I swapped my kindle back in 2018 and am unable to recover this title. I appriciate the opportunity that was given for review but sadly can't complete it for this title. Many thanks.

I couldn't finish it. To be honest, I forgot I even had this in my kindle and forgot to review it because I just couldn't finish it.

This needs editing, proofreading, and some betas. I didn't like Candy and I thought this was all over the place. It had potential but then it just got really weird.

Candy hates being in boarding school. But as her estrangedfather is a rock star and is always on tour, there is no other solution. But her boredom suddenly is replaced for something else, as on a random day some stranger pulls her into a car and she is kidnapped. Movie fan Candy has seen enough movies feauturing a kidnapping to know what will happen next; they will threaten her and her father to pay ransom. Which she knows her father will never ever pay.

But slowly on, she learns that her kidnapping isn't the most bad thing after all. At least she is freed from boarding school and it is actually great material for the documentary she is filming. She gets to know one of her capturers, Levon. sSlowly on she learns why he and his partner-in-crime kidnapped Candy. It's all a revenge of them. The kidnapping turns into a crazy rollercoaster of a road trip, where they get lost of the mastermind of the kidnapping and find a lot of wrong ways to do the right thing


It was quite odd to find out the main character acted so relaxed about a serious kidnapping. This is one of those books that is nice to read, but hard to retell afterwards. The writing was fun and the plot was anything but boring. This is also one of the plots where you have no clue what will happen next. Candy really finds herself in some odd and crazy circumstances and events in the road trip the kidnapping turns into. It was a bit unbelievable though that she fell in love with Levon. But hey, it's fiction so anything can happen. And afterwards maybe her father just contributed to all the events without even knowing it.

Overall an original story with some crazy turns and weird turns and twist. Not the best one I have read but it certainly is a bad read.

Thank you for allowing me to read and review this book. I am just not interested in this book anymore. Sorry for the inconvenience.

I think this book had great potential, but I feel it needed a lot more editing. The plot wasn't as strong as it could have been either.

Improbable, but addictive and amusing. A great YA book with a unique plot. 5/5 stars.

DNF at 6%

This book is just not for me. I feel like it is trying to do a fun road trip story, but the setup is more along the lines of the movie Taken. It is a weird combination that was not helped by Candy being not very likable. I think it is better for me to not read this book instead of forcing myself to read it and possibly give it a low rating.

I received this book from Sourcebooks Fire via Netgalley in exchange for an honest review.

I gave this book 2.5 stars. It took me a few months to finally write this review because I couldn't really gather my thoughts on it up until now. I can finally figure out how I felt about it.

This book, while having a very interesting premise, fell a bit flat to me. I was so excited going into it, but I ended up dragging my feet, often ditching this to read something else more to my taste. Even after I finally started reading large chunks of this at a time I doing a bit of skim reading, which isn't the best when you're expected to write a review on it.

The writing... the only way I can seem to explain it is not enough showing and way too much telling. I was getting a lot more of the "protagonist's" voice than I was of the actual author. I was being told all of these things that were happening intends of seeing them playing out and the emotions that the protagonist attributed with these actions. It was more like the protagonist thinking things like "I did this because of this" and no other rational behind it. She would just do things because she wanted to.

The plot was interesting enough, it wasn't played out the best, but I wasn't falling asleep while reading it. I liked how there was more to the kidnapping than Levon just wanting money with no other motive. He had more going on than just wanting to be rich. There was a reasonable and serious explanation to why things went the way they were.

As for the "romance" I didn't really care for it. It didn't do anything for me, mostly because I didn't exactly care for the characters themselves, they seemed pretty one dimensional despite having these serious backstories. They didn't feel that relatable to me, i couldn't connect.

As for the ending of this book, I didn't like it. It was almost a cliffhanger and I don't think there is going to be a second book, so I'm a bit annoyed by the ending. It was a very unsatisfying ending to say the least and I still think about it sometimes. I want to know what happens after, but at the same time I wouldn't want to waste my energy reading that.

Overall, not the best book I've ever read. I can't say that I would recommend it, but if you seem interested by the premise and you want to give it a shot who am I to stop you?

Thank you for the opportunity to read STEALING CANDY. Unfortunately, this book is just not for me and I was unable to finish it. I will not, however, be posting a review since I did not read the entire thing. Thank you again for the opportunity.

