Showing results by narrator "Amy Bentley" in All Categories

Now that Marie has become used to her lonely life of helping transients through their worst times, she can forget about the intense sadness that plagues every waking moment, until she meets a drifter who changes everything. Jake Collins once had everything a man could ever want, a nice home, clothes, and a wife who loved him, until he threw it all away like a bad poker hand.

Quinn met Hunter five years ago at age 18. It wasn't love at first sight. In fact, it was the complete opposite. But they did make a promise that day. If times ever got shitty again, all either of them had to do was text each other for help. For five years, they had always been there for each other until...they weren't.

Dana Fields's father never knew his parents. When Dana secretly does a DNA test for her dad, hoping to find him some distant relatives for his birthday, her entire world implodes. Instead of a few third cousins, Dana discovers a half-brother her age whose very existence means her parents' happy marriage is a lie. Dana's desire to know her half-brother, Brandon, and the extent of her dad's deception, clashes with her wish not to destroy her family.

Lulu and Jek are science nerds, and have been best friends since they were young...or at least they used to be. Lately Jek has been pulling away from Lulu, just as she's coming to terms with how she really feels about him. Just as she was ready to see if there could be something more between them. But Lulu's thoughts are derailed by a mysterious new guy who's showing up at local parties. Hyde is the definition of a bad boy, and everybody knows it...but no one can seem to resist his charms.

In the vein of The Liar's Club and The Glass Castle, Jenny Forrester's memoir perfectly captures both place and a community situated on the Colorado Plateau between slot canyons and rattlesnakes, where she grew up with her mother and brother in a single-wide trailer proudly displaying an American flag. Forrester's powerfully eloquent story reveals a rural small town comprising God-fearing Republicans, ranchers, Mormons, and Native Americans.

Tristan Lopez is loyal to his brothers. He doesn't really have a choice, born into a gang that has a choke hold on every kid who roams its streets. He gave his life to them willingly, knowing if he did, then one day, this kingdom, led by boys drunk with power and ruled by fear, would all be his. Riley Rojas took up space on his streets, her loud mouth fearless in the face of the gang leaders who terrified everyone else. She pushed Tristan around on the hard court, and she balled better than his friends - better than him sometimes. She challenged him. She needed him. He liked it.

Anne Norris moved to Savannah, Georgia, for a fresh start. Now her pirate-tour business is flagging, and paying the rent requires more than wishful thinking. When she discovers evidence of a shipwreck off the coast of Tybee Island, she knows it could be just the boon she needs to stay afloat. She takes her findings to local museum director Carter Hale for confirmation, but she runs after a disastrous first meeting. Carter has been searching for the location of the wreck detailed in the worn pages of an 18th-century diary. But convincing Anne to help him is no easy task.

Katie has always imagined her life being just like Mamm's. It's why she chose baptism and why she'll soon marry Abram Zook. But ever since her twin sister, Hannah, left, the only thing that truly makes Katie smile is the sketchpad in which she indulges her talent for drawing faces - a sin that, if discovered, could get her shunned by her family, her friends, and even Abram. Yet Katie sees her secret pastime as the only way to quiet a growing restlessness she'd just as soon ignore. That is, until their Mamm's untimely death brings Hannah back home to Pennsylvania.

Lies and betrayal have cost her Ryder's love, and it's eating her alive, but Cassie's got a job to do. Looking back when she's got to plan for the battle ahead could prove deadly, and not just for herself. The Undercity of Milan is as corrupt as New York, and if she's to stop an all-out vampire war, she'll have to move mountains to mend fences.

Cassie's had some pretty close calls in her life, but now that she's gotten her official bad-ass badge as an integral part of the Old Guard, she feels sort of invincible. That doesn't seem to keep anyone from trying to prove otherwise, though, because everyone wants a piece of her. The King of Hearts needs her help, even while the resistance tries to sway her, and the Old Guard has its own plans for her. And then, there's Ryder.

