"𝘓𝘦𝘢𝘯 𝘣𝘢𝘤𝘬." 𝘏𝘦 𝘭𝘪𝘤𝘬𝘴 𝘩𝘪𝘴 𝘭𝘪𝘱𝘴, 𝘴𝘵𝘢𝘳𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘢𝘵 𝘪𝘵. "𝘞𝘢𝘪𝘵-" 𝘏𝘦 𝘭𝘰𝘰𝘬𝘴 𝘶𝘱, 𝘴𝘦𝘦𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘢𝘱𝘱𝘳𝘦𝘩𝘦𝘯𝘴𝘪𝘰𝘯 𝘤𝘭𝘦𝘢𝘳 𝘰𝘯 𝘩𝘦𝘳 𝘧𝘢𝘤𝘦. "𝘋𝘰𝘦𝘴 ... 𝘥𝘰𝘦𝘴 𝘪𝘵 𝘭𝘰𝘰𝘬 ... 𝘣𝘢𝘥?" 𝘏𝘪𝘴 𝘧𝘢𝘤𝘦 𝘧𝘭𝘢𝘵𝘵𝘦𝘯𝘴 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘩𝘦 𝘴𝘶𝘤𝘬𝘴 𝘩𝘪𝘴 𝘵𝘦𝘦𝘵𝘩. "𝘉𝘦 𝘴𝘦𝘳𝘪𝘰𝘶𝘴, 𝘋." "𝘐 𝘢𝘮 𝘴𝘦𝘳𝘪𝘰𝘶𝘴," 𝘴𝘩𝘦 𝘸𝘩𝘪𝘯𝘦𝘴. "𝘐 𝘵𝘰𝘭𝘥 𝘺𝘰𝘶 𝘢𝘭𝘳𝘦𝘢𝘥𝘺-" 𝘏𝘦 𝘭𝘦𝘢𝘯𝘴 𝘥𝘰𝘸𝘯 𝘵𝘰 𝘱𝘳𝘦𝘴𝘴 𝘢 𝘲𝘶𝘪𝘤𝘬 𝘬𝘪𝘴𝘴 𝘵𝘰 𝘩𝘦𝘳 𝘵𝘶𝘮𝘮𝘺. "𝘠𝘰𝘶 𝘧𝘶𝘤𝘬𝘪𝘯' 𝘱𝘦𝘳𝘧𝘦𝘤𝘵." 𝘏𝘦 𝘬𝘪𝘴𝘴𝘦𝘴 𝘭𝘰𝘸𝘦𝘳 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘭𝘰𝘸𝘦𝘳, 𝘶𝘯𝘵𝘪𝘭 𝘩𝘪𝘴 𝘧𝘢𝘤𝘦 𝘪𝘴 𝘦𝘺𝘦 𝘭𝘦𝘷𝘦𝘭 𝘸𝘪𝘵𝘩 𝘩𝘦𝘳 𝘱𝘶𝘴𝘴𝘺. "𝘕𝘰𝘸 𝘭𝘦𝘮𝘮𝘦 𝘨𝘦𝘵 𝘢 𝘵𝘢𝘴𝘵𝘦."

She was raised in a city that don't love nobody. Chicago taught her pain early. After losing her daddy, she and her brother L'A moved back from Atlanta to the South Side-where love came fast and death came faster. When L'A was murdered in 2013, everything shattered. Her boyfriend, Von-the only one who ever really saw her-was in and out of jail... and in and out of her life. So, she left. Packed up the grief, the guilt, the memories... and ran to Jersey. Five years later, she's back in the same city that stole everything from her. But nothing's the same. Von got a name now. O'Block different. She not that lost girl anymore. But love in the trenches don't die easy. And when the past pulls her back in, she's forced to face what she ran from: -Her first love. -Her brother's ghost. -And a city that never stopped bleeding. This is a Chicago hood love story. Real. Raw. Unforgettable.

