Book picks similar to
Giving Up the Dream by J.L. Campbell


romance
african-american-fiction
family
lendme

Getting Some of Her Own


Gwynne Forster - 2007
    Thanks to an inheritance, she can start her own interior design business. It's not quite the life Susan hoped for, but she's determined to chart a new course...and shake things up.When architect Lucas Hamilton accepts Susan's dinner invitation, the result is a night of seduction neither can forget--yet neither intends to repeat. While Susan focuses on her new life, Lucas focuses on becoming wealthier than the absent father he resents. But when his father resurfaces, Lucas finds himself turning to Susan for counsel. And as their paths cross repeatedly, their feelings for each other strengthen. Yet the secret Susan is hiding may destroy any future they share..."A love-conquers-all story with a few twists and turns to keep readers turning the pages. I enjoyed it from cover to cover. Getting Some of Her Own is classic Gwynne Forster." --The RAWSISTAZ Reviewers

The Way My Heart is Set Up


Dechella Taylor - 2014
    After years of childhood abuse, Kylah finds herself grown, single, and scorned, and it isn't until life forces her to break down that she realizes that she must heal from yesterday's trauma's in order to move on to brighter tomorrow's. When Kylah loves, she loves hard, so when her old high school sweetheart walks back into her life only to end up destroying her heart, he validates her cynical view of men. She warns her sister Kyree and best friend Trixie about love, but soon enough, she finds herself falling in love faster than she could ever imagine. Then to make matters worse, her drug addicted mother pops back into her life, spilling secrets that turns Kylah's life upside down. When it's all said and done, Kylah is forced to either face the pain of her yesterday's or risk losing everything and everyone she loves for a past she can't seem to shake. Formerly My Yesterday's Text

With This Ring


Allison Hobbs - 2013
    But now, they are coming the realization that happily ever after might not be attainable, or even a reality. Harlow’s dreams of walking down the aisle are shattered when a muffled gunshot forces her to question her new husband’s character. Is Drake Morgan the determined entrepreneur she thought he was or a gangster and ruthless killer? After a bout with alcoholism and an emotional breakdown, Nivea is trying to rebuild her life, but the explosive result of her child’s paternity test threatens to destroy her fragile family ties. Desperate for her new man to put a ring on it, Vangie sacrifices her morals and puts a lifelong friendship to the test. From the bestselling author of Big Juicy Lips and Double Dippin’, this edgy new novel is sure to please both Allison Hobbs fans and newcomers looking for a spicy read.

The Flip Side of Sin


Rosalyn McMillan - 2000
    "The Flip Side of Sin" takes readers on a journey through the lives of a group of unforgettable characters who must overcome life's toughest challenges to find true happiness. It is a book in which worlds collide and people are forever transformed by the tumultuous changes that occur in one man's life. The story begins with Isaac Coleman, a man whose tragic mistakes cost him years away from everyone and everything that mattered to him -- especially his wife and son. Alone, confused, and bitter, Isaac can only become whole by learning to love again. But when he re-enters the world he left and attempts to get reacquainted with his now teenage son, Peyton, he finds heartbreaking rejection.As Isaac struggles to understand and change his plight, his only form of self-expression is found in the keys of his saxophone. When he later meets up with Miracall Lake, a woman with whom he shares a painful past, she surprisingly helps him to face his fears and reach for his dreams. In this case, love indeed conquers all -- or so it tries to in this tale of good versus evil and love versus hate. "The Flip Side of Sin" is a poignant and memorable work from a writer of immense talent.

Yellow Crocus


Laila Ibrahim - 2010
    Thus begins an intense relationship that will shape both of their lives for decades to come. Though Lisbeth leads a life of privilege, she finds nothing but loneliness in the company of her overwhelmed mother and her distant, slave-owning father. As she grows older, Mattie becomes more like family to Lisbeth than her own kin and the girl’s visits to the slaves’ quarters—and their lively and loving community—bring them closer together than ever. But can two women in such disparate circumstances form a bond like theirs without consequence? This deeply moving tale of unlikely love traces the journey of these very different women as each searches for freedom and dignity. Revised edition: This edition of Yellow Crocus includes editorial revisions.

Bruised - PT 1


Azárel - 2005
    She is a nice girl with an attraction to the wrong types of men. No one seems to understand why she would get involved with a notorious criminal. After settling into a dangerous relationship with Devon, her life takes a drastic change for the worse. Caught between his material gifts and controlling behavior she searches for a way out. The battle to save Carlie from Devon's grip puts the lives of many people in jeopardy. By the time she realizes that force is needed when going up against Devon, it is too late. Carlie's fight to stay alive will keep you on edge. Will she give in? Or die trying?

On Us


Nina. - 2020
    Her sister Ivy, who she loved more than anyone in the world and Vant who had taken care of her like she was his own blood, told her for years Ky was no good. Their relationship didn’t start ideally, but the love she had for him began long before they became public to the world. What was once a fairytale turned into a nightmare, and Avery felt like it was karma. She didn’t have any business being with Ky then, and the torment she had been put through showed they weren’t meant to be together presently.Lake Porter, a man who dedicated his life to taking care of his brothers and living by his father’s word, finally catches up to the feelings he tried so hard to fight. Love wasn’t in the cards for him, and he had come to terms with that until a prissy, sometimes crazy, vibrant woman, shows him that he isn’t so cold and his heart did pump. She isn’t fazed by his mean persona and deadly dark eyes. Lake out of his comfort zone, and in the presence of a woman so alluring with energy so contagious, finds himself at the end of a bullet from the love gun. He quickly finds out that being with the woman of his choosing comes with baggage that he doesn’t mind carrying. But will Lake be able to break her from the curse that is his sworn enemy?

