LIKE CANDY
The Candy Series #1
by Debra Doxer
YA Romance Mystery
299 Pages
Revenge is sweet, just like candy.
Candy Seaborne knows she’s badass. She takes after her father, an assassin and possibly a spy, although he won’t admit to either. She idolizes him. Her dream is to follow in his footsteps. But first, she has to finish high school.
Biding her time, waiting for real life to begin, Candy craves drama and isn’t above manufacturing some. If you’re a classmate who wronged her or a boyfriend who cheated, watch your back. She’s no pushover, and revenge may be her favorite pastime.
Jonah Bryson is the senior class heartthrob who breaks all the stereotypes. He’s a jock, but he isn’t the typical player. He’s moody and antisocial. No girl has gotten anywhere with him since his last girlfriend broke his heart.
Candy sees Jonah as a challenge and the perfect distraction. But she may be in over her head because unlike everyone else, Jonah isn’t buying her tough act. He sees the lost, lonely girl inside. He sees too much. When he looks at her that way, she wants to let her guard down and be vulnerable. But that’s the last thing she should do because her father’s world is spilling over into hers, and life is about to get real much sooner than Candy expected.
MY TIDBITS
After reading the blurb, I wasn't sure this would be something for me or not, but I decided to take the chance. I'm glad I did.
What a fun book! It starts off as if there should have been a book even before this one (and I hope someday there might be), catapulting the reader right along with Candy into a new school and new situation. At first, this came over like a teeny revenge novel--high school drama, girls/boy problems, and snobby popular girls who ate lunch with stereo-type jock guys. And although this does sum up some of the story, it doesn't do it justice.
There's a lot going on. Candy is a multi-faceted character who on one hand, seeks her revenge in a spiteful and extreme way, but on the other side, is so normal and level-headed that she's hard not to like. Her rough past has made her who she is, and it's someone who can stick up when they have to but isn't bitter or beaten. I found her refreshing along with most of the side-characters. Although some characters are shallow, others have tons of depth which draws in and demands sympathy.
The plot in this book sucked me in and didn't let go. Even though it seems a little superficial at first, the story deepens quickly into a type of action-spy thriller. . .but at high school level. There are tons of twists and turns which I never saw coming, and I couldn't wait to see what happened next. In other words, this was one of those books I regretted putting down to get other things done.
I enjoyed the romance, very hesitant and not full-fledged love at first sight as is often seen for this intended audience. Friendship and trust are pushed into the front row, over-powering instant desire. But as much as this aspect is one of Candy's best personality traits, it's also one of her biggest flaws. The author did a terrific job at weaving this into the story and maintaining it as a constant string until the very end.
I was a little disappointed to see how fast Candy was to draw judgement in the end (didn't completely fit her character up until that point) and the last twists were a little predictable, but that didn't stop me from loving the book and her story. Which lead to my next and biggest disappointment--not being able to get my hands on book 2 yet. There's a cliff-hanger ending (something I'm never wild about), but worse, I can't find out what happens next. Not yet.
Two thumbs up for this one!
And here she is. . .
Debra Doxer!!!
Debra Doxer was born in Boston, and other than a few lost years in the California sunshine, she has always resided in the Boston area. She writes fiction, technical software documents, illegible scribbles on sticky notes, and texts that get mangled by AutoCorrect. She writes for a living, and she writes for fun. When her daughter asks when she’ll run out of words, her response always is, “When I run out of time.”
Connect with Debra. She loves hearing from readers.
Connect with Debra. She loves hearing from readers.
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1 comment:
Great review! This sounds like a fun read and I like how well written the romance sounds especially!
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