Review: Like Candy by Debra Doxer

Title: Like Candy

Author: Debra Doxer

Series: Candy #1

Publication date: July 28th 2015

Format: Kindle | Netgalley 

Genre: YA | Romance | Contemporary 

Goodreads

 

 

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 thoughts:

I'm a big fan of cutesy reads like this - girl falls for boy next door kind of reads  that don't take themselves too seriously and are more reads to get you out of a funk rather than something that will be reviewed on world building and incredibly complicated plot lines.

 

This book was one of those that was divided into half with one half being annoying and making me want to give up and the other half having the potential of a great read.

 

The beginning was terrible for me. I didn't like Candy - she came across as a spoilt brat and, considering her circumstances, it really didn't fit well into the story. Instead of being a relatable character, she came off too unapproachable with her fake 'I'm a boss' attitude. Also, on top of a horrific attitude problem, there didn't seem to be any redeeming personality traits or at least at first, so the read wasn't off to a great start.

 

When Theo, secondary character and main love interest, was introduced, Candy changed. On the one hand that wasn't exactly best seeing as the introduction of a mysterious boy causes this whole new Candy to emerge…sigh. But on the other hand, I was too relieved to be rid of that annoying, grating personality that was getting on my last nerve. I really began to warm up to the characters and it wasn't too far into the read either so I managed to give it a second chance.

 

During the middle of the book there was a great storyline going and a good bit of tension between characters as well as some hilarious pranks that broke up the story a bit. All was good and I couldn't wait for all the secrets to come out.

 

The last third of the book was disappointing, especially the ending. A lot of the focus of the read was on romance and so Candy's father's profession seemed out of place to me. It wasn't believable enough. At times it was just plain weird for such a light hearted read.

 

Maybe it was because there was no progression involved, but the read as a whole with mostly unconvincing with characters I couldn't relate to. There were no hints interspersed throughout the read to give some indication as to what should happen at the end. Normally I would  say that's a good thing since it makes a read unpredictable, but paired with unconvincing characters, it didn't work for me. The ending came out of nowhere.

 

Overall this read was okay but only just. It had moments where I genuinely thought it was getting to be a great read but sadly, instead it took one step forward and about ten back, ending up worse that it started out.

 

My rating: 4/10

 

Debra Doxer:

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Candy:

1. Like Candy
2. Sweet Liar