Book picks similar to
All That and a Bag of Chips by Darrien Lee
romance
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Just Too Good to Be True
E. Lynn Harris - 2008
Brady Bledsoe and his mother, Carmyn, have a strong relationship. A single mother, faithful churchgoer, and the owner of several successful Atlanta beauty salons, Carmyn has devoted herself to her son and his dream of becoming a professional football player. Brady has always followed her lead, including becoming a member of the church's "Celibacy Circle." Now in his senior year at college, the smart, and very handsome, Brady is a lead contender for the Heisman Trophy and a spot in the NFL. As sports agents hover around Brady, Barrett, a beautiful and charming cheerleader, sets her mind on tempting the celibate Brady and getting a piece of his multimillion-dollar future--but is that all she wants from him, and is she acting alone? Carmyn is determined to protect her son. She's also determined to protect the secret she's kept from Brady his whole life. As things heat up on campus and Carmyn and Brady's idyllic relationship starts to crumble, mother and son begin to wonder about the other--are you just too good to be true? A sweeping novel about mothers and sons, football and beauty shops, secrets and lies, JUST TOO GOOD TO BE TRUE has all the ingredients that have made E. Lynn Harris a bestselling author: family, friendship, faith, and love.
A Family Affair
ReShonda Tate Billingsley - 2013
Her dream of studying dance at Juilliard is within reach, but Olivia Dawson turns down the opportunity, choosing instead to stay with her ailing mother in the Houston projects where they barely make ends meet. Lorraine Dawson is Olivia’s whole world, and now Olivia insists on being there for her. But when Lorraine learns Olivia is sacrificing college for her sake, her heartache triggers a series of shattering events that results in Olivia discovering her father, a man she was told had died years ago. But he is alive and well—and he’s the powerful CEO of one of the country’s richest corporations. With her best friend urging her to claim a much-deserved chunk of Bernard Wells’s fortune, Olivia seeks out his Los Angeles mansion. But it’s not money she wants—it’s answers: Why did he abandon Lorraine when Olivia was three years old? Why did they suffer in poverty while he gave his “real” wife and son a life of luxury? Opening up the past, however, is more complicated than Olivia—or Bernard—expected, and the pain of yesterday’s sins must be confronted before true healing and a bright tomorrow can begin.
Smooth Operator
Risque - 2010
But there’s a catch: His superior is his gorgeous wife Payton, who “discovered” Lyfe when he was a mere delivery man and brought him from the mean streets to the boardroom. Though Lyfe’s more than proven his mettle, Payton never lets him forget who’s in charge.Arri is a secretary by day. But at night, this voluptuous honey secretly earns extra cash to support her junkie sister’s five-year-old son by operating the Web site, ASmoothOperator.pro. With her webcam, she bares all for the men who log on. But besides the guys who pay for their pleasure, Arri has no connection to men in real life. Her past is too painful, and she doubts she’ll ever be able to trust another man again—until she meets Lyfe, her new boss, and soon to be her lover. But will they both be able to break free from old wounds and forge something solid? It will be a challenge to protect their present bliss from Payton’s vindictive nature and from an unexpected menace, who threatens to tear Lyfe down and ruin every good thing—on the job and in the bedroom—he and Arri have tried to build.
For You I Will
Chelsea Maria - 2018
Since the age of 15, he has sacrificed his happiness and placed his dreams on hold to make sure the one he cleaved to the most lived out their dream. Being a producer under his best friend's record label came with a lot of perks… except true love. His desires for love went beyond the lyrics he wrote. He craved it like the air he breathed. Landon Carter had it all. The money, cars, clothes and a plethora of women. Being COO of a major record label, Landon has seen first-hand the lengths women will go to just to attach their name to his. Tired of the lies and deceit, he takes his heart off the market and hardens it instead. Set out on being struck by Cupid's arrow, Andre opened himself up for love unlike his best friend Landon. Only thing, well person, stopping him is a Kenyan beauty by the name of Dafina whose own insecurities cause Andre to rethink if the fight for true love is worth it. Being the scrooge of love, Landon thought the black ice surrounding his heart would never melt. That is… until he meets an unlikely spirit housed in the woman he least expects that causes him to rethink the true of meaning love.
