Sandra C. Lopez's Blog, page 280

Review: SHAKESPEAR BURNING by Charisse Moritz

Image Graphic designed by Sandra Lopez
He’s the boy who wants to disappear.

One mistake and seventeen-year-old Shake LeCasse lost everything. Now there’s no going back and no way to move forward. The once-popular Varsity hockey captain is living in the basement of a grandmother he barely knows, ditching school, avoiding friends and working hard on self-destruction.

She’s the girl nobody sees.

Cleo Lee survives however she can. Lie, cheat, steal, whatever it takes, and saving Mr. Popular isn’t part of the plan. Telling him the truth about the night that destroyed his life is downright dangerous. She needs to keep quiet, be smart and let the guy she’s been half in love with since middle school throw away a future she’d do anything to have. Too bad she sucks at playing it safe.


 

Excerpt from Shakespeare Burning:
He sits on the edge of the bed, his knees bent up grasshopper-style.  I check out his tangled navy blue sheets and feel slightly naughty, like I'm peeking into Santa's bag on the twenty-fourth. 
I should go.  Before I do something crazy, maybe mess around with the wasted hottie.  But that sounds more like a once-in-a-lifetime chance than a problem, so I linger. 
Shake catches hold of my fingers and sort of smiles.  His lips are full, a little pouty, and the stuff of high school girl legend.  No lie, I once heard three cheerleaders spend an entire forty minute study hall talking about nothing but his mouth and his kisses.  I was so fascinated, I considered taking notes.  He also has straight white teeth. I remember him in seventh grade with braces, but haven't seen his smile in a really long time, and never for me.            "Shoes," I tell him.                He offers an enormous foot.  Lucky me gets the job of plucking the knot outta his laces.  I could row downstream using his sneaker as a canoe.  Once his shoes are off, he suddenly stands, unzips and steps out of his jeans.  His ten-mile-long legs are nicely muscled with just the right amount of blonde hair.  He wears boxer briefs from Gap and his socks don't match.  I may someday use this information to piss off Dripass-Deanna.            Snagging the hem of my shirt, he tugs me close and stares down.  I look way up and wonder what he sees.  I am not something he has ever bothered to look at before.  I don't blame him.  I am the social equivalent of pocket lint.  
Fingering the chain looping my nose to ear, his lips tip crooked.  "Weird," he says.            This is beyond weird.  It's so far beyond weird, it should be studied under a microscope and tested for harmful side-effects.  Racing pulse.  Shortness of breath.  Dizziness.  A sudden urge to slide palms over naked abs.        "Shirt?" I say, testing my power, and he peels it off.  I am suddenly a winning contestant on a game show.  I bounce in place but stop myself from clapping.  This is the best day ever.  His naked chest is everything I've imagined.  Maybe better.  Definitely better.  And I've devoted a lot of time to that mental picture.  I'm happy to report, the reality offers up all sorts of flat muscles, interesting ridges and mysterious hollows I'd like to get to know better.  It will take time, but I'm prepared to give my all to the job.               Shake drops onto the bed, reaches for me and hell yeah, I jump right on top.  He's so long and lean and hard, he is my own personal life raft. I'm definitely floating, wondering at the places this boy could take me.  Which is silly, because this ride won't last long and at best, he'll abandon me on the shores of a bad reputation.  At worst, well, I don't wanna think about the consequences I'm flirting with here.       I'm just stoked to finally get my hands in all that blonde hair.  It's soft and thick and curls around my fingers like strands of pale July sunshine.  I grab fistfuls, and he kisses me so deep, so fast, the world must be ending at any second.  
His kiss doesn't last long enough. Ten years wouldn't be long enough, but he's in a big hurry.  He pulls off my shirt, shorts and tights as if we're playing beat the clock.  He's not careful. I worry he's going to rip everything, so I help him.  Maybe I'm in a hurry too. I need to stay far ahead of the voice of reason.        Once he's peeled me down to my bra and panties, he rolls me over and tilts his head into a hungry kiss. His tongue sweeps into my mouth, and holy hallelujah, Shakespeare LeCasse takes my breath away.  His mouth lives up to the hype, and even though I've never been a big fan of beer, the taste of it on his tongue is pure heaven. I want to make him my steady diet.
With one very large hand pressing at the small of my back, his other slips under my bra, finds what little treasure there is, then chases right down to dip fingertips under the waistband of my panties.  We are officially entering uh-oh territory, and I'm without a map, all tangled up in the heat of his mouth and still tingling from the light tug he gave my nipple.        The guy is too blitzed to take off his own shoes, but he's got what feels like four extra hands and they're not wasting time.  He's turned me into a complete melting mess, and I'm really tempted to just go with it. Except, he's got no idea it's me in his bed.  He's horny.  I'm here.  I'm kind of OK with that, kind of not and can't decide who's taking advantage of who. Whom? Whatever. Him. Me. Match. Gasoline. I will get burned in the end.        "Wait, wait," I mumble against his lips.  It takes a while to slow him down.  I'm not convincing.  "Wait."  I push him onto his back and straddle him. I feel his hard-on through my panties and am tempted to make bad choices. Let's just say he's a very big boy in every way.             "Take it easy."  I grab his wrists and pin them against the bed.  If I let them roam again, I'll cave.  "You've done enough damage for one night."        His eyes open slowly.  They are so blue they remind me of pictures of faraway islands.  I wish I could dive in and find him.  This boy is lost. 
I let myself kiss his lips.  Just once more.  Twice more.  A third cuz I'm greedy and his mouth is really something.  His full lower lip is tastier than a red velvet cupcake.            "I should go," I whisper.  "You'll be OK?"            "No," he says back.             His eyes fall closed on a sigh.  I slide my hands back into his curls and lay down on his chest so I can hear his heartbeat.  Funny how they all sound the same.  Even the broken ones.



