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Satin Doll by Karen E. Quinones Miller


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Never Greener


Ruth Jones - 2018
    Always thinking the grass is greener on the other side. But it never is. It’s still grass. Just a different patch of it, that’s all.’*****The past has a habit of tracking us down. And tripping us up.When Kate was twenty-two, she had an intense and passionate affair with a married man, Callum, which ended in heartbreak. Kate thought she’d never get over it.Seventeen years later, life has moved on – Kate, now a successful actress, is living in London, married to Matt and mother to little Tallulah. Meanwhile Callum and his wife Belinda are happy together, living in Edinburgh and watching their kids grow up. The past, it would seem, is well and truly behind them all.But then Kate meets Callum again.And they are faced with a choice: to walk away from each other . . . or to risk finding out what might have been.Second chances are a rare gift in life. But that doesn’t mean they should always be taken . . .

Behind Those Eyes


T.P. Carter - 2004
    Her new love, Derrick, is everything she's ever wanted in a man. Until she meets Nathaniel Woods. Nat is Derrick's best friend - happily married with a wonderful wife, beautiful daughter, and a booming career. But when he meets Derrick's new girlfriend, he can't take his eyes off her.

Another Man's Wife


Shonda Cheekes - 2003
    But five years ago, her husband of fifteen years walked out on his family without a backward glance. Since then, Yani and her two children have played a waiting game, certain that he is coming back. Now, with the help of her friends and her sister Asia, Yani is finally over her love hangover and ready to get on with her life. At a party, she meets Alex Chance, a prominent New York businessman who's looking for a relationship with a woman who isn't out for everything she can get. Their powerful attraction leads to a whirlwind courtship and a fairy-tale like wedding. But their happy ending is threatened by Jarrin's sudden reappearance, which forces Yani to face the truth about her marriage -- and the life-altering choice she will have to make as another man's wife.With generous helpings of affection, humor, and romantic suspense, Shonda Cheekes has created a story that crackles with wit and the rifs and rhythms of modern life. Alternating between the first-person outlooks of Yani and Alex, Another Man's Wife captivates readers with a sassy tale of brothers and sisters on the move andsearching for love and fulfillment. Imbuded with the author's fresh, unique voice, it is a provocative and seductive look at relationships in the twenty-first century.

Colored Sugar Water: A Spiritual Tale


Venise T. Berry - 2002
    Lucy is thirty-five, single, and in great shape thanks to her career as a fitness manager for a string of Texas health clubs. Adel is the vice president for human resources at American Oil, pulling in a six-figure salary and annual bonuses. Unfortunately, neither is happy.Lucy struggles with her emotional and spiritual dreams. Her boyfriend Spencer, a basic kind of guy who loves his mama, sports, fried chicken, and Lucy in that order doesn't seem to measure up. So she decides to get out of her rut with a Sexy Soul Psychic named Kuba. Self-assured and sensitive, Kuba seems to know exactly what women want. Or does he?Adel struggles with a husband, Thad, who refuses to grow up and a job that is less than satisfying despite its financial gains. She is eventually forced to reexamine her faith as she searches for a life that brings her closer to happiness and fulfillment.Filled with the humor, passion, and pathos of modern relationships, Colored Sugar Water tells the story of two women who discover the power of their unique spiritual gifts. It further establishes Venise Berry as one of the freshest, wittiest, and wisest writers on today's fiction scene -- as New York Times bestselling author Eric Jerome Dickey wrote, "magnificient and honest, Venise Berry's writing comes from her soul."

Love


Toni Morrison - 2003
    In death his hold on them may be even stronger. Wife, daughter, granddaughter, employee, mistress: As Morrison’s protagonists stake their furious claim on Cosey’s memory and estate, using everything from intrigue to outright violence, she creates a work that is shrewd, funny, erotic, and heartwrenching.

Insatiable


Allison Hobbs - 2004
    She desperately needs something or someone to believe in. She plans her future around Marquise, the father of her toddler daughter. Devastatingly sexy, Marquise is currently in jail on drug charges. Terelle, however, is living for his imminent return and dreaming of the day they can start building a life together as a real family.A cunning seductress, Kai Montgomery is the bi-racial adopted daughter of a wealthy Caucasian couple. Rich, beautiful, and well-bred, Kai is Terelle's polar opposite. After being dumped by an affluent and very married physician, Kai is without a sex partner. When one of numerous trysts results in the best sex of her life, she becomes obsessed and is quickly set on a collision course destined to destroy many lives.

