Sandra C. Lopez's Blog, page 176
August 6, 2022
Review: PINING FOR MY DAD’S BEST FRIEND by Daniella Cole
The scene is set: a girl comes to her dad’s best friend soaked from the streets. She wants him, and he wants her, as evident by the inner rants and lustful thoughts of each character. For only 4 chapters, it’s very slow. Eh, it was okay.
Rating: 3 stars
Review: CAN’T HAVE HIM by Kate Hunt
Olivia’s college boyfriend breaks up with her on their last year. So what does a girl do? Get drunk and meet a hot guy. She doesn’t go home with him, but she sees him the next day in her class as her professor.
Story is rather slow as the two spend most of the time pining for each other and realizing that nothing can ever come of it. Nothing good happens between them until the very end. A decent read.
Rating: 3 stars
August 5, 2022
Blog Tour: THE SIGNS WE MISSED by Lena S. May
The Signs We Missed
by Lena S. May
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GENRE: LGBTQIA+ Contempoerary Fiction
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BLURB:
Thrown out by his mother, 17-year-old Luke hopes to overcome his narcotic addiction and depression by changing his surroundings. At his new school, he quickly becomes friends with Sean, but finding that his developing feelings aren’t returned, Luke retreats into old habits. Determined to hide his self-injurious behavior and an advancing eating disorder, he soon risks much more than a broken heart.
When Sean meets Luke, the last thing on his mind is falling in love with a boy. Grappling with his own conflicting emotions and trying to keep them from his suspicious girlfriend, he brushes off Luke’s strange behavior. But when Luke suddenly cuts him off, Sean is forced to confront the truth and take action to save his best friend.
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Excerpt One:
It's my fault.
I'm not sure how yet, but it's what the white blank hospital room walls keep hammering into my head as the pungent, antiseptic smell makes my eyes water when all I'm trying to do is keep my composure.
My fault.
It's what they're all trying to say – the half-dead, bled-out body of the boy lying in the bed beside me, his fingers slowly losing their grip on mine, the over-worked and under-paid nurse already rushing down the corridor, the non-specialist assistant doctor, paying half his attention to the arrhythmically beeping monitor, the other half to fumbling his phone to mute.
And then there's my brother, leaning against the wall in the corner, his crystal blue eyes asking not what I've done but when I'd planned on telling him that I was gay – which I'm really not. When I don't react, he looks down to the face resting on the pillow next to my elbow, and I do, too: empty whiteness staring back. I'm beginning to think it's burning into my retina, sucking every last speck of color out of the sky as I finally raise my glance to the window. I can't let myself get lost in the void that is now his face if I want to clear my head, but there isn't a single cloud drifting by to take hold of my attention, not a single leaf left in the trees, no bird, not even a gust of wind. It's just me and my trembling heart and my racing thoughts, and yet, my loneliness is nothing in the face of what I now know he has been going through.
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GUEST POST
Topic: Please describe your writing journey for this book
When I first started writing stories about the characters who are now the protagonists of The Signs We Missed, I was fifteen or maybe sixteen years old. That is also where most of the topics come from, as I was going through some of the things that Luke struggles with at that time – namely an eating disorder and depression. I mainly wrote short stories as what was probably my way of coping, and as I got better, I put them on the back-burner. The back-burner, in that case, is a folder full of handwritten sheets that I have kept next to my bed ever since (it’s a miracle I never misplaced it; I have moved five times since then, and I have misplaced basically everything else).
A few years later, I made another attempt at turning those stories into a novel. The vision was the same as it was another two years or so later: to write a book that fifteen-year-old Me would have picked up and thought, “Hey, this is me. Somebody somewhere has been going through the same shit I am – maybe I’m not as alone in the world as I feel right now.”
I didn’t get very far then, though. At that point, I had uni courses to attend, jobs to work, and bills to pay. Back-burner again it was.
