When a Gangsta Wants You

by Jade Jones

AS SEEN ALL OVER BOOKTOK! THE VIRAL GANGSTA ROMANCE YOU CAN'T PUT DOWN!

Nova isn’t your typical around-the-way girl. Far from it. Her life has been an uphill battle from the start, raised by crack-addict parents who dealt her a bad hand. She’s had to hustle and scheme to survive, even if it meant getting into trouble along the way. Young and headstrong as ever, Nova is determined to stand by her boyfriend, Sensation—a jack boy who ended up behind bars after being caught with stolen goods.

Blinded by love and loyalty, Nova swears to hold Sensation down through thick and thin. But everything changes when Sensation’s older brother, Master, steps into the picture. At 38, Master is everything Sensation wishes he could powerful, respected, and the undisputed boss of H-town. Nova can’t resist Master’s charms and falls for him hard and fast, leaving Sensation forgotten in the past.

Master’s presence throws everything into chaos. Sensation idolizes his older brother, but what happens when he gets out of prison and finds Nova in Master’s arms? Will he still want to follow in Master’s footsteps, or will betrayal ignite a desire for vengeance? And can Nova find a way to turn her life around and break free from her troubled past?

Find out in this standalone novel packed with love, passion, betrayal and reckoning.

*** This book is a re-release, previously called “Zoe and Verse” ***

Genres: African American Romance

288 pages, Kindle Edition

Published May 30, 2024

About the author

Jade Jones discovered her passion for creative writing in elementary school. Born in 1989, she began writing short stories and poetry as an outlet. Later on, as a teen, she led a troubled life which later resulted in her becoming a ward of the court. Jade fell in love with the art and used storytelling as a means of venting during her tumultuous times.

Aging out of the system two years later, she was thrust into the dismal world of homelessness. Desperate, and with limited income, Jade began dancing full time at the tender age of eighteen. It wasn't until Fall of 2008 when she finally caught her break after being accepted into Cleveland State University. There, Jade lived on campus and majored in Film and Television. Now, six years later, she flourishes from her childhood dream of becoming a bestselling author. Since then she has written the best-selling "Cameron" series.

Quite suitably, she uses her life's experiences to create captivating characters and story lines. Jade currently resides in Atlanta, Georgia. With no children, she spends her leisure shopping and traveling. She says that seeing new faces, meeting new people, and experiencing diverse cultures fuels her creativity. The stories are generated in her heart, the craft is practiced in her mind, and she expresses her passion through ink.

www.jadedpublications.com
https://www.facebook.com/author.jones
IG: authorjadejones
Twitter: authorjadejones
Snapchat: Jade_Jones198
Email: jade_jones89@yahoo.com

Reviews

[Blake · Rating 2 out of 5]

I wanted SO BADLY to like this book.... it has literally everything you could ask for.... There's age gap, a mine man, unaliving, drama, a delusional FMC, insta love, forbidden love and just so much more! BUT it was so messy and not in a good way. Everybody was fu(kin on everybody, fu(kin over everybody, no one was loyal, an accidental pregnancy that you saw from light years away, dead people weren't dead and in a way that made ZERO sense.....I just... the plot holes were awful, and it felt like the author just gave up after 70%. I guess the end was supposed to be a plot twist and then a heartwarming reconciliation, but it just fell allllll the way short. Just....dont.

[NwabiReads · Rating 3 out of 5]

So I DNF’ed this book.

There was absolutely too much going on. Also the way in which the MMC referred to the FMC as his bitch rubbed me the wrong way. Also this man knew his son but remained a deadbeat? And then went and got with his girlfriend? It was just a whole lot.

[Melise · Rating 3 out of 5]

No lmao like ABSOLUTELY NOT. Okay so this book had me on the edge of my seat forreal but I feel like the author attempted to end it with a twist and I’m not for it. Like sure the main character was a bird but she was young and traumatized and a true victim. I’m sorry Sensation deserved to die wasn’t no redeeming him like ain’t no way. Idk if the author gonna pull a part two out but this is unfinished and unresolved. He got out on snitch terms and the feds just never followed up ?? Like come on now. Then the sister was a hater and like if you gonna include a hating sibling storyline then you need to expound upon it. Like you was hating on your baby sister watching her go through all this stress, strife and struggle while speaking down her her CUS A MAN WANTED HER AND NOT YOU… LIKE YOU MADD OVER HIMMMM and allowing ya baby sister to get dogged out like GIRL BFFR. Master was a deadbeat which led to a lot of the turmoil but he still had redeeming qualities. Where was either Sensation and Ashaunies redemption?! Like yeah Nova was foul but if sensation was doing the same thing then who is he to determine she’s a terrible person. Like I’m sorry this ending didn’t match what was all built up. All these bodies dropped and it’s cool it’s water under the bridge nothing came of it the feds said meh no need to investigate lmaoo. Like sorry this was some prime MESS but poor story telling in the end

[Terry · Rating 2 out of 5]

It had potential.

