Book picks similar to
permission to love by karlee north


5-star-reads
lgbtq
poetry
queer-sapphic-non-fiction

Fractured Mosaic


Sabarna Roy - 2021
    

Lil Mama From The Projects 2: Love In The Ghetto


Mz. Toni - 2015
    She's pregnant by the man of her dreams and is surrounded by true friends and family. Things couldn't be better, but in Cherish's world all good things come to an end. Will she and Mega stand the test of time? Or, will Cherish's world continue down a road of turmoil?

The King Brothers: Rise Of An Empire


Dream - 2017
    They were known around the slums of Chicago as The King Brothers. Love and loyalty was the foundation they stood on top of. The King Brothers raised each other while watching their mother finesse the streets. Vice, the oldest brother only valued two things out of life, his family and his money. As he grew older he realized that there was more to life than hustling, kicking it with his trigger finger soldiers and training his pit bulls. He now desired something of substance…a woman… that could become his wife. Boosie was what you would refer to as “more than what meets the eye”. It wasn’t a secret that he loved the streets and the streets loved him back. But once his daughter is born he’s ready to wrap up the fast life for the sake of being around to see his baby girl grow older. Coming home from a five year bid Angelo only had one thing on his mind and that was money. Money ruled everything in his small world even while he was locked down. Whereas the other brothers are itching for retirement, Angelo is just getting started with rebuilding the King’s empire. Vidal, the baby of the bunch is also the troubled child. Picking up his first gun at eight years old everyone around him saw that he was headed for self-destruction…except his brothers. New-comer author, Dream is hitting the ground running with this explosive, mind-blowing page turning series that is guaranteed to grasp your attention. The King’s Brothers are a group of hustlers like no other. When the blood is no longer thick and loyalty is being tested what do they do? Their mother’s past comes back to haunt them and leaves the lives of the ones closest to them in jeopardy. Will the King brothers ever be able to look at their precious mother the same? Will Vidal take heed to his brothers advice and slow down in the fast lane? Will Angelo fall in line and stay out of trouble? Boosie’s only concern is his daughter so will he be able to balance business and being a father? Vice is who makes the decisions but with someone new in his life he’s ready to be done with the game.

Flexin' On My Ex with A Boss


Jenica Johnson - 2018
    While she’s holdin’ it down, is her man really grindin’ or cheatin’? Yahria aka Yah-Yah was a hood chick that didn’t mind fighting for what she loved. Growing up without both of her parents, she was a product her environment. She was raised by her grandmother and was the girlfriend to the newest up and coming dopeboy. Putting her life on hold, Yahria made sure her man’s needs came first while she lagged behind with his promises to make sure she was straight. After one drunken night, she discovers her intuition was right all along. Subashtian aka Bash isn’t your average dude. He dresses different, he acts different, and he spends his money different. To the human eye, he’s not a boss but the people close to him know what and who he is. Bash took a big loss, and it made him hide in a shell. He promised to never open up to anyone else besides his family. He thought he had everything planned out until destiny linked him with his opposite. Bash likes his women calm and lady-like until he meets Yah-Yah. Can opposites attract or will they clash because they are from two different worlds?

Nickerson Barbie 2 (In The Name Of Love)


Mimi Renee - 2013
    Barbie would rather be dead then to try it again, but her Prince Charming, Nephew, has no plans on allowing her to slip from in between his fingertips or out of his life. He can't imagine life without his demented, loyal beauty and he will do whatever it takes to fix their marriage and make things right - even if he has to kill off those closet to his wife to allow sleeping dogs to lie. But the big question is, who hold's Barbie's best interests at heart? Will she find out who's on her team and who can she really trust with her life before it's too late? Will Nephew's closet full of skeletons bust open to reveal the ugly truth? Will the secrets that Barbie has buried deep within cause the modern-day Watts Bonnie & Clyde to part ways and end their twisted love once and for all, ultimately making them enemies? The twisted, demented drama continues. Dive into the pages of Nickerson Barbie 2 as it picks up exactly where book one left off.

Rise of a Kingpin's Wife


Vivian Blue - 2015
    Also known as Andrea Johnson, inmate number 194340. Shade was just released from a federal penitentiary, and headed back to St. Louis. She only has two things on her mind, getting back on top of the game. And, getting back the person who put her in that cage. There’s fire in her soul, because her ex-boyfriend Jefferson was the one who put her there since she wouldn’t tell on her best friend Mike. Shade’s loyalty to the code of the streets, and the love of her friend didn’t give her any other option, but to go to prison. Now faced with putting her life back together, and reconnecting with friends, Shade quickly sees that her best friend Tia, which happens to be Mike’s fiancée, doesn’t share the same sentiment, which was evident when Shade was locked up. And, her other two best friends Cali and Renee know that there’s an underlined envy that Tia carries around against Shade. But, when the truth comes out about why Shade went to jail, Mike’s lust for Shade begins to surface. And, Tia sees it from a mile away. While out celebrating Shade’s release, she meets a handsome Jamaican man named Kingston. He’s captivated by Shade’s beauty, but when he finds out she’s just released from jail, his intrigue and obsession begins. They exchange numbers with the possibility of hooking up later. The only interest Shade has in a man right now, is to use him for what’s in between his legs. Because, she’s on a mission, and a man would only complicate things. But what she doesn’t know is that her life is about to change forever.