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My review: Shake’s life is, to sum it up, f#@d up. What does he really need?
Cleo has a strange fixation on Shake. It’s almost to the point that she likes the smell of him. She’s entranced by him, although, at the same time, she can’t stand him. To sum it up: he was stupid hot.
Story is narrated through the eyes of Shake and Cleo. The crass and candid monologues are fitting for this teen drama. The language was almost like dark poetry. “I can hear his heart beat. Funny how they all sound the same. Even the broken ones.” (28)
The remarks can be funny sometimes. I especially liked that jab about the loincloth mishap at the production of The Jungle Bookand a show of The Bare Necessities. Ha, ha, ha!  There’s a lot of fast-talk in the monologue that you almost lose track of what’s going on. I didn’t always get the sayings. I’m guessing they made sense in some infantile fashion, but I couldn’t be sure. There were also some odd sentences. For example: “I turtle my head and ignore her.” A turtle is a slimy amphibian, not a verb.
Ultimately, Cleo wanted to save Shake, who happens to be burning—with anger, resentment, and loss—and she’s aiming to do whatever it takes. She doesn’t do it gracefully; in fact, she often has to kick him in the pants to get his butt moving. She definitely lights a fire in Shake, who, in turn, was trying to be the biggest a#@hole so that he could sink further into despair peacefully.
“He’s not supposed to poison himself, sabotage his future, and end up a piece of sh#@ like every other guy.” (51)
I liked Cleo’s determination to save him. She was like the fly the kept buzzing all around you, but you couldn’t crush it no matter how hard you tried.
Witty and crude at times, story ultimately is on the salvation of two lost and stubborn teenagers finding a common ground and connecting in some weird, twisted way. And it kind of makes sense. They were like two jagged puzzle pieces that clearly don’t fit, but they somehow stick together and hold in place. Just that weird.
The cover could use a little spruce to make it more eye-catching, but, overall, this was a decent YA read.
My rating: 3 stars

Available on Amazon

Review: BELIEVE ME by Kay Harris

Sophia is a college student several miles from Masontown with a new hair color and a new name. Nobody knew what she was running from, but they eventually found out. Yet, surprisingly, she gets the attention of Taye, a star hockey player and bisexual.


The whole campus knows about Sophia, treating her like the plague, but Taye doesn’t care and seems genuinely interested in her. Eventually she comes clean with him. She was accused of murder but was never convicted. Still, everyone sees her as a killer…except Taye.


Easy read. Story is a lesson to look twice before judging and to give people a chance. Sophia often closed off, pushing people away and never giving them a chance. Well, Taye’s love changed that.


A good read! It mostly concentrated more on Sophia and Taye’s love, but the killer is still out there. Will he reveal himself in the series? One way to find out…


My rating: 4 stars

Review: CINDER AND ELLA by Kelly Oram

Fairy tales always began with tragedy. For Ella Rodriguez, life wasn’t a fairy tale…until her 18th birthday, the day that tragedy struck. A car swerved a patch of black ice, putting Ella in a coma and killing her mother. Afterward, Ella spent months in recovery, her body scarred by 2nd and 3rdburns, her limp forever a handicap. Her debilitation, thus, forced her to live with the father that abandoned her a long time ago. Ella must live in his house with his new wife and her two daughters. Can you say a Cinderella story?


