Book picks similar to
N.O.L.A by Cion Lee


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My Love Ain't Meant For A Thug : The Beginning Of Us


A'zayler - 2015
    He’s been living his life on the grind for as long as he could remember. Dominating the streets, and every other small time hustler in quest of his position at the top. Showing no mercy to the men and disregarding the women Congo was on a power trip until the murder of his oldest brother. Everything he’d worked for came to a screeching halt and he’s left with nothing. Now he’s forced to live a regular life working a regular job. The dope game having always been his first love, he now has nothing left that’s appeasing to his heart. A unique beauty dumbed down to nothing more than an extra source of income, Honey, is desperate and lost. She desires a way out of her current situation but with the only family she has locked away forever, she’s all alone. Getting to the money day in and day out, Honey shuts herself away from any and everything not aiding in her success. Having been used and taken for granted in her past relationship, she’s a little more resistant to the advances of the handsome young thug that’s captivated her truest feelings. She’s determined to ignore him and his efforts until there’s no more reasons to run. Here in the moment with this totally perfect stranger Honey decides to give it a chance. Both needing security and someone in their corner they embark on this new journey together. Struggling but determined to make it, Congo and Honey stick side by side, loving one another past their current situation. Believing in the visions he has for them and the passion filled relationship they’ve started, Honey promises to stay down until he makes it. Congo’s life was going nowhere fast until his heart took to Honey, so now that he has her he’s going above and beyond to show her that as much as she believes that it isn’t, her love is indeed meant for a thug.

Bad Boys Love Good Girls 2: The Return of the Outlaw


Porscha Sterling - 2019
    Although Outlaw knows that things often happen beyond his control, he can’t help but to think that he’s partly to blame for putting Chloe in a situation that has led to Isaiah fighting for his life. With a wife and child of his own, his outlook has greatly changed and it’s affecting him in ways that he’s never experienced before. When he finds himself in a situation that he never intended and takes things with Chloe beyond a simple platonic relationship, he realizes that the only woman he should be worried about is the one whom he gave his last name. But by then, will he have lost everything? From the looks of things, Janelle is a shoe-in to become the next District Attorney of New York City but the level of scrutiny and criticism of the decisions she’s made in her personal life have her wondering if this new career path is one that she really wants to take. All of her life, she’s followed in the footsteps of her father, the man she has looked up to since she was a little girl, but a series of events turns her life upside down and she’s left confused. Are the career choices she’s made really part of her dream or someone else’s? In this final chapter of the Bad Boys series, tragedy strikes in multiple ways forcing Janelle and Outlaw to come to terms with who they really are. With infidelity in the mix, Janelle’s bitterness becomes her best friend and she’s consumed with her need to take revenge on everyone who played a part in destroying her picture-perfect life. Will vengeance be enough or will it only lead to more misery in the end?

Sweet Like Rosé


TaugJaye Crawford - 2019
    Louis ho. Yet no matter how powerful his status was throughout the city, when a situation comes up and he needs someone the most, his assistant, Hunter, or his “Rosé” as he likes to call her, is the only one who could possibly hold it down for him. Hunter Rosé Twenty-five year old plus sized beauty. Israel Bennett’s right hand. Yet with that same hand held up to God, she solemnly swears that she can’t stand her boss’ rude ass. Her man is convinced that she and Israel are sleeping together, but will one “business proposition” prove that analogy to be true? In this short, romantic novella, TaugJaye puts a different twist on urban fiction with the execution of this whimsical love affair. Hunter brings something to the table that Israel has been missing all of his life, but will she give into his charm, or play the game better than her boss does, and decide to walk away from him as if nothing between them had ever happened?

To Boston, With Love


Chenell Parker - 2020
    To Boston, it meant nothing at all. Family wasn’t always defined by blood and he learned that lesson early. After being abandoned by the one person who was supposed to love him the most, Boston’s life became one heartbreak after another. Meeting his best friend, Indigo, at ten years old, turned out to be the biggest blessing ever. Indigo was an only child who was afforded the best life. Her first encounter with Boston pulled at her little heart strings and prompted her to take action. Indigo became his crutch but she didn’t mind holding him up. It didn’t take long for her to realize that Boston was fighting demons that were even stronger than she was. What happens when you put your heartache aside to mend the heart of another? When everything that you’re running from is in your head, will you ever be fast enough to escape it?

All I Want is that Hood Love 3


Mercedes G. - 2015
    Mega’s tired of playing games and there’s a new chick in his life, but there’s something about Taysia that he just can’t seem to shake. Will they finally let go and throw in the towel? Or is their love for one another strong enough for a happily ever after?

