Sandra C. Lopez's Blog, page 265

Review: LOVE QUAKES (Box Set) by J.S. Luxor

Joanna is in an elevator with the dreamy Tristan, whom she just had an interview with. Suddenly, an earthquake strikes and the two are stuck together indefinitely (it seems.) The CEO and the psychology student. They get to know each other and talk. Being trapped for hours and hours, all they do is talk. Yes, they have an intense make-out session, but they mostly talk and talk and talk….


Is that all they do—stay in the elevator? Story doesn’t seem to get past that elevator.


This was really dull.


My rating: 2 stars

Blog Tour: ESCUCHA MEANS LISTEN by Talia Aikens-Nuñez

This post is part of a virtual book tour organized by Goddess Fish Promotions. Talia Aikens-Nunez 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.

Take a journey through the world — just listening. Escucha Means Listen helps children discover sounds around them in both English and Spanish. A beautiful picture book with lyrical prose and delightful illustrations, from lawn mowing to the splish-splashing of rain puddles.

Read an Excerpt




Buzz. Buzz. Qué oyes? (What do you hear?)

Las abejas (The bees) circling the flowers.



Woosh. Woosh. What do you hear?

El viento (The wind) is whistling by.



Shh. Shh. Qué oyes? (What do you hear?)

Las hojas (The leaves) are dancing on the trees.


My review: A fun and colorful story about listening to the sounds all around you. It's a great way to teach Spanish to kids. A wonderful first story!

My rating: 5 stars

About the Author:
Talia Aikens-Nuñez wanted to be a meteorologist, a politician and a lawyer. She never thought she would be an author. It was the birth of her daughter that caused her to start writing. Raising a bilingual child inspired Talia to write multicultural children’s books.



Talia’s family loves nature so much that she and her husband vowed that they willalways try to live close to water. She and her family live in Connecticut with a little pond.



Twitter: http://www.twitter.com/talia_n

Website: Http://www.kidslitbytalia.com

Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/taliaaikensnunezchildrenswriter



Amazon: https://www.amazon.com/Escucha-Means-Listen-Talia-Aikens-Nu%C3%B1ez-ebook/dp/B01AP0I57O/ref=sr_1_1




a Rafflecopter giveaway

Review: THE OUT CROWD by Michael A. Kirby

 Graphic Image designed by Sandra Lopez

Hallie Flynn was ready for the perfect senior year, but everything changes at Homecoming when petty rumors spiral out of control. The In Crowd was always who everybody in the Out Crowd dreamed of being. The Out Crowd consisted of everybody else. Isaiah was also expecting a normal senior year. His biggest concern was earning a scholarship for college, but then all the norms evaporated. Gossip piles on top of itself, overwhelming his social life, and everyone else's. Friendships are ruined. People from all walks of Gates High School life no longer know who to trust.

Determined, Hallie makes it her mission to set the record straight. But by the time the gossip desperately needed to be stopped, it was already too late. Gates High could never be the same as it was again, because rumors and gossip are not toys to be played around with. What appears simple and straightforward becomes more confusing. Eventually the rumors take on a life of their own and truth and untruth merge into an unrecognizable blur. Both the In Crowd and the Out Crowd learn to live with their new fate in different ways. Inevitably, lessons are learned, but only after the damage is already done.

Available on Amazon


My review:

In high school, everyone was split into two groups: the in crowd and the out crowd.
The first chapter kicks off with a kid named Isaiah—part of the out crowd—frantically wanting to find a phone so that he could buy his homecoming tickets. Of course, as luck would have it, he had trouble signing in, setting up a password, etc. All that wasn’t very interesting.
Story features a bunch of kids from the in crowd and the out crowd. It would seem that this whole thing starts with a break-up blog post and all these kids couldn’t stop talking about it. This then results in other flaky topics.
This seemed like a decent YA read where you are literally traipsing through the world of high school. For me, I think there were just too many characters to keep track of. I think it would’ve been better to focus on one character(Isaiah) instead or, at the very least, a small group (in this case, the out crowd, which, ironically, would be the large group, wouldn’t it?) Isaiah was the everyday Joe that you could relate to the most, making him a good feature candidate for the story. There was just a lot of stuff going on that, honestly, it felt like an auditorium full of kids all shouting different things at once, making it hard to single out a thought or subject. It would seem that there was this battle between the in and the out crowd. The reader seems to get the perspectives of both groups.
This wasn’t quite what I was expecting, but it does get into the “in crowd” of teenagers. Story is a good indicator of the pitter-patter of high school life.
My rating: 3 stars