But deep down, writing and publishing this novel was the biggest dream I ever had. Sometimes, I remembered this:
I had moved into the place I lived in at the time a day before New Year’s Eve, and we had somehow figured it’d be a great idea to invite all our friends to a party the day right after moving in (the place was exactly as chaotic as you picture it, but nobody cared). Shortly after midnight, almost all the guests were down on the streets busy with fireworks, but I am kind of scared of getting in the vicinity of that stuff, so I was standing on the balcony, a glass of sparkling wine in my hand, watching colors explode in the sky – and you get that weird kind of nostalgic, kind of everything-is-possible feeling then, right? It’s a whole new year, after all. New place as well. So silently, to myself, I made a promise. I never told anyone what exactly that promise was, but whenever I remembered that moment after abandoning my novel attempt, I felt a little guilty. But mostly, I felt excited, like a part of me knew that promise would be kept.
Two years later, something happened in Wuhan, and suddenly, there were no uni courses to attend, I had to teach my tutoring classes from home, and I wrote the first ever complete draft of The Signs We Missed within two or three months.
So has the promise been kept?
Not yet. But I think I have kept my end of the bargain.
AUTHOR Bio and Links:
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Lena S. May is a Germany-based author and student. Living with her dog, she enjoys long walks, ideally followed by a cup of tea and an equally long reading session. After graduating university with a degree in English and American and German Studies, she is working towards her Master of Education to become a secondary school teacher. With her writing, Lena hopes to raise more awareness for mental health and the importance of looking out for one another and oneself. Her debut novel will be published in August 2022.
Twitter https://twitter.com/Lena_S_May
Instagram https://www.instagram.com/Lena_S_May/
Amazon https://www.amazon.com/Signs-We-Missed-Lena-May-ebook/dp/B09YVLCNKQ/
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GIVEAWAY :
Lena S. May will be awarding a $10 Amazon or Barnes and Noble GC to a randomly drawn winner via rafflecopter during the tour.
August 4, 2022
Blog Tour: TUCKED IN by Corey Wainman
Tucked In
by Corey Wainman
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GENRE: Fiction - Coming of Age
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BLURB:
It is June 1979, and school is out for the summer! Having just turned ten years old, Shane Anderson is your typical fun-loving kid who just moved from the suburbs to the city. Sure, he likes to exit the same door he entered. And he likes turning lights on and off an even number of times. And he has to keep scary movie scenes out of his head at bedtime. But apart from that (and maybe a few other things), he's just a normal guy with a musical mom, a semi-hippie dad and the coolest sister around. Join him as he experiences many notable adventures against the backdrop of toys, tunes, TV shows and new-found friends.
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Excerpt Two:
We entered the hallway system from an outside entrance (the one Jonathan used to get to his apartment). The hallway system had long stretches divided by swinging doors. You could actually travel the entire length of the townhouse complex through these hallways! The plan was simple: I would stand at one end of the hall with the swinging door open. When the coast was clear, I would give the thumbs up to Jonathan, and he would do his nine knocks then fly through the door (that I would be holding open). Then we would both run like mad!
We took our positions. I could see Jonathan at the far end of the hall. I checked carefully to make sure the coast was clear. I gave him the sign, and he shot toward me like a bullet, delivering two knocks to each door as he went. Door one, then two, then three, then four, then five, all the way to nine. Finally, Jonathan sped through the open swinging door, and I quickly closed it. We then started our escape. I looked behind me and, to my surprise, the swinging door swung open to reveal an older lady in a housecoat and curlers!
“You better run!” she said, staring right at me.
I was terrified beyond belief—she saw my face! What if she tells my parents? Jonathan was WAY ahead of me—I mean, he was the guy who might one day be the fastest man in the world. I was not as fast. A cramp settled in, but I kept going, holding my stomach as I struggled through the hallway.
Eventually, I ducked into a stairwell and burst through a door to sunshine and safety.
Tired and rattled, I made my way back to Sparrow Square where Jonathan was standing with a smirk on his face.
“Did you get caught?” he asked.
“Almost,” I replied. “But a lady saw my face!”
“It doesn’t matter. She doesn’t know your name. And she doesn’t know where you live.”
He was right.
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Review: In 1979, Shane Anderson was a little boy with dreams of becoming a disc jockey with his own Saturday morning show. He goes on to describe the layout of his home, his town, and his family. He’s certainly an enthusiastic kid, especially when it came to things like his Star Wars collection. As his teacher put it, he was “precocious.” And he brings that same crafty wit and knowledge to a new town, where me meets several kids.
