Sandra C. Lopez's Blog, page 10
September 23, 2025
Blog Tour: IT TAKES A FOREST by Jessie Todd Mayfield
Juvenile Fiction
Illustrator: Amanda Ravensdale
Date Published: June 10, 2025
Publisher: Lucid Books Publishing
As Mama Wolf departs with a tender kiss, Caleb is left with a swirl of emotions-doubt, fear, and curiosity. Can Mama truly repair their den? What will it be like to live with a new family? And most importantly, will she keep her promise to return?
Join Caleb on his journey of discovery as he learns what it means to be part of a new family, while Mama Wolf works tirelessly to secure their home. Through the experiences of both Caleb and his foster family, this enchanting story reminds us all that raising little ones in safety and love takes not just a parent, but an entire forest.
Review: This is the heartfelt story of aMama Wolf in search of a safety net for her pup during a snowstorm. See how ittakes a forest to help out a struggling mother.
The illustrations were soft andlovely. When Mama kisses young Caleb goodbye, you feel the same emotionalwhirlpool as Dumbo nuzzling in his mama’s arm or Bambi crying over his deadmother.
“I’ll come for you the first signof spring—you can trust that. I will miss you every day my dear. But I love youtoo much to let you freeze.”
The poor little pup was sad, but,fortunately, he has the assurance and aid of his forest friends to help himalong the way.
The best part was when the pup wasfinally reunited with his mom. A sweet and loving story that brings a tear toyour eye. Truly evokes the undeniable love between a mother and child.
Rating:5 stars
Jessie Todd Mayfield lives in Akron, Ohio where she works as a labor and delivery nurse by night and writer by day. She is passionate about children’s literature from her years of teaching English abroad, and about at-risk children from her family’s own involvement with the ministry Safe Families for Children and foster care—namely her youngest brother, Jacob, who was adopted from foster care. Jessie loves to write songs and travel the country with her bluegrass musician husband, David, who is her greatest encourager and sweetest soulmate. She is grateful for her family who has championed this project, and the many families doing the hard work of making their homes a safe place for children—whether theirs or someone else’s.
Purchase Links
September 22, 2025
Blog Tour: RECIPE FOR LOVE by Sharon Buchbinder
Love, laughter, and a little kitchen chaos are on the menuin Recipe for Love!
When a sous chef with secrets clashes with a showrunnerchasing a viral hit, sparks fly hotter than the stove.
Recipe For Love
A Cat’s Paw Cove Book 24
by Sharon Buchbinder
Genre: Paranormal Romantic Comedy
When it comes to love, all bets are off…
Karmen Artos, a sous chef at Feline Fine Retirement Home, is horrified when twoof the residents hijack her kitchen. Worse yet, they’ve created an Internetcooking show that has gone viral. The recipes are revolting, but viewers arewild for 'Grandma's Witchin' Kitchen!'
Devon Winger, a down-on-his-luck showrunner, arrives in Cat's Paw Cove toconvince the eccentric elderly Internet stars to take the show to the nextlevel -- a ShowFlix series. The magical stars are tickled at the idea, butKarmen is dead set against revealing the sanctuary for supernaturals to theworld.
Can Karmen convince the sexy Devon that the show will be a dud? Or will Devonrealize there's more to the quirky retirement home than meets the camera’s eye?
Sharon Buchbinder has been writing fiction since middleschool and has the rejection slips to prove it. A retired RN and professor, sheis the author of the Hotel LaBelle Series, the Jinni Hunter Series, and theObsession Series. She also has seven books in the Cats Paw Cove Series, amagical place where anything can happen--and does! When not writing, she can befound walking her dogs, herding cats, or breaking bread and laughing withfamily and friends.
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Follow the tour HERE for special content and a $20 giveaway!
September 20, 2025
Review: RACHEL RISING: SECRETS KEPT by Terry Moore
Little Zoe is now 15 andpregnant with the Anti-Christ. Evidently, Rachel’s been asleep for five years.Oh wow! Nah, that was just a dream. But was that Zoe’s future there. Still notgood.
It’s really been two weeks.Loved the dark wit and the drawings.
In this one, Rachel finds outsecrets about herself. I wonder if this story will continue. A good read!
