Sandra C. Lopez's Blog, page 324

Review: KAITLIN’S MOORING by Carey V. Azzara

The night of a college party, Kaitlin didn’t expect unprotected sex or a surprise pregnancy. What would she do? How was she going to tell her parents?  But a torrential rainstorm ended up being her parents’ demise, destroying Kaitlin, a boat they built and often sailed on.
When Kaitlin hears the terrible news, she rushes back home to her grandparents to mourn the loss and take on a new challenge. Readers would definitely admire Kaitlin’s quiet strength and be endeared by the family’s close bond.
Story was well-written and full of emotion, certainly following the literary prose, but it also remained long-winded, which was waning on my interest.
My rating: 2.5 stars

Review: WHEN IT WILL RAYNE, IT WILL POUR by S.C. McCormack

"Slater Services:" services ranging from bodyguard, bounty hunter, and private investigator. Mmm, I wondered how much this paid.
Rayne Slater had a new mission. What it was I couldn't clearly state.
The dialogue was full of gruff, witty banter, however, the pacing sort of lagged. Reading it, I almost felt lost, trying to figure out what was going on. Perhaps I was trying too hard to follow along with the plot (I had to go back and re-read certain parts.) There certainly a lot going on here, but I guess I just couldn't follow. I think the story line might have been too complicated for my liking.
My rating: 2 stars

Review: THE SIDE JOB by Don Lubov

Maggie was dating Ben. The night of their high school prom ends with an unplanned pregnancy.
The premise seemed easy and the writing was plain n' simple; however, the way the story was organized made it hard to keep tabs on it and figure out the characters. It was almost like the story wasn't fleshed out enough. To me, it felt like the parts were cut-and-paste―nothing really fine-tuned or complete. It was also surprisingly lagging, too. This was supposed to be a short novel, right? I just didn't feel a connection to the story or the characters.
My rating: 2 stars

Review: TIMEFLIES: THE MAIDEN VOYAGE by M.C. Goldrick

Grizelda Day was a 9-year old contemplating on why her parents chose such a bizarre name for her. Then something happened that sent her spiraling out of control. It all started with the flies-in-the-cube novelty. Could licking it really help you travel through time?
Well, one lick, and POOF! She and her friends were houseflies. The story of their adventure was just beginning―their adventure as TIMEFLIES.
When thinking about the past, you sometimes can't help but wonder what it would've been like if you had been a fly on the wall. Well, Grizelda and her friends now had that opportunity. You empathize with Grizelda's desire to be closer to her parents. It just seems that they spend more time on their phones than anything else. This time-travelling adventure to find the origin of her name actually allowed her to understand her parents more. In this case, she learns that her mother, as a child, had to take care of herself and her parents, often having to prepare the meals and clean the house. Grizelda ends up taking a new understanding, promising to make things better upon her return.
I liked this book! I enjoyed the little, black-and-white illustrations filtered throughout the book. Readers will enjoy seeing the trio overcoming obstacles like learning to use their fly wings and avoiding the horrible swatter. I also liked how the story teaches you the inner-workings of a fly, like how they regurgitate food before eating it.
A  great, fun-filled, time-traveling adventure. I can't wait to see where the TIMEFLIES go from here.
My rating: 4 stars

Review: AUDREY'S MAGIC NINE (Book 1 & 2) by Michelle Wright

AUDREY’S MAGIC NINE: THE PENCIL AND THE FUZZY by Michelle Wright (Book 1)


Audrey is a lonely foster kid. Living with adults that barely feed her and abuse her, Audrey has very little in her life. The only thing that gives her any solace is her sketchbook.

With wide-eye wonder and a vivid imagination, she creates stupendous worlds to escape the horrors of her reality. Eventually, law enforcements put a stop to it. But then somewhere else a childless woman named Tabitha longs for motherhood, then she meets Audrey. Tabitha had a good heart, but she was much too overzealous, which was intimidating for little Audrey. Why couldn’t they just let her be? I’ve always been a firm believer to let kids be who they are. And Audrey was just an artist—not a ballerina or violinist or a singer.

I liked how relatable Audrey was. Her situation was all too common, embedding fear and loss in the reader; however, it was the awesome illustrations—their brightness and color—that brings hope.

