Sandra C. Lopez's Blog, page 232

Blog Tour: ZEBRA'S DAY OUT by Susan Polites and Gabrielle Scully

 

Zebra's Day Out

by Susan Polites and Gabrielle Scully Illustrated by Rex Patrick

 

~~~~~~~~~~~~~

 

GENRE:   Children's

 

~~~~~~~~~~~~~

 

BLURB:

 

Zebra is excited when he hears that he will be going out to the cafe with Gabrielle and Gran. But there is a lot that Zebra still has to learn about days out. Is a cafe anything like the circus in the picture book? Will he like the food there? Will there be playing?

 

~~~~~~~~~~~~~

 

 

Excerpt One:

 

One day, Zebra heard Gabrielle’s Mama say, “Gran is coming to look after you today.” Zebra was excited; he liked it when Gran came over.

 

After breakfast the doorbell rang. Gabrielle opened the door and there was Gran, with a big smile on her face. Zebra thought she looked like the smiling circus clown in Gabrielle’s storybook – except without a tomato for a nose.

 

“Now, what shall we do today?” Gran said.

 

“Play!” said Gabrielle.

 

So they played with all of Gabrielle’s toys.

 

Even Zebra.

 

After a while Gran said, “I’m thirsty!”

 

“Me too!” said Gabrielle.

 

“Let’s go to the café.”

 

“Can Lucy and Rainbow and Zebra come too?” asked Gabrielle.

 

Gran wasn’t sure. Zebra did cause quite a lot of trouble sometimes.

 

“Oh please!” Gabrielle said.

 

“Zebra will promise to be good. Won’t you, Zebra?”

 

But Zebra was not listening.

 

 

~~~~~~~~~~~~~

 

My review: A fun day out with Gran and some of Gabrielle’s toys, including a spirited, little zebra.

Lovely abstract watercolored illustrations!

 

My rating: 4 stars

AUTHOR Bio and Links:

 

Susan Polites is a freelance story-writer, and her ten-year-old granddaughter Gabrielle Scully likes writing stories too. When they spend days together they often share in the adventures of Gabrielle's toy-friends. During the pandemic lockdown in Melbourne they were unable to meet in person, so they decided to work together remotely and write down some of the toy-friends' adventures. Gabrielle's great-grandfather Rex Patrick, an architect and artist, had done a series of illustrations when he first heard about the adventures, and Gabrielle added some of her own drawings to make the story into an early-childhood picture book, and a family project.

 

PURCHASE LINKS ZEBRA'S DAY OUT                 

 

AMAZON.COM

https://amazon.com/dp/0228839831

 

AMAZON.CA

https://amazon.ca/dp/0228839831

 

BOOKSHOP

https://bookshop.org/books/zebra-s-day-out-9780228839842/9780228839835

 

INDIGO CHAPTERS

https://www.chapters.indigo.ca/en-ca/books/zebras-day-out/9780228839835-item.html

 

BARNES & NOBLE

https://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/zebras-day-out-susan-polites/1137927464

 

BOOK DEPOSITORY

https://www.bookdepository.com/Zebras-Day-Out-Susan-Polites-Gabrielle-Scully-Rex-Patrick/9780228839835

