Sandra C. Lopez's Blog, page 62
October 5, 2024
Review: STINETINGLERS 3 by R.L. Stine
A wooden statue that brings badluck. A tale of growing fish. The dog alien story was a little weird. Quick,little tales of horrors! Overall, I liked these stories.
Rating:4 stars
Review: DEEP TROUBLE by R.L. Stine
Watch out for sharks! For someonethat wanted a sea adventure, that’s all Billy could think of: sharks. Then hegets wind of a possible mermaid sighting. Well, that’s even better than sharks.This turns into one wild mermaid adventure! A fun read!
Rating:4 stars
Review: RECIPES AND REVENGE by Cindy Bell
Someone has killed a popular TVchef at a cooking school. It takes a while for Lucy, the baker, to get into thecase as she was first distracted by the lost kitten she found and took in. Itseems there were quite a few suspects to consider. Once again, Cindy Bell cancertainly lure you into a juicy mystery. It was kind of funny how Lucyembarrassed herself in front of hot-guy Jack. I also found Lucy’s “intuition”to be rather interesting, too.
It's all about recipes andrevenge. A delicious mystery you want to devour!
Rating:4 stars
October 4, 2024
Reader and Author Blog Party
What started off as a simple bookblog that posted the personal reviews of the site owner has grown into a sitewhere authors and readers can connect. Since then we’ve given away books, giftcards, reviews, tours, and free promotion to authors.
Check out Sandra’s Book Blog to find outmore!
To celebrate all the readers andauthors that have been a part of our blog, we’re throwing everyone a Reader andAuthor Blog Party! We’re also including one prize for readers and one prize forauthors.
Follow theparty HERE
Reader Giveaway:
Author Giveaway
a Rafflecopter giveaway
October 3, 2024
Blog Tour: STILETTOS AND GUNPOWDER by Gail Koger
STILETTOS & GUNPOWDER
Gail Koger
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GENRE: Action/adventure Romantic Comedy
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BLURB:
Myname is Gemma Stone. I’m a Maricopa County Sheriff’s Deputy and not only must Ideal with the sweat-soaked misery of the Arizona desert, I get to respond to abunch of crazy 9-1-1 calls all day long. Like a parakeet up a tree, or a caraccident where a tractor trailer full of fireworks is hit and the 4th of Julycomes a bit early.
Butsome days crime takes a deadly turn. Police cars are suddenly blowing up.Detective Sergeant Dante Delgado, the love of my life, was assigned to trackdown and stop the bomber. Am I worried? You betcha. There’s a madman on theloose and he is very, very good at making bombs.
Justwhen I thought things couldn’t get any worse, the Feds think I’m in cahootswith an Iraqi warlord who deals in stolen antiquities, Ichabod, my murderousex-dance partner, escapes from prison and I’m suddenly in everyone’scrosshairs.
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ExcerptThree:
“Damn!” Frank spat and slammed on the brakes.
The seatbelt abruptly clamped around my chest. “Holy crap!”The skinny, white male with the feathered headdress and loincloth was doing hiswar dance in the middle of the road. I keyed my mic, “Charlie-23 show us out at85th Avenue and Bell Road with a male dancing in the middle of the street.”
“Copy, Charlie-23,” the dispatcher responded.
A truck narrowly missed the demented dancer. Did he notice?Nope. With his loin cloth flapping in the wind, he shook his hips in whatlooked like a weird belly-dance. Then he switched to the Texas two-step.
“Ugh. I really don’t want to make another arrest today,” Igrumbled.
Frank nodded. “Me, either.”
“Stay with our prisoner. I’ll handle the boogie man.” I gotout of the car before Frank could protest and approached the moron. “Sir, ifyou feel the need to dance, could you do it on the sidewalk?”
He took one look at me, shrieked and bolted down theroadway, yelling, “It wasn’t me. It wasn’t me.” Horns honking, cars swervedaround him.
“Aw, c’mon! It’s too dang hot to be running.” Did he listen?Hell, no. I trotted after him. It wasn’t like he could run very fast inflip-flops. “Stop! Now! You’re gonna get hit!”
The overhead lights flashing on the patrol car, Frankfollowed behind us.
The fool lost his flip-flops and did a crazy hippity-hoppitydance over to a circle of grass on the highway median.
