Perfection is a Barbie doll, and, unless you’re looking for a guy with a fake smile, a hard head, and no genitalia, then you’re better off NOT being perfect―Single ChicasSingle Chicas is a collection of stories about modern Latinas being in, out, and around the zany hurdles of relationships. One woman receives strange calls from a lonely soul, another seeks advice on how to love herself, and … herself, and another wakes up in a parallel universe to a man she’s never met. These chicas will make painstaking effort to survive the complexities with humor and grace. Once again, López dazzles audiences with her brilliantly candid craft. Smart, witty, and funny, these stories will explore the true endurance of singlehood.
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I’ve never reviewed short stories before so I hope I do it right.
These stories are witty and laugh out loud funny. They are about single chicas and each story gives you a life lesson.
I enjoyed these short stories and enjoyed the light hearted fun they bring while I was reading
The nice thing about short stories is that they are short, which makes for a quick read when you’re in the mood for a distraction. What I love about this collection of stories is that they are about single women from a different culture—in this case, Latinas—yet their situations are very relatable to women around the world.
These women are from different walks of life, and even though the stories are short, the characters are well-rounded. My favourite ones are the titular story Single Chicas, My Big Fat Fake Marriage, Night Caller, The Lesbian Theory and Old Maid.
They are well-written, and even though some of them end abruptly, they are very entertaining. Kudos to the author on a job well done.
Single Chicas, Volume 1, by Sandra C. López
5-stars
Single Chicas, vol. 1, is a collection of short stories centering around the idea of being single, loving yourself, and enjoying life. I loved the various stories in this collection and how engaging they were. It was easy to see the point of each story. It was creative and I loved the focus in some of the stories about loving yourself first. Great read!
I love stepping into other people’s shoes and seeing the world from their point of view. Sandra C. Lopez’s “Single Chicas” puts me inside the heads of a collection a various single chicas. I get to see life from the point of view of her caustic, witty, cynical single chicas and it’s an interesting ride. The book’s a collection of short stories. Some work better than others, some end kind of abruptly, but they’re all engaging. They’re very slice of life and life doesn’t tie itself up into neat bows. Mild spoiler alert: My favorite is probably the one where a woman gets bonked on the head and suddenly discovers she has boyfriend she doesn’t know or even recognize and doesn’t remember. It has a cool surreal, slightly disturbing feeling about it and I really get a good sense of what this woman is going through. Lopez’s characters all seem to have a very specific anti-romance point of view and I found that fascinating.
I loved this collection of short stories about romance (or lack of it) featuring single ladies as the main characters. Some stories were a little edgy and read like flash fiction, while others were longer. Some were funny, some dark and some just weird.
My favourite one was called The Lesbian Theory, it was so funny and had me chuckling out loud.
The writing was tight and character-driven (which I love), and overall I don’t think anyone would be disappointed reading these stories. Great!
I so loved these short stories that were witty, funny, and absolutely well-written. Sandra has a flair for lyrical language and for inviting humour into her characters. The author kept me wanting more of her short stories as they were interesting, clever and sometimes had an underlying message in them. I would imagine the author could take any one of these short stories and turn them into amazing novels with different worlds, or perhaps place them in a series. Truly worth a read!
This was an interesting and quick read. There were several vignettes in the lives of different single women. Some showed kindness, others a dislike for marriage, and others the fun side of being single. The stories were not related to each other in any way. I did enjoy this collection of stories.
I received a copy of this story through Goddess Fish Promotions, and this is my unsolicited review.
Every story in this collection was a delight. The characters were fully formed and each story left me wanting more. I’m hoping there’s a volume 2 sometime soon because Lopez knows how to deliver the humor and the heart.
This book is a collection of interesting, intriguing, humorous, and engaging short stories!
This book focuses on relationships, self-esteem, self-confidence, self-realization, and learning to stand up for yourself as a proud, single Latina woman regardless of what your culture and family expect of you.
This book is filled with enticing, crafty, witty, passionate, playful passages and of course overflowing with whimsical, sarcastic tidbits that will have you laughing out loud!
As a single, Latina woman I was so excited to read this book and revel in a sisterhood of strong, fierce, sassy Mexican American women dealing with dating, relationships, and family expectations in today’s modern world.
I enjoyed reading this book as it is comprised of thirteen short stories which remind me of one of those “Chicken Soup for the Souls,” kind of books.