Adjusting to her new life in the California climate, Ella continued her physical therapy while being surrounded by the beautiful people of Los Angeles. Ella was the ugly duckling compared to that L.A. glamour. She was the outcast. Will anyone be able to see past the scars to the beautiful person she was inside?


Not only did she lose her mom and her body, but she also lost all her precious books—the ones she spent years collecting.  Then she has to go to that fancy private school, where the kids tease and torture her?


Brian (the Hollywood prince) was a movie star idol, who’s tired of being controlled and gets pushed into a fake engagement with a mean actress to boost his career. What we didn’t know was that Brian was “Cinder”—Ella’s internet friend, whom she’s loved and cared for even before her accident. So Ella’s been talking to a hot celebrity.


For Brian, Ella’s been the only girl that no one can compare to. She’s smart, funny, and caring. Beauty just encapsulated her.


Sweet, endearing, and heartfelt. I loved the emotional toll presented by all the characters, especially Ella, who suffered a horrible ordeal—losing her mother, the physical and mental scars, the assimilation to a strange family, dealing with the abandonment issues with her father, and not to mention the relentless torture she got from everyone. Her stepsisters were just so cruel. But Ella was strong, even though she didn’t realize it. I liked how Ella grows to love herself again and gives people a chance to see that.


I enjoyed Cinder and Ella’s story. Their bond, their hold on each other, was enough to tug on your heart strings. But can Brian look past her scars and still see the person he loved before? Can Ella stand by Brian in the Hollywood spotlight, her deformities plastered for all the world to see? What a swooping gesture in the end!


A great love story! A wonderful “Happily Ever After” tale!


My rating: 5 stars

Review: SADIE by E.L. Todd

Sadie was never good at dressing sexy and going bar hopping, and she certainly never expected to capture the attention of the sexiest guy ever. No matter how gorgeous and charming he was, she still stood rooted in her stance—that she was not having sex with him tonight. You go, girl!


But Ethan would not be deterred. Did he genuinely want to get to know her? But he wouldn’t give up easily, no matter how much Sadie was fighting him. He was the stubborn, powerful alpha male. He was going to be inside her one way or another. Wow. He wants more? That’s why he refused to sleep with her when she offered the first time.


He really tries to romance her with basic talk and hand holding. He’s definitely possessive and controlling, which I did not like. Ethan seemed too good to be true that it made me suspicious and wary of him, especially with his sudden outbursts that came out of nowhere. Was he a nut? He was a gentlemen one minute and psychotic the next. That’s a bad combo, man. Story was ok—hot and sweet—but I didn’t really like the characters. They were both total nut jobs (Ethan with his mood swings and Sadie acting all caliente.) Story had too many typos and constantly shifted from 1st to 3rd person narrative.  


My rating: 2 stars

Review: PAST THIS POINT by Nicole Mabry

News reports of the flu virus outbreak all over the media prompted a hypochondriac like Charlotte to practically barricade herself and bathe in sanitizer. Every sneeze was just terrifying to her. Anxious, she felt trapped. The flu was everywhere, and the death count was rising.
Alone—that’s what she was. No way in. No way out. Charlotte had no choice to live in self-imposed exile, while the city broke out in pandemonium.
Story was well-written overall with a steady stream pace. The reader follows the story of a woman’s panic and fear treading through a massive epidemic. The bulk of the story centers on her locked inside the apartment as news of the ruckus outside plays on the TV. It’s almost like the movie Cast Away (well, she practically is a cast away.) But I guess through family, neighbors, and acquaintances, she was able to make the best of it.
A pretty good read.
My rating: 3 stars

Review: THE NIGHT MADE THE DECISION by Alexis Sundquist

“There are no “Get out of Jail Free” cards.  Life isn’t a children’s game, and all of us lose.” (5)
A man spends his days in prison. Each day, Rick whittles his time observing and listening while his execution date lurks ahead.  A good deal of time is spent imagining his death. Injection? Electric chair? Will he go quickly? Will he go quietly?
“Forty-four years they have kept me in this cage, and now they will have my death on their conscience.” (19)
Suddenly, Rick’s case is re-opened with new evidence proclaiming his innocence. He was free. But even as he walks the open streets, he carries with him the mark of the prisoner and still dreams about death.
“Then she informed me the man who wore my crimes but not my imprisonment was dead. Dead, for several years now, flaunting the freedom I had not been so gracefully granted.” (35)
Story reads like an autobiography with the man relaying his morose thoughts and hopeless antics. His prose is dark and pensive, rendered with a lovely cadence. The writing was good. The reader basically follows along a former inmate’s adjustment to life beyond the prison walls—a new world.  You can tell that he finds comfort in the dark, and his obsession with death was overwhelming.  At times, the narrative lagged and staled a bit, making the reader go weary. It just seemed like he would go over the same things over and over again. But I liked the writing style and the concept was pretty good.
My rating: 3 stars