I picked up his flip-flops. The pavement was about 180degrees, and he wasn’t going anywhere without his shoes. “Why are you running?”
“I don’t want to go to jail,” he wheezed.
“And I don’t want to arrest you.”
“You don’t?”
“Nope. What’s your name?”
“Tim White.”
“Okay, Tim, what’s up with the dancing?”
He shrugged. “I’m just trying to spread a little joy.”
“Un-huh. Does it look like it’s working?”
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AUTHOR Bio and Links:
Iwas a 9-1-1 dispatcher for the Glendale Police Department and to keep fromgoing totally bonkers – I mean people have no idea what a real emergency is.Take this for example: I answered, “9-1-1 emergency, what’s your emergency?”And this hysterical woman yelled, “My bird is in a tree.” Sometimes I reallycouldn’t help myself, so I said, “Birds have a tendency to do that, ma’am.” Thewoman screeched, “No! You don’t understand. My pet parakeet is in the tree.I’ve just got to get him down.” Like I said, not a clue. “I’m sorry ma’am butwe don’t get birds out of trees.” The woman then cried, “But… What about myhusband? He’s up there, too.” See what I had to deal with? To keep from hittingmyself repeatedly in the head with my phone I took up writing.
https://www.facebook.com/Colettiwarlordbooks/
https://www.goodreads.com/author/show/1598719.Gail_Koger
https://www.instagram.com/gkoger58/
https://www.bookbub.com/authors/gail-koger
http://www.amazon.com/Gail-Koger/e/B001K838BY
BuyLink: https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B0DCMT64QW
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GIVEAWAY
Theauthor will be awarding a $15 Amazon/BN GC to a randomly drawn winner viarafflecopter.
a Rafflecopter giveaway
October 2, 2024
Wednesday Weekly Blogging Challenge
This is the first time that I am participating in this Wednesday Weekly Blogging Challenge.
A Genre I want to read more of...
I love to read a variety of genres. Romance, Mystery, Paranormal, Thriller, Graphic Novels, Short Stories, Children's Books, and so on. What I like to read more of tends to go based on my mood. Right now, I would like to exercise my brain more, so I'd say I'm more in the mood to figure out some things in a story. So I guess, right now, I'd like to read more mystery, suspense, and psychological thriller.
September 30, 2024
Blog Tour: FOR YOU I'D BREAK by Hannah Jordan
FOR YOU I'D BREAK
Hannah Jordan
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GENRE: Contemporary Romance
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BLURB:
WhenRowan’s two-year marriage ends with a crash, she returns home to Peace Falls,VA, riding shotgun in her sister’s 1990 Cadillac hearse. Everything about heris damaged: her heart, her pride, her bank account, and her spine—thanks to atourist, a Segway, and finding her husband getting busy with her boss. ButRowan is determined to reclaim her career and city life as soon as sherecuperates and lands a new job.
Caleb“Cal” Cardoso didn’t notice wallflower Rowan in high school, but the formerfootball star, and Peace Falls’s newest physical therapist, can’t take his eyesoff the stunning redhead now. Too bad he’s sworn off relationships. After hislast hookup purposely tanked his online reputation, Cal stands to lose his jobif a single patient leaves his care. Which is why he can’t let Rowan switch toanother practitioner, despite the friction between them, and why he definitelycan’t act on his growing attraction.
Rowanagrees to remain Cal’s patient if he helps her younger brother train forfootball tryouts. Though Cal hasn’t touched a football since the accident thatkilled his best friend, he agrees, and as Cal helps heal Rowan’s body, shebegins to heal his heart.
ForYou I’d Break is a small town romance with a hefty dash of spice, a HEA ending,and a cast of memorable characters, including a goth sculptor who secretlyloves to decorate cakes, a fearsome-looking felon with a heart of gold, ahothead with a sweet side, a karma-devoted barista who collects damaged petsand first dates, and a lovable dog with more emotional sense than everyone puttogether.
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ExcerptTwo:
Just then, the second door opened and out walked CalebCardoso in a pair of slate gray scrubs. Years of watching him swagger downschool hallways and sprint across football fields did nothing to prepare me.He’d added more muscle to his lean frame, his broad shoulders tapering to anarrow waist. His dark, tousled hair looked styled to suggest he’d just climbedout of bed after an all-night sexfest. His jaw was sharper, his cheek bonesmore chiseled. When he looked at me with those rich chocolate eyes, all the airleft my lungs.
