Sandra C. Lopez's Blog, page 373

Review: BENEATH THE BLAST by Jeff Rorik

The new reality show, Beneath the Blast, is poised to be the next big hit. Ten volatile contestants will be confined to an underground bunker for one month, during which they will compete physically, mentally, and socially in an attempt to win the one million dollar prize.

The production crew is well aware that their hands are going to be full running the show, but when it comes to light that they too are unable to leave the bunker or contact the surface, the situation becomes far more dangerous. They are faced with a dilemma: do they risk their jobs by calling off the game, or allow the rivalries and infighting to continue?



My thoughts: The game: a subdued version of Survivor. Everyone is competing for the million-dollar prize. But who will win?
What’s interesting about this book is that it’s not really a story but a reality TV game show you’re reading. Told in the various perspectives of the contestants and the TV crew, Beneath the Blast presents the game on and off the cameras, relaying inner thoughts of alliance, strategy, and the fierce determination to win at all costs. Each short chapter focuses on a brief summary (thoughts and/or actions) of each character. There may have been a few too many characters too keep track of. In fact, sometimes I forgot some of them and I had to try to remember who was who. I also thought that the rules of the game were a tad complicated. You complete tasks and win tokens, which you can use to buy necessities, but you must decide whether it would be worth getting these necessities?
The game itself was not as riveting as I expected it to be. I would’ve liked it better if it had more of a Fear Factorelement, including tasks like jumping off a mountain or eating live scorpions. The plot seemed compelling, but the execution fell flat.
My rating: 2.5 stars    

Review: FIRE SIGN by M.A. Petterson

A beautiful forensic engineer hiding a tragic past reluctantly teams up with a troubled cop to stop a serial arsonist targeting churches.

Dr. Anja Toussaint believes that her own dreadful youth foretells who the arsonist is and the shocking motive behind the fires. But Detective Gil Dolan stubbornly sets his sights on a white supremacist previously convicted of arson and just released from prison.

Unfortunately, when Anja blocks his efforts the arrogant cop sets his own plan into motion that leads them both into a fiery trap.

* Please note: Fire Sign is a novella and about one quarter the length of regular novel.





My thoughts: There is an arsonist that is burning down churches, and the case was set to locate and convict.
Starting off in the 1st person POV, the story relays the investigation process, which involved police protocol and forensic evidence. Not very stimulating. I didn’t even know who was telling the story.
It started off okay with the fire in the church, but the excitement of a good thriller was weakened by a complex plot and a stagnant pace.  The writing was rudimentary.
I just couldn’t quite get into it.
My rating: 2 stars

Review: WARM HEARTS IN WINTER by Helen Pollard

How desperate would you need to be to take a P.A. position to a complete stranger in a remote cabin surrounded by nothing but snow and mountains? Suddenly I’m seeing images of Jack Nicholson from The Shining.  Not too enticing for me.

And why would a writer need a personal assistant? I mean, how lazy is the guy? Abby was right: it did sound like he needed a babysitter.
In any sense, Abby takes the job. Of course, when she first gets to the cabin, she was freezing cold, wet, bruised (from her fall in the snow,) and exhausted. Misery, party of one, please.
I was impressed how forceful Jack was when he insisted that she not drive off in the middle of the night in search of a hotel. Was she nuts? It’s dark and snowy—you won’t be able to see a thing! But with disregard to her stubborn poutiness, he laid down the law and said: “You’re staying and that’s that.” Now that’s a man.
Mainly the tale revolves around two people with nothing to do but look at each other and talk. Of course, there was no doubt that there would be some lovey-dovey feelings there. In fact, it got a little sappy at times. And with nothing to do out in the woods, it got a little boring. The intriguing twist was cabin fever settling in, making the two anxious and disgruntled in the midst.
Still, there was something there. “She wore simple clothes, never primped at her hair, and rarely wore any make‑up….Abby was the opposite, almost unaware of her attractiveness, and of course Jack found that attractive in itself.” (57) I like guys that like plain girls—girls that are just the way they are. Although I don’t know how I’d feel to know that I reminded him of his dead wife. Now the thriller book, Rebecca by Daphne du Maurie, is coming to mind. At one point, I thought Abby was actually being haunted by the dead wife with the silent phone calls, dark figures, and strange noises that kept happening at the cabin. But that just enabled the two to get even closer.
The story is well-written and describes the snowy scene vividly. Well, of course, you’re going to describe nothing but snow. That’s all there is! I don’t think I’d be able to take all that snow—I’m a Cali girl, after all. Story is full of emotion—mainly heart-ache that predictably turns to love.
This is a warm, fuzzy, little romance that’s supposed to melt your heart.
My rating: 3.5 stars

