whetting his sexual appetite are the only things that motivate this salacious gigolo. And any woman trying to claim him finds herself on the receiving end of heartache, tears, and drama. Written in raw, graphic language, Daddy Long Stroke is a cautionary tale of one man’s insatiable thirst for sex and his quest to bed down as many women he possibly can—no matter the costs, and no matter who gets hurt in the process.

Millionaire Wives Club


Tu-Shonda L. Whitaker - 2009
    Whitaker’s steamiest novel yet, we meet the four deliciously dramatic, designer-clad divas from prime time’s new hit reality show, The Millionaire Wives Club.Evan: Married to a pro-football star who isn’t in love with her anymore, Evan is digging her freshly manicured nails in ever deeper as she fights to keep the husband who loves someone else.Milan: Half Dominican, half black, and beautifully exotic-looking, Milan is watching her has-been husband’s fortune fade fast–while her romantic attachment to Evan’s husband is heating up.Jaise: Divorced from a former boxing star who’s now married to a white woman, Jaise is trying to raise her sixteen-year-old son on her own. Will her huge alimony checks keep her from falling in love?Chaunci: Editor of the hottest black women’s magazine, Chaunci is now engaged to the high-powered man who helped finance her magazine when she was just a struggling single mom. But when a onetime passionate flame reignites, Chaunci may not be able to resist its charms.When these starlets’ private lives run as wild as their emotions, their relationships with one another inevitably turn into high-profile catfights. Through it all, the cameras never stop rolling on TV’s guiltiest pleasure, where power–and diamonds–are always a girl’s best friend.

The Candy Shop


Kiki Swinson - 2007
    Looking back ten years ago, who would have ever thought that this well-respected -- and very well-paid -- thirty-five-year-old assistant principal for a performing arts school, would trade in her husband and her daughter, a two-story brick home in a gated community, and a fully-equipped Jaguar for a body riddled with track marks and a substance that gave her a better feling than sex. But when that candy, as she knows it, finally runs out, Faith resorts to the "desperate times, calls for desperate measures" solution, which will have her playing Russian roulette with the Angel of Death. And sooner than later, these episodes will catch up with her so that she will be forced to make some life-altering choices--but will it be too late?