“Mrs. Norris,” he said, glancing at the tablet in his hands.
The sound of my married name lifted the lust fog from mybrain. “Please call me Rowan,” I said, relieved I’d finally managed to speak inhis presence.
He studied my face, frowned, and looked back at his tablet.“Nice to meet you,” he said, studying my face again. “I’m Cal. Take a seat onthe first table.”
Lauren would have politely told him that we were two yearsapart in school. Poppy would have flipped the embarrassment of being forgottenback onto Cal with a snide comment about his observation skills. Not thatanyone ever forgot Poppy. I just turned my back to him and hoped he hadn’t seenmy cheeks burn. People often didn’t remember me, but it still stung, especiallywhen it was someone I’d spent so much time fantasizing about in my teens. As Icrossed the room, I could feel him behind me, watching my every movement.
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AUTHOR Bio and Links:
HannahJordan grew up in the Blue Ridge Mountains of Virginia but wound up in SouthJersey after falling in love with her complete opposite. She's got all thedegrees of a "serious" fiction writer but only smiles when she'swriting romance.
Shelives with her husband and two daughters in a picturesque town outside ofPhiladelphia where she enjoys reading in all genres, especially the spicy ones,and confusing people with her half-Southern, half-Northern accent.
Thefirst book in her Peace Falls Small Town Romance Series, For You I’d Break,launched July 17, 2024.
Website:https://hannahjordanauthor.com
Facebook:http://www.facebook.com/hannahjordanbooks
Instagram:http://www.instagram.com/hannahjordanbooks
AmazonBuy Link: https://www.amazon.com/You-Id-Break-Second-Romance-ebook/dp/B0D5VNSHF3/ref=cm_cr_arp_d_product_top
Freeto read on Kindle Unlimited.
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GIVEAWAY
Theauthor will be awarding a $25 Amazon/BN gift card to a randomly drawn winner.
a Rafflecopter giveaway
September 27, 2024
Blog Tour: WHERE THE STARS CROSS by Dottie Sines
WHERE THE STARS CROSS
Dottie Sines
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GENRE: Historical Romance
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BLURB:
Inthe depths of the Great Depression, Ellie suffers another crash—that of hermarriage. She’s left struggling to restore her shattered life, feeling asdamaged as the stained-glass panels she refurbishes for Chicago’s historicstructures. While visiting her aunt in Marietta, Ohio, a charming river town,Ellie encounters towboat captain Wyatt and feels a searing attraction to him.But thanks to past and subsequent wounds, her attempts at opening herself tolove seem futile. Her hope for love and her determination to find the place shebelongs are further complicated by her tendency to make impulsive decisions. Inher journey, Ellie draws on an unrealized level of courage and learns she mustidentify her brightest passions in charting her course.
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ExcerptTwo:
Once the world creaked back to a tentative rotation and timeagain began ticking away, Ellie salvaged the remnants of herself and hobbled toher feet. She shoved her hair from her face and brushed away the bits of grasspasted to her arms. How long had she lain there, on this deserted patch ofground? Long enough for the world to have revolved away from the sun. Longenough, apparently, for Earth’s gravity to pull the life from her, because theonly thing she felt or thought or knew was the faint echo of a crippledheartbeat.
Ellie hugged her arms and looked to the darkening sky. She’dfallen asleep, obviously, but for all this time? Even amid all the darkness,the stars still twinkled. Damned stars. She’d taken Aunt Lillian’s little fableabout finding one’s place according to where their three stars crossed tooseriously. It had been intended simply as inspiration. Wyatt was gone, so heobviously hadn’t been some fairytale second star. And she never had figured outwhat her would-be third star was.
Time to get her heart out of the stars and her head out ofher behind. She’d been selfish. What about all the other people suffering inthe wake of the devastating flood? What about all those who had it much worsethan she during this never-ending Depression? Those were the people she neededto look to the stars for, not her own self-serving wants, so she closed hereyes and made a wish for everyone but herself.
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AUTHOR Bio and Links:
Dottiescratched out her first fiction as a little kid transfixed by the books sheread all those lazy summer days on the front porch swing. Two of her shortstories have been published in The Ernest Hemingway Foundation of Oak Park’sliterary journal, Hemingway Shorts, having placed among the top ten entries inits annual short story contests.
