Candace Robinson

Who knew a trip to buy avocados would have so many implications. Dacre has a lot on his plate. Much of his life is spent dealing with his type 1 diabetes. Then, there's his frustrations with family. He loves his two younger brothers, but sixteen year old Lach is gay and impulsive and Ezra always has his nose in a comic book, not to mention his mom's new boyfriend and a move to a new town in Mexico. Salbatora might be a teen, but with the death of her beloved aunt, who did much of the work show more managing the family avocado farm , she's wondering whether her dad's loving description of her as a robot, might have some truth to it. When they get a larger than usual order that will involve an overnight drive to deliver them, Sal's urgency to hire help overrides her usual sense of control and caution. Dacre appears to buy avocados and she offers him a job. What follows involves both teens trying, but failing to hold up walls, keep secrets, and ignore their growing feelings for each other. Add in a fortune teller, their van breaking down on the way home from the delivery, some scary times while awaiting help and you have a very enjoyable YA mix of romance and adventure. show less

Hate morphs to heartache and fluttering butterflies in a warming tale of high school crushes and love.

Kiev loves his family (although he refuses to speak Spanish outside of the home), Shakespeare, and his snuggly pet armadillo. He doesn't really have in super goals in life outside of grabbing the role of Horatio in the Hamlet play. But when the role is snatched away before he even gets a chance to audition for it, and then, an argument lands him in volunteer hours and the awful Piggy Palooza show more Festival, his calm life is turned on its head.

This tale is told from two points of view, Lia's and Kiev's. The two are as different as sunshine and rain, each happy with themselves in their own, individual worlds. Neither is horribly popular, and that's fine, since they're fine with who they are. And I loved that, since it does take these characters out of the usual realm of cliche. The cast is diverse with even side characters from different backgrounds and attitudes. It creates a colorful mix for an engaging read and personalities to love, like or even hate. Family is also involved in just the right amount to make a great atmosphere.

The read flows by effortlessly with tension, emotion, laughs, and heart. The characters come across extremely naturally, which made the entire read smooth. At least, the main characters. The side ones carried more corners and edges, and will hit readers differently. There is bad language and one character, in particular, is hormone central and flaunts this attitude excessively without reprimand straight through to the end.

Romance fans, who just want to enjoy a cute story of enemies to lovers, will want to pick this one up. I received a complimentary copy and found it to be a fun read. show less

You know how sometimes you just want to curl up with a book that will leave you feeling like life doesn’t suck as much as you feel like it does? Maybe your stress live is just a tad on the high side and you find yourself filling your wine glass so often it hasn’t had a chance to make it into the dishwasher in a few days for a break. Or maybe you are just looking for a book to help pass a quiet afternoon, take on vacation or get your through a breakup.

Well dear reader let me introduce you show more to Candace Robinson who is about to become your new best friend with her assortment of novels that can ease anything and everything in your life
“Hearts are like balloons. Sometimes they inflate… Sometimes they deflate…”

Talk about a truth bomb right from the start. We’ve all been there feeling like our hearts are so full they could burst from our chests then something happens and now all that room we made for it has become this gaping hole. Robinson takes that concept and turns the heartache into a chance to learn and heal but without the predictable tropes that would have you throwing this against the wall.

May, the main character, and her mom are trying to heal and go through the stages of grief as best as they can. Robinson allows them to do this in a realistic fashion so that is so warming at times I found myself crying then laughing and finally just being grateful to have experienced their journey with them. There is just enough humor to take the edge off when you feel like maybe it’s getting too much and you need to pull back but don’t.

This book hits so many SAD, GUT WRENCHING moments you would think this is not the type of book you’d want to pass a beautiful, sunny afternoon but you’d be wrong. By the time I was finished I felt like I had experienced this cathartic moment that got rid of the bad stuff and left me looking at the world differently.

I remember this episode from a television show called Everybody Loves Raymond where the main character Ray discovers his wife Debra crying one day. Like a man, he predictably freaks out and she has to explain to him that sometimes she just needs a good cry, not about anything specific just to rid herself of pent up emotions. This book is that good cry. show less

I absolutely loved this novel, in my opinion it's the best story using the well known characters from Alice In Wonderland and putting a marvellous twist on them.

Both Authors have created a unique twist on Wonderland with Vampires and Werewolves. The writing and world building as well as the character building were excellent in propelling me into a Wonderland but not as I knew it.
The adventures and twists that our characters found themselves in were perfect for the story. I kept turning the show more pages just to find out what would happen to our quirky Mad Hatter.

I loved the character Maddie, she had a flare to her that was both unique, witty and sarcastic. Hatpin anyone? (loved her brutality with hatpins). She had an ultimate goal and she wasn't gonna let anything stand in the way, she had a fierce loyalty to her for better or worse.
The relationship between Maddie and Ferris I really liked, I wasn't surprised by their background info and I could tell there was an unspoken oath between them both, no matter would happen.

Mouse for me was just a background character, we only know a little about her, which i felt was odd as she was the main reason for the whole rescue mission. Though I do think I will find out more about her as her character develops as the series continues.

I actually loved all of the characters. There wasn't one that wasn't pointless they all interlinked and brought the story together.
I love the addition of Noah and I suspect we haven't seen the last of Alice.
Overall I felt like this was an excellent start to the series and I can't wait for the second book; Chess to come out! show less