Fake dating the king of the neighborhood certainly had its perks, but what happens when being in a relationship is one of them? Monique Freedman is Harlem church royalty, soloist of the Heavenly Way Choir and the pastor's perfect, pristine daughter. But as time goes on she's starting to get tired of the same routine. She is completely invisible to her long-time crush-the polished head deacon's son. Desperate to get his attention, she breaks out of the box that she's lived in all her life, and she needs the perfect guy to help her do it: Amari Jones. Amari is the undisputed king of the block, heads turn when he enters the scene. But beneath his sharp exterior is a quietly ambitious, architecture-loving guy who has been secretly smitten with Monique since they were kids in Sunday school. Two issues: He doesn't play games, and that would include fake dating. But if her father, Reverend Freedman, saw them together he'd flip a lid. But a summer in Harlem has its own way of changing the rules. When a hesitant deal forces them together, Monique finally gets to see a world beyond the church. She comes to understand the spirit and the culture of the city she calls home, and she does it with Amari by her side. As fake dates and summer block parties melt into late night conversations, Monique realizes that the guy she was never supposed to like was the only guy that was listening all along.

"are we supposed to shine in this light? or is failure inevitable?..." Journi just wanted to keep her head down and in the books and get her family out the hood but her brother just can't seem to stop bringing trouble to her doorstep. So when her brother Raheem takes from the wrong one and goes into hiding, Journi is snatched by the one they call Joker as payback she then must navigate her way through college and the life she tried to escape. Once in his tower she can see he would ruin her in the worst way. She knows escaping is futile but she tries anyway. Yakhir aka Joker owns the streets of Atlanta there's nothing that slips past him so when a low level dopeboy takes something and thinks he can run off he has another thing coming. Joker snatches the one person he cares about, his baby sister to draw him out. Once he has Journi he instantly knows he's not giving her back. She's his to keep. After laying eyes on the sweet, smart and clever beauty he knows he'd paint his city red behind her. Will the inevitable keep them apart? Or will Journi and Yakhir fight for their love after the ruin? Cover Credit: @KYTHEWRITERR

Zadie wasn't built for the streets, she was built to escape them. At 19, she leaves Philly behind and moves to Baltimore with her father, enrolling at Morgan University and focusing on her books, her business, and her future. Known for her flawless lashes and growing TikTok fame, Zadie keeps her circle small and her life even smaller. Because she knows exactly what the streets can do..she's seen it through her own family. Dakota, better known as Koda, is everything she's been taught to avoid. Over East, his name carries weight. He moves how he wants, makes his money how he knows, and stays connected to a world Zadie refuses to be part of. School was never his path but Morgan is still his territory through the people he calls family. When Zadie and Koda cross paths, it was never supposed to be anything serious. But in a city like Baltimore, nothing stays simple for long. The more Zadie tries to stay in her lane, the deeper she gets pulled into Koda's world and the harder it becomes to tell the difference between love and danger. Because in the 410... love don't come without consequences.

Keni Blaze wasn't looking for trouble. She definitely wasn't looking for him. Marcellus "Cell" Knox is the kind of man people warn you about- quiet, dangerous, and carrying secrets that don't come with explanations. One encounter was supposed to be nothing. A moment. A mistake. Something she could walk away from. But Cell doesn't move like other men. And once he sets his eyes on something... he doesn't let it go. Now Keni's caught between what she knows is wrong and what her body won't stop craving. Because the deeper she gets, the more she realizes- Cell isn't just hiding something. He is something. And by the time the truth surfaces... walking away might not be an option anymore.

Arielle Carter thought love was supposed to protect her. Instead, it buried the man she loved. When Jalen Cross is gunned down because of a case of mistaken identity, Ari is left standing in the cold-grieving, pregnant, and drowning in questions that no one seems willing to answer. The city moves on quickly, but Ari can't. Every night feels longer without Jalen's voice, and every memory hurts worse knowing he never made it home. As Ari struggles to prepare for motherhood alone, the truths Jalen kept hidden begin to surface-secrets that unravel everything she thought she knew about the man she loved and the life they were building. With each revelation, the line between grief and betrayal blurs. The only constant is Rome Lewis-Jalen's best friend. Loyal. Steady. And present in ways Jalen no longer can be. Rome steps in to help raise the child Jalen never got to meet, carrying his own guilt, his own grief, and feelings he's kept buried out of respect for a dead man. The Coldest Goodbye is a story about loss, hidden truths, single motherhood, and the dangerous beauty of loving again when your heart is still frozen in the past. Some goodbyes end love. Others give birth to it.

"Mama, I can't just leave Abir." I admitted, telling her exactly why I couldn't do this. Not only would she be snatching me away from my family and friends but she was taking me away from the person I'd loved for five going on six years. I couldn't just walk away from him. "Baby.." She trailed off, sighing deeply. "I know you love Abir." She stood to her feet to stop packing for a moment and pulled me into her. "But I promise you, there will be other boys. Right now you have to do what's best for you and that's coming with your daddy and I to give you a better life." "Better life for who? You?!" I screamed out, becoming even more angry at her choice of words. As if my feelings were robotic and I could just turn them on and off for any and every person. "My feelings just don't matter to y'all at all, huh?" I asked, crying harder than before now. "Speak to your mother with some respect, Giselle." My father spat to me and I shook my head, watching as they stood there looking at me like some dumb teenager. This wasn't puppy love for me. I didn't spend 5 years building something, just to walk away from it for their dreams. I couldn't do it. Sinner. Book #1

He holds her heels. She lets her guard down. And in the space between city lights and silence, two people who weren't looking for love start to feel something they can't explain. No drama. No rush. Just raw connection and a spark that won't quit.

"ᴡᴀꜱꜱᴀᴍ ʙᴀʙʏ"

"𝘗𝘳𝘰𝘮𝘪𝘴𝘦 𝘵𝘩𝘢𝘵 𝘺𝘰𝘶 𝘸𝘰𝘯'𝘵 𝘭𝘦𝘵 𝘮𝘦 𝘧𝘢𝘭𝘭." 𝘏𝘦 𝘴𝘢𝘪𝘥 𝘴𝘵𝘢𝘳𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘢𝘵 𝘮𝘦. "𝘐 𝘱𝘳𝘰𝘮𝘪𝘴𝘦. 𝘈𝘴 𝘭𝘰𝘯𝘨 𝘢𝘴 𝘺𝘰𝘶 𝘩𝘢𝘷𝘦 𝘮𝘦 𝘺𝘰𝘶 𝘯𝘦𝘷𝘦𝘳 𝘸𝘪𝘭𝘭." 𝘐 𝘴𝘢𝘪𝘥 𝘳𝘶𝘣𝘣𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘩𝘪𝘴 𝘧𝘢𝘤𝘦.

"𝗣𝗲𝗿𝗳𝗲𝗰𝘁𝗶𝗼𝗻 𝗶𝘀 𝗮 𝗱𝗶𝘀𝗲𝗮𝘀𝗲 𝗼𝗳 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗻𝗮𝘁𝗶𝗼𝗻.. 𝗽𝗿𝗲𝘁𝘁𝘆 𝗵𝘂𝗿𝘁𝘀, 𝗽𝗿𝗲𝘁𝘁𝘆 𝗵𝘂𝗿𝘁𝘀" © -𝙼𝙾𝙽𝙴𝚈𝙲𝙷𝙰𝚂𝙴𝚁 𝙿𝚁𝙾𝙳𝚄𝙲𝚃𝙸𝙾𝙽 𝐏𝐑𝐄𝐓𝐓𝐘 𝐇𝐔𝐑𝐓𝐒 ✍︎︎