Lanterna Rally

Author: B. Hollidae

Publisher: Hollidae

Published: 2019-08-14

Total Pages: 1348

ISBN-13:

The first 3 books in the All the Little Things African American Romance Series. Spanning over a period of six years, from high school sweethearts to learning what it means to be in love and a relationship as broken young adults. Read Rafael and Akilah's complete 3 part love story. All the Little Things After fleeing Miami for a new start, Akilah was the last thing 19-year-old Rafael needed. She was everything he avoided in the past with girls. Opinionated. Assertive. Shrewd. Too curious for her own good. Bold. Daring. The type you didn't want involved when you were running and had something to hide. He fell for her anyway. There are a lot of big reasons that Rafael shouldn't be with Akilah. There are a lot of big reasons why he can't be with her. But shouldn't and can't aren't in her vocabulary. And there are a lot of other reasons, little things really, that Rafael should be with her that outweigh the big things. But when his past, his abuser, the reason he lived on the streets for three years, the reason he can never go back home, the biggest reason he shouldn't get involved with Akilah, comes knocking on the door, Rafael has a choice to make. Confront it. Or lose Akilah forever. All the Uncertain Things Rafael and Akilah had it all figured out. Graduate high school, go to college, and, for Rafael, after a year of struggling with mental health issues and recovering from sexual abuse that happened to him as a teen, trying to be better and more attentive to Akilah. Akilah getting pregnant just before they graduated high school wasn't part of that plan. Now, Rafael has to grapple with his mixed emotions about it. He didn't want kids, but Akilah's keeping the baby whether he wants her to or not, and he sure as hell doesn't want to be like the dad who left him before he could really remember him. At the same time, he's terrified if he stays, he'll turn into the stepdad that abused him and his mother. Considering his history and the bad examples he's had for male role models his whole life, Rafael's not sure he can do it. And given that he keeps messing up and even Akilah seems to doubt that he can be what she and their baby need for him to be, he's uncertain he should even try. Maybe his dad did have a good reason for leaving Rafael and his mom behind, and maybe that same reason is good enough for Rafael to do the same to Akilah so he's gone before he can even give their kid even a vague memory of him. All the Hidden Things After a tumultuous first few years together, Rafael's relationship with Akilah is finally stable. They're both only months from graduation, Akilah's getting ready for law school, and Rafael... He's really not sure what he wants to do with the rest of his life. But he'll figure it out. Then an old sex video of Rafael ends up online for the world to see and there goes stability. With his silence doing more damage than the actual video, and his reputation and professional future on the line, Rafael decides the best way to undo the damage is to be completely truthful about the traumatic and violent past he's tried to keep hidden. He expected some backlash from his decision not to be the silent victim anymore. What he didn't expect was Akilah's own hidden past and damning indiscretions to be exposed and used against her. Nor did he expect it to go viral. Now Rafael has to decide if defending himself is worth the cost of Akilah's future and, possibly, their relationship or if he should just close his mouth and hope everything blows over. But it might be too late to stop. And even if it wasn't, Rafael's not sure he wants to. Either way, he hopes Akilah will forgive him. TW: Discussion of rape, Childe abuse, abortion, and sexual violence