The narrative was simple and filled with pop references of classic songs, sitcoms, books, and movies. It’s literally a fun ride through vintage American culture. Since the main character is the one telling the story, we get the whole thing in his voice with his hyper gusto and little, extra explanations. The boy just LOVED everything. At times, it can be a tad repetitive and a little daunting. A culture reference is mentioned in every paragraph. Still, this was a cherished wander through good times—something we could all relate to.
A fairly nice read overall.
Rating: 3 stars
AUTHOR Bio and Links:
Corey Wainman is a fiction writer, copywriter and author of Tucked In, the first novel in The Delightful Oddball Trilogy. By combining his passion for storytelling with his love of nostalgia, Corey wrote Tucked In to whisk the reader back to a simpler, freer time. As an award-winning copywriter, Corey had the pleasure of supporting many renowned brands. He especially enjoyed writing for kids' cereal mascots such as Lucky the Leprechaun, Tricks (a.k.a. the Silly Rabbit) and even Boo Berry! Corey lives in Toronto, Ontario where he enjoys subjecting his wife and three children to all the songs, TV shows and movies of his youth.
CONNECT WITH Corey Wainman
WEBSITE - COREY WAINMAN- https://www.coreywainman.com/home
FACEBOOK - Corey Wainman | Facebook - https://www.facebook.com/CoreyWainman...
TWITTER - Corey Wainman (@coreywainman) / Twitter - https://twitter.com/CoreyWainman
GOODREADS - Corey Wainman (Author of Tucked In) | Goodreads - https://www.goodreads.com/author/show...
YOUTUBE - Corey Wainman - YouTube - https://www.youtube.com/channel/UC_t2...
BLOG - The Nostalgic Wave - https://www.nostalgicwave.com/
PURCHASE LINKS Tucked In
AMAZON.COM - Tucked In: Wainman, Corey: 9780228868286: Amazon.com: Books
AMAZON.CA - Tucked In : Wainman, Corey: Amazon.ca: Books
INDIGO CHAPTERS - Tucked In, Book by Corey Wainman (Paperback) | www.chapters.indigo.ca
BARNES & NOBLE - Tucked In by Corey Wainman, Paperback | Barnes & Noble® (barnesandnoble.com)
KOBO - Tucked In eBook by Corey Wainman - 9780228868293 | Rakuten Kobo Canada
APPLE IBOOKS - Tucked In on Apple Books
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GIVEAWAY :
Corey Wainman will be awarding a $15 Amazon or Barnes and Noble GC to a randomly drawn winner via rafflecopter during the tour.
August 3, 2022
Blog Tour: STRANDED ON CASTAWAY ISLAND by Amy Laundrie
Stranded on Castaway Island
by Amy Laundrie
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GENRE: middle grade-young adult
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BLURB:
On a remote island with only a herd of wild horses for company, two ex-best friends struggle to survive but soon realize they’re not alone.
After a sudden storm turned what should have been a quick boat ride into a nightmare, Annie is shipwrecked on a remote island near Nova Scotia with her ex-best friend Mirra. Learning to survive together would have been easier if they could get along--not possible after the hurtful words neither can forget. Annie and Mirra's only company is a herd of wild horses--or that's what the 14-year-old girls think at first. But when they discover still warm embers from a campfire and man-sized footprints, they know they're not alone.
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Excerpt One:
I clung onto the dash and hit 9 1 before a gigantic tower of greenish-gray water blasted over us. It soaked the phone. I caught my breath and tried punching the final 1. Please, oh, please. But nothing. A wall of water crashed onto the boat, soaking it more. Icy water sloshed around our ankles. The bow tilted to sea level again. “Hang on—” When I grabbed for the side-rail, the phone dropped to my feet. There was no chance of grabbing it—I was holding on for dear life as wave after wave washed onto the deck. The boat’s motor died. The storm was sweeping us out of the bay and into the open sea.
“Call the Coast Guard!” I screamed, remembering the radio.
Mirra pressed a button and shouted, “Coast Guard! Coast Guard!”
Nothing except static.
