Kirjahaku

Dreamgirls meets Waiting to Exhale by way of Destiny's Child with a nostalgic 90s twist As glittering as their name, The Diamonds were on the brink of 1990s pop music stardom--until betrayal tore them apart. Now these four very different women are getting a second shot at success. But will reuniting mend their rift--or will lasting secrets, unspoken betrayals, new temptations, and the hard-knocks of today's music industry destroy them, and their dreams, for good? Angel. Carmen. Doreen. Jade. Talented Memphis girls who had a brush with pop music fame--guided by Carmen's warm-hearted mother. But when she was elbowed out for a bigger manager, Carmen walked too. The bitter breakup shattered the Diamonds' never-easy "sisterhood" --and cost them the big-time. Now a reunion offers a fresh start, just as mid-life struggles are pushing all four to the brink. Angel hopes to reignite her failing solo career, but her insatiable ego keeps getting in the way. . . . Carmen was the group's peacemaker, but with her son in serious trouble, she's run out of patience. . . . Doreen longs to recapture the highs of performing, minus the drug haze--even as it risks her life as a pastor's wife. . . . And Jade, always the wallflower, is determined to get recognized this time around. As the women contend with the new and overwhelming demands of celebrity, they find that the old traps have stayed the same. Can they ever reach true sisterhood--and help each other become the sparkling gems they were meant to be?

In a breathtaking saga spanning the final three decades of the Great Migration - from the Jim Crow south in rural midcentury Mississippi through the transformative 1970s - a tenacious single mother and culinary genius builds an unprecedented empire. But the one dream she can't stop chasing may cost her everything... Readers of Terry McMillan, Dolen Perkins-Valdez, ReShonda Tate, and Sadeqa Johnson will be captivated by this powerful story of mothers and daughters, against-all-odds success, generational trauma, and redefining home. Money is security. Always. Margo Dupree has lived by that rule since childhood, when her father's death plunged her and her mother into poverty. Marriage brought only disillusionment and struggle. But it also gave Margo the determination to migrate north in search of a better life for herself and her young daughter, Lana. The north, however, isn't the panacea she expected, and Margo finds herself contending with the all-too-familiar obstacles of racism and prejudice, not to mention the new stresses of urban living. But things change once she realizes that what was once her greatest shame is now her greatest asset--the skills she learned from her mother's job as a cook. Using her tasty recipes, personality, and relentless hustle, Margo begins to build a successful restaurant chain. Yet despite her ever-more desperate efforts, she can't earn her heart's deepest desire: Lana's forgiveness for her early absence. As Lana becomes a beautiful young woman with an increasingly mercenary temperament, Margo wonders if she knows her daughter at all--and if she can save her from the bitter and frighteningly dangerous mistakes that may shatter both of their worlds . . .

Buried secrets, environmental disaster, and a legacy of corruption hit too close to home when a California native and her family make a fresh start in small-town Texas--and find trouble just beneath the promising surface in this powerful novel for readers of Terry McMillan, Tracy Brown, ReShonda Tate, and Elsie Bryant. As director of an award-winning investigative news radio show, Billie Jordan is used to helping others fight trouble. But she faces her own when the radio station is sold and she's unable to find another job. Their savings dwindle as she and her husband struggle to help their son overcome an opioid addiction. When her husband gets a professorship at an HBCU in his hometown, they relocate to get a fresh start. Billie slowly adjusts to a cubicle workspace, sweltering heat, and accepting "y'all" as a word. All is well until severe storms cause massive destruction and contaminate the town's water supply--making it unsafe to drink. Billie learns water woes and boil water notices have existed for years. In her new job at a local bank, she finds connections between money, power, and family, are as dirty as the water. Warned to mind her own business, she remains persistent and discovers a shocking cover-up. Even more shocking is who is involved--and the extent to which they'll go to protect their interests. Billie has always advocated for the people over the powerful. But when her son gets in trouble, her silence can make it go away. With her son's freedom at stake and mounting tensions threatening her marriage, she'll need all her resources and skills to save her family and expose the corruption . . . if a conspiracy doesn't drown her first.