Daddy's Baby, Mamas Maybe


Tracee Boyd - 2013
    Family secrets and lies will be revealed and lots of scheming surrounding the lives of these two sisters will surface. Once the drama ensues and lies are uncovered, you won't be able to handle what happens at each turning corner.

Pregnant by A Rich Thug


Nikqua - 2018
    Alone in the world, Ro seeks out the man who got her pregnant during a one-night stand at a frat party. Tyree is a Rich Thug who is well known in the streets of Harlem. Many people know him by the respect they had for his father who got killed when Ree was sixteen. Ree took his father’s drug business and flipped it into something more legal while handling the drug business on the side. After finding out he was a father, Tyree stepped up and handled his business for not only for himself but for his baby mother. Forming a relationship with the woman who was carrying his child, Tyree found problems hitting him in every direction. As a businessman and the man in the streets, Tyree did what any man would have done, he sought revenge and handled his problems. When a problem came knocking at Tyree’s door that caused Ro to almost lose her life, what would Tyree do? Would Ro lose her life due to jealously from a known source? Could Ro handle the pressure and problems that come along with being pregnant by a Rich Thug?

Love In The Ghetto (Lil Mama In The Projects #1)


Mz. Toni - 2015
    Her mother is a sick and abusive woman that always saw Cherish as the mistake that ruined her life. An unexpected incident nearly costs Cherish everything. However, the unfortunate tragedy of a loved one leads her right into the arms of a new man that could end up being good for the soul. Mega is young, handsome and seems to have it all. He has moved across the hall from Cherish, the beautiful yet quiet and battered young woman. Mega witnesses the abuse she has suffered at the hands of her mother and wants to save her, but growing up in the hood has taught him to mind his business, and to turn a blind eye to things that don't concern him. Will Mega save Cherish? Or, will his hood nature cause him to turn a blind eye to her obvious cry for help? If so, can he save her in time? Or, will the abuse and neglect cost Cherish her life?

An Iconic Love: A Hood Romance


Shaytreice - 2015
    She refuses to be like Faith or Pam and she soon finds out just how different she is from the two. Throughout her young life she manages to avoid two rapes, yet she isn’t successful at avoiding a few brawls with her very own mother. When she no longer wants to run to her best friend Ti-Ti and Ti-Ti’s mother, Mama Toni, to protect her, she finds comfort, support, and true love in Saginaw’s most eligible bachelor. She quickly learns the trials and tribulations that come along with a man of such status. Iconic: A maturing young twenty-five-year-old who has survived the streets and drug game and is still on top. He has been so knee deep in dealing with hood fame and keeping his legit businesses afloat that he hasn’t had time to truly focus on love. Everything is going well for Conic until love comes unexpectedly knocking at his door. Conic soon learns just how crazy falling in love can be. From falling in love with a younger woman, unexpected fatherhood, to crazy exes, Conic starts to believe he can’t win for losing. Iconic Love: There is a phrase that says ‘everything happens for a reason.’ For whatever reason, the universe brought Iconic and Love together, and together they are both determined to persevere through whatever comes their way. But do the two strangers turned lovers have what it takes to weather the storms that are brewing against them?

Gunplay & LeTavia : Shawty Want a Thug


Leo Sullivan - 2017
     Raised in the heart of the hoods of Brooklyn, 18-year-old LeTavia was the oldest of two children looked after by their grandmother after their mother ran out on them. Built with a strong sense of responsibility, it was this trait that pushed her to protect Deshaun Banks, aka Gunplay, the very first time she laid eyes on him. Gunplay, a born hustler, ducked into a local food spot, hoping to dodge the police that were searching for him but what he found inside ended up being more than he expected. When LeTavia immediately assisted him by attempting to hide him from the cops, he not only avoided being placed in prison for the rest of his life but he found the one woman who he would learn is loyal to him from Day 1. Or is she really? Five years later, Gunplay is released from prison and runs into the person whom he owes his freedom to. Now 23 years old, LeTavia is a full grown woman and just as desirable to him as she was the day they'd first met. Immediately, Gunplay sets his mind on making her his but Quisha, the chick who held him down for five years of lock up, isn't having that. Cutta was the king of the Harlem streets before Gunplay was locked up and, after his release, he's even more powerful. When he hears that Gunplay has been released, he has one goal in mind and that's to end Gunplay's life for a betrayal he blamed Gunplay for years ago. But when fate brings him into contact with LeTavia, his plans take a turn that even he didn't expect and the result threatens to tear down everything that LeTavia and Gunplay have built. Is real love always loyal love? When the rules of the streets are mired by the desires of the heart, the results can be treacherous and, oftentimes, deadly.