Review: CHRISTMAS IN VENICE by Meadow Taylor (short story)

Olivia's Christmas trip to Venice, Italy should be a holiday dream come true. But when she’ s confronted by a handsome Italian cop about her unattended luggage, she worries she won't even make it out of the Marco Polo Airport…




My thoughts: After living in Italy for 3 months, I now know more than ever that I would definitely want to go back. And on the list of places to go: VENICE! And, after reading this story, I want to make it a goal to go during Christmas. The problem was that the reader never makes it beyond the airport.
First rule of thumb when traveling ANYWHERE: Never leave your luggage unattended. For Olivia, the trip didn’t start off so well with the polizia on your tail.
I liked the way it started, but I felt like there could’ve been more to it. I wanted to hear about the lustrous scenes of Venice. But what do you expect for a short story?
My rating: 3 stars     

Review: THE DOLL by J.C. Martin

CUIDADO EN La Isla de la Muñecas
  On La Isla de la Muñecas(Island of the Dolls), dolls worn and withered throughout the years are hung in memory of a dead girl. Most of them look like Chuckie—very creepy. “Don’t touch the dolls,” they say, for it will disturb the spirit. Why even take a tour like this?
Ever since that tour day, Joyce has been freaked out about those dolls. Then she realizes that her daughter has a new imaginary friend, but is she really imaginary…or is it the curse of the doll?
Now, she must figure out a way to break the curse or deal with the consequences.
This was a quick mystery; however, I felt that the story could’ve elaborated a bit more on the curse and history of the dead girl.    My rating: 3 stars

Review: FAST FORWARD by Juliet Madison

What would you do if you woke up 25 years into the future—into your old, wrinkly body? I’d probably have a heart attack…or, at the very least, wishing for one.

Kelli Crawford has it all—gorgeous looks, a successful modeling career, and a hunky boyfriend. No wonder her “pudgy” sister was always jealous of her. But what happens when the young supermodel wakes up at 50? Yikes! What a nightmare!
“Yesterday, [she was] young, unmarried, and…firm, and, now [she was] old, married, and…saggy!” (268) Oh, the horror!
So many things have changed in the future, like the ubiquitous use of an auto-driving, talking car with coffee maker, for instance. And what the heck was an e-pad? The future sort of reminded me of Marty McFly’s travel experience to his own future, which had holograms and flying cars.
I was perplexed and somewhat perturbed by how quickly we delved into the character’s old self without a single clue or reason to how she got there in the first place. I mean, even in Back to the Future, we at least knew it was the Delorean that got Marty McFly to a different time.
Most of the book revolved around the confusion of Kelli’s senior life. We had to learn the “who, what, where, and why.” Well, of course! Reading it was like watching a comedy movie set in the U.K.
I especially loved her foot-in-the-mouth moments and the scene with her struggling to squeeze her fat body into a slim suit.
In the end, this unexpected leap to her future was a real eye-opener for the conceited model. According to the psychic, there was a reason she was propelled into the future. But what? One had to hope that Kelli would figure out a way to get back to her former, young life, where she belonged.
My main criticism was the amount of time spent on all the gushy family drama. The character drawled on and on about people she didn’t know and all that went on with the facial. I think it deviated too much from the time-travel idea. The concept was good, but the execution of it could’ve been better—it could’ve been shortened and more focused.
 My rating: 3.5 stars

Review: BESWITCHED by Molly Snow

Surla is a magical, black cat, and Idis is a witch and her keeper. In an attempt to escape the mean and evil witch, Surla accidentally switches bodies with a high school girl named Cathy. The two must live the life of the other while hiding from the wrath of Idis.
In the interim, the cat shows Cathy how to show off, be cool, and just pretty much how to survive high school. As with any typical high school, there are cute jocks and mean girls, and the two must live through it all—and figure out how to escape the witch and switch back!
This was another Freaky Friday story—but with felines. Oddly enough, some parts of the story were told from the eye of the cat. Well, of course, these were magical cats, for god’s sakes!
It kind of reminded me of the movie, Hocus Pocus, with its Disney antics and fumbling witch that may have taken a likeness to the funny Bette Midler, but there wasn’t as much magic as I thought it would’ve had.
By the end, Surla made some really good friends in Todd and Chrissy, just like Sabrina in Sabrina, the Teenage Witch, but what’s to happen when she must leave and return to her cat body?
The showdown, I thought, was sort’ve confusing. I didn’t really know what the heck was going on. And, above all else, it ended with a cliff-hanger, which I hate. “Idis is…” That’s it? See, the writers/publishers do this to you on purpose, because they want to force you to get the next book in the series. What a jip! And why is there a series? I mean, how many times can you switch lives with a cat? Well, judging from the title of the next book, BeSwitched Witch, someone might be switching with Idis, the evil witch. That might be worth checking out a little.
Overall, this was a cute, funny, easy-to-follow story that was mostly intended for the 12-year old audience judging from the simple writing style.  My rating: 3 stars   

