Author Archives: Paige

Nothing More Dangerous, by Allen Eskens

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“Boady, the men who beat and murdered those people for all those years, do you think they simply disappeared because someone passed a law?”

A colored, divorced woman, Lida Poe, goes missing in the small town of Jessup, Missouri in the 70’s. The town is painted in racism and composed of prejudice beliefs. Growing up in Jessup, teenage Boady Sanden considers himself an average young man and doesn’t realize the segregation and discrimination until he befriends his new neighbors and sees the reaction from certain town members. Boady begins to recognize his own racial thoughts while he and his new friend, Thomas, get pulled into the middle of the Lida Poe murder case. Was there more to her murder case than what was being disclosed?

“You’ll never change what a person thinks in their head or what they feel in their heart by passing a law. If a man doesn’t want to look at who he is deep down, he’s not going to much care what the law says about it.”

I really loved the setting of the novel and watching Boady purge the racial stigmas that he had grown up hearing and believing. The friendship he creates with Thomas, his neighbor, was my favorite part of the novel. While the book obviously centers on overcoming prejudices in the 1970’s, the target for the reader is identifying and conquering our own prejudices, even including predispositions, whatever those might be.

The focus of the story isn’t the murder of Lida Poe, but her murder is used in the growth of the plot and character development. The story centers around Boady and his surroundings; like his peers in school who are blinded by racism and let those feelings drive their actions.

**There is a lot of racial slander in this novel. Violence and hate crimes occur.**

Pictured below is the face of young Emmett Till who is mentioned in the book a few times during the dialogue. Beaten, drowned, and then burned alive, read about the murder of Emmett Till here.

Allen Eskens is the author of award-winning book The Life We Bury.

He is a best-selling author. Nothing More Dangerous is his sixth book. To view all of his books, and the order to read them in, click here.

Follow Allen Eskens on Facebook.

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Stateway’s Garden, by Jasmon Drain

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“She was a mother of two, who wished at that moment to forget her children and live a life with this man, in his dreams, dreams she didn’t know black men even considered.” -Jasmon Drain, Stateway’s Garden

Tracey and his older brother, Jacob, know nothing other than growing up in Chicago’s housing project known as the Stateway Gardens. Surrounded by crime and poverty, Tracy holds on tight to his dreams of a bright future. While some see the building as a symbol of failure, Tracy remembers it as home.

The book is told in separate stories rather than chapters. All of the stories revolve around or are somehow related to Tracy and Jacob.

Overall: Initially, the stories were hard to get into it. I had a hard time reading the first part of this book; it felt choppy and I felt removed from the characters because of the narration style. The only story in the beginning that I liked was “Solane”. I didn’t like any stories again until after halfway. Admittedly, the last few stories were hard to put down. At that point, both Tracy and Jacob were older and no longer children. Things then began to come to life. In the end, I was all in my emotions and completely invested in the characters. I wish the entire book had been that way  so I could have gotten to know them better during their childhood.

Stateway’s Garden is Jasmon Drain’s first book. Read more about it here.

More about the Stateway Gardens:

Click here to read short accounts as told by the residents who lived there.

A view of Stateway Gardens First floor:

Drug dealers place of word in the Stateway Garden. Click here to read the article.
A view of April’s kitchen in her Stateway Garden apartment. Click here to read the full story.

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It’s Not About You, by Tom Rath

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The author of popular children’s book How Full Is Your Bucket? For Kids brings us a short 35 page brief guide about finding a purposeful life.

” Your life has an unknown expiration date. Your efforts and contributions to others do not. The time, energy, and resources you invest in people you care for and your community keep growing forever. “ -Tom Rath, It’s Not About You

Though there are powerful highlights along the way, I enjoyed the first half more than the second half. Mostly this book is a celebration of those who have contributed to the author’s life, but the beginning does provide the reader with a quick reminder of how to invest in filling up others around us. It’s somewhere between a self-help and a memoir.

There is a three step guide, but the third step focuses on his career exploration differing in design form the first two . He does eventually explain how he ended up writing the book How Full is Your Bucket. From Step 3 on, it is a lot of rambling stories. The organization is muddled, and after the first couple of chapters the focus of the book doesn’t stay completely defined; it repeats ideas and goes on to tell more stories about people he has encountered.

6 Total Chapters:
*Step 1-Get Over Yourself
*Step 2- Invest in the People Who Matter Most
*Step 3- Focus on What Will Grow When You Are Gone
*Living a Life of Contribution
*How Can I Contribute Today
*Answering Life’s Greatest Questions

Currently available for free download on Amazon for Prime members.

Tom Rath’s children’s book has inspired many classrooms. Visit his website to learn more.

Read Forbe’s article featuring Tom Rath about how small changes can affect our lives in major ways.

Click here to read a short article about an NBA player who went to a local school to read Tom Rath’s children’s story about filling peers buckets.

Follow Tom Rath on Facebook.

