Sandra C. Lopez's Blog, page 307

Review: THE OTHER MAN by Nancy Adams (novella)

Christina used to be a happy woman with hobbies, joy, and laughter in her life. After being stuck in a dwindling marriage of five years, she has changed. Determined to find herself again, Christina finds herself tempted with the unthinkable: an affair—and this new man seems to have all the answers to her problems. It doesn't take her long to decide on what she wants, but before she can finalize those plans, she receives news no one is prepared for.



My thoughts: Tina is having trouble with her marriage. Then she meets an alluring man and starts to develop feelings of attraction for him.
This was a subtle, clean romance. Okay, but too short. And there’s a cliffhanger.


My rating: 3 stars

Review: RORY’S LOVE by Donna Butler

Aurora, A.K.A. Rory, is a psychic—a professional medium to celebrities that makes good money. Hey, why not use what you got, right?

Yeah, Rory’s got a sweet gig, especially when a regular asks for her help to communicate with his dead grandmother. She has an unrequited love for him, but she’ll go just to be near him. Sometimes communicating with spirits can be hard, especially when nightmares of rape and spirit attacks make the job unbearable and dangerous.
But, still, she doesn’t let that stop her. Pretty soon, her crush quickly turns to lust, and she gets tangled in a love affair.
I love psychic stories, but I felt that this one delved a little too much on the biz of music (some of the jazz and R&B songs I just didn’t recognize.) Plot was lagging and lacked a certain mystery or thrill. Hoping for more of a psychic mystery. Was this really about the life of a celebrity psychic with lavish penthouses, chandeliers, and yachts? The whole thing was mostly on Rory fawning over Curtis and following him around. There was nothing really to it. It was all about Rory’s love.  Kind of disappointing.

My rating: 2 stars

Review: HARD REDEMPTION by Emily J. Wright

Duke was a small-town crook...but that all stopped when he met and fell in love with Amber. He shared a happy life with her until she found out that she married a thief and a liar. After being arrested and having to relocate away from his only daughter, Duke was doing everything possible to avoid signing those divorce papers that Amber was so insistent on. But why was she in such a rush? Amber was re-marrying.
At a loss, Duke felt like things couldn't get any worse...until he discovers a fish loaded with diamonds. Of course, when he tries to sell the diamonds, he right away gets accused of stealing them. Somehow he gets a pay-out on it, and he hopes that it will be enough to win his family back.
I enjoyed the premise of the story. It was basically your average story of second chances, but I thought it was a lagging and somewhat confusing with the various characters entering the scene. I mean, we had Frank, Mary-Lousie, and Miss Applebaum. Who were these people? It kinda felt all over the place, which dulled my interest. I honestly would've liked more simplicity.
My rating: 2 stars

Review: THE RELUCTANT PRINCESS by M.C. Vaughan

Graphic Image designed by Sandra Lopez
Nothing’s more important to twenty-five-year-old goth girl Zara Kissette than making her bones in the art world. When a fire destroys her paintings, she needs two things to fulfill the art gallery's contract for multiple masterpieces—a quick hit of cash for supplies, and a way to rekindle her creativity. Otherwise, she can kiss her career-making gallery spot good-bye. So she reluctantly returns to a lucrative gig as a fantasy princess/face painter, where she meets a hot, divorced dad who could bring a spark to her life…or ruin everything.

Brendan Stewart is doing all he can to keep the world a soft and stable place for his beloved little girl. While his ex breezes in and out of their daughter’s life, he’s determined be her rock. The last thing he needs is another relationship to balance with the rest of his life. That is, until a gorgeous princess shows up to paint faces at his daughter’s birthday party. Zara’s open heart and distracting curves tempt him to lower his defenses, despite having been burned before.

Their romance is all cake and bubbles—and lots of steamy sex—until Zara betrays Brendan's trust for her shot at the gallery, and Brendan takes her career into his hands and, well, screws it up. If they can’t make peace with each other’s mistakes, they risk losing the one person who loves them for who they truly are.

Available on Amazon




My review: Zara is a struggling artist. After a fire destroys her studio and all her paintings and art supplies, she finally receives an invitation to showcase her work, which would be great if they weren't charred to bits. Now she must come up with 3 paintings in 5 weeks! And there was just 1 speedy way to make the case she needed.

