Showing results by narrator "Tamika" in All Categories

In January of 1995, 17-year-old Lizzette Martinez met Grammy-winning musician and record producer R. Kelly at Aventura Mall in Florida where he was performing. At first, it seemed that her hopes of becoming a professional singer were about to come true when he offered to help boost her career. However, this mentorship quickly turned into sexual grooming, leading to years of physical, emotional, and sexual abuse.

Seventeen-year-old Avery Anderson is convinced her senior year is ruined when she's uprooted from her life in DC and forced into the hostile home of her terminally ill grandmother, Mama Letty. The tension between Avery’s mom and Mama Letty makes for a frosty arrival and unearths past drama they refuse to talk about. Every time Avery tries to look deeper, she’s turned away, leaving her desperate to learn the secrets that split her family in two.

Temple Baker knows that evil runs in her blood. Her father is the North Point Killer, an infamous serial killer known for branding his victims. He was the talk of countless true crime blogs for years. Some say he was possessed by a demon. Some say they never found all his victims. Some say that even though he’s now behind bars, people are still dying in the woods.

Brielle Adebayo is fully content teaching at a New York City public school and taking annual summer vacations with her mother to Martha’s Vineyard. But everything changes when her mom drops a bombshell - Brielle is really a princess in the island kingdom of Ọlọrọ Ilé, off the coast of Africa, and she must immediately assume her royal position, since the health of her grandfather, the king, is failing.

In this compelling and thought-provoking debut novel, after a terrorist attack rocks the country and anti-Islamic sentiment stirs, three Black Muslim girls create a space where they can shatter assumptions and share truths.

Smith didn't know what to expect when he started working for music icon Deja Fox (also known as Cami Jenson). He thought he was going to be protecting a needy, manipulative Omega. It winds up being far from the truth. Cami is beautiful and complex. He finds himself not wanting to be curt and short with her but actually wanting to get to know the real her, not her celebrity façade. She's been used by others and doesn't have many people in her life who she can trust. Smith makes it his mission to be that person for her.

Channeling their own experiences, sixteen exceptional authors subvert mental health stereotypes in a powerful and uplifting collection of fiction.

Her name's Antonia Toni Bennette (yeah, she's heard all the jokes before), and she's not a rock star. Neither are the Lillys - not yet. But the difference between being famous and being almost famous can be a single wrong note, or the start of something that'll change your life forever.

Thrown into a desolate land of sickness and unnatural beasts, Kai wakes in the woods with no idea who she is or how she got there. All she knows is that if she cannot reach the Sea of Devour, even this hellscape will get worse. But when she sees the village blacksmith fight invaders with unspeakable skill, she decides to accept his offer of help. Too bad he’s as skilled at annoying her as he is at fighting. As she searches for answers, Kai only finds more questions, especially regarding the blacksmith who can ignite her body like a flame, then douse it with ice in the next breath.

Cinnamon Jones dreams of stepping on stage and acting her heart out like her famous grandparents, Redwood and Wildfire. But she’s always been theatrically challenged. That won’t necessarily stop her! But her family life is a tangle of mysteries and secrets, and nobody is telling her the whole truth. Before her brother died, he gave Cinnamon The Chronicles of the Great Wanderer—a tale of a Dahomean warrior woman and an alien from another dimension who perform at the 1893 Chicago World's Fair.

As a fashion aficionado and best friend of the queen of the African island country Ọlọrọ Ilé, Iris Blakely dreams of using her talent to start a sustainable clothing line to help citizens in impoverished areas and honor the country’s resources. But when she discovers that Ekon Diallo—the man who betrayed her best friend—will be her business consultant, the battle between her desires and reality begins.

Eva, Celeste, Gina, and Steph used to think their friendship was unbreakable. After all, they’ve been through a lot together, including the astronomical rise of Moonlight Overthrow, the world-famous queer pop band they formed in middle school, never expecting to headline anything bigger than the county fair. But after a sudden falling-out leads to the dissolution of the teens’ band, their friendship, and Eva and Celeste’s starry-eyed romance, nothing is the same.

How well do you know people? How well do they know you? Six award-winning, bestselling authors of suspense explore the lingering threat of secrets and the inescapable fear that they can’t stay buried forever. No matter how dark the hiding place, the consequences of revealing the truth can bring out the worst in lovers, friends, family, and strangers.

Baker extraordinaire Rylee Harris has a recipe for everything—except love. It’s been five years since she lost her husband, but romance is still a struggle for Rylee. In her small hamlet of Honey Hill, North Carolina, Rylee knows she’ll be the talk of the town when she finds someone new. To ease her mother’s worries about her love life, Rylee impulsively invents a fake relationship with the only man who’s caught her eye: the town sheriff, Canten Barnes. It’s supposed to be a secret, but secrets don’t last long in Honey Hill.

It seems that Baby Taylor has it all: love, happiness, and a blossoming new career. But when her soon-to-be husband is arrested on federal charges on her wedding day, her life takes a turn for the unexpected. With nowhere to go, she finds herself at the mercy of her best friend, Mona, and Mona's husband, Memphis. But with the past that Memphis and Baby share, things begin to get even more complicated.

Maya Davis is living in paradise until her apartment, her career, and her dreams fall away in a horrible and dramatic fashion. Suddenly she’s packing her life into two suitcases and heading back to her parents’ home in Maryland, scrambling for a plan B. Happy thirty-first birthday, Maya. Right beside her is Ant, Maya’s best friend. While she’s returning home, Ant’s leaving his for the first time. Even though he moved away to start his own adventure, Ant can’t seem to separate himself from Maya—and he’s not sure he wants to.

For six months, Sean O'Neill has been living a real-life romance with the image consultant for his next film, Paisley Campbell . . . while he lied to her about his true identity. When Paisley learns the truth, will she believe that what they shared wasn't a celebrity stunt? And what happens when Sean discovers Paisley's own secret—she's having Sean's baby! Will revealing their secrets drive them apart, or offer a second chance at love?

Beautiful and brilliantly talented Celia DeMille is a 19th-century concert artist who has garnered fame, sung all over the world, and amassed a fortune. But prejudice bars her from achieving her place in history as one of the world’s greatest singers, and she dies in poverty and obscurity.

After spending a few years abroad, Damien Carter is ready to get serious about his family’s business. But when he reunites with his childhood friend and that friendship turns into something more, things are bound to get complicated! Especially since his friend is the daughter of his family’s maid! Evelyn longs to be with Damien, but the differences in their social status has always held her back.... Yet now that Damien has returned no longer a boy but a man, she can no longer deny what’s in her heart!

Jean Travis has the job of announcing the latest lottery winner on TV and is stunned to find that Patrick Bennett, her teenage crush, is the top mega winner. They haven't seen each other in years, and Patrick is thrilled to renew their acquaintance. Jean, not so much. After all, a lot has changed since they used to study together, and Jean worked so hard to hide her feelings.