Showing results by narrator "Sean Crisden" in All Categories

Freeman, the new novel by Leonard Pitts, Jr., takes place in the first few months following the Confederate surrender and the assassination of Abraham Lincoln. Upon learning of Lee's surrender, Sam - a runaway slave who once worked for the Union Army - decides to leave his safe haven in Philadelphia and set out on foot to return to the war-torn South. What compels him on this almost-suicidal course is the desire to find his wife, the mother of his only child, whom he and their son left behind 15 years earlier on the Mississippi farm to which they all "belonged".

Darkness is the only thing I see. Ever since the day my life changed. The day that everything and everyone I held close to me ceased to exist. The day I lost it all, and the demons of my past consumed my every waking moment.

I first met Riley Boone when I was four years old. We moved to Callup, Idaho, after my dad blew out his back and had to go on disability. Boonie's family lived next to ours. Every afternoon he'd swagger off the school bus after kindergarten like a conquering king. For the first week, he ignored me, until I impressed him by climbing nearly 30 feet up in the tree behind his trailer. They had to call the fire department to get me down, but it was worth it to see the respect in his five-year-old eyes.

In Thunder at the Gates, Douglas R. Egerton chronicles the formation and battlefield triumphs of the 54th and 55th Massachusetts Infantry and the 5th Massachusetts Cavalry - regiments led by whites, but composed of black men born free or into slavery. He argues that the most important battles of all were won on the field of public opinion, for in fighting with distinction, the regiments realized the long-derided idea of full and equal citizenship for blacks.

For 26-year-old Dylan Hopkins, the answer is easy. He's become no one. Memories of the happier times are all he has left, as he finds himself meandering numbly through his now dull life. Though he cares about his work and family dearly, he has yet to let himself find love again. Afraid of letting go of what he once had, Dylan chooses to keep his heart buried, where it belongs, having died a long time ago.

One momentary loss of control has now ruined everything Xavier Cold had going for himself. With his world unraveling fast, he's willing to do anything to save not only his job but his relationship with the only woman he's ever loved. Anna Cortez, still reeling from shock, tries desperately to save the man who's consumed her heart, body, and soul. She'll have to dig deep and find courage she never knew she possessed to help Xavier fight demons from his past.

Shady has spent the last eight years of his life dedicated to the Sinner's Creed Motorcycle Club. But after losing the man who was both his brother and his best friend, he has a new purpose - to avenge the death of the greatest nomad in Sinner's Creed history. His plan is flawless. His mission is simple: seek and destroy. There is no room for distractions - especially a distraction like Diem.

Mia Monroe is running. Running from a person she doesn't ever want to find her. Running from a past she doesn't ever want anyone to know. Desperate to find a future that yesterday she could only dream of having.Jordan Matthews likes easy. Easy women. Easy life. Then he meets Mia. She's damaged, troubled, and has more baggage than any person can carry. But the more Jordan gets to know Mia - for the first time in his life - he finds himself wanting to try hard for something, for someone...for her. And then life isn't so easy anymore. Jordan is everything Mia shouldn't want.

The Hellions motorcycle club is a commitment for life, one Ruben "Ruby" Castillo believes in. His wife, Jenna "Vida" Natera de Castillo, has given her life to being his ol' lady and the mother to their three children. She takes her commitment to her man seriously. People change, and over time, passion can fizzle. Life for Jenna falls apart the day Ruby no longer says I do. Keeping the fires burning in a marriage is hard. Will the chaos of the club bring them back together, or is it what pulls them further apart?

Casey Alexander grew up part of the Ravage Motorcycle Club family since the day she was abandoned by her mother and thrown into her father's lap. Always seeing herself as an outsider, she spent her whole life trying to fit in but never really succeeding. When she loses her beloved father, the utter aloneness engulfs her, leaving her searching for solace in the one man she's always craved.

I loved once. I gave everything that I had to that love, blindly believing that nothing could ever take that feeling away from me. Away from us. And when my little world of happiness was ripped from my fingers, I felt a loss that still haunts me to this day. Now I use that lingering grief as a shield to keep my heart from loving again. It's that fear that keeps me from letting anyone, except my daughter, get close enough to make it hurt. To make my heart bleed when I inevitably lose again.

Have you ever felt like you were living your life for a future that was predetermined? Like there was some bigger picture you just prayed you would someday see clearly? That picture has been crystal clear to me since I was old enough to recognize it for just what it was. Or, I should say, recognize him for who he was.

Born into a life of privilege and secrets, Nora Blakely has everything any 19-year-old girl could desire. She's an accomplished pianist, a Texas beauty queen, and on her way to Princeton after high school. She's perfect. Leaving behind her million-dollar mansion and Jimmy Choos, she becomes a girl hell-bent on pushing the limits with alcohol, drugs, and meaningless sex. Then she meets her soul mate. But he doesn't want her.

They said I was a bad idea. Poor. Violent. Criminal. They said I'd amount to nothing, and I believed them, too. Until I met her. Layla Barros saved me from my worst, but to do that, she lost the best herself. Now it's my turn to bring her back to life. If only I can figure out how to do it. I'll do anything to protect the chance we finally have together. I'll follow her to the other side of the word: Brazil. Cuba. You name it. But how can I be her true north when I'm still finding my direction, too?  

Alexei and Vivienne Romankov have always been the loving and supportive patriarch and matriarch of the Sullivan clan and their extended family, but how did this power couple come to be, and who or what is behind the wedge that has driven them apart for more than 20 years? Take a trip down memory lane as we discover their not-so-humble beginnings and finally learn the truth behind all the secrets and lies that have both bound and separated this family for decades. 

Handsome attorney Casey Sullivan is a catch, and everyone seems to know it except his beautiful, but slightly deranged girlfriend, deejay Sidra Barton! Just the slightest mention of "happily ever after" has her ready to run out the door. Not that she'll get far because Casey Sullivan always gets what he wants, and he wants Sidra Barton.  

From the moment PR whiz Jack Sullivan laid eyes on Noelle Kramer, he is consumed by the tenacious beauty, but his dark past and fear of not being worthy prevent him from pursuing her. When the opportunity presents itself for Jack to finally obtain what he desires above all else, he seizes it; consequences be damned. 

A beautiful young city girl by the name of Shore suffers from an unknown case of epilepsy. Without the money for better care, Shore doesn't know why her spells occurs. She finds herself in a small unknown town with hidden secrets, looking for a cure to her illness. 

Dodge Loving wants revenge...and he's about to get it. On the cusp of closing a multi-billion-dollar luxury resort deal, Dodge can't afford for anything go wrong. But then a fiery redhead shows up, the paparazzi hot on her trail, and throws his world into chaos. He has to get rid of her. Immediately.

Unfazed by chaos and bad luck, Melvin Scott knows, "Some things a man must do himself. No matter how dumb that man is." His wife disagrees. In debt over his head, he learns that a penny will grow to more than $10,000,000 in 30 days if it doubles every day. He realizes that other things can grow that fast, too. Bacteria. Disease. Cures. Almost anything. Scott finds hope, and the adventures begin.