Sandra C. Lopez's Blog, page 295

Review: SLEEPLESS NOVEMBER by Kelsey Clayton

College student Kayleigh could never quite compare to the other girls, which is why a stud like Caleb wouldn’t think to look twice at her. One of the things constantly on her mind is her weight, which is why she tracks the calories she consumes on a daily basis. “Skip dinner, wake up thinner” are words she’s had to live by.
One day, she’s forced to team with an arrogant, egotistical jackass for a class project. As the two reluctantly work together, she begins to see that he may not be so bad after all. Then he stumbles upon her food journal. To her surprise, Holden actually wants to help her.
“Perhaps the boy I couldn’t stand will end up being the one who saves me.” (49) Perhaps he would end up being more. How could it when he was dating her roommate?
A simple story of an unlikely bond amidst social angst, peer pressure, and eating disorders.  You can’t help but feel bad for Kayleigh as she struggles with her weight and anxiety. She constantly beats herself up for having the tiniest bite of food. It was frustrating to see Holden caring so much about her when she refused to do anything to help herself.  
Things get even more complicated when the two sleep together. As if Kayleigh wasn’t feeling guilty enough. But no matter how much she tries to push him away and forget about him, Holden is still there. Tensions run high, and the emotions displayed by such earnest characters are raw and endearing.
Was this just a harmless fling…or could she really have something with the university player? It’s certainly NOT easy. It’s not a wonder why Kayleigh feels the need to run.
“It’s an escape—from all the negative thoughts, the calories I’ve consumed, the girls Holden has slept with, the broken promises in my life.” (181)
The couple’s addictions may be more than what either of them can handle.
A sweetly complicated and chaotic romance that readers will fall into.
My rating: 4 stars

Review: EMPLOYMENT INTERVIEW WITH A VAMPIRE by J. Bennett

A college grad is stuck in a crummy customer service job for orthopedic socks. Hey, it pays, right? Until she gets unemployed. But then she sees a chance in being a housekeeper for a geriatric vampire. Hey, it pays, right?

The vampire is very old-century. “He was a bitter, old man trapped in a bygone era.” He’s a chauvinistic jackass with his beliefs that a 25-year old woman is past her prime and should not wear slacks. Of course, the help shoots off a few words at him, but she can handle the job, especially when an old vampire hunter with a walker seeks vengeance on her boss. Two old guys duking it out? What could be more funny?


Snarky, witty, and funny!


My rating: 4 stars

Review: MOON DANCE by J.R. Rain

6 years ago, Samantha Moon was attacked, and, ever since then, she’s worked as a P.I. from home while taking care of her kids. She’s actually a vampire.


Now’s she’s been hired to find someone who shot a guy in the face 5 times. Why didn’t the man die? Sh then discovers her client is a werewolf.


Being a creature of the night wasn’t easy when trying to regain some semblance of normalcy. In fact, her only sustenance is through blood bags she orders online. But when she gets her first real drink from a dead rapist, the hunger becomes too good to pass up.


With her strength and powers, Samantha could easily kill the perpetrators, but she refuses and would rather let the law handle it. Her vampire abilities are pretty cool. Whatever you do, don’t ever try to take her kids away from her.


“What dark voodoo was keeping [her] alive?” (114) Throughout the novel, Samantha Moon tries to understand her purpose and her existence. She constantly ponders what she is, how she lives, or if she’s even dead or alive.


“The attack…cost me my job, my sunny days, my home, my husband, my kids, my life.” (123)


To top it off, while working on her case, a vampire hunter is on her tail.


Witty and compelling.  Samantha Moon is a kick-ass vampire.


My rating:  5 stars

Review: SANGRE: THE WRONG SIDE OF TOMORROW by Carlos Colón

There have been random killings spreading the country. Perhaps it would benefit from the aid of an undead vigilante.
Nicky Negron is back wandering the streets of New York with his crass and delinquent nature, but now he must deal with his tortured soul.
“Any remaining traces of my humanity were to forever be shrouded by the sickening truth that I needed to feed on human blood to survive.” (17)
The character is ridden with angst and disillusion, especially when his mind becomes haunted by the memories of another demon. Was he being possessed? Was he doomed to become a soulless predator like the host?
In his quest, he is plagued by his childhood past and shackled by the insatiable hunger running through his veins. What’s even worse was all the suspicious death surrounding him.
Once again, the author gives us an unconventionally dark tale of torment and triumph. Nicky is a complex character with a spear for justice, a sharp tongue, and a tortured soul. At times, the story becomes disorganized by various plot lines and random characters. It almost felt like too much was happening at once, which was slightly overwhelming and caused a patchy flow. Story definitely carves a new niche to the horror genre with its savory additives of mystery, suspense, and emotion.
My rating: 3.5 stars

Review: DON’T TRUST ME by Jessica Lynch

Tessa and her husband were driving to a resort spa in a terrible storm. When they get a flat tire on the road, they seek refuge and stumble upon a town called Hamlet.


