Book picks similar to
Up at the College by Michele Andrea Bowen


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No More Drama


La Jill Hunt - 2004
    Original. 20,000 first printing.

Single Girl Summer


Deanna Kimberly Burrell - 2011
    People are! Button Jackson knows two things for sure: all men cheat and all women are rivals. So it's no surprise that the impeccably dressed restaurateur hasn't had a serious boyfriend, close girlfriend, or any connection of substance in years. Meghan Cherry has the opposite problem. Reeling from a painful divorce, the techie with a desire to unleash her artistic side, can't figure out why her relationships end with nothing when she gives so much. Attorney, Dawn Martin, is stuck somewhere in the middle. Waiting in purgatory for a marriage proposal that just won't come has molded her into a woman she swore she'd never be. Against the backdrop of hot days and cool nights in Chicago and armed with red cups of Single Girl Sangria, Meghan, Dawn, and Button, share stories, perspectives, and advice on everything from open relationships to open-toe shoes. They come together by chance, grow together as friends, and ultimately discover that for every girl, there's a season.

I'm Doin' Me


Anna Black - 2013
    All was well and things were perfect for Tiffany until the day she got the news that her show was going to be cancelled, before going home to catch her man in bed with the hired help. Determined to find a new home for her show and to get over her two-timing ex boyfriend Jeff, she seeks out every network on the roaster, but get's nowhere until she gets interest from TiMax, a cable network ran by Langley Green, father of Tressa Green who happens to be the fiance of Tiffany's old high school crush Kory Banks. The queen of L.A. Tressa, Kory's soon to be bride, not only wants to keep Tiffany and Kory apart, before they jump the broom, she also wants to make sure Tiffany's show never airs on her father's network. Although Kory and Tiffany realize that there is still an attraction for each other, Kory decides to move on with Tressa and Tiffany decides to focus on her career, but love is love and Tressa's schemes and manipulative devices to destroy Tiffany, causes her to lose more than Kory in the end.

Bring on the Blessings


Beverly Jenkins - 2009
    She was hurt—angry, too—but she didn't cry woe is me. Nope, she hired herself a top-notch lawyer and ended up with a cool $275 million. Having been raised in the church, she knew that when much is given much is expected, so she asked God to send her a purpose.The purpose turned out to be a town: Henry Adams, Kansas, one of the last surviving townships founded by freed slaves after the Civil War. The failing town had put itself up for sale on the Internet, so Bernadine bought it. Trent July is the mayor, and watching the town of his birth slide into debt and foreclosure is about the hardest thing he's ever done. When the buyer comes to town, he's impressed by her vision, strength, and the hope she wants to offer not only to the town and its few remaining residents, but to a handful of kids in desperate need of a second chance. Not everyone in town wants to get on board though; they don't want change. But Bernadine and Trent, along with his first love, Lily Fontaine, are determined to preserve the town's legacy while ushering in a new era with ties to its unique past and its promising future.

Long Time Coming


Vanessa Miller - 2010
    Kenisha Smalls has lived in poverty all her life. She has three children by three different men and has just been diagnosed with inoperable cancer. While the meeting between these two women appears accidental, it becomes their catalyst of hope. Neither woman expects the blessing that God has in store for her. While Deidre guides Kenisha on the path to eternal life with Jesus Christ, Kenisha teaches Deidre how to stand strong against the storms of life.

In Too Deep


Dwayne S. Joseph - 2007
    'In Too Deep' is a gripping novel about three brothers who choose very different life paths.

Guilty of Love


Pat Simmons - 2007
    Cheney Reynolds moves into a historic neighborhood where she meets an unforgettable cast of characters, including a wonderful man, but past guilt threatens to destroy her one chance at happiness as she searches for the strength to love and be loved.

Groove


Geneva Holliday - 2005
    This funny, sexy book has something for everyone!

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?

Sugar Walls


Brittani Williams - 2007
    In this sexy, suspenseful slice of urban fiction, an ambitious womans love ofeasy money and fast living leads her to the brink of destruction.

When You Look Like Us


Pamela N. Harris - 2021
    No one looks twice at a missing black girl from the projects because she must’ve brought whatever happened to her upon herself. I, Jay Murphy, can admit that, for a minute, I thought my sister, Nicole, got too caught up with her boyfriend—a drug dealer—and his friends.But she’s been gone too long now.If I hadn’t hung up on her that night, she’d be spending time with our grandma. If I was a better brother, she’d be finishing senior year instead of being another name on a missing persons list. It’s time to step up and do what the Newport News police department won’t.Nic, I’m bringing you home.

Married but Still Looking


Travis Hunter - 2002
    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.

Snapped


Tracy Brown - 2009
    After all Frankie and their life together are her whole world. So Camille tries not to be bothered by his closeness with his coworker and dear friend Gillian. But it soon becomes clear that Camille's suspicions are correct. When his indiscretions become a public matter for the world Camille is pushed to a dangerous breaking point that spells disaster for them all.Camille's sister Misa is newly divorced and clueless about men. She smothers men with phone calls, emails and pops up unannounced at their homes. She hacks into their voicemail and email and causes drama. So when she sets her sights on Baron, he has no idea what hit him. Will her quest to win his heart cost her everything?Dominique Storms appears to have it all - a great career, a beautiful NYC condo and a gifted teenaged daughter. Her only problem is that the man she loves is incarcerated. While trying to juggle the demands of motherhood, work, and friendships, she manages to make her man Jamel a priority in her life. But is he doing the same? And is she too distracted to notice what is going on with her daughter?Latoya Blake seems to be the one who has life all figured out, that is, until some skeletons are discovered in her closet. When her well-put-together façade crumbles, will she crumble as well?

Sugar


Bernice L. McFadden - 2000
    Sugar moves next door to Pearl, who is still grieving for the daughter who was murdered fifteen years before. Over sweet-potato pie, an unlikely friendship begins, transforming both women's lives--and the life of an entire town.Sugar brings a Southern African-American town vividly to life, with its flowering magnolia trees, lingering scents of jasmine and honeysuckle, and white picket fences that keep strangers out--but ignorance and superstition in. To read this novel is to take a journey through loss and suffering to a place of forgiveness, understanding, and grace.  McFadden is the author of the novels Gathering of Waters, Glorious, and This Bitter Earth.

Swamp Man


Donald Goines - 1974
    George Jackson, "Swamp Man," was born and bred in Mississippi as a gentle young man who turned deadly after he saw what four hill boys did to his sister.