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Darrien Lee Books in Order

Browse Darrien Lee books in order, with quick summaries, series guides, reading order, and easy suggestions for where to start across her teen and adult novels.

Last updated: July 5, 2026

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17 books

All That and a Bag of Chips

by Darrien Lee

2001

Venice Taylor heads to college sure that her bond with football star Jarvis Anderson can survive anything. Then she falls for architecture major Craig Bennett, and one intense love triangle changes the course of all three lives.

Been There, Done That

by Darrien Lee

2003

Years after losing Venice Taylor, Craig Bennett has buried himself in work and kept love at arm's length. When old heartbreak collides with new possibilities, he has to decide whether regret will keep shaping the rest of his life.

What Goes Around Comes Around

by Darrien Lee

2004

Attorney Winston meets sports medicine doctor Arnelle Lapahie and feels an immediate pull, but she remembers a past encounter he has forgotten. As old secrets surface, attraction alone is not enough, they have to decide whether trust can be rebuilt.

When Hell Freezes Over

by Darrien Lee

2005

Keaton Lapahie has no plans to marry, until medical leave brings him to Philadelphia and into the orbit of Dr. Meridan St. John. Their attraction is real, but Meridan's buried past and a jealous man from it refuse to stay buried.

Brotherly Love

by Darrien Lee

2006

Undercover detective Mason McKenzie has given so much to the job that he barely sees the damage at home. As his wife Cherise and brother Vincent struggle with a forbidden past, one last case could destroy the whole family.

Talk To The Hand

by Darrien Lee

2006

Nedra Harris and Donovan McNeil grow from college friends into each other's closest emotional anchor, even as other relationships pull them apart. When abuse, obsession, and long-buried feelings collide, their bond is tested in painful, dangerous ways.

The Last Chance

by Darrien Lee

2007

The Chance brothers have built a successful Los Angeles casino, but rivals want a piece of it and the family empire is under threat. Their sister Keilah, a weapons expert, becomes central to the fight to protect it.

16 Going on 21

by Darrien Lee

2008

Denim Mitchell has loved Andre Patterson for years, even though her parents want strict limits on their relationship. One secret night out, one shooting, and one bad choice push both teens into danger far beyond a normal high school romance.

Double Crossed

by Darrien Lee

2008

Nichole Adams leans on coach Damon Kilpatrick after her boyfriend, officer Deacon Miles, is shot, only to learn Deacon already has a wife. As Deacon's lies unravel and his obsession grows, betrayal gives way to real danger.

Grown in Sixty Seconds

by Darrien Lee

2008

Teen couple Patrice and DeMario are expecting a baby, but their excitement is buried under friendship fallout, Dre's disappearance, and a risky pregnancy. As pressure closes in from every side, Denim has to decide whether broken friendships can still be repaired.

Broken Promises

by Darrien Lee

2009

Twelve-year-old double-dutch star Tiffany suddenly quits the sport she loves and pulls away from everyone around her. Her brother Levar and Denim know something is wrong, but the truth behind Tiffany's silence could tear her family apart.

Queen of the Yard

by Darrien Lee

2009

Patience is the feared leader of the BGR sisterhood, but she wants out before gang life closes in for good. When Denim Mitchell overhears a setup against her, loyalty, survival, and a fight for control collide in Scotland Heights.

Raising Kane

by Darrien Lee

2010

Fifteen-year-old Kane Alexander is tired of acting like a second parent while her mother is in a mental hospital and her father works nonstop. When she runs away, a new friendship forces her family to face the strain they have been ignoring.

Unspoken Lies

by Darrien Lee

2010

Mason and Cherise McKenzie are trying to save their marriage, but old betrayals and Vincent's lingering place in their lives keep reopening the wound. As past affairs and present danger collide, silence becomes its own kind of threat.

Lying to Live

by Darrien Lee

2012

Denim Mitchell starts tutoring fourteen-year-old Julius Graham, a quiet boy hiding a terrible secret. After he witnesses a brutal neighborhood crime, Denim must help him find the courage to speak before fear puts both their families in danger.