shot glass confessional


Parker Lee - 2020
    "love is a wonderful thing,but it's not the only wonderful thing."Non-binary poet Parker Lee (formerly known as Cyrus Parker) brings to you a revised edition of shot glass confessional, a collection of 50 shot-glass-sized pieces of poetry, prose, and aphorisms about discovering your worth and reclaiming your power, both in the context of relationships, and outside of them.

Piece of Poetry : Me&Me


Raviraj Mishra - 2020
    We were made to sing and recite poetry in groups. The rhyming words somehow would bring a sense of enjoyment, and they won’t leave our mind even with the passing days. Poetry holds magic. A magic to change the moment and bring out the joyous hidden self. We all in some point or another had come across a poetry that either taught us the unlearned or brought back a memory or just a smile.Piece of poetry is an effort to share some thoughts through prose. Each poetry was written with a story in mind, willing to be talked about. The thoughts that didn’t need sophisticated words, but they were craving for rhythm.The idea was to point out some of the feelings and emotions that were desperate to be shared. Some untold words, a certain perspective that was always doubted by self and others. Piece of poetry is an honest attempt to format these feelings into a song, hoping that it would stick with everyone who decided to read it.

SHE- Screw Silence!


Reecha Agarwal Goyal - 2019
    She smiles like she is hiding a secret. She holds her head high, like she is wearing an invisible crown. The air Around her is charged with confidence, strength, and courage. Have you heard the whispers? She woke up different today. Yet it feels she has been like this always. Maybe it’s the story that has changed.About the Author‘Fragile but Unbreakable’ is how Reecha describes herself. She believes in miracles, takes life head on, and is passionate about weaving magic with her words. And now that she has found her calling, she desires to spend her entire life reading, travelling, and dwelling in her own little fictional and poetic worlds. An MBA from Loyola Institute of Business Administration, she is based out of New Delhi where she lives with her husband and two kids. She – Screw Silence is her third book.

Crown Noble


Bianca Phipps - 2020
    Phipps ruminates on the ways we are shaped as humans. Is it nature or nurture? Is it fate or a happen chance? What teaches us to love our generational inheritance, no matter how harmful? Phipps takes us to the most intimate parts of family matters in hopes of underantdatning conflict as a means of overcoming.

sugar, honey, ice & tea


C.R. Elliott - 2019
    Divided into four chapters, the book deals with the struggles of pain and healing of wounds of all sorts, finding sweetness in all the bitterness along the way. Sugar, honey, ice & tea takes readers on a journey deep into the dark corners where struggle becomes strength and pushes through all the emptiness until it reaches the light.

Death of Dreams


Shruti Agrawal
    It is deep dive into emotions, empathy, acceptance, healing and insights into a different perspective towards life. The book embraces you in silence and stillness of thoughts. The book is an attempt to connect to souls, to reflect upon them, unbiased and together embrace a new beginning and a beautiful journey called life.

A Rustic Mind


Manali Manan Desai - 2018
    Through ‘A Rustic Mind’ I aim to provide a thoughtful take on such actions and incidents. Poetic in its expression, these words will strike a chord which is not only deep but relatable on many levels.

Reckless Paper Birds


John McCullough - 2019
    The author of the critically acclaimed collections The Frost Fairs and Spacecraft, Brighton-based John McCullough pulls no punches in this latest - and his most powerful -collection. These are poems of skill, joy and quiet musicality that reflect the conflict and complexity of being.

Directions to the Beach of the Dead


Richard Blanco - 2005
    The words are redolent with his Cuban heritage: Marina making mole sauce; Tía Ida bitter over the revolution, missing the sisters who fled to Miami; his father, especially, “his hair once as black as the black of his oxfords…” Yet this is a volume for all who have longed for enveloping arms and words, and for that sanctuary called home. “So much of my life spent like this-suspended, moving toward unknown places and names or returning to those I know, corresponding with the paradox of crossing, being nowhere yet here.” Blanco embraces juxtaposition. There is the Cuban Blanco, the American Richard, the engineer by day, the poet by heart, the rhythms of Spanish, the percussion of English, the first-world professional, the immigrant, the gay man, the straight world. There is the ennui behind the question: why cannot I not just live where I live? Too, there is the precious, fleeting relief when he can write "…I am, for a moment, not afraid of being no more than what I hear and see, no more than this:..." It is what we all hope for, too.