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Bad Girlz 4 Life
#1 bestselling author Shannon Holmes returns with the explosive sequel to his national bestseller, Bad Girlz . Tonya Morris a.k.a. "Tender" is back and this time the ride is wilder than ever.
Coming of age in the Badlands of north Philadelphia--one of the toughest and poorest communities in the country--Tonya Morris has had to make some desperate and, at times, ruthless moves in her bid to survive. When Tonya stepped into the unforgiving business of stripping, she found herself caught up in a world of sex-filled nights, dirty money, backstabbing cohorts, and murder. She left that world behind to become a hairstylist. However, after she is blacklisted from salons across Philadelphia and is evicted by her shady landlord, Tonya finds herself back in the stripping business. Except this time, she promises herself, things are going to end differently. Tonya teams up with her best friend, Na'eema, to organize underground sex parties, and it's not long before they have a team of beautiful girls and are rubbing elbows with athletes, rappers, and celebrities. Then Tonya's ex-lover and now music industry superstar, Q, steps onto the scene, and everything takes a dramatic new twist. Because it's not just Q who is back in her life. His murderous baby mama, Niecey, is fresh out of jail and ready to raise hell. And she's got Tonya in her sights. In the meantime, Tonya's past has risen like a beast, threatening to tear away all her newfound success. But Tonya isn't going down without a fight.
Coming of age in the Badlands of north Philadelphia--one of the toughest and poorest communities in the country--Tonya Morris has had to make some desperate and, at times, ruthless moves in her bid to survive. When Tonya stepped into the unforgiving business of stripping, she found herself caught up in a world of sex-filled nights, dirty money, backstabbing cohorts, and murder. She left that world behind to become a hairstylist. However, after she is blacklisted from salons across Philadelphia and is evicted by her shady landlord, Tonya finds herself back in the stripping business. Except this time, she promises herself, things are going to end differently. Tonya teams up with her best friend, Na'eema, to organize underground sex parties, and it's not long before they have a team of beautiful girls and are rubbing elbows with athletes, rappers, and celebrities. Then Tonya's ex-lover and now music industry superstar, Q, steps onto the scene, and everything takes a dramatic new twist. Because it's not just Q who is back in her life. His murderous baby mama, Niecey, is fresh out of jail and ready to raise hell. And she's got Tonya in her sights. In the meantime, Tonya's past has risen like a beast, threatening to tear away all her newfound success. But Tonya isn't going down without a fight.
- GenresUrban
326 pages, Paperback
First published May 27, 2008
24 people are currently reading
805 people want to read
About the author
Shannon Holmes
25 books266 followersShannon Holmes was born and raised in New York City’s most northern borough; the Bronx. Holmes’ entrance into the literary world was anything but ordinary. Armed only with a G.E.D. and the desire to change his life, Mr. Holmes crafted his first novel and signed his first literary contract from prison, while serving a five year sentence for various drug convictions. This was truly an amazing feat when you consider Mr. Holmes had never even written a short story in his life. He truly made the best of a bad situation.
He first achieved success with his first novel B-more Careful, which has gone on to sell a half a million copies to date. This may not sound like a lot of to the general public, but in the literary world Mr. Holmes is platinum. By producing such lofty sales numbers, Shannon was able to parlay the success of his first novel into a two book, six figure deal, with publishing giant Simon & Schuster.
Avoiding the sophomore jinx, Shannon Holmes crafted the critically acclaimed Bad Girlz, which sold fifty thousand copies in its first week. His next novel Never Go Home Again was hailed as best work... With this he achieved yet another milestone, he became the first author of the street genre to have his novel printed in hardcover. Since then Mr. Holmes has signed an even bigger deal publishing deal with St. Martin’s Press, it’s rumored to be in the high six figures, for two novels.
