"Solè, why'd you stay?" "Because, Zaire... you the first thing that ever felt worth staying for." ❀ 🝳 ❀ Harlem held the noise. Solè gave Zaire the quiet. Zaire Knox, Harlem's quiet storm, known for his ties to the streets and a gaze that read people faster than they could lie to him. Respected. Feared. Loved. With scars buried deeper than his tattoos, he never planned to love soft. Until a Harlem vinyl shop left behind by his late grandfather forces him to slow down, to breathe, to find his real purpose in the world beyond the streets. Solè Sinclair, soft but unbreakable, raised by her father after loss. By day, she serves warmth behind the counter of a café. By night, she disappears into her art, trying to paint the parts of herself no one ever sees. When their worlds cross, the city shifts. What starts off tense and unexpected turns tender. Together, they learn love can hold you just as fierce as the streets ever did, and softer, too. But love in Harlem always asks one question: what are you willing to risk when the heart wants more than the streets ever offered? A Harlem story. A hood love. A soft place to land. ❀ 🝳 ❀

" I don't even like you like that." Her face scrunched up in disgust watching water drip from curls in his hair. " 'Cause you love me. Just like I love you." He retorted with a grin, disregarding the deflecting she was doing. --- They were two sides of the same city-until one move split them down the middle. Elijah and London were inseparable once, bonded by childhood summers, beat-up bikes, and secrets too deep for anyone else to know. Unfortunately, when Elijah's mom packed up and moved her family across Onyx to a rival neighborhood, everything changed. She always thought when she spoke to him again he would've changed like her. She was witty, sarcastic, and had a low tolerance, but he was still the same calm , sweet, cute boy with a heart the size of the sun. Some things haven't changed. Some things never change. The pull between them, the memories that still burn etched marks in their brain, and the words they never said out loud. In a world where loyalty can be life or death, and love isn't always enough to cross old lines, Elijah and London find themselves circling each other again. --- STARTED; MAY 26th, 2025 PUBLISHED JUNE 6th, 2025 FINISHED; SEPTEMBER 27th 2025

"Stop overthinking," she whispered, holding my cheek as she stroked her thumb. "Please." "I can't," I admitted, scrunching my brows. "I'm sorry." "Don't apologise," she said gently, her eyes moving to my lips. "You're doing so good." Theo Ferreira- full time student and part time tattoo artist. He's quiet, reserved and has no other interests besides completing his degree. Theo is focused, but his focus shifts when he meets a woman who brings out a side to him he didn't know existed. Nina Cantero- full time student and the occasional babysitter. She's curious and utterly bored with her abundantly bleak life. Nina seeks a new thrill, and sometimes that means fresh ink on her skin. What happens when her newfound craving leads her to a particular tattoo artist?

"Beautiful things don't ask for attention." In a world that thrives on conformity, August is an anomaly. Raised in a secretive overbearing family, she was chosen to leave its hidden grounds-not for freedom, but for duty. Sent to college to become the strategic mind for her generation behind the family's growing empire, she tries to move through the world like a ghost, draped in gothic shadows with secrets too heavy to share but her style is just too much to go unnoticed by judging eyes unscathed. Then she meets Kason through his older brother. A rising rapper with a reckless charm and a hunger for something real, dealing with battles of his own, he's instantly drawn to August's eerie demeanor and the quiet storm that lingers behind her dark mysterious eyes. She's nothing like the women he's used to-unbothered by trends, and untouched by the need for validation. The more she resists, the deeper he falls, his infatuation turning into an obsession he can't shake. One he cant let go of. As their worlds collide, the slow burn of their connection threatens to ignite everything August has been taught to suppress. With her past closing in and expectations pressing down, she must decide if she's willing to defy everything she's ever known for the chance at something dangerously real. In a society that demands she fit a mold, August stands in defiance. Unfortunately, love has a way of making even the strongest question their silence. STARTED; February 22nd , 2025 PUBLISHED; MARCH 18th, 2025 FINISHED; MAY 27th, 2025

"You ain't even that cute." Jojo playfully rolled her eyes allowing Dice to pull her arm to wherever he seemed to be leading her. "Where are you taking me!" She grew annoyed with the anticipation. "On a trip, just chill." -- For as long as she can remember, Jojo Rosewood has lived a picture-perfect life in a suburban area located in Chicago-designer clothes, private schools, and a glamorous lifestyle all thanks to her high-powered mother. Evidently her perfect world seems to be a lie when it comes crashing down as her mother's secrets come to the light, forcing her to face reality. Now having all of her family's assets cleared she's every bit of confused on what to do. With nowhere else to turn, Jojo is forced to leave behind everything she knows and move across a plethora of states to live with her father, a man she barely knows due to distance, and his new family. Learning to balance the shift in culture and the chaos of her first year in college all in one, Jojo struggles to adjust to her circumstances and blend into a world where her privilege no longer holds any weight. Things grow even more complicated when she meets Dice, her half-brother's best friend-a well mannered , street-smart young adult who seems to embody everything Jojos maternal side of the family warned her about. Dice is equally frustrating and intriguing, with a no-nonsense attitude that calls Jojo out on her unrealistic expectations. As their chemistry builds, Jojo finds herself questioning everything she thought she knew about family, loyalty, and love while Dice struggles letting Jojo take a trip to his world. Started; December 18th, 2024 Published; January 4th, 2025 Finished; March 2nd, 2025