Rating:4 stars
Review: GOOSEBUMPS: THE ABOMINABLE SNOWMAN by RL Stine
Jordan was sick of the hotSoCal weather. In the winter, you’re supposed to have cold snow like everyother place. A trip to Alaska would change all that…and much more. You see,they would be on the hunt for the Abominable Snowman. The kids soon get lostand embark on a snowy, scary adventure. And what happens when they bring thesnowman monster here to California?
A good read! You’ll never wantto see snow again after this.
Rating:4 stars
Review: RACHEL RISING: DUST TO DUST by Terry Moore
“For Lilith, life and love areabout loss. And Earth is a graveyard.”
Lilith is not the devil, butshe slept with him.
This has that dark wit, whichI loved. Little doggie brings back neighbor’s head. Good dog! Meanwhile, Rachelis still looking for her attacker that left that rope mark around her neck.With a single touch, Rachel can see what happened to the bodies. Cool story andcool art work.
Rating:4 stars
Review: GOOSEBUMPS: BEAST FROM THE EAST by RL Stine
It all started when Ginger andher two brothers got lost in the woods and found themselves in a weird junglewith a large, big-footed beast. Yikes! And it wasn’t just one beast they werestuck with. There were at least a dozen beasts in the jungle. Suddenly, thekids were in a game…of survival. In this game, the Beast from the East is theloser and becomes a free lunch. How can you play a game when you don’t know therules? Can the kids escape before they become the next free lunch? A fun readwith a deadly game.
Rating:4 stars
September 19, 2025
Review: HOW WE GOT STARTED by Charlotte O'Shay
Just like the title says, this was how two people got started when they were growing up in the same neighborhood. She was too young and he was too old for her. But they still couldn’t help getting a crush on each other. A nice start to what seems like a good story.
Rating: 4 stars
Spotlight: SHADOWSLAYERS by Colin Sephton
GENRE: Steampunk Fantasy
~~~~~~~~~~~~~
BLURB:
Whendoppelgangers start appearing in Oxford, Union Jack agents Ignatius and Indigofind themselves on another cosmic quest, one they didn’t set out toinvestigate.
Drawninto the search for the elusive and dangerous Book of Shadows, they findthemselves traveling across the cosmos once again, racing against otherversions of themselves, and visiting the Oracle to be given prophecies ofterrible destruction that will engulf the cosmos in darkness. Only these twoheroes—or their doubles—can open the book, which would lead to dreadfulconsequences for themselves, the world and the whole of creation.
Theagents must outwit their own mirror souls and invade the impregnableAdministorium, which holds the answers they need but also fearsome enemies ofboth the Union Jacks and the entire cosmos. In this quest, Ignatius and Indigomust protect not only England and the Empire, but the world and the cosmos.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~
AUTHOR Bio and Links:
Colinwas born in Coventry and worked in the automotive industry for over twentyyears before becoming an Engineering teacher. Obtaining his first library cardat the age of thirteen, he became an avid reader of Fantasy and the mysteriesof the Universe. He has an inbuilt curiosity for lost knowledge and ancienttexts that may help to unlock the secrets of consciousness and the universe.Living in Oxford for many years, he has now moved back to his home county ofWarwickshire where he enjoys creating and working with his wife on their gardenin which he writes and entertains their two grandsons. He has always been anartist and writer and is inspired by the worlds created by Robert E Howard andMichael Moorcock, with the artwork of Frank Frazetta.
Connectwith Colin on Instagram at @timeslayers or @sephtonart
FindColin’s website here: www.colinsephton.com
Purchase links:
Amazon: https://www.amazon.com/Shadowslayers-Colin-Sephton-ebook/dp/B0FN4H2SH5/
September 18, 2025
Blog Tour: THE WEIRD GIRL by Carla Damron
One shattered birthday party.
Two teenage victims.
A citydrowning in fentanyl.
The Weird Girl
A Georgia Thayer Novel #2
by Carla Damron
Genre: Women’s Suspenseful Crime Fiction
One shatteredbirthday party. Two teenage victims. A city drowning in fentanyl.
Social worker Georgia Thayer (The Orchid Tattoo) has spent her career fightingfor the vulnerable, but nothing could prepare her for being a foster mom toTessa—a teenager haunted by her traumatic past. Determined to give her a normallife, Georgia's efforts to give her a normal life crumble when a neighborhoodparty spirals into disaster, leaving one girl fighting for her life whileanother disappears from the front yard of her family's home.
