Sandra C. Lopez's Blog, page 332
August 14, 2018
Video Trailer: INAUGURATION DAY by Peter Pollack
Here's a video trailer I created for Inauguration Day by Peter Pollack
Review: THE SECRET OF CAMP WHISPERING PINES by Tara Ellis (Book 2)
Sam is back, and she’s at Camp Whispering Pines with Ally. This one had a slower start than the first book. In this story, Sam aims to investigate the rumors of this camp and too many characters have a different story. In fact, one of my main issues was that there were too many characters to keep track of. It just complicates the story more.
There was something strange about Ms. Cooper, the camp director, and I hated that she was blaming Sam for everything. But why was she so protective about the camp’s reputation? What was the big secret?
The mystery was pretty good, but not great. Sam was still that smart and adventurous teen that readers will love. But, honestly, I didn’t really get it in the end.
My rating: 3 stars
Review: THE MYSTERY OF HOLLOW INN by Tara Ellis (Book 1)
Samantha Wolf and her friend, Ally, are spending the summer at her aunt and uncle’s inn, unaware of a legend and a supposed ghost that plagues it. The “ghost” is guarding this secret treasure that was never found. So Sam, being the intrepid young teen, aims to unearth this mysterious legend. This was a refreshing and smart mystery for young readers.
My rating: 4 stars
August 8, 2018
Review: THE SHATTER POINT by Jon O'Bergh
Everyone has a breaking point. So begins Jon O'Bergh's suspenseful novel, The Shatter Point, an intriguing study of contemporary society wrapped inside a ghost story that is wrapped inside in a thriller. The novel confronts issues such as Internet celebrity, social media culture, and extreme thrills. But it also explores timeless issues of love, loss, and the ways in which we are haunted by our pasts.
Set in Southern California's Orange County and historic Pasadena, the plot follows two parallel sets of characters whose lives eventually intersect. The past intrudes in unwelcome ways for each character. Donna remains troubled by a previous marriage that turned sour when the husband became abusive. Her son Billy fears that he inherited his father's propensity toward violence. Feelings of inadequacy haunt Asher from his years being bullied. Ruth hides a series of traumatic incidents from her youth. Jada's craving for stimulation leads eventually to disaster.
Much more than just a ghost story, the novel is a study of individuals under stress. The curious reader will discover different layers of reality versus fiction within the book. In a world haunted by the ghosts of the past--where reality is manufactured for popular consumption--how do we know what is real and what is fake, what is true and what is imagined? After the shatter point, the horror will become all too real. My review: "Everyone has a breaking point." Beware of Horror Place―the most shocking extreme haunt in the world.
Welcome to Horror Place, a place of humiliating torture if you go by the video of that poor girl.
Story follows the lives of several characters. Jada and Asher are a young couple that couldn't be more different; Ruth is an aging widow battling feelings of loss and regret; and Phil and Donna Woods, owners of Horror Place. The reader delves deep into the psyche of these characters. For instance, Asher has always been the quiet loner and has displayed violent tendencies in retaliation to his abuse from bullies. Interesting enough, the lives of these characters intersect in subtle and intricate ways; however, they also ripple out to other lesser-known characters, which I thought might've been unnecessary.
A good portion is on the construction and development of Horror Place. I sort of thought that the place already existed, so there was a little confusion there. In actuality, the scariness doesn't really have much to do with Horror Place at all; instead, it's on the shatter point of the characters―they're "snap" moment. There was some definitive potential there.
Well-versed and impeccably detailed. In fact, I can almost say it's too detailed. I mean, it really goes deep into the lives and background of each primary, secondary, and tertiary character―damn near everyone actually. I just thought that there were too many characters tightly clustered together in this tiny, compact novelette of seven lengthy chapters. It was almost hard to keep track.
I liked the historical significance and references to So Cal and the OC. After all, I'm a Cali girl myself. The book is enriched with historical facts, which may have taken away from the story a little. The author's exploration of psychological effects of emotional stress and turmoil was surely intriguing, and there were some suspenseful moments; however, it wasn't quite what I was expecting.
