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Title: Glorious

Author: Bernice L. McFadden

Narrator: Alfre Woodard

Format: Unabridged

Length: 6 hrs and 2 mins

Language: English

Release date: 10-19-10

Publisher: Audible Studios

Ratings: 4 of 5 out of 163 votes

Genres: Fiction, African-American

Publisher's Summary:

Academy Award nominee Alfre Woodard narrates Glorious, by Bernice L. McFadden, a novel set against the backdrops of the Jim Crow South, the Harlem Renaissance, and the civil rights era. This is the story of Easter Venetta Bartlett, a fictional Harlem Renaissance writer whose tumultuous path out of Waycross, Georgia, to success, ruin, and revival offers a candid portrait of the American experience in all its beauty and cruelty. Woodards nuanced narration beautifully enhances McFaddens imaginative blend of fictional and real events and peoplesuch as Marcus Garvey, Langston Hughes, pianist Fats Waller, and shipping heiress Nancy Cunard.

Glorious poses the question that is the title of Langston Hughess famous poem: What happens to a dream deferred? It is an audacious exploration into the nature of self-hatred, love, possession, ego, betrayal, and, finally, redemption. Easter is not only a survivor, but also a creator, and a fearless blazer of trails.

Bernice L. McFadden is the author of six critically acclaimed novels, including the classic Sugar and Nowhere Is a Place, which was a Washington Post Best Fiction title for 2006.

Editorial Reviews:

Bernice McFadden's Glorious opens with an interesting premise. If the real-life "Fight of the Century" between Jack Johnson and James Jeffries hadn't occurred, then the life of our protagonist, Easter Bartlett, might not have taken the turns it did. She might not have been moved to leave her hometown of Waycross, Georgia; might not have met the strangely fascinating dancer named Rain; might not have ended up married to Marcus Garvey's would-be assassin; and might not have found herself a darling of the Harlem Renaissance.

Although the historical events mentioned in Easter's story most certainly occurred, Easter Bartlett is nothing but a figment of McFadden's imagination. The book, which is half Ragtime and half Beloved, is fresh for both reasons. While its fictional main character may be more engaging than the real figures that populate the story, the novel is written so that history serves as a supporting actor, a mirror to reflect the true drama of what's happening in Easter's world and the world at large.

As such, Glorious is filled with many voices telling many stories. The prose flows along swiftly, catching in its current a number of different places and social spheres. Alfre Woodard rises to this challenge with incredible talent and range. One moment she's an early-1900s white socialite, the next a Caribbean man freshly immigrated to America. She's totally competent in each new role, turning an exceptional piece of new literature into a kind of epic bedtime story, complete with colorful voices. Woodard rolls gracefully with McFadden's wild cast of characters, inhabiting each of their experiences, adding volumes to the mythical feeling of the work and, with McFadden's help, making us believe their stories.

Critic Reviews:

"McFadden's lively and loving rendering of New York hews closely to the jazz-inflected city of myth.... McFadden has a wonderful ear for dialogue, and her entertaining prose equally accommodates humor and pathos." (New York Times Book Review)

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Title: Sanctuary Cove

Subtitle: A Cavanaugh Island Novel, Book 1

Author: Rochelle Alers

Narrator: Nicole Small

Format: Unabridged

Length: 8 hrs and 37 mins

Language: English

Release date: 07-15-12

Publisher: Blackstone Audio, Inc. and Buck 50 Productions, LLC

Ratings: 4 of 5 out of 299 votes

Genres: Fiction, African-American

Publisher's Summary:

Sometimes love is the simplest choice of all.

Still reeling from her husbands untimely death, Deborah Robinson needs a fresh start. So she decides to pack up her family, box up her bookstore, and return to her grandmothers ancestral home on Cavanaugh Island. The charming town of Sanctuary Cove holds happy memories for Deborah, and, after she spies a gorgeous stranger in the local bakery, it promises the possibility for a bright new future.

Dr. Asa Monroe is at a crossroads. Ever since the loss of his family, he has been traveling from one town to another on a quest for faith and meaning. When he meets Deborah, the beautiful bookstore owner with the warm eyes and sunny smile, Asa believes he has finally found a reason to stay in one place.

As friendship blossoms into romance, Deborah and Asa discover they may have a second chance at love. But small towns have big secrets. Before they can begin their new life together, the couple must confront a challenge they never expected.

Rochelle Alers, with nearly two million copies of her novels in print, is a regular on the Essence best-seller list. She has received numerous awards, including the Gold Pen Award, the EMMA Award, the Vivian Stephens Award for Excellence in Romance Writing, the Romantic Times Career Achievement Award, and the Zora Neale Hurston Literary Award.

Critic Reviews:

"I truly and thoroughly enjoyed the book. I found it a wonderful, warm, intriguing romance and was happy to find a new author to read." (Jill Shalvis, New York Times best-selling author of Simply Irresistible)

"A gentle romance focused on second chances. Soaked in an old-fashioned feel, [this book] will appeal to readers looking for gentle, inexplicit romance." (Publishers Weekly)

"Carolina low-country comfort food, a community of people who care, and a wonderfully emotional love story. Who could ask for more? Sanctuary Cove is the kind of place you visit and never want to leave." (Hope Ramsay, best-selling author of Welcome to Last Chance)

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Title: Carl Weber's Kingpins: Oklahoma City

Author: Clifford "Spud" Johnson

Narrator: Mirron Willis

Format: Unabridged

Length: 10 hrs and 12 mins

Language: English

Release date: 05-31-16

Publisher: Recorded Books

Ratings: 4 of 5 out of 49 votes

Genres: Fiction, African-American

Publisher's Summary:

The kingpins of Oklahoma City, one from the north side and one from the south side, push pounds of weed, gallons of PCP, and kilos of cocaine through the corridors of the OKC, using very different methods to keep their people in line. King is the leader of the north side crew. Along with his protégé, Tippi, he runs his crew with deadly force. Each member knows there is no room for error when it comes to getting money on the north side. Flamboyant, the leader of the south side crew, is the opposite. His crew is tight out of loyalty, not fear.

King and Flamboyant know nothing of each other, especially the fact that they are both doing business with the same connect. The money is good for all involved, and it's a win-win situation for Charli and Toni, the suppliers. They keep the reins tight on both leaders, because a war on the streets would be detrimental to their thriving business in Oklahoma City.

Everything goes awry when Flamboyant's woman, Shayla, becomes torn between her current man and the one who used to rule her universe - King. Once the lines are crossed, there's no going back, and the war that Charli and Toni are trying to avoid becomes a reality.

A love triangle fueled by two men who would gladly give their lives for the woman they love is causing death at an alarming rate. Is Shayla worth losing what these two men have built? In the end, which kingpin of Oklahoma City will remain standing?

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