Book picks similar to
Breaking the Cycle by Zane


zane
african-american
fiction
urban-fiction

On Us


Nina. - 2020
    Her sister Ivy, who she loved more than anyone in the world and Vant who had taken care of her like she was his own blood, told her for years Ky was no good. Their relationship didn’t start ideally, but the love she had for him began long before they became public to the world. What was once a fairytale turned into a nightmare, and Avery felt like it was karma. She didn’t have any business being with Ky then, and the torment she had been put through showed they weren’t meant to be together presently.Lake Porter, a man who dedicated his life to taking care of his brothers and living by his father’s word, finally catches up to the feelings he tried so hard to fight. Love wasn’t in the cards for him, and he had come to terms with that until a prissy, sometimes crazy, vibrant woman, shows him that he isn’t so cold and his heart did pump. She isn’t fazed by his mean persona and deadly dark eyes. Lake out of his comfort zone, and in the presence of a woman so alluring with energy so contagious, finds himself at the end of a bullet from the love gun. He quickly finds out that being with the woman of his choosing comes with baggage that he doesn’t mind carrying. But will Lake be able to break her from the curse that is his sworn enemy?

Invisible Life


E. Lynn Harris - 1991
    Law school, girlfriends, and career choices were all part of Raymond Tyler's life, but there were other, more terrifying issues for him to confront. Being black was tough enough, but Raymond was becoming more and more conscious of sexual feelings that he knew weren't "right." He was completely committed to Sela, his longtime girlfriend, but his attraction to Kelvin, whom he had met during his last year in law school, had become more than just a friendship. No matter how much he tried to suppress them, his feelings were deeply sexual.Fleeing to New York to escape both Sela and Kelvin, Raymond finds himself more confused than ever before. New relationships -- both male and female -- give him enormous pleasure but keep him from finding the inner peace and lasting love he so desperately desires. The horrible illness and death of a friend force Raymond, at last, to face the truth.

The Vow


Denene Millner - 2005
    As they embark on their search to find their soul mates, they navigate the full-contact sport known as being a SSBFLA (successful, single, black, female in L.A.) and negotiate the shark-infested waters of making a name for themselves professionally in Hollywood.Can Trista, the hyper-driven celebrity agent, find the time to schedule a meaningful romance? Will Amaya, the sexy starlet, convince the married hip hop-label exec she has been seeing to leave his wife, or will the NBA star steal her heart in the final seconds? After undergoing a complete makeover, will Vivian, the jaded gossip columnist, win back the father of her child?As seductive as it is empowering, The Vow is a page-turner that will keep you cheering for these women as they discover that their desire to find a husband isn't as important as finding themselves.

A Love Story


David Weaver - 2011
    His sexual IQ routinely leaves women speechless, addicted, and craving for more. When he finally meets his match, Lisa Lee, she turns his entire world upside down while smiling in the process. Confused, he gains clarity and learns the greatest lessons about love from the most unlikely of sources; an impressively beautiful bank robber named Alicia.

In Sheep's Clothing


Mary Monroe - 2005
    Facing a future of cooking, cleaning and unsatisfying sex, Trudy decides to make some changes while she still can.

The Fight


L. Divine - 2006
    . .Proudly hailing from Compton, USA, sixteen-year-old Jayd Jackson is no stranger to drive-by shootings or run-ins with the friendly neighborhood crackhead. Street-smart, book-smart, and life-smart, she's nobody's fool--least of all KJ's, the most popular and cutest basketball jock at South Bay High, aka Drama High. Yes, it's a fact, Jayd fell hard for his player ways for a time, but now that KJ's shown his true colors--dumping Jayd because she refused to give up the cookies--she's through with him and his game playing for good.Jayd just wants to start her Junior year of high school drama free. But wanting ain't getting, especially at a place like Drama High, a predominately white high school in a wealthy part of Los Angeles, where Jayd and 30 other Compton kids get bussed to daily. Saying race relations aren't what they should be would be putting it mildly, and that's just the beginning of the drama. Jayd's first day back to school, KJ's new girlfriend, Trecee, steps to her wanting to fight. Egged on by Misty, Jayd's former best friend-turned-nemesis, Trecee wants to make Jayd understand that KJ is off limits--even if she has to do it with her fists. With the fight set for Friday, and the sistah drama at an all time high, Jayd is about to learn who's really got her back and more importantly, when she's got to watch it. But at least she can always count on Mama, and her mystical bag of tricks.Drama High is a remarkably assured debut, and L. Divine is a tantalizing and refreshing new voice. Jayd and her bold, honest, and laugh-out-loud funny assessment of life, along with her quirky cast of friends, classmates, loves, her magical family and eccentric neighbors make for an irresistible, can't-put-it-down read.

Around the Way Girls


La Jill Hunt - 2004
    This book takes a look at the lives of these three street-smart women who think they know it all, but are about to get the lessons of their lives.

Two Tears in a Bucket


Traci Bee - 2007
    While struggling to create a life for herself, her beauty and innocence captivate Kevin Kennard, a handsome, hazel-eyed felon with an addiction to all things illegal. For the first time in Kevin’s life, real love has him rethinking his criminal path. But the action on the streets won’t take a backseat to Simone. Who will win this tug of war? Two Tears in a Bucket is a soulful novel that reminds us how powerful and lasting the bonds of love can be, even among the harsh realities of life.

