Life Of A Star Before The Fame: Special Edition

By: Cox-Smith, Cinquanta

She confessed her darkest secret. Now she has to live with the fallout.

A raw, explicit Black contemporary romance about the price of fame and the cost of honesty - Book 3 of the Journeys of the Heart series. Heat Level 5. Trigger warnings forward.

Lilly DuPont has everything she ever dreamed of: a record deal, a fianc who adores her, and a tour that's launching her into superstardom. But the past she buried to get here is clawing its way back.

Before the sold-out shows and the Grammy nominations, Lilly was surviving - bartending at Cheetah's strip club, falling for a drug dealer who broke her heart, and making choices she's spent years trying to forget.

Now, engaged to producer Eric Powers and on the verge of mainstream success, Lilly is haunted by the secrets she's kept from everyone she loves:

▸ The abortion she had after her dealer boyfriend ghosted her

▸ The casual relationships that made her feel wanted but left her empty

▸ The drunken threesome in Turks & Caicos - with her best friend's husband

When the guilt becomes too heavy to carry, Lilly makes a choice that changes everything: she tells the truth.

But honesty has a price. Her best friend Mary won't speak to her. Her fianc Eric questions whether he can trust her. And Lilly has to face the possibility that some secrets are meant to stay buried.

This isn't a soft love story. It's a reckoning. A rise-from-the-ashes, burn-it-all-down, confess-your-worst-self kind of book - the one you'll finish at 3 AM and immediately text your group chat about.

Perfect for readers who love: dark past redemption arcs, celebrity romance, music industry drama, forbidden confessions, found family tested to the limit, and emotionally devastating Black contemporary romance you can binge on Kindle Unlimited.

For fans of Kennedy Ryan's Hoops and Skyland series, Christina C. Jones, and Tia Williams.

Enter the fire. Book 3 of 9 - free with Kindle Unlimited.

Content advisory: This novel contains explicit sexual content, abortion, drug use, infidelity themes, references to sex work, emotional manipulation, and past trauma. Heat Level 5. Recommended for mature readers only.

• Format: Paperback
• Language: English
• ISBN: B0GQXCM8RS
• ISBN13: 9798348442804
• Release Date: March 2026
• Publisher: Coins and Connections (R)
• Length: 324 Pages
• Weight: 0.83 lbs.
• Dimensions: 0.7" x 5.5" x 8.5"