Sandra C. Lopez's Blog, page 321

Review: 10 YEARS LATER by J. Sterling

Cammie’s 10-year high school reunion is coming up. Although she’s looking forward to seeing all her old classmates again, she can’t help but wonder about Dalton, her first crush and biggest love—one she hasn’t seen since graduation.


Dalton is an undercover cop that still thought about Cammie, often listening to her on the radio. When he finds out that she will be at the reunion, he aims to find out what he did that was so wrong all those years ago. But, most importantly, he vows to get Cammie back.


As the reunion approaches, the two reminisce on the tender moments from high school, realizing that they never had any closure, which was probably why they thought of each other so much. Maybe we could find out what happened once and for all.


Cammie and Dalton are the “Ross and Rachel” couple you root for no matter how much time has passed. Readers felt Cammie’s fear when she didn’t hear from Dalton, and you can understand her reluctance to get involved with him.


Sweet, endearing, and enjoyable! Full of honesty and hope.


My rating: 4 stars

Review: FIVE MINUTES LATE by Rich Amooi

Ellie is a librarian looking for a promotion; Cedric wants to preserve his grandfather’s old garlic farm. The only way Ellie will get that management position would be for her to raise more money in the library fund raiser.

Meanwhile, the dating well is pretty dry for the two. But, at least, Ellie is trying to seek out Mr. Right through online dating, even if a lot of them are very, VERY wrong. Readers, however, will definitely get a kick out of them though. Date#1: Her date named Dick said his father was also a Dick and took her to Hooters, making it a night with Dick and Hooters. Ha, ha!


Right after her first disastrous date, Ellie saves a handsome Cedric, who was running five minutes late, after he is nearly blindsided by a UPS truck while crossing a street.


The two are adorable around each other—fumbling with their words and awkwardness at the instant attraction. Of course, since each has prior trauma with love lost, the two deny their feelings and avoid getting too close to each other. Meanwhile, Ellie continues the online dating, which, like I said, are a hoot!


Date# 2: A cowboy that talks about lady parts. Ewe! I swear this boy needed to heed the advice of his mama. “[My mama] taught me it’s better to keep my mouth shut and look stupid than to open it and prove it.” (48)


Date#3: A priest wanting to make sure your hymen was intact. That’s it, brother!


The two characters had that snappy, fast-talking pizzazz, which made them all the more compatible. Readers will enjoy the fun chemistry between them. But will Ellie’s theory on tardiness be the thing that stands in their way? For Ellie, her number one rule was that her guy must be punctual. If any of her dates were five minutes late, they were out of the running. Obviously, this was a tad too strict. But, in the end, Ellie learns the Power of Five Minutes Late—how they can take the people you love, how they can save your life, and how they can be the best thing that ever happened to you. Because if it wasn’t for Cedric being five minutes late to his meeting that night, he never would’ve met Ellie.


Witty, well-written, and funny! A fun romantic comedy! Loved it!


My rating: 5 stars

Review: KISSING FROGS by Rich Amooi

Sara needs a wedding date, so she spends her time on the internet dating scene “kissing frogs.” This seemed very similar to Ellie’s experience in Five Minutes Late with the disastrous blind dates. Although some dates were enjoyable, they weren’t as ridiculously funny as Ellie’s dates.

So, anyway, Sara is “dating” and can’t seem to ignore the noise from her sexy new neighbor. What could he be doing in there? But there’s something about Ian that’s so nice, especially when he saves her from one of her dates.

There’s instant chemistry between the two, and the love story played out in the same old pattern. This was an okay story, but it didn’t impress me as much as the first book.


My rating: 3 stars

Review:DATE WITH A GHOST IN COLORADO by Darcy Troy

Samantha Torres is meeting Warren for their 3rd date. Once he arrives, she notices how quiet and withdrawn he seems. Then she gets a call from a sheriff, letting her know that Warren was killed that night. What?! So now she’s talking to his ghost.

After some getting used to, Sam realizes how easy it is to talk to Warren’s ghost, especially since he doesn’t talk. But then she starts to believe that he’s carrying secrets. Could it be possible that his death wasn’t an accident? Could the stripper have anything to do with it?
At first, I thought this little mystery was crafty and clever, until it didn’t start to feel like a mystery anymore. When Sam got derailed from Warren’s death and started hanging out with the stripper and her friend, story started taking on a whole new meaning. It was starting to feel more like a ghost love story or a girls gone wild tale.
When I was about half way through the book and there was still no progress, I started wondering why I was even continuing. I mean, why can Sam even see ghosts in the first place? It didn’t make sense.
This book had a promising start, but it just fell through on expectations.

My rating: 2 stars

Review: PRIVATE ACTS by Delaney Diamond

Part of the Latin Lover series, story focuses on the hot, sultry affair in Ecuador. Miguel is a visiting art sculptor and Samirah is an out-of-work housemaid/cook on a temporary visa. They both promised that this would be a fling, something fun while she was in town.


Samirah doesn’t want to get involved, not since her last humiliating affair with her boss. So what if Miguel was only the hottest Latino she’d ever laid eyes on?


The chemistry between the two was sizzling. I loved how Samirah described herself as a “citizen of the world” because of all her travels. How awesome is that?


Well-written, quick, and enticing!


