The AK's are back for another round, and of course a little drama has returned but with a sprinkle of Christmas spirit. Ricky and Draylah are just as much in love as before, but when little problems pop up, bringing out their inner crazy, will they be able to stick together? The other couples have returned as well, proving that even though this is the time for cheer and giving, problems will still arise and cause a little bit of dismay. Will these couples who have been through so much be able to pull it together as a family, or will they throw in the towel, letting the dark side of the holidays tear them apart?
In the final installment, Ricky must deal with the mind blowing news his grandmother has just revealed to him. Feeling like he's all alone in being betrayed by people who were expected to be loyal to him, Ricky soon realizes that the person who can understand his situation completely has been right by his side all along. Draylah too has her own troubles to face, the main one dealing with someone she thought she'd lost but has been able to reunite with. However, there is a big block in her road to bliss, and Draylah is beyond ready to take it out. Will the couple be able to continue to keep that undying flame of love burning, despite their hefty issues? Or will things finally be too much for the troubled beauty and her heartless gangsta? Also back for the final round are the other couples who are no strangers to difficulties and betrayal. With one couple seeking the ultimate revenge on those they feel have wronged them, another coming to an unfortunate and unforeseeable end, and the last finally realizing just what they have in one another, these unions will surely be tested one last time.
Ricky AK has never been one to shout threats and not pull through. The heartless gangsta has also never been one to take being threatened lightly. When faced with a problem that could ruin the relationship he has built with Draylah, Ricky AK takes extreme measures to make it all go away. But as the old saying goes, what's done in the dark will always come to light, and even though Ricky AK took precautions to prevent that, the light shined ever so brightly on his horrific doings. Will Draylah be able to shake crazy Ricky AK like a bad habit, or will she realize that he's got it just as bad for her as she for him, and isn't willing to let her go so easily? Not to mention, there is only one Ricky AK and Draylah has a hard time facing that fact when trying to be without him. In the second installment, secrets that were supposed to be kept until... forever, come pouring out like a waterfall, devastating the people it involves. The other couples return as well, with one losing the luster and excitement it once had, and the other taking their relationship from being subtle enemies to lovers.
Donovan Barron AKA Young is Southside to the heart and not even his NBA career can change that about him. The streets taught him to trust no one but after running into Stony Dorrian a few times he quickly learns that she has the power to change that. Falling for Stony, hard and fast may be his biggest blessing or his biggest downfall. Stony Dorrian's life has been carefully planned out by her parents and in their minds if it don't make money then it doesn't make sense. This is true even when it comes to Stony's love life. Unhappy with the way her life has been planned out Stony and after a little encouragement from her best friend, Ashlyn, Stony takes a chance with Young. This one decision will change Stony's life forever and have an impact with her parents that no one ever saw coming. Stony's parents won't lose control of their only daughter so easily and the drama will commence. Secrets that will threaten to destroy not only Young and Stony's new found romance but also their lives will be revealed. As Stony's best friend Ashlyn always wants what's best for friend which is why she encourages Stony to give Young a chance even if it is only for one night. Little does she know that one night will not only change Stony's life but hers as well. After a bad break up with her ex, Ashlyn isn't looking for love but it just might find her in the form a mysterious stranger. Papa is the man in the streets in his mind life is complete, he has everything he needs. Planning to leave the streets soon, Papa is cruising through life. One favor for Young, thrust Ashlyn into his life and he quickly realizes that maybe his life isn't as complete as he thought. Ashlyn has has him reevaluating things and making decisions that he never saw coming. As with all new couples, the drama will be there to try and destroy both couples relationships and they will have to fight hard to survive it all. The secrets and lies maybe too much for them to handle when it is all said and done. Even if you find the one who is Better Than Your Ex, the universe might not play nice enough to let you have your happily ever after, but when it's for you, no one can stop you from having it, or can they?
