Sandra C. Lopez's Blog, page 91
February 10, 2024
Review: MY BOYFRIEND IS A MONSTER: I DATE DEAD PEOPLE by Ann Kerns
The sketchy illustrations werenice, but I wish they would’ve been in color. Although I must say that the B/Wdid create some good, scary angles with shadows and such.
“I’ll never find a Mr. Darcy or aHeathcliff in this world.” Nora just wanted that romantic love.
Then the creepiest house herparents moved her into somehow produces a ghost. A ghost! AAAAHHH!
Loved the frightened expressions!The story certainly gave that eerie vibe. But then Nora starts talking to theghost named Tom and hears his story. Then they feel the spark of their touch.What happens when you start falling for a ghost? And what happens when theother ghosts of the house take over?
It’s funny how they try to get ridof the ghosts with a flamboyant ghostbuster TV crew and a so-called psychic.
A sweet and thoughtful ghoststory!
Rating:4 stars
Review: ADULTHOOD IS A MYTH by Sarah Anderson
“I don’t want to get up. I get up,I have to see people and DO things.” Nooooo! Too funny….and true!
These are sketchy comics aboutlife and adulthood. A lot of them are so true and some of them are just plainfunny.
The doubtfulness of eternal love…literally. The synching ofperiods. I hate slow workers, too! How graduating feels—like being shoved outof an airplane and you’re not sure if the parachute even works.
A laugh-out-loud collection!
Rating:5 stars
Review: SPICY CONFESSIONS Box Set by Simone Simone
A romance writer gets more thanshe bargained for at a writing retreat when she begins a passionate fling witha sexy cowboy. But will it end there?
A divorced woman flies to Aruba toget over the betrayal of her cheating ex. It was at this couple’s resort whereshe meets a bisexual couple in the form of two guys. Could she indulge in overa week of sex with two men at the same time? Oh, yes, she can!
An assistant has a hot affair witha gorgeous actor on the set of a movie.
Stories were illustrations offulfilled sexual fantasies like affairs with a cowboy or a movie star. Quick,sexy reads!
Rating:4 stars
Review: ROMANCE QUICKIES # 12 by Monique DuBois
Divorce attorney Nicole was bothrepulsed and attracted to her new client. This girl definitely had some ballson her to let the jokester guy have it for his lame and childish antics. Nicolehas always been a take-charge woman. What she wants she usually gets. Hey, shepractically had her way with him on her office desk. But there was somethingabout the older, silver-tongue gentleman. He was sweet and kind. Evidently, helet her have the control in her office. So, who was really the boss here?
He was falling for her fast andshe was starting to fall for him, too.
“Here, he was seeping into thecracks of the heart that she didn’t even know was there.”
It was nice that Jay wanted tolove her as a woman and not see her as some hole to fill. Boy, what a punchyending!
A sweet read! Much more romantic. Toobad there’s not more in this series.
Rating:4 stars
Review: ROMANCE QUICKIES #10 by Monique DuBois
Sex with a rich, powerful, andhandsome movie star in the back of a limo. Can’t get any sexier than that. Shaewas in for a BIG ride! But what happens when the sex gets plastered all overthe media? Oh man!
Another sexy, short read!
Rating:4 stars
Review: ROMANCE QUICKIES #11 by Monique DuBois
The twins were caught in a 3-wayat work with their boss. Will they all be fired? To save their jobs, the twinsmust have sex with the head nurse. But what can you do when one sister reallycouldn’t stand the guy? She helps him screw her sister, of course. When the guywants to experience both of them at the same time, one sister leaves and theother stays with him, forgoing the bet with their friends. What, she was out?That left one twin to win the bet all on her own. Who would she have sex with?How about 2 horn-y doctors in a three-way?
Love that this story had drama,tension, and sex. Lotsa sex! Turns out the men want a lot more than one girlcan give.
A superhot read!
Rating:5 stars
February 9, 2024
Blog Tour: ANDY AND THE EXTROVERTS by Jessica K. Foster
When shy 17-year-old Andy winds upat a summer leadership camp, she'll have to muster up all her courageto survive, meeting friends and a very special guy along the way.
Andy and the Extroverts
byJessica K. Foster
Genre:YA Contemporary Sweet Romance
Seventeen-year-old bookish Andy hasno friends. When her over-involved mother has the audacity to shipher off to summer leadership camp, she's thrust into an introvert'snightmare. Everyone is a Communicator with a capital C, icebreakeractivities are scheduled into every waking moment, and horror of allhorrors: there's no coffee. Even the girls who take her under theirwing are the kind of self-assured people Andy could never dream ofbecoming.
