The Coldest Winter Ever


Sister Souljah - 1999
    Ghetto-born, Winter is the young, wealthy daughter of a prominent Brooklyn drug-dealing family. Quick-witted, sexy, and business-minded, she knows and loves the streets like the curves of her own body. But when a cold Winter wind blows her life in a direction she doesn't want to go, her street smarts and seductive skills are put to the test of a lifetime. Unwilling to lose, this ghetto girl will do anything to stay on top. Featuring a Special Collector’s Edition Reader’s Guide—including an author Q&A, detailed character analyses, and the author’s own remarks about the meaning of her story.

Addicted


Zane - 1998
    But Zoe feels helpless in the grip of an overpowering addiction...to sex. Finding a compassionate woman therapist to help her, Zoe finally summons the courage to tell her torrid story, a tale of guilt and desire as shocking as it is compelling. From the sensitive artist with whom she spends stolen hours on rumpled sheets to the rough and violent man who draws her toward destruction, Zoe is a woman desperately searching for fulfilment -- and something darker, deeper, and perhaps deadly. As her life spins out of control and her sexual escapades carry her toward a dangerous choice, Zoe is racing against time to uncover the source of her "fatal attraction" -- as chilling secrets tumble forth from the recesses of a woman's mind, and perilous temptations lead toward a climax that can threaten her sanity, her marriage...and her life.

Riding Dirty on I-95


Nikki Turner - 2006
    But despite an unsavory upbringing, Mercy vows to make something of herself–at all costs.Working as a concierge at a hotel notorious for its shady clientele, Mercy meets and falls hard for a notorious dealer who keeps her living large in Gucci clothes and off-the-hook apartments. Then she lands a real lucrative deal: running drugs up Interstate 95 from Miami to New York.But Mercy doesn’t want to live the gangsta life forever. She’s got bigger dreams. She turns legit and makes her mark, yet despite a new, cleaned-up career, she can’t get the streets completely out of her blood. A sexy hustler named C-Note steals her heart. And as their relationship heats up, Mercy discovers that their pasts are hopelessly–and tragically–entwined.

Hooker to Housewife


Deja King - 2007
    Unfortunately that man is married, and she once again crosses paths with controlling T-Roc. When Tyler thinks her life can't get any more complicated, she falls in love with Andre Jackson. He has it all--money, fame, movie star looks, and the bad boy reputation that Tyler vowed to avoid. But more than that Andre has Chantal Morgan, long term girlfriend and mother of his child, who is determined to go from hooker to housewife. Has Tyler finally met her match?

The Naked Truth


Chunichi Knott - 2006
    But now that Snake, Duke and Bear have all been killed, she figures it's time to skip Virginia and heads to Atlanta.

Heartbreaker


Erick S. Gray - 2010
    In 'Heartbreaker', three of the hottest names in street lit team up for an anthology on women who are dead-set on getting everything they want.

The Cartel


Ashley Antoinette - 2009
    The Diamond family is a force to be reckoned with, but all hell breaks loose when they lose their leader. The most ruthless gangster Miami has ever seen, Carter Diamond leaves behind a wife, twin sons, a daughter, and a secret. The secret is his illegitimate son, Carter Jones. When Young Carter learns of his father's death, he comes to town and is introduced to the legacy of The Cartel. Miamor is a woman who uses her beauty to enhance her skill as a contract killer. She is the leader of The Murder Mamas. When her crew is hired to take down The Cartel, they get caught slipping, and Miamor loses her sister in the process. She is determined to get revenge from The Cartel. Unknowingly, she meets the son of Carter Diamond, and he immediately catches her heart. She is sleeping with the enemy, and when she finds out, she is torn between love and revenge. Young Carter and Miamor lead two different lifestyles. They are on opposing teams, and when their worlds collide, the truth will be unveiled in an unpredictable ending.

God Don't Like Ugly


Mary Monroe - 2000
    . .Annette Goode is a shy, awkward, overweight child with a terrible secret. Frightened and ashamed, Annette withdraws into a world of books and food. But the summer Annette turns thirteen, something incredible happens: Rhoda Nelson chooses her as a friend. Dazzling, generous Rhoda, who is everything Annette is not--gorgeous, slim, and worldly--welcomes Annette into the heart of her eccentric family, which includes her handsome and dignified father;her lovely, fragile "Muh'Dear;" her brooding, dangerous brother Jock;and her colorful white relatives--half-crazy Uncle Johnny, sultry Aunt Lola, and scary, surly Granny Goose.With Rhoda's help, Annette survives adolescence and blossoms as a woman. But when her beautiful best friend makes a stunning confession about a horrific childhood crime, Annette's world will never be the same."A coming-of-age journey depicted with wit, poignancy and bite." --Publishers Weekly

Natural Born Liar


Noire - 2012
    She knows she's hit the jackpot when she and her super ghetto partner in crime, Bowlegged Bunni, are admitted into the Dominions' 20-room mansion, complete with all the trimmings of a luxurious family estate. But it's not long before Mink's newfound siblings grow suspicious of the ghetto princess, who has a rap sheet a mile long. If Mink is to worm her way into their pockets and get her hands on their dough, she must tell enough lies to convince everyone that she really is the precious daughter who was stolen from their fold. But with a DNA test standing between her and a hefty inheritance, how long can Mink's bag of lies keep her rolling in the Dominions' riches?

