Book picks similar to
Our Type of Love by Chelsea Maria


marriage-in-trouble
alpha-male
must-reads
dnf

Finessed His Love


Tay Mo'Nae - 2020
    Never the one to be ashamed with dancing or having sex for money, Anika lived by the term “where the bag at”. When big-time music producer Draco walks in her life, she starts to reconsider her life choices, wanting more than what’s in his wallet. After his parents were in a tragic accident, Draco is forced to raise his younger sister. Hardly making time for himself, he keeps himself thrown into work to provide for his family. When his cousin forces him out to the strip club for one night of fun, he meets Anika and starts to reconsider his “all work no play” lifestyle. Draco wants Anika to change her “City Girl” ways, but will it be that easy? Will she be willing to give up the lifestyle she’s been accustomed to for a shot at love? Hayden dances to provide for her son. After his father was murdered, she forced to be a single parent and has no time for dating, until she meets Kamari. Kamari has always been a charmer. From the moment he laid eyes on Hayden he knew he wanted her. When things start to bloom between them, Kamari finds out something from his past can break him and Hayden up before they’re fully able to explore their relationship. Join these four for an up and down rollercoaster and find out if love will overcome pride.

In Love With A Brooklyn Thug


Nako - 2017
    The quiet girl from Brooklyn refused to go back to the projects– being raised by her selfish aunt her whole life was the push she needed to run far away and never return. According to Ms. Hudson, actions have always spoken louder than words, so when a blast from the past resurfaces and refuses to take “no” for an answer, Nia decides to give him one hour of her time. Surprisingly, one hour turns into a week, a week transpires into months and before she knows it, the two have become a couple. Together, East and Nia don’t paint the perfect-picture– they have nothing in common, and in fact, he’s the complete opposite of everything she stands for. Dangerous, thrilling, edgy, secretive, and quiet describes her current beau. East is definitely living life in the fast lane. Selling any and everything he can get his hands on and not knowing when the FEDS or worst, friends disguised as enemies will be his downfall. East doesn’t care about her flashy lifestyle as long as the cameras don’t land on him. Nia isn’t who she “post” to be, surviving in the projects wasn’t easy, she didn’t always possess her sassy attitude. When what was supposed to be a fun date night for the couple leads to Pandora’s Box being opened, Nia is left feeling betrayed. In this new suspenseful and quite romantic series from NAKO, love has been put to the ultimate test. Can the past be forgiven?

Caught In The Game: A Sports Romance (Diamond Lake Rattlers Book 1)


Cassie Verano - 2021
    

I Can Only Love A Thug


Antoinette Sherell - 2019
    Determined to make sure Mischana and his mother were fed, Kiru did the only thing any young man in his position would do; he hit the blocks. However, he had no idea how deep Mischana’s troubles really ran, and she was forced away before he had the chance to find out. Years later, Mischana is still being dealt bad hands. With an abusive boyfriend and a secret she’s been harboring for ten years, she runs to the one place she thought she’d never return. What she wasn’t expecting was to also find the one person she thought she’d never see again... Kiru. Determined to keep her close this time around, Kiru is more than willing to handle all her troubles. Will he be able to save her from her past life, or will her past only bring chaos into his?

Knight in Chrome Armor: Knight & Blaize's Story


Myiesha - 2015
    Now at 23, she's starting to realize she's nothing more than a human punching bag to him. Locked inside the house of hell, alone with no family or friends, physically and emotionally battered, Blaize continues to hold on to a relationship that may eventually kill her or place the one she cherishes the most in danger. After finally escaping the torment, she runs to the only person she knows. Detective Gregory Knight is at the top of his game in his career. After losing his wife to an unexplained death, he's determined to move on with life with his 7-year-old daughter. He has been working on Blaize's domestic abuse case for the last 3 years. Knight breaks the number one rule of never mixing business with pleasure when he starts growing feelings for Blaize. With Detective Knight to the rescue, he helps her through her most difficult times and helps build her into a stronger woman. With her newfound strength and not missing the fact that Blaize is one of the most beautiful women he has ever laid eyes on, his feelings for Blaize start to grow, and his willingness to protect her may jeopardize everything he has worked hard for. Will this damsel be worth his distress?

That One Missing Piece


Alida Alana - 2017
    Of course he wasn’t an established author back then, just the only man that has ever truly owned Jade’s heart. During the height of their passionate engagement, Jade made a decision that changed their lives forever. A decision she has regretted ever since. Unfinished business and a past seared with regret is what leads Jade to pay an unexpected visit to Ellis’s Brooklyn book signing event with a glimmer of hope that all isn’t lost. For Ellis, Jade was undoubtedly the love of his life. Seeing her again not only brings back memories of the love they used to share, it reminds him of the painful way things ended. Although it was so long ago, Ellis can’t help but wonder if he could allow himself to fall again. They’ve lived a life a part, both becoming successful in their own rights. And yet there’s always been that one missing piece to each of their happiness. Jade and Ellis, along with their charming and funny cast of friends travel through a roller coaster romance that proves love will always find its way back home.

