Showing results by narrator "Ja’Air Bush" in All Categories

A few months before her wedding, Isa Lavender always knew what she wanted. She was happy with no doubts and ready for a quick I do, good cake, and life with her green-eyed groom. When tasked to interview renowned chef Elijah Stone on his rags-to-riches story, she meets a man who is dismissive, overcritical, and still tormented by the demons of his past. He’s nothing like the charismatic, talented man she’d read about online.

I was not a gambler. No way. I've built an existence free of risk and adventure. From my career to a small life with my closest family. I was not going to do anything to jeopardize my heart. But when my neighbor and number one menace to my safe plans showed up in Vegas, I did what every adventurous (not!) woman would do. I got drunk and married the man.

Sometimes, the best choice might be the one that leaves you vulnerable. The one that forces you to face a past that hurts or go through with something you never thought would come to fruition. The one that makes taking a risk your only option. Wilhelmina "Wil" Cunningham is no stranger to pressure. The child of an Olympian and a boxer, and a former Olympian herself, Wil has gained an "America’s sweetheart" reputation—a high pedestal to fall from when her world gets rocked by betrayal and deceit.

Former New York Saber Thelonious Stokes still isn't used to being on the sideline. But that's exactly where the ex-linebacker finds himself while covering the Pro Bowl in his new gig as an analyst for Sports Talk TV. Theo always anticipates a few surprises during the annual gathering of the NFL's finest, but there's nothing more shocking—or alluring—than Deirdre Smallwood's blatant attempt at seduction.

Rion Ward fought hard to be free of the Irish mob life. Now, as the co-owner of Boston's hottest aphrodisiac club, he's traded crime for the ultimate sexual fantasy. But when the "good girl" from his past walks through Lick's doors, he discovers that his unconsummated hunger for her never abated.

We have learned how to suppress our pain and deny its presence, but when we fight against our internal turmoil, glimmers of peace are short-lived. Rejecting our suffering is not a sustainable solution because trauma is held in the body. In this book, Nityda Gessel invites listeners on a journey toward lasting freedom, with insights and experiential practices that marry the wisdom of Buddhist psychology, yogic teachings, and Indigenous understanding with somatic psychotherapy and neuroscience.

After being shot Sevyn washes her hands with Nasir. Missing her simple life before him she tries to move on, but quickly learns it's not as easy as it seems. Nasir refuses to let her go, but with his crazy ex-girlfriend still lurking in the shadows, he may not have a choice but to grant Sevyn's wish. When more unseen circumstances are thrown at both Sevyn and Nasir, the two learn life has a funny way of humbling you.

• Entertainment columnist Paige Turner is known for getting under the skin of the people whose books she reviews on her popular blog. When her criticism of NFL standout Torrian Smallwood's cookbook/memoir goes viral, it sparks an online war between the city's most beloved blogger and one of football's hottest stars.

A menace, I was, the duration of my life. Unsure of what was next, who was next, or where I was headed next. The only for-sure shit in my world was my paper and my people. The ice around my heart was still intact, never being penetrated or as much as tapped.

He's always lived in the shadows of his older brothers, but that didn't stop him from making a name for himself. His witty charm was his secret weapon, and he used it at every angle. When he uses said charm on his brother's bar manager, Kasha, he had to put in overtime because she wasn't giving him the time of day.

All her life, around the way girl Ruejae has received crumbs from the world that's left a stain on her perception of what she deserves. On the verge of blurring lines with a long-time friend, she is ready to see what's on the other side of incessant flirting, weighty promises, and ravishing fantasies shared over a recorded phone line.

Leaving his home of Freetown, Sierra Leone, to further his education, Haji Abimbola travels to Texas to study chemical engineering. It seemed he could never please his father, but in a quest to prove that he is capable of great things, Haji excels in his field of study. After several major accomplishments and still not having the approval he longs for, he chooses to live life on his terms.

The night Jennifer Monroe meets Vance Etienne, the father of a young woman in her life, she knows he's her one. But somehow, she finds herself thinking of the past with her ex-husband more often than she should. There's no doubt about what Vance and Jennifer feel for one another. Can they let the hurt of the past go to focus on their future? Will their pasts be willing to release them from its grasps to pursue an intentional and all-consuming love?

You ever met somebody and knew right away they were going to be your forever? Yea, me neither. But when my path crossed with Devyn Banks, I knew she would leave a stain that was hard to wash out.

Buck DeLuca is the second oldest of the DeLuca brothers and the most reckless one. Buck lives by his own rules and dares anyone to question them. He doesn't have the time or patience for a relationship, so he reduces his encounters with the opposite sex to one-night stands. That's until one night leads to unexplainable consequences for his actions.

They say the first love is the truest. If you can hold on to it, do. For the others after will be different. Watered down versions tainted with your insecurities, their fears, each other's pride. Promises not to make the same mistakes twice, entering as a slightly altered version of yourself. Because that first love, you dive deep with no restrictions. You are you and they are them, fully. And you hit bumps, and turbulence, and at times think you'll crash headfirst until that love saves you . . . like a parachute. That first love. That true love.

Salima Navarro, a driven young woman with dreams larger than her current circumstances, takes a job at the upscale Aura nightclub to support herself and her recovering mother. This decision unexpectedly propels her into an unfamiliar world. Deuce Dillinger, the commanding heir to a powerful family empire, is accustomed to control in all aspects of his life. Upon seeing Salima, he resolves to make her his, despite her initial resistance to his domineering personality and lifestyle.

Laila Eden is focused. Focused on her career, on her friends, and on herself. Everything except the man she somehow keeps crossing paths with. She isn't interested in anything with him, or so she tells herself, but even with her best efforts she can't deny the magnetic pull that keeps bringing them back together.

Tahli and Vin fell in love one summer and their story began. Through personal growth, love guided them. Watered by kisses, battered by storms, petals died off and grew again. Bent, twisted, and strengthened through adversities as love often faces . . . as one, they flourished. The flower turns to a garden, the garden grows a tree.

I know what they say. Grief makes you do things. After the year I've had, I'm bathing in it. Dad's dead. Mom is . . . mom. My boyfriend and best friend are too busy screwing to comfort me. When a letter arrives with no return address telling me where to go for a new start, I don't hesitate. I pack some clothes and what's left of my life and run. But I didn't expect the fire waiting for me when I arrived. I didn't count on the burn. Rowdy Wray. They call him the lion of Idlewild. Me . . . I call him boss.