Sandra C. Lopez's Blog, page 288

Review: VISION by Elizabeth Holden (short story)

Would you freak if you kept seeing a little girl in your apartment? Yeah!

Lana just keeps seeing her. Is she a ghost? A hallucination? Or maybe it’s just something with her eyes? She does have glaucoma after all.

We follow along as Lana goes to doctor appointments, trying to find some logical explanation for the little girl and her book.

A quick, okay read.

My rating: 3 stars

Review: WHERE THERE'S SMOKE by Jodi Picoult (short story)

Even as a child, Serenity Jones knew she possessed unusual psychic gifts. Now, decades later, she’s an acclaimed medium and host of her own widely viewed TV show, where she delivers messages to the living from loved ones who have passed. Lately, though, her efforts to boost ratings and garner fame have compromised her clairvoyant instincts. When Serenity books a young war widow to appear as a guest, the episode quickly unravels, stirring up a troubling controversy. And as she tries to undo the damage—to both her reputation and her show—Serenity finds that pride comes at a high price.




My thoughts: Told in the POV of a T.V. psychic, this story is a quick and compelling read. It was interesting to get the cliff's notes on the different spirits and the similarities between our world and "theirs."

The challenge: To boost ratings, our psychic must find the Senator's missing son while a miserable poltergeist follows her with fire. Where's there's smoke, there's fire.


My rating: 3.5 stars

Review: THE WATCHER IN THE NIGHT by Michael Carlos Maroney

“As they died, they crawled to the nearest shade, to the womb. It was the desire not to die in the open, exposed to the harsh light of day.” (6)
Another meaningless death of a cat. What were the humans up to?
“Yes, if you wanted a suspect who was evil and perverse, a human would usually be your first choice.” (8)
Tobias was a proud member of The Watch Cats—they investigated treaty crimes and brought the guilty to justice.
This was definitely a twist to the traditional killing spree. Who would even bat an eye to the random deaths of stray cats? But, evidently, bodies were springing up more and more.
The story seemed to be almost political in the sense that officials were taking investigative duties and procedures. I’d say it was satirical really, because it was hard to take any of it seriously. By the tone of the cover and summary, I guess I kind of expected a horror similar to the movie, Strays(I’ve always thought cats could be pretty scary.) But reading this made me realize that it wasn’t the case. It wasn’t to my liking.
My rating: 2 stars

Review: NOCTURNE IN ASHES by Joslyn Chase

Riley was talented on the piano.
A mystery lurks within the story, but it was kind of hard to see. Various characters come into play, which complicate the plot.
The overall read was rather dull and the pace was pretty slow. It really did nothing for me.
My rating: 2 stars

Review: SPIN by K.J. Farnham

Jenna was missing…but not for good.
It would seem hopeless that she could be found…until Bonnie finds her diary with the last entry holding a clue to what may have happened to her.
The mystery concerning Jenna certainly seemed compelling, but the staggering events surrounding it didn’t really lead up to anything. The story dictates the events before and after Jenna’s disappearance, which was unsettling and a little confusing. You almost lose track of the time span, at times. Not only was it hard to keep track of the time, but it was also hard to keep track of the various characters. In fact, I think it had too many characters. Story was just too complex for my liking.
My rating: 2 stars

Review: RUNNING FROM A ROCKSTAR by Jami Albright

Scarlett, the No-Fun-Nun, has woken up from her wild, one-night stand in Vegas. She was a children’s book author that just had sex with Gavin Bain, famous rock n’ roll star. And if that wasn’t shocking enough, she also realized that she married him in Vegas. Yikes! So she became a Bride on the Run, and it was captured on film all over the media.


He needed to save his bad boy image for his record deal. She needed to spice up her good girl rep and money to help out her father. Could the two stay married and pretend to be in love?


I liked that the characters felt real and endearing. Story was well-written and easily-read, however, it gets a little slow, turning mediocre towards the ends. Life of a husband/wife on a TX farm was not all that stimulating. I mean, an author and a rock star were like oil and water. But I guess this would be an okay romance.


