Customer Reviews

Dreams Thrown Away

5 star:		(12)
4 star:		(4)
3 star:		(0)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

Dreams Thrown Away

The development of the characters make you become personally attached as the story develops, or at least makes you want to be a voyeur into lives and lifestyles that may be so different from which you are accustomed. Unfortunately, the tragedy, heartbreak and losses experienced by the main character many women may relate to, making one wish for the best in life for her. By the end of the book readers will acknowledge, however, those fairytale endings are rarely a reality. In fact the book's ending leaves you with more questions than answers: Are things in life ever what they appear to be? Is the main character's husband who we think he is? Is a father's tearful mourning genuine? Is happiness and wholeness just an illusion? The sequel, and there MUST be a sequel, will answer these questions.

Dilsa Bailey really nailed it in her first novel. What a pleasant surprise. The storyline was atypical, but all the characters were well developed. For the main character, a young girl, to face the challenges she did while still in the throws of adolescence truly showed her strength and determination. I knew she would survive, however, I did expect a somewhat different ending. Overall, I was very satisfied with the book. A great read. Lots of twists and turns. I highly recommend this book to all. GBW.

DREAMS THROWN AWAY by Dilsa Saunders Bailey is a coming-of-age story. We are introduced to Kalina Denise Harris, a young woman who is about to head off to college. Living in a small town where practically everyone knows one another and having such doting, loving parents makes for a sheltered life. Unfortunately, tragedy strikes leaving Kalina homeless and left in another state to fend for herself. All her hopes and dreams are put on hold.

In the midst of it all, she meets a family of very wealthy and powerful men. 74 year-old Jordan Banks will take Kalina under his wing and refine this country bumpkin into a sophisticated young woman. He sends her to college to make sure she gets the education she so desires. Little does Kalina realize that Jordan is a very dominating man and he may expect more in return than Kalina realizes. When Kalina meets Ashton Sperling, the lawyer in the family, she is smitten with him. Although he is married, they begin a love affair unlike any other. There is an underlying darkness to the Sperling men that Kalina will eventually find out for herself. At some point, she will be in a struggle with her emotions to flee or to fight back.

DREAMS THROWN AWAY by Dilsa Saunders Bailey was a remarkable debut. I thoroughly enjoyed this book. The character development draws you easily to the characters. The story reads like a lifetime movie that you just hate to end. It is a story about heartache, pain, love, lust and manipulation. My only issue with this book is that the ending seemed too rushed; if it were not for that, this would have easily been a 5-star read. I highly recommend this book! I look forward to reading more by this author.


This book was provided courtesy of the author.

Reviewed by Leona
APOOO BookClub

Kalina Denise Harris has dreams of meeting a wealthy man who will sweep her off her feet. This seems to be the fantasy-fairytale dream for most single young women. In the opening chapter, "word is our bond" was a valuable lesson taught between father and daughter's morning talk. Sometimes, we are willing to throw our own dreams and happiness away to please someone else to make them happy. The once happy, perfect home clashes before Kalina's eyes, and discovers her only friend, Mandy, married and pregnant. She was hoping her only friend would also go to college too. Later, she has nowhere but to her aunt's house in Philadelphia. This situation didn't last very long. No longer a country girl with a drawl, has to learn the streets and runs into people who knew her mother and aunt--small world. Her naïve upbringing surely changes after two years of being under the household of Jordan living with his six grandsons by his son, Billy.

This debut novel is a splendid read, beautifully written and delicately told with such horrid incidents flash on the pages once an adulterous affair goes berserk leaving the seventeen-year-old Kalina in a hopeless state. Dreams shattered in a tickling of an eye. Moreover, this story had twists and turns and tragic events I was not looking to bump into. The author also wrote a story that wasn't predictable and hoped for a meaningful ending. I hope this author writes more entertaining and edgy stories because she has a fan!

Lesson: Be careful what you do to others, for you will reap what you sow.

Dream 4 More Reviews received a copy of "Dream Thrown Away" via pdf file (eBook) from the author for a book review.

Dream 4 More Reviews,
Adrienna Turner
Wooed Me Dream!

Dreams Thrown is the story of Kalina Harris. She is getting ready to head off to college when her father, who is a preacher, murders her mother and then commits suicide. Kalina has no other family in town so she is sent to live with an aunt in Philadelphia. Kalina's life takes another unfortunate turn and she is forced to live on the streets alone.

While trying to survive, Kalina meets one of the Banks' men who takes her home and cleans her up. The patriarch of the family, 74-year-old Jordan, takes Kalina into his home with the intention of transforming her from a young girl into a sophisticated woman. Jordan develops feelings for Kalina, but she only has eyes for one of his married grandsons. Kalina believes she is living the good life, until her dream world turns into a nightmare.