Brendan needs a face painter dressed as a princess for his 5-year old daughter's birthday party. Then he finds the spitting image of her favorite princess in Zara, who was a knock-out. Although Zara was never keen on kids parties, the need for cash outweighed her pride. Instantly, Brendan becomes allured by the "dark-haired, edgy," beauty. And, of course, why wouldn't the fake princess crush on Hot Daddy?
I liked Zara and her keep-it-real attitude. Like her, I didn't like the "ooey-gooey kids are special snowflakes" belief. Her message as the princess was "loving yourself and not hiding what makes you unique."
This was a pretty good fairy tale romance with a colorful edge and a few pumpkins on the road. Characters were candid and endearing, and their love was practically a rags-to-riches story. Story was decent, however, it did taper off here and there. It also had some odd phrasing like, "Grier punched her arms into the sleeves." Still, I'd say this story was pretty good.
My rating: 3 stars

---Excerpt---

As soon as Brendan Stewart clapped eyes on the princess on his stoop, the iceberg of tension in his chest melted. It had drifted into place two weeks ago when his OMG-so-busy-traveling-meetings-meetings-meetings ex-wife, Jess, bailed on the party for Emma.

He’d gone overboard with the party prep to compensate, and a real, live Ravenna had become his Hail Mary. Now that she was here? He wanted to go back in time and buy himself a beer.

Ravenna had migrated from the two-dimensional cartoon world and landed on his front stoop. Man oh man, he loved her in 3D. How had he not noticed those pouty lips in her pictures online? The woman in front of him blinked, and the thick fringe of her eyelashes kissed her creamy cheeks.

They stared at each other. Did Ravenna always give off a sexy vibe?

Something low and primal tightened in his groin, and he began a silent mantra: Focus on her eyes…focus on her eyes…focus on her eyes…

“Um…” The princess raised a thick black eyebrow. “Is Mr. Stewart home?”

“Right here.” He smiled and tapped his chest. “I’m Brendan. Come on in.”

He pressed himself to the side to allow her room to enter the house. As the face painter princess crossed the threshold and passed him, her skirts caressed the floor. Don’t stare at her ass, don’t stare at her ass, don’t stare at her ass.

“Wow. You…really resemble Ravenna.”

“That’s kind of the idea.” She swished around and stuck out her hand. “I’m Zara Kissette, children’s entertainer by day, starving artist by night.”

He grabbed hold. Her fingers were long, tapered, and calloused, and her grip was firm. She eyeballed his stubble and rumpled plaid shirt. Might’ve been a good idea to shave and iron.

“Hi, I’m Grier.” The second woman clumped into the house, towing a stubborn plastic crate behind her. He hadn’t noticed her behind Zara on the porch. “I’m the photographer and party grunt.”

“Can I help?” Brendan released Zara and stood aside to give Grier and the crate room to pass.

“What a gentleman,” she answered. “Thank you, I’ve got it. But I’ll be happy to give you my coat.”

She shrugged off her red trench and stuffed her gloves into one of its sleeves. He took it from her and hung it in the foyer closet. Cold clung to the material. The princess, Zara, hadn’t been wearing a coat. She must be freezing. Should he offer her coffee or tea to warm up?

When he turned back around, the two women were whispering to each other.

“You look familiar,” Grier said. “Do we know each other?”

“I don’t think so.” He forced himself to keep eye contact with Grier. She was cute, but Zara was in a different league. A dark-haired, edgy league.

“I’m sure we’ve met at least once. I have a memory for faces. Professional hazard, but I won’t torture you with twenty questions. The princess and I have a job to do, after all.”

Zara narrowed her eyes at her friend, then asked Brendan, “Is the birthday girl here?”

He almost didn’t hear her question over his silent don’t stare mantra.

“She’s out with my mom.” He glanced at his watch. “They’re due home in ten minutes.” He dipped his gaze to her cleavage. Whoops.

“What about your wife?” Zara crossed her arms over her breasts and tilted her head.

“Ex, actually.” He stuffed his hands into his pockets. “She’s not coming.”

“Oh, that’s…hmm.” She untangled her arms and darted her gaze around the house. “So, where do you want me?”

Where don’t I? He riffled his hair. Christ, Stewart, get it together. “Follow me.”

Hopefully she couldn’t tell she’d flustered him. He wasn’t normally this goofy about attractive women, but he hadn’t mentally prepared for this scenario. He was in dad mode. All the other women who’d be here today were either relatives or married moms.

Not exactly potential flirting opportunities.

Probably didn’t help he hadn’t been with anyone since the divorce. Who had time? Dadding, work, and the gym absorbed his undivided attention. Or it had, right up until five minutes ago when this scorching woman entered his house.

Now, he could barely focus on anything besides the princess.

He had to squash that, and quick. Today was about his kid and making her feel special. Besides, the princess was here to do a job. He’d bet the last thing she wanted was a dad hitting on her at work. One thing was for sure—it would be nice to run into Zara out in the city sometime.

Review: FIRST TASTE by Mira Bailee

Olivia is just looking for a job, and when a pompous interview at some golden mansion goes bad, it sinks her to a whole new low. I loved how Devon intervened and showed that arrogant ass who was in charge.
Devon Stone: so confident, bold, authoritative, and sexy as hell. “You work for me and now she works for you.” Oh, yeah!
Now Olivia must work for Mr. Devon Stone, who has a reputation for being a “bad boy” in the media. But it seems that there’s more to Devon Stone than meets the eye.
A charming romance!