“Mayday! Mayday!” Mirra shrieked.
The bow tilted up, and the cooler slid, hitting the stern and sounding like a gunshot. Clutching onto the handrail, I held my breath. A saltwater wall, taller than any before, swept over us. Coughing and sputtering, I looked for Mirra. She was gripping the wheel. A scream stuck in my throat as the boat plunged.
When the wave sliced over us, it washed my legs out from under me. I closed my eyes as the freezing cold ocean ripped away my hat and gushed down on me.
The boat pitched sideways. I lost my grip and tumbled into the raging water.
The shark’s jaws appeared, but I only looked at its eye.
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Review: Two kids that hadn’t been friends for a while go out on a boat, hit a storm, drift aimlessly on a boat raft, and become stranded on an island. How very Gilligan.
The girls had such bickering tension, disagreeing on almost everything. For days, they try to ration their food, water, and sleep while still clinging to the desperate hope that they will be saved. Meanwhile, memories and hallucinations assault Annie, who is telling the whole story.
As the girls struggle to survive with little resources, they begin to hash things out and finally reveal the destruction of their friendship.
Story had a simple narrative with a slow and steady pace. Although I wasn’t entirely invested in the story, it was still an interesting tale of survival, redemption, and friendship.
A fairly nice read overall.
Rating: 3 stars
AUTHOR Bio and Links:
Amy writes about nature and animals and spends way too much time imagining what it would be like to survive on a remote island. STRANDED ON CASTAWAY ISLAND, for middle grade and young adults, is her 11th books. She also has picture books, middle-grade chapter books, and an adult memoir. She’s a columnist and her memoir, LAUGH, CRY, REFLECT: STORIES FROM A JOYFUL HEART is a compilation of her favorite pieces.
Website: https://laundrie.com
Facebook: www.facebook.com/AmyLaundrieAuthor
Amazon Author Page: https://tinyurl.com/LaundrieAuthorPage
Twitter: https://twitter.com/AmyLaundrie
Blog: http://laundrie.com/articles
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/amylaundrie/?hl=en
Goodreads: https://tinyurl.com/Goodreads-Laundrie
YouTube: https://tinyurl.com/yd3ubwr7
LinkedIn: https://tinyurl.com/yxchfsu3
Book Marketing Global Network: https://bit.ly/344SRW2
Buy links:
The book will be on sale for only $0.99.
Amazon: https://amzn.to/3KBonz6
Banres &Knoble: https://bit.ly/3xLfVtw
Goodreads: https://bit.ly/399NLhP
Bookbub: https://bit.ly/3vp4Rko
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GIVEAWAY :
Amy Laundrie will be awarding a $25 Amazon or Barnes and Noble GC to a randomly drawn winner via rafflecopter during the tour.
August 2, 2022
Book Blast: AN IMAGINARY AFFAIR by Diana Raab
This post is part of a virtual book tour organized by Goddess Fish Promotions. Diana Raab will be awarding a $20 Amazon or B/N GC to a randomly drawn winner via rafflecopter during the tour. Click on the tour banner to see the other stops on the tour.
An Imaginary Affair is a collection of sensitive and sensuous poems for poets and non-poets who appreciate the challenges and intricacies of being human.
The poems touch on key human elements, such as love, desire, passion, memory, loss, and gratitude. The poet celebrates the joys, and pains inherent to a woman's heart, while honoring the wisdoms and tones of Neruda's poetry. Some of the epistolary poems are directed to Neruda in response to his riveting poems.
“In this intimate collection of poems, Diana Raab pays tribute to the sensual physicality of Pablo Neruda’s work and to her own real and invented lives. With unvarnished honesty, An Imaginary Affair celebrates a woman’s heart and mind through a handful of odes, epistolary poems, and the idea that memory and anticipation can sustain and nourish us; even drinking a glowing hot toddy is transformed into a meditation on how an ordinary act can awaken desire. Her unvarnished honesty gives equal attention to matters of mortality, where loss is lyrically considered (“…will you run from me / when trains sleep at their stations”), and also explored in the spirit of open curiosity (“How long does it take / for a pine casket to disintegrate / in this caving land…). These poems remind us that to be alive is to try and balance joy and lament, and how through this effort we more deeply inhabit the world and ourselves.” –Emma Trelles, author of Tropicalia and Poet Laureate of Santa Barbara
Read an Excerpt
Please Don’t Forget Me
I want you to know
one thing:
if there is ever a day
when you begin to think
about my place in this world
and if I could live without you —
stop in your tracks,
and look the imprints
your feet made in the sand
where you and I walked together
arm in arm, side by side
shoulder touching shoulder.