A Love Bred From The Block: A Standalone Novel


Antoinette Sherell - 2021
    

It's Wrong for Me to Love You


Krystal Armstead - 2015
    Memories from her past and the burning desire to be with Aaron Whitehaven, her best friend’s boyfriend, keeps her from loving her life. While her best friend, Charlene Campbell, is out of town, attending a funeral, Aaron confesses to Ne’Vaeh that he has been in love with her for nearly three years. He explains that he hadn’t approached her before, because everyone said that she was still in love with Jamie Green, her first love who loved her then left her brokenhearted. Charlene Campbell’s past has haunted her, throughout her entire relationship with Aaron. Her reputation for sleeping with just about anyone with a pulse preceded her, and he’s stopped paying her any attention. A college trip to Miami turns into a reunion with old friend, Jamie Green, a college football player, about to go pro. Lies are told, secrets are kept, lives unravel, and much tea is spilled. Who will come out on top, and who will crash and burn?

Official Girl


Charmanie Saquea - 2013
    Losing her mother at a young age and never knowing who her father was forced her to be raised by her older brother, Ramone. Ramone did the best he could to keep his sister on the straight and narrow but, when he gets locked up, he leaves his sister to fend for herself. Neicey meets Le’Lani and they form an unwavering friendship. However, Neicey’s life changes forever when she is introduced to Mykell, Le’Lani’s older brother. She falls head over heels for Mykell but what she doesn’t know is he comes with some extra baggage! Will Neicey be able to handle Mykell and all of his drama and be his Official Girl, or will they be forced to go their separate ways in the end?

Jane Doe


Jessica N. Watkins - 2008
    Watkins wrote Jane Doe during her freshmen year of high school and after giving birth to her son. She was fifteen years old. She wrote Jane Doe as a heart wrenching reflection of life through the eyes of the urban teenager. Jane Doe is set in the “Windy City” during the year 1996. The main characters, Lyric Caldwell, Latrice Anderson, and Victoria Renee Brown, allow you into their adolescent world of fitting in, insecurity, boys, heart break, and love. Entering their first year of high school at Kraton High, Lyric, Latrice, and Victoria find themselves battling with common factors of the urban environment; teenage pregnancy, single-parent homes, and peer pressure. Victoria was forced to move in with her estranged father after the death of her mother. Forced to work and fend for herself, “Vic” has grown a thick skin against her father’s verbal and physical abuse, and strangers have to climb the wall that she has built around her heart. Lyric has a hard time helping her best friend break down this wall as she is forced to handle matters of her own; refereeing a game of tug of war between her older boyfriend, Russell, and her virginity. With substance abusive parents, Lyric often times prefers to lean on the maturity of her other best friend, Latrice, for counsel. However, Latrice is dealing with problems of her own when she realizes that she is possibly pregnant by the neighborhood high school dropout, Taij. Now she is faced with the unfeasible task of explaining to her demanding and strict mother that she has not only been sneaking and having sex with the boyfriend that she was not supposed to have, but also may possibly become what her mother has feared the most; a statistic. Through this novel, Watkins reveals the genuine thoughts and motivations of the urban teenager. Jane Doe is geared toward the urban adolescent, but is attention seeking enough for any adult by illustrating the rebellious teenager living “ghetto fabulous” with consequence, and highlights the unexpected heroes of our urban communities. Jane Doe reaches out to that insecure and yearning teen, and illustrates the consequences of refusing to look beyond the small window of fitting in.

Of All The Boys I Used To Love


Carry Lowe - 2018
    So she wants no part of it.Yet, one Sunday evening as she’s sitting on her front porch, sipping sweet tea with her grandmother, the sound of loud rap music blasting through the neighborhood precedes the arrival of Amir Savage, who is moving in with his granny next door.He was tall and tatted and unlike anything the sheltered, church-going Wren had ever laid eyes on. And she fell in love with him on sight without even knowing it.But can a love between two people who are so vastly different ever survive?She’s all sweetness and innocence. He is violence personified; born and bred in the grit and grime of the bitter streets of New York. He is more accustomed to having people begging for forgiveness than getting down on his knees and praying for it.Though he does have a soft spot for the country girl, and no matter how much he tries to push her away, he can't seem to get her out of his mind.However, he knows that they don’t fit into each other’s worlds.But Wren knows that she loves Amir, and is willing to fight to be by his side.He’s the one who keeps lingering in her heart. Of all the boys she used to love.This is a Full Length, Standalone Novel.