Showing results by narrator "Shari Peele" in All Categories

With her name finally cleared of a murder charge, Abrianna Parker can at last marry her partner, Kadir Kahlifa. But the two have barely shared the news with their team of street rebels and digital revolutionaries when a disturbing disappearance throws everything off course. A reporter is missing, but not just any reporter - Tomi Lehane, whose articles exposed Abrianna’s parents and the shadow group behind the experiments that changed her life. Now Abrianna must decide if she will put aside her plans in order to save the woman who nearly cost her everything.

Sisters from Trinidad, Violet and Lily have never had much in common. Stunning Lily arrives undocumented in New York and makes her way as a stripper. But Harvard-educated Violet is this close to the perfect assimilated life, thanks to a prestigious job, and her rich bougie fiance.... Until she's wrongly accused of helping a notorious strip-club mogul embezzle millions of his workers' earnings. Violet loses everything - except the determination to get her life back. Now Violet's on his track with the help of his vengeful ex-wife and the Lower East Side Women's Health Clinic's resourceful crew - which includes Lily.

Framed for a high-profile murder, Abrianna Parker finds herself hurtling down a conspiracy rabbit hole in a desperate attempt to clear her name. Her only way out is to go after the most powerful man in the country. But the powers that be play dirty - and expose her billionaire adoptive father, Cargill Parker, and his criminal activity. With charges of collusion swirling on Capitol Hill, police and federal agencies force Abrianna off the grid. But she's not alone. By her side is ex-con turned private investigator Kadir Kahlifa, a man as seductive as he is dangerous.

Nikki Johnson has had enough of family secrets. She was the perfect wife to millionaire real estate tycoon Duncan Johnson until she discovered his mistress and child. And now her careless teenage son's pregnant girlfriend is moving in. She turns to her ex-husband for solace. Chance Brown is skeptical when his once-spiteful ex-wife comes back into the picture, remarried and claiming still to be in love with him.

Bossy bank executive Senalda breaks down men from business to bed no holds barred. Hip hop PR guru Jarena praises the Lord and pursues married men with equal persistence. Famous and infamous radio personality Mimi fights with her fans and for the love of her on-and-off-again boyfriend. But when an ABC News Nightline report, "Single, Black, Female - and Plenty of Company" asks why can't a successful Black woman find a man, the friends are suddenly hyper-aware of their inclusion in the sad statistic: 42 percent of Black women who have never been married.

Diane McKinney-Whetstone, the award-winning and best-selling author of Tumbling, presents Trading Dreams at Midnight - - an Essence Book Club Recommended Read. Back in 1984, 15-year-old Neena's mother left and never came back. And now Neena is following in her footsteps.

An Essence best-selling author, Victor McGlothin is praised for his African-American inspirational fiction. Sinful is a dramatic tale of love, greed, and redemption. As Chandelle and Marvin Hutchins deal with growing financial and emotional pressures in their marriage, Cousin Dior comes to visit. Beautiful but irresponsible, Dior loves excitement and will use anyone - even Chandelle and Marvin - to get it.

Having hit a rocky point in his marriage, Darnell decided to seek comfort in someone other than his wife. In turn, his decision to have one night of pleasure has caused an avalanche of events not only for himself but for everyone involved. Just when he chose to end it, he finds out that he has gotten more than he bargained for. Now he has to put the pieces of his marriage back together, but will it be too late?

Savannah was everything Dre wanted in a woman: beautiful, educated, independent, and classy. On top of that, she was the best lover Dre had ever had. It had to be kismet that brought these two together because karma would have never allowed it. Savannah had made too many negative deposits into karma's bank without any withdrawals to end up with a good man like Dre. Perhaps, karma and kismet were in cahoots.

Lisha Rockmon just wants a good man who respects her family values. But most of the men of Holtsville, S.C., want to get physical a lot faster than she does - except Kael Strong. Their attraction is hard to ignore. Yet the one man Lisha can imagine a future with doesn't seem ready to get involved at all....