Unfortunately I couldn't get into Stealing Candy. I felt the writing was amateur and the characterisation was extremely cliche and stereotyped - I think for the day in age we're in we should be reading books with more diverse representations.

Immediate reaction upon finishing this book: what the HECK did I just read.
Like, really. This book.... oh boy. I can't. I just can't. So, let's get into it!

C H A R A C T E R S
Candy. Oh dear. Let me start out by saying that I have never really disliked the protagonist of a book before, but there's a first time for everything! She is DEFINITELY one to say "I'm not like the other girls". GIVE ME A BREAK. What the author intended to be witty (Max the Goth, Cancer Stick, Half Smile, The Borings) came off as annoying and rude. Candy would judge a person at the drop of a hat without a second thought or any remorse because of it. She's also all poor me, I go to an expensive boarding school where there are great opportunities for education but I don't take advantage of them because no one understaaaaands me. Uuuuugh.
Levon. Hello, extremely typical YA love interest. How convenient that your reasons for kidnapping Candy are fine by her standards, and kidnapping Candy is also okay because you're hot! I cannot stand this dude. Seriously. Uuuuuuuuuuuugh.
Rena. Honestly, Rena is the only okay character in this book. I want to learn more about her, and only her. Even though the author made her out to be the mean grandmother from Russia (along with other stereotypes), she still intrigues me.

P L O T
Okay, I was basically setting myself to not like this book. The premise didn't even really sound interesting to me, but it was short and it had an okay cover, and I thought I could be convinced to like it- maybe it would be like Stolen by Lucy Christopher, yknow?
That's not what ended up happening.
DISCLAIMER: I think this story idea would have translated better onto film. I just can't understand some of the characters' decisions, and maybe I could have if I saw their faces and them thinking through it.
So.
Let's start off by talking about Candy and Levon. I don't think Stockholm Syndrome is what Candy went through; I think it is Candy's idiotic judgement. Being kidnapped is suddenly okay because she's finally free of that totally horrible boarding school- oh and, omg, her kidnapper is, like, so totally hot. Before even knowing his motives (which still don't make it okay), she's fine because he's cute. NO. What kind of idiocy?!
Not only is Candy making very quick judgements- and horrible ones at that- she falls in love in a week. A week. Insta-lovey, much? (They didn't even have a connection, either- he just laughed sometimes when she said "witty" things.)
​Can we also talk about what this book is about? Because yeah, I don't know either. Is it a road trip? Is it about Candy's "development" (in question marks because she doesn't develop)? How about just being kidnapped and the events surrounding that? STEALING CANDY just couldn't decide what to focus on. (That's code word for weak plot.)
Also, I wondered after I ended it if that was really it. That was such a horrible ending.
I could go on and on, but I'll stop there for now.

I could probably rant for a million more years about this book, but we're not gonna do that. I just want to advise you to keep away from this book.

I could not get into this book. I wanted to give it a try because the blurb had really intrigued me, but I'm going to be honest, after the first few chapters I couldn't read any more.

From page one, I immediately didn't connect to the main character, which is a red flag for me because usually, even when I don't like a character, I relate to them on some level almost immediately.

Unfortunately, this was DNF for me, but maybe one day I'll come back and give it another chance.

Candy dad sends her away to boarding school. She hates it there and finds herself board until she is kidnapped.

Candy knows how all the movies involving kidnapping end and she is freaking out! panics. Its laughable that her kidnappers think they are going to get her rock star father to pay anything for her safe return. She sent her away and hasn't seen her in years.

Candy starts to enjoy her "kidnapping road trip" with the hot Levon. She connects with him and wants to help him get his revenge and his payout.

This was a very different and interesting story. I liked it. Candy was an interesting character and takes her kidnapping and turns it into an adventure. It was a unique and out of the box story.
--
Stephannie Tolitsky

Roller coaster of suspense throughout this whole book! I loved it. Can't wait to read more of this series or more from the author! If you like suspense and mayhem this is the book for you

Did Not Finish @ 32%

I wanted to finish this since I hadn't DNF in a while but I just couldn't get over the writing and the way Candy fell for her kidnapper instantly. She was very immature but at the same time the little trips down memory lane were interesting to read. Eventually I just couldn't take it anymore. At one point he has a gun and is screaming at her and yet she is thinking he's rugged and mysterious and she doesn't want their "road trip" to end. What? How is that normal?

3.5 Stars

Stealing Candy is in many ways right up my alley. There is a road trip involved after all....

