Not Another Thug Story Books in Order

The Not Another Thug Story books zero in on Montana, a character who moves through Desirée’s universe as both a feared figure in the streets and a storyteller in his own right. On the surface he is every hood book archetype rolled into one, but the series slowly picks apart that image until even his name feels like a question.

From the first volume, readers are told that it helps to have read the Hoodlums and Hooligans books, because those earlier stories set up Montana’s orbit of friends, enemies, and complicated lovers. Cashmere, Lauryn, Koda, and others each see a different version of him, and their ties to the Carter family and the ATL college crowd keep adding pressure.

As the sequels build, lies stack on top of lies. New details emerge about how Montana and Koda really became friends, what he has done to keep his legend intact, and who has been hurt in the process. The second book is notorious for ending on revelations that make readers rethink everything they thought they knew about him.

By the third installment and KOVE, the fourth book, Not Another Thug Story becomes almost meta. The series plays with the idea of Montana as an author inside his own narrative, blurring lines between the real man and the persona he has sold to the world. The tagline for KOVE promises the truth behind the fake, and that promise hangs over every chapter.

Tonally, these books are some of Desirée’s rawest work. Violence, queerness, loyalty, and performance all crash into each other, and there are very few neat resolutions. Instead, readers get the slow, often painful process of someone being stripped of his masks in front of everyone who ever believed in him. If you are already invested in the Carter and Hoodlums cast, this series feels like watching a cousin’s secrets finally come out at the cookout.