Publishing: May 1, 2017
Publisher: Sourcebooks Fire
Page Count: 288
**I was provided with an eARC from the publisher via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review!**
When I first read the blurb, I was quite excited about the sound of Stealing Candy but unfortunately it didn’t hold up to my expectations. Candy is quite the self-centered person. From the first page on, I got a vibe from her like she thought she was better than everyone else and also that she didn’t appreciate what and who she had in her life. All she wanted was to get away from everything, but when her wish comes true, it’s not at all what she wanted … or is it?
To be kidnapped is, I imagine, a very terrifying thing to experience. Candy was scared all of two seconds, but then she was sort of happy? That’s just something that did not go into my head. She had absolutely no feeling for how much danger she was truly in and she basically regarded the whole situation as a fun adventure. All I wanted to know then was “How?!”. In addition to that, she got a closer look at one of her abductors and decided he is hot? I understand how you might hold on to the person that is treating you well in a traumatic situation like this, instead of the other guy, who beat and threatened her. Nonetheless, I would have expected her trust in him to grow over time and not for her to ponder how dreamy he looks and just be okay with how they met and his intentions for their journey. There was just no build up of them getting closer, but rather this immediate attraction, which I found odd considering the circumstances.
There were some interesting elements to this, such as the reason why Levon kidnapped her and how Candy’s famous dad played into all of it. It added mystery to it somehow. The pacing was alright too, albeit a little repetitive in terms of how they progressed on the road.
At the end, there is a change in Candy’s attitude. She opens up to people and accepts them just like she wants to be accepted, but the change was too sudden for me. I couldn’t comprehend where it was coming from exactly, it felt more like she just had to do that to come across as a better person in the end. Speaking of the end, I didn’t mind that it was quite open in terms of the romance. It seemed to be more about where Candy was in life than where she was with her relationship with Levon and I appreciated that.
Fazit: 2.5/5 stars! A difficult protagonist made it hard to relate to what was going on and why she was feeling certain ways.
Have you read any good kidnapping books that weren’t too much like thrillers? Tell me all about it!
Life and Other Disasters 
Lovely review, Kat! The blurb sounds interesting indeed but it feels like Candy is quite an annoying character that brushed off pretty quickly the whole “scared” part of this particular situation she’s in… Also the insta-attraction and no build-up of their relationship? Why? I mean, they got plenty of time in that car? I don’t know hahaha,that seems too bad
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Thanks. Yeah, the actions and reactions were a bit arbitrary in my mind. I would have preferred if the guy had slowly won her trust and then she had fallen for him, because I simply cannot imagine a scenario where I get kidnapped and the first thought I get when I truly see my abductor is how handsome he is. I think panic would set the mood more.
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Hahaha yes, I’d react the same way. PANIC and that’s all ahah.
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Difficult protagonists are the worst! Great review, though!
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Yeah, they really aren’t easy to handle. On the one hand I don’t want to give up on them because they might change or get better but often I am just really not feeling them. Thank you!!
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Ahh she doesn’t sound like the kind of character I would like either! I think this reminds me of Stolen, but that was much better, because even though there’s an attraction to the kidnapper, it’s more logical (like Stockholme Syndrome)- I’d recommend it though, cos though it’s not without its flaws, it’s probably the only book written in the second person that I could stomach.
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Hold on, it’s written in second person? I only ever had a couple chapters in Half Bad written that way, never a whole book. You have me intrigued.
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Yeah I *hated* Half Bad- so I wouldn’t say I’m a fan of that style. But at least with Stolen she’s writing it to address the kidnapper, so it’s clear who’s addressing who. Plus I think it was a quick read and an intriguing way of executing it. I wouldn’t say it’s the best, so don’t get too excited 😉 but it’s certainly interesting and has some good elements to it.
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I didn’t hate Half Bad, but then I also didn’t read anything more in the series. So, there’s always that as an indicator haha
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That’s fair- I think there were good things about it- but the writing had so many problems in the first half when she used the second person. There are times when my traditional, grammarian hat comes on and I can’t see anything else 😉
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