My rating: 4 stars

Review: SECRET WORDS by Miranda Charles

Jasmine has an embarrassing slip—literally in the men’s bathroom. Luckily, Hunky Kane was there to sweep her off her feet, literally.
The 2 have instant chemistry, but could secrets keep them apart?
Jasmine is an erotic romance author penning under a secret identity. Kane is engaged to a woman he doesn’t want. You hope the 2 are able to work things out, but things just keep happening that make it hard. For one thing, his crazy ex won’t rest until she gets him back.
It’s a rollercoaster of jealousy, romance, and blackmail.

My rating: 4 stars

Review: NOT TODAY, BUT SOMEDAY by Lori Otto

This is the story of Emi and Nate—how they met and how they learned to depend on each other for support.

Emi’s got “daddy” issues, making her a stubborn, cynical smartass; Nate’s father died in a car crash, making him a sensitive, compulsive painter. Art becomes their therapy and their connection.


Emi doesn’t believe in love at first sight and everlasting love all because her dad is a lying, cheating bastard; however, Nate, who is full of passion (he paints, he writes, he reads,) wants to love her.


Told in the POV of Emi and Nate, this story has an interesting tug-and-pull effect (Emi wants to stay single, and Nate just wants her.) I liked that Emi just wanted a friend, especially with all her family drama. It’s important to be friends first and foremost.


It was fascinating how The Canterbury Tales, a poetic expression of love, correlated into Emi and Nate’s budding love and friendship. And I smiled at the vow Nate makes for Emi, promising he will wait. They could be together “not today, but someday.”
My rating: 4 stars

Review: FINDING CINDERELLA by Colleen Hoover (novella)

“It only feels perfect because we’re pretending it’s perfect.” (237)
After one year, the boy was all about searching for the girl he had a passionate interlude in the closet. Right off the bat, the concept became interesting.  
“In reality, people are who they are and they’ll never really change. So why the hell are Val and I even wasting our time on this exhausting relationship if we don’t even really like each other? (266)
The character dialogue was reminiscent of Holden Caulfield—very entertaining. I loved the brutal honesty of the protagonist, Daniel. It was funny sometimes.
I agreed with Daniel about the purse. Girls who don’t carry purses don’t carry make-up and perfume. That’s what made Six so beautiful and perfect for him. I liked that Six was as straight-forward as Daniel. Those two were so compatible in a lot of ways. But was Six “Cinderella”?I wondered.
There was a good twist near the end. At times, it got a little too sappy with all the romantic love, but it was an enjoyable story nonetheless. I was especially impressed by how the author was able to accurately depict the thoughts of the teenage male brain.

My rating: 4 stars

Review: SICK LITTLE PUPPIES by Simon J. Green and Stefan Taylor

Graphic Image designed by Sandra Lopez

A collection of short horror stories you can rip through in hours, but will haunt you for days.Demons that draw on a family’s misery. The violent deaths of clients from hell. Serial killers and cursed cures that don’t turn out how you’d expect. Stefan Taylor builds dark worlds full of classic tension and fear. Simon J Green weaves visually rich tales of carnage and humour. Together, they bring you previously published work alongside original stories designed to scare, shock, and make you feel sick.
My review: First off: What an incredibly sick cover! Talk about gruesome! Even though it’s a well-done illustration, it’s hard for me to look at it. It’s just too sick.
Fortunately, the stories didn’t make me as queasy. In this collection, we have a ghost desperately trying to be heard, a crab infestation, and a mother’s home with an eerie feeling.
Stories are dark, sinister, and just enough to make you cringe.Best thing about them is that they’re not gory, not what the cover leads you to believe. For the most part, stories were well-versed and insightful; however, some were obviously better than others.
My rating: 3 stars

Review: NO WAY OUT by M.J.A. Ware

Quick and ironic tales of humor, not fright. They were like Goosebumps and Tales from the Crypt; they were like watching a Simpsons Halloween episode.  Clearly this was intended for a YA audience with its prepubescent writing style. I mean, what would you sacrifice for Kobe Bryant shoes? The stories were not all scary; they were cute actually.
In all honesty, this book only had 3 stories. Only 3? That’s it? They were way too short; they were almost like a paragraph each. Hell, the preview of Super Zombie Mega Bomb at the end had more meat. Based on what I read of Super Zombie, it was funny and sarcastic. It was the kid version of the movie, 28 Days Later; it had the same creepy intro of world abandonment.  It seems like a good teen read. I probably should’ve started reading this than those lame stories.

My rating: 2 stars