He first achieved success with his first novel B-more Careful, which has gone on to sell a half a million copies to date. This may not sound like a lot of to the general public, but in the literary world Mr. Holmes is platinum. By producing such lofty sales numbers, Shannon was able to parlay the success of his first novel into a two book, six figure deal, with publishing giant Simon & Schuster.
Avoiding the sophomore jinx, Shannon Holmes crafted the critically acclaimed Bad Girlz, which sold fifty thousand copies in its first week. His next novel Never Go Home Again was hailed as best work... With this he achieved yet another milestone, he became the first author of the street genre to have his novel printed in hardcover. Since then Mr. Holmes has signed an even bigger deal publishing deal with St. Martin’s Press, it’s rumored to be in the high six figures, for two novels.
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Displaying 1 - 28 of 28 reviews
August 14, 2010
Definitely not as good as the first. For some reason I felt like I had already read this book. The kidnapping storyline seemed very familiar either because it's very similar to one in another book or because it's similar to something in the first book. While I understand that these books are fiction, I think that there needs to be some sort of realism to them. This book was a little far fetched if you ask, me.
June 15, 2010
♥ First Book Was Way Better, No Action At All ♥
November 1, 2025
I started reading African American urban fiction novels primarily because many of my students were reading these books. “Bad Girlz 4 Life” is a perfect example of the kind of books that are popular among young adult and adult readers; the books contain adult XX rated graphic themes involving sex, crime, and violence. I am not certain why there is an appeal for this genre, but it appears to me, from reading the reviews, that what is appealing are the graphic descriptions of the “romance” in the bedroom, combined with fantasy and the soap opera nature of the plots. Readers get hooked on wanting to know what happens or will happen to characters in the stories. The stories in the books can be very entertaining and they are raunchy.
This genre of books about people’s social lives, romance, and women’s fiction is a genre that does not appeal to my own interests.
The author of “Bad Girlz 4 Life” is a male who uses the name Shannon Holmes as his pen name. He’s an important author in the urban fiction genre because he was the first black author to be awarded a book contract from a major publisher by writing his first novel while incarcerated (that was why he used a pen name). There is some authenticity in his writing because he writes from experiences shared with him and his own life experiences.
This book has well-developed characters and plot. It can be read as a stand-alone novel and it does have an ending that won’t leave the reader without a resolution to the story. The writing is much improved when compared to the previous novel, which is “Bad Girlz.” “Bad Girlz 4 Life” can be read without having to read “Bad Girlz” because the back story is briefly explained in the second book, “Bad Girlz 4 Life.”
Here are some of the Settings and Locations: [Pennsylvania: Philadelphia (Chestnut Hill neighborhood, Germantown neighborhood, North Philadelphia -Richard Allen Home “Projects,”-Badlands, Center City, Temple University Hospital, Simon Gratz High School); Harrisburg; Norristown; New York: New York City (Empire State Building, Manhattan); Florida: Miami (South Beach); New Jersey: Edgewater, Teterboro Airport] There are also many fictional settings in the book.
This genre of books about people’s social lives, romance, and women’s fiction is a genre that does not appeal to my own interests.
The author of “Bad Girlz 4 Life” is a male who uses the name Shannon Holmes as his pen name. He’s an important author in the urban fiction genre because he was the first black author to be awarded a book contract from a major publisher by writing his first novel while incarcerated (that was why he used a pen name). There is some authenticity in his writing because he writes from experiences shared with him and his own life experiences.
This book has well-developed characters and plot. It can be read as a stand-alone novel and it does have an ending that won’t leave the reader without a resolution to the story. The writing is much improved when compared to the previous novel, which is “Bad Girlz.” “Bad Girlz 4 Life” can be read without having to read “Bad Girlz” because the back story is briefly explained in the second book, “Bad Girlz 4 Life.”
