Sandra C. Lopez's Blog, page 284

Review: ROOM SERVICE by Mindy Wilde

Lucy is a good girl that screwed out her savings and just lost her job. She soon finds an ad for a housekeeper with an incredible pay rate. Uh, what’s the catch?


On the interview, she finds out that the company services a very elite clientele with their fantasy fulfillment. As a housekeeper, Lucy would clean up some “elaborate” messes. Oy!


Story had some typos and grammatical errors as well as a slow pace. It didn’t really go anywhere and it wasn’t even mildly entertaining.  The whole thing mostly goes through a typical work day, cleaning up “stuff.” It was nothing but day-to-day operations. So boring.


My rating: 2 stars

Blog Tour: THE SWISS MISHAP by Amey Zeigler

The Swiss Mishapby Amey Zeigler
~~~~~~~~~~~~~
GENRE: Romantic Comedy
~~~~~~~~~~~~~
BLURB:
Yves Claremont, a young, ambitious department chair, would sacrifice everything to rise to vice president at Alpine Foods and redeem his father's name. Impressed with Lainey's resume and charming determination, Yves offers her an internship in his Pet Care department, promising a recommendation for Chocolate if she does well.
Lainey is drawn to the enigmatic and passionate Yves Claremont. He cannot deny his growing attraction to her. But inter-office relationships are strictly forbidden by Alpine Foods, and a perceptive co-worker, jealous of Yves' success, will undermine Yves and Lainey any way he can.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~


Excerpt:
“C’est dommage. Le département de chocolat cannot you take.”Marie Claire’s bluntness quickened Lainey’s heartbeat. Heat radiated from her face, her heartbeat pulsed into her head. Her brow lifted off her skull. Please, don’t pass out, she silently prayed. She didn’t want to know how hard the granite floor was. “Why not?”
“Bad economy, vous voyez,” she said. “Their budget was cut dernière minute. There is no money. You have to return home.” “But I’ve come so far.” She couldn’t return home, not when she was in the lobby. Not when she could almost smell the chocolate. She closed her eyes, breathing deeply, hoping to stop the train wreck inside her head. All she envisioned was the image of her beaming parents waving goodbye as she bustled through security. What would their expressions be if she returned home tomorrow? “What am I going to do?” she asked.
Marie Claire shrugged with a pained expression on her face.
Chocolate! Lainey needed chocolate!
Her tongue lolled in her mouth, craving a molten blob of chocolatey goodness to soothe her spirits and calm her heart, but the delayed flights depleted her choco-stash. There was nothing left—zilch, nada, rien du tout.
“Is there somewhere else I can work? Some other department? Some other job?” She would mop floors, empty trash cans, anything at Alpine Foods. She didn’t say this aloud. It wasn’t the best bargaining chip to appear too needy. Maybe she could wander the lobby with a sign around her neck, “Will work for chocolate.” Her nose tingled. She sneezed. She always sneezed right before she cried. “Please. I’m willing to do anything.”




AUTHOR Bio and Links:
Amey loves writing about different places because she grew up moving all around the United States. In her books, she explores the whole world. She is also the author of Baker’s Dozen, a Romantic Suspense Mystery.
She lives with her husband and three children near Austin, TX. Follow her on BookBub @ameyzeigler and sign up for her newsletter at www.ameyzeigler.com
Buy links:https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B07ST6XMSR/
https://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/the-swiss-mishap-amey-zeigler/1132012150https://www.amazon.ca/Swiss-Mishap-Amey-Zeigler-ebook/dp/B07ST6XMSR 
https://www.amazon.co.uk/Swiss-Mishap-Amey-Zeigler-ebook/dp/B07ST6XMSRhttps://www.kobo.com/us/en/ebook/the-swiss-mishap
https://twitter.com/ameyzeigler
https://www.facebook.com/azauthor/
https://www.instagram.com/ameyzeigler/
https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/46115900-the-swiss-mishap
https://www.bookbub.com/books/the-swiss-mishap-by-amey-zeigler
https://www.pinterest.com/aez02/
https://www.goodreads.com/author/show/17290110.Amey_Zeigler
https://www.ameyzeigler.com



~~~~~~~~~~~~~
GIVEAWAY INFORMATION and RAFFLECOPTER CODE
Amey Zeigler will be awarding a $50 Amazon/BN GC to a randomly drawn winner via rafflecopter during the tour.
a Rafflecopter giveaway

Blog Tour: DIVORCE BY GRAND CANYON by Elizabeth Engstrom

Divorce By Grand Canyon: 8 Riveting True Crime Stories by Elizabeth Engstrom Genre: Crime Thriller, Suspense

Christian Longo. 

Jeremy Bryan Jones. 

Joel Patrick Courtney. 

Patrick Wayne Kearney. 

Russell Obremski. 

Robert Spangler. 

Gabriel Morris. 
Killers all. 
Veteran author Elizabeth Engstrom dives into the horrific stories of these seven serial killers, along with a glimpse into the maggoty world of forensic entomology. Why do these killers do what they do, how do they get away with it for so long, and what is their final undoing? Riveting true crime stories to make you lock your doors at night. 

Add to GoodreadsAmazon * B&N
~~~


My review: First off, I love the cover illustration! Who hasn’t thought of pushing someone off a cliff? That’s one way to get rid of someone.