 

~~~~~~~~~~~~~

 

GIVEAWAY INFORMATION and RAFFLECOPTER CODE:

 

The authors will be awarding a $10 Amazon or Barnes and Noble GC to a randomly drawn winner via rafflecopter during the tour.

a Rafflecopter giveaway

Get your Freebie!

The first 3 authors (ANY GENRE) that submit this form will get a review from one of our book club readers.

ONLY THE FIRST 3

Review: STRAWBERRIES AND CRÈME MURDER by Susan Gillard

Christa was the new owner of a donut shop, although she got it through lies and deception. Heather was the owner of the existing donut shop and Christa’s old boss; she had taught Christa everything about baking until she just quit, taking a lot of the recipes with her. Needless to say, the departure wasn’t on good terms. But when Christa ends up dead, Heather is a suspect.
If Christa was poisoned and the donut was clean, then how did she die if all she had eaten was the donut?
It’s an overall okay read with an interesting case. It could’ve used a little more revising.
A quick, little mystery.
My rating: 3 stars

Review: LIMONCELLO YELLOW by Traci Andrighetti

Franki Amato was a police rookie paired with a seasoned veteran, who often spent time in the bathroom from stomach and bowel issues. On a check-in, she catches her boyfriend cheating on her with a German wrestler and suddenly goes at it with her. Whoa, what a match! What a night—getting butt-kicked and ending up bare-butt for all to see. Too funny!
I couldn’t blame Franki for quitting her partner, the no-good, tootin’ lard butt. And this prompts her impulse move to New Orleans and joins her friend’s P.I. business (Private Chicks, Inc.) Okay, so has to rent an apartment from a former stripper. So that apartment is right next to a cemetery. She could handle it. Her very first case involved a high-profile murder of a woman.
Overall, this was witty and charming. I liked how this started with its harebrained antics, but then it sort’ve mellowed out toward the middle. I liked Franki and her wanting to prove that Italian women could do more than make pasta and birth babies. There were a few too many characters and a slight lag.
A decent mystery though.
My rating: 3 stars

Review: A BERRY DEADLY WELCOME by A.R. Winters

Kylie Berry just left her ex and has returned to her hometown of Kentucky to help out in her cousin’s café. She never would’ve thought that her could would leave and sell her the café unknowingly. Of course, she had no clue how to run a café, but was glad that she wouldn’t starve. After all, cafes have food, right.
On the first day, the head chef quit. Oh, what to do? She hired someone as inexperienced as her. Yeah, smart move. What could go wrong? Well, the new chef could turn up dead right next to a batch of brownies made by Kylie.
Needless to say, the cops shut her down to run an investigation.
I liked how this started, but it was kind of slow. Kylie is such a nubie in this whole thing. She doesn’t really get her head into solving this case. But, then again, she wasn’t a sleuth (well, she also wasn’t a baker either.)
It’s an okay read. My rating: 3 stars

Review: MURDER AND MAYHEM by K.P. Stafford

After losing her parents and losing her paralegal research job, Alexis finds a box in her parents’ attic, uncovering secrets about her family. Why did they tell her her grams was dead? So she goes back to her hometown to find some answers.
The story gives you the run-down real fast without giving a chance for build-up of any kind. It kind of drags and it’s not very interesting.
My rating: 2 stars

Review: SUPER QUICK MYSTERIES by Andrew Stanek (Vol 1)

These are cases by Chuck, the sandwich guy detective. There really was no real mystery in any of them, and Chuck solves the cases much too easily. There’s no real plot with a solutions page at the end of each mystery. It just felt like it was all thrown in there like “This is the mystery and here’s the answer.”
 
For being so “short,” some of these sure were long. Not so quick after all—or super for that matter.

 

My rating: 2 stars

Blog Tour: IMPERFECT TIMING by Bobbie Candas

 

 

IMPERFECT TIMING

by Bobbie Candas

 

~~~~~~~~~~~~~

 

GENRE:  second chance romance

 

~~~~~~~~~~~~~

 

BLURB:

 

Time is ticking on this second chance at romance…

 

With a recent promotion and loads of confidence, Chloe Stevens has landed in sunny LA as a sales director for a leasing company. Quickly picking up on successful business strategies, Chloe also zeros in on a challenging romance option, Zane Shepard, an LA city planner. Chloe and Zane quickly discover an intriguing lust/love attraction, eventually transforming it into the perfect relationship. 

 

After a year, Chloe is ready to take the next step, cohabitation, but instead, Zane blindsides her with the unexpected news of a breakup.

 

After months of sleepless nights doubting herself, Chloe decides their breakup stemmed from the issue of bad timing; she was ready to commit and he wasn’t. Armed with her theory of choosing future relationships based on matching timelines, Chloe packs up her damaged heart and moves home to Dallas.  She quickly lassos a new love interest, Trey Morgan; a boyfriend with good timing who’s ready to take the plunge.

 

Twenty years later, Chloe’s world unravels when she discovers her marriage to Trey is riddled with infidelity and lies. Taking on a new job, she’s forced to confront her past and rebuild the confidence she had in spades when she was younger. Unexpectedly, she has a chance to take a second stab at romance, but finds her good timing mantra severely tested.

 

~~~~~~~~~~~~~

  

Excerpt One:

 

“Coupling up, making that long-term commitment. Everyone says it’s all about that one-in-a-million someone, fate and a chance meeting, that special sparkle in the eyes. Bullshit. I say it’s all about timing. A couple can be absolutely smitten, madly in love, devoted initially, but if the timing’s not right, forget about it.” 

 

            I was explaining my theory to Mimi, a bored co-worker, and she wasn’t buying it. Perhaps I was sounding a little too passionate. After all, it was only lunch, with no liquor involved. I’d taken her out for sushi and as Mimi looked around at the lunch crowd, she sipped her water and decided to engage. 

 

        “OK, Chloe, so you’re saying all these co-habitating couples right here, are not or weren’t necessarily in love when they committed. It was only a matter of good timing for all of them; chemistry had nothing to do with it? People are only settling because they’re in the right spot at the right time.”