Things certainly take a surprising turn when a puppet comes to life asking Audrey to help save a world and defeat an evil queen.  The race is on to find the nine, a group of magical friends. Audrey must use all her drawing skills for this one.

I just love graphic novels for the story in art, and this book is especially spectacular for its likable characters, fun elements, and powerful message. Audiences will be endeared by Audrey’s quiet strength and her lively resiliency to not be beaten down.

An inspirational and adventurous story!


My rating: 4 stars




AUDREY’S MAGIC NINE: THE PENCIL AND THE DREAM by Michelle Wright (Book 2)


The story continued with the search for the nine magical puppets. It’s a Toy Story of Adventure.

Audrey is still as spunky as ever! She’s such a charismatic and clever kid that kicks butt. Girl Power!

She definitely learns the odds and ends of life, and that sometimes life isn’t fair. Still, nothing can bring her down, especially when she foils injustices with the help of her magical friends. Audrey lets audiences know that being different is not bad.

A terrific story of being who you are.  Such lovely illustrations! I can’t wait to see what happens to Audrey next.


My rating: 4 stars

Review: DIARY OF A WICKEDLY COOL WITCH 1: BULLIES AND BADDIES by Kate Cullen

I thought this was going to be like Sabrina, the teenage witch, but this wasn’t like that at all.

Lily is a 286-year old teen witch. Odd, isn’t it?
She’s a 7thgrader that blathers on and on about the kids at her school. It’s her diary, basically, which coincides with the title of this series. Normally, diaries would be interesting, but, in this one, however, we go back and forth between past and present. We go back to entries from the 1800’s for god sakes!
And, yes, she has powers and used them to play tricks, which was a little lame. There were also too many kids that I didn’t really care about.
All in all, story was cute but silly. It was definitely not what I anticipated and I surely will not continue the series.

My rating: 2 stars

Review: SKY ORB by Marie D’Abreo

This graphic novel picks up where Lost in Guyvilleleft off. Oscar was still living at his parents’ house when Alex moved to CA; now he’s venturing off on his own.


This book follows the lives of eight different characters. Amelia is on a flight home and has a bizarre dream.


The characters start off fairly modern and normal, then drift off into Hippie Dippie Land, a strange, fantasy realm in their brains. It was weird! The art was just so bizarre.


None of the stories really evolved and didn’t end. The sketches were nice, but still child-like.


I’d say readers are much better off with Lost in Guyville by this author. This book was just not worth it. Definitely not worth the $6 Kindle price.


My rating: 3 stars

Review: LOST IN GUYVILLE by Marie D'Abreo

A comic book of a luckless woman named Alex. With a degree in art, she is whittling away endless hours inside a cubicle while coming up with stupid ideas for cereal box layouts. She wanted so much more. She wanted to work in TV; she wanted to write a script. My God, where was the creativity!?

Tired of Corporate Hell, Alex finally quits her job and takes a freelance gig painting background sets, which she likes, especially when she starts hanging out with an old friend from college. But then, suddenly, two more guys enter the picture. And now she's just lost in Guyville.

This is a humorous, contemporary story of traversing the world of guys and the dating life. Alex is funny and relatable, and she has virtually no clue about what she's doing. You just can't help but like her.

The illustrations are quirky and child-like. They're very rustic and old-fashioned, which is reminiscent of childhood and provide the feeling of "home." 

Very nice and enjoyable!


My rating: 4 stars

Review: A VERY SPECIAL CAT by Cory Q. Tan

A search for a luminous cat, whatever the heck that was. Instead we find a black cat.
Although the illustrations were good, the story was not as radical as I would've liked. Just an ordinary cat―nothing special about it or the story.
My rating: 2 stars

Review: I WON'T CUT MY HAIR by Daniel Georges

Sally loves her purple hair. The longer her hair was, the prettier it will be, so she decided not to cut it. Soon, she starts having problems with her long hair.
Sally was cute, looking like a Rugrats character. In fact, she reminded me of Angelica Pickles. I liked how the emphasized text was colored in purple, which matched her purple hair. I wished we could've had more problems with her long hair though. We could've had some funny scenarios with it. Instead, the book ended too quickly and it was just too short. We could've had more fun with this story.
My rating: 3 stars