 Excerpt 

"We're far past that point," Shelly told him. "It was needless of you to start a second school newspaper when we already had a perfectly good one."            "If you're so perfect, why are you so afraid of the idea of another school newspaper?" Tyler asked.Shelly took a deep breath. "Fact check. This isn't just 'a few kids saying some mean things about a few other kids'. This is a toxic, toxic environment caused by you and your gossip columns. It's so toxic. You are toxic, the symbol of true toxicity and all that is wrong and toxic here at Gates."            "Easy, Shelly," said Tyler. "You're supposed to be a writer, so you might want to work on your word variation a little. Just a suggestion."  Although the room had still been loud moments earlier, it was now quieter as everyone listened to Tyler and Shelly's banter. Hardly anyone had ever seen the two of them in the same place at the same time before, despite all their back-and-forth between the Gates Sentineland the Gates Times. At last the gossip columns and rival gossip columns had flown off the newspaper pages, manifested and come to life before their eyes. "Fact check. You started your gossip columns first."From the background, Isaiah glanced aside at Everett, Craig and Karen. He then went back to watching Tyler and Shelly with the rest of the audience. As the two school newspaper editors sparred, Isaiah pondered what he would say if he were a part of the dialogue himself. Bitterness crept through his veins as he held his tongue. Somehow Isaiah felt like it was wrong to restrain himself during the action. On the other hand, since Tyler was already out in the fray, there was no need to put himself out there. He would be risking his reputation if he did. Tyler was winning on his own, so Isaiah risking himself would just be stupid.            "Yeah, Tyler’s got this handled," Isaiah mumbled under his breath. Laying low was the right call.            "Huh?" said Karen.            "What did you say Isaiah?" Everett asked him.            "Nothing."  Isaiah could not help but wonder, though. If standing back really was the right call, why did something feel so wrong about it?
"We're far past that point," Shelly told him. "It was needless of you to start a second school newspaper when we already had a perfectly good one."            "If you're so perfect, why are you so afraid of the idea of another school newspaper?" Tyler asked.Shelly took a deep breath. "Fact check. This isn't just 'a few kids saying some mean things about a few other kids'. This is a toxic, toxic environment caused by you and your gossip columns. It's so toxic. You are toxic, the symbol of true toxicity and all that is wrong and toxic here at Gates."            "Easy, Shelly," said Tyler. "You're supposed to be a writer, so you might want to work on your word variation a little. Just a suggestion."  Although the room had still been loud moments earlier, it was now quieter as everyone listened to Tyler and Shelly's banter. Hardly anyone had ever seen the two of them in the same place at the same time before, despite all their back-and-forth between the Gates Sentineland the Gates Times. At last the gossip columns and rival gossip columns had flown off the newspaper pages, manifested and come to life before their eyes. "Fact check. You started your gossip columns first."From the background, Isaiah glanced aside at Everett, Craig and Karen. He then went back to watching Tyler and Shelly with the rest of the audience. As the two school newspaper editors sparred, Isaiah pondered what he would say if he were a part of the dialogue himself. Bitterness crept through his veins as he held his tongue. Somehow Isaiah felt like it was wrong to restrain himself during the action. On the other hand, since Tyler was already out in the fray, there was no need to put himself out there. He would be risking his reputation if he did. Tyler was winning on his own, so Isaiah risking himself would just be stupid.            "Yeah, Tyler’s got this handled," Isaiah mumbled under his breath. Laying low was the right call.            "Huh?" said Karen.            "What did you say Isaiah?" Everett asked him.            "Nothing."  Isaiah could not help but wonder, though. If standing back really was the right call, why did something feel so wrong about it?



 

Review: DIARY OF A SUPER GIRL by Katrina Kahler

Lia just found out that she’s a super girl. Kinda funny when her mom explains why she can’t sneeze or fart (she might drain the Gobi forest.) Middle school was hard enough, but knowing that you can wipe out an entire race with one breath can kind of put even more pressure on.


The diary was so-so, but what I really wanted to hear about were the disasters as a result of her new powers. It was funny that she killed a bunch of cows with one tiny fart. Then she thwarts a bank robbery. She’s actually a pretty cool kid!


