Reading for Leisure: Urban

Starr, is a young, bodacious and bold beauty. She is also the leader of the Double G's, a powerful and ruthless social club of plus-sized women. Starr is guided by Queen Fem, the club's founder, who set up the group of professionals-by-day, gangster-biker-chicks-by-night to prove that this isn't just a man's world. The Double G's put the squeeze on their primary targets: men of power and privilege. Blackmail and manipulation are their choice of weapons, and they are skilful in both. But now a special agent thinks he can bring them down as the temperature rises in Vegas...

The saga of love, loyalty, and crime continues in the next explosive book in the Cartel series from the minds of New York Times bestselling authors Ashley & JaQuavis. After the tragic and bloody end to The Cartel's reign, Carter is forced into isolation to evade the law. With his wife, Miamor, facing federal charges and his dear brother, six feet under, Carter has never been more alone. His empire is at his feet and he has no idea how to rebuild his kingdom. The only thing that is certain is that he has to stay out the way and off the radar of the Feds until he can figure out how to get his lady out of prison. Miamor's freedom is guaranteed--provided Carter help create and distribute a drug that will take the streets by storm. Rubbing elbows with the most notorious, ruthless leaders of the underworld will get him what he wants. But can he win at their game of murder and money?

Leshaun is the true definition of a bad girl, who goes from corporate to hood and back again with ease. While she lets others think that she's just one of a team, those who truly know her understand that she run the streets all by herself. Sometimes, the king of the streets isn't a king at all.

When their parents are discovered brutally murdered in a ditch, Kenya and London are left orphaned; forced to navigate through the unforgiving streets of Detroit alone. They might be identical twins, but they are as different as night and day. After several brutal experiences, the sisters are forced to flee Detroit, and once again their lives are turned upside down. This time, the consequences could land them both in jail or dead and unclaimed in the county morgue.

Tyesha Couvillier will never forget the brutal treatment she endured as a sex worker. As the new director of a groundbreaking Women's Health Clinic, she'll take on the Ukranian mob and corrupt strip club bosses to stop local dancers being pressured into selling sex. And if she and her crew can pull off an elaborate heist, the evidence they steal could upend this vicious game. But suddenly Tyesha's traumatic past and high-drama family are back on the scene and turning up the heat to explosive. Now she must fight to protect those she loves - and survive to carry on the fight.

Kindrah has secretly been in love with her best friend, Amari, for a long time, even though both of them are involved with other people. Until now, she has kept her feelings a secret, but when she finds out that Amari is going to be a father with a person she has never liked, Kindrah is no longer willing to love him from the sidelines. She wants him, and she is willing to do whatever to have him. Will Amari decide to be with either, or will a new woman in his life steal his attention?

Essence bestselling author Angel M. Hunter takes readers on an erotic journey with bold female characters who must decide which is more important to them: fulfilling their physical desires or finding love.

The high priestess of the hood, Nikki Turner, is back with the novel fans have been feenin’ for: the sequel to her #1 bestselling novel, A Hustler’s Wife. Des, Virginia’s slickest gangsta, is about to become a dad when he is charged with the murder of his own attorney. But with Yarni, his gorgeous wife (and a brilliant lawyer), now calling the shots, Des isn’t going back to the slammer without a fierce fight. Even with the heat on, Des manages to take his game to the next level and finds a new hustle, one that will allow him to possess the three things all major players desire: money, power, and respect. He becomes a preacher. Reluctantly, Yarni stands by her man as he trades in his triple beam scale for a Bible and a Bentley and makes his Church of the Good Life Ministry a welcoming place for all sinners to step up to the altar. But when Des’s nephew is killed in the high-stakes heroin trade and Des learns that someone close to him okayed the hit, the dyed-in-the-wool gangsta sets aside the Bible for the gospel of the streets–even if it means risking the one person who’s always had his back.

The New York Times bestselling novel about a beautiful young woman with a dangerous secret At the historically black Dillard University in the lush city of New Orleans, Leslie Beaudet struggles with a dark secret of power in a world that is pulling her in many different directions. Her friends and family see her in many ways -- from a father's deserving princess to a mother's source of pride and strength, from a caring listener to a motivated student -- but does anyone know the true Leslie? When a series of murders befall her New Orleans community and increasingly points in Leslie's direction, her friends and relatives realize they've never really known her at all. Slowly, this complicated young woman emerges. She is terrified of failure, struggling with family secrets, praying for elusive security, and craving the power to change her fate. Her power was hidden from her until now...and it might be too late to stop her. Omar Tyree delivers another exciting tale filled with irresistible and authentic characters you won't soon forget.

A double-shot of street lit fiction - two novellas about women betrayed who are out for nothing less than revenge. In Clark's Enemy in my Bed, Kreesha may rule the weed scene in Memphis, but she can't control the way she feels about married Reign. When Reign betrays her to the Feds, she's got a bullet with his name on it and nothing will stand in her way. In Swinson's Keeping My Enemies Closer, Larissa falls for a man in jail and smuggles in weed for him - but when she's caught and ends up behind bars, her best friend Tarisha steals her man - and Larissa's after payback.