Book picks similar to
A Fem's Playground by Shatika Turner
lgbt
abuse
drama
revenge
Side Effects of Loving You 2
Dominique Thomas - 2015
He’s struggling to find her while also fighting charges that are trying to put him back in jail. Olivia is struggling to trust Kadar when all she wants to do is love him. She's given him her heart and a daughter, but still she feels it might never be enough. She finds comfort in Angel, Kadar’s new business partner, but dealing with him only leads to a whole new set of problems. Drew and Kadar find themselves disconnected and confused as to where they should be. Love has never been in question when it came to the people they loved, but it seems like it’s getting harder and harder to make it work. Highs and lows Drew, Aamil, Kadar and Olivia have experienced it all. Take one final ride with the crew and see if they can make it through the greatest storm yet? From paternity tests to separation this book will take you through many emotions. See who can weather the storm and who can’t in part two of Side Effects of Loving You.
Infinite Loop
Meghan O'Brien - 2005
She yearns for a connection, but can't seem to make the first move. Mel Raines knows all about making moves. After a childhood under the thumb of her alcoholic father, she avoids intimacy by drowning herself in fiery, fleeting encounters with strangers.When Regan and Mel meet in a straight bar, of all places, their chemistry is unmistakable. Before they can begin to explore their new relationship, Mel’s world is rocked when a close friend is a victim in a shooting. Regan suggests they take a road trip to escape reality for a little while, and Mel is only too ready to shake things up. Together they embark upon a physical and emotional journey where they discover that breaking free of old habits may be the only way to change your life.
Everybody's Best Friend: The True Story of a Marriage That Ended In Murder (St. Martin's True Crime Library)
Ken Englade - 1999
With no sign of a break-in, no history of marital problems, and the naïve belief that these things sometimes just happen, Stefanie Rabinowitz's family prepared to bury the 29-year-old wife and mother. But at the eleventh hour, because Stefanie was so young, and because there were no witnesses to her death, an autopsy was ordered. And what it revealed was unthinkable: Stefanie had been murdered-strangled in her home, then dragged into the tub to stage a fake drowning. Even more shocking was the suspected killer-Stefanie's 34-year-old husband, Craig: devoted family man, loyal husband, and "everybody's best friend."When the astounding truth began to emerge, so did the tawdry double life of Craig Rabinowitz, a man so obsessed with a two-thousand-dollar-a-week exotic dancer, that his habit caused him to look to the insurance money he would get from murdering his wife. Now, with exclusive interviews and startling inside details, bestselling author Ken Englade blows wide open the shocking true account of a storybook marriage that ended in bone-chilling murder.
Side Chic
La'Tonya West - 2012
She's always played by the rules but can she continue to stay in her lane after falling in love and becoming pregnant by her young boy-toy? Or will her feelings for him and the fact that she is pregnant cause her to want to change the game and become more than just his side chic?
Spectacularly Broken
Sage C. Holloway - 2015
Take it from someone who learned the hard way: nineteen-year-old Lysander Shepherd – son of movie stars, spoiled brat, enthusiastic proponent of drugs and orgies... and now, unwilling resident of Oak Hill Manor, a retreat for troubled teenagers.Before he knows what's happening, his designer duds have been switched for tie-dye shirts in therapy team colors, and he is surrounded by an assortment of misfits: a timid nerd, a mute girl, a hyperactive kid... and captivating loner Cai Fields, who is admittedly pretty hot, but seems to hate the world in general and Lysander in particular.Soon Lysander struggles with lies, withdrawal, and several uncomfortable revelations that he never intended to make, but he also gains surprising amounts of support right in the middle of secret late-night parties, fisticuffs over doing the dishes, and, of all things, croissant blackmail. Even as Cai and Lysander finally give in to the irresistible attraction between them and make a grasp for happiness, their darkest secrets remain – secrets with the power to destroy everything they've fought so hard to have.