Precious Stones

by Darrien Lee

2012

Ramsey and Keilah Stone seem settled, with a growing family and a thriving protection agency. Then old lovers, fresh danger, and a sudden tragedy force them into a tense fight to protect the people and life they built.

Love Past The Moment

by Darrien Lee

2017

Yacht builder Ky Parker wants out of a dangerous relationship just as executive Reece Miller arrives hoping for a clean start. Their connection offers real hope, but old heartbreak and a threat from Ky's past put both love and survival at risk.

Where should I start?

If you want the core relationship drama: All That and a Bag of ChipsBeen There, Done ThatWhat Goes Around Comes Around
If you want teen stories first: 16 Going on 21Grown in Sixty SecondsQueen of the Yard
If you prefer romantic suspense: Brotherly LoveUnspoken Lies
If you want family danger and action: The Last ChancePrecious Stones
If you want a later standalone romance: Love Past The Moment

Author bio

Darrien Lee grew up in Columbia, Tennessee, and later attended Tennessee State University in Nashville, where she studied business administration. That is also where writing first took hold in a lasting way. College gave her material, but it also gave her the habit of paying close attention to how people talk, love, drift apart, and circle back.

At first, she wrote poetry.

By 1999, Lee was treating writing as more than a private hobby. In biographical notes, she has said that feeling unfulfilled in her job at UPS pushed her to take fiction seriously. Writing became a release valve, a place to unwind, and a way to entertain friends at the same time. That balance, everyday life on one side, high emotion on the other, still feels central to her work.

Her debut novel, All That and a Bag of Chips, arrived in 2001. Drawing on the feel of college life, it introduced the kind of setup she returns to often, love triangles, loyalty tests, hard choices, and characters who have to live with the consequences of what they want. It was followed by Been There, Done That and What Goes Around Comes Around, and those follow-ups both reached the Essence bestseller list.

Lee did not stay in one lane for long. Brotherly Love and Unspoken Lies bring romance into collision with police work, infidelity, and family betrayal. The Last Chance and Precious Stones push further into danger, with protective siblings, business pressure, and violence closing in around the characters. Talk To The Hand begins with a close friendship, then moves into abuse, obsession, and the long shadow of bad choices.

She likes pressure.

That same instinct shows up in her young adult work. The Denim Diaries series, starting with 16 Going on 21, follows Denim Mitchell and the people around her through first love, teen pregnancy, gang pressure, broken trust, family strain, and neighborhood violence. The books move quickly, but they stay grounded in the emotional lives of kids who are being asked to grow up faster than they should. Readers who like realistic teen drama tend to find a lot to hold onto there.

A later novel, Love Past The Moment, shows the same interest in second chances from a more mature angle. It pairs a yacht builder trying to step out of a dangerous relationship with a woman hoping a career move will help her start over. That combination is very Lee. She likes stories where love matters, but where love alone is never enough. Her characters still have to tell the truth, face what they have avoided, and survive the fallout.

Readers often come to Lee for the drama, but they stay for the way she keeps her characters human. Her people are rarely neat and almost never perfect. They make impulsive choices, carry secrets, and try to build something better after the damage is already done. Whether she is writing adult romance or teen fiction, she seems most interested in what happens after the mistake, after the betrayal, after the moment when somebody has to decide who they really are.

Her publisher biographies describe her as a two-time Essence bestselling author, and note that she has been featured in Romantic Times and The Nashville Tennessean. She is also a member of African American Authors Helping Authors. Those same bios place her in La Vergne, Tennessee, with her husband and two daughters, and add a few small details that fit nicely with the books, she loves jazz, sports, and reading.

Edited by

Richard Reis

Software engineer whose passion for tracking book recommendations from podcasts inspired the creation of MRB.

Anurag Ramdasan

Lead investor at 3one4 Capital whose startup expertise and love for books helped shaped MRB and its growth.

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