Showing results by narrator "Amy Melissa Bentley" in All Categories

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. 

Jake Matthews understands loss. In just one year, he lost his mother, his first love, his career, and now his cousin and best friend. But loss is the very thing that allows him to see the amazing woman he's always overlooked. And for the very first time, Jake wants to be worthy of such a pure love. Naomi Bennett spent the last year finding herself. Running away to Portugal was more than just a trip to find culture, but also an escape from the first man she ever gave her heart to. Now home, the last thing Naomi wants is to catch the eye of notorious playboy Jake Matthews.

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. 

Prince Carden of Tierney lost his home, family, and claim to the throne in one fell swoop when he rebelled against his father for a cause he knew was right. Instead of wallowing in despair, he embarks on a new journey, starting a new life on the Southern Isle. When he finds himself caught in a web woven by the famously ruthless fae queen, Coeur, he insults her and she vows to teach him the most difficult and heart-breaking lesson he will ever learn: that humans are incapable of love, and that hearts are beastly things.   

It's a difficult thing to be in love with someone who only sees you as a friend. That feeling was something Kristen Hall had long since grown accustomed to. Her epic crush on Jake Reynolds had lasted so long that her friends didn't even tease her about it anymore. Or maybe it was that she had just gotten better at hiding it after all these years. Kristen couldn't help but hope that maybe one day, somehow, miraculously, Jake would decide he loved her back. Perhaps something would just click, and he would realize he couldn't go on living without her.

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.

No matter how crazy things get, Dee is determined to blow the whistle on a runaway killer with a one-track mind.

Family secrets have Felicia Tennison, and the sister she never knew existed, on the run. Someone is after them, and Felicia will have to turn to someone she never wanted to see again for help—her ex. Sheriff Jude Duke vows to protect them as they race to uncover why the little girl is a target. But the search to find the answers could cost them their futures.

In a world where shadows and light intertwine, Damon, a young hero, embarks on a perilous journey to save his father from a dark curse. Joined by his brother, a vampire with secrets as dark as blood, and a mysterious witch, Damon must navigate the ancient, mystic highlands of Scotland in search of a legendary artifact.

Supernatural hunters Sawyer and Damon Grant face a sinister force that defies everything they know. As they delve deeper into the mystery, Sawyer finds herself torn between the world she knows and the forbidden allure of Justice, a vampire whose connection with her grows stronger by the day. With personal conflicts and the shadows of their past looming over them, the line between ally and enemy blurs, making every decision a matter of life and death.

It's the holiday season on Daybreak Island, and Maddie James is looking forward to stepping out of the limelight, watching the island's Christmas decoration competition from afar, spending time with her boyfriend and family, running tours for visitors as part of the festivities, and spreading holiday cheer through cute cats in jingle bell collars. But trouble hits close to home when word gets out that Donna Carey, the publisher of the island's only daily newspaper where Maddie's best friend Becky is editor, may be selling the business.