Like Candy (Candy, #1) 
Debra Doxer 

MY REVIEW:

I couldn't decide if this was a 4 or 4.5 star for me, but one thing for sure: THIS IS A GREAT READ! I love that even though this is a contemporary book, it's filled with vivid characters, wonderful world building, a heart tugging duo of characters with serious health issues and plenty of mystery and action to go with it all.
Candy is our heroine. Her mother died when she was young and her father--who Candy insists works for the CIA--looses custody of his daughter to her vindictive aunt. The book kicks off with Candy turning 18 and her deciding to return to her father in glorious fashion! She's leaving behind her mean girl cousins and cheating boyfriend with hilarious pranks and payback. When she arrives home, you can almost feel what Candy and her father feel for each other. I loved it.
Her father is definitely like no other YA dad I've read about. He gives her plenty of space for Candy to get into loads of trouble, yet he's not an absentee parent. And it's obvious he loves her very much, even if e does play the frustrating parent card excuse: I'm not answering your questions for your own safety.
Outside of this unconventional Daddy/Daughter relationship I love the relationships between Candy and all the characters.
And Candy herself is almost too smart for her own good. I love how at the beginning of the book she's very calculating and plans everything from her smiles to the how she fits into her old school. She's a refreshingly strong yet vulnerable main character. And what's more her growth as the story goes in is wonderfully illustrated. I also liked how Debra showed us Candy dealing with stress in her life, acting out, with her realizing what she's doing, but not strong enough to stop herself from doing it. I felt for everything she went through and I totally approve of her falling so hard for Jonah!

Of course Jonah is playing with a loaded deck, a fact obvious from the first time we see him. But I can't say anymore than that with giving away the best part of the story so.........I will say about 2/3 of the way through I figured out his big secret. Even figuring it out, I still enjoyed the big reveal scene. And Jonah is a hero that you will love from the first moment. At first I did draw small similarities to Edward from TWILIGHT but only in the whole mysterious cool guy person he portrays. Rest assured her is SUCH a stronger lead man than Edward! 
As  much as the romance is a feature in LIKE CANDY it's not so in your face that it over shadows everything else. The mystery, Candy's determination to prove to her father she can handle the truth of his work, and trying to support her best friend who is suffering from the same cancer that killed her mother. The only thing I can say bad about Candy is how she started making some kinda stupid decisions at the end of the book, but then again she was far more emotional as opposed to rational thinking at that point so it can be attributed to her acting more with her heart than her mind, which is a nice character growth so I'm torn on that part.