Here are some of the Settings and Locations: [Pennsylvania: Philadelphia (Chestnut Hill neighborhood, Germantown neighborhood, North Philadelphia -Richard Allen Home “Projects,”-Badlands, Center City, Temple University Hospital, Simon Gratz High School); Harrisburg; Norristown; New York: New York City (Empire State Building, Manhattan); Florida: Miami (South Beach); New Jersey: Edgewater, Teterboro Airport] There are also many fictional settings in the book.
June 13, 2017
I was not impressed by this installment. It was very predictable as well as there was no real action. I love Shannon Holmes but this series as a whole was just average.
Want to read
February 7, 2014I want to read this book
July 11, 2021
Trials Can Turn To Triumph
Shannon, this read was such a strong, hard, story. It was also a great test and a great show of never giving up when all you have is nothing. Tonya was thrown every hard ball that could be thrown at her, instead of her staying stuck she chose to turn her trauma into a better situation for herself.
From having such a traumatic thing happen to her to her family disowning her to her shutting off her feelings, Tonya survived .
Every turn she took she got hit with some heavy mess she found a best loyal friend in Na'eema she became her loyal, trusted friend, the girls began their own business and began to do big things. Tonya was at an event they did and ran into an old friend Q, who isn't A low man anymore but he is doing things. They began a relationship again and trouble came at them but love, honesty and loyalty kept them together through all the mess.
Tonya was estranged from her mom for years when her mom needed her she went to her. Tonya, forgave her mother with Na'eema help making her see she needed to forgive her so she could heal.
This was a great read. 🤗🤗🤗🤗
Shannon, this read was such a strong, hard, story. It was also a great test and a great show of never giving up when all you have is nothing. Tonya was thrown every hard ball that could be thrown at her, instead of her staying stuck she chose to turn her trauma into a better situation for herself.
From having such a traumatic thing happen to her to her family disowning her to her shutting off her feelings, Tonya survived .
Every turn she took she got hit with some heavy mess she found a best loyal friend in Na'eema she became her loyal, trusted friend, the girls began their own business and began to do big things. Tonya was at an event they did and ran into an old friend Q, who isn't A low man anymore but he is doing things. They began a relationship again and trouble came at them but love, honesty and loyalty kept them together through all the mess.
Tonya was estranged from her mom for years when her mom needed her she went to her. Tonya, forgave her mother with Na'eema help making her see she needed to forgive her so she could heal.
This was a great read. 🤗🤗🤗🤗
March 23, 2021
I felt like the story carried on without segmenting well from one scene to the other. The plot was reasonable and felt somewhat authentic but I've been spoilt by a previous urban author and so the stakes may have been raised to an unfair level. Nonetheless, that's my rating!
August 8, 2019
Took too long to get to the meat of the story. Typical hood drama. Got really good towards the end.
April 19, 2022
I want them to continue this book as a seires.
January 8, 2023
I had to finish this because I began it.. This feels like Shannon wad Bored.. Nothing happened to Niecey? No more about Karen?? The DA just faded away?? Nahh.. Really?
Read
November 13, 2020Neicey is the epitome of a bitter baby mama! The way she manipulated her child was definitely low.
January 25, 2019
This book had a good storyline but it is very graphic and there were a few errors toward the end of the book. But it kept me wanting to finish reading. I read the entire book within a week.
February 17, 2017
I finally finished this book. It was a struggle for me not because of the book because my mind have a lot going on. I thought the book was good the only thing Tender got on my nerves so bad but she redeemed herself and turned out to get her life together with Q. Happy Tender and Q got their lives together and now they can be happy.
September 11, 2008
Tonya Morris, a.k.a. Tender, used to be a stripper but chose to leave that degrading lifestyle in her past. Struggling daily to make ends meet, she unsuccessfully tries to elude her landlord and ignore the snide remarks of her co-workers at the beauty shop where she works. Present day finds Tonya fired from her stylist job, utilities being disconnected one by one, and eventually homeless. Turning to her best friend Naeema, Tonya goes back to the booty shaking gig until she and Naeema come up with a business promoting sexual parties with past associates.