Then she meets Lucas—hot, attentive, andeverything Andy reads about in her books. Though the girls in hercottage try to warn her about him, she's swept into the first romanceof her life. But when she discovers her friends may be right, she'llhave to find her inner confidence to save her summer and become theleader she was always meant to be.
Amazon* B&N* Bookbub* Goodreads
“Okay,campers!” Suzie screeched the second we got back to the cottage.
It was like doomsday every time she used that phrasebecause right after it, she’d announce the next stupid activity and expecteveryone to be excited about it.
“It’s time for the next awesome leadership activity! Iknow you’ve been enjoying them so far, but you’re really going to likethis one.” She gave an exaggerated wink. Wait. That meant…
“We’re going to do this with our malecounterparts, Beavers, so pair on up so we can get started.”
Pair? I looked to Paige helplessly, but she was alreadyout the door. I sighed and followed her to where the Hippo cottage stoodoutside waiting for us. How did they get here so fast? Even more alarming washow fast everyone broke off into pairs. My hands tingled as Marshall sidled upnext to Paige. I craned my neck and looked for Emma.
“Good thing I’ve forgiven you,” Lucas said as he walkedtoward me. “Or this might be awkward.”
I rolled my eyes. Like it was so hard to get pushed off adock when you had the skills of a gold medal swimmer. I raised my eyebrows, buthe didn’t say any more. Unlike me, he focused his attention on the instructionsTyler gave the group.
“…so choose who the person with the blindfold will be andwho will give directions. We’ll start once you’ve got it sorted out.”
I peeked between Lucas and Paige and held back a groanwhen the course came into view. A grove of trees spanned the area in front ofus, and pieces of red tape were strung between their wide trunks like tripwires. Stumps littered the ground. I’d seen this before on reality television.Minefield. One of us would have to be all yelly and tell the other one to goright or left or whatever to get through an obstacle course.
“What do you want to be?” Lucas asked like I had achoice. I couldn’t yell for crap, so it looked like I’d have to trust him notto kill me.
“Blindfolded.”
He frowned. “What?”
I snatched the red bandana from his hand with a scowl. Iwasn’t talking that quietly.
“Oh, okay.” He smiled. “Don’t worry. I’ll be with youevery step of the way.”
No, he wouldn’t. He’d be yelling at me every step of theway.
“Now, remember,” Suzie chirped as I struggled to tie thebandana around my eyes. “You can be next to your partner, but don’t touch theunless they look like their about to fall. This is a trust exercise. It’s alsoan exercise in giving clear, concise directions. Learn how to be the kind ofleader who knows how to follow. Don’t peek!” She giggled.
Lucas brushed my hands away when the bandana came undonean tied it snugly around my eyes. He pushed the folds into layers until itblacked out everything.
“Good?” he asked.
If good meant helpless, then yes. I should’ve chosen tobe his voice if partners could walk with each other the whole way—too late now.
I nodded.
“Okay, partners,” Tyler shouted, “the goal is to get themaround—that—and back to your starting positions. It isn’t a race. It’s aboutfinishing. Good luck! And go!”
“Okay, walk ten steps forward and then stop.” Lucas’s hotbreath on my neck made my heartbeat triple. This was such a bad idea. A verysexy, very bad idea.
“For a couple hundred pages, Icould be the girl a guy would notice, would care about. I could live in a timeof social etiquette and manners, where lives were lived out loud instead ofthrough text and tech. I’d get to be confident, beautiful, reckless.” Yes, thatwas the life of bookworm introverted Andy.
Andy didn’t mind being anintrovert, but, to her mom, it just wasn’t “normal.” Then her mom uttered thedreaded word: camp.
“My vision of a calm summer,page-flipping in the backyard disintegrated.”
Of course, she wasn’t goingwithout her truck load of books. What bookworm wouldn’t leave without theirbooks?
Camp seemed to be a sea ofextroverts and, for Andy, it was like a tiny fish flailing about on dry land. Shecouldn’t even have any of her devices, which were her last sliver of hope forescape. Andy gets into the camp life because…well, she pretty much didn’t havea choice. Yes, that meant having to talk to the other campers.
The diary narrative had a charming,witty, and innocent voice that was so easy to relate to. I enjoyed the humorousquips. At times, the narrative could get a little trivial with the othercampers and the pointless activities. Sometimes it can feel a little too long. Butit’s Andy’s introverted voice that shines through the most.