I liked that this book could easily be read with the option of reading a few stories and then coming back and picking up right where you left off at any time as each story is unique and does not overlap.
However, I really enjoyed reading this book as it was a fun, quick, easy read that I finished in just one sitting!!
There were many stories that had me laughing out loud!!
My favorite stories in this book were, “The Lesbian Theory,” “My Big Fat Fake Marriage,” and “The Ball Drop.”
My least favorite stories in this book were, “My Brother’s Funeral,” and “The Night Caller.”
I felt the story, “One Fine Day,” was quite intriguing, but ended so awkwardly and with no real conclusion. This could have been a favorite if there had been a stronger, fulfilling ending.
I liked the Spanish slang lines thrown into the stories. It gave the book more authenticity without being overly confusing to readers who don’t speak Spanish.
I also enjoyed all the modern pop culture references and the funny Neve Campbell Scream scene in the “Night Caller,” story.
Two of my favorite quotes in book are:
From “The Distraction,” Story:
“Lately it just seems that men are primping a lot more than women. Smooth skin, gelled hair, plucked eyebrows. Were they waxing their bikini areas too?” (Lopez 164). – LOL!!!
From the “Virgin Mary,” Story:
“As far back as I can remember, cousins of all shapes and sizes littered the neighborhood. We would often gather on the street, running free and wild, screaming and laughing ‘til the days end.” (Lopez 134). – This is the Latina culture that I know – hundreds of cousins always around and running amok.
This book is easy to connect and relate to! There’s sure to be at least one story that any reader – Latina or not – can personally relate to!
I liked the overall message of this book and the empowering of women references.
My only dig is that I felt many of these stories lacked the Hispanic heritage references that were promised in the blurb. I expected stories about how single Latina women deal with the Hispanic culture and their family’s expectations. I just felt that there seemed to be some strong heritage details missing from the hurdles and struggles of relationships that Latina women face. I’m hoping some of these details show up in book two!
This book is Book One in the Single Chicas Book Series. It can be read as a standalone.
All in all, there were just a few hang-ups for me, but overall, I still enjoyed reading this book and would still recommend it! I think all chick lit, short stories, and romance readers will like this book too! So, add it to your TBR List and get to reading – you won’t be disappointed!
**Disclaimer: I received a complimentary copy of this book and have voluntarily provided an honest, and unbiased review in accordance with FTC regulations.**
Collection of short stories about single latino women. You may not be able to relate to all of them but keep on readin g. Many will make you laugh, some are a little sad but they will relate to you in some way.
Short stories about women pursuing their own agendas and not following along with society’s expectations for women. Some wee funny, some were sad, and some were downright snarky! Truly some diverse tales that I found interesting but couldn’t quite get myself immersed into — maybe because there was not enough story for me.
Entertainingly funny read, like a Latina version of Sex in the City I really loved it, each chapter is like an episode of a tv show, this really was a delightfully, enticing, humorous read.
This book is interesting because it a book of very short chapters of different scenarios. Each one is different and stands along.
3.5 Stars
This was a funny collection of stories. There were a couple that were better than the others but all in all it was a well rounded book
this book was really hard to keep my attention. to me it should be why some of these women should remain single after the way they treat these men sorry to say but not my cup of tea.
3.5 stars
The stories were fun and entertaining. The details truly crafted a scene. Each story was unique and tackled real life problems we face in the dating world. The characters were vibrant, I just didn’t feel connected to them. The stories are short and to the point but didn’t always feel complete to me.
This book wasn’t my cup of tea, but it wouldn’t be fair to give it a bad rating simply based on preference. She’s a very good writer, masters both languages, and the story “Dropped the ball” had a nice twist. However, I enjoy short stories with a well developed plot and characters I can relate to. Single Chicas felt to me like just “random scenes” and it wasn’t enough for me to feel for the characters. Every story had the same voice—it was like I was reading about the same character story after story. There was also a certain bitterness to their attitude as single chicas that carried all throughout—being single and enjoying life is one thing, but being firmly against a relationship is another. Maybe that wasn’t intentional but that’s the feeling I got while reading. Overall, I’m sure there are plenty of people who would enjoy these stories. Especially if they’re single, latina, and enjoy finishing a book in one sitting 🙂 I got a copy of this book as a giveaway and decided to review it voluntarily.