Sandra C. Lopez's Blog, page 340

Review: GROWTH AND CHANGE ARE HIGHLY OVERRATED by Tom Starita

"I’m convinced time is nothing more than an endless circle, repeating the same events over and over and over again. The names may change, the circumstances may be different, but ultimately we all end up back at the same starting point." (4)
In this book, Lucas James recounts events after his breakup with his "Apple Jack."
"One of the problems Jackie had with me was steady employment, or lack thereof. I would try to tell her I was an artist and you couldn’t imprison an artist inside the mortal cage of the nine-to-five, to which she would laugh and ask me where were my artistic endeavors?" (14)
Soon, he comes to the conclusion that, in order to have food and a roof over your head, he was going to have to get a job, and that's when he starts working for "That Store."
"My attitude has always been focused on the two “ances”: avoidance and ignorance."
Character tells the story in a refreshingly candid way, although sometimes he veers the subject, going off tangent with his random "squirrel" moments. Sometimes I found myself wishing he'd get to the point already. You could say he's bit neurotic, but he also carried a witty banter at times. "You can never call Lucas James a liar because he doesn't know the truth." (13)
Although he wasn't the brightest person in the world, Lucas' mindless ranting were that of an average Joe, which made him relatable. And, when you think about it, some of what he said made a little sense.
I liked how the story revealed the true reality of working in a frank, indelible way, although, at times, I found the dialogue to be daunting and skeptical.
When the character asked, "Are you picking up what I'm putting down?," all I could say was, "Not really."
Although this book was not entirely terrible, it wasn't that great either.

My rating: 3 stars

Review: CUPID ON THE LOOSE: A Valentine’s Day Anthology of short stories

“Valentine’s Day was invented by men in an attempt to make single women desperate enough to accept clearly inferior males.” (LOC 268)
From a female plumber looking to score on V-Day to old lovers reuniting in a scene from a live reading at a bookstore, stories are a mix of cute and fun. Not all were that great or funny. Some were boring and dumb. Obviously, the thing that ties all these stories together is a stray cupid on the loose—some guy with wings and a diaper.
My favorite one had to be the story of Annabelle Lopez and her secret admirer. Another good one was the one with a strong, resilient woman realizing that her boyfriend is not the one for her and puts her own needs first.

My rating: 3 stars

Review: REAL ROMANCE by Ginny Baird

Marie works in a bookstore and loves to read romance, hoping to live out the passion experienced by those heroines. She is engaged to Cecil, a “starving artist,” who is nice but just doesn’t do it for her. Then after a 20 minute eye appointment, she becomes infatuated with her hunky optician.
The two take an instant liking to each other, but each thinks the other is involved, which results in misinterpretations and mixed signals.
Characters were sweet and the story was nice and simple, even though the ending was a little too convenient and cliché. Really, the bulk of the story was about them fantasizing about each other. I mean, how could they dream of a future together when they hardly even knew each other?
A story bound by the world of books and fantastic fiction.
“Fiction is supposed to be about feeling better, about forgetting.” (LOC 1090)

My rating: 4 stars

Review: THE ST. VALENTINE’S DAY COOKIE MASSACRE by Elisabeth Crabtree (novella)

Kat (a.k.a. Kitty Kat) is a food critic that’s actually a journalist that’s filling in. She thinks one of the restaurants she’s been critiquing might be trying to poison her. Possible? I wouldn’t want to be a food columnist, not so much because of the death threats, but because of all the fatty foods.
Her next assignment is at The Cookie Jar, where she is forced to eat cake, cookies, pies, candy and some pink concoction called “Cotton Candy Rush.” OMG, where’s the barf bag?
Now a body has been found behind the dumpster of The Cookie Jar. It looks like it was “Poison by Cookies.” Who could it be? And is someone after Kat?
A witty and light mystery read!