My rating: 4 stars

Review: THIS TIME NEXT DOOR by Gretchen Galway

How broke would you need to be to try out for a modeling gig? Well, as long as I'm not getting naked, I wouldn't mind at all. But it's pretty sad when you're trying out for a plus-sized model and they tell you you're too fat for it. What!?

Rose is 200 pounds, unemployed, and barely has a roof over her head (she's staying at a fancy home in Oakland rent-free because her roommate got herself knocked up.) She lives next door to Mark, a computer whiz-geek that doesn't get out much. At first, the two clash, but they seem to mellow out when she suspects that he has a crush on her prettier, thinner (yes, even pregnant, she's still thinner than Rose) roommate and he thinks she might be a lesbian. Funny!
Mark is a little shy, but he's so adorable, even though he gets a little creepy obsessing over Rose's large, voluptuous breasts--an element that works in favor of fat women. Rose is a sassy, outspoken, and abrasive broad. The two make a fantastic pair, a dynamic duo. I like that they help each other out.
Along with a cast of zany characters, the story dives into a strange and messy love triangle (or square). You see, Blair is the roommate that got knocked up by Rose's ex, whose mother owns the house they live in. ??? Although wildly convoluted, story is a tantalizing recipe of unconventional chaos.
For Rose, being so big has never stopped the men wanting her for sex; they just would rather not be seen with her. That's sort of flattering and sad. 
A comical and romantic tale of Fatso and the Geek. It'll prove that shy nerds can rock your world like no other. You want to see how this sweet story unfolds for luckless Rose.
My rating: 4 stars

Review: WRONG BED, RIGHT GUY by Katee Robert

Elle was planning the ultimate seduction when she snuck into her boss’ room. Nathan was everything she could expect and a perfect match on paper, even though their physical chemistry was non-existent. But then his brother enters the room and a mix-up happens. Ooops!


Being dumped by her jerk of an ex-boyfriend has put stricter standards for Elle, which was she avoided tattooed bad-boys like Gabe and focused more on boring guys like Nathan.  Still, she couldn’t deny how turned on she was when she was around Gabe.


It was fun watching the two play with each other, riling emotions and plucking nerves. Elle was certainly surprised at how nice Gabe turned out to be and how much they have in common.


This was a sweet, romantic bad boy romance that’s so achingly good!


My rating: 4 stars

Review: UNETHICAL by Jennifer Blackwood

Payton is a college student looking to get into med school. She’s looking into her future, but she cannot forget her past, especially when her past surprisingly ends up at the same frat party, at the same college. The two were heartbroken when the relationship ended in high school. It seems they each blame the other for leaving, but they don’t know the full story.
A yearning still exists even beneath the thick cloud of anger and resentment.  They mostly try to stay away from each other, even though they have the same ethics class and both get the same internship. The two constantly fight between wanting each other and wanting to strangle each other. It gets very heated (sexually and angrily.)
Story felt like it had a few holes in it, like certain things could’ve been expanded more. I found the debate on Assisted Suicide to be interesting, especially since it hits so close to home for Payton. Her father is awaiting trial for the extra morphine he gave his wife during her battle with cancer. Is Assisted Suicide ethical? Why is it okay for a pet but not for a person? Shouldn’t it be suitable in order to end the suffering?
An okay college romance.

My rating: 3.5 stars

Review: SEDUCING LOLA by Jessica Prince

Lola is a believer in love and HEA’s—just not for her after three failed and miserable relationships. That’s why she follows the adage: Those who can’t do, teach. And that’s what makes her the perfect radio host for Girl Talk, a program that dishes relationship advice and keeps the dating scene real.


One morning, while bearing the rants of her overbearing mother, Lola runs into Power Suit in the coffee shop and, unsurprisingly, she does a little shameless flirting because, let’s face, the girl’s not blind. Power Suit was HOT!


Thinking she’ll never see Power Suit again, Lola goes to work, where she embarrasses a high-profile millionaire named Grayson on the radio. The guy threatens to sue, so the station tries to settle the irate businessman. They decide to help restore his public image by making Lola his personal escort to his events. Of course, Lola was outraged. She was flummoxed when she discovered that Grayson was actually Power Suit.


Nonetheless, Lola, in order to save her job, reluctantly agrees to be Grayson’s “date.” Grayson, however, has been intrigued by the lovely Lola and enjoys the challenge of cutting through her hard exterior. The challenge of seducing Lola is on.


I just loved the characters in this book. Loved Lola stubbornness and sense of humor. Loved Gray’s bold and unwavering tenacity and how hard he fell for Lola.


A rocking good story!
My rating: 4 stars

Review: TRUSTING JAKE by Lauren Giordano

Jenna is looking for a do-over life after the death of her cheating husband, so she’s uprooting her 2 kids to a new town for a fresh start. No lying husband or harassing boss.
On the way to a job interview, she gets stuck on the road and hot construction guy Jake comes by and helps her out. Jake is a managing partner of a construction company Jenna was actually considering working for. What a way to make a first impression, huh?
Story is about her trusting any man after what happened. The kids are loud and boring. The pace was slow and the construction talk put me to sleep.  I’m sure Jake and Jenna are pretty good together, but the story didn’t quite send me.

My rating: 2.5 stars