Adey Tesfeye lives a life of quiet invisibility, carefully managing her anxiety and keeping the world at a safe distance. Sweet and trusting, she often finds herself taken advantage of but avoids confrontation at all costs. Her routine is predictable, her walls high, and her heart locked away-until she crosses paths with Dayvon "Von" Bennet. Von is a hardened drug dealer from the streets of Chicago, a man used to control, manipulation, and survival by any means necessary. His dangerous lifestyle has left him detached and weary, but when he meets Adey by chance, he becomes fixated on her softness-her fragility in a world as ruthless as his. What starts as curiosity spirals into obsession as Von begins to see himself as her protector, despite the chaos he brings into her life. As Von infiltrates Adey's world, their connection grows in ways neither of them expects. Adey, drawn to Von's intensity and the promise of safety, begins to let down her guard, unaware of the lengths he'll go to keep her close. But with her best friend growing suspicious and Von's grip tightening, Adey is forced to question whether her growing feelings are love or a dangerous illusion. In The Butterfly Effect, vulnerability and control collide in a slow-burn, high-stakes romance that blurs the lines between protection and possession. Will Adey find the strength to reclaim her life, or will Von's obsession consume them both? COVER AND BANNER CREDIT: K4SHMAYY

New Orleans isn't just a city-it's a pulse. A rhythm. A hunger. And nobody knows that better than Arielle Washington, a tired single mother grinding just to make rent in the Desire Projects. Love left her a long time ago, replaced with diaper bags, house keys, and survival. That is, until a new housekeeping job drops her into the home-and world-of ICE the most dangerous man in the streets. ICE doesn't do mess. Doesn't do feelings. But there's something about Ari-her fire, her silence, her scars-that draws him in. And when business gets bloody and loyalties are tested, the line between protector and predator blurs. Because in the Dirty South, nothing comes clean... not even love.

There's always a hand in the darkness, don't grab it.

"You know how special you gotta be to change a nigga like me? Huh?" He tilted her head back to make her look at him, and a faint smile grew on her face as he wiped her cheeks. "My own grandparents couldn't do it for me and I loved them more than anything. You the one for me ma. That's why I ain't told you everything yet 'cause I don't wanna run you away. I need you." He laid his forehead against hers, gently kissing her lips. "Nobody will ever believe that King Von from O Block be crying to me like this." She smiled as she gazed into his red eyes, and he chuckled, nodding in agreement. "I ain't King Von wit' you. Just love." He kissed her cheek next, and her smile grew as her arms tightened around him for a warm hug.

In a world where loyalty means everything, Brielle Banks must choose between the family she's always known and the man who could destroy it all. Caught between revenge and unexpected attraction, sparks fly behind bars. Will she fall into Sincere's dangerous world-or will their violent past rip them apart?

"You can't see the future. I might have a chance. You don't know for sure." He mumbled, making her expression soften. "M-my mom used to tell me t-that birds still sing even after a storm. Why shouldn't people feel as free t-to delight in whatever sunlight remains to them?" Samir stopped talking for a moment to regather himself so that he didn't stutter, but Nina froze completely. "You don't have to settle with him Nina. It's been five years an-and you're not a-as happy as you should be. You smile differently with me.. and you cry a lot with him. I just think that you deserve to enjoy your time with someone other than h-him for a minute because there's still sunlight out there for you too, even if you can't see it yet." How did he become her source of 𝐩𝐞𝐚𝐜𝐞 so 𝐞𝐟𝐟𝐨𝐫𝐭𝐥𝐞𝐬𝐬𝐥𝐲? A short story.

"Cain, if you can't leave the streets for me and our baby, then me and you, we're done." I pointed between the two of us as tears streamed down my face and he bit his lip, looking down at the floor before he looked back up into my eyes. "Aight." "Shit over then, babygirl."

[COMPLETE][EDITING] Ace Hernandez, the Mafia King, known as the Devil. Sofia Diaz, known as an angel. The two are arranged to be married, forced by their fathers, joining the two Mafia's. But Sofia eventually learns, even the devil was once an angel. Cover by @alluringathena *This book is more of a romance book than Mafia book and I hope you enjoyyy*