In Sheep's Clothing
Mary Monroe - 2005
Facing a future of cooking, cleaning and unsatisfying sex, Trudy decides to make some changes while she still can.
All Up in My Business
Lutishia Lovely - 2011
But jealousy and competition threaten to tarnish their picture-perfect image. Playboy Toussaint is a risk-taker, determined to expand at a record pace. Levelheaded family man Malcolm insists on challenges Toussaint's goals. And at home, there's more brewing than grits and collard greens.
Breaking All the Rules (Second Chances Book 1)
Rhonda McKnight - 2013
Janette is pregnant and not only is this wedding happening, but Deniece has to arrange the festivities. Deniece’s feelings and pride are hurt, but surprisingly, Terrance’s younger, sexier, cousin, Ethan Wright, is there to provide a listening ear and a strong bicep to cry on. Ethan’s interested in Deniece, but she has a rule about dating younger men. Despite her resistance, things heat up between them and Deniece begins to wonder if it’s time to break a few rules of her own.
Malice
Danielle Steel - 1996
It is not the first time, and a brutal crime ensues.And to everyone's horror, Grace will not tell the truth. She is a young woman with secrets too horrible to tell, with hurts so deep they may never heal. She is also beautiful enough for men to want her no matter how much she does not want them. Whatever the outcome, Grace Adams will have to live with whatever happened during those terrible years. After a lifetime of being a victim, now she must pay the price for other people's sins.From the depths of an Illinois women's prison to a Chicago modeling agency to a challenging career in New York, Grace must carry the past with her wherever she goes. And in healing her own pain, she reaches out to battered women and children who live a nightmare she knows all too well.When Grace meets Charles Mackenzie, a New York lawyer, she has found a man who wants nothing from her--except to heal her, to hear her secrets, and to give her the family she so desperately wants. But, with happiness finally within her grasp, and precious loved ones to protect, Grace is at her most vulnerable--in danger of losing everything to a vicious tabloid press and an enemy from her past, an enemy bent on malice at all costs.With rare insight and power, Danielle Steel writes this extraordinary woman's story, portraying her struggle to triumph over malice and betrayal, and to transform a lifetime of pain into a blessing for others. Revealing both the stark reality of domestic abuse and the healing power of love, Malice, is more than superb fiction. It is a piece of life.
Message from a Mistress
Niobia Bryant - 2010
Bryant will have readers on the edge of their seats with this sexy and provocative novel about a group of women who have one thing in common--their husbands' betrayal.
Bad Girlz 4 Life
Shannon Holmes - 2008
Tonya Morris a.k.a. "Tender" is back and this time the ride is wilder than ever.Coming of age in the Badlands of north Philadelphia--one of the toughest and poorest communities in the country--Tonya Morris has had to make some desperate and, at times, ruthless moves in her bid to survive. When Tonya stepped into the unforgiving business of stripping, she found herself caught up in a world of sex-filled nights, dirty money, backstabbing cohorts, and murder.She left that world behind to become a hairstylist. However, after she is blacklisted from salons across Philadelphia and is evicted by her shady landlord, Tonya finds herself back in the stripping business. Except this time, she promises herself, things are going to end differently.Tonya teams up with her best friend, Na'eema, to organize underground sex parties, and it's not long before they have a team of beautiful girls and are rubbing elbows with athletes, rappers, and celebrities.Then Tonya's ex-lover and now music industry superstar, Q, steps onto the scene, and everything takes a dramatic new twist. Because it's not just Q who is back in her life. His murderous baby mama, Niecey, is fresh out of jail and ready to raise hell. And she's got Tonya in her sights. In the meantime, Tonya's past has risen like a beast, threatening to tear away all her newfound success. But Tonya isn't going down without a fight.
White Lines
Tracy Brown - 2007
She partied hard, and life seemed good when she was with Born, the neighborhood kingpin whose name was synonymous with money, power, and respect. But all his love couldn't save her from a crack addiction. Jada goes from crack addict and prostitute to survivor and back again before she finds the strength to live for herself and come out on top. And her stormy romance with one of the fiercest hustlers on the streets makes White Lines one of the most unforgettable urban loves stories of the year.
