Showing results by narrator "Tony Isabella" in All Categories

When Alecia “Joy” Middleson meets Minke, a young hustler from Brooklyn, he quickly becomes her world. He feels the same way about her - she is his better half. By the age of 18, Alecia is married and has two children by Minke. Their life is like a fairy tale, until Minke discovers that he’s been deceived by his wife and leaves her and her children with only the clothes on their backs.

Penny Paige is an aspiring novelist and current ne'er-do-well entertainment writer-slash-waitress. She knows she doesn’t have this whole thing called life together. But she’s got plans. Big plans. And they hinge on winning the coveted Malcolm Dagner Writer Fellowship for up-and-coming thriller authors. If she could just get enough time and money to write her sure-to-be New York Times Bestselling Novel, she can quit her crappy job and transform from a diamond in the rough to a sophisticated author.

In the eighties and nineties, Wesley Evans, better known as Ruby, was Brooklyn’s wealthiest, longest reigning kingpin. Accomplishing all it took to make history, including rubbing elbows with celebrities and expanding his businesses out of state, he avoided all the bounties put on his head and the NYPD’s handcuffs. Ruby set the bar in Brooklyn, and when he finally became a legit family man, he left behind rules. Ten years later, Brooklyn’s kingpins have followed in Ruby’s footsteps. Life is good; Brooklyn’s people are good—and then Felix Brown, a.k.a. Straw, comes to power.

In a little-noted eulogy delivered after Lincoln's assassination, Frederick Douglass called the president "emphatically the black man's president," the "first to show any respect for their rights as men." Douglass pointed not just to Lincoln's official acts and utterances, like the Emancipation Proclamation or the Second Inaugural Address, but also to the president's own personal experiences with Black people.

Ivy never knew that a vampire she just met from the club would make her feel that good. She didn’t even think a hookup with him would bring so much joy, heartbreak, so many secrets and dangerous foes. It made for one bittersweet cocktail of being "new to the life".

From the day he was born, Martavious “Tank” Young had to fight for what was his. No parents, no family, mentally and physically abused throughout his childhood. The challenges he endured only made him stronger and soon, the man who grew up with nothing had it all. Now, Tank is the man running the streets and the city, both legal and illegal. His money is long, his patience is short, and his reach is far.

Growing up in one of the most notorious neighborhoods in Brooklyn isn’t easy, but for a long time it seemed as if Prince Poet Washington might defy those odds. Sixteen years ago, his father abandoned the family, so Poet has always felt a sense of responsibility. At 20 years old, he is the man of the house, keeping a watchful eye on his two younger sisters and helping his hardworking mother with the bills. It’s not easy, but as a loyal son and brother, Poet feels it’s his obligation to take care of his family.

After tragedy strikes her home, Heavenly Jacobs must rely on her beauty and street smarts to survive on her own. Her choice to ride for the wrong man ultimately lands her in prison, where she decides to re-strategize her game plan for when she is released. Eartha Davis was exposed to much more than she should have been from a very young age. Between her mother, a bonafide gangster with a sexual preference for women, and the influence of the streets, it was just about impossible for Eartha not to embrace all that was going on around her.

Kraig Holmes is a hard-working independent contractor living in Baltimore. He’s an average guy - with one exception. A painful secret haunts him daily. Kraig had a one-time sexual experience with a man he knew little about. It propelled him into a lifestyle of promiscuity and an insatiable appetite for dangerous sex. When the guy disappeared into thin air, Kraig was left hurt and devastated.

Owning the Stone-Chance Protection Agency has its perks. It’s a profitable company that allows Ramsey and Keilah Stone to enjoy the finer things in life; however, it has also added an element of danger to their otherwise normal lifestyle.

When a military soldier dies, everyone feels the pain. When a street soldier dies, only those close to him mourn. But both soldiers have something in common: they fought for what they believed in. Home from their final tour, a team from the 82nd Airborne Division out of Ft. Bragg, NC faces harsh realities: a broken relationship, the death of a child, and even the murder of one of their own.

In the hood, a snitch is the worst thing a person can possibly be. Rolling over on your best friend, who has been with you through thick and thin, hungry and full, freedom and state bids - that’s “the cruelest lie told in silence”. While Jovan experiences the fruits of the hustle during his partner’s first stint, Bilal humbly does his time like a true soldier, taking a manslaughter charge for his one true friend. When these two are finally reunited on the streets, a chain of events lands them both behind bars facing multiple charges.

It’s been four years since the tragic suicide of Yadira Cruz. Thirty-eight year-old correctional officer Sean Daniels’ life was finally on the right track. He was married to the beautiful Milan; he had a successful law enforcement career, a supportive family and great friends. But when Sean’s ex-lover, Brandi Wallace, suddenly re-enters his life, he sees everything that he worked so hard to build flashing before his eyes.

Lisette, the flawless beauty with the take-no-prisoners attitude, is back! Along with her partners, Marlene and Aida, Lisette continues to ruin marriages at the request of desperate, wealthy wives willing to pay large sums to stick it to their husbands. Control is what it’s all about, and that’s just what Lisette gives back to the wives.

Keep your friends at a distance because it’s not always your enemies you need to be keeping close. The block is a microscope, and you’re always under it.

Charity has $50, a vehicle, the instinct to survive, and a pile of student loans about to be due. What she doesn't have is a real address, security, or the ability to dance like she is supposed to at her new job. When she meets Sebastian, she falls for him. Literally, onto him because she can't walk in the heels. Marine Sergeant Sebastian Wade has been left at the altar. He does what any jilted groom would do, rallies his friends and hits a strip club. He has everything, a good job, a house, two rooms full of gifts, but no bride. Until he laughs at a stripper doing the robot on stage.

Liberty Mae Banks was her birth name, yet Zion called her Mrs. Forever.... It took years and fistfuls of tears for Liberty to convince herself that Zion Malik Mitchell had been a figment of her imagination. She’d suppressed every memory to lessen the burn—and because it’s the proper thing to do once you’ve become another man’s wife.

Zany and vivacious Nissi Richards always had her sights set on one goal—her career. As the youngest doctor at Optimal Dentistry, Nissi is the epitome of Black Girl Magic and a #GoalCrusher. Dating, however, was a different topic, or rather more of a non-existent headline. Despite her best friend's botched matchmaking attempts and her meddlesome sisters who insist she hook a man, love and marriage were never on Nissi's to-do list—at least not that she'd admit.

In less than twenty-four hours—before Alexia Leighton is scheduled to return to Miami from spring break in Jamaica—a group of friends betray her in a grisly assault that stops a heartbeat away from murder. The seventeen-year-old prays for the mercy of death. She survives. While on the road to recovery, Alexia's attackers become victims of mysterious acts of violence, leaving authorities confounded and racing against time to prevent another deadly attack. Concern looms, as the perpetrator has proven to be two steps ahead of them at every turn.

Tall, good-looking, and arrogant, Tracy Kane is the top male model for a hip-hop clothing line by designer Christian Elijah. When Tracy punches an African bootlegger in the face for pirating the clothing line he models, he’s arrested and his life takes a turn for the worse. For while Christian, who bails him out of jail, claims to have Tracy’s best interests at heart, all he’s really interested in is making more money. Soon, the designer is playing a dangerous game that could leave both of their lives at risk.