Roadrunner


Trisha R. Thomas - 2002
    He’s married to his college sweetheart, Leah, and they have two children and a dream home in Los Angeles. But an injury has sidelined his hot career, and prescription medication and depression are pulling him into a downward spiral, leaving Leah feeling emotionally distanced and lonely. Their fighting escalates, and one night Dell commits an act of violence that changes the course of their lives forever. But Angel Lopez, the cop who arrests Dell, decides to take the law into his own hands. Determined to teach the famous athlete a lesson, he drives Dell to the worst part of town and tries to kick him out of the car. The men struggle and the car crashes. When Angel comes to, Dell is gone and no one knows if he’s dead or alive.Leah is grateful when a guilt-stricken Angel offers to chase the media away from her home and help out around the house, “just until Dell comes home.” She and her family grow to trust him, and Angel falls in love with the Roadrunner’s lovely, grieving wife. Will Dell find his way home? Will Angel replace him? And what really happened that dark night the Roadrunner disappeared?

Never Die Alone


Donald Goines - 1974
    If it took busting an old lady's head open with a Coke bottle for her last dollar, so be it. Mixing battery acid with cocaine to gain revenge was acceptable, too. Whatever it took. Then he made it big--only to find others had not forgotten, had no intention of forgiving. They came after him. He left behind a Cadillac and a diary, left it to a writer Donald Goines called "Paul Pawlowski." Like all Goines' novels, Never Die Alone is based on truth."He lived by the code of the streets and his books vividly recreated the street jungle and its predators." --New Jersey Voice

Satisfy My Soul


Colin Channer - 2002
    But the more he tries to forget, the more uprooted he feels. Then, while in Jamaica, he crosses paths with a radiant woman who attracts him like a flame. Their undeniable attraction is much more than chemistry. As Carey soon discovers from a “reader” of the spirit world, he and Frances share a history that has linked their souls for more than four hundred years. Though Carey views past lives with skepticism, he cannot explain knowing the language of an ancient African people—in particular the phrase: “Mulewe anekoso kuduwe bana” (“I will search until I find you”).Yet Frances conceals secrets of her own, with devastating consequences. And while Carey visits his best friend, a bond that was once thought to be unbreakable will be put to the ultimate test as startling truths at last emerge. . . .

Downsized


Ms. Downlow - 2011
    Kaylani Reynolds is a sexy female architect who's been laid off, but not laid in a while. She tries to keep the peace with her delicious, but annoying neighbor Ryan Stevens without becoming his next piece of ass. Kaylani lives in a huge house that she designed herself, right next door to Ryan's much smaller home. He thinks she's doing too much with her pricey pad. She thinks he's doing too much, too, with his barking pit bull, and constant complaints about her cat, and her design choices. He seems determined to set her off at every turn. It's no wonder that when she loses her job, she doesn't want his judgmental ass to know. Then again, she doesn't want anyone to know that she's chosen a job that doesn't require a degree. To make matters worse, she's seen what Ryan is packing. Will she be able to resist riding his long black limo?Cover Image: Model Kami2Hot, Photo by Jeremy Jennings aka MrFStop

Lessons From A Younger Lover


Zuri Day - 2009
    . .First grade teacher Gwen Smith was happily married--until her husband got himself a twenty-something mistress and filed for divorce. Now just months away from turning forty-one, Gwen is back in her tiny California hometown, caring for her ailing mother, convinced her life is over. Then she meets Ransom Blake.Ransom is a twenty-six-year-old hunk who pushes every one of Gwen's buttons. Gwen has no intention of getting involved with a younger man, but he won't take no for an answer. So when he shows up at her classroom unannounced, Gwen can't help but tell him off--and then she realizes he's come for his daughter. But Ransom isn't shy about letting Gwen know how she can make it up to him. And if he gets his way, Gwen will lose all her inhibitions--and her heart. . ."An exciting read. Zuri Day does a fantastic job. . ."--Urban Reviews on Lies Lovers Tell

The Mister


E.L. James - 2019
    Life has been easy for Maxim Trevelyan. With his good looks, aristocratic connections, and money, he’s never had to work and he’s rarely slept alone. But all that changes when tragedy strikes and Maxim inherits his family’s noble title, wealth, and estates, and all the responsibility that entails. It’s a role he’s not prepared for and one that he struggles to face.   But his biggest challenge is fighting his desire for an unexpected, enigmatic young woman who’s recently arrived in England, possessing little more than a dangerous and troublesome past.  Reticent, beautiful, and musically gifted, she’s an alluring mystery, and Maxim’s longing for her deepens into a passion that he’s never experienced and dares not name. Just who is Alessia Demachi? Can Maxim protect her from the malevolence that threatens her? And what will she do when she learns that he’s been hiding secrets of his own?   From the heart of London through wild, rural Cornwall to the bleak, forbidding beauty of the Balkans, The Mister is a roller-coaster ride of danger and desire that leaves the reader breathless to the very last page.

Fast Life


Cassandra Carter - 2007
    But when her single mom is offered a job that takes Kyra away from her old Chicago neighborhood, and the drugs and gang violence that go along with it, she finally realizes that there's more to life than Gucci, Prada and ghetto-fabulous bling. Starting over in a new place, with a new boyfriend, Justin, gives Kyra hope that life can be different. But sometimes the fast life catches up to you. And for Kyra, her only hope is to stay one step ahead of trouble.