 

            “Bingo; exactly. I’m not saying one hundred percent have settled. A few got lucky right off the bat with the right-place, right-time thing, but yeah, a whole heck of a lot of people are married to a person because someone wandered by, caught their eye, and lassoed them in when they were ready to say yes.”

 

            Three months of sleepless nights, tangled in sheets, with my mind running in circles ruminating on what had gone wrong, had led me to the conclusion of lousy timing.

 

 

~~~~~~~~~~~~~

 

My review: Love was all about timing. For Chloe, the timing was never right.

Story carries a nice and easy narrative as it shifts between present, past, and future.

In the future, a car accident takes husband’s life. In the past, she meets a man that sends her heart aflutter.

In the future, she grieves the loss, missing him, while trying to manage their assets. In the past, sexual chemistry explodes on the first night.

Story constantly jumps back and forth, sending the reader in a romantic tailspin, as Chloe recalls her first love and mourns her last love. But her last may not really be her last as her past suddenly shows up again. Could this be their second chance? Could the timing finally be right? Or was this just…imperfect timing?

This was an interesting read. It chronicles a woman’s romantic highs and lows in a zig-zag pattern. It was a bit chaotic and, at times, slow. A nice story overall.

 

My rating: 3 stars

AUTHOR Bio and Links:

 

I'm a Texas girl: grew up in San Antonio, went to school at UT in Austin, and settled in Dallas where I raised a husband, two kids and a few cats. My husband and cats will probably disagree on who raised who, but I'm a sucker for a robust discussion.

 

For years I've been involved in retail management, but have also really enjoyed writing, taking deep dives into the lives of my characters. When you can pry my fingers off the keyboard, I've been known to imbibe in a few glasses of wine and have been spotted forking into some decadent desserts while gathering with friends and family. I enjoy shopping, usually on the hunt for apparel with a weakness for shoes, and will frequently jump at the opportunity taking an unexpected trip to a far-away place.

 

In addition, there’s always time for reading. I keep a stack of novels ready and waiting on my night stand, with a few tapping their toe in my Kindle as well. I bounce around genres, snoop around the best-seller lists, and on the ready for a good recommendation.

 

Amazon Page: https://www.amazon.com/Bobbie-Candas/...

 

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/bobbiecandas...

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/bobbiecandas/

 

 

~~~~~~~~~~~~~

 

GIVEAWAY INFORMATION and RAFFLECOPTER CODE

 

The author will award a $30 Amazon/BN gift card as well as a print copy of the book to a randomly drawn winner (book available for continental US only).

a Rafflecopter giveaway

Blog Tour: FOSTERED IDENTITY by Maggie Thom

This post is part of a virtual book tour organized by Goddess Fish Promotions. Maggie Thom 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.

Her teenage sister has run away. It's her fault. And on her watch.

Shyla thought she was doing the right thing by helping her teenage sister get a little freedom. She never expected she'd bolt on her. Desperate to keep their mom from discovering she has a missing daughter, Shyla sets out to find her wayward sister.

A fluke encounter gives Shyla a clue. Only she gets a lot more than she bargained for. She finds her sister, but she gets pulled into doing a heist. An impossible heist. And not just any heist but that of stealing her mom's million-dollar jewelry. Ones that recently arrived, with no explanation.

Damien is a good guy running from an awful past. When his brother ends up in the hospital, Damien is determined to stop the one man who has and is destroying their lives—their father. Damien will break all of his promises, even steal, if it will end their father's control.

Shyla and Damien find themselves thrown together, not trusting each other but not having any choice. They will have to work together if Damien is going to stop his father once and for all. And if Shyla is going to protect her family. An impossible crime that will bring them surprises they didn't see coming.

Can they catch a thief by being a thief?

Book 1
The Twisted Deception Series

Emerald grew up in a foster family. It wasn't an ordinary foster family. She was the first of eight girls to move in. The jewels that she was given to play with as a teenager, that she was told were baubles, are now resurfacing thirty-five years later. They are worth millions. And it appears worth stealing. Who is sending them out? And who wants them back at all costs?

“…fast-paced and kept me guessing. I like a mystery enveloped with family secrets and jewel thieves. I want more, and I want to know the secrets. I will be excited to read the second novel…” Author Christine H-Jackson

Read an Excerpt

"You want to talk about Hannah?"

"Where is she?"

"Sleeping in."

"Are you going to tell her?"

"No."

"Mom, come on. That's not fair to her. She has a right to know."

"Why are you butting in? We've had this conversation before."

"Not like this. And that was a few years ago. It's time to tell her."