My rating: 3 stars

Review: TOO MANY ROCK STARS by Candy J. Starr

One girl caught between two hot rock stars.
Violet knew rock stars, which is precisely why she always strived to stay away from them, always putting them in their place whenever they got too near. But it’s kind of hard when you’re a band booker for a night club. “If I had one problem in this life, it was too many rock stars.”
For Razer, Violet’s always been the one for him. If she’d just give him a chance, he’d show her how good they’d be together and how well he’d treat her with breakfasts in bed, foot massages, and never ever waking her from her nap. If only she didn’t have this prejudice against rock stars. Then comes Alex, who only wanted to sweet talk the bank booker into a gig until he sees the sensual Violet in her skimpy shorts.
The rivalry. Razer and Alex are like two pit balls aiming for the same target: Violet.
The competition. Razer and Alex are suddenly thrust into a battle of the bands to prove who’s the better rocker. Whoever brings in the biggest crowd wins. The prize? A date with Violet. Oooh!
Story is full of hot and raging testosterone. It was a battle of the alpha males, even though both were sincere and sweet in their own way. The thing about alpha males though is that they can get pretty tiring fast. The entire pissing contest gets old and boring quick. And that’s what happened in this battle for Violet’s heart. There wasn’t really much fight in it though. In fact, most of it lagged considerably with all the banalities of the behind-the-scenes stuff, like advertisements and promos and such.
Razer’s intentions seemed sweet and honorable. I liked Violet’s level-headedness and efficient demeanor. She’s plain and simple, but yet gorgeous and sexy, which is what attracts the guys.
Even though I was bored with most of it, I still wanted to find out who won. I mean, the whole “girl caught between two guys” is an interesting story line. She likes both but doesn’t want to hurt neither one. She wants to choose neither, but someone has to win this competition. But who will win?
And one of the best things about this story is that it didn’t get dirty. Contrary to what the cover may have you believe, there is no ménage à trois .
Overall, this was a simple and clean story. There was a little too much lag, a few too many typos, and the ending wasn’t as climatic as I thought it would be.

My rating: 3 stars

Review: ROCK ME HARD by Olivia Thorne

One night in college, Kaitlin meets wanna-be-rocker Derek Kane and have an amazing night together (talking all night.) Now, he’s back in her life as a real-live famous musician, but she can’t bring herself to face him.

By the looks of the cover, this would be seem to your fast-pace, rockin’ romance with lots of hot, steamy sex. Thing was that there was just too much lag in it. The bulk of it goes back four years ago when they first meet and she’s battling between wanting him and resisting him. You hear her thoughts go on and on (Kevin, Kevin, think of Kevin, remember Kevin – Kevin was the on-again off-again boyfriend at the time.) That was very annoying!

But, basically, this was much too slow for my taste, and I was practically wishing they’d get it on already!


My rating: 2 stars

Review: WANTED IN PARADISE by Kate Ashenden

Jasmine was one of the survivors of the typhoon that hit the Philippines. After an ordeal like that, Jasmine realized how precious life is and it should never be squandered at a boring and stressful banking job. So she quit.   
“It gave her a sense of hope that there was something better to come. There had to be a way to find the sunshine behind the grey clouds.” (13)
Meanwhile, memories of the man she’s wanted but could never have flitter through her mind. Now Romeo was a singing superstar. Soon, the media blares with tragic disappearance of the star’s brother. Could this be a possible suicide?
A reunion is brought on by tragedy, and a tragedy inspires a benefit concert. With Jasmine helping him, the two become closer.  
The writing had a deep and lovely prose, and the story kept a leisurely pace. It was simple with an overdramatic flair, especially with emotions. At times, it got a little slow and complicated.
A decent read.
My rating: 3 stars

Review: I’M YOUR MAN by Joanne Rawson

It all started with a simple crush. To Ruth (and every other woman on the planet,) Justin was as handsome as could be. One day, while she was working out at the gym, Justin asks her out on a date. From there, things progressed to a “two night a week relationship.” At first, she relished on nabbing the hot guy, but then his lame excuses for not being there started getting old.
One night, after being stood up yet again by her so-called boyfriend, Ruth gets drunk and inexplicably has her first one-night stand. Needless to say, she was mortified, especially when she realized she had just bonked Mr. Average and not Mr. Adonis.
Of course, Ruth wasn’t the only one who got off on that night. After being denied for so long by his ex-girlfriend, Danny certainly had some pent-up sexual energy.
Story was well-written and easy-to-follow, although it was slow at times. Dialogue was fairly witty but tended to over embellish at times. Story had its moments, but it didn’t quite captivate me.
An okay story.
My rating: 3 stars