You are ingrained in my brain
like every kernel of sand
that lies beside the largest ocean
in this world where we inhabit
two sides familiar, yet foreign
to one another. But, in the end,
I had to let you go: when you love
someone it’s what one must do —
set them free to do what they need
or want, and when they want
to do it, whether it is with you or not—
while always keeping in mind
I will never in my lifetime or yours
stop loving everything about you.
About the Author:
Diana Raab is an award-winning, memoirist, poet, blogger, inspirational speaker, and workshop facilitator. As the author of nine books of nonfiction and poetry, Raab teaches workshops on writing for healing and transformation, inspiring others to use creativity for healing and self-discoveries. Her 2 latest books are WRITING FOR BLISS: A SEVEN-STEP PLAN FOR TELLING YOUR STORY AND TRANSFORMING YOUR LIFE and WRITING FOR BLISS: A COMPANION JOURNAL, available on Amazon and wherever books are sold. Publisher's Weekly says this about WRITING FOR BLISS: “This thoughtful and detailed primer…targets pretty much anyone interested in writing a memoir.” Raab has written over 1000 articles and poems including her contributions to Psychology Today, Thrive Global, Wisdom Daily and many others. She has taught at UCLA Extension, the Santa Barbara's Writer's Conference, 1440 Multiversity, Hugo House and others.
Her chapbook, An Imaginary Affair: Poems Whispered to Neruda is written in response to his work.
Website
Amazon
Finishing Line Press
a Rafflecopter giveaway
Blog Tour: WHISKEY LOVE by Joy Allyson
Whiskey Love
by Joy Allyson
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GENRE: Historic Romance
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BLURB:
She’s an uptight Bostonian
Proud and beautiful, Chloe Tanner, inherits her family’s famous distillery—a legacy she must save from certain disaster. Her troubles can be traced back to one man. The man whose very presence is more intoxicating to her than whiskey.
He’s a laid-back Tennessean
No one disputes handsome Penland Kittrell’s expertise in all things whiskey. But Pen can’t make heads or tails of his new neighbor and now business rival; an undeniable attraction tainted by her connections to the powerful group of Eastern moguls and tycoons she moves among.
It’s a Whiskey War they both want to Win!
Passions ignite between Chloe and Pen in this deadly tangle against revenuers, moonshiners, and robber barons who all try and come between them and their whiskey in this gilded age adventure where the real gold is amber nectar.
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Excerpt One:
“Are you not afraid of reaching a stage of inebriation I might be tempted to take advantage of?” he asked cocking one dark brow up.
“No. As you have reminded me several times earlier tonight—there is not anything else you could do with me you have not already done.”
“What a little innocent you are, Chloe.” He circled the table and took the flask and pulled her up from the chair. “I’ve thought a lot about you these past few months. Didn’t want to. But did.” He wrapped his arms around her and nuzzled her neck.
She breathed in the butterscotch whiskey and sandalwood smell she associated with him. Wanting to see if there was truth in his eyes, she pushed against his chest locking her arms to study his face. Could she believe him?
“Tell me you want to kiss me too,” he whispered.
Inch by inch she moved in, surrendering equal distance. Finally their lips met as if no time had passed between them—a continuation of their night together a few months before. She could taste the heavy sweetness of the whiskey they had drunk, smell its heady scent, but it was his mouth, his touch that made her dizzy with desire.
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AUTHOR Bio and Links:
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As the daughter of a United States military officer, Joy Allyson grew up with a love of travel and a deep appreciation of history. A teacher by training, she always preferred reading historical romances to pedagogy. Her favorite characters – rebel heroines and salvageable scoundrels. Joy believes the best romances are the ones you want to read over and over again.