Wherethe Stars Cross, Dottie’s first novel, is available for purchase at:
Amazon:https://www.amazon.com/Where-Stars-Cross-Dottie-Sines/dp/1509257373/ref=sr_1_1(where it’s on the Hot New Releases list for 20th century historical romance!)
Website:https://www.dottiesines.com/
Facebook:https://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=61555443236996
Instagram:https://www.instagram.com/dottie_sines_author/
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GIVEAWAY
Theauthor will be awarding a $15 Amazon/BN GC to a randomly drawn winner.
a Rafflecopter giveaway
September 26, 2024
Blog Tour: ONE LITTLE WITCH by Crystal Beach
ONE LITTLE WITCH
Crystal Beach
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GENRE: Childrens
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BLURB:
Abrilliant Little Witch counts the pumpkins in her pumpkin patch and discoverssome surprising surprises. Join author and illustrator Crystal Beach (One PolarBear and Two Polar Bears) as she captivates you with her latest adventure storyand a brand-new series—One Little Witch. You and your child will be delightedby this hilarious tale as together you learn counting and sight words, andexperiment with sound.
Acharming holiday tale for autumn, or any time of the year, One Little Witch isfilled with pumpkins and childlike enthusiasm for learning. This little book issure to enchant, and will make a spooky addition to your child's library.
Ifyou can be anything, be inclusive.
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EXCERPT
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Review:
Learn to count your numbers inthis adorable Halloween-theme book. With fun rhymes and cute illustrations,this book is a fun read and full of surprises. Kids can keep one going untilthey reach one little witch. Highly recommended.Rating:5 stars
AUTHOR Bio and Links:
Crystal Beach is an adoptive mother and caregiver of two adoptivechildren who have complex
medical needs and disabilities. Her children are often representedin her work as strong, caring
individuals with special gifts and powers. Her writing projectsare intended to ensure financial
support for her children's future.
Crystal has a B.A. in Creative Writing from the University ofVictoria, British Columbia, Canada.
Her focus is in children's literature, publishing, andjournalism. She has had many careers
including ten years as a MedA with the Canadian Naval Reserve,advertising with a daily
newspaper, communications and marketing, training as an EMT, andcontinued studies in
developmental psychology.
She and her family live in Regina, Saskatchewan in a simple littlehouse with two giant support
dogs.
For more information visit www.crystalbeachauthor.com
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/crystalbeachauthor
Goodreads:https://www.goodreads.com/author/show/40712712.Crystal_Beach
TikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@crystal.beach.aut
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/crystal_m_beach/
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GIVEAWAY
Theauthor will be awarding a $10 Amazon/BN gift card to a randomly drawn winner.
a Rafflecopter giveaway
September 25, 2024
Blog Tour: HIDDEN TREASURES by Kathleen Buckley
HIDDEN TREASURES
Kathleen Buckley
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GENRE: Sweet Historical Romance
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BLURB:
AllanEverard, an earl's illegitimate son, is dismissed from his employment at hisfather’s death but inherits a former coaching inn. Needing to make a new lifein London, he begins by leasing the inn to a charity.
Unexpectedlyorphaned, Rosabel Stanbury and her younger sister are made wards of a distant,unknown cousin. Fearing his secretive ways and his intentions for them, Rosabeland Oriana flee to London where they are taken in by a women’s charity.
Drawninto Rosabel's problems, with his inn under surveillance by criminals, Allanhas only a handful of unlikely allies, including an elderly general, a burglar,and an old lady who knows criminal slang. A traditional romance.
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ExcerptThree:
Despite his active night, Higgs came in with hot water asAllan opened his eyes.
“Eight o’ the clock and a fine summer’s day,” his rascalannounced, “if you happen to like the country, which I do. I’d move back to thefields and hedgerows of my youth if it wasn’t so pestilent hard to make aliving there. If you’re meaning to stay more than another day, I’ll see abouthaving your shirts and neckcloths washed,” he added inconsequentially.
“I need to speak to one of the Stanburys’ neighbors. Withluck, we’ll leave tomorrow. How will you occupy yourself today?”