My rating: 3 stars
July 27, 2018
Review: OUR FRAIL, DISORDERED LIVES by Mary M. Schmidt
Larry Kavanaugh is an ordinary kind of guy. He's got a nagging wife and two kids, both annoyingly gifted. No matter what he does, there is no end to what his family needs. What's a regular, everyday guy to do? Well, he cuts a few corners, obviously-one very big corner in particular. He sells his soul to the Devil. Maybe it's not the actual Devil, but Larry is ready to make a deal with one of the Devil's minions. He meets some demon whose name he can't remember. Funny, it was right on the tip of his tongue, a name of something you step on. Roach the Demon has sort of good intentions. He just wants a re-write of Dante's Inferno with himself as the star. Roach goes after Larry as a rogue operation. He needs to make a point to his boss, Satan, so he uses the body of a human to follow Larry around and stir up trouble. He offers Larry an airtight guarantee that nothing could possibly go wrong. After all, Larry doesn't feel like he has much to lose-or does he? Even Roach might be in over his head this time.Review: “It’s never easy hearing that the boss wants to see you right away…especially if your boss is the devil himself.”
First of all, I must admit that the gigantic eye on the cover was a bit unsettling for me. I mean, I don’t even know what animal that was—a wolf or an owl or something? I didn’t even see any reference to it in the story. It was just a big, giant eye.
I liked how the story generated the setting of an uncouth office in Hell, working for the devil to contract willing and unsuspecting souls. We then focus on Roach, a tired, overworked demon working for the (evil) man. Stuck with immortality with nowhere to go, he then decides to flee his responsibilities and escapes to the surface. Now, he’s on the run and in hiding with demonic bounty hunters on his tail. I think this was a pretty good, strong start in the story, and I would’ve liked to have seen Roach battling out with bounty hunters and evading the devil’s trail, making it more of an adventure/thriller story.
Instead, the story divides into several points of view—one of which, was Kathleen, the nagging wife of Kavannaugh, who sold his soul to the devil. I wasn’t sure how her story intersected with Roach, whom I thought was the main character in this book. The reader gets other points of view from Dorothy and Grace (don’t really know who these characters were either) while Roach continued to spread evil by planting subliminal messages in humans. This really didn’t go anywhere for me. Instead, it became rather confusing. I think it lacked cohesiveness—that thread that bounded these characters together. I would’ve liked a simpler story with more focus on Roach. I think his perspective was probably the most interesting out of the whole thing. I would’ve liked to learn more about what it was like to work for the devil.
My rating: 2.5 stars
July 11, 2018
July 10, 2018
Review: DANGEROUS CURRENTS by Kathryn Knight
Malorie Montgomery was looking for a fresh start in Cape Cod. She never expected to stumble upon a human foot―one that belonged to a dead woman. Story started off kinda slow. It was the discovery of the dead body that began to simmer some tepid curiosity. Who was this woman? How did she end up in an unmarked grave? And was this an accident...or murder? With her mind a whirlwind of chaos, Malorie could barely hold it together. Fortunately―or rather unfortunately―she had the aid of an old flame, one who broke her heart into smithereens.
The story had the makings of turning into a decent mystery, however, it continued to hold a consistent lag, which may be the reason why I couldn't develop a connection with the characters. I just didn't care about them as much as I should've, and I should have felt something for them considering the weight of emotion contained within the story. Although the author had a good writing craft, I just wasn't too taken by the story.
My rating: 2 stars
Review: BELLA COVE by Rochelle Katzman
Kayla never dreamed of being the sole matriarch of her family when she returned to Bella Cove. She certainly didn’t expect to gain ownership of a toy store. In fact, her heart still ached for what she left behind in California. Or, more specifically, who she left in California. For as long as she could remember, there was no one other than Gabe. Story kind of got off to a slow start, but seemed to gain a rather steady traction. Still, it wasn’t fast enough for me. It also had a few too many characters for my liking. I kept on reading, hoping that it would pick up with something interesting. But, alas…
Although the writing was pretty good, I just couldn’t really get into this rather mundane story of second chance love.
My rating: 2 stars
Review: TAGAN’S CHILD by Amelia Ford
After her sister’s death, Sophie must now care for her nephew, Toby, also known as Tagan’s child. Suddenly, the two are in grave danger, and Sophie learns that the boy was “special and unusual.” Mmm, interesting. The danger ploy was obviously intriguing, making me wonder about the mystery behind Tagan and his child. I mean, what was all the commotion? Who were they? And why did they want to kill the boy?
Like I said, this was an interesting premise…for the first few chapters. Unfortunately, I could not get past the lagging pace, which was deterring. And the fact that this war was due to some government conspiracy was lame and confusing, and it did not help the story any.
My rating: 2 stars