“Introverts can be great leadersbecause they lead by example and are amazing listeners.”
Any introvert would be able to seethemselves in Andy. Will this camp bring her out of her shell? Who knows…maybeshe’ll even make a friend.
A nice YA read.
Rating:3.5 stars
Jessica K. Foster writes funny,heartfelt Young Adult Contemporary fiction with a dash of romance.She is a middle school Language Arts teacher with a penchant for hottea and romantic beach reads. Jessica lives in West Michigan with herhusband, two boys, and their ragtag crew of rescue animals.
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Followthe tour HERE for special content and a giveaway!
$10 Amazon
Blog Tour: HAND OF THE GODS by Miriam Newman
HAND OF THE GODS
by Miriam Newman
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GENRE: Historical Fantasy Romance
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BLURB:
Thosewho survived the Battle of Grandfather Mountain are said to be in the Hand ofthe Gods. No one will need that morethan Sange, sister of Arak clan chieftain Javrik. Drawn to Arman Garimandi, the Omani cavalryofficer who saved her people during the siege, she shocks her family bymarrying him despite her brother's caution that someday he will break herheart. Blindly in love, she followsArman to two different forts where he is ordered. At the first, danger comes unexpectedly inthe form of another woman And at thesecond, she finds herself an unwitting pawn--possibly even a prisoner--betweentwo powerful nations.
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Excerpt One:
Sunny Omana hadfelt strangely like home to Arman, probably because he had heard about it allhis life. And then, when their army had defeated the Domidian hordes that hadconquered it and sent him to scout the upper portions, inhabited by nomadicArak tribes, finally he knew life had given him another chance, probablyundeserved after the things he had done, but a chance all the same.
He was lookingat her now, sitting on her small Arak horse, framed against vast green plainsbelow them where wind moved in circles and waves through wild grasses. Lowpurple and tan foothills rose from them, shadowed by clouds, and beyond thosewere mountains so steep that snowcapped them even in the midst of summer.Domidians on the other side had never crossed them in force. That was why theeastern portion of Arak lands, where Sange had never been, was spared theslaughter those in the center faced as Domidians who had occupied southernOmana fled forces drawn from the compact of nations who freed it from them. Nowthose mountains harbored their remnants, swelling ranks of brigands who hadbeen there for years. It was a dangerous place, but she had packed up and takenhorse with him when his orders sent him there. Just as his father’s Emperatorhad sent him to exile in a foreign land, the one in Arman’s time had done thesame. The difference was that in his, Arman had found the last woman he wouldever love.
Wisps of hairhad escaped her headscarf, strands of gold flying in the wind, occasionallytouching her sculpted cheeks. She had a mouth made for kissing and eyes asgreen as gems, oddly ringed with a darker shade outlining the iris like someelfin creature. Every feature was delicate, her body a wonder and a pleasure tohim. She was young and she was hope, when he had lost all of his.
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In this book, the second of the series The Sahra Chronicles,my main character, Sange, has married out of her nomadic tribe to the foreignOmani captain whose brave stand with his small squad of soldiers has saved herpeople. Now, he has taken her to hisfirst assignment as captain of a border fortress. She is madly in love with her husband and isonly beginning to suspect he has secrets he has not shared with her. One of them is why he is so reluctant to havea child with her, especially when they work together to save neighboringtribesmen—especially children—from an illness his more advanced medicines cansave. He is tender and good with thechildren, obviously touched by their plight and devastated when several die,and she simply can’t comprehend why her longing for his child is notreciprocated.
This will be a crucial time for them both. For Arman, her husband, it is a test ofwhether he can share his innermost being with her. This is a man who has suffered deep lossesand yet been required all his life to present a façade of unwaveringstrength. Can he trust her with hisvulnerabilities?
For Sange--who has sacrificed her people, her family, evenher identity as an Arak tribeswoman—it tells her whether she has the future andthe man she thought she had. Could shehave been wrong?
AUTHOR Bio and Links:
I fell in love long ago with fantasy poetry driven by myths andlegends, as well as stories of heroes and battles. Ancient Celtic writings were my specialpassion, along with the Roman Empire, Roman Britain, the Norman invasion ofEngland, and tales of the Vikings. Myfirst book emerged when I was an...ahem...youthful 52. Well, I’m not 52 any more and up to 34 booksand it’s been a great run.
Retired from many years in social work, now I pass my dayswriting, researching and living with a pack of highly demanding rescuedogs. I write in every genre I pleaseand you can see my books at www.miriamnewman.com.
