Crown: 5430 books

Life has never been a struggle for India, the hood's celebrity. For this inner city girl, escaping out of the Queens projects and settling into the suburban hills was more than easy. Accustomed to the luxuries of life, this ghetto-superstar has everything a hood-born chick could dream of, but most prominently,...

This novel portrays the life of Yarni, a sweet and innocent girl from a well-to-do family. By chance she meets Richmond Virginia's notorious drug kingpin, Des. Immediately they develop an astronomical love, which separates her from her family and friends. But when Des is sentenced to life in prison, Yarni will learn being A Hustler's Wife isn't easy with her sole provider behind bars.

Once again she's back! Keisha Ervin that is, with her spellbinding tale of love, family, money and scandal. In this sizzling new story, Keisha introduces you to Mina Matthews. Mina is not your typical around-the-way girl; her dreams of making a life for herself outside the hood are now a reality. At...

Dodgers is a dark, unforgettable coming-of-age journey that recalls the very best of Richard Price, Denis Johnson, and J.D. Salinger. Itis the story of a young LA gang member named East, who is sent by his uncle along with some other teenage boys—including East's hothead younger brother—to...

MY DAUGHTER’S BOYFRIEND offers up the spicy tale of an impossibly tricky love triangle and marks the debut of a fresh and provocative new writer. Tracey Davenport was only seventeen when she had her daughter, Lauren, and has proudly raised her as a single mom. Now that Lauren is seventeen...

They say you can t judge a book by its cover and I guess you can say the same thing about strippers, too. On the surface I m Mo Nique, the hottest stripper dancing at The Pink Palace, but on the inside I m really just Janelle Taylor, a teenage runaway trying to survive in Atlanta. You might wanna call...

Essence Best Selling Author, T.N. Baker, Tu-Shonda Whitaker and Danielle Santiago unite to create a feisty yet Sheisty triple threat novella of love, drama and passion. Cream takes you through the life and times of Wassman, Bruh and Lovi as they deal with the trials and tribulations of life.

A sharp commentary on race relations in pre-Katrina New Orleans and a fast ride through the dark side of haute cuisine. Liquor has become one of the hottest restaurants in town, thanks in part to chefs Rickey and G-man’s wildly creative, booze-laced food. At the tail end of a busy Mardi Gras,...

'It's the penthouse or the morgue.'' This is the philosophy adopted by Keshawn Wilson, a.k.a. ''K-Dawg,'' self-proclaimed lord of the streets. Keshawn is the youngest of five kids and one of only two that doesn't belong to his mother's husband. As a little boy he feels the distance between he and his...

Some things change. And then again, some things don't. You can never take the hood out of the homegirl. In this sequel to T.N. Baker's Sheisty, we find Epiphany, Keisha and Shana still trickin' for dough, still running off at the mouth and still being Sheisty. However, as they will soon see, what goes...

At only seventeen, Jayah Carter has everything a girl dreams of ... but she wants more. Hood-bound to the bone and the envy of all the chicks, the affluent daughter of Miami's infamous drug lord Jay Carter is no fool. Jayah knows her father's business could take him out at any time, so she comes up...

Who said the streets don't love nobody? Black is the novel that shatters the myth. Kaia didn't choose the streets. The streets chose her. Tossed from a broken home, Kaia is forced to learn the hard way just how grimy street life can be. Shedding her innocence overnight it seems, Kaia goes from being...

Love doesn't come easy - especially for China. With her family out of the picture, China must rely on her friends instead. But friendship does not always withstand the struggles of the streets. Tragedy strikes China's life again and again, knocking her support and hope for happiness out from under her....

Best friends, Tanita and Freeda, are down for each other ‘til the end—that is, until greed takes control. Fast money, men, trickin’ and hustlin’ catch their attention and will ultimately seal their fate. New to the game, they will have to make a choice that threatens to end their friendship and...