"What would you like me to tell her? I adopted you when you weren't even two. I have no real history on you." She looked down at the table, rubbing her thumb up and down the side of the mug. "I think you were in the same shitty system that I was as a kid. I don't know where your mother is, just like I don't know where mine is. You came to me with a birth certificate that said your mother was Mary Smith. Could you get a more common name?"

Her eyes lifted and her gaze bore into Shyla as she continued. "You were born at home by a midwife. The midwife is dead and after searching four hundred and fifty Mary Smiths, I have no idea who birthed you." She gave her that look of I've tried to do something, but I've found nothing. "I can't do that to her."

Shyla frowned as she thought about what she'd just been told. Most of it she'd never heard before. "That sounds fishy. I mean about Mary Smith." What she really wanted to say was why have you never told me or Kal, any of this before?

About the Author: Take the adventure beyond your fingertips.

Multi-Award-Winning Author, Maggie Thom has written all types of stories but finally settled on her love of puzzles, mysteries, and rollercoaster rides and now writes suspense/thrillers/mysteries that keep you guessing and take you on one heck of an adventure.

She is the author of 8 suspense/thriller/mysteries. The award-winning Caspian Wine Series – Captured Lies, Deceitful Truths, and Split Seconds – and her other individual novels Tainted Waters, Deadly Ties, and Fractured Lines. And now a new series – The Twisted Deception Series - Fostered Identity, Book 1. On her website, you can find her free novel – Blurred Lines.

Her motto: Read to escape … Escape to read …

"Maggie Thom… proves her strength as a master of words, plots and finely chiseled characters… she weaves a brilliant cloth of the many colors of deceit.” Dii – TomeTender

Website: http://www.maggiethom.com
Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/authormaggiethom
BookBub: https://www.bookbub.com/authors/maggie-thom
Twitter: http://www.twitter.com/maggiethom2
Goodreads: http://www.goodreads.com/author/show/6549592.Maggie_Thom
Pinterest: https://pinterest.com/maggiethom2/
Amazon Author Page: https://www.amazon.com/Maggie-Thom/e/B009WSTDG8/

Buy Links: THE BOOK IS ON SALE FOR $0.99 DURING THE TOUR.

Amazon: http://mybook.to/FosteredIdentity
Barnes and Noble: https://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/fostered-identity-maggie-thom/1138918935
Kobo: https://www.kobo.com/us/en/ebook/fostered-identity
Google: https://play.google.com/store/books/details?id=rqwgEAAAQBAJ
Apple Books: https://books.apple.com/ca/book/fostered-identity/id1556127213

For all book links: https://books2read.com/FosteredIdentity

a Rafflecopter giveaway

Blog Tour: WIRED BY THE FBI by Glenn Painter

 

Wired by the F.B.I.

by Glenn Painter

 

~~~~~~~~~~~~~

 

GENRE:  Mystery/Suspense, Thriller

 

~~~~~~~~~~~~~

 

BLURB:

 

Christian Romano lives his life as a con-artist, burglar, drug dealer, and a ladies' man, using his good looks to con wealthy women out of jewels and money. When he is arrested and jailed in one of the most violent jails in the U.S. (Cook County in Chicago), a steamy affair begins with a nympho female jail guard. When he loses control of the romance, Christian must end the affair by reporting her to Internal Affairs. It turns out that she is already under suspicion for supplying drugs to various gang members inside the jail. He has to decide if he is "rogue" enough to help set her up for arrest. Meanwhile, the FBI wants to recruit Christian to gather information against a sadist ex-cop, Scott Mason, who has been arrested for murder. The risk? Christian must wear a wire and testify. The reward? Witness protection for Christian and his girlfriend and a modification of his prison sentence. Will Christian risk his life for a chance at freedom? Will the female sheriff "get even" with him? Or will his life end at the hands of the jail's drug lords or a lunatic former cop?

 