Wounded by his last relationship, Kael is hesitant to open his heart again, even to a woman as irresistible as Lisha. But despite his misgivings - and some outside interference - love just may find a way, setting the stage for future generations....

J-Rite is 100 percent blackhearted. New to the city of Grand Rapids but not new to making money, she was born a straight gangster. The pint-size exotic dancer turned street hustler is caught up in living the black American hood dream. She has no "off" button or filter when it comes to getting paid. With a team of murder-minded goons ready to do nothing but win, win, win, J-Rite makes enemies of everyone, including the man she loves, all because they dare to stand in the way of her being on top.

Just when Sherise's career at the White House - and her troubled marriage - seem back on track, a political opponent and a secret from the past threaten to derail both. Determined to recover from scandal after an affair with a client, Billie has moved on to a new law firm - but her appetite for power and revenge may destroy her relationship with her new man--and her daughter. When Erica goes to work for Sherise's opposition, their friendship is tested. But when she also uncovers the truth about a long buried betrayal, it will have shocking consequences for everyone involved...

Having a crush on her drop-dead-gorgeous boss could get Hopewell General intern Jaclyn Campbell fired... especially with the prestigious Virginia hospital reeling from a shocking scandal. But head resident Lucien De Winter is impossible to resist. And he’s arousing a healthy dose of desire as he wages an all-out war to make the sheltered Southern belle his own. Because Lucien knows that the only thing to cure his acute condition is a lifetime of love.

Architect Maxwell Devers is laser-focused on winning the contract to build a new cultural arts center - his biggest project yet. But as a single dad of a beautiful baby girl, he has to find some help if he's going to stay on track. Yvonne Markham is thrilled to get her first nanny assignment. She knows the high-paying job will speed her progress toward owning a child-care center of her own. Maxwell's daughter is a delight, and she quickly comes to love the bouncing baby girl. Falling for her handsome new boss, however, was not part of the plan....

Happy in marriage and motherhood, Sherise is back at work and ready for a big promotion to White House press secretary - until an incompetent rival gets the job instead. Something's dirty and Sherise is going to get to the bottom of it... Billie's law career is thriving, and she's newly engaged. But between her fiancé's disapproving mother and his angry ex-girlfriend, Billie's plans for the future may be put on hold - permanently...

When middle-aged divorcee Emily Yancy moves home to be with her ailing mother, she's not expecting to find romance. But Aaron Merritt is a handsome doctor with all the right moves - except when it comes to the bedroom. Then there's Teddy Simms, her former crush whose only skills seem to lie between the sheets. What will Emily choose - happiness or sexual fulfillment?

Step into the world of cable TV's hit reality show and meet new bride and new mother Milan, who finally has everything she's ever dreamed of. Problem is her perfect life doesn't work for TV. What will she do when the producer threatens to fire her? Editor-in-chief Chaunci isn't feeling the fame and the last thing she needs is to share the spotlight with her worst enemy, newcomer Journee. Socialite Journee expected her eighty-two-year-old husband to only live four days past their wedding night, but it's been four years.

When former drug kingpin Keith "Big K" Turner is released from prison after serving 16 years, things aren't as they once were. Not only has the neighborhood he once reigned over changed; his entire family has changed as well. When his wife, Desiree, is found murdered, all fingers point to Big K's enemies in the streets. But that may be just the way the killer wants it to seem. When Detective Brice Simpson, the newly dubbed "hood detective" takes the case, he soon finds himself up against some of the hood's most dangerous people, some of whom he grew up with.

This second installment in her D.C. series features the continuing saga of best friends who overcome difficult childhoods to find professional success, but still struggle with chaotic personal lives. As Sherise Robinson puzzles over who fathered her daughter, Erica Kent endures a difficult family reunion. Meanwhile, Billie Carter flounders in the aftermath of a nasty divorce.

In this 2009 National Book Award finalist, Rita Williams-Garcia proves that she has an “uncanny ability to project unique voices” ( Publishers Weekly). Jumped is told in alternating points of view between three girls as they struggle to make tough choices when they become involved in a fight at their urban high school.