” We are, to a large degree, the product of what others have contributed to our lives.” -Tom Rath, It’s Not About You

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Dreamland, by Nancy Bilyeau

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“Everything is real on Coney Island – and nothing is real.”

Peggy Battenberg is requested to stay with her family on Coney Island. She reluctantly accepts. Peggy feels trapped within her family, their name, their riches, and she wants to shape her own identity. Shortly after arriving to the Oriental Hotel on Coney Island, prejudices are unearthed and a prevalent divide of social classes greet her while making her way to Dreamland. But, women begin to show up dead. Who can she trust and why is she being followed?

“On Coney Island, you can always find someone to do anything.”

Restrictions on women and the treatment of foreigners are spotlighted throughout the story. It focuses on the social structure and the formation of society on Coney Island during 1911 more so than the police procedural. The lush atmosphere was a character in itself and played a dominant role in the movement of the story.

Technical Stuff:
It starts with a woman being murdered in the Epilogue, but the murder is not revisited until the main character, Peggy, begins her extended stay at Coney Island which is sometime during chapter 5. (There are a total of 37 chapters.) However, the story deviates from the murder mystery for quite sometime after this chapter and instead focuses on the main character’s struggle for independence within her rich family, and her new found romantic interest. Because of this, the murder mystery fell to a quiet whisper until chapter 28 (or 78% into the story on a Kindle) when Peggy decides to look for the killer who has been murdering women on the island. That only leaves an eventful 22% left for the reader. I was wanting more suspense throughout the entirety.

The novel was very well researched. Click around below to learn more about Dreamland.

The Oriental Hotel, a Coney Island luxury hotel in the 1890’s. Peggy’s family stays at the Oriental Hotel in the novel.
Hellgate, a boat ride at Dreamland before it burned down. The are several scenes that include Hellgate in the novel.

Visit Nancy Bilyeau’s website to get more information about her books.

Thank you to Hannah Groves from Endeavor Media for providing me with an advance copy. Opinions are my own.

The End of the Ocean, by Maja Lunde

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Synopsis for End of the Ocean taken from Goodreads:

Mostly, I was bored. There was good descriptive writing, but it lacked an engaging storyline. It covers the timely issue of climate change, but overall the story lacked a concrete direction and was tediously executed.

The story is told in two time periods. Signe’s narrative is told in 2017. Signe, a seventy year old woman in Norway, mostly recalls flashbacks from her childhood throughout her young adult life; her memories reflect the growing climate change and the power of water. David’s narrative is told in 2041 in France, a time when water is scarce and refuge camps account for the majority of the land.

I enjoyed David’s chapters more and felt the desolate atmosphere was adequately mirrored, but the story for David ultimately went nowhere. I liked learning about the importance of water in our climate through Signe’s chapter, but (again) the direction for her chapters were ambiguous. The setting was there but the story was not.

There are sex scenes and the topic of abortion is explored.

I received an advanced copy from the publisher through NetGalley. Opinions are my own

Maja Lunde is an author based in Norway. Visit her website to learn more.

Maja Lunde’s novel The History of Bees was a best seller about climate change. Watch the book trailer below.

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When I Was You, by Minka Kent

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Synopsis provided by the publisher:

This is a light thriller divided into 3 parts. The first part, which is Part 1 for Brienne, moved slower than the rest of the novel. This first part last from 1%-41% (on a Kindle) and caused the beginning to drag. It’s her repeating constantly how she is scared and how she wants to confront the person who took her identity but never really acts upon it…..other than that she only talks about how she thinks her roommate is cute. So, that made it repetitive and uneventful. Also, there were several obvious clues dropped during that time that gave away the twist.

I liked the story okay, but I really had to suspend belief for the majority of it. There was quite a lot that was hard to believe. It is an easy read and okay if you are looking for something lighter and don’t mind suspending belief.

There is no sex, but there is some cursing. 

Minka Kent is a best selling author for psychological thrillers. Visit author Minka Kent’s website to learn more about her books.

Her book, The Thinnest Air, made the best thriller book list for the year 2018. Read more here.

Follow Minka Kent on Facebook.

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You’re Not Listening, by Kate Murphy

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When is the last time you felt like someone truly listened to everything you said? How do feel when you leave a conversation feeling like the person really absorbed what you shared with them? How do you feel when you leave a conversation feeling like the person wasn’t paying attention or didn’t care what you were saying to them?

This is one of the most impactful books I have read all year. The message of true listening in You’re Not Listening serves to emphatically renovate the way we interact with each other. Kate Murphy’s words can revolutionize your conversations and relationships in a meaningful and powerful way. But, only if you listen.

There was so much that resonated with me, and I highlighted quite a lot. My favorite chapters were “Addicted to Distractions” about the endless distractions that interfere with meaningful social interactions, “Supporting, Not Shifting the Conversation” about how we often direct the attention away from the person talking and direct it towards ourselves, and “Improvisational Listening” about collaborating with others.