As Georgia undertakes a frantic search for the missing girl, she uncovers adangerous fentanyl trade that snakes from hospital emergency rooms to highschool hallways to the darkest corners of her city. She is up against acharismatic candidate for attorney general and a ruthless drug kingpin, twopowerful men willing to use lethal means to bury their secrets.
With her chosen family threatened, her faith in herself shaken, and anunexpected ally emerging from the shadows, Georgia’s efforts to save one girlputs her own in danger.
The clock is ticking. The truth is deadly. And every second lost could meananother life destroyed.
Amazon* Apple* B&N* Kobo* Bookshop.org* Bookbub* Goodreads
The Orchid Tattoo
A Georgia Thayer Novel #1
Crime fiction thatmakes a difference: in The Orchid Tattoo, award-winning authorCarla Damron delves into the disturbing world of human trafficking.
Social worker Georgia Thayer can balance her own mentalillness with the demands of an impossible job. Mostly. But when her sistervanishes in the dead of night, her desperate quest to find Peyton takes herinto the tentacles of a human trafficking network-where she encounters a youngvictim called "Kitten."
Kitten is determined to escape. She won't be trapped likethe others. She won't sell her soul like Lillian, victim-turned-madam, feedingthe dark appetites of international business moguls and government leaders. Butthe Estate won't let her out of its lethal grip, and her attempts at freedomthreaten her very life.
Aided by Kitten and, at times, by the voices in her head,Georgia maneuvers to bring down the kingpin of Estate and expose its darksecrets, but her efforts place her-and the few people she allows to getclose-in grave danger.
Amazon * Apple* B&N* Kobo* Bookshop.org* Bookbub* Goodreads
Carla Damronbelieves fiction can make a difference. A social worker, advocate, and authorof suspense, women’s fiction, and mysteries, Damron uses her writing to put ahuman face on issues like drug abuse, mental illness, and human trafficking.She’s won multiple literary awards, including the Women’s Fiction WritersAssociation Star Award for Best Novel and the NIEA award for best suspense.
Damron holds anMSW and an MFA in Creative Writing and teaches with Writers.com. Currently theVP for the Southeast Chapter of Mystery Writers of America, she lives in SouthCarolina with her husband and their family of entitled rescue animals.
You can readmore about her at https://carladamron.com/
Website * Facebook * X * Instagram * Bookbub * Amazon * Goodreads
Follow the blitz HERE for special content and a $10 giveaway!
Spotlight: THE SECOND SMARTEST DOG THAT EVER LIVED by Will Pass
Book Title:
The Second-Smartest Dog That Ever Lived (Thiessen Press, Oct 2024)
Summary:
SOUTHWEST BOOKS OF THE YEAR, 2025
I am a dog but I do not die at the end of this book. Who else could have written it?
The woman who saved me offers food, shelter, and affection. But I’m nobody’s pet. Because I have the intelligence of a human. And I aim to find out why.
Accompanied by Shakespeare, a Pug with the intelligence of a Pug, I strike out into the desert. Cannibal coyotes. Stray humans. A city of sin. The dangers are real. So are my questions: Where did I come from? And is a human life really worth more than mine?
Equal parts dark comedy and quixotic quest, The Second-Smartest Dog That Ever Lived delivers sharp humor, unexpected tenderness, and big, unsettling questions—all narrated by a dog who knows our deepest secret: we’re animals too.
Press:
"Pass masterfully blends humor, heart, and peril in this anthropomorphic tale, making it an unforgettable read."
— SOUTHWEST BOOKS OF THE YEAR
"Rou is a stalwart lead, smart as a whip and tenderhearted, and second banana Shakespeare is an endearing, jovial ball of energy."
— KIRKUS
Author Bio:
Will Pass was born in South Africa, grew up in England and Kansas, and now lives in Colorado with his wife, son, two cats, and very good dog. Before writing fiction, he worked as a landscaper, garbage man, janitor, third-party logistics operator, climbing bum, and veterinarian in Las Vegas. Will also runs the Book Jacket Bracket (bookjacketbracket.com), the world's first book cover tournament, and hosts Who Reads Books Anymore? (on TikTok and Instagram), a video series where he asks strangers about their reading lives.
Social & Web Links
* Website: www.willpassbooks.com
* Instagram: @willpassbooks
* TikTok: @willpassbooks
Buy Links:
* Amazon: https://amzn.to/4gAIONH
* Bookshop: https://bookshop.org/a/112878/9798989180509