The Same Breath
Gregory Ashe - 2020
His life has settled into a holding pattern: he loves his job, he hates first dates, and he only occasionally has to deal with his neighbor Mrs. Wish’s cat-related disasters.All of that changes, though, when a man appears in his office, asking for help to find his brother. Jem is convinced that something bad has happened to Benny, and he thinks Tean might be able to help. Tean isn’t sure, but he’s willing to try. After all, Jem is charming and sweet and surprisingly vulnerable. Oh. And hot.Then things get strange: phone calls with no one on the other end of the line; surveillance footage that shows what might be an abduction; a truck that tries to run Tean and Jem off the road. As Tean and Jem investigate, they realize that Benny might have stumbled onto a conspiracy and that someone is willing to kill to keep the truth from coming out.But not everything is as it seems, and Tean suspects that Jem has been keeping secrets of his own.
Kill Game
Cordelia Kingsbridge - 2017
He’s reeling from the fallout of a fatal shooting, and his relationship with his boyfriend is crumbling. The last thing he’s prepared for is a serial killer stalking the streets of Las Vegas. Or how he keeps getting thrown into the path of annoyingly charming bounty hunter Dominic Russo.Dominic likes his life free of complications. That means no tangling with cops—especially prickly, uptight detectives. But when he stumbles across one of the Seven of Spades’s horrifying crime scenes, he can’t let go, despite Levi’s warnings to stay away.The Seven of Spades is ruthless and always two moves ahead. Worst of all, they’ve taken a dangerously personal interest in Levi and Dominic. Forced to trust each other, the two men race to discover the killer’s identity, revealing hidden truths along the way and sparking a bond neither man expected. But that may not be enough to protect them.This killer likes to play games, and the deck is not stacked in Levi and Dominic’s favor.
Sewerville: A Southern Gangster Novel
Aaron Saylor - 2012
The town of Sewardville, Kentucky teeters on the edge of a violent abyss, overrun with methamphetamine and prescription drug abuse. The Slone family controls everything. Patriarch Walt Slone is the town’s mayor and head of one of the largest crime syndicates in the eastern United States. His son metes out justice from behind his sheriff’s badge, while his daughter handles all the numbers for the family business. Business for the Slones is good, too – at least until Walt orders his son-in-law Boone to kill his own brother. That becomes the first link in a chain of events that threatens not just the livelihood of all involved, but their lives as well. While the Slones move to strengthen their empire, Boone moves to break free and take his little daughter with him. Will he escape from one of America’s most heartbroken regions, or will his dark past bury him forever in the place they call Sewerville?
The Female of the Species
Mindy McGinnis - 2016
Alex Craft knows how to kill someone. And she doesn’t feel bad about it.Three years ago, when her older sister, Anna, was murdered and the killer walked free, Alex uncaged the language she knows best—the language of violence. While her own crime goes unpunished, Alex knows she can’t be trusted among other people. Not with Jack, the star athlete who wants to really know her but still feels guilty over the role he played the night Anna’s body was discovered. And not with Peekay, the preacher’s kid with a defiant streak who befriends Alex while they volunteer at an animal shelter. Not anyone.As their senior year unfolds, Alex’s darker nature breaks out, setting these three teens on a collision course that will change their lives forever.
The Paying Guests
Sarah Waters - 2014
Ex-servicemen are disillusioned; the out-of-work and the hungry are demanding change. And in South London, in a genteel Camberwell villa—a large, silent house now bereft of brothers, husband, and even servants—life is about to be transformed, as impoverished widow Mrs. Wray and her spinster daughter, Frances, are obliged to take in lodgers.With the arrival of Lilian and Leonard Barber, a modern young couple of the “clerk class,” the routines of the house will be shaken up in unexpected ways. Little do the Wrays know just how profoundly their new tenants will alter the course of Frances’s life—or, as passions mount and frustration gathers, how far-reaching, and how devastating, the disturbances will be.
Lady Pilot
Nicolette Dane - 2019
Captain Elaine Cole is an accomplished and popular commercial airline pilot. She’s spent her entire career bouncing from one airport to the next, and one lover to the next as well. Being a pilot has made it hard for Lanie to settle down and find love, and now that she’s in her forties it’s really starting to wear on her. When Carrie Haden is assigned as a flight attendant on her route, Lanie feels herself falling for the beautiful younger woman. But Carrie is different than the flight attendants Lanie has been with in the past. There’s something else there—a brighter spark, a deeper affection—and Lanie can’t help but feel that this is her opportunity to finally find the love she seeks. Building trust and committing to a relationship is difficult for a pilot like Lanie. Could Carrie be the one who finally inspires Lanie to change her ways?
