Sandra C. Lopez's Blog, page 69

Review: THE TWO-FACED KILLER by Katy Pierce

 

Another serial killer known as theTwo-Faced Killer back after 30 years? This case leads Carlee deep into thecosmetic world and narcotic universe. They were looking for the “queenpin ofthe drug trade in Chicago’s fashion and beauty industry.”

 

This one takes a little while toget into, but it was still interesting nonetheless. Still haunted by the 8thGrade Killer, Carlee muddles through to try to catch another killer. I like theway she thinks—so crafty and methodical. Still, this one wasn’t really the bestand certainly took longer than it should have. It certainly gets better towardthe end with the mysterious string of murders, but, yeah, this wasn’t thatgreat. Truth be told: none of these books compare to that first one.

 

An okay read.

 

Rating:3 stars

Excerpt: FIRST PASSAGE by Morgan Fitzgerald-Lorah

 

“I can’texactly stay in one place very long right now.”

“Do you knowyour blood type?” Bailey changed the topic.

“No, Idon’t. Why?”

“Let me testit. I know you don’t like the idea, but you’ll probably be back over that hand.If something were to happen, such as hemorrhaging during surgery, it would bebetter for me to have that info already.”

Nathan’sstomach turned with nausea, but the more logical part of him knew he shouldkeep his options open. Though he would try to make the Red Magician keep hisword, he doubted he could trust the psycho to fix his hand.

“Go aheadand test it,” Nathan said.

Baileypricked Nathan’s hand with a short needle. He then stuck the drop of blood intoa small machine. “Well, shit,” Bailey said after several minutes.

“What’swrong?” Nathan straightened his posture in concern.

“You’re amagic user. And I’ve not seen your blood type before.”

“Thatdoesn’t make sense. There’re only so many types.” Nathan never heard of such athing, not even from Grant.

Bailey metNathan’s frightened gaze. “Among the scientific community, but not publicly,there’s been reports of magic users having different proteins in both theirblood and nervous systems. It can vary between individuals but is suspected todo with the kind of magic they use. Perhaps to protect the body from suchpotent energies running through it. There may be other less known differencesin their biology, too,” Bailey said.

Nathan fellsilent so he could fully absorb this information.

After amoment, he spoke again. “So, how do you know this?”

The corner of Bailey’s mouthtwitched as he stepped away from Nathan. “You’re better off keeping out ofothers’ business. Deal with your own problems first.”

 

 

Available on Amazon

Blog Tour: PURSUIT OF INNOCENCE by Bethany Rosa

PURSUIT OF INNOCENCE

Bethany Rosa

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GENRE:  Romance

 

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BLURB:

 

“I’mdone waiting around. You’re mine. No more games or pining over someone elsewhen it’s me you want. You won’t remember his name after I get through withyou.”

 

Lilyknows exactly what she wants in life. To graduate, land a high-paying job, andforge her own way. Nothing will distract her. Until the ultimate playboy,billionaire Sebastian Dubree, barges in. Not to be overlooked, Lily’s longtime crush,Jackson, decides she’s worth the fight.

 

Reluctantto succumb to either, she quickly becomes a challenge to conquer.

 

Lilymust decide between the familiarity of her childhood longing or the newlydiscovered  passion ignited by thedominant CEO. But can she surrender without losing herself in the process, orwill someone take matters into his own hands?

 

Boundariesblur between desire and resistance in this gripping coming-of-age romance,leaving readers yearning for more.

 

 

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Excerpt One:

 

I hit a wall. Asolid, warm wall that smells dreadfully sinful. Before I have time to process,two firm hands are on my shoulders to steady me. “Hey, watch where you’regoing” comes the deepest, sexiest voice imaginable, which would be incrediblyhot if the words spoken were anything other than rude and demanding. Lookingup, which is crazy, considering I’m one step higher, I freeze as my eyes landon a dark, handsome god of a man who looks like he wants to commit murder. Whatis it with me and jerks tonight?

 

His eyes getbigger, and his brows furrow as soon as my shocked gaze meets his. He has shortblack hair that’s longer on the top and styled perfectly. His menacing eyebrowsare folded downward from scowling at me. The dark scruff that shadows his faceis so sexy, trimmed razor straight, accentuating his perfectly chiseled jaw.Mentally slapping myself, I apologize.

 

“Crap, I’m sosorry. I didn’t see you there.” He doesn’t release his hold.

 

“That’s becauseyour head was down. Your eyes should be looking forward.” His voice is hard anddemanding.