Review: PAR AVION by A. Rose Cooper

A college student seeking a diploma. It beat joining the army, after all. She wanted a real job, one that she could make good money so she wouldn’t end up poor. Nothing wrong with that.
At first, this sounded interesting: a story of a girl pursuing higher education and a better life. But it just seemed like her narratives were getting sidetracked by useless drivel.  The story seems to summarize her life in college (class audits, a study abroad, pledge week, etc.) in like two paragraphs or less. I liked some of her speculations about college life. I just wished this story would’ve been more in-depth.  There’s not even any mention of the protagonist’s name (oh, yeah, it’s Cassey.) The girl’s obviously at crossroads here and, somehow, the overall story line lacked direction as well. Where exactly was she heading? What path was she on? The road to a degree? A job? A travel adventure? And I wasn’t too sure what the symbolism was behind the title. Par Avion?
This was an okay short story, but I wish it would’ve had more clarity and direction.
My rating: 3 stars

Blog Tour: MURDER: DOUBLE OR NOTHING (A Southern California Mystery) by Lida Sideris

GENRE: Mystery


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BLURB:




With more than a little help from friends and a crazy movie legend, Corrie trips down a trail littered with wisecracks, mysterious messages, and marginally legal maneuvers to track down the killer. Meanwhile, clues keep disappearing and Corrie makes an enemy whose deadly tactics keep escalating. Will her impromptu sleuthing skills be enough to catch the mysterious assailant before he takes her down?


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Excerpt One:


He pedaled the bicycle hard and fast down the narrow, deserted alley, stealing glances behind him. It was a late, warm Friday afternoon somewhere on the eastside of Los Angeles where police protection was scarce and hoodlums plentiful. Two and three story buildings huddled together on both sides of the rider. Graffiti stained the walls.


Hunched over the handlebars, the cyclist whizzed past a dented metal dumpster, unsettling newspapers and milk cartons pressed against a doorway. The collar of a gingham dress shirt stuck up beneath his red pullover and a backpack flopped behind him. Chuck Taylors clinched his nerdiness, as did the argyle socks. He looked fresh out of a computer lab, on his way to the library. There was nothing unusual about him, if you didn’t count the bulging eyes, gritted teeth and heavy panting. His expression belonged on a trapped animal.


A black sedan barreled around the corner, tires grinding and coughing up pieces of asphalt. Leaning his torso out of the passenger window, a muscular guy in a white T-shirt clutched a revolver. He aimed at the cyclist, fired three times and missed.


The rider angled around a corner and skidded to a stop. Dropping the bicycle on its side, he stumbled over the upturned wheel moments before the car crushed the bike beneath its fat tires, spitting out a tangle of metal and chrome. The car parked, and two thugs spilled out. They raced after the cyclist, guns drawn. The nerd careened toward the side of a brick building and jumped up, arms outstretched above his head. The silver cuff around his wrist glinted as he grabbed the bottom rung of a fire escape ladder, legs flailing wildly. The ladder creaked and swayed. He’d barely started the climb when the hoodlums fired. And missed again.


“Oh, brother,” I whispered.


The nerd scrambled onto a landing and dove through an open window.
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My review: This is a Southern California mystery, and, being that I’m a SoCal girl, I knew this mystery was for me. And what can me more California than a movie set, right?


Corrie Locke wasn’t really part of the movie scene; she was technically on the business side of the studio. Shadowing a P.I. dad her whole life, Corrie was all too familiar with sleuthing and crime scenes, so when a crime occurs on the set, she’s on it. One of the actors had been stabbed.


It would seem, however, that there was more focus on how to spin the murder to the press rather than actually saving the case. Show people, I guess.


The mystery was maybe a little too complex for my liking, although the character’s fast wit was enjoyable.  There were probably a few too many characters, too.


The writing was good and the read was decent, but the mystery wasn’t too compelling.


