As a once successful businesswoman, Desiree "Rae-Rae" Johnson use to avoid driving through that section of the neighborhood--until she fell on hard times. After becoming a crack addict, she starts living with her soul mate Bilal "Bunchy" Wilson, the man who introduced her to cocaine. After witnessing a double murder and struggling to survive the everyday dramas to support their drug habits, they manage to pull off one of the biggest robberies in New Jersey's history. Bilal is sentenced to life for murder and armed robbery and meets his sudden death in prison, leaving Desiree to face the demons of her past alone. After turning her life around, she meets one of the top men in the game, Ishmael Jenkins, and falls for him, not knowing his secret past. Ishmael is comfortable in his position in the hood and falls for Desiree just as hard. All hell breaks loose as Ishmael's loyalty is tested and Desiree struggles to maintain her sobriety. Between love, murder and a possible relapse, will they survive? Or will they be another statistic in this society in which we live? Have you seen this in your hood? Well, this is what happened In My 'Hood.

    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.

    Frighteningly fierce, raw, and completely unpredictable, this coming-of-age adventure is woven with emotional intensity. A Deeper Love Inside is written in the words of Porsche Santiaga, Winter’s sharp-tongued, quick-witted younger sister. Porsche worships Winter. A natural born hustler, Porsche is also cut from the same cloth as her father, the infamous Ricky Santiaga. Passionate and loyal to the extreme, Porsche refuses to accept her new life in group homes, foster care, and juvenile detention after her wealthy family is torn apart. Porsche—unique, young, and beautiful—cries as much as she fights and uses whatever she has to reclaim her status. Unselfishly, she pushes to get back everything that ever belonged to her loving family. In A Deeper Love Inside, fans will encounter their favorite characters from The Coldest Winter Ever, including Winter and Midnight. Sister Souljah’s soulful writing will again move your heart and open your eyes to a shocking reality.

    Then the way to fame was leading him toward a mistake that could send him straight to hell...She never looked back.Lies, drugs, too many men-- golden skinned singer Topaz Black would do anything to get a hit to the top of the charts, even walk away from her friends and family. But surrounded by greed and lust, the love the longed for seemed to be slipping away forever.He broke all the rules.Brought up in South Central L.A., movie producer Gunther Lawrence learned early how to get the wealth and women he wanted-- and to turn his back on his roots. Now, blinded by Hollywood's glitter, his illusions may shatter when he discovers who really controls his career.As their lives touch, ignite, and explode, three talented African-Americans pursue fame at any cost...and the price may be their happiness...or their lives..An alternate selection of the Literary Guild and Doubleday Book Club

    All her life, Hope has dreamed of becoming a lawyer and one day helping her people out of ghetto oppression. By some uncanny fate, Hope meets the handsome thug, Life, in the midst of his desperate attempts to elude a massive police manhunt. Their brief encounter leads to a liaison of lust and passion, but with vast differences they soon part ways. Years later, Hope and Life meet again on opposite sides of a courtroom. Life, one of the biggest drug kingpins in the United States, is on trial for his life. On the other side of the courtroom is Assistant US District Attorney Hope Evans, who is holding a deep, dark secret. The infamous kingpin, Life, is the father of her child. Life is the ultimate tale of murder, sex, drugs and betrayal.

    Original. 15,000 first printing.

     Leah -- Young, beautiful, and in love with the wrong man. Distraught after her boyfriend Kenny sets her up to take the fall in yet another of his schemes, Leah has no choice but to strike a deal with the police. Her world changes overnight, and maintaining her composure while gathering information is no easy task. And then she meets Nasir... Nasir -- All he's ever wanted to do is make his family proud. Ambitious and hardworking, Nasir is a good man, but he owes a debt to a former friend -- and regardless of how many times he's paid it back, Kenny will never let him forget it... Kenny -- Money reigns supreme in Kenny's world and he'll stop at nothing to get more of it. Kenny would lie, cheat, and even kill to protect his empire. There is no such thing as loyalty as far as he's concerned. And he's starting to realize that his girlfriend Leah is standing in his way... Smart, sexy, and undeniably thrilling, Chaser is exactly what Miasha's legions of fans have been waiting for.