Ratchet Wives Club: Episode One
Chanel Q. - 2016
MICHAELAHas everything a woman could dream of. Certified bad bitch with a sexy husband, adorable daughter, money making law career... And an addiction to coke.MAYAMichaela's little sister. Just quit being a video model, owes her ex thousands and trying to get back on the pole to earn money.Her future looks grim.TIASIBitter about her pending divorce from NBA baller husband Cairo. Nothing like her husband's cousin to take the edge off...PRISCILLAHas a demanding job, an absent husband and twin toddlers. Now her father wants to borrow money.But there'll be a steep price to pay.
The Ratchet Wives Club is your new favorite soap opera in book format.
Candy Licker
Noire - 2005
Harlem. 145th Street. Grab a seat and brace yourself as I show you the kind of pain that street life and so-called success can bring. . . .Nineteen-year-old Candy Raye Montana, an ex—drug runner for the Gabriano crime family and a former foster child, dreams of becoming a hip-hop superstar, if only someone will discover her talents.Someone does. Mega music producer and king thug of Harlem, Junius “Hurricane” Jackson, CEO of the House of Homicide recording studio, cuts a deal and puts Candy on the stage. Suddenly she is a hot new artist on the notorious Homicide Hitz record label. Her career takes off and she blazes the charts, but it’s not long before Candy realizes that the man she thought was her knight is nothing more than a cold-blooded nightmare.Caught between the music and the madness, between the dollars and the deals, Candy belongs to Hurricane–body and soul–and must endure his sadistic bedroom desires while keeping his sexual secrets hidden from the world. But Candy has some strong desires of her own that simply cannot be denied, especially when she finds herself turned on by a brilliant investment baller who just happens to be Hurricane’s right-hand man. Candy longs for her freedom, but if Hurricane gets wind of her betrayal the blowback will be lethal–and not only will she risk losing her recording contract, she just might lose her life.
Using What You Got
Karen E. Quinones Miller - 2003
Quinones Miller returns to her beloved Harlem to spin a dynamic tale that sparkles with the blush of first love and the hard-won lessons that endure." "Eighteen-year-old college student Tiara Bynum" is as pretty as a princess and just as spoiled. Her castle is the Harlem housing project where she lives with her younger sister, Jo-Jo, and her doting father, Reggie. Her fiefdom is the legion of men at her beck and call every time she snaps her perfectly manicured fingers. She has no qualms about flaunting her charms to get what she wants because she's "got it like that."Reggie -- a former professional gambler who was abandoned by his wife -- would do anything for his daughters, even if it means jeopardizing the family finances in favor of his girls' material happiness. Though Reggie's sister, Charlene -- a woman embittered by a disfiguring car accident -- pleads for restraint, her Thursday "family nights" pale in comparison to Reggie's Knicks tickets and shopping sprees.Blissfully unaware of the recklessness of her father's splurges, Tiara believes she's the toast of the world. Her greatest goal is to find a rich, handsome man who will spoil her just as much as he does -- or maybe even more. "Go for the glitter," she urges herself. "Who cares if it's gold?" When two suitors arrive on the scene, Tiara prepares to be smitten. But when the one she secretly adores doesn't like her attitude, Tiara's trademark confidence frays into embarrassment, shame, and confusion.Blindly determined to strike out on her own at any cost, Tiara lashes out against those who love her most. Yet the choices she makes, based on the way she's been raised,threaten to destroy not only Tiara, but her entire family.
Road Dawgz
K'wan - 2003
`K-Dawg', self-proclaimed lord of the streets. Keshawn is the youngest of five kids and one of only two that doesn't belong to his mother's husband. As a little boy he feels the distance between he and his stepfather, and life becomes increasingly difficult for him as the years pass; his childhood and young adult years are spent in a home for boys and state prison, where he serves time for manslaughter. It is during his time behind bars, amongst hardened criminals, that the seeds of evil take root in his life and mercilessly transform him from an innocent child to a heartless, conniving menace, better known as `K-Dawg.' K-Dawg decides that the world owes him something, and when he is released from prison he intends to take it. He comes up with the ultimate power move that is sure to put him on top of the game or under the earth. He wants it all, and he is dead set on having it no matter what the cost. He has nothing to lose and everything to gain.