“I’ll have a quiet talk with Phelps. He spent yesterdaylistening to the folk around here. Grooms and stable-hands mostly, but a fewothers as well. I’ll write down what he learned. Don’t forget to lock what youdon’t want to lose in your portmanteau. Countryside’s not as wicked as town,but there’s ding-boys everywhere.”
“Says the Ding-boy General.”
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GUEST POST
Please describe a compellingscene in your book and why it's important.
Hidden Treasures: London, 1740
Chapter 6 of Hidden Treasures precipitates Rosabeland her fourteen year old sister, Oriana, into danger after they flee a distantcousin they never knew of before his inheritance of their home and hisappointment as their guardian on their father’s death. Because of his odd,secretive ways, Rosabel has become increasingly suspicious of him and his intentions for Oriana. They meanto take refuge with their grandfather in London. But on arriving at General SirOliver Milton’s door, their aunt by marriage claims not to know them and turnsthem away. The footman advises them to leave or the mistress will summon abeadle to remove them.
They have only four shillings tuppence left and are hungryand tired from their journey on the stage coach’s roof. What are they to do?Rosabel wonders.
Her sister asks if they can resta while before going on so they sit on the steps of the church in the nearbysquare. Slightly revived, Rosabel decides they must go to their family’s friendand former attorney, until she realizes it is too late in the day and he willbe gone from his office. Do they havemoney enough to stay in a cheap lodging overnight? At least Ory is notpanicking, but that is because she does not understand how little money they haveleft and how expensive London is. Or else because she has always depended onRosabel, who has taken the place of their mother.
And what if Attorney Brand is outof town to visit a client? There had been no time to write to him, as theopportunity to slip away from home had come suddenly. She has made too manymistakes when even she knew how dangerous London could be. She brought Orianato town to save her and instead may have doomed both of them to starvation orinfamy. They lived in no parish in London so were ineligible for charity. Wouldthey be taken up by the watch as vagrants and cast into prison? Would they endin the workhouse? She bursts into tears.
She is still sniffling and wiping her eyes when a gentlemanasks if he can help them. Before she can compose herself to answer, Oriana,ordinarily a timid girl, explains they have been refused at their grandfather’shouse and have nowhere to go. Rosabel wishes they might trust him but knowsthey cannot although he introduces himself as Wilfred Simmons, curate, St.Giles-without-Cripplegate and does not look threatening. Still she hesitates,until he says he has friends inside the church who will vouch for him, andadds, “Ma’am, no one has ever been abducted from St. George’s Church, HanoverSquare.”
This meeting leads to Rosabel and Oriana’s admission to acharity that houses indigent women with children and endangered women. Theirproblem comes to the attention of the charity’s founder, an archrogue, and leadsto Rosabel meeting Allan, who will be instrumental in freeing the girls fromthe guardianship.
AUTHOR Bio and Links:
KathleenBuckley writes traditional historical romance (i.e. no explicit sex). There arefewer ballrooms and aristocratic courting rituals in her books and moreproblems than does-he-love-me/does-he-not. Sometimes there’s humor. Kathleenwanted to write from the time she learned to read and pursued this passionthrough a Master’s Degree in English, followed by the kind of jobs one mightexpect: light bookkeeping, security officer, paralegal. She did sell twostories to the late Robert Bloch, author of Psycho. And no, he wasn’t late atthe time.
Aftermoving to Albuquerque, New Mexico, she wrote her first historical romance,striving for Georgette Heyer’s style, followed by nine more.
InKathleen’s gentle romances, the characters tend to slide into love rather thanfall in lust. Their stories are often set against the background of familyrelationships, crime, and legal issues, probably because of her work in a lawfirm.
Whenshe’s not writing or reading, she enjoys cooking dishes from eighteenth centurycookbooks. Those dishes and more appear in her stories. Udder and rootvegetables, anyone?
KathleenBuckley’s current work in progress is her first historical mystery, tentativelytitled A Murder of Convenience.
Linktree:https://linktr.ee/kathleen_buckley
Website:https://18thcenturyromance.com/
Instagram:https://www.instagram.com/18thcenturyromance/
AmazonAuthor Page: https://www.amazon.com/stores/Kathleen-Buckley/author/B072J2GPZ3
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GIVEAWAY
KathleenBuckley will be awarding a $25 Amazon/BN gift card to a randomly drawn winner.
a Rafflecopter giveaway
