Sandra C. Lopez's Blog, page 299
August 7, 2019
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
August 6, 2019
Review: A WITCH’S REVENGE: THE RETURN by Gerfe Red
A strange, naked woman appearing at a guy’s front door. Who was she? Where did she come from? And why did she seem so confused? It turns out that she’s from 1691 and was locked away in a box by her stepmother and stepsister. Marjorie was a witch that had to battle with her step family. Now she has to make sure that they die.
With Jim’s help, she must assimilate to the present, find the old witches, and plot her revenge. The problem is that you can’t just kill them. There are laws against that, and Jim doesn’t want Marjorie to end up in jail. Meanwhile, the rest of the town is curious of the newcomer and aims to get to the bottom of who she is. Could this turn into a witch hunt? Well, it definitely becomes a war of the witches because Marjorie must seek justice for the people killed by the old witches. After all, it takes a witch to take care of a witch.
Simple story and an intriguing mystery. A good read!
My rating: 4 stars
Review: MURDER IS MAGIC by Chris Dupree
At 18, Victoria refused her father’s new wife and his obsession with power, so she fled the coven and his life. Five years later, her father, the mayor of the town, wants to demolish her magic shop, the shop that belonged to her mother. This then sparks a war of power against her stepmom and stepsister. Suddenly, her father falls into a coma and Victoria is accused of poisoning him. It’s clear to her that dark magic is at play and is aiming to ruin her life. So, with the help of a gay empathic friend and a mother whom she thought was dead, Victoria will fight this battle.
An enthralling tale full of magical twists!
My rating: 4 stars
Review: A WITCH’S GUIDE TO MURDER by Aubrey Harper
Rory inherited her grandmother’s house and cult booshop, so she decides to make the move back to her old town, where she discovers that she’s a witch and her grandmother may have actually been murdered by another witch. Interesting!With the help of her granny’s ghost, her witchy cousin, and her book nerd friend, Rory will learn to use her new witch abilities and find out what really happened.
At first, the story felt slow and repetitive with it being mostly biting back-and-forth dialogue between the characters. But there was magic, and the story was cute and crafty. I liked how Rory got the hang of her new witchy powers quickly, especially since she was a “person of interest” in not just one but two murders in town. Yeah, maybe she should’ve stayed in NY.
In the second half of the story, when we get down to who the real killer was, was, by far, the best part! It’s always the person you least suspect.
My rating: 4 stars
Review: MURDER’S A WITCH by Danielle Garrett
Holly is an elemental witch that is normally attuned to extreme weather at Beechwood Harbor Manor, where she was exiled to from her magical community. One night, a stranger shows up, lurking around the bushes. Rather than use her magical powers to ward off this prowler, she discovers that he’s a P.I. that’s come to investigate paranormal activity. What paranormal activity could he possibly find with a witch, a shape shifter, a vampire, and a ghost all living at the manor?So, not only must she watch out for this guy, but a dead body turns up and her best friend (which happens to be human) is the prime suspect. Can she use her crafty magic to help her out of it? That along with the trusting help of a werewolf shifter hottie?
I liked how Holly was smart and witty and that she knew how to cast a good spell. Story was a page-turner from start to finish.
Crafty, whimsical, and magical!
My rating: 4 stars
Review: DEAD WITCH ON A BRIDGE by Gretchen Galway
A dead body in the middle of a bridge. Was magic involved? How could someone have taken down one of the most powerful witches in Sonoma County? Alma is a witch living in a world of fairies, gnomes, and demons. She’s a demon killer that can’t kill. What’s that about?
This book had a good attention-grabber on the first page, but then turns into a slow crawl. For such a simple scenario (finding out who killed the dead witch on the bridge,) this sure had a complicated plot. I didn’t like it as much as I thought.
My rating: 2 stars
