Book picks similar to
Never Go Home Again by Shannon Holmes


urban
fiction
african-american
urban-fiction

Thirsty


La'Tonya West - 2013
    She doesn't give her goodies to just anyone though. She prefers wealthy Caucasian men. Brothers are not to her liking. She has a thirst for the good life that she feels they cannot fulfill. That is until she crosses paths with Thrill. Initially uninterested Kaliyah has no words for Thrill but once she finds out about the paper that he is sitting on it changes the game. Will her thirst end up being her downfall?

Street Dreams


K'wan - 2004
    Rio, the only child of a singer turned alcoholic, feels he has nothing to hold on to except the idea of escaping the ghetto. Years ago, he took a gun charge for a friend and did some prison time. Unable to find a job when he gets out, Rio turns to hustling as a way out. In the meantime, Rio finds escape in the arms of his soulmate, Trinity.When Trinity's mother died, her abusive father looks to her to play the role of house wife and bedmate. Trinity finds strength to endure in Rio's arms. Together they vow to do whatever it takes to make it out of the ghetto. But soon they find their backs against the wall when the streets come to claim their due.

In My Girls I Trust


Brandi Johnson - 2010
    Their loyalty to each other has no boundaries, until it starts to affect India's relationship with her boyfriend. Will she have to choose between her friends and her man, or will he chose for her?

Dice


T.N. Baker - 2007
    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.

A Down Chic


Mallori McNeal - 2005
    For a 17-year-old, Amina has a decent life. But after meeting her father and 23-year-old brother for the first time, things take a turn for the worse. Amina ends up alone, trying to fend for herself and save her boyfriend, Kayne, from 3 years in jail. Amina must prove her loyalty to Kayne, but can you be a Down Chick without being locked down yourself? This is a question that never crosses Amina’s mind, leading her to make the ultimate mistake of her life. Author Mallori McNeal began writing Down Chick at age 14, during the summer before she began her first year in high school. She completed Down Chick and was accepted for publishing at age 16. Mallori currently lives in Cincinnati, Ohio.

Imagine This


Vickie M. Stringer - 2004
    . . and their lives.

Diamond Life


Sheila Copeland - 2003
    Comprised of three beautiful ladies, the sexy all-girl group So Fine has got it all — voice, magnetism, great songs — and drive. There's just one thing missing — and Nina can supply it.Jamil is not only Nina's ex-boyfriend — he's a mega-hit producer with a hot new label: Suicide Records. Nina is sure she can get Jamil to sign So Fine. She's always been able to count on him — though lately, he's been acting a little strange. Maybe it's because he's still got a thing for Nina, even though she's married now. Or maybe it's the influence of his new partner-in-crime, Xtreme, baseball's first bad boy and Suicide's first artist. Whatever it is, Nina has laid a big chunk of her own personal funds on the line, and there's no turning back now.But soon, everything seems to spiral out of control. Egos clash, hearts — and promises — are broken.

Luxury Tax


T. Styles - 2013
    Her memory loss continues to hold her recollection hostage as she constantly deals with Child Protective Service, a distant boyfriend and a crush on her Stick Up Kid neighbor, Gerron. If someone does not clue Ginger in or her memory doesn't come back, Ginger will go down for reasons she doesn't have one clue on. To top it off, a local thug named Bodie, who use to "Run & Gun" with Gerron, has turned enemy and kidnapped a close family member for ransom. The only way Gerron can raise the money is by doing what he does best, by taxing other people. But because his name rings out in the DMV area, he has to take his talents elsewhere. Las Vegas is the perfect place to get paid. But time is not on his side.

Entangled


K. Elliott - 2003
    Entangled is a love story between a major drug trafficker and a history teacher. The subplots include a black DEA agent with divided loyalty. He wants to do his job and rid the streets of drugs but on the other hand he knows that the system is corrupt and it targets minorities, this story has all the elements of a major motion picture.

Baltimore Chronicles Volume 4


Treasure Hernandez - 2012
    But is he really safe?The mysterious observer has come out of the shadows and infiltrated the Dirty Money Crew. Together with his accomplice, he plans to exact revenge on Scar. Meanwhile, Tiphani is plotting her return from Florida to claim her children and also get back at Scar and the mayor who left her for dead. After recovering from his injuries, Derek Fuller is out of prison, looking for redemption.Can Scar fend off all of these enemies and still control the Baltimore drug trade?