Review: DON'T DIE, DRAGONFLY by Linda Joy Singleton

The Story: Now living with her grandmother after being kicked out of school, Sabine Rose hides her psychic powers from everyone. Yet, Sabine can't seem to get the bossy voice of Opal, her spirit guide, out of her head . . . or the disturbing image of a girl with a dragonfly tattoo.




My thoughts: Sabine is a typical high school girl with a not-so-typical psychic gift. Like most 16-year-olds in that awkward stage, she’s underdeveloped (no boobs) and acts like a giddy fool in front of her crush.


When I first started reading this, it reminded me of those Goosebumps book series I was so into growing up, with scenes drawn out of bedtime stories that had monsters in the closet and whatnot; then, as I continued, it transcended into something more like those Sweet Valley High books I used to always avoid, with girls right out the movie, Clueless. As if!

Sabine has to struggle with wanting to do the right thing, but not being branded a freak. Like Buffy, she wants to be the popular girl dating the cute guy and participate in high school activities, like the prom; she does not want to have to chase unknown demons with a power she neither wants nor knows how to use. Sabine wants to ignore the visions she’s having and be “in love” with her guy. Quite frankly, I’ve always been repulsed by “teenage love”—so sickening and stupid, and often resulting in PDA’s (Public Displays of Affection.) Who counts the seconds of togetherness? “Oh, we’ve been together for 2 weeks-8 days-and-6 ½ hours”—Gag!

When Sabine eventually finds herself in a grueling mess, she must force herself to open up and use her powers to find a way out. For me, this was where it got exciting, as I’ve always had a fascination with seers and psychic gifts. I especially loved how there was more than one character with a special gift.

Although the ending left me in a quandary because of the cliffhanger, it was still a quick read you can get through in one night. I may have to get the second book in this series just to find out what was in that box.

My rating: 3.5 stars   

Review: THE MIND READERS by Lori Brighton

The reader hears the heart and tortured soul of a mind reader, a young girl named Cameron.

Knowing the truth about everyone can sometimes put a damper on Cameron. She cannot believe the people she calls “friends” are a bunch of two-faced liars. Besides, “most people’s thoughts were annoying.” (374) I agreed with Cameron about there being “so many more important things than school crushes.” She wasn’t flaky and vain like the other kids. I dug that about her.
The plot suddenly thickens when a body mysteriously appears on a beach shore and the words “I killed her” filters into Cameron’s head amid the screams of rambling thoughts. But who said it? Then a strange boy—one Cameron can’t read—shows up out of the blue. Could Lewis be like her?
I just loved Lewis! He was an intriguing heart throb with mystifying allure and a protective nature.
The hunt for the Mind Readers was on and Cameron could be in danger—unless she goes with Lewis to a school and trains her abilities. I couldn’t help but be impressed by all their powers.
You could feel Cameron’s hard work and frustrations as she tries to master her powers. In the meantime, she’s still this shy, giddy girl, especially when she was around Lewis. But are Lewis’ feelings genuine? Was the mentor, Aaron, being honest? Or were they both just using her?
Well-written and enjoyable! A story that pulls you into a vortex of mystery and excitement.
I can’t wait for more of the Mind Readers.
On TBR list: The Mind Thieves (Book 2)
My rating: 5 stars  

Review: THERE’S ALWAYS LOVE by Joycie Russ

Jade, a young homicide detective has strange dreams that lead her into reopening a cold case. As she searhes for answers, she discovers old family secrets and a world she never knew existed.




My thoughts: Questions without answers. That’s what our heroine, Jade, has after the recurring dream of finding that dead body.
The mystery behind the dreams and the puzzling murder draw you in, but then the plot deviated to a lackluster story pattern. Suddenly it became all about the engagement, the marriage, and about the love of being in love. Oh, give me a break. What about the dead body?
I wanted to learn more about the dream, but when all she could talk about was "happy" life together, I quickly became disillusioned and disinterested.
If I were a lover of love, this would be an okay story with a pedestrian writing style.
My rating: 2 stars