The Hypnotist's Love Story


Liane Moriarty - 2011
    It’s a nice life, except for her tumultuous relationship history. She’s stoic about it, but at this point, Ellen wouldn’t mind a lasting one. When she meets Patrick, she’s optimistic. He’s attractive, single, employed, and best of all, he seems to like her back.Then comes that dreaded moment: He thinks they should have a talk. Braced for the worst, Ellen is pleasantly surprised. It turns out that Patrick’s ex-girlfriend is stalking him. Ellen thinks, Actually, that’s kind of interesting. She’s dating someone worth stalking. She’s intrigued by the woman’s motives. In fact, she’d even love to meet her.Ellen doesn’t know it, but she already has.

32 Candles


Ernessa T. Carter - 2010
    Just when she's resigned herself to her fate, she sees a movie that will change her life--Sixteen Candles. But in her case, life doesn't imitate art. Tormented in school and hopelessly in unrequited love with a handsome football player, Davie finds it bittersweet to dream of Molly Ringwald endings. When a cruel school prank goes too far, Davie leaves the life she knows and reinvents herself in the glittery world of Hollywood as a beautiful and successful lounge singer. Just as she's about to ride off into the L.A. sunset, the past comes back with a vengeance, threatening to crush Davie's dreams--and break her heart again.With wholly original characters and a cinematic storyline, 32 Candles introduces Ernessa T. Carter, a new voice in fiction with smarts, attitude, and sassiness to spare.

Mysterious: This Magic Moment / Search for Love / The Right Path


Nora Roberts - 1985
    Especially since he was planning a death-defying stunt he might not escape from. But in Pierce's enthralling presence, all Ryan's defenses seemed to vanish…like magic.Search for LoveHe harbored dark suspicions about Serenity and her parents. He was jealous, impossible and demanding. He was enigmatic, charming and aristocratic. He made passionate love to her even while condemning her.So why in heaven's name had Serenity Smith from Georgetown, Washington, D.C., forever lost her heart to her French cousin, Christophe, Count de Kergallen?The Right PathAfter a frightening encounter with a knife-wielding stranger, Morgan James was bewildered when her "attacker" turned out to be the very wealthy Nicholas Gregoras. But could Morgan's suspicions about the mysterious Greek tycoon withstand the all-consuming desire ignited by his kiss?

The Vintage Teacup Club


Vanessa Greene - 2012
    They decide to share it - and form a friendship that changes their lives.Jenny can't wait to marry Dan. Then, after years of silence, she hears from the woman who could shatter her dreams.Maggie has put her broken heart behind her and is gearing up for the biggest event of her career - until she's forced to confront the past once more.Alison seems to have it all: married to her childhood sweetheart, with two gorgeous daughters. But as tensions mount, she is pushed to breaking point.Dealing with friendship and families, relationships and careers, highs and lows, The Vintage Teacup Club is heart-warming storytelling at its very best.

Leaving Cecil Street


Diane McKinney-Whetstone - 2004
    These energetic, sensual street celebrations serve as backdrops to the story of best friends Neet and Shay and their families.When Neet becomes pregnant by one of the corner boys, Shay arranges an abortion that goes terribly awry when Neet begins to hemorrhage. Neet is left unable to bear children and to Shay’s horror slips under the spell of her mother Alberta’s severe, esoteric religious beliefs. Shay is left to struggle with the grief of losing a cherished friendship, while she also bears witness to the the disintegration of her parents’ marriage. The story climaxes during the second block party, during which time it is discovered that Neet and Alberta have disappeared from Cecil Street—the holy-roller mother, Alberta, having finally been set free from the shackles of her church by none other than Shay’s father.