Ever since Draylah Omari was sixteen years old, it seemed like life had only dealt her a bad hand. Tragedies and betrayal have taken the people she loved most, including her best friend of over a decade, Glory. After finding out her boyfriend Lue, who was once her savior, is nothing but a wolf in sheep's clothing, Draylah decides to lock her heart up and focus only on her half finished brow bar. She's no longer in the mood to weather any storms, especially ones that are brought on by a man. But little does Draylah know, a whirlwind is headed her way, it's named Ricky AK, and she's about to get caught up in it. Ricky AK, a rapper from South Central Los Angeles, is a thoroughbred gangster who just happens to have an impeccable flow. The streets are embedded in his blood, making the sexy young man brash, forward, insensitive, and extremely heartless. When it comes to getting his deserved respect, Ricky AK will put a man, woman, or child in their place with no problem. Brought up by his smooth and no-good grandfather due to his mother being murdered and his grandparents divorcing, Ricky AK learned young that being a woman's knight in shining armor wasn't in his DNA, and he was perfectly content with that. That is until he runs across the beautiful Draylah, who although is smitten with the unfeeling rapper, isn't up for taking his mess ascribed to her past heartbreaks. And even Ricky himself isn't quite ready to feel. In this hood love story dripping with lies, treachery, secrets, and plenty of deceit, will the uncaring rapper from a cold upbringing be able to win over the beautiful but broken woman? Or will Draylah see the disturbingly charming Ricky AK for what he is, early enough to safeguard her heart from yet another fracture? But what's a woman to do when's she's got it so bad for a man that she doesnt even understand it herself?
In the first book of a fierce new series, meet Memphis's hardest ride-or-die chicks as they fight along with their infamous men to lock down the Dirty South. Memphis is the crime capital of America, and no one knows that better than the women born and raised on its mean streets. It's put sisters Ta'Shara and LeShelle on opposite sides of the street game, where blood means nothing and loyalty doesn't last long. It's also got Yolanda, an ambitious drug mule, and Melanie, a police detective, caught up with the same man--the notorious hustler Python. These four women think they've got the game figured out, but the one man they have in common will have them living double lives and wondering who will come out on top. Forget what you heard about East Coast/West Coast, 'cause real vendettas are born in the Dirty South. "Diamond's ear for street talk comes across loud and clear. . .a violent and profane tale, which launches a gritty new series. The divas here are realistic characters, and the pacing zooms. . .one of the best constructed street lit stories of 2010." --Library Journal "A nonstop, hard-hitting page-turner." --Tu-Shonda L. Whitaker
At the end of part two, a body dropped, and all we know is that it wasn’t the body of the one who truly deserved it. Has a life just ended, or will the victim remain among the living. In the first two installments of From the Pole to the Palace, we were introduced to some of the secrets that had been taking place over the years. Now, all of the secrets are out, dark skeletons that have been in the closet for years are coming out as well. This last installment will make your cry, laugh, but most importantly, you will enjoy it. Find out if this book really lives up to its title, or if there’s no such thing as going from the pole to the palace.
There cannot be shadows without the light. Samantha and her black ops team continue their romp across the universe to defeat the mind-controlling Scrapulent, defeat the armada of space pirates, and save the Three Kings of Orion. She might also finally learn who her father is. Join the Shadow Corps as they destroy their enemy and ensure the safety of all that is good. Fans of Destiny and Tech Mage love the action-packed science fiction of the Shadow Corps mixed with space dragons and magic.
Tamina's childhood revolved around one person, her best friend Markus. Ever since he moved across the street she had been fascinated by him. They played ball together, went to school together, and hung out at the corner store all the time. Everyone at school would say they were together, but Markus never said anything. Tamina wanted to be with him even if it was against her mother's wishes. Markus' father was a big time gangsta but Tamina was sure Markus was nothing like him, until she came home from school one day and saw him getting put in the back of a police car. Years later, Tamina still hasn't heard from Markus. She had moved on with her life surrounding herself with good friends and spending as much time as she could in her college text books. One night, her and her girls decided to kick it at a club, trying to take a break from life. There, Tamina meets Dante, a suave, smooth, and sophisticated young man and makes her lose her breath. He just might be the one to make her forget all about Markus.
From New York Times bestselling author Dennis Lehane comes this epic, unflinching tale of the making and unmaking of a gangster in the Prohibition Era of the Roaring Twenties—soon to be a Warner Bros. movie starring Ben Affleck, Elle Fanning, Zoe Saldana, and Sienna Miller. Meticulously researched and artfully told, Live by Night is the riveting story of one man’s rise from Boston petty thief to the Gulf Coast’s most successful rum runner, and it proves again that the accolades New York Times bestseller Lehane consistently receives are well deserved. He is indeed, “a master” (Philadelphia Inquirer) whose “true literary forefathers include John Steinbeck as well as Raymond Chandler” (Baltimore Sun). And, “Boy, does he know how to write” (Elmore Leonard).
