Sandra C. Lopez's Blog, page 358

Review: LET GO (THE BILLIONAIRE’S WORLD, Book 1) by Abiola Onikoyi

Kane is a billionaire boss—your regular, pompous arrogant jackass. Set to complain to the manager of a restaurant, he is suddenly captivated by Josephine. Right off the bat, there is this sexual tension between the two.
Certain words were misused and overused—repeated, actually— throughout the whole thing. I definitely would’ve cleaned up some of these areas. Even though the book required some minor editing, the love story comes across loud and clear.
Josephine’s feelings of plain inadequacy were endearing and relatable. Of course, I would’ve preferred a little more background info on the two characters; instead, the romance took immediate flight the second the two laid eyes on each other.
Story is fast and to-the-point. Although it doesn’t lag, I think it could’ve benefited with a little expansion—expansion on the character’s livelihood, their motivation, etc. The twist in the plot didn’t appear until near the end of the story, which ended in a cliffhanger. Story was underdeveloped as it is, so why add a cliffhanger to boot? It just felt incomplete.
Overall, I think this story had good characters and a nice story line to start, but it could’ve been better.

My rating: 2.5 stars

Review: SHE’S GOT THE MAGIC WAND (SAGE BROTHERS, Book 1) by Abiola Onikoyi

Only four chapters, this story had the same good concept as the first Billionaire book.
In this version, Billionaire Todd (the notorious Sage brother) hired April as his interior decorator. Like the characters expressly insinuate, Todd is the rich, spoiled child that needs to be “mothered” constantly. That right there is a turn off! Not to mention he’s a total playboy. But April’s attention seemed to be more focused on Jason, the eldest of the Sage brothers.
This story had a little more background info on the characters, which I liked. It would’ve been nice to relive that scene when Jason insulted April and she slapped him. Again, the whole thing was too short, but I guess that’s okay if this is supposed to be a short story. But it could’ve used more editing.  
 My rating: 3 stars

Review: HOT TEMPTATION (SAGE BROTHERS, Book 2) by Abiola Onikoyi

As opposed to the first Sage book, this one felt more like a novella with 8 chapters.
This one follows the tale of Melanie, the Sage brothers’ assistant. She’s always the one babysitting the youngest Sage, often known as the troublemaker. You could feel Melanie’s mounting frustration in the writing. Throughout most of the most of the story, all you get is vicious banter between Melanie and Todd…until the tension becomes flirtatious.
Story was better. Author has a talent for creating conflict and passion between characters. But, again, book needed more editing.
 
My rating: 3 stars

Review: CAPTIVE by Leigh Talbert Moore

Prentiss Puckett is certain of three things:
-Graduation is two weeks away.
-Summer only gets hotter in south Mississippi.
-She’s getting a job with air-conditioning.

She did not expect to be kidnapped walking to work.
And she never expected to become a hero.






My thoughts: You’re on your way to work on a typical, ordinary day, then you suddenly get kidnapped. What do you do?
Through the eyes of the main character, we experience a hazy confusion. It seems that she was brought into some enslavement or training camp with armed guards and everything. Weird.
Additionally, the girl is not alone; people she knows are there with her, but they seem to have this vacant stare, like if they’re hypnotized. Even more weird.
Was this a conspiracy or the beginning of World War 3? Who knows?
Regardless, story was kind of dull.
My rating: 2 stars