PEG BOY
R.G. Berube - 2013
The demands of the times and a great influx of races forced tolerance. San Francisco became notorious for its lawlessness, its gambling casinos, and its bordellos and madams. The Barbary Coast became a part of California's history and San Francisco's heritage. The Barbary Coast was an area near the waterfront that law enforcers found almost impossible to control. Those who operated establishments there, refused to abide by the gradually encroaching law and order being established by the other parts of town. For along the Barbary Coast any vice could be bought. There also, a little-known vice guarded with great secrecy were the male houses of prostitution. Some of the more clandestine operations offered young boys. Most of these boys had few means of survival other than their wits and bodies. Known as peg-houses, the places provided young boys to those who were able to meet the extraordinary prices. These houses were often operated by unscrupulous and ruthless men who provided the boys with drugs, thereby chaining them by their addictions. These could become hopeless addicts unable to function as anything but subservient slaves to their masters.An international slave trade supplied these houses with boys who were enticed or kidnapped from all over the world. Peg-houses were common in the Orient. The custom was brought to the West by seamen who had grown fond of such pleasures. Boys were trained to service customers by wearing a wooden peg of gradually increasingly sizes. They would be offered for selection while sitting on stools that displayed the properly sized peg protruding from the bottom to indicate the size that each boy had been trained to accommodate. This is the story of Santiago Cali, one such boy.
A Thug's Charm
Mercy B. - 2015
Growing up in the streets of North Memphis, they've all vowed to make something of themselves. Bianca can't seem to shake her ex, Tay. After all the games he has played in the past, she has finally had enough. Tay, on the other hand, refuses to let go. A familiar hood superstar by the name of Q comes along and effortlessly steals her attention. However, she can't help but wonder if he will be the real thing. Afraid that this Q is just another Tay, Bianca tries to escape his grasp. But, is it too late? Tee has been through more than the average person could even imagine. With a heroin addicted mother and a molester for a father, she was destined for failure. However, with the help of Bianca and Kara she came out of her situation on top. No one knows what she does in her spare time except the two people who accompanies her on every mission. With time, though, everything will be revealed. And one mission will hit too close to home. Kara, the life of the party, has had her own share of loss and grief. But things really become interesting when a random trip to the gas station lands her in the arms of a rich and powerful drug dealer. Jamison, the best friend of Q, sweeps Kara off of her feet. Being broken for so long, she finally feels complete—until one perfect night turns deadly… When jealousy is taken to the extreme and lives hang in the balance, who will be left to settle scores?
Tricks
Ellen Hopkins - 2009
Three girls. Two guys. Four straight. One gay. Some rich. Some poor. Some from great families. Some with no one at all. All living their lives as best they can, but all searching ... for freedom, safety, community, family, love. What they don't expect, though, is all that can happen when those powerful little words "I love you" are said for all the wrong reasons.Five moving stories remain separate at first, then interweave to tell a larger, powerful story—a story about making choices, taking leaps of faith, falling down, and growing up. A story about kids figuring out what sex and love are all about, at all costs, while asking themselves, "Can I ever feel okay about myself?"
Disobedience
Naomi Alderman - 2006
The story begins with the death of the community's esteemed rabbi, which sets in motion plans for a memorial service and the search for a replacement. The rabbi's nephew and likely successor, Dovid, calls his cousin Ronit in New York to tell her that her father has died. Ronit, who left the community long ago to build a life for herself as a career woman, returns home when she hears the news, and her reappearance exposes tears in the fabric of the community.Steeped in Jewish philosophy and teachings, Disobedience is a perceptive and thoughtful exploration of the laws and practices that have governed Judaism for centuries, and continue to hold sway today. Throughout the novel, Alderman retells stories from the Torah -- Judaism's fundamental source -- and the interplay between these tales and the struggles of the novel's unique characters wields enormous power and wisdom, and will surely move readers to tears.