Quinton "Q" Phelps has found success in the music industry and is grinding daily to continue to rise in this field. While seeking major success, Q is raising his son while the mother is incarcerated, taking care of his family, and evading the hip hop cops who are relentless in their pursuit of him. Q walked away from the drug game with millions of dollars that he used to fund his legitimate entrance into the music industry. A chance meeting brings Tonya face to face with Q, a man of her past that callously took her heart and left it broken in his destructive wake. Impressed with their promotional skills, Q offers Tonya and Naeema a win-win situation that helps to end their financial woes and gives them free reign to evolve their natural talent.. Of course, Tonya knows from past experience that with the sunshine, she has to be prepared for stormy day. Karen, Q's jealous baby sister, thrives on raining on the duo's parade and is one that they have to constantly watch.
Quinton "Q" Phelps has found success in the music industry and is grinding daily to continue to rise in this field. While seeking major success, Q is raising his son while the mother is incarcerated, taking care of his family, and evading the hip hop cops who are relentless in their pursuit of him. Q walked away from the drug game with millions of dollars that he used to fund his legitimate entrance into the music industry. A chance meeting brings Tonya face to face with Q, a man of her past that callously took her heart and left it broken in his destructive wake. Impressed with their promotional skills, Q offers Tonya and Naeema a win-win situation that helps to end their financial woes and gives them free reign to evolve their natural talent.. Of course, Tonya knows from past experience that with the sunshine, she has to be prepared for stormy day. Karen, Q's jealous baby sister, thrives on raining on the duo's parade and is one that they have to constantly watch.
April 21, 2009
This is one of my favorite books because I like the characters, drama, and the schemes that was used so they could get what they want.
I like the character of tender because even though she was a stripper she still did what she had do to survive by using quick schemes to get what she wanted. Also the characters were all different. Each of them had their own personality and made the book a great one.
Another thing I really enjoyed was the drama. In the book was issues after issues. The drama of course does make the book more interesting which causes you to want to make more. I like how in the book the girl makes from being a stripper to becoming a lot more successful with the help of her friend. This shows that her character was a strong woman and she never doubted herself that she wouldn't make it.
The schemes are a little more interesting because, it leaves you wondering how she do think of that? I actually enjoyed the schemes from the book more than the characters and the drama. My favorite part of the book was when Tender and her friend starts throwing parties for money and from that it actually made them the most famous people in Philadelphia.
In conclusion, I thought the booked was really good and I would really recommend this book to anyone who enjoys drama or violence that really makes the book.
I like the character of tender because even though she was a stripper she still did what she had do to survive by using quick schemes to get what she wanted. Also the characters were all different. Each of them had their own personality and made the book a great one.
Another thing I really enjoyed was the drama. In the book was issues after issues. The drama of course does make the book more interesting which causes you to want to make more. I like how in the book the girl makes from being a stripper to becoming a lot more successful with the help of her friend. This shows that her character was a strong woman and she never doubted herself that she wouldn't make it.
The schemes are a little more interesting because, it leaves you wondering how she do think of that? I actually enjoyed the schemes from the book more than the characters and the drama. My favorite part of the book was when Tender and her friend starts throwing parties for money and from that it actually made them the most famous people in Philadelphia.
In conclusion, I thought the booked was really good and I would really recommend this book to anyone who enjoys drama or violence that really makes the book.
February 5, 2010
Bad Girlz 4 Life
By: Shannon Holmes
Synopsis-This is a book about how a young girl, Tonya, who has to struggle in life just to survive. Her mom had abandoned her as a teen so Tonya was forced to survive on her own. She couldnt find a job that would pay her enough to pay rent and bus money because she doesnt have a car. Tonya has to turn to the stripper game just to survive. She hates but she has to do what she has to do to survive. Tonya's whole life changes when she reunites with he ex, Q.
Classification-This would fit an audiance of teens, or young adults.