 

~~~~~~~~~~~~~

 

Excerpt One:

 

Something’s wrong, my intuition told me, as I stepped out of the stairwell and into the chaotic frenzy of the main hallway running under Division One of the Cook County jail.

 

Sergeant Ricky Walsh opened the heavy, rusted steel door leading to the death trap—that is A-B stairwell—then turned to me. “Romano, take the stairs down four flights to the bottom, I will meet you there.”

 

There are four sets of stairs that lead to the main boulevard on the first floor. They are legendary for the infamous men who have been butchered there, the bloodstained walls are a testament to the violence that is the norm in this building. As I begin my descent down the narrow and poorly lit stairwell, the thought hits me: At least half a dozen men have been stabbed in this exact place. The words taunt me as I step slowly down the stairs so that Walsh will have time to beat me to the first floor in the old, decrepit elevator.

 

When I finally make it down, I breathe a sigh of relief. But it is not Walsh waiting at the huge, steel door I am to exit. Instead of the old mick—who looked and walked like a bulldog with his perfectly groomed hair and mustache—it was one of the lackey guards. They would often hang out on the main floor waiting to proposition some poor woman coming to visit her man. I open the door and step through quickly, not wanting to arouse suspicion. But my heart hangs in my throat.

 

During my trip down the stairwell, the heavy steel recorder slid down my pant leg, stopping on top of my right foot. The ACE bandage, meant to hold it in place, was also dangling and ready to pop out for everyone to see. Panic set in as my mind processed a million thoughts, but I couldn’t break my stride.

 

It was common knowledge that this is where inmates often came out stabbing when sent to attack a guard by one of the gang bosses. Looking past the guard, I saw Sergeant Walsh bearing down on us as fast as his stubby legs would carry him.

 

“Hey Walsh,” I said, “the food poisoning is getting worse, I’m gonna puke all over this guy.”ng around to see what was going on. These guards tolerated zero bull, especially from a smart-ass like me.

 

I decided that it was quicker and easier to shove the recorder under the waistband of my jail pants and pray it would stay. After splashing water on my face, I poked my head out.

 

Walsh fell right in line with my cover. “We’re going to the hospital, come with me!” he bellowed.

 

I exited the closet, pushing the recorder into my torso as we walked past another guard. We traveled down the long hallway. Once we were far enough out of earshot, Walsh found an unoccupied attorney visiting room. As he opened the door, I scurried to the far corner.

 

“The hallway is clear!” Walsh yelled.

 

I pulled the recorder from my waistband and looked at it with disdain. Then I wrapped it tight with the ACE bandage. Although the long recording wires had to be reconnected and it only took a few moments, it felt like forever.

 

Then it hit me: I’m wearing a wire against one of the most violent hitmen Chicago has ever known, and this prick had been a Chicago cop. He probably knows every person who works in this jail. Getting whacked in a place like this costs less than a carton of cigarettes. What the hell have I gotten myself into? But there was no backing out, and I still had to get back to my tier.

 

Walsh looked at me, his brow furrowed. He quietly asked, “You alright, kid?”

 

“I better be. I signed a deal with the devil, and it’s time to pay up.”

 

I drew in a deep breath as we headed to the hospital, so we could sign in and make it look legit.

 

How did my life get to this point? I wondered as I followed Walsh. Growing up in Chicago, I was exposed to police corruption, murder, drugs, gangsters, and sex, oh yes, lots and lots of sex.

 

I had no clue of what awaited me, but my unsavory legacy was about to go down in history like crap down a toilet.

 

 

 

~~~~~~~~~~~~~

 

My review: A boy’s coming-of-age tale of crime, cons, money, and shenanigans. His whole life, Christian lived by the credo, “fight any man and charm any woman.” The city was full of opportunity and the man was full of ambition. It was no wonder that he earned fame as a notorious criminal, which soon leads to getting stalked by the cops and getting convicted.

The story was captivating, at first, but soon wanes as complexity filters in, especially concerning the judicial system and characters coming in and out. The whole thing was like reading about Al Capone.

A good read for crime thriller fans.

 

My rating: 3 stars

 

AUTHOR Bio and Links:

 

[image error]
Glenn Painter is single and lives in Central Florida.  He became interested in writing at an early age but did not make it his career until 2014 when he published his first book, Beyond the Sentence.

 

Glenn has written this story from the notes by the man who actually lived it.  However, extensive research was also require in order to make the story factual.

 

Glenn has also founded a company, ‘Prisoner Civil Right Services.’  He is an advocate for incarcerated individuals who have had their rights violated.  He is in constant contact with these individuals, their families and the council.  Most of his stories are inspired by ‘factual events’ that have happened to these individuals.  This makes his stories both fiction and non-fiction.

 

Glenn says that writing is very challenging, and you must love the trials and tribulations that come with it.  He believes that patience, perseverance and determination are required essentials to see a book through to being published.  The journey is just as important as the destination.

 

Website: http://www.gapainter.com

Amazon Author Page: https://www.amazon.com/Glenn-Painter/...

Goodreads: https://www.goodreads.com/author/show...

Twitter: https://twitter.com/author2663

 

 

 

~~~~~~~~~~~~~

 

GIVEAWAY INFORMATION and RAFFLECOPTER CODE

 

One randomly chosen winner via rafflecopter will win a $100 Amazon/BN.com gift card.

Enter to win a $100 Amazon/BN GC - a Rafflecopter giveaway