My rating: 4 stars

Review: MY EX-WIFE’S WEDDING by Elise Marion

Jack is a guy who wants to get his ex-wife back on the day of her wedding. Well, why did he divorce the broad then?
What shocked me the most was the fact that Jack slept with the bride the day before her wedding. Whoa! I thought that was a big slap-in-the-face to her groom. Nobody deserves that.
The story mainly depicts the events of that one night between the two ex-lovers. The reader is taken on a tumultuous ride through tension, awkwardness, memories, and regret. 
What I liked best was that, even though it was a short story, it had characters with profiles and history. A sweet, well-written story.

My rating: 4 stars

Review: A TASTE OF ROMANCE (4 Harlequin stories)

Just by stating that this book is a Harlequin tells you a lot about the predictable end for the couples in these stories. But I decided to give them a whirl anyway because every now and then they come up with a one that’s not so cheesy.


1.       “The Reaper’s Heart” by Michele Hauf
Witch vs. Reaper: A witch and a reaper are at battling odds over each other’s hearts (literally, they want to slice open the chest cavity and rip out each other’s hearts for their own selfish purposes.)  It’s a strange fantasy with true love. Do these two actually fall for each other? Of course, they do! It’s a Harlequin, after all.
They touch each other with magic as neither one is willing to give in. Who will win the heart? The witch will die if she doesn’t get his heart.  I was just curious to see who would win.
This story is a weird paranormal similar to kind you might find in an Anne Rice book, but it is oddly misplaced in this collection of normal human relationships.

2.       “The Good Girl” by Tara Quinn
This story started off kind of boring for me. For one thing, there were too many characters—too many to keep track of and too many that you don’t care for.  The characters are in the middle of a storm. It’s ultimately about not having enough time to proclaim your love to that one special person—very blasé.
The best part was when Bill found out that Mary, the good girl, was a stripper. Now THAT was news. Why not start off with that?The question was: can a man marry an ex-stripper? Are strippers bad? Well….


3.       “Any Man of Mine” by Debbi Rawlins
The title is a Shania Twain song. I love that song!
Needless to say, this story is all about cowboys. Who wouldn’t want to hook up with a hot cowboy? I’d want Josh to teach me about horses.
I liked Haley and could relate to her introversion. “Drawing was safe and familiar.” (1420)I really wish this would’ve been a clean romance (no sex) as that kind broke the old cowboy code for me. Still, can a New Yorker have a future with a cowboy? Well, Harlequin will surely find a way to make it happen. Oh, by the way, the next story in this series is “You’re still the one.”
Clearly, the author has a fetish for Shania Twain songs.


4.       “Secret Agent Seduction” by Jennifer Morey
All the FBI/TES tactics in the beginning were boring and were skipped for the most part.
Evie has not had much luck with online dating. In fact, her last date ended up being a killer, a killer Agent Jude was hunting and had killed right in front of her. Of course, that’s the moment when he takes a liking to her.
To make a long story short, the two wind up between the sheets in the middle of his covert operation.  
It’s just another Harlequin.  My rating: 2 stars

Review: THE GHOST FILES by Apryl Baker (Volume 1)

Ever since she was 5 years old, Mattie has been able to see ghosts or dead people. Now, at 16, she sees a young girl in the mirror, a girl with a bullet hole in her head. WTF! But, like always, she just tried to ignore them. But when she sees one at a party, she can’t help but recognize her as one of the foster kids in her home. Suddenly, dead kids are showing up all around her. What’s going on? Who are they? And how can she stop their endless pain? The ghost kids can’t say what’s happened to them, but all Mattie knows is this: she has to find her friend because foster kids need to look out of each other. 
Mattie handles the freak show with snarky wit and smartass humor as she learns to face her gift and curse. The pain she feels is so vivid and real. Good thing is that it’s not gory, not as much as the cover lends you to believe. Loved the simple craft that went into this ghostly investigation of missing kids. Good thing she had Officer Dan, a 20-year old cop that seemed more like a teenager with his PS3 and living with his parents. If only he could believe Mattie more. Being a foster kid, Mattie is one tough cookie and can kick butt when she needs to, which may be needed against the Reaper that comes to her in her nightmares.
A chilling ghost story that captures the reader from start to finish.