In a nutshell, these are crime tales (from the looks of it, they seemed to be based on actual events, but I’m not too sure.) Stories are not really told in a narrative sequence as traditionally seen; they read more like case files, which was less amusing. However, the writing was pretty good and the cases can be entertaining to readers of crime thrillers.


My rating: 3 stars


Elizabeth (Liz) Engstrom grew up in Park Ridge, Illinois (a Chicago suburb where she lived with her father) and Kaysville, Utah (north of Salt Lake City, where she lived with her mother). After graduating from high school in Illinois, she ventured west in a serious search for acceptable weather, eventually settling in Honolulu. She attended college and worked as an advertising copywriter. 
After eight years on Oahu, she moved to Maui, found a business partner and opened an advertising agency. One husband, two children and five years later, she sold the agency to her partner and had enough seed money to try her hand at full time fiction writing, her lifelong dream. With the help of her mentor, science fiction great Theodore Sturgeon, When Darkness Loves Us was published. 
Engstrom moved to Eugene, Oregon in 1986, where she lives with her husband Al Cratty, the legendary muskie fisherman, and their Duck Tolling Retriever, Jook. Liz holds a BA in English Literature and Creative Writing and a Master of Arts in Applied Theology, both from Marylhurst University. A recluse at heart, she still emerges into public occasionally to speak at a writers conference, or to teach a class on various aspects of writing the novel, essay, article or short story. An avid knitter and gardener, she is on faculty at the University of Phoenix and is always working on the next book. 


Website * Blog * Facebook * Twitter * Bookbub * Amazon * Goodreads


$25 Amazon
Follow the tour HERE for special content and a giveaway!a Rafflecopter giveaway

Review: SEX AND LOVE by I.J. Miller

While in bed with his knife-wielding ex-girlfriend, a “Lonely Man” ponders his sexual expeditions and his overall d#@ness.
A woman meets a strange lesbian with a fetish for seducing straight girls in “Cell,” thus proving that men and lesbians are one in the same.
“Now let’s see … I have been with a married guy who presented himself as divorced. I briefly lived with a man who stole money from me. There are the standards, the ones who try to come off as film producers, surgeons, investors, when at best they are paper pushers for some low level investment firm. I have met ones who use flowers, jewelry, even one who sent me a new dress for our first date to get what he wanted.” (19)
“Single Woman” is a testament to the clichéd “always a bridesmaid, never a bride.”  Reaching her 30th birthday, she now knows what it’s like to feel old. “No matter what they say, thirty feels old … to wake up alone, to be without your own family.” (52) It’s when she’s no longer a single woman does she begin to stray.
Stories were refreshingly witty and candid. The well-written structure evokes both enjoyment and rumination.  In this book, sex and love are two opposites of a taboo coin.
My rating: 4 stars

Review: SINGLE WIDE FEMALE Box Set by Lilianna Blake and P. Seymour

A 24-book bundle featuring a single, wide female.


Meet Samantha, a 30-something, single woman with a weight problem. After losing so much weight, she is more determined to complete her bucket list. This box set features 24 novellas, one for each item on her bucket list.


#1 Learn Pole Dancing: This was Sam’s chance to be proud of her own body—and to exercise, too! Kinda hard to feel sexy when you walk into the class and it’s hard to tell the difference between the pole and the pole dancers.


#2 Start a Blog: Sam wants to start a blog about her bucket list journey. Problem? Not very tech-savvy. “I need more life in my life.”


#3 Learn to cook: The only cooking Sam ever does is in a microwave or a toaster. Figures that she’d make smoke at her first cooking class.


#4 Create a masterpiece: Sam wants to create the beauty that she sees everyday. The teacher tells her, “Don’t just look at the bowl—go inside the bowl, walk around the bowl, be the bowl.” WTF? Oh, and she had to draw a nude model. Suddenly, she becomes the nude model?