Cassie's had a rough few months. Being a vampire came with its own risks. Being a con-artist vampire was even tougher. Being forced to fake one's own death to keep from getting thrown in the slammer or murdered and then resurrecting oneself? Really takes a lot out of a girl. Frankly, she could use a little down time. But, true to form, she's skipped that and opted to jump straight from the frying pan into the fire as a new recruit-in-training for the Old Guard. They think she's got the skill set to help them ferret out some troublemaking vampires in the Undercity.

Maddie James has finally given in to her friend Katrina's pleas to open up her cat cafe to more than 10 felines: They're now up to 15 purring friends. In fact, JJ's House of Purrs is making such a splash that she's getting national attention. The East Coast Animal Rescue League is quite interested in the cafe, and so Maddie accepts a request to meet with Laverne Gardner, the executive director. But Laverne ends up strangled with a fancy cat leash - a piece of swag they were intending to use for the fundraiser - leaving Maddie with a lot of questions to answer.

The holiday season on Daybreak Island is a mixed bag for Maddie James. On the one hand, her Christmas spirit is in the doghouse after a break-up. On the other, she's busy enough that she doesn't have to pretend to be merry. Business at her cat café is booming, and Maddie's care-taking of a feral cat colony in one of the area's wealthiest communities only helps her bottom line. But tensions between the homeowners and animal activists are escalating to catastrophic levels...and before long a body is found dead in a snowbank.

Penelope Hunter loves her job as the events manager at one of Savannah's premier historic venues - until her ex-fiance walks into her office with his new bride-to-be. To make matters worse, a scheming social matriarch is intent on seeing Penelope fired, especially if she insists on being seen with Tucker Westbrook. Since returning from serving two tours in the Middle East, Tucker has built a thriving security company. His work is nearly as stabilizing as his friendship with Penelope, who has been by his side since childhood. 

In a polygamist commune in the desert, a 14-year-old boy and a 12-year-old girl fall in love and consummate that love, breaking religious law. They are caught, and a year later, she gives birth to his father's child while the boy commits murder 400 miles away - a crime that will slowly unravel the community. 

Jesse Dylan was my best friend, my first kiss...and my first heartbreak. Watching him walk out of my life almost ruined me. But years have passed; the pain of losing him has long since faded. Or so I thought. One glimpse in his cobalt eyes and those old wounds reopened. Jesse wants a second chance at what might have been, but it's too late. I'm with someone new. Someone safe. Someone who can't break me. Yet the heart wants what it wants, and mine has only ever beat for the one who got away. I can't deny him. I can't resist him. He consumes my every waking thought and invades my dreams.

Tori Jones is the light of her small town. Sweet but full of grit, she's always the first one to help. Just once please, she'd like a quiet weekend to herself. Too bad her Nana has a big problem. Nana Estelle loves her cigarettes, whiskey, and big hair, but most of all, she loves Tori. Too bad her boyfriend has run off with her money and she needs Tori to track the crook down. Savage Monroe solves problems with his fists, although baseball bats work just fine too! Living in Vegas, he rides with a gang, looking for his next big score. Too bad for Tori that his "next big score" is her.

I was a thief. The invisible girl only he could see. The woman who wanted to be more. He was the mark. The extraordinary cowboy who stole my 16-year-old heart. The damaged man who still owned it, even four years later. The Line was where we began. Where fates collided. Where truths derailed. The place where our love story ends.

When Henri Devecheaux receives a curious shipment from his friend Lamont, among the treasures lies a lantern unlike any other. This spectral light, sent to Henri in hopes of finding a resolution to its haunting luminescence, sets him on a journey into the heart of the paranormal. The quest for answers leads Henri to the old Franklin Theatre in DeRidder, Louisiana. The theatre's past intertwines with Henri's own history in the world of the stage. 

In the heart of the shop's eerie collection, Aggie receives a foreboding message from her sister, Patrice, igniting a series of events that spiral beyond the ordinary. Patrice, ensnared by the charm of the mysterious Philip Arnaud, unknowingly steps into a shadowed world where past and present...