Spoiler alert : First of all, I have mixed feelings about damn near everyone in the book besides Trae. Masters was all over the place and I can understand him having mixed feelings with his wife Malone because he never got closure because she left him . Malone was crazy as hell but she wasn’t wrong for hating masters for making a baby on her and then hiding it for years . Like what? You rather not be there for your son just to appease your wife ? He was a dead beat there is no way around it. Masters abandoned sensation and wonders why his crazy ass turned out the way he was . Nova had a rough life with horrible family dynamics so I’m going to give her and her sister a little grace . She was naive, especially in regards to sensation and his shenanigans . Sensation did that girl dirty and her sister wasn’t shit . This book had a lot of drama but the end just didn’t sit right with me .

[Crystal (Melanatedreader) Forte' · Rating 4 out of 5]

When I say if I smoked this book would have made me pull out a cigarette! This was one of those hood novels that had all the elements. It was like watching a train wreck in the best way and I just couldn’t turn it loose! If you like drama that is highly diabolical and that will leave you wondering what else could possibly happen. Read this!

[Jackie J · Rating 2 out of 5]

It’s a no for me dawg.

[Chadsity Westley · Rating 5 out of 5]

4.75/5 ⭐️

[Jailai · Rating 3 out of 5]

If all over a place was a book then this would be the exact book! It was so much shit going on from Nova being in that strip to fucking her boyfriend brother ..

Then the sister was jealous as hell of her and wanted to have the damn jail bird boyfriend ..

This was just alot of take in. A lot of unnecessary stuff in between 😩😩😩

[Bookish Baddie ♡ · Rating 1 out of 5]

ion know .. I saw this on #BookTok and it sounded sooooooo interesting that I immediately downloaded it on audible because I’m like ok, maybe I’ll get out of this terrible book slump. Aht, aht. It didn’t give what it was supposed to give & j wanted soooooo badly to like this book. Back to the drawing board ✍🏾🙄

[Kennedy · Rating 3 out of 5]

This was a lot 😭 like… wym you fell in love with your boyfriend’s “brother” and wym your sister wanted your boyfriend???? This book was bad but so good at the same time lmao. Full of plot holes, but honestly it felt like a train wreck I couldn’t look away from.

[Nadia Latai (Nadiasbookishworld86) · Rating 3 out of 5]

Unhinged..... that's all

[Brittany · Rating 4 out of 5]

Messy messy messy!!!! But this book kept me on edge lol, I was tuned in honey!!!!! I’m glad Nova got her Happily Ever After ending 🥰

[Booked.Shaye BWRT · Rating 4 out of 5]

I’m glad I didn’t let the reviews stop me. I really did like this book. It’s chaotic & messy. But the tea is good !

[Mello · Rating 3 out of 5]

The writing wasn’t the best but this was a roller coaster of a read. My jaw was constantly on the floor. EVERYBODY was scamming & snaking each other you didn’t know wtf was gonna happen when you turned the page. The ending was wild but yet somehow a HEA lmao. I can’t explain it, but I do recommend reading this if you like urban romance. I would even say this was a bit of a dark romance as well.

[_SimplyRead · Rating 2 out of 5]

2.5🌟

This story was chaotic and I’m not sure if that what in a good way. The plot had way too many gaps for me, the time jumps and lack of communication in this was just not my style.

I wanted to enjoy this but I couldn’t find myself rooting for any of the characters, none of them deserved any form of HEA. Then after all the chaos that ending was so rushed and unrealistic. I hope I can find something else in her catalog, but this one just wasn’t for me. 🤷🏽‍♀️

[Miranda · Rating 4 out of 5]

This had NO BUSINESS being this good!! My jaw was dropped, I was giggling, cackling, kicking my little feet! I mean, if you want drama, this is the perfect book. Every single person is entangled with one another in some way. The romance in this is more for shock value, you will not be pining over Master or Sensation. Instead it’s like watching an old dating show on Vh1, like Flavor of Love or Rock of Love. Trashy, filthy, but so entertaining you can’t turn it off- well I couldn’t put this down. What a fun ride!