The Purest Love For The Coldest Thug


Miss Jenesequa - 2018
    However, deep down Solána knew her stubbornness had sent her mother to an early grave. After tragedy strikes, she gets back on the right path and focuses solely on herself… until she stumbles upon a bewitching addiction like no other, with not a single cure in sight. 
Kisan, known to many as Mace, on the surface appears to be a collected, handsome, and prestigious young man. And he is… among many other things. Those that know more, know him to be bold, calculated, and extremely cold-hearted. They know how crazy he truly is; how he can lay one finger on a trigger and aim perfectly without fail; a gentle giant to not one single soul but the only woman who has his heart—his three-year-old.
 Kisan and Solána are immediately drawn to each other, sparking an uncontrollable fire between them that neither party are able to put out. However, when the attractive heavy hitter and stubborn beauty’s worlds collide, it sets off a cascade of life-changing events. Events that not only change their lives but the lives of everyone around them. Loving a man like Kisan could potentially be the most intense and intimidating thing of Solána’s life, but is she willing to risk it all for a man she should be running far away from? And is Kisan willing to let a woman access the deepest, darkest parts of him?
They say the purest love is hard to find… but now that Kisan has found it, can he make it last? Or will his inner demons get the best of him?

Project Queen II


Teresa D. Patterson - 2010
    When she enters their lives, she brings along chaos and mayhem. She desperately seeks the love that her mother, a woman who cares more for drugs than her own flesh and blood, couldn’t give. She only knows how to show and feel love by opening her legs. A night that begins as partying and fun turns into horror. The events that transpire blacken Della’s heart. She vows that the pain inflicted upon her will be inflicted back on her attackers. She will pay them all back - with a vengeance. What happens when her obsession with getting even causes her to spiral out of control?

Bitchery 3: Secrets


Karmel Divine - 2014
    I can hear Zoe on the other side yelling and crying out loud. My screaming must have caught a few people’s attention as those two Spanish girls come running up behind me, watching. I fall down onto the floor; I’m tired, but I don’t care. I continue kicking on the door while screaming. My tears land to the floor beneath me. I peek over my shoulder and see Siles leaning against a wall, watching me from a distance with a smirk on his face. He has his arms folded across his chest as he smiles, satisfied with what is going on. I knew right at that moment that he did this. He wanted Rim to take Zoe away from me and take advantage of her. He needed that upper hand again. “Siles please, please stop Rim from hurting Zoe,” I cry out at him. He just stands there; looking at me oddly as my crying words goes unnoticed to him. Zoe’s cries can be heard through the closed door. I sit on my knees in front of the door. My hands are raw from me hitting the door so much. Siles moves towards me slowly and I ball up my hand into a fist again and raise it in mid-air. I look at him, ready to do what I have to do. He kneels down and whispers with a tight lip and a scowl on his face, “Hit my baby one more damn time bitch, and not only will I kill Zoe, I will cut my baby out of your fucking stomach and let you bleed to death.” He grins, satisfied with the shocked expression that is on my face. He stands back up and walks away, leaving me to watch his back as he disappears into the living room. I cry right along with Zoe until I can’t cry anymore.

Ride or Die


Solomon Jones - 2004
    Handsome, ambitious Jamal-a street-savvy crack dealer-is the son of North Philly's most notorious drug kingpin. A history of violence and betrayal lies between their fathers, who are now bitter enemies. After one of his church members is gunned down-with a bullet he is sure is meant for him-Pastor Anderson goes after Frank Nichols, determined to drive him from the neighborhood for good. There's just one problem: Keisha and Jamal are in love.When the families face off on opposite sides of an anti-drug demonstration, a high-ranking police official is killed in the crossfire, and Jamal becomes the prime suspect in the murder. Keisha is left with a choice. Will she stay with her father, in the confines of the sheltered world she's known, or will she venture into the unknown in order to help Jamal clear his name? She chooses Jamal, and in a whirlwind flight across the seamy underside of Philadelphia, Keisha will risk everything for love. Even her life.

Scarlett 3


Tiece - 2014
    Luke loves her with all his heart, but the only thing standing in the way of their happiness is the fact that he could be April’s baby daddy. Scarlett feels hurt and finds herself drawn in an unlikely relationship with Troy as he sets out to win her heart. However, unbeknownst to him, she’s not exactly keeping things completely honest. Nina wants nothing more than to get back with her kid’s father, Stephen. However, Stephen has moved on with an old friend of Nina’s and this union threatens any type of chance that she and Stephen have at being together. Rick continues to lurk in the shadows, definitely making it hard for Nina to ever find happiness with anyone other than himself. Sheila struggles with loving Jay as Jay struggles with losing Scarlett. To add to the confusion, Jay refuses to come to terms with the possibility of being April’s other baby daddy to her unborn child. Sheila is still on a road to redemption, but finds herself questioning Scarlett’s loyalty to her as veiled secrets are slowly being revealed. Will she find out the truth about Scarlett and her father messing around or will the tables turn and reveal some nasty details about herself? There are always two sides to every story. However, in this series, there are numerous sides to a story that only one can imagine… SCARLETT3