Sandra C. Lopez's Blog, page 300

Review: CATALYST by Jessie Cal

A mission to take down the Order—the leaders of the Catalyst trial.
Catalyst continues Mia’s story. The last we heard of her (and I’m having to go back to my review of Disarray for a rehash) she was battling the loss of memory and the struggle to remember. In the last few pages, Mia’s memory is suddenly restored.
Catalyst doesn’t quite pick up where that story left off, which is why it took me a while to get reacquainted with it. In this story, Mia is in hiding and the soldiers are still out there. There were some characters that I couldn’t quite remember, which made following the story a little harder. When I first started reading this, several questions came to mind. What was the Catalyst trial? What was their mission? I still didn’t get the whole soldier angle. And what does any of this have to do with Mia and her memory? Does Mia even have her memories back? Of course, I’m just assuming because that’s where the first book left off. And what has happened since then? For me, there were holes in this thing right from the beginning. I think I would’ve preferred a brief recap of Mia’s memory restoration and have the story pick up from there. That would’ve made it easier on me.
Once again, this is another lovely and well-written work by Jessie Cal; however, I just didn’t feel that same connection I had in the first book.
My rating: 3 stars

Review: SCREAMCATCHER: WEB WORLD by Christy J. Breedlove

A dream catcher: a woven item designed to trap the bad dreams.
All 17-year old Jorlene has had were bad dreams, ever since the tragic death of her parents. But what happens when she stops having the bad dreams and starts living in them?
Story was well-written for the most part, but it was somewhat confusing. At times, it was hard to tell what was going on. I had a hard time picturing where the characters were. I understand they were trapped in this dream world (the dream catcher,) but I just couldn’t quite grasp the setting. The whole thing is an intricate web of mystery, which some readers may get a kick out of. But I just couldn’t get into this world. The concept sounded interesting, but I felt lost and that, in itself, lost my interest.
My rating: 2 stars

Review: INBORN MAGIC by Kim McDougall

Bobbi was a young, amateur witch. She practices and practices, but doesn’t seem to be getting any better. During a spell, something goes wrong and she loses a great deal of magic. It was a stranger that had to “unlock” her. In an effort to ditch her saviors, Bobbi somehow lands in some kind of time portal. I’m not really sure what happened here, but she seems lost and disoriented.
This sounded like an interesting story about witches and secret covens, but I sort of found it hard to follow. Like Bobbi, I felt lost. Story was insightful and well-versed for the most part, but some of the language was a little odd. I guess I just didn’t get into this witchy tale as much I’d wanted to.
My rating: 2 stars

Excerpt: VICES/VIRTUES by Beatrice DeSoprontu

“The Doughnut Guy was my Stepfather!”
(excerpt from VICES/VIRTUES by Beatrice DeSoprontu)


Over the years, my mother divided her social calendar into three parts: church events, school activities, and doctor visits. She had become a connoisseur of waiting rooms, noting which ones ranked better on the qualities of cleanliness, staff performance, and amenities such as good pens that could be useful when tucked into her purse and brought home. Once I became a teenager, the allure of free pens and magazines faded. I began to pass on the opportunities to escort her during medical outings. I would have liked to pass on some of the church events as well, but these were categorized as being mandatory.

Still, when I was sixteen years old and Alex had gone off to college, I felt it was my responsibility to take care of Griselda. So, once again, I began accompanying her to medical offices. One of these times, my mother had an appointment with a new doctor. She often had a new doctor since inevitably, the old one could never cure her of the incurable fibromyalgia. Eyeing the many new patient forms she was filling out, I saw that she had written her age, ethnicity, two pregnancies, and had checked "Divorced." It all seemed in order. Confident that Mom didn’t need my help, I continued to read a magazine. She went to hand in the forms, and I got up as well, not to help her, since she was perfectly capable of handing in some forms, but just to change the magazine. I heard the receptionist look over the papers, muttering “Good,” “Ok,” and then the receptionist asked, “And the divorce, was this recent?”

“No, it was about ten years ago.”

I was standing a few feet away from my mother, but she didn’t notice I had just dropped the magazine in my hand. I was sixteen years old. Ten years before, I had been six years old. I remembered six. I remembered six very well. There had been no sign of Alfredo at six! My mother went back to her seat. I looked around the waiting room. There was a very old lady, with a man who could have been her son, sitting at the far end of the room. There was also a couple, middle-aged, seated a bit closer to us. There was the receptionist behind the desk and the medical assistants who kept walking back and forth between the waiting room and the exam rooms. Perhaps if I spoke quietly enough, the others wouldn’t hear me. 