Stony Creek


Christine Gardner - 2013
    She lives in Melbourne and enjoys the life of a single girl in 1970, with no intention of marrying any time soon, if at all. She has no desire to live the life she sees her mother has, with a house full of children. Things change suddenly after she loses her job and she finds herself faced with very different choices. She finds a new life in the outback, with a new kind of love and a new kind of pain.

The Joneses


Shelia M. Goss - 2014
    In this intriguing novel full of drama and plot twists, one family tries to hold on to their “perfect” life before their secrets, lies, and scandals are exposed.On the outside, the Joneses seem like the ideal family: Royce Jones, a funeral home mogul, and his wife, Lexi, are parents to Charity, Hope, and Lovie—and everybody wants to be them. But it’s true that money can’t buy happiness, and the Joneses are harboring secrets that can’t stay hidden forever… The funeral home business has been slow lately, and Royce is in serious trouble. When Lexi learns of their financial strain, she vows to hold on to her status by any means necessary—even if it means going behind her husband’s back. Lovie, seeing his beloved mother so stressed, will do whatever it takes to put a smile back on her face. And sibling rivalries tense up when Charity and Hope both fall for the same guy. On top of this, they all have secrets they’re hiding not only from people outside their family—but from each other. It’s only a matter of time before the Joneses’ perfect life goes spinning out of control and they’re revealed for who they truly are.

Diva Diaries


Janine A. Morris - 2006
    She's a successful marketing executive who still believes in sex, drugs and rock 'n' roll.

Silenced


Kia DuPree - 2011
    Now she takes you to Washington, D.C.'s most notorious neighborhood, where a young woman has one chance to escape-and too many ways to lose . . . SILENCED She gets lost in the fantasy of books and poetry. But in Tinka Hampton's all-too-real world, her mother Nicola has lost her job and is struggling to stop her family's fall into poverty. With her sons turning to drug dealing-and worse-Nicola wants better things for her daughter. Yet the more pressure she puts on Tinka to do everything right, the more she drives her away . . . straight into the arms of Nine, a man as irresistible as he is lethal. Now Nicola must make unimaginable choices that will put Tinka at a dangerous crossroads. Will standing up for her seemingly impossible dreams be her way out-or will they trap her on D.C.'s merciless streets forever?

The Banks Sisters 3


Nikki Turner - 2017
    At the end of the day, the Banks sisters are no different than any other family in the city of Richmond--other than the fact that they are rotten to the core. Sure, the girls are bonded by D.N.A, but they're also tied together because of their past of robbing banks, extortion, drug dealing, and even cold-blooded murder. However, that bond means absolutely nothing to them. When it comes down to it, it is every sister for herself, even if it means throwing her siblings underneath the bus to avoid the consequences of their many crimes. Sisterly love be damned; this is survival!

My Father's House


Todd Saville - 2012
    In two short weeks, that’s what workaholic Cole Jansen discovers. Still single at thirty-two, he’s more focused on managing his clients’ money and his own material success than he is with any woman who gets close, or reconciling his estranged relationship with his parents. But when his father’s ill health leads him from urban Cedar Rapids, Iowa to the tiny rural community of Harmony, Minnesota for a rare visit, his myopic life is suddenly questioned when he meets Rachel Miller, a young Amish woman committed to her church and family – and conflicted by forbidden dreams of meeting him, the man in the pictures she ritualistically dusts each week as part of her cleaning duties at his parents’ home. No sooner than such an unlikely courtship begins to flourish, a series of tragedies strike, and commitment and character must be confronted, bringing each of their paths to a crossroads and shaking the foundations of their lives. Will the threat of excommunication and career suicide be too great? Or is there hope for such an improbable love as this?My Father’s House, a love story of truth, tenderness and tragedy that will touch your heart.

A Hustler's Promise


Jackie Chanel - 2011
    Faced with the task of raising her two sisters, Jaicyn reluctantly resorts to boosting clothes and selling them.Rayshawn and his twin brother, Dayshawn, were 11 when their father killed their mother. In order to avoid foster care, they were taken in by their grandparents. The situation is unbearable, but Rayshawn has a plan...link up with the city's drug kingpin, Andre "King" Carter.When Jaicyn and Rayshawn meet, it's not teenage puppy love. It's fate. Shouldered with the task of making a better life for them and their siblings, the pair take on the streets as washington Height's teen Bonnie and Clyde. They earn their money the old fashioned way...guns and drugs.Full of ambition and goals, Rayshawn and Jaicyn's lives are full of high points and the lowest of lows. Their need to survive for each other as well as with each other is the fuel that keeps them hustling. A Hustler's Promise is the story of two young lovers who are commited to one another, their family, and their dream.

The Honeymoon is Over


Keith Lee Johnson - 2006
    Two time divorcee, Nelson Kennard, has finally found the love of his life - so he thinks, but his fiancée, Parris Stalls, has found another lover.Parris, a drop dead gorgeous schoolteacher with a body to die for, has been patiently waiting for Nelson's ship to come in. But after four years of waiting, she began to listen to her friends who told her numerous times to leave Nelson and find a man with some money.In comes the very wealthy Shenandoah Armstrong who has a twenty year old score to settle with Nelson. The fireworks begin when Parris finds out that Nelson became the man she always hoped he'd become. She never loved Shenandoah and never stopped loving Nelson. He still loves Parris, but will he take her back after catching her in bed with Shenandoah? Or has he found another and moved on with his newly found riches?