Review: ME AND MR. JONES by Lindsay Marie Miller

She met the Golden Boy during a cold rain and was immediately captivated by his beauty and charm. Little did she know that he would be Mr. Jones, her college professor. Oh, how the freshman blushed with embarrassment. Still, her infatuation lingers on for the young 25-year old psychology teacher.
Throughout the semester, Finley continues to run into Mr. Jones, catching his eye with shy, fumbling retreats. She is basically the epitome of the quiet, studious college student, which would relate to many readers.
Strange how it all turns totally Mission Impossible. It was unexpected and just seemed a little offsetting for me. Suddenly, it’s just the two of them, stranded and on the run. Alone, in a cold cabin out in the middle of nowhere—of course, they would get closer.  I mean, the two were sharing body heat.
Well-written for the most part, this is a story of a sensual infatuation in the midst of treacherous survival. But for a naïve introvert like Finley, this was all a shocking surprise that only kept on getting worse. It seems Mr. Jones wasn’t what he claimed to be. All of a sudden, the reader is thrust into politics, terrorist groups, and conspiracy theories. What? I liked how this book started, but then about half-way through, it was kind of losing me with its mysterious complexities, the story deviating from the two main characters and going from one harrowing situation to another. Even though it was a fast read, it was still a lot to take in.
I understood the author was going for this political/psychological thriller romance, which might suit some readers, but I just feel that I would’ve enjoyed it better if it was a tad more simplified.
My rating: 3 stars

Review: JAYNE DOE by Jamie Brook Thompson

Jayne is my sister. Johnny is her boyfriend. A week ago he murdered me. Today he put Jayne in the hospital. Tomorrow he's going to die. I'll make sure of that.


My thoughts: "Girls should never be alone in cars with boys. Bad things happen." (5) Unfortunately, young Jill had to find out the hard way.

The writing style is concise and full of mystery; it's not very impressive but it compells you to want to read more. As Jill lingers between life and death, she is overwhelmed with confusion while witnessesing the pain and sadness of her loved ones. What I liked best was that even though her tale is tragic, she tells it with a dose of wry humor.

It seems that her soul is still connected to her body by the way she randomly appears by it. Everything is seen through the eyes of this ghost. In fact, the whole story plays out as a series of pop-ins from scene to scene. The character just kept on jumping all over the place that it was hard to keep up.

Things get even more confusing when Jill tries to touch people--it seems she can possess the living, allowing her to see into the memories and thoughts. It was strange and puzzling. I didn't know what was going on sometimes. One minute, she's in somebody's memory, and the next, she's in her own heaven. Weird.

This wasn't quite what I was expecting, but it was an okay read. It was basically a story of a ghost watching over the monotony of the living A.K.A. her family while trying to bring her killer to justice. It wasn't as exciting as I thought it was going to be.


My rating: 3 stars     

Review: WHO KILLED RANDY RATPHINK? by Jerry Flu

So the title seems explanatory enough: Who killed Randy Ratphink?
Randy has just died and is now a ghost, and this was an interesting perspective as this is all from the POV of Randy himself. Even though “being dead was boring,” he takes his death in snarky, witty stride, handling it the way he’s always handled it—by winging it. I liked him!
Filled with funny commentary that is both light and thought-provoking, Randy sets off on a quest to find his killer while recalling memories from his life. It would seem the memories hold the key to the killer’s identity and what happened. Well, of course!
And so the reader takes the grand tour of the lazy, hippie, vagabond life—traveling all over, living on what you can, and getting what you can by any means necessary. Certain parts lagged, slowing down the flow. You almost feel like a peddling beach bum yourself, trudging along vacant roads of excessive story line to no case in point.  Yeah, the bum’s life can get pretty boring sometimes. The only thing that kept me going was figuring out who the killer was. And judging from the vast array of strange, manipulative characters he meets, the killer could be anyone.
Sometimes I wished the story would hurry along, to bypass all the faceless weirdoes, endless banter, and crude quips, and finally get down to the mystery of the murder. The generous portions of humor and cultural references—added with a touch of international flavor—were appreciated but not enough to sustain a lengthy prologue.  Truth be told, I enjoyed Randy more when he was dead.
In actuality, this strayed from a simple whodunit mystery to a lazy bum’s diary.
My rating: 2.5 stars