This had a slow start as the two settle into the inn, while Tess constantly ponders over her failing marriage.


Who can we not trust now?


The whole thing was too slow and too pointless.


My rating: 2 stars

Review: THE GIRL WHO’S ALWAYS TRENDING by G. Taylor

Be careful what you share online…


“Your self worth isn’t measured by likes, comments, and followers.” (54)


Someone was following Amanda, tracking her online movements. The craziness all started when she announced her engagement online and posted photos of her ring. Amanda was a loner until the allure of social media gave her a sense of belonging and power. With social media, Amanda was never alone…but a sinister force lurked behind the walls of cyberspace.


Everyone was online, spending over 11 hours sucked into cyberspace. “It wasn’t enough to be liked in this world, you always had to appear to be liked.” (184)


Some of the commentary was insightful, like how we have become a throw-away society, having to replace anything that breaks. The character was insecure and narcissistic. Why was her social media account so important? Why did she need to be “liked” so much? It probably stemmed from her lonely and isolated childhood, but, clearly, she had an online addiction. Sometimes she can go and on about her insecurities though. I could relate to the some of the things she talks about, even though she talks very hightly on social media (like it’s so important.)


Story had a slow pace and a few typos. Overall, it wasn’t that thrilling or gripping.


My rating: 3 stars

Review: THE PERFECT ROOMMATE by Minka Kent

“All I needed was a cheap room to rent. I didn’t plan this. I swear.” (LOC 80)


Meadow was a shy, quiet, struggling college student needing a place to live. She didn’t think she could impress an uppity, rich snob like Lauren, but, to Lauren, she was the perfect roommate—quiet, studious, and polite.


Meadow’s situation is relatable in the sense that she doesn’t drink, doesn’t party, prefers a quiet evening at home, just works and studies, and lives off of Dollar Store detergent and Ramen noodles. For some odd reason, Lauren seems to genuinely like her. Soon, Meadow gets dragged into Lauren’s world of privilege, high style, and luxury. It overwhelms her, but then comes to realize that she might actually enjoy it. After all, it would seem that she won the lottery in roommates. It’s a whole new Meadow as she gets pushed to all these parties, suffering more hangovers than she would like. Too busy having “fun,” she starts forgetting her duties and responsibilities. Perhaps this change in lifestyle wasn’t all it’s cracked up to be.


One thing Meadow couldn’t stand was liars. Could Lauren be both a cheat and a liar?


Story is written in a diary-format with a candid and snarky voice. I liked Meadow’s attitude, but the story was pretty slow. It wasn’t as thrilling as I though it be. And what was the problem really? So Lauren might’ve been having an affair with a married college professor? So what? Suddenly Meadow makes it her mission to follow her and seek justice. Ok, so who was the obsessive nut job here?


My rating: 3 stars

Review: THE TWISTED ROAD AHEAD by John D. Ottini

Things are not quite what they seem.


A widowed man makes one last drive up the northern coast to scatter his wife’s ashes in the Pacific coast. What starts off as a somber reflection ends up turning into a sticky situation.


Stories were, for the most part, well-written, but I thought they were too lengthy and focused too much on religion. I thought they would be more mysterious and suspenseful, but they turned out to be more literary than anything else. They weren’t that short and they all pretty much sounded the same.