“Mama, que dijiste?”

My mother looked startled, no doubt due to the fact that I was speaking Spanish. It was a skill she never encouraged. With fair skin that burned in the sun, I looked like a white girl, far fairer than either Alex or Mom, and this suited her fine.

“Cristela, for sure the lady at the desk understands Spanish. Por favor no hablas.”

Since I had turned fifteen years old, my mother had switched from saying “Cállate” to “No hablas.” The words were more civilized but the meaning was still the same.

Shortly afterward, she was called in to see the doctor. For an agonizingly long time, the doctor examined her, as I stayed behind in the waiting room. I could have easily told him the problem — she has a lot of pain. It’s pain she always had, pain she’s gotten used to, pain she could probably no longer function without.

Once we left the doctor’s office, I confronted her. “What did you mean when you said that you divorced ten years ago?”

“Cristela, we are on the street. This is not the time or the place.”

“No, you’re wrong! This is the time and place!” This was the most forceful I had ever dared to be with my mother.

“It is nothing. It was a paper marriage. Do you remember Mr. Willis? He married me for a time so I could get my papers.”

The doughnut guy was my stepfather! It was such a nice thing, him bringing doughnuts, but now it seemed lame. What kind of stepfather does nothing but bring you some doughnuts once a month? But wait, why?

“Papers? What are you talking about? Puerto Ricans don’t need any papers.”

“Ah mi hija. Alfredo was the Puerto Rican. I’m from Venezuela.”

I thought about Venezuela. It’s in South America. It has oil and communism, and now my cousins, aunts, uncles, maybe even grandparents.

“I came to this country looking for a better life. That is when I met Alfredo. I thought we would get married, but it didn’t happen like that. For you and for Alex, I had to find another way.”

My mother looked genuinely concerned. It was rare to see her like this. She was usually too proud to show weakness. Even when Rubia died, I tried to hug her after we returned from the funeral, but Mom just brushed me off, wiped away her tears, and told me she had sewing to take care of.

“But why didn’t you tell me?”

“I was illegal, hija. We could have been deported. I couldn’t trust a child to keep such a secret.”

Admittedly, this made sense. I suppose if either Alex or I had blabbed, we would have been in trouble. When I was eleven years old, I had told Mom about the naked girl magazines Alex kept hidden in his drawer. After throwing them out, Griselda made Alex go to confession. I could see why she didn’t think I was the most reliable secret keeper.

“You and Daddy never married?” I asked, just realizing that if they had, she wouldn’t have been illegal.

“I told you. With Alfredo, it didn’t happen. But don’t embarrass me by telling this to your friends. Not even your brother knows.”

Just as Griselda instructed, I didn’t tell anyone, not even Alex. I couldn’t tell him because it would have been like tattling on Griselda. I knew her puritanical views on sex, and for her to admit she'd had not one but two children out of wedlock was tantamount to confessing a mortal sin. If she trusted me enough to confide this secret, it would have been betrayal to reveal it. Speaking no more about it to anyone, I considered how my family had just been negated. It was bad enough we lived on government handouts, but now we had been reclassified from “legal” to “illegal,” “legitimate” to “illegitimate” — an invalidation.


Life continued.


In high school, I discovered a certain knack for duplicity…

Book Available on Amazon

Review: THE BOYFRIEND WHISPERER by Linda Budzinski

Love is but a whisper away.


Lexi is the Boyfriend Whisperer. Running a covert operation in the school, she plays a secret Cupid, spying on love interests, and coaching her clients on how to make them fall in love with them. Being a tomboy that enjoys sports, Lexi has always known how to get a guy's attention, giving her a 95% success rate at matching couples.


"Some days I look around at all the couples I’ve brought together and feel like Cupid himself, but deep down, I know the truth. I’m a fake, an imposter, an emperor with no clothes. Because when it comes to whispering my own crush, I’m a total fail. Stuck in the friend zone with no clue how to escape." (15)


Even though she was just a high school kid, Lexi smart and savvy professional who knew how to deliver. She's totally down-to-earth, plain, and simple. Of course, she's a bit of a sports freak, which I couldn't relate to, but, otherwise, she's totally cool and efficient.


While her numbers indicate that she's a whizz in love, her own personal love life (or lack thereof) would speak otherwise. She and Chris have been friends forever. They like the same movies, they play basketball together, and they practically stay glued at the hip. So why can't he love her like she loves him?