Look at all the tabs I had to make for this book so I wouldn’t forget certain quotes! There was so much highlighting going on!

Does it teach you how to listen? Sometimes pointers, tips, and guidance is mixed in. The purpose of the book though is to highlight the importance and value of listening. So, it teaches you the significance of listening rather than how to listen. But along the way you pick up tips about how to listen.

I highly recommend this book, and I think this is a must read for anyone in a leadership position. The book is extremely well researched but a very accessible read. It is comprehensible to the average reader and explains chapters in an approachable way.

Kate Murphy, author

“Half of surveyed Americans do not have meaningful social interactions on a daily basis.” *Read more

Read more about the importance of listening The Magic Relationship Ratio According to Science

What about listening to yourself? Read a bit about that here.

This was a group read with the Travelling Sisters. We had an amazing group discussion while reading. While discussing the book, group member Marilyn said, “This book is in my head all the time now, just feels like a part of me…” and I couldn’t agree with her more.

Thank you to Celadon Books for an advance copy! It was a pleasure and I loved it!

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The Whispers of War, by Julia Kelly

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Above is the book synopsis taken from Julia Kelly’s page.

The title explains the book; it is quite literally chatter about the war. There is a lot of dialogue and conversation among the three friends about war coming. There is nothing militaristic except a few mentions of a blackout, and the details of the Jews suffering is negated. The synopsis mentions internment camps. But again the internment camps is only chatter among the friends and it never goes beyond their conversation.

The plot itself transpires around the social transformations during 1939 and 1940 for the three friends Marie, Nora, and Hazel. With various backgrounds, the main drama ensues around Marie who is of German descent living in Britain. Marie is painted as the victim of anti-German sentiments during the onset of WWII. The friends circle around Marie to provide support while politics begin to intrude the homes of Britain and divide families.

I found the dual timeline unnecessary. Samantha (now/present) is to deliver her grandmother’s eulogy, so she travels from America to Britain to visit with her friend Nora in order to learn more about her grandmother (Marie) so that she can write a proper eulogy. There isn’t any puzzle piecing involved with the dual timeline.

Overall, this was an okay read for me. It was a lot of talking and not a lot of happening. There was also plenty of romance, which I don’t mind, but I didn’t find it very pertinent to the storyline.

Julia Kelly is the author of Light over London, a best-selling historical fiction novel.

Visit Julia Kelly’s website to learn more.

https://youtu.be/HXsNOLyaDms

I received an advance copy of The Whispers of War from the publisher via NetGalley. Opinions are my own.

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Zero Percenters, by Scott Grusky

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Set in the future year of 2024, the premise for the “zero percent” population is excellent, but the story and the characters were not there. For the greater part of the novel the main characters were climbing a mountain and meditating…with little to no purpose. During this time there were excessive descriptions and no plot progression.

The “zero percent” population refers to those who have digitized themselves and no longer require the basic needs that humans do such as food, water, etc. Each zero percenter is escorted by their concierge, who takes on the digital life form of their cell phone. Sounds interesting right….? I thought it would be.

There was no character development, though the basic premise for the novel provides an excellent opportunity since it is told from the POV of a concierge whose “human” is trying to decide whether to become a zero percenter or remain a true human. There could have been a lot of twists and developments.
It was all over the place, and I wasn’t sure what the purpose of the novel was for the majority of the story. Later in the novel it abandons focus on the science fiction element and mainly focuses on finding consciousness within oneself, but it was not done in interesting way.

Honestly, I don’t recommend this novel. Overall, it ended up being pretty boring.

I won this in a Goodreads Giveaway. Right now it is available free for Kindle Unlimited members.

Below is the synopsis for this book provided by the publisher. To get more information about this book click here.

Visit author Scott Grusky’s Facebook page.

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Regretting You, by Colleen Hoover

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I went into this novel not knowing much about it except having read the basic description of the book, and I recommend doing the same…knowing little as possible!!! I really loved it and couldn’t put it down. It is very character driven and the dialogue is sharp.

Thirty-four year old Morgan begins to see her life as predictable and struggles with her identity as a housewife. Her teenage daughter, Clara, feels like she is treated with too many rules but respects her parents wishes. That is, until an unexpected event occurs leaving their family in shock. How can they be honest with each other when the trust has already been broken? Can they find redemption and heal their relationship?

Chapters alternate between the mother, Morgan, and her her daughter, Clara. It starts off at Morgans high school graduation party and reveals Morgan’s realization that she is pregnant. After this first chapter, everything takes place during Morgan’s life as 34 year-old -mother and Clara’s life as a 16 year-old on the brink of 17 years old.

Topics include- underage drinking, marijuana usage, teen pregnancy, teen sex

Visit her website to view all of Colleen Hoover’s books.

Follow Colleen Hoover on Twitter.




Colleen Hoover talks about her novel Without Merit:

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