Lewis has written a witty and interesting book. I love his sense of humor and like his writing style. Stealing Candy is the first of his novels I have read, I plan to read more.

The story line unfolds beautifully, the pacing is done extremely well. I got a couple of issues with the plot: The first is that the kidnapping is a wee bit too much played down-( Hello Stockholm syndrome!)
The second the end... well, let me warn you, it's a rather open ending.
But at the same time, I really love the end! I also hope this means that maybe there will be a follow up book?

The character building is interesting. While I found Candy really opinionated and bitter in the beginning, I quickly warmed up to her, not her opinions mind you. I love her brand of sarcastic humor. More importantly Candy does change, she sees other viewpoints and her growth is staggering. It's my favorite part of the book. How the outward journey transforms Candy and how she discovers a whole lot. I think this speaks to my nomad heart, I like to believe that each trip and journey I took has changed me in at least some small amount. I am however sure, that each trip broadens one's view of the world and with that we become less judgmental and more accepting.
While I kinda adore Levon, I also find he wasn't quite tangible. He stayed a huge enigma and kinda felt not quite real at times.
The rest of the support cast do a fantastic job at supporting the MCs to show their states and make them shine. They transform from a tad typecast figures to interesting characters in most cases. Yet another thing I like. This was entirely written from Candy's POV so I think the fact that we get to know the support cast slowly through Candy's discoveries is proof of Lewis mastering his craft.

A heartwarming interesting story that left me with hope!

Thank you, NetGalley and the publisher for an advanced reader's copy.
This novel started out strong. Candy was a unique character. She was difficult to understand her motives because she was a little out there. She wanted to be kidnapped for goodness sake. But, I appreciated her personality because it's hard to come by in YA. Her story was interesting and the premise of the plot was interesting as well.
The thing that I didn't enjoy is how the novel finished. I feel that she lost her personality and her charm. She became flat.
Overall, I believe this story to be but bad, not great, but just mediocre.

OKAY so I am not usually in the business of writing spoiler reviews especially for an advance copy but I had so many issues with this book that I don’t think I can do a proper review without spoilers so let’s try to get this started.
I do not take pleasure in giving a low review to anyone but we all have our own things we are into and this was not for me.
First Candy drove me crazy for her crappy teen girl attitude. She had potential to be a deep character she has been through a lot with her mother dying, her dad not being around, not feeling love from pretty much anyone. I can feel her on that kind of level but instead of coming off as a sad girl trying to find a place in the world she is a brat. Shit talking any and everything around her. Being nasty to classmates who did nothing to her. She just was not a great character to take on a first person narrative. For example first like 3 pages into the book she is supposed to be running a scene with a guy named Max and does this. .

“Oh, yes, I probably do,” I say, snapping out of character. “You come from money, but your parents ignore you. They’ve probably sent you to boarding school since you were prepubescent. The black clothes and the spiked bracelet are just armor. Inside is a scared little boy. No amount of lipstick, Marilyn Manson, or anime porn will ever change that. And if you’re not gay yet, you probably will be.”

Well that was not in the script it was personal and just plain mean seeing as there is no mention of him EVER doing anything to her. She is a massive bitch right after this too to a girl who also was not being rude to her but ALL OF THIS I could have dealt with had the story line been great. But welcome to the spoiler side of this review.

SHE WAS KIDNAPPED AND NOT NICELY BY TWO GUY’S. She got the shit knocked out of her couple times by one of them and YET she is not trying to save herself or get away she is obsessing over the kidnapper who didn't hurt her. He also did nothing to help keep her safe.See below

““Enough,” the driver says, but he doesn’t sound that concerned. The one thing I noticed about him was that he was sort of smiling. A half smile.”

SO after this she obsesses over him and wants his attention throughout the whole rest of the book. BTW he doesn’t kick the other guy to the curb until after he lets her rough her around some more and sleep in a hotel with her all of which could have gone super wrong. There is no excuse for her falling for him what so EVER. Again this could have gone so different if the Author had changed just one detail. If she had had half smile kidnap her ALONE, never get rough with her, and tell her the story of why this is happening up front then I could see her falling for him and wanting to help. In this instance NO FREAKIN WAY.NO. I just think this sets a bad example for a million reasons. Abuse and kidnapping is not okay. GROOMING is a thing and this was just too off the beaten path for me. I think it could have been tweaked to appeal more and be less troubling. 2 stars.