Wench


Dolen Perkins-Valdez - 2009
    from Middle English "wenchel," 1 a: a girl, maid, young woman; a female child.Tawawa House in many respects is like any other American resort before the Civil War. Situated in Ohio, this idyllic retreat is particularly nice in the summer when the Southern humidity is too much to bear. The main building, with its luxurious finishes, is loftier than the white cottages that flank it, but then again, the smaller structures are better positioned to catch any breeze that may come off the pond. And they provide more privacy, which best suits the needs of the Southern white men who vacation there every summer with their black, enslaved mistresses. It's their open secret.Lizzie, Reenie, and Sweet are regulars at Tawawa House. They have become friends over the years as they reunite and share developments in their own lives and on their respective plantations. They don't bother too much with questions of freedom, though the resort is situated in free territory–but when truth-telling Mawu comes to the resort and starts talking of running away, things change.To run is to leave behind everything these women value most–friends and families still down South–and for some it also means escaping from the emotional and psychological bonds that bind them to their masters. When a fire on the resort sets off a string of tragedies, the women of Tawawa House soon learn that triumph and dehumanization are inseparable and that love exists even in the most inhuman, brutal of circumstances–all while they are bearing witness to the end of an era.An engaging, page-turning, and wholly original novel, Wench explores, with an unflinching eye, the moral complexities of slavery.

Ride or Die Chick: The Story of Treacherous and Teflon


J.M. Benjamin - 2007
    Never having the opportunity to know his biological mother, he was raised by his father, who happened to be a notorious gangster. Deprived of a normal childhood, his father educated him on what awaited him on the streets of Virginia. When the time comes for Treacherous to make some sudden decisions, he has no idea they will land him in the very place that he is trying to avoid. Teflon Jackson is a beautiful woman who is the end result of a horrible union. Having a loving mother who was a prostitute and a pimp for a father, Teflon's childhood was far from a fairytale. Bearing witness to the abusive relationship between her parents, Teflon was determined not to follow her mothers footsteps. Tragedy strikes and Teflon finds herself having to utilize all of the tricks that her mother taught her after she is forced into the streets to fend for herself. Years later, Treacherous and Teflon's paths cross. What starts out as a potentially bad situation genuinely blossoms into a bond that becomes unbreakable. Ride or Die Chick: The Story of Treacherous and Teflon is about two people who come from nothing and are willing to sacrifice anything to gain everything. This is a modern day tale of Bonnie & Clyde and built on a love that is stronger than that of Romeo and Juliet. A bonafide gangster, Treacherous is confident that he can't lose, as long as he has his Ride or Die Chick!

You Me Everything


Catherine Isaac - 2018
    Comfy chair, check. Box of tissues, check. You Me Everything is everything you need for a moving, funny, heartbreaking, and ultimately joyous read." --Susan Wiggs, #1 New York Times bestselling author of Map of the HeartSet in the French countryside on an idyllic summer vacation, a delicious, tender novel about finding joy and love even in the most unexpected places.Jess and her ten-year-old son William set off to spend the summer at Ch�teau de Roussignol, deep in the rich, sunlit hills of the Dordogne. There, Jess's ex-boyfriend--and William's father--Adam, runs a beautiful hotel in a restored castle. Lush gardens, a gorgeous pool, delectable French food, and a seemingly never-ending wine list--what's not to like? Jess is bowled over by what Adam has accomplished, but she's in France for a much more urgent reason: to make Adam fall in love with his own son.But Adam has other ideas, and another girlfriend--and he doesn't seem inclined to change the habits of a lifetime just because Jess and William have appeared on the scene. Jess isn't surprised, but William--who has quickly come to idolize his father--wants nothing more than to spend time with him. But Jess can't allow Adam to let their son down--because she is tormented by a secret of her own, one that nobody--especially William--must discover.By turns heartwrenching and hopeful, You Me Everything is a novel about one woman's fierce determination to grab hold of the family she has and never let go, and a romantic story as heady as a crisp Sancerre on a summer day.

Second Chance


Jane Green - 2007
    In her latest book, Green tells the story of a group of people who haven’t seen each other since they were best friends at school. When one of them dies in a terrible tragedy, the reunited friends work through their grief together and find that each of their lives is impacted in ways they could have never foreseen. Warm, witty, and as wise as ever, this is a story of friendship, of family, and of life coming full circle.