Showing results by narrator "Tamika" in All Categories

In January of 1995, 17-year-old Lizzette Martinez met Grammy-winning musician and record producer R. Kelly at Aventura Mall in Florida where he was performing. At first, it seemed that her hopes of becoming a professional singer were about to come true when he offered to help boost her career. However, this mentorship quickly turned into sexual grooming, leading to years of physical, emotional, and sexual abuse.

Baker extraordinaire Rylee Harris has a recipe for everything—except love. It’s been five years since she lost her husband, but romance is still a struggle for Rylee. In her small hamlet of Honey Hill, North Carolina, Rylee knows she’ll be the talk of the town when she finds someone new. To ease her mother’s worries about her love life, Rylee impulsively invents a fake relationship with the only man who’s caught her eye: the town sheriff, Canten Barnes. It’s supposed to be a secret, but secrets don’t last long in Honey Hill.

Theo is better now. She’s eating again, dating guys who are almost appropriate, and well on her way to becoming an elite ballet dancer. But when her oldest friend, Donovan, returns home after spending four long years with his kidnapper, Theo starts reliving memories about his abduction - and his abductor. Donovan isn’t talking about what happened, and even though Theo knows she didn’t do anything wrong, telling the truth would put everything she’s been living for at risk. But keeping quiet might be worse.

Sometimes, people are so damaged, they can’t find their way out of the storm to embrace love. Rachel and Porter must decide if what they have is worth fighting for and if they are willing to trust in love - and each other. When you can’t completely trust your heart, sometimes it’s just as simple as letting go enough to just say you will.

Her name's Antonia Toni Bennette (yeah, she's heard all the jokes before), and she's not a rock star. Neither are the Lillys - not yet. But the difference between being famous and being almost famous can be a single wrong note, or the start of something that'll change your life forever.

Do you ever feel like you’re wearing a mask—showing the world a happy, thriving version of yourself while inside, you’re struggling? You’re not alone. In How to Stop Faking Happy, motivational speaker and free-spirited influencer Tamika Lang takes you on a powerful, honest journey to uncover the real, sustainable happiness you deserve. This book is not about forcing positivity or pretending everything is fine when it’s not.

After their ill-fated fling quashed her dreams, small-town chef Philippa Gayle’s onetime rival-turned-lover Dominic Crawford upended her life. But when Philippa’s forced together with the celebrity cook on a project that could change her life, there’s no denying that the flames that were lit years ago were only banked, not extinguished. Can Philippa trust Dominic enough to let him in … or are they just cooking up another heartbreak?

Dr. Julian Brandon is too charming, too sexy and too young for Chandra Valentine. But after the successful bachelor rescues her—twice—she owes him. Still reeling from life-changing family revelations, Chandra somehow agrees to pose as Julian’s girlfriend. And now the irresistible Julian has plans that start with seduction under the mistletoe and end with their fake relationship erupting into a scorching affair.

When Everett Nicholls died, he left his millions to the two people he cared about most: the young law student he was mentoring and his beloved stepson. Eden Marsh and Beck Dennison are instantly suspicious of each other. Suddenly, with all this money at their fingertips, family problems they've each been ignoring can no longer be swept under the rug. Beck and his mother have had a strained relationship since tragedy befell the family when he was a young teen, and Eden knows it's long past time to forge a new relationship with her demanding younger sister.

Black maternal mortality statistics have not shifted in the past thirty years. The maternal mortality rate for Black patients is four to five times higher than it is for White patients. This is just one example of racism as a health and national crisis, but it is a particularly tragic one. Sabia C. Wade is a renowned radical doula and educator inspired to create a guide for how we can all achieve liberation through trauma healing and reproductive justice. Birthing Liberation creates a path to social and systemic change, starting within the birthing world and expanding far beyond.

A group of cabinet ministers queries a supercomputer containing the minds of the country’s ancestors. A child robot on a dying planet uncovers signs of fragile new life. A descendant of a rain goddess inherits her grandmother’s ability to change her appearance—and perhaps the world. Created in the legacy of the seminal, award-winning anthology series Dark Matter, Africa Risen celebrates the vibrancy, diversity, and reach of African and AfroDiasporic science fiction and fantasy and reaffirms that Africa is not rising—it’s already here.

Apple despised her mother and her mother’s whorish ways so much that she couldn’t wait to get from under her mother’s roof and live the life of a normal teenager. Thankfully she was able to receive maternal love from her grandmother—however, nothing replaces a "mother’s love". Sometimes removing one’s self from a particular situation doesn’t always change the outcome.

Food insecurity affects millions of people worldwide. Without access to well-stocked stores or nutritious, fresh foods, those living in “food deserts” face more hunger and health issues than communities where a diversity of food is plentiful. With the inspiration and knowledge found in How to Become a Gardener, self-reliance and food autonomy are within reach for anyone willing to get a little dirt under their nails and dig in.

As a fashion aficionado and best friend of the queen of the African island country Ọlọrọ Ilé, Iris Blakely dreams of using her talent to start a sustainable clothing line to help citizens in impoverished areas and honor the country’s resources. But when she discovers that Ekon Diallo—the man who betrayed her best friend—will be her business consultant, the battle between her desires and reality begins.

Cinnamon Jones dreams of stepping on stage and acting her heart out like her famous grandparents, Redwood and Wildfire. But she’s always been theatrically challenged. That won’t necessarily stop her! But her family life is a tangle of mysteries and secrets, and nobody is telling her the whole truth. Before her brother died, he gave Cinnamon The Chronicles of the Great Wanderer—a tale of a Dahomean warrior woman and an alien from another dimension who perform at the 1893 Chicago World's Fair.

Sixteen-year-old Nostalgia Richardson has lived all her life in the rural township of Spivey’s Grove, South Carolina, but that has not stopped her from dreaming of running away to Harlem to become a showgirl at the world famous Cotton Club. One night, when she comes home from work, she finds her father in the company of Noah Holdtstaff, the most notorious bootlegger in town. Later, Nostalgia’s 14-year-old sister, Lily, divulges their father’s plans to marry her off to the 49-year-old Noah.

Tessa is a staunch vegan since visiting the zoo at the age of ten, where she witnessed the senseless treatment of caged animals. Twenty years later, her beliefs have presented a problem in her dating plans. Wes, a sexy, handsome, meat-loving butcher, works at the local Gourmet Foods. If she can get him to cook for her, all her problems will be solved. But instead of simply cooking and going away, Wes thinks Tessa needs to learn a thing or two. Tessa turns the tables, knives, and forks on Wes, and before he knows it, he develops feelings deeper than a beefy pot of stew.

After Charlotte Bowman hooks up with hot Irish footballer Eoghan O’Farrell, she doesn’t expect to see him again. For one thing, she’s too busy for romance. She’s got her designer shoe company, a globe-trotting best friend to keep up with, and a frenetic lifestyle in New York City. But when an elite Irish soccer team reaches out to Charlotte about designing a shoe for its star player, she can’t believe it. Could her random hookup be the celebrity footballer with a penchant for new cleats?

Truth is still having a hard time juggling his relationship with his longtime girlfriend Fequah and his new interest Ka’mirah. For some reason, he is completely drawn to Ka’mirah in a way that he only thought Fequah could do. Fearing that if he breaks things off with Fequah he would lose her forever, he continues to hold on to her with denials and promises that he can’t seem to keep. All the while, he continues to pursue another relationship with Ka’mirah on the side.

One night at the club changes everything when Truth and I.E. meet the breathtakingly beautiful Tina, and her equally as beautiful godsister, Ka’mirah. It’s in that meeting that everything in their world begins to change in the blink of an eye.