Website: http://miriamnewman.com
Website: http://thedarkcastlelords.net
Blog: http://miriamnewman.com/blog
Blog: http://thecelticroseblog.blogspot.com
Email: mrmireland@aol.com
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/AuthorMiriamNewman
Twitter: https://www.twitter.com/miriamnewman
BookBub Author Page: https://www.bookbub.com/authors/miriam-newman-cf7ca8bf-caab-4b7e-a6f2-7db5490d9215
Goodreads Author Page: https://www.goodreads.com/author/show/3146550.Miriam_Newman
Amazon Author Page: https://amzn.to/38ED8hG
https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0CQQL1SHP
https://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/book/1144515969
https://www.smashwords.com/books/view/1497018
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GIVEAWAY
MiriamNewman will award a $20 Amazon/BN gift card to a randomly drawn winner.
a Rafflecopter giveawayBook Blast: HIDE AND BE by Gary L. Stuart
This post is part of a virtual book tour organized by Goddess Fish Promotions. The author will be awarding a print copy of Hide and Be and its immediate sequel, My Brother, Myself to a randomly drawn winner. Click on the tour banner to see the other stops on the tour.
Twin brothers Arthur and Martin suffered horrible abuse as children, forcing them to survive by seamlessly assuming each other’s identities. Living each other’s lives provides protection from the trauma of their past. But when tragedy strikes, one of the brothers plummets into a dissociative crisis that leads him down a murderous path.
As the body count rises, two cases end up in the courtroom, where judges, lawyers, and psychiatrists try to piece together which twin is the suspect and which is the victim. Everyone in the courtroom strives to bring the victims to justice–but how can justice be served when no one is sure who the defendant truly is?
Read an Excerpt
Like I said, me and Marty were from Maine. Born, bred, and fed. By foster parents mostly. Always hated the cold. We lived in drafty houses in winter, wore cheap coats in spring and fall, but not knowing any better, just accepted it. Lived our lives wherever the caseworkers said. You know, go here, stay there, new doctors, and interchangeable houses.
A general practitioner, whose first name was Doctor, talked to our first foster mother, but not us.
“Don’t worry, Mrs. Greyson,” the doctor said.
That’s what he always called her—Missus—she didn’t have a first name, and he didn’t have a last. He was Doctor and she was Mrs. Us? We were just two little jellybeans sitting in one chair. Doctor had three chairs in his office. One for her, one for him, and the third for us. I remember liking that—same chair, same us.
“Autonomous language is common, harmless, really. It’ll go away in time,” he told her. Not us. He never said anything to us. We don’t remember the exact words, but who cares? Fumbuck, he knew. You? How can you tell? Autonomous, dummy. Marty told me.
“They will always be hard to tell apart. Dress them differently. They will want to be together, with their family gone and all, but treat them like regular brothers, even if they are identical twins.”
About the Author I am a retiring lawyer, a working author, and a preserving blogger. I was a full-time trial lawyer for thirty-two years in a large Phoenix firm. I was a part-time law professor for the last twenty-nine years. As of summer, 2023, I am writing, publishing, and blogging full time. My first book was a textbook published by the Arizona State Bar Association. My first novel was published by the University of New Mexico Press. I’ve written ten novels and eight nonfiction titles as of July 2023.
From the day I entered law school, I’ve been reading cases, statutory law and writing about legal conundrums and flaws in our criminal and civil justice systems. I’ve always read novels, nonfiction, and historical fiction by great authors who were never corrupted by the staid habits of trial lawyers. I write long-form, interspersed with the occasional blog, op-ed, or essay. One of the unexpected benefits of reading the law is learning how to write about it. Somewhere along the trajectory from a baby lawyer to a senior one, I became intoxicated with blending nonfiction with fiction in books, rather than legal documents. After spending thirty years in courtrooms trying cases, I started writing about them. That led to writing novels while borrowing from famous historical settings and lesser-known characters. My courtroom days were chock full of ideas, notions, and hopes about ultimately becoming an author. I organized and memorized critical information for judges, juries, and clients. Now I use that experience to write vivid fiction and immersive nonfiction. I moved away from trial practice to teaching law students how to use creative writing techniques to tell their client’s stories, in short form.
F. Scott Fitzgerald said, “All good writing is swimming under water and holding your breath.” The same could be said of my transition from trying cases to writing crime fiction. I’ve been holding my breath for twenty years waiting for galley proofs and book reviews. Anais Nin spoke for all of us when she said, “We write to taste life twice.”