❝𝐈𝐓𝐒 𝐉𝐔𝐒𝐓 𝐔𝐒 𝐀𝐆𝐀𝐈𝐍𝐒𝐓 𝐓𝐇𝐄 𝐖𝐎𝐑𝐋𝐃.❞

"𝐜𝐨𝐦𝐞 𝐜𝐥𝐨𝐬𝐞𝐫, 𝐚𝐥𝐥 𝐢 𝐞𝐯𝐞𝐫 𝐧𝐞𝐞𝐝𝐞𝐝 𝐰𝐚𝐬 𝐬𝐨𝐦𝐞 𝐜𝐥𝐨𝐬𝐮𝐫𝐞" (you do not need to read the first book , to understand this one) •𝙠𝙡𝙤𝙨𝙫𝙧𝙚 𝙥𝙧𝙤𝙙𝙪𝙘𝙩𝙞𝙤𝙣𝙨

❝𝐒𝐎 𝐈𝐅 𝐘𝐎𝐔'𝐑𝐄 𝐋𝐎𝐍𝐄𝐋𝐘, 𝐍𝐎 𝐍𝐄𝐄𝐃 𝐓𝐎 𝐒𝐇𝐎𝐖 𝐌𝐄❞

"𝗧𝗵𝗶𝘀 𝗶𝘀 𝗼𝘂𝗿 𝘀𝗲𝗰𝗿𝗲𝘁 𝗼𝗻𝗹𝘆, 𝗱𝗼𝗻'𝘁 𝘁𝗲𝗹𝗹 𝗻𝗼𝗯𝗼𝗱𝘆." "𝗡𝗶𝗴𝗴𝗮 𝘁𝗵𝗶𝘀 𝗰𝗮𝗻'𝘁 𝗯𝗲 𝗮 𝘀𝗲𝗰𝗿𝗲𝘁 𝗳𝗼𝗿 𝘁𝗼𝗼 𝗹𝗼𝗻𝗴.." 𝗛𝗶𝘀 𝘀𝗲𝗰𝗿𝗲𝘁, 𝗛𝗲𝗿 𝘀𝗲𝗰𝗿𝗲𝘁, 𝗧𝗵𝗲𝗶𝗿 𝘀𝗲𝗰𝗿𝗲𝘁. 𝗪𝗵𝗲𝗻 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗾𝘂𝗶𝗲𝘁 𝗴𝗶𝗿𝗹 𝗻𝗼𝗯𝗼𝗱𝘆 𝗹𝗶𝗸𝗲𝘀 𝘄𝗶𝗻𝗱𝘀 𝘂𝗽 𝗽𝗿𝗲𝗴𝗻𝗮𝗻𝘁, 𝗲𝘃𝗲𝗿𝘆𝗯𝗼𝗱𝘆 𝗰𝗼𝘂𝗹𝗱𝗻'𝘁 𝗵𝗲𝗹𝗽 𝗯𝘂𝘁 𝘄𝗼𝗻𝗱𝗲𝗿 𝘄𝗵𝗼 𝗱𝗶𝗱 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗱𝗲𝗲𝗱, 𝗢𝗻𝗹𝘆 𝘁𝗼 𝗳𝗶𝗻𝗱 𝗼𝘂𝘁 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗺𝗼𝘀𝘁 𝗹𝗶𝗸𝗲𝗱 𝗯𝗼𝘆 𝗶𝗻 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗴𝗿𝗮𝗱𝗲 𝘄𝗮𝘀 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗼𝗻𝗲 𝗿𝗲𝘀𝗽𝗼𝗻𝘀𝗶𝗯𝗹𝗲.. 𝗖𝗼𝗿𝗲𝘆 𝗼𝗻𝗹𝘆 𝘄𝗮𝗻𝘁𝗲𝗱 𝗭𝗼𝗿𝗲𝗶𝗮 𝘄𝗵𝗲𝗻 𝗻𝗼𝗯𝗼𝗱𝘆 𝘄𝗮𝘀 𝗮𝗿𝗼𝘂𝗻𝗱... 𝗭𝗼𝗿𝗲𝗶𝗮 𝗱𝗶𝗱𝗻'𝘁 𝘄𝗮𝗻𝘁 𝗵𝗶𝗺 𝗮𝘁 𝗮𝗹𝗹, 𝗼𝗻𝗹𝘆 𝘁𝗼 𝗴𝗲𝘁 𝗯𝗮𝗰𝗸 𝗮𝘁 𝗮 𝗳𝗿𝗶𝗲𝗻𝗱. 𝘇𝗼𝗿𝗲𝗶𝗮𝘅𝗰𝗼𝗿𝗲𝘆

Copyrighted 2023 A stubborn brown girl who wants nothing to do with him, and will make sure he knows just how much she despises boys. A white mutt who wants everything to do with her, and will make sure she knows just how much he will have her as his mate. (experimental book; there will be a lot of mixed emotions from the audience) Started: 3 Jan '23 Ended: 22 Nov '23