My rating: 3 stars

Review: BULWARK by Brit Lunden

"She's the witch. She's the witch who took my children." (9)
Dayna Dalton was a reporter for Bulwark, and it was her job to get the story. Through mostly dialogue, the reader gets a mild reflection of the story. Evidently, it seemed that everybody had a story, and it certainly wasn't consistent. There's just so much going on that it's hard to get a clear picture. For example, who was the witch? What kids are we talking about? Who was the female victim? What in the world happened that we even got a victim?
For me, this was mostly chaos.
My rating: 2 stars

Review: HONEYMOON ALONE by Nicole Macaulay

Reliable Lucy: Maid of Honor Extraordinaire.
Lately, it just seemed like everyone around her was getting married or having babies. Of course, the latest wedding was a doozy. An 80's-themed wedding? Really? With everyone asking about her love life, Lucy should've really come alone.
"You are waiting for your life to begin:" words from a psychic. Something was about to begin.
"The world spins before me – and all around me – and I’m here. Always right here. Standing still." (23)
Then a pending reservation that someone forgot to cancel presents itself. London? Could she do it? Yes! Lucy was going to London. She was finally going somewhere! Hey, why not? Especially if the trip was already paid for.
I liked that the setting was London. I loved London! It was certainly an adventure.
The writing was graceful and witty. Occasionally there was a slight lag with a few too many characters, but I liked that Lucy had the courage to get out of her rut. I mean, if you're standing still, then you're not going anywhere. But Lucy definitely lived in regret, especially when she wanted to go on that girl's trip to Europe so badly, but didn't out of fear. Spontaneity was not her forte. That passport she was holding was a promise that she never kept, so I was glad that she was finally doing it. No more waiting on life.
One thing that bugged me was the archaic concept that if you never get married, then you'll never go anywhere (because usually honeymoons take you to exotic locations.)  That's just ridiculous!
Story was a good example of taking life by the horns and having the ride of your life. Life is certainly full of possibilities.
My rating: 4 stars

Review: ROLLERCOASTER ROMANCE by Kate Moseman

Vanessa was offered the position of area manager at Destiny Park. Destiny Park, where happiness begins. Unfortunately, this historic, family-owned amusement park was heading for a permanent closure.
Thomas was a theatrical employee at Destiny Park. Under the guise of "The American Dream" attraction, sparks fly between the two characters. With a backdrop of an assorted cast and mixed in with grudging tasks of the park, the two get closer.
The writing was pretty good. I liked that this romance took place at an amusement park, which was a different setting for a change. And, of course, the title only embellishes the rocky ride of love with its constant ups and downs. The story was fairly mainstream in its tone and pace. It almost seemed like it was all work and no play. Still, this was a decent romance.
My rating: 3 stars

Review: GLORY BISHOP by Deborah L. King

Glory Bishop was a college student by day and a worker bee by night. Her evenings were often spent looking up at the stars after her shift at the salon. That strikes me as a dreamer.
"She prayed not to the angry God who would condemn her for surrendering her virginity to the devil on a couch in the back room of a salon but to JT’s loving God who would forgive her impatience and honor her love and bring him back to her." (12) God punished Eve for her sin. In this case, God came in the form of a Bible-obsessed mother, who lashed at her with an extension cord.
The writing was okay. I'm really not that into religion, but it certainly plays a significant role in the story, which provokes the characters, so it all kind of worked. Simple, yet powerful.
What could a 17-year old girl know about being a wife and mother? Perhaps it was her upbringing or her wide-eyed naiveté, but Glory believed that having a baby would prove something. In Glory's life, it just seemed like everything you do made you a demon or a spawn from Hell. This definitely invokes the fear of God in you.  
In this story, a girl's coming-of-age mingles with the mighty faith of God. Although there was some lag, the theme stood prominently overall. An okay read.
My rating: 3 stars

Review: SHATTERED HEARTS by Coral McCallum

A rock star life and family. Can the two work side-by-side?
This was the complex story of Jake and Lori, a star couple with kids. It just seemed like their whole life revolved around those kids.
The writing was pretty good, but the story had a consistent lag. I found life with the kids to be monotonous. I couldn’t really get into it as much as I wanted to as I expected the reading to be more titillating than it was.
My rating: 2 stars

Review: SOME CALL IT TEMPTATION by Sarah Peis

Stella was temping as an admin at an auto body shop. It was an okay place to work and she needed the money for sure, but sometimes that one mechanic, Mason, can get on her last nerve.
The writing was witty, and I enjoyed the bickering between Stella and Mason. The pace can be a little slow at times and there were a few too many characters for my liking, but the story was, overall, pretty good.
My rating: 3 stars