My first novel, The Gallup 14, won a coveted starred review from Publishers Weekly. I won a Spur Award from Western Writers of America in 2004 for my first nonfiction book (“Miranda, The Story of America’s Right to Remain Silent”). I won the 2010 Arizona Book of the Year Award, The Glyph Award, and a Southwest Publishing Top Twenty award in 2010, for “Innocent Until Interrogated—The Story of the Buddhist Temple Massacre.” My third nonfiction title (“Anatomy of a Confession—The Debra Milke Case”) was highly acclaimed. My nonfiction title “CALL HIM MAC—Ernest W. McFarland—The Arizona Years” was widely and favorably reviewed. My latest nonfiction crime book, “Nobody Did Anything Wrong But Me, was published by Twelve Tables Press, one of America’s most distinguished publisher of law books about important legal issues. No New York Times bestsellers, yet.
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/Gary-Stuarts-Books-223958520472/
Twitter: https://twitter.com/garylesterstuar
Email: Gary@garylstuart.com
Website: http://www.garylstuart.com
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February 8, 2024
Book Blast: MAMACADABRA by Carrie Monroe O'Keefe
This post is part of a virtual book tour organized by Goddess Fish Promotions. The author will award a $25 Amazon/BN GC to a randomly drawn commenter. Click on the tour banner to see the other stops on the tour.
Starting her third year of marriage, Carrie Monroe O’Keefe had already been on the roller coaster of extreme highs and lows of a newly blended family. Thinking she could do a better job of navigating marriage, stepmotherhood, working full time, and all of the things, she embarked on a year of “what if.”
Settling into her role as wife and mom, she tried to find ways to do things better, see things differently, and reframe her thinking to create a better home for her family and to feel more at home herself. With humor, unwavering honesty, vulnerability, and sarcasm, Carrie finds her way through the year and to her true self.
Read an Excerpt
From Chapter: This House is Not a Home (Currently)
It’s a bright Saturday morning and I’m looking around my kitchen wondering when, exactly, I let it get THIS bad. The dishwasher has been run, but nobody has bothered to unload it, resulting in piles of dirty dishes in and around the sink. There are empty cereal boxes lined up, I assume, so I can cut out the Box Tops for Education labels…because I’m the only one who can what…use scissors? Break down the boxes for recycling? Throw away the empty bag inside the boxes that once held cereal?
Speaking of recycling, there’s a bag of recycling on a stool waiting to be taken out on our “next trip” out of the house. It’s been there for three days and we have, in fact, left the house several times in those three days.
The clincher, though, is the kitchen table. Our puppy has a best friend that lives next door. He comes over to our back deck door and barks for Sullivan to come out to play. They wrestle, run around, investigate, bark at each other, bark at passersby, lay down to rest, and then start over. When they’re out and I’m working or writing, I bring my laptop up to the kitchen table so I can check on the dogs from time to time.
At this very moment, I’m sitting at my kitchen table and surrounding my laptop are:
•One little girl’s black shoe.
•One little girl’s gold shoe.
•One little girl’s pink slipper.
•The Nancy Drew book we’re currently reading.
•Large bag of colored pencils.
•Pair of my husband’s dirty socks.
•Empty napkin holder on its side.
•The art project brought home by my littlest little girl.
•Pad of paper with my work notes scribbled on it.
•Three place mats (one was a casualty of yesterday’s juice fiasco).
•One black marker.
•Work documents of my husband’s.
•A partially completed drawing.
My kitchen table isn’t even big! How, or perhaps a better question is WHY, is there so much sh*t sitting on it?!! And does anybody else find it a teensy bit disconcerting that there are two shoes, a slipper, and dirty socks on the table at which we EAT OUR MEALS? Anyone???
About the Author:
Carrie Monroe O’Keefe started blogging about her life by sharing stories of marriage, stepmotherhood, and how to navigate it all on mamacadabra.com in 2012. People said they loved reading the posts, so she kept writing. In addition to blogging, she released her middle-grade fiction book, The Whole Truth, in 2019. Carrie lives outside of Minneapolis with her husband, two daughters, and dog Finlay.
Website: http://www.mamacadabra.com
Instagram: http://www.instagram.com/monroeokeefe
Barnes and Noble: https://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/book/1144367657
Amazon: www.amazon.com/Mamacadabra-Poof-Youre-mom-now/dp/1733629939/ref=sr_1_1
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