True to the Game


Teri Woods - 1998
    Gena the main character finds herself in true blue love with Quadir, a millionaire associated with the cartel. Quadir is faced with combating the art of extortion and interception masterminded by the notorious Junior Mafia, which reigns from the inner city streets of Philadelphia onto the pages of this book. Both Gena and Quadir find themselves caught up in the vicious, yet seductive, world of drugs and money, only to find that success int his Game is no easy win. There's no way out once you're in, and everyone in stays forever...TRUE. Enjoy a copy today of the ORIGINAL and CLASSIC cover copy of TRUE TO THE GAME!

Disappearing Acts


Terry McMillan - 1989
    She was pretty and independent, petite and not too skinny, just his type. Franklin Swift was a sometimes-employed construction worker, and a not-quite-divorced daddy of two. Zora Banks was a teacher, singer, songwriter. They met in a Brooklyn brownstone, and there could be no walking away... In this funny, gritty urban love story, Franklin and Zora join the ranks of fiction's most compelling couples, as they move from Scrabble to sex, from layoffs to the limits of faith and trust. Disappearing Acts is about the mystery of desire and the burdens of the past. It's about respect, what it can and can't survive. And it's about the safe and secret places that only love can find. --

The Sisters of Theta Phi Kappa


Kayla Perrin - 2001
    Now, ten years later, they seem to have it all. Jessica is in the limelight, a TV personality whose star is on the rise. Ellie is an optimist, happily engaged in the quest for love. Shereen is a stunning and powerful executive, and Yolanda, the strong-willed leader of the group, has defied her roots to capture her vision of the American dream. But years before, these four women banded together to keep a devastating secret-and now, ten years later, someone will do anything to see the secret brought to light. None of them anticipated the consequences of keeping the secret-and now, someone is trying to shatter all their lives. Intense, powerful, page-turning, and emotional, The Sisters of Theta Phi Kappa will keep you guessing and will make you think about the depths of friendship, the price of loyalty, and the bonds of sisterhood.

Bedroom Bully


Trista Russell - 2009
    Shaken with fright when he nudges a gun to her body and demands protection, Audra has no clue how deeply the murderer's rough, tender touches will penetrate the hardened layers of her heart.Dean Casey can't believe he's on the run after shooting two cops. But he never dreamed that his young daughter would be molested, either, a crushing reality that pushed the hardworking father to the brink of insanity. With the entire city of Miami on the hunt for him, Dean must figure out a way to save his daughter before vanishing from her life forever. To complicate matters, his hostage is a sexy, thick beauty whose attraction to him is impossible to ignore.Overcome with the thrill of their forbidden lust and imprisoned in the walls of her home, Audra and Dean lose themselves in an addictive, erotic haze - until sudden tragedies and shocking twists force them to escape Miami. As the fugitives set sail on the tranquil Caribbean Sea, their treacherous journey will, once and for all, test the limitless bounds of their passion.

Real Wifeys: On the Grind


Meesha Mink - 2011
    . . . In the hood every day is about struggle and survival, and no one understands that more than twenty-two-year-old Kaeyla “Goldie” Dennis. So when the affair she’s been having with a wealthy married man comes crashing to an end, Goldie doesn’t waste any time getting back on her grind. Her new hustle? Running a strip club where she also happens to be the main attraction. Pretty soon she’s knee-deep in the skin game with more money than she ever imagined. Enough to bring more girls on and even hire a security detail. But as the saying goes, More money, more problems. When one of her dancers becomes the victim of a vicious assault, Goldie must decide whether to remain silent and continue her lucrative business or tell the truth and lose everything she’s worked for. Her decision will test her devotion to the motto she seems to live by: Get Rich or Die Trying . . .Real Wifeys is the first installment of a fierce and gritty new series by the coauthor of one of the classics of street fiction, Desperate Hoodwives.

Eve


K'wan - 2006
    Orphaned as a small child, Eve quickly learned the art of the hustle, and by age seventeen she had spent two years in prison. But now Eve is eighteen, back on the streets of Harlem with her gang and up to one of her old tricks: strong-arm robbery. Despite her edge, she's got a soft spot for Felon, the up-and-coming street king.Eve's life takes a serious turn when the powerful DeNardi family, the city's biggest drug supplier, tries to tighten its hold on Harlem. And when Eve's best friend, Cassidy, is murdered in the crossfire, Eve seeks revenge—starting all the way at the top.