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.

    

    Original. 15,000 first printing.

    That is, until nationally renowned relationship expert Lance Montgomery bursts on to the scene. Twice divorced, Montgomery is now on a mission to perfect the art of being single. His tantalizing book The Playa's Handbook is causing quite a stir. His rules include:*Never give a woman the key to your apartment.*Playas "have sex"; they don't "make love."*Don't be afraid not to commit, no matter how hot the sex is.*A woman can't use you if you use her first.One night, while watching the game and drinking beer, friends Marcus Lowery, Samuel Gunn, and Phillip McKenna all admit to buying Montgomery's book. Recent divorcees, Phillip and Sam are looking to unleash their hidden playa. And after being a widower for a year, Marcus is ready to cautiously ease back into the dating scene. So, they decide to put the rules to the test. . .and end up going on one of the wildest rides of their lives.

    The smart sister from Baltimore City has looks, brains, a promising job offer, and now, it looks like she's met her dream guy in handsome law student, Devin Patterson. Though their backgrounds couldn't be more different, wealthy, sheltered Devin falls hard for savvy, inner-city Clark. They're more than lovers; they're soul mates, and their storybook romance is the envy of the campus. Caught Up In Love - But out in the real world, their bond will be tested again and again. From the strain of long-distance love and the pull of two high-powered careers to the well-meaning-but-misdirected advice of friends, the prejudices of family, and the strong allure of new passion and players, Clark and Devin are in for a ride that could tear them apart for good. Caught In The Mix Now - for two people caught in the mix of secrets, family drama, lies, career struggles, and the hard truths of growing up and moving on, love is anything but easy- and doing the right thing by yourself is the hardest lesson of all.

    He’s a good-looking, smooth-talking former pro-basketball player, but he has a problem: He has never been satisfied with just one woman. Then he meets Terri and everything changes. Sort of.Genesis knows that Terri is perfect for him, and they become engaged. But Genesis just can’t seem to stop cheating on Terri nearly every chance he gets. Genesis’s best friend, Prodigy, constantly warns him that he’s going to mess up the best thing ever to happen to him, but Genesis is not ready to listen.After dealing with a family crisis, Genesis realizes the importance of his relationship with Terri, and he begins to change his cheating ways. He knows that once he says, “I do,” everything will fall into place. But it may be too late, because one of his past indiscretions comes back to haunt him, and Terri has a few surprises of her own for Genesis.

    With insane courage and an iron will, Shareef, the street-smart intellectual, finally gets a chance to write something more edgy and noteworthy.However, the Harlem streets he returns to in 2006 have changed, and the stakes of survival are higher now than they’ve ever been. Amid the rise of high-priced condominiums, a changing population, young criminals gunning to make names for themselves, and old criminals fighting to become legitimate businessmen, Shareef finds himself caught in a real-life thriller where past foes become friends, and trusted friends become dangerous foes. Nevertheless, the Harlem legend is hell-bent to do anything he can to gain the respect on the streets that his career as a writer of women’s fiction has failed to give him.The Last Street Novel is another urban classic as only Tyree, the self-proclaimed Urban Griot, can write them!

    With everything so divided, will death bring them together? Or will they continue to finesse their way into more danger? In this gritty sequel betrayal is at its best. Who can you really trust when everyone around is trying to finesse you?

    Rollin' dice is an everyday hustle for Wasuan, and he's one of the best the hood has ever seen. No one can defeat him. That is, until he stumbles across a dude from the same hood named Tone who has just as much confidence, a little too much mouth, lots of cash to back it up, and a strong desire for Wasuan's girl. When Wasuan is challenged and the stakes grow high, he finds himself caught out in deeper waters than he can swim in, with Tone dangling three options: pay up, take your last breath, or sacrifice something much greater...his girl, Enychi. But when Enychi agrees to spend one night with Tone in order to save her man's life, she finds herself caught up in an unwilling love triangle like the streets have never known. Love, betrayal, lies, sex and money are just the beginning in this scandalous tale, where loyalties are put to the ultimate test. In this new novel, T. N. Baker takes the term "sheisty" to a whole new level.

    But now that Snake, Duke and Bear have all been killed, she figures it's time to skip Virginia and heads to Atlanta.

    Talbert join forces to bring you the unforgettable saga of an aspiring young rapper who finds himself at several crossroads at once, where everything, including himself, is about to suddenly change. The year is 1989, Long Beach, California. When Ulysses Jeffries's mother decides to move her family from the drug-infested East Side to what she believes is safer North Long Beach, Ulysses and his little brother Bing are hurled into a world like none they've experienced before. Instead of moving on up, they've just moved on over. From a classically trained piano-playing gangster named Buddha, to the next-door neighbor, a foster mother turned basehead named Crazy Betty, to Uncle Mike, a freeloading relative who has a knack for showing up when times are good and a knack for leaving just before they turn bad -- these characters and more take you on a journey like never before. With growing conflicts in the streets, and at home with his mother, Bing, and his mother's new live-in boyfriend Harvey, Ulysses is forced to make decisions that will forever alter his life. It's clear that his only chance of survival is through close friends, family, and the music he loves. Love Don't Live Here No More is the first in a drama-filled series of novels called Doggy Tales that takes readers from the unforgiving streets of Long Beach to the bright lights of show business. The novel also comes with an original single that provides the backdrop to this compelling tale.

    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.

    With a supporting cast of grifters and killers, broken-hearted squares and streetwalkers and three very different women who each want to become bad-boy Gideon's leading lady, this is a world that thrives on the darker passions of revenge and desire.

    When she falls in love with Eric, one of her victims, all she wants is to find her baby sister, and settle down with her new love. But River soon becomes a prisoner of her dangerous world. And escaping it may cost her more than her life.By the time she turns sixteen, Starr is working for a pimp and turning tricks daily. But when an assault by one of her "dates" lands her in the hospital, Starr meets a woman who wants to help her change her life. Starr's heart is too hardened to believe in second chances, but soon she begins to long for more than selling her body just so she can survive. However the game does not give up its players so easily.Enter Eric's cousin, Yung Slim, fresh out of jail after seven years. He's looking to reclaim the streets and take care of some old grudges. When Yung Slim goes to battle, Eric—torn between his love for River, his ties to his cousin, and the lure of the streets—gets in too deep. When the war breaks out on the battlefield of the streets, who will be left standing?

    She has nothing left except her burning desire to become a singer. But her dream will never come true in Rudell, especially if she marries the man she adores, Dr. David Mackey. So when she sets out for Chicago, everyone in the close knit community, including David believes that the next time they see Cora, her name will be in lights. However, it's not long before Cora finds herself back in Rudell and back in David's arms harboring a secret she dare not reveal. . .A secret that will cause her daughter, Emma to flee Rudell with no intention of ever looking back. And even when Emma finds the perfect man and happiness at last, she is determined to do whatever it takes to keep her family's shameful past at bay. Then the dream that began with Cora comes full circle with her beloved granddaughter Parris whose melodic voice fills the dimly lit nightclubs of New York City. Yet, when tragedy strikes, opening a door to the past, Parris discovers the hidden truths that have ripped the family apart---but which may ultimately bind them together at last.From the dusty roads of the Delta to the pulsing metropolis of New York City, Rhythms is a rich, unforgettable tale about loss and healing, redemption and love.