[Tavyn Smith · Rating 3 out of 5]

This story brought me back to 2013 when I was reading stories on Wattpad on my iPod 😭✋🏽

[Toni Swanks Bonner · Rating 4 out of 5]

This caught me by surprise. Not only did this book take place in Houston, but it took place in South Park where my family is from. So I may be a little biased lol. All jokes aside I picked this book up yesterday morning and the only reason I didn’t finish it in one sitting is because I got super busy. But please believe I ate this book up. Multiple POVs I’m starting to love in books. I think it was 5 POVS and all were necessary. This was a legit street love story. I do find it funny how everybody was creeping with LITERALLY everybody, but if they found out the one that was supposed to be for them wasn’t loyal, ish hit fan. When I say no one was loyal NO ONE was loyal. This was good book of betrayal, family resolutions, and new found love. I think what’s keeping me from giving this a five star rating was because at several points in the book things got repetitive, word for word repetitive. Not just the flashbacks, but even with describing characters it became repetitive. Overall though I enjoyed my time with this read and I definitely enjoyed homage paid to Houston legends and the city’s culture.

[Bre · Rating 3 out of 5]

Warning: Spoilers

I read the book straight through.. each chapter had me on edge because of how messy it was. It had so much potential but ultimately there were too many plot holes. The ending was way too rushed… Sensation literally snitched on Master to get out of jail, robbed + shot up Master’s warehouse. Nearly tried to kill Master and Sensation cried and got a redemption wtf. Master got shot in the shoulder and heart and we immediately find out he lived. It doesn’t leave any room to provoke any emotions for the character.

We also don’t know where Nova’s dad was hiding all those years. I would’ve liked to see a POV of Maloni thoughts after being buried alive. Even a POV from Dru would’ve been nice because now knowing I don’t get why she didn’t tell Maloni about Nova. The book definitely could’ve been made longer even two books if necessary.

[JazzReads · Rating 2 out of 5]

Master and Nova

2.5 ⭐️ Ok I am going to say that I took out the extreme gap because I was aware before reading this book that age gap was a fact in this book. Outside of that Sensation was my favorite character in this book because I think he deserved so much more than his deadbeat ass daddy Master. Master decided to be “brother-daddy” instead of being a father to his son. Master didn’t deserve to have a happy ending because he was a horrible husband and father. The drama in this book carried and I was very entertained throughout this book. I feel like if the ending was rushed I feel like I could have gave it more stars. Overall this book was wild and unhinged.

[Di'Jon Winston · Rating 1 out of 5]

I-…this book was TEW much. There was potential for it to be good but there were so many twists and characters it was hard to keep up with. The FMC’s name was Nova but randomly in the book they started calling her Z?? This is the largest age gap I’ve read in a book (18 years) and there were some sex scenes that were extremely cringey (there was mention of him sliding her onto his lap like a daddy did a daughter while they were having sex 🤮). There was no build up for the romance. Chapter one they hated eachother and by chapter 3 they were having sex and in love I just…. This was a hard no for me. I should’ve DNF’d it when I was thinking about it initially but I wanted to give it a chance. It was awful

[KayBee's Bookshelf · Rating 3 out of 5]

review

This was an OK read for me. There was a good amount of drama and a couple of twists in the plot that made for good reading. I couldn’t quite connect with the characters enough to be truly engaged . There was a bitbit of repetitiveness, but I see why the author chose to do that.

[Kay · Rating 5 out of 5]

Have you ever been loved by a thug!?! When a Gangsta Wants You gives everything it needs to give! Romance, Thriller, Crime, Smut and Betrayal. It’s a messy, chaotic, beautiful love story.

[Mesha E · Rating 2 out of 5]

This story had so much potential to be good, but it just wasn't. The two stars I gave was for the plot alone. There was not one character I cared about or rooted for

[Kierra · Rating 3 out of 5]

3.5⭐️

[Cheeda · Rating 5 out of 5]

I couldn't put this book down. Very quick and engaging read.

[SailorJas · Rating 1 out of 5]

Where do I start….. there is just too much going on. The age gap and the fact they crossed paths multiple times is just weird to me. Also her name is Nova but they randomly call her Z? They should have all ended up in a clinic because the back dooring is insane in this story. I personally wouldn’t recommend it

[Sharron · Rating 3 out of 5]

MESSY! Everybody was hunching EVERYBODY！Everybody was backstabbing EVERYBODY ! Lots of twists and WTF moments. I wish it went deeper into Master and Sensation relationship in the end and where TF was Nova’s Daddy at??

[Brittany Davis · Rating 2 out of 5]

Unanswered Questions *Spoiler Alert*

This was ridiculous! The whole book was a circus with no definition and tell us how Maloni undug herself??? Unless she had help and Shooter undug her that would’ve been impossible! No I barely rated it a 2. Disappointing

[Jala · Rating 1 out of 5]

A VERY disappointing read

Honestly, this book was a waste of time. The author has been around too long to be putting out such elementary and immature storylines. The characters were all pretty dumb, especially the guy who's supposed to be running a billion-dollar business but has no instinct or street sense. The age difference between the main characters was also pretty disturbing.

I couldn't wait to finish it and actually sped through 20 or more pages just to be done. Overall, this was not a good book at all, and I wouldn’t recommend it.