 

Flustered and—Ireluctantly admit—slightly turned on by his strong, firm grip and penetratingstare, I stand there frozen in place. After what seems like minutes but I’msure is only seconds, I snap out of it and apologize again. “Sorry, I’ll watchwhere I’m going from now on.” The words rush out as I pull away to leave, thistime keeping my head up. I think I hear him say something else behind me, but Idon’t stop. Running into one of the hottest guys I’ve seen in a while should’vebeen the highlight of my night. Instead, I’m more irritated. Do allgood-looking men have a license to be an ass?

 

 

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AUTHOR Bio and Links:

 

BethanyRosa raised four amazing daughters before fulfilling her dream to become awriter. Her goal is to ignite passion in readers through her erotically chargedstories. When not immersed in writing, Bethany finds joy in life traveling theworld alongside her husband of 25 years. Home is divided between the mountainsof Montana and the Arizona sunshine.

 

Website:http://www.bethanyrosa.com/

Instagram:http://www.instagram.com/Bethanyrosa.author

TikTok:http://www.tiktok.com/@authorbethanyrosa

 

AmazonBuy Link: https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0CVHM9VG7

 

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GIVEAWAY

Arandomly drawn winner will receive a $25 Amazon/BN gift card.

a Rafflecopter giveaway

Blog Tour: THE SERENDIPITY OF CATASTROPHE by Lisa Fellinger

 

THE SERENDIPITY OF CATASTROPHE

Lisa Fellinger

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GENRE:  Women's Fiction

 

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BLURB:

 

Amother defeated by anxiety. A daughter determined not to become her mother. Canone month in Europe reunite them?

 

AnitaLorello is paralyzed by grief. When her husband dies in an accident the nightbefore a long-awaited retirement trip, she’s devastated by the loss of herpartner and once again shelves her dream to finally visit Europe. But when herestranged daughter agrees to accompany her nearly a year later, Anita is eagerfor the opportunity to repair their relationship.

 

CarrieLorello’s life is crumbling. After a night of clouded judgment ends in herbeing fired, her mother’s offer of a one-month paid vacation seems like herbest option. But she refuses to get caught up in her mother’s irrationalworries and critical comments, and under no circumstances is she to learn whata failure Carrie’s proven to be.

 

Desperatenot to lose her daughter again, Anita fights to conquer her anxiety and becomethe mother Carrie always wanted. But as Carrie’s life grows more and morecomplicated, her mother is the last person she wants to confide in.

 

Withoutanyone else to hold them together, can Anita and Carrie overcome theirdifferences, or will the secrets between them derail their trip and destroytheir relationship for good?

 

TheSerendipity of Catastrophe is an emotionally compelling work of women’sfiction. If you enjoy travel stories, complex mother-daughter relationships,and lovably flawed characters, you’ll love this hopeful story of resilience andsecond chances.

 

 

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ExcerptTwo:

 

“Welcome to London,” the officer said.

 

Anita smiled, then pushed her way through the turnstilewhere she was reunited with Carrie.

 

“Ready?” Carrie asked, tucking her passport back into herpurse.

 

She straightened as she fell into step beside her, full ofresolve. She was through the flight, and immigration was less intimidating thanshe’d expected. Maybe this wouldn’t be so challenging after all.

 

Carrie led the way outside to the taxi stand, the crisp airand sunshine welcome after the stuffiness of the plane and airports. They slidinto a waiting cab, Carrie gave the driver the hotel address, and they settledin for the half-hour cab ride.

 

Out her window, Anita took in her first glimpses of Europeas the sun began to fade into evening. She was in a country hundreds of yearsolder than the United States, yet it didn’t feel old. There were old buildings,but more modern ones filled the spaces between them. Pedestrians passed by oneanother on the sidewalks, dressed much like people back home, checking theirphones as they walked. Public buses exhaled to a stop in front of designatedsigns. New moms walked along with their strollers, couples passed by with dogs,and life continued on much the same as in Buffalo.

 

Anita smiled to herself, unable to believe she’d expectedthis to be terrifying. It was different, of course, but she was overcome withexcitement, not fear. But wasn’t this precisely what she always did—builtthings up in her mind to the point she had no choice but to be terrified?

 

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What are the main themes explored in your book?

 

The most prominent theme explored in The Serendipity ofCatastrophe is that of the mother-daughter relationship. The initial ideafor this story was based around the question of what would happen if a womanwas left a widow the night before she and her husband were about to take along-anticipated trip? In then thinking about who she might go on the trip withinstead, the idea of having her go with a daughter who she shared a strainedrelationship with seemed most intriguing. How might the differences betweenthem make the trip more difficult, and how might the trip help them resolvethose differences?