My rating: 5 stars

Review: PSYCHED by Juli Caldwell

Aisi is an everyday high school girl with a unique ability. Like her little brother Leo, they are both haunted—psychic. They both can see the dead. Leo is frightened by these scary apparitions, but Aisi refused to feed them her fear, so she fights them and sends them back to Hell using her special gift of Latin and telekinesis.
One day, Aisi gets a dark warning from a demon, who will kill all happiness and joy and reign again. This one is the most dangerous demon she has ever faced and, for the first time in her life, she is actually scared. What will happen to her family, to Leo? What has he done to the twin sister that mysteriously disappeared all those years ago? What would happen if he won?
Aisi is tough and fearless, and it was interesting seeing her try to solve this mystery by delving in the morbid history of demons and how it related to her father and what happened to her sister.
Although not all the pieces fit in this supernatural puzzle, the whole psychic vs. demon angle was enjoyable.
A good read!

My rating: 4 stars

Review: BROKEN: STORIES OF DAMAGED PSYCHES by Weldon Burge

These stories are exactly like those I’ve seen on Tales from the Crypt or Twilight Zone, which is where the author got the inspiration.
From a doctor with a “sizzle” to shut his wife up for good to a high school kid dreading spending any more time with his gruesome history teacher, these stories are delightfully scary and full of irony.
Loved them!
My rating: 5 stars

Review: THE GHOST FILES series by Apryl Baker

Volume 2 – Mattie, the ghost girl is back! It the last book, the story ended with Mattie’s dead mom revealing that she wasn’t her real mother.
Mattie’s never had an easy life, and she will never forget the torture she experienced at the hands of her latest foster mother. But it would seem that things have gotten back to normal. Well….as normal as can be considering that she can see ghosts. But, now, there’s a demon in town and Officer Dan can see it. How is that possible? That leads her to a mission in a haunted house in New Orleans, the most haunted place on earth, with a team of special ghost hunters.
While getting over the betrayal and heart ache from Officer Dan, Mattie must battle the demon that’s after her and try to figure out who her real mother is.


Volume 3 – Silas, the demon has healed Mattie’s deformed hands. But at what cost? What’s in it for him?
Book 3 begins with a past recap of a woman giving up her daughter to protect her from Silas. Was this Mattie’s real mom? Was the baby Mattie? And what does Silas have to do with any of it?
Now, after ridding a vengeful ghost and demon from a haunted house, Mattie has come to embrace her Reaper gifts and the title of “Ghost Girl.” Still, it doesn’t stop those pesky ghosts from reaching out to her, especially a team of them who blame her for their death. What? How?
In this tale, Mattie finally meets her dad, but she can’t shake the sinister feeling behind that charismatic face. Mattie is caught between the demon, Silas, and her shady father. Both are telling her that she cannot trust the other. Meanwhile, her powers could be turning her into something she doesn’t want to be.


Volume 3.5 – This was a novella rehashing parts of the last book but centering on Mary and Caleb—two of Mattie’s friends. Mary and Caleb sort of have a thing for each other, while, at the same time, must contend with the new ghost in town. I don’t know, was this story really necessary? I wanted to continue Mattie’s saga, especially when, in the last book, Dr. Olivet (the ghost doctor) might’ve known more about Mattie and her mother than he led on. That’s a cliffhanger that just makes the reader want to learn more. Where’s Book 4? I didn’t want to hear about Mary and Caleb. Bring on more Mattie!


Stories had all the perks of a good ghost-hunting mystery! Full of intrigue. A few too many typos that irk the reader, but, overall, stories are pretty good.

My rating: 4 stars