My rating: 3 stars


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AUTHOR Bio and Links:


Lida Sideris' first stint after law school was a newbie lawyer's dream: working as an entertainment attorney for a movie studio...kind of like her heroine, Corrie Locke. Lida lives in the northern tip of Southern California with her family, rescue dogs and a flock of uppity chickens. She was one of two national winners of the Helen McCloy Mystery Writers of America Scholarship Award for her first book.


http://www.lidasideris.com            


https://www.facebook.com/lidasideris     


Twitter: https://twitter.com/lidasideris


Amazon   https://www.amazon.com/Murder-Nothing-Southern-California-Mystery-ebook/dp/B07VMB2DSN/




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GIVEAWAY INFORMATION and RAFFLECOPTER CODE


Lida Sideris will be awarding a copy of the book (US ONLY) to a randomly drawn winner via rafflecopter during the tour.


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Blog Tour: HIS SALVATION by Michelle King

This post is part of a virtual book tour organized by Goddess Fish Promotions. The author will be presenting a $20 Amazon/BN gift card to a randomly drawn winner. Click on the tour banner to see the other stops on the tour.

Will the woman he left behind a decade ago be His Salvation?



Seth McCullough left behind his high school sweetheart, Krista Chancellor, determined to keep her safe. Running from his own demons, Seth joined the military, hoping for a new start.



Ten years later, after experiencing psychological and physical trauma, Seth takes a trip to Mexico for rest and relaxation. Waking up one morning confused, bloody, and linked to multiple high profile murders, Seth is sure he’s lost what little sanity he has left. Determined to find answers, Seth reaches out to the only person he ever trusted, his old flame, Krista.



Now, Krista and Seth find themselves embroiled in an agenda too terrifying to comprehend. Not sure who to trust, and looking for answers, will the woman he left behind over a decade ago be His Salvation, or his ruin?



PLEASE NOTE: This is the second edition. It has extensive rewrites and has been re-edited.

My review: Krista was an advocate for mental disorders and just recently received a grant for her ADD program, which was inspired by her little brother. Seth was a discharged lieutenant from the army, leaving him with the remnants of his time behind the camouflage. Lately he's been feeling scattered and unfocused. He may have forgotten many things, but Krista always stood out in his mind.
Characters had an endearing quality with a certain stamina. Although lengthy at times, story was overall well-written and methodical. The narrative read more like a monologue, which wasn't as enticing. I liked how Krista ended up being his salvation, the answer to his problem.
An okay read.
My rating: 3 stars



About the Author: Michelle King lives in the Pacific Northwest with her four quirky and beautiful children. She loves coffee, Superman, rollercoasters, and has an addiction to chapstick.


She works as a registered nurse and in her spare time writes novels. As a multi-genre author, she has written in the categories of romance suspense, young adult, women’s fiction, and literary fiction. She has won four literary awards. You can visit Michelle’s website at https://www.authormichelleking.com/



Social links:


https://www.authormichelleking.com/

https://www.facebook.com/michelle.authorpage

https://www.facebook.com/Michelle-King-Author-544448685599147/?ref=hl

https://twitter.com/Michelle_King_1

https://www.amazon.com/-/e/B004TZ0CUK

https://www.goodreads.com/author/show/5061809.Michelle_King

https://plus.google.com/u/0/105101655597839729577



Buly Link: https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B0815R79LT/ref=x_gr_w_bb_sin




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Review: CINDERELLA SCREWED ME OVER by Cindi Madsen

Cinderella screwed me over. In fact, the whole idea of HEA and Prince Charming was just a fairy tale. It starts at an early age, then you realize that the older you get, you see that love and princes fade, replaced with mediocre feelings of contempt and misery. Dating has always been a disappointment. Then it finally hits: love is bulls#@. Heck yeah!


Darby had just had it with love. One day, she gets her shoe stuck, nearly tripping over, until a handsome man catches her. His name was Jake. She couldn’t help but be charmed by the handsome Jake, even though she tried so hard to.


I liked Darby. She was witty and smart. She gets on to talk about how fairy tales correlated to her own dating life. For example, Aladdin taught her never to date liars. Example: Little Mermaid was all about falling in love with a voice—an idea, really. The reader will enjoy her dating catastrophes. It’s definitely a good life lesson to never fall for the first guy you see on the illusion of love. A guide to the different types of Prince Charmings.  And, for Darby, it’s those exact same rules that keep her from an actual decent guy.


I especially liked all the irony. For instance, it was funny how Darby ends up offending a marriage counselor. And the fact that Jake’s last name was Knight. A Knight with an anti-fairy tale. Classic!


“To male sobriety!” An enjoyable read!


My rating: 5 stars