Peaks and Promises Book Club Questions
by Claire Kingsley
These questions assume everyone has finished the book and contain spoilers, including the ending.
Peaks and Promises gives book clubs plenty to unpack: trust, family loyalty, shame, forgiveness, and the gray areas between protection and control. The fake marriage and small-town danger keep the pages moving, but the real conversation starts with the characters' choices and the secrets they keep from each other.
Use these questions however your group likes. Pick a few that spark debate, or work through them in order. You do not need to agree on every answer. The best discussions usually happen when someone sees a scene differently than you do.
Trust, Secrets, and Belonging
- 1.Reese first tells Summer about escorting a millionaire's son through North Africa and the Middle East but withholds that he was in Savage Ride and stole from his father. How does that half-truth affect Summer's trust once she overhears him mention club life, and how did it affect your view of Reese as a protector?
- 2.Summer lies about knowing Buzz and Hammer when they first harass her at the diner. Why do you think she does that, and how does her family history with Axel and Stryker explain both her fear and her determination to keep Nate away from Midnight Mayhem?
- 3.Summer and Reese's fake marriage requires public performances, such as holding hands for Aunt Louise at the farmers market, kissing at the diner, and eventually buying real wedding rings. At what moment did the fake relationship stop feeling fake to you, and why?
- 4.Reese confesses to Mom that he stole from Dad and said the worst things he could think of, and she tells him he belongs and must forgive himself. How does the theme of shame and forgiveness play across Reese's reunion with the Haven family?
Family, Loyalty, and the Club
- 5.Marlene tells Summer how she and Paul blended six boys and a daughter and loved big enough to make it work, while Summer's own mother, Roxi, stays loyal to Stryker. How does Marlene and Paul's story contrast with Summer's family history, and what does Summer learn from it?
- 6.Roxi tells Summer that Axel has been ordered to leave Nate alone and that he torched a restaurant in Elko. Did Roxi's phone call make you more sympathetic to her, or did it reinforce that her loyalty to Stryker and Mayhem comes before her daughter and grandson?
- 7.In the final confrontation, Axel accuses Mayhem of betrayal and Hammer answers that Axel chose disloyalty. What does that exchange reveal about the club's code, and how does it affect your understanding of Hammer, who earlier holds Summer at gunpoint?
- 8.The epilogue jumps to Reese and Summer married with their daughter Cecilia, Nate calling Reese Dad, and a preview of Asher and Grace in Protecting You. Did the epilogue give you enough closure for Reese and Summer's story, and how did the Asher and Grace preview connect to the book's themes of family loyalty and unspoken love?
Protection, Parenting, and Nate
- 9.Reese declines Gunnar's job escorting a client to Brazil and chooses to stay in town for Summer and Nate. Given his restlessness and long estrangement from the Haven family, what does that choice reveal about what he actually wants before he can admit it?
- 10.Reese takes Nate into the woods to teach him to swing an axe after Axel breaks into their Arizona apartment and destroys Nate's things. Was this a healthy way to help Nate with his anger, and how does it shape Nate's view of Reese versus Axel?
- 11.Nate leaves a gray Lego brick as a breadcrumb in Sam Fogel's house and later tells Reese and Summer he did it on purpose. How did that detail change or deepen your view of Nate, especially after he was told to keep the cover story?
- 12.Summer insists on returning to work at the Copper Kettle even after Axel is hunting her, which leads to the ATM confrontation. Did you agree with her choice to prioritize her job and a sense of normalcy for Nate, or should she have stayed hidden longer?
Danger, Violence, and Judgment
- 13.Axel's behavior escalates from watching Summer outside Nate's school to vandalizing the diner with the graffiti Summer is a whore, searching her apartment, and confronting her at the ATM with a gun. Did Axel come across as a believable threat, or did his obsession with Mayhem and fatherhood make him more selfish and unstable? Use specific scenes.
- 14.Garrett warns Reese not to go vigilante but later says he would have done the same after Reese shoots Axel. How did the novel want you to judge Reese's decision to kill Axel, and did the no-cops agreement with Hammer complicate that judgment?