Some things the book contains wouldnt be suitable for kids, and teens and adults could probably relate more.
This book takes place in Philly then moves to New York.
Critism-This book is good literature. I like how the story makes you feel connected to the characters and yu get to really learn about the characters and compare them o someone you know or yourself. I also like how the book foreshadows sometimes but also leaves you wondering and wanting to read more. Something i dont like about this book is some things dont seem real or like it would happen. Some of the things in the book seem like they dont belong because they get off topic and have no point of being there. I dont like how unnecessary things take place.
By: Shannon Holmes
Synopsis-This is a book about how a young girl, Tonya, who has to struggle in life just to survive. Her mom had abandoned her as a teen so Tonya was forced to survive on her own. She couldnt find a job that would pay her enough to pay rent and bus money because she doesnt have a car. Tonya has to turn to the stripper game just to survive. She hates but she has to do what she has to do to survive. Tonya's whole life changes when she reunites with he ex, Q.
Classification-This would fit an audiance of teens, or young adults.
Some things the book contains wouldnt be suitable for kids, and teens and adults could probably relate more.
This book takes place in Philly then moves to New York.
Critism-This book is good literature. I like how the story makes you feel connected to the characters and yu get to really learn about the characters and compare them o someone you know or yourself. I also like how the book foreshadows sometimes but also leaves you wondering and wanting to read more. Something i dont like about this book is some things dont seem real or like it would happen. Some of the things in the book seem like they dont belong because they get off topic and have no point of being there. I dont like how unnecessary things take place.
May 28, 2013
A good sequel and a story that grabs its readers. This story was a great hood love story as well and it gives you hope for a product of the hood, but it makes you despise the trifling baby mamas who are out there. I knew Qs baby mama was behind all that and at many times wished he would have just set her straight, but he didn't. Glad the situation ended like it did and Tonya was able to have her happy ever after with the love of her life. The end keeps you wondering what happened to Neicey, that's why I didn't give it the full rating, it would have been good to know what happened to her and even what they named their baby. This story is a great example of a young woman coming from the gutter and regardless of her cards dealt, she came out a winner. In my opinion the first book was better #GoodRead
January 31, 2011
OK so the first book was written with more slang/Ebonics, which had me reluctant to read this one, proved me wrong.. BGz's 4 life was better than Bad Girlz to say the least, as anyone can see it got a five star rating from me this time, I have never read anything from this author before up until recently, which I have a feeling he will soon be added to my favorite authors list. BGz's 4 life?..Loved it!
November 19, 2008
2ndd part to bad qirlz**
woww..
i think tha 1st book was better b.c it had more action.
soo. it's still about tender but she qoes bakq to her qovernment name.
i cnt tell yuh sum stuff b.c it's at tha end of tha 1st book =]
but it's very touchinqq && has a cute endinqq =]
so read bad qirlz 1st !! =D
woww..
i think tha 1st book was better b.c it had more action.
soo. it's still about tender but she qoes bakq to her qovernment name.
i cnt tell yuh sum stuff b.c it's at tha end of tha 1st book =]
but it's very touchinqq && has a cute endinqq =]
so read bad qirlz 1st !! =D
June 15, 2011
This was a very good book. I enjoyed it and loved the way it ended. It was nice the suspense it gave and left you wondering how it was going to end. This is the 2nd part to "Bad Girlz." I would recommend it to anyone that loves to read these type of books :)
January 23, 2010
2 thumbs up!
December 23, 2010
It was ok.
February 10, 2011
great book
September 11, 2012
Just not the book for me. I got through a few chapters.
September 28, 2012
Very good book from beginning to end. From her troubled past to her future, and her love for Q and his love for her.
January 11, 2022
This was a pretty decent read but the 1st book was much better.
April 23, 2017
This book was awesome! It kept me on the edge of my seat the whole time!
Displaying 1 - 28 of 28 reviews