Review: MELODY AND MURDER by Leslie Leigh

“Navigating through a job interview is an emotional tight rope, for sure.” (LOC 34)
Melody is a snappy and witty librarian. It begins with a job she’s trying to land in her hometown. The first five chapters are all about her waiting for a reply while she talks to her cat and serenades herself with her accordion. What a nerd! This was a very slow start. When was the murder coming?
Someone finally was found dead at the new library where she works. It was a homeless guy that often went there. Was he murdered? I would hope so, but the story wasn’t that compelling for me to find out.
Overall, I expected a good, clean murder mystery, and that’s not what I got.
My rating: 2.5 stars

Review: PIECES LIKE POTTERY by Dan Buri

The first collection of short fiction from Dan Buri, Pieces Like Pottery is an exploration of heartbreak and redemption that announces the arrival of a new American author. In this distinct selection of stories marked by struggle and compassion, Pieces Like Pottery is a powerful examination of the sorrows of life, the strength of character, the steadfast of courage, and the resiliency of love requisite to find redemption.

Filled with graceful insight into the human condition, each linked story presents a tale of loss and love. In Expect Dragons, James Hinri learns that his old high school teacher is dying. Wanting to tell Mr. Smith one last time how much his teaching impacted him, James drives across the country revisiting past encounters with his father's rejection and the pain of his youth. Disillusioned and losing hope, little did James know that Mr. Smith had one final lesson for him.

In The Gravesite, Lisa and Mike's marriage hangs in the balance after the disappearance of their only son while backpacking in Thailand. Mike thinks the authorities are right—that Chris fell to his death in a hiking accident—but Lisa has her doubts. Her son was too strong to die this young, and no one can explain to her why new posts continue to appear on her son's blog.
Twenty-Two looks in on the lives of a dock worker suffering from the guilt of a life not lived and a bartender making the best of each day, even though he can see clearly how his life should have been different. The two find their worlds collide when a past tragedy shockingly connects them.

A collection of nine stories, each exquisitely written and charged with merciful insight into the trials of life, Pieces Like Pottery reminds us of the sorrows we all encounter in life and the kindness we receive, oftentimes from the unlikeliest of places.


My thoughts: Reader starts off in a gray, thick fog as you try to comprehend the plot. One of the characters--Lisa--is standing at a gravesite, grieving over the loss of a child and mulling over a pending divorce. The author then proceeds to summarize the ups and downs of the marriage in a vague nutshell. At this point I'm asking, "Who the hell cares?"On and on, we hear about the couple's wilting love, and, although the words were sensitive and poetic, I couldn't help but get wilted myself. The "commemorating the renewal of their love" didn't sound all that appealing. Basically this is the story of the stress and endurance of a rocky love. Of course, some might appreciate this, but others might find it a bit of.....(yawn.)

So this is another collection of short stories that I didn’t find too interesting.
My rating: 2 stars

Review: MISSED CHANCES, an anthology of love stories (edited by M.R. Nelson)

Classic love stories… with a twist.

A collection of classic love stories featuring "the one that got away:" light-hearted, with undertones of tragedy and a lingering comic finish.

The flight includes:

Aunt Philippa and the Men, by L.M. Montgomery
The Kiss, by Kate Chopin
The Victory, by Rabindranath Tagore
The Mystery of Wilhelm Rütter, by Helen Hunt Jackson
A Florentine Experiment, by Constance Fenimore Woolson




My thoughts: Short love stories with a hint of what might have been.

In these five stories, we take a ride on the rocky (sometimes nauseating) rollercoaster of love.
"Aunt Phillipa and the Men" had a more historic feel to it. I wasn't sure if there really was a prince somewhere in there or if that was just the name of the town. It almost felt like a world out of Jane Austen.
The other four weren't much better.
Stories just seemed to babble on and on, never really leading to an interesting point. I mean, they sounded compelling enough and I thought I'd get through them rather quickly being that they were short stories. Sadly, that wasn't the case.
My rating: 2 stars