Of course, when it comes to high school crushes things tend to get dicey and melodramatic. At times, there were too many kids to keep track of.


Story was quirky and easy-to-read. Like I said, I wasn't interested in any of the sports play-by-play, but this was still a pretty good read.


My rating: 3 stars

Review: SISTERS, STRANGERS, AND STARTING OVER by Belinda Acosta

Once again, Belinda Acosta dazzles us with her unique writing style, which exudes a raw eloquence dripping with vibrant resonance.


Although complete opposites, Larry and Beatriz have an undivided love between them. Larry is the type of guy who would be there for Beatriz and would do anything for her—very rare in a man. When this strange, little girl shows up, he steps up, assuming the role of “the man.”


My heart goes out to all the characters, especially Celeste, whose world was turned upside down with being tossed into the street like garbage after the sudden death of her mom and then having to live with a horde of strangers—most of them boys.


The families were a constant reminder of my own, particularly the part where all the women were gossiping about the newcomer while the men were standing outside in silence, eating and drinking. I’d so much rather be outside.


Full of mysterious secrets you can’t wait to unravel, and everyone had secrets that tore at them like razor claws. The characters were well-drawn as they lure you into an emotional whirl of drama and sinking turmoil. What I found most interesting was that nearly everyone faced the decision of choosing sides—between the one they love and the familia (their blood.)


I did find it a bit cliché that there had to be a quinceañera, but, then again, this was a quinceañera novel. I would’ve liked it better if Beatriz or the reporter had tried to probe the mysterious death of her sister, Perla. She didn’t even try to find out who killed her (I would’ve liked to have known.) But I guess this novel was more concentrated on the drama rather than the suspense, otherwise it would be a thriller, right?


Nonetheless, this was a Mexican fiesta of words. Acosta mixes the traditional and the non-traditional in a powerful, insightful story. 
My rating: 4 stars

Review: WARRIOR WON by Meryl Davis Landau

“Most people use the term meditation, but since I discovered this blissful practice several years back I rarely call it that. Even before I ever had a session where I went so deep I was nestled inside the egg of the universe—something that happens . . .” (2)
This is about a woman’s emotional journey as she battles life’s obstacles.
There was terminology that I didn’t quite understand. Story was slow and lilting, filled with words of spiritual reverence. I have to say that I didn’t quite connect with the main character as much as I’d hoped. The whole thing kind of dragged on and on for me.Not an interesting read.
My rating: 2 stars

Review: WINNER TAKES ALL by Patricia McBride

“My name is Sarah Winner: Winner by name, loser by nature some say, but hey, things can always look up. I firmly believe this: that's why I read every self help book I can lay my hands on.” (3)
At first, Sarah seemed like a quirky character that I could relate to, but one thing I found annoying about Sarah was her tendency to ramble without really saying anything. Her story really didn’t go anywhere, in my opinion. The focus mainly centered on her finding The One, but what I mainly struggled with was trying to find the point.
My rating: 2 stars

Review: THE DR. PEPPER PROPHECIES by Jennifer Gilby

Mel Parker’s boyfriend has just dumped her—literally—at the airport after she had a pregnancy scare in the plane’s bathroom. She is a neurotic, obsessive character that can sometimes be deemed as funny, but not usually. The 1stperson perspective is written in this snarky, witty, so-called humorous style.
Mel decides to embrace the single life, but a new co-worker may change that. In fact, I think her male BFF may be the Harry to her Sally (the movie was referenced in the book.) Story has a Clueless plot theme because Mel, like Cher, embarks on a quest to help others in naïve, harebrain ways (ex: she helps the 29-year old virgin break out and live a little.)
All in all, this was nothing but the mindless jabbering of a London nut job.

My rating: 2 stars

Review: CONFESSIONS OF AN UGLY GIRL by Alice Wasser

This is the diary of a 33 year old, single woman with a bad name as she records her everyday thoughts about life and being ugly. Dreading the path to 40, she believes that she’ll never get married because she’s just too short, fat, and ugly. But, on the contrary, Millie was a very nice, hardworking nerd that was very into statistics. Seriously, she recites a bunch of them in the book—about marriage rates, life span of a single woman, etc.


This was a sad woman’s diary, which was ok to read, but not very funny. Sometimes the daily diary entries got a little boring, even though there were a few witty remarks here and there.


My rating: 3 stars