 

Mother-daughter relationships have always fascinated me. Weoften hear of mother-daughter relationships that are complicated and complex,and what intrigued me about using this kind of relationship as the basis for thisstory was digging in and exploring the reasons why this particular relationshipmight be strained. What might cause a woman who so desperately wanted to becomea mother and loves her daughter more than anything to end up learning about herdaughter’s life secondhand through her husband? And what happens, then, whenthe husband is no longer there? These are the kinds of character-drivenquestions I love exploring as I write.

 

 Along with therelationship between Anita and Carrie, the other prominent theme is grief andhow it affects us. Of course, there’s the fact that Anita loses her husband andsoulmate before the story even begins, and Carrie has lost her father. But thetheme of grief is also present in how Anita views her relationship with Carrie.She grieves for the fact that their relationship isn’t what she’d hoped itwould be, and that relationship is shaped by Anita’s unresolved grief over thethree miscarriages she suffered before finally giving birth to Carrie, even ifCarrie isn’t aware of them. For Carrie, she’s also affected by grief over theloss of her career and the life she’d been working to build for herself in LosAngeles.

 

My passion is writing stories about characters who areflawed in ways that make them real and relatable. Digging into the relationshipbetween these two women and exploring the misunderstandings and hurt betweenthem helped me create a story with characters readers may recognize themselvesin and root for, and that’s always my biggest goal with my stories. 

 

 

AUTHOR Bio and Links:

LisaFellinger writes contemporary women's fiction with lovably flawed, relatablecharacters. When she's not writing her own stories, she's helping othersachieve their writing dreams as a book coach and developmental editor. Shelives in Buffalo, New York with her husband, son, and fur babies.

 

Website:www.lisafellingerauthor.com

BuyLink: https://books2read.com/u/ml6kpq 

Facebook:https://www.facebook.com/lisafellingerauthor

Instagram:https://www.instagram.com/lisafellinger_author/

 

 

 

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GIVEAWAY

 

LisaFellinger will award a $20 Amazon/BN GC to a randomly drawn winner.

a Rafflecopter giveaway

Review: RINGS OF LOVE (erotic manga)

 

A young man is leaving for thearmy but is in love with his best friend. As soon as they confess theirfeelings, they spend the night together and start a relationship. It was hotand sweet. They just seemed perfect for each other even after he went to thearmy. Then it wasn’t so perfect anymore when she dumped him. Why?

 

Fortunately, he meets someoneelse…and lives with her in his ex’s apartment. Then we find out that his ex wasrunning away from a bad situation and wasn’t the cruel person he hated allthese years. Then a ring sends him back in time…back with her. Was this timetravel or a vivid dream? Regardless, he had to save Mina.

 

A riveting and sexy story! Lovedthe action scene in the end. I hope I get to download the next one in thisseries.

 

Rating:5 stars

Review: HARMONY UNLEASHED (erotic manga)

 

A celebrity manager in love withthis celebrity goddess. An app on his phone helps turn his fantasy into a sexyreality. He gets to make his dreams come true with all the members of a girlpop group. Very hot and very good!

 

Rating:4 stars

Review: THIRST TO FILL LOVE (erotic manga)

 

A husband and wife that hadn’t hadsex in years. A business trip to China that leads to sexy foreplay. Wow! Can alonely wife resist the bold advances of her husband’s co-worker? And what aboutthe husband with his wife’s best friend? Talk about good!

 

A good read about crossing lines!

 

Rating:4 stars

Review: FROSTY PASSION (erotic manga)

 

For an ice skater to improve histiming on the ice, he had to start hooking up with girls. His first sexualexperience with a pro gets him pumped and hooked. Wow! Suddenly, the shy boybecomes a ladies’ man. Very sexy!

 

Rating:4 stars

Review: MYSTERIOUS ROOMMATE (erotic manga)

 

A young collegeman moves into his own dorm room with fantasies of girls and a mysteriousroommate—a roommate that turns out to be a sexy woman. This leads to sexyresults. Loved the art work. A good read!

 

Rating:4 stars

Review: ROYAL TRAINER (erotic manga)

 

A man paying a trainer to trainhis wife in the art of sex. In this episode, the trainer is supposed to take abreak from the wife. Well, that didn’t take too long. He then focuses on thedevilish Lady Raven and the bodyguard. The art work was exquisite. Sexyimagery. Very nice!

 

Rating:4 stars