My rating: 3 stars

Excerpt: TOUGH KARMA: A RACE AGAISNT TIME by Laura Simmons

Falling in love and living in its blissful bubble helped her cope with her loss. She still had sad days, yet they were calmed by knowing he was there, and she could count on his loving arms to pull her through. She had a new reason for living, and he had the love of his life. Like most new couples in the first stage of romantic love, they couldn’t keep their hands off of each other and made love at every opportunity. They couldn’t imagine being any closer.
She still had sleepwalking issues. It happened every two or three days with or without sleep meds. She relied less on sleeping pills and was able to stay asleep without chemical assistance more often. She credited this to her loving relationship with him and feeling better about life in general. Sleeping close to him every night was comforting.
Her drawings during this time became increasingly curious, and she was using colored pencils. Every sleepwalking episode produced a new scene of Mike torturing her. The dead couple was now in color. The woman had long, dark hair and was wearing a yellow dress, and the man’s hair was a lighter brown. Their clothes looked like something from the 1800s. The pictures of Mike hurting her bothered Bryce the most, and he was unsettled by the pictures of the couple before they died. She drew a picture of them on a black horse. The horse was spooked and its front legs were high in the air. The couple was drawn with looks of terror on their faces as they were being thrown to the ground. It was disturbing because he had a fear of horseback riding, and so did she. He began to wonder if her drawings were from a past life. He was traveling astrally again, although it never coincided with her sleepwalking episodes and he hadn’t tried to investigate Mike’s past yet.
“This is so strange. I keep drawing these terrifying scenes when I sleepwalk. Why? I don’t understand it,” she lamented the morning after drawing the couple as they were being thrown from the horse.
“I’ve been thinking about it, and you might be channeling a past life. Both of us have a fear of riding horses. We were the only ones who never went horseback riding at the family reunions. We found other things to do while the rest of them went ahead. And what’s even more troubling are the pictures of Mike torturing you. With that in mind, I’ve decided to distance myself from him even though he’s always been the mild-mannered, quiet type,” he replied.
She was surprised at his past life suggestion, “That would explain our fear of horses. Why now? Why have I never done this before?”
“Maybe the trauma of Belle’s death opened a door somewhere in your psyche.”
“I want it to stop! Remember what Luke said about Mike acting weird? What if he’s gone over the edge?” she asked.
“Exactly. I don’t want to believe he’s dangerous. We’ve been friends for years, and he’s always been a nice guy. However, I don’t want to take any chances. He doesn’t elaborate on what he’s been up to in the last fifteen years, and I don’t like the heavy, depressing feelings that linger after seeing these drawings,” he replied.
“Me either. I call it the ‘black heaviness’. Can you try to do an astral investigation tonight?”
“I’ll make an attempt. I’ve never done it before,” he said reaching across the kitchen table, taking her hand. “In spite of your upsetting, nocturnal artistry, you seem much happier since we became a couple. That makes me happy.”
She smiled and said, “It’s all because of you. I love you so much. It feels like we’re on a honeymoon.”
“I love you too. It does feel like a honeymoon. Let’s plan to take a real vacation in the spring. Think about where you want to go. I’m game for anything,” he remarked.
“That would be great. I think we both need it,” she replied.


*****
Later that night as he drifted off to sleep and slipped out of his physical body, he visited Mike’s house and was shocked at what he discovered. Mike lived in his deceased aunt’s townhouse in Falls Church. It was a modest, two-story home with a walk-out basement leading to a small, backyard patio with a privacy fence. Bryce had been to his house a few times since he came back to Virginia and he kept it neat and clean. When he visited, they usually sat in the main floor living room drinking beer and watching sports. He checked the rest of the main living area and the upstairs bedrooms and Mike wasn’t home . . . I wonder where he is at 3:30 in the morning, maybe he’s getting lucky. He had never seen the basement and had a feeling he should look there.
The basement was sparsely furnished with a TV and beige-colored sofa. A long folding table was set-up against one of the walls. A large corkboard hung above the folding table and on it were pictures of Amber. There were pictures of her wedding to James, pictures of her with Belle, and most plentiful were the photos of her doing everyday things. They were neatly trimmed, anyone who had been with her in the photos was cut-out with the exception of Belle. Amber was the lone subject plastered all over the board. There were no photos of Mike’s family or friends, just her. He’d been stalking her for a long time.
Available on Amazon

Review: SAME TIME NEXT YEAR by Jenna Bennett

Elizabeth works at a hotel, where the same two people check into the same two adjoining rooms every year. Of course, Elizabeth was no fool! She knew those two were sleeping together.
When you first start reading the pages, you think that this would be a quirky, sweet contemporary romance….until you get to the POV of the two lovers, who are married to each other, by the way. From then on, all you get is a steamy sexual interlude. Some people think it’s romantic for two lovers to return to the scene of the crime on their anniversary, however, I’d say it’s a need for a barf bag.
I would’ve liked it better if there had been interference between the male lover and Elizabeth. I mean, why else would they even mention her?
The story mainly involved the lover’s smoldering night. Any porno could’ve given you that. 
My rating: 1 star