Is Self Made: The Life And Times Of Madam C. J. Walker Worth Reading?

For two years, Lillith Blackwood lived as a hidden wife—unacknowledged, unloved, yet indispensable to her husband’s empire. She endured the coldness. She endured the humiliation. She endured being invisible. Until the day she discovered she was pregnant. Just when she believed she would finally have a place beside Lucas Chen, his long-lost stepsister, Victoria, returned—and everything fell apart. Her position was stolen. Her child was lost. Her marriage was a lie. Worst of all? She was never the wife. She was the pawn. When the truth shatters her world, Lillith walks away—only to discover she is not an orphan, but the missing heiress of a powerful elite family… and the fiancée of a mysterious Formula One legend who has been waiting for her return. This time, she won’t beg for love. This time, they will beg her to stay.

Daphne Harper spent three years believing she was the beloved wife of Vincent Carter, sacrificing everything to support the man she loved and the child she thought was hers. Until the day she discovered the truth. Their marriage was never legal. The little child she raised with unconditional love was rubbed in her face that it was not hers. And Vincent already had a real wife—Rumbidzai Carter—the woman who had been laughing behind Daphne’s back the entire time. Heartbroken and humiliated, Daphne walks away from the life she built with nothing but shattered trust. But fate has one last surprise waiting for her. When a powerful billionaire reveals the secret Daphne’s mother took to her grave, her world changes overnight. The woman they once treated as disposable is actually the hidden heiress to one of the largest fortunes in the country. Now, Daphne returns stronger, richer, and untouchable. As Vincent and Rumbidzai desperately try to crawl back into her life, Daphne has already stepped into a new world of power, wealth, and influence—one where a dangerous and enigmatic billionaire, Brian Adrian, seems far too interested in her. This time, Daphne Harper isn’t the woman being deceived. She’s the one holding the power. And revenge has never looked so elegant.

It only took a moment to burn everything down. For five years, Isla Merrick played the part—soft-spoken wife, graceful hostess, quiet shadow to Callum Braxton’s powerful presence. She became what the world expected: dutiful, polished, harmless. Then came his cold declaration: “Let’s get divorced.” No emotion. No explanation. Just a clean cut—like a business deal. But Callum never knew she had been waiting for that moment. Planning for it. Beneath the composed surface, Isla had been sharpening the edges he once dulled. Because Isla Merrick had a past—and it wasn’t the scandal the tabloids spun. It was deeper. Sharper. Before she was Mrs. Braxton, she trained at Summerdell—an elite, off-the-record martial arts academy. Whispers of crime and prison blurred the truth, but Isla stayed silent. She had bigger plans. Three years later, she returns—not to reconcile, but to reintroduce herself. Isla Merrick now runs a luxury fashion empire, famous for turning scandal into power. And when she steps into the country’s most elite gala, draped in elegance and authority, Callum barely recognizes her. But she recognizes him. Before he can speak, a figure joins her—Dorian Kane. Ruthless investor. Public obsession. His hand rests on Isla’s waist like it belongs there. “Just so we’re clear, Braxton,” Dorian says coolly. “She’s not yours. Not anymore.” For Callum, it’s the beginning of a reckoning. For Isla, it’s the first breath of freedom. She isn’t the woman who once begged to be loved. She’s the woman who knows she never needed to be. And this time, she’s not just rewriting the story—she’s owning the ending.

Gideon Hart, a man known for keeping every woman at arm's length, gets drugged and wakes up in a hotel with me lying beside him. Afterward, he comes to me and offers ten million as compensation. When I remain silent, my best friend, Lena Quimby, jumps in like she's been waiting for her cue. She snaps that money can't buy everything, trying to reject the offer on my behalf. Before I can say a word, comments start flashing before me like a live stream chat. "Here we go! The male lead, the female lead, and the side character are all on screen together!" "Lena's so classy. Way better than that gold-digger Evelyn." "Watch Evelyn reject the money and still get clowned!" "Who wouldn't pick the sweet, innocent heroine?" Glancing at Lena's flushed cheeks and the way her eyes stick to Gideon, I almost let out a cold laugh. Then, I turn to the man in front of me and hold up my Venmo QR code. "Sure. Wire it!"

Ava Lancaster gave up her identity as a billionaire heiress to marry for love, choosing anonymity over inheritance and devotion over power. But her husband, Liam Hayes, repays her sacrifice with betrayal—repeated affairs, emotional neglect, and the quiet erosion of her worth. When Ava finally walks away, she does so with nothing but her name, refusing alimony and erasing herself from the life she helped build. What Liam never knows is that Ava secretly returns to the empire she once abandoned, reclaiming her family legacy and rising as the unseen CEO of a global conglomerate. Years later, when Liam’s failing company seeks a partnership to survive, fate brings them face-to-face again—this time with Ava holding all the power and Liam unaware that the woman he discarded now controls his future. As business turns into a battlefield, Ava orchestrates her revenge not with cruelty, but with dominance, strategy, and restraint. Torn between the ghosts of her past and the possibility of new love with a steadfast rival CEO, Ava must confront the cost of power, the weight of forgiveness, and the question of whether love can exist without surrender. Empire of Her Own is a long-burn, emotionally rich modern romance about betrayal, reinvention, and a woman choosing herself—fully, unapologetically, and on her own terms.

Celeztine Dior is a tourism student at one of the Philippines' most prestigious universities. Everything was fine until her father became ill and she required a large sum of money for his operation and daily medications; she couldn't afford to lose her father. Celeztine was known as being a demure and modest woman in class but she'll turn herself into another lady they didn't expect her to be, she'll become the mistress of a well-known Governor in the city, no love, just money. Zeus Lincoln, the famed drop-dead gorgeous snob architecture student, is the man who controls her heart. She made a mistake by allowing him to date her; she underestimated how difficult it would be for them to be together, especially when she discovered that the guy she genuinely loves is the Governor's son. What if Zeus discovered that Celeztine is his dad's Mistress? Will love triumph or will he succumb to his hatred for her?