The Becoming Series Book One: First Year Blues
Ayanna Brooks been the responsible one her whole life. While her siblings chased the streets, she was clockin' double shifts, raisin' her little brother, and keepin' the lights on. When her mama's accident hit, Ayanna packed her dreams away-two years gone, survival on repeat. The "perfect daughter." The one who don't mess up.
But now? It's finally her turn. First in her family to leave Atlanta, she steps onto Xavier University's campus with a scholarship, a suitcase, and a plan: law school dreams, no distractions, no slip-ups.
Only thing is...the Big Easy don't play fair. Financial aid duckin' her calls. Her part-time job wreckin' her sleep. Her family back home still pullin' at her every move.
And then there's him.
Kahlil Carter. Frat boy. Legacy money. Smooth enough to make the Yard freeze mid-step. When his eyes find hers? Ayanna feels something she didn't even know she was missing-seen, wanted, alive. But his world-fast parties, secrets, that kind of dangerous pleasure-burns quick. One wrong step, and Ayanna could lose more than her focus.
Still, Ayanna's not that girl. She's never been in love. Never let anybody touch her body like that. And she ain't about to hand herself over easy. But the pull between them? It's slow burn. Messy. The kind of heat that only gets louder the more she tries to ignore it.
In the middle of all that chaos, there's one place that feels like hers: the art studio. That elective she thought was just a filler credit? It's the only space where her heart runs free. With a brush in her hand, Ayanna finds a voice she didn't know she had-one that might change everything she thought she wanted.
Messy. Funny. Heart-heavy. First Year Blues kicks off The Becoming Series-a Southern college story about family, first love, temptation, and the courage it takes to choose yourself.
Because in the N.O.? Everything hits different.