    Who’s your daddy? The Parkers’ best friends, James and Serena, are in the final stages of a bitter divorce. Just when James thinks his nightmare is over, he learns his daughter has a different daddy… For the love of money… Single mom Lachez Baker is a ghetto-fabulous mother of three who seems to have it all, thanks to money from her children’s fathers. But soon, her life of designer clothes, endless parties, and steady cash collides with the man who’s been the target of her carefully crafted paternity fraud. From author Pat Tucker comes a drama-filled tale of lies, schemes and consequences as these men discover the importance of knowing the paternity laws in your state.

    It is love at first sight as the two fall head over heels for each other, despite the influence of Justine's jealous friend, Simone. While Simone tempts Lucas with her raw sexuality, he struggles to keep his old ways in the past. Lucas and his partner, Noah, accept a dangerous undercover assignment that will topple the empire of the notorious drug lord, Nine. Can Lucas and Noah survive this dangerous bust? Will Lucas revert to his player ways with Simone's constant temptation? It's a race between love and lust, and what goes around definitely comes around as KARMA takes its toll.

    Rolling over on your best friend who has been with you through thick and thin, hungry and full, freedom and state bids- that's "the cruelest lie told in silence". In this tale that plucks the innermost chords of emotion, jealousy turns to envy then to backstabbing as we observe two friends that have struggled together, hustled together and endured separate prison terms. While Jevon experiences the fruits of the hustle during his partner's first stint, Bilal humbly does his time like a true soldier after taking a manslaughter charge for his "brother". Will their friendship survive the broken bond of brotherhood, or will dishonor come before death?

    This funny, sexy book has something for everyone!

    It's 24/7 money to burn, it's fancy houses, designer clothes, and luxury cars. It's leaving no-pay jobs and crumbling projects to have everything mad cash flow. And best friends, Alize, Dom, Moet, and Cristal will do anything to get the glamorous life - and put the past in the rear-view mirrors of their brand new whips. A savvy and smart business major, Alize had her childhood shattered by the divorce of her parents and is determined to never fall in love and risk being hurt. Dom learned early to use her sizzling-hot body to make much bank - and find an eascape from her too dark looks and drug-addicted mother. Disillusioned by the faith and strict parents she grew up with, Moet figures hooking up with powerful men is now the real way to heaven. And streetwise Cristal has a master plan to get the security she never to knew as foster child. To make these dreams come true, these sistahs will go after the East Coast's biggest movers-and-shakers - superstar rappers, mega-successful moguls, and powerful thugs-for-life. But between the wild times and wilder men, one of them is going to gamble one time too many, one will play a player too far, one will take a dangerous chance, and one will face a hard real-deal choice. To survive, they'll have to depend on each other and remember who they truly are to learn that the good life doesn't cost a thing...

    Done with the thug life, she has everything a ghetto girl would want: plenty of money, drop-dead-gorgeous looks, and two thriving legitimate businesses. Until she falls in love with Sincere Montega, a powerful drug dealer whose down-and-dirty money pulls Kisa back into the world she is trying so hard to leave behind. With lies, cheating, and conflict, Kai, their newborn, may be the only reason for this couple to stay together, but their lives are inevitably changed in the most unexpected way, the only way the streets of Harlem can.

    . . and their lives.

    But a frantic call for help from a childhood friend whose child has gone missing changes all that.Now Lynch must summon the courage to return to his childhood home, the infamous projects known as The Bridge. As the case unfolds and the search for Kenya, the missing girl, intensifies, the secrets guarded by her family and friends begin to emerge. And the hidden truths are more sinister and malevolent than Lynch could ever imagine, and once again, The Bridge threatens to be his downfall.Solomon Jones’s The Bridge is a gritty, suspenseful novel in which the root causes of crime share the stage with their tragic consequences, allowing an intimate window into ghetto life.