#5 Run a marathon: Sam wants to run toward life and has never been in a sports store


#6 Go Skinny Dipping: Funny how this turns into a group thing


#7 Start online dating: Sam learns that people are not all what they seem


#8 Learn yoga: A battle with tiny yoga pants and an uncontrollable gas problem


#9 Be a mentor: First day, she gets arrested


#10 Crash a wedding: I agree with Max, her best friend, about marriage being a waste of time


#11 Be a movie extra: Sam ends up in a thriller movie and, of course, botches it.


#12 Join a writing group: Real writers write because they must


#13 Enjoy a spa day: a male masseuse


#14 Donate blood: conquering a fear


#15 Learn poker: Max and Sam enjoy a poker lesson, and she wonders if she can finally tell him how she really feels about him


#16 Get a tattoo: Sam shows her heart


#17 Host a dinner party: Sam meets Blue, her one and only blog follower? Of course, she nearly burns her kitchen down


#18 Publish a book: Accepting criticism as well as praise


#19 Walk across hot coals: Ouch!


#20 Learn to swim: Don’t drown, Sam


#21 Learn to meditate: Shut off your brain and don’t talk


#22 Quit my job: Don’t we all?


#23 Learn to Salsa: Eh


#24 Fall in love: Will she finally tell Max how she feels? Will she finally get to meet Blue? This was kind of a far-fetched item. It’s not like you can just turn the corner and, oh yeah, there’s love.


Readers will admire Sam’s will to find her confidence and enjoy her life. Her journey will inspire anyone to start their own bucket list.  Filled with wild, zany scenarios that could only happen to klutzy Sam.


You’ll love Samantha and her adventurous journey. These shorts stories are easy to read and quick to get through. It’s much better to get the whole bundle.


Fun, flirty, and enjoyable!


My rating: 4 stars

Review: BETTY BITES BACK (Anthology)

A woman wanting to add a ring of teeth to her vagina? What is that!? What does that even mean!?


The next story seemed to be a poem of some sort. Pass.


Okay, these stories were NOT what I thought they’d be. I thought they’d be funny snippets of life. Instead they useless and dumb.


My rating: 1 star

Review: THE COLLECTION by Kayla Dawn Thomas (Stories 1-5)

Meet Jenna Ray, who is on a mission to protect every woman from man’s infidelities, or what she calls WPS—Wandering Penis Syndrome. Through trickery, deceit, and enticing offers, she seeks truth and justice. She believes that no man can be trusted and has a higher calling. I like her! She’s a smart cookie!

This collection narrates her cases. Although she has a bungling style at times, Jenna manages to recover with humor and grace. It’s so cool that she kick boxes.


Loved these sexy, little adventures!


My rating: 4 stars

Review: THE WOMAN WITH TOO MANY NAMES by Diana Dwayne

A woman’s online profile was strange, yet oddly compelling. Could it have been hacked? It was nothing but psychotic ramblings.


The night he read her profile, William’s friend was found dead. Was he killed? And could this woman online have had something to do with it? After all, the picture she sent him showed her wearing Alex’s hat. (????)


I liked how this story started, but then it sort of deviates to William and his inept, awkward love life. He gets into this silly tango with a girl named Mary Ann.


An okay read, but not big on the suspense scene.


My rating: 3 stars

Review: SEARCHING FOR FAITH by Kristen Middleton

A child kidnapped by her own father.


Carissa knew she had come to town to find someone. That’s what her visions kept telling her. In her vision, she saw a little girl running near the water falls. If she could just find out more about the girl or the monster that took her…


Upon first reading this, I had thought the kidnapping of Faith happened earlier, but, apparently, that was just another kid the guy took and eventually killed. Prologues: what a waste of time.


Turns out the real Faith was at a wedding at a remote cabin.


I thought this would be interesting since there was a psychic in it, but the read wasn’t at all compelling. It was pretty slow and daunting.


My rating: 2 stars

Review: THE FACEBOOK KILLER by Don West

Facebook “Trixie” was an expert at bringing adversity to his victims—he liked to make them fight, especially for the first time in their lives.


Billie Bly is a P.I. formerly a police officer; she was also a blonde bimbo and a tough b#@ch. A good butt-kicker. I like stories with strong, fearless women.


Unbeknown to Billie, she gets signed up on Facebook by her assistant to drum up more business. Billie was always skeptical about this. How could this get them any new clients? Then she gets friended by Trixie.


Story starts off with Billie following leads of Facebook burglaries. There were several POV’s, making it sound like there different cases in one (we had a stalker, a killer, and thieves.) For me, it kind of lagged. Story really wasn’t as exciting. But Billie certainly sounded like an interesting characters, and I wouldn’t mind seeing her in another story.


My rating: 3 stars