The Escape


Tiye Love - 2019
    He just needed her. Skye Baptiste, hurt over the end of her engagement, travels to Los Angeles for a week to heal. While coming to terms with the demise of her relationship, she has a chance encounter with superstar Jordan Mathews at a hotel bistro that turns her whole world upside down. **Can be read as a stand alone or as the first book in a trilogy.**

From the Pole to the Palace 2: A Love Nobody Expected


Diamond D. Johnson - 2016
    As the days go by, Jameeka realizes that Levi isn’t the man she thought him be, but it’s too late because she’d already done the unthinkable, and Seth would never get back with her in a million years. Now that Seth and Dreka finally are in a committed relationship, is it enough for her to leave the pole alone and finally settle down in the palace where she belongs? Dreka promised herself that once she let those three words, I love you come out of her mouth, that she would hang up her dancing shoes, but is that true? In addition to everyday relationship problems, she is now faced with deep, dark secrets that she thought she had left behind in her past, but she now has to bring those secrets to light. This second installment is filled with drama, laughter, and secrets. Some will make it out in the end, but others won’t.

The Lover


Nia Forrester - 2017
    Thankfully, she isn't looking for that. What she does want is a baby. And after a rash decision made during a one-night stand, she just may be having one, with the very successful, good-looking, but completely wrong for her, Spencer Hall. But once Spencer learns that he may become a father, Ryann just can't shake him. He isn't interested in being an absentee parent; and she isn't interested in having a man hang around who is hell-bent on crawling into her heart, breaking down her defenses and unearthing all her secrets, including the ugliest one of all.

Free Game: A Foxview Heights Novel


Kema B. - 2021
    

The Golden Lie


B.M. Hardin - 2017
    She loved her husband with everything in her, but everything isn't always enough. She'd thought that she'd married the exception. Needless to say, she'd thought wrong. Her husband, Dakota, isn't the man he portrayed to be and after finding out a few of his heartbreaking secrets, Yaya is forced to come up with a plan. What do you do when the person that you love the most, no longer loves you back? You tell a Lie! Hurt and full of rage, Yaya wants revenge and she becomes apart of a Lie that changes life as she knows it and things for everyone around her will never be the same. She'd forgotten to consider one little thing... What if the Lie actually worked? Twists and turns, sex and deceit, Yaya's world is turned upside down, and she learns a cold, hard truth, that isn't always the easiest to accept and that is: No matter how well you think you know someone, the truth is...you just don't know everything! Even if it's about your husband!

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.

Tame Me


Kimberly Brown - 2021
    Her experience with men is one that has never surpassed the bedroom. She has become accustomed to being used for what she possesses between her thighs. While she watches her best friend find love with the man of her dreams, she longs for a love all her own. Plagued by past trauma, hurt, and insecurities, she has concluded that it just may not be in the cards for her. Deeming herself unworthy, she has settled for simply having her needs met, that is, until she meets the man who would challenge her very existence.Cody Parrish has just returned home from a two-year deployment and is eager to get back to his roots. Single for the last five years, he is open to the dating scene. A reunion with two of his best friends throws him in the pathway of a beautiful, vibrant, and sassy woman who captures his attention like no other. Though their initial meeting ends on a sour note, he cannot deny her captivating presence. When they cross paths a short time later, he asks her out in an attempt to make up for their first impressions of each other.While Julissa is a tough cookie, Cody is dead set on breaking down every defense she has. Will she give in and finally allow herself to experience the love she longs for, or will her past continue to deprive her of what she rightfully deserves? *** This book should be read in this order: Pretty Caged Bird, Tame Me, With Everything In Me***

A Passionate Night


Candace Shaw - 2016
     Harper Bennett’s motto is work hard, play hard. Lately, she’s forgotten the latter and has focused her time as part-owner, along with her brothers, of the hottest nightclub in Atlanta. When an intriguing client enters, Harper forgoes her promise to never date a man that doesn’t live in the same city and she finds herself playing hard to get with Hunter Arrington. The passion that has ignited between them can’t be extinguished, and she dreads the day he has to leave. Hunter travels the world because of his career and has no intentions of settling down until his eyes land on Harper Bennett. There’s something about the petite, sassy woman that he adores and makes him feel at home for the first time in years. Now he’s faced with a life-changing decision and the thought of being without Harper isn’t an option. Be sure to check out the other novellas in this series. (The novellas can be read in any order) A Passionate Kiss by Sharon C. Cooper A Passionate Love by Delaney Diamond

Love for Lease


Danielle Burton - 2020
    Falling is not a part of the plan. She's sure if she keeps her distance the bothersome feelings will go away. That task may prove impossible since he's her landlord.Keith has tried his hand too many times at love and it always seems to fail him. As his life begins to intertwine itself with Sasha's he can't help but to consider giving it one more try. However, winning her heart may be harder than he'd hoped.Sasha's spent her life longing for a place that feels like home. She wants to believe she's finally found it in Keith, but things never work out that easily for her.What Keith wants more than anything is a family. Things are finally falling into place, but it could all slip through his fingers.