Bailey has truly written a unique story with full-developed characters. Even though I have never been in the same situation as Kalina, I could identity with the feelings of love, pain, deceit, and the journey to get to happy. Dreams Thrown Away is a definite page turner and worthy of the 5 stars.

This book was provided by the author for review purposes.

DREAMS THROWN AWAY by Dilsa Saunders Bailey tells the tale of Kali, a young woman forced to grow up too soon. Kali looses her world and what is familiar to her and is forced into an unfamiliar jungle of a world and asked to adapt overnight. The world Kali imagined would be hers one day crashes and breaks into a million pieces and she is left trying to piece together a new life, in a new city with virtual strangers. With each turn of the page, the reader takes the journey with Kali as she fights to clear the hurdles in her path and mold the life she is now forced to call her own.

DREAMS THROWN AWAY is a coming of age story. The great character development allows the reader a glimpse into the lives of the players that bring the deceit, love, lust, heartache and damage into the live of Kali. The colorful hosts of characters intricately weave together the fairytale gone wrong. Kali is a believable character that you will root for from the beginning.

This is an extraordinary work for her first time out of the gates. Dilsa Saunders Bailey breathes life into the characters on the pages and makes them jump from the pages with your ability to identify with their struggles, grief, pain and journey to discover how to truly love. A definite page turner that will have you wanting more. 5 out of 5 stars.

Reviewed by Sharon Russ
Founder - Words of Inspiration Book Club

Kalina is the apple of her father's eye. Her relationship with her mother is a little rocky. Kalina longs to leave her small town and start college. Her wish, to leave, comes true quicker than planned and horrifically. On the heels of her parents' murder-suicide, Kalina is sent to live with an aunt in Philadelphia. Shortly after arriving in Philadelphia, Kalina finds herself homeless. A kind stranger who offers her a job takes her in. Kalina can't believe her luck; a job and she can still go to college. Little does she know all her job entails...

"Dreams Thrown Away" by Dilsa Saunders Bailey was an excellent story. Following Kalina through her life's journey will have the reader not wanting to put the book down.

Reviewed by: Alicia

I was impressed with this book. The story is about a teenaged girl whose life is devastated by the murder -suicide of her parents by her father. Kalina is forced to grow up quickly after she leaves South Carolina to move to Philadelphia, PA. She has been sent to live with her Aunt Mazetta. Little did Kalina know that this would be the beginning of her being under the control of other people who don't always have her best interest at heart. After her aunts boyfriend tried to sexually assault her, Kalina got away and ran away and never looked back. Thus begins her life of pursuing her dreams which came with a steep price. Kalina's life is no longer her own and she seems to become complacent with this. That is until a life altering event forces her to choose between life and death. The reader will be caught up in Kalina's story til the end. There are some unexpected twists and turns but the storyline is never lost. I didn't want to put this book down once I started it. I believe strongly that anyone reading it will feel the same.

Zandra Barnes
AAMBC Reviewer

Kali Harris was transplanted from her comfortable upbringing after the death of her parents. She moves to Philadelphia to live with her mother's sister. When she realizes it is not a safe environment for her, she flees and meets a couple who is kind to her. They provide employment as a caretaker to the man's father, a much older, but seemingly able-bodied man. Kali and Jordan Sperling fall into a comfortable relationship. He is a former R&B singer who now has investments in everything from real estates, to clubs and prostitution. The original intent was to groom Kali to become one of the girls in his employ, but he is intrigued with her and wants her for himself.

Jordan's grandson, Ashton Sperling, is his favorite and he has the uncanny ability to know his grandfather's intentions before they are voiced. He asks Ashton for a favor that will impact Kali's life in a big way. Kali finds herself in an open love triangle between grandfather and grandson and the object of all of the Sperling men's desire. As she fights to remain faithful to both Jordan and Ashton, despite Ashton's high-profile marriage to a super model, she questions their love for her and becomes concerned about their true intentions.

DREAMS THROWN AWAY invoked me to hang on to the ride to the end; there was never a dull moment. The Sperling men had too much time and money at their disposal and Kali was just the entertainment they needed to be fulfilled. Although the ending brought closure to a few things, it felt rushed and I was still left with too many unanswered questions. Overall, I am glad I had the experience of reading this tale.

Reviewed by Paula Henderson
of the RAWSISTAZ(tm) Reviewers

Dilsa Bailey has achieved a remarkable debut with this spicy work! Each of her characters, including the heroine, is flawed--and that makes for a very interesting group, and an exciting read. Drawing on resources she didn't know she had, Kalina creates a life, and when forces gather to destroy that life, she simply creates a new one. The resilience and fortitude of this character, not to mention the "heroes" and their flaws, transform the novel from a typical romance into something much more engaging. I hear a sequel is in the works, and I'll be buying it immediately!