She is a member of Romance Writers of America and Music City Writers. She resides among the beautiful hills of Tennessee with her husband and near her two daughters and six grandchildren. Whiskey Love is her debut novel.
Links:
www.facebook.com/JoyAllysonAuthor
www.twitter.com/joyallysonbooks
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GIVEAWAY :
Joy Allyson will be awarding a $30 Amazon or Barnes and Noble GC to a randomly drawn winner via rafflecopter during the tour.
August 1, 2022
Book Blast: POTION by Dorlana Vann
This post is part of a virtual book tour organized by Goddess Fish Promotions. Dorlana Vann will be awarding a $25 Amazon or B/N GC to a randomly drawn winner via rafflecopter during the tour. Click on the tour banner to see the other stops on the tour.
#WitchesBeBitches
A Contemporary Retelling.
Eight years ago, the wicked witch held Hansel Lucas Jaeger and his sister, Melrose, captive. They barely escaped with their lives. Now, with high school, a garage band, and a part time job, Lucas finally feels normal.
But everything changes when Lucas sees his awkward, loner sister, hanging out with Star, one of the hot and hated popular girls known as The Bitches. At first, he’s just confused, but when he sees the tarot cards between them, he’s reminded of the curse the witch cast on Melrose.
His fears escalate when Star warns him about two witches from school who plan on using his sister for a ritual. Lucas wants to trust Star; he needs someone to confide in since Melrose thinks his fear of witchcraft is irrational. But Star is unpredictable and has toyed with his emotions before.
As Lucas searches for answers, more mysteries begin to unravel about Melrose’s childhood, Star’s motives, and his own family legacy. Lucas will have to make life and death decisions; but whom can he trust, and how do you rescue someone who doesn’t want to be saved?
Read an Excerpt
“You might have something I want.”
Her voice was definitely flirty, but Lucas had no idea what Star was all about. “Oh, really. And what is that?”
“Did you happen to find my tarot card?”
Uh-oh. The easiest answer would be “no,” however, Melrose would probably rat him out anyway. “It’s hard to explain, but I needed to get it out of the house.”
“So, it’s in the garbage?”
“Not exactly.” He stared at the dancing flames. “I burnt it.”
After a long silence, he looked at Star. Where she had been overly relaxed earlier, she now sat up straight with her arms crossed. Even in the dimly lit room, he could see that she thought he was crazy. Fair. In retrospect, his actions did seem a bit extreme.
“You burnt my card?” she finally asked as a breeze came through the open window and blew out the candles. “Why the hell would you do that?”
“Melrose can’t be around that sort of thing,” he mumbled
“Allergies?”
Lucas took the sarcasm he deserved and walked to the window. “Sorry. Just tell me how much I owe you.” He was going to shut the window before relighting the candles, but suddenly, Star’s hand was on his arm.
“You don’t owe me anything,” she said.
“No?” He turned around, and Star was standing right there, the curves of her body enhanced by the shadows.
About the Author:
Dorlana Vann loves taking elements from fairy tales (characters, mood, moral, plot) and mixing them with a paranormal element and then dropping them in a contemporary setting. She has several supernatural fairy tale inspired stories, including novels, a short story collection, and Kindle Vella series. Her latest adventure is A Witchy Fairy Tale series; book 1: Potion.
Besides writing, life is all about family, food, book-club, BBQ team, festivals, trivia (even though she's horrible at it), and drinking on patios – All of which she shares on Instagram
Website
Goodreads
Amazon Author Page
a Rafflecopter giveaway
July 30, 2022
Review: DRIVING ME CRAZY by Lola Jamieson
A truck stop delivery shakes up the cabin between a cashier and a driver.
A girl gets “cleaned up” in the laundry room. But they better hurry. Only 45 minutes for the clothes to wash.
A girl wants to leave town with a trucker. But what would it cost her?
Three short, hot, and sexy trucker stories you’ll enjoy!
Rating: 4 stars
Review: MANHANDLED BY THE MANAGER by Elle Wild
The hot wife fears being fired by her manager. Turns out the manager is just another one that has an interest in her “arrangement.” Talk about being manhandled. A hot, short read!
Rating: 4 stars
