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Flirting with Fate
by J.C. CervantesPublished by Razorbill on April 19, 2022
SubGenres: Young Adult Contemporary, Young Adult Fiction
Format: AudioBook
Narrator: Victoria Villarreal
Length: 11 Hours And 19 Minutes
Source: Library - Libby
Audience: 12+/Teen & Young Adult
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Ava Granados will never forgive herself for being late to her beloved nana's deathbed. But due to a flash flood that left Ava in a fender bender with a mysterious boy, she missed her grandmother's mystical blessing--one that has been passed between the women of her family upon death for generations.
Then Nana's ghost appears with a challenge from beyond the grave. As it turns out, Nana did give Ava a blessing, but it missed its target, landing with the boy from the night of the storm instead. Was it fate? Ava refuses to believe so. With the help of her sisters and Nana's rather bumbling spiritual guide, she's determined to reclaim her share of the family magic and set Nana free.
For guarded Ava, befriending some random boy is the last thing she wants to do. She's gotten along just fine protecting her heart--keeping people at a distance is a great way to ensure no one ever hurts you. But as Ava embarks on her mission to retrieve the lost blessing, she starts to wonder if getting close to thunderstorm boy is worth the risk.
In her YA debut, J.C. Cervantes weaves a tale about family, fate, and finding love where you least expect it.
If you’re looking for a Sweet YA Romance that blends magic realism, fated love, and family-oriented storytelling, Flirting with Fate by J.C. Cervantes may be something you enjoy. I thought the book had a great storyline, but I did have some issues, which I cover below in my review.
I enjoyed the plot and how the FMC, Ava Granados, tracks down the boy who accidentally got her mystical blessing. Her grandmother was supposed to give it to her before she passed, but she was too late. When her grandmother appears as a ghost and explains that Ava must get the blessing back or her Grandma will stay a ghost and lose her memories forever, Ava has to act quickly. With help from her ghostly Grandma and a Saint, she tracks down the boy she met before her grandmother passed. When she finds him, she realizes it won’t be easy to get the blessing back, especially since neither she, her Grandma, nor the Saint knows how. She does have help from her two sisters, whom I loved getting to know.
This is definitely a family-oriented book, and I enjoyed that part of the story. I probably would have enjoyed it even more without the fated love aspect. Ava, her sisters, and her grandma all love one another, and the storyline shows how they are there for one another. I also loved the Saint in this book because he made it funny with some of his antics, even as he made things more challenging for poor Ava.
I wasn’t convinced by Ava and Rion’s relationship, especially when Ava was only trying to get her blessing back, even though the book says their love was fated, especially when it’s revealed in the end. I think this is due to how Ava treated Rion initially and how she didn’t believe in fate. Even with the story told solely via Ava’s POV, I could tell Rion liked Ava. The ending was the last straw for me because the conflict between Ava and Rion was predictable. She should have known, since she had been hanging out with him long enough. I’m not going to spoil it for anyone who hasn’t read this book. As I said, I was more invested in Ava and her family.
The pacing also threw me off at times. One thing that stood out was the past storyline, where Ava’s mother tells her a fairy tale from when she was younger. That part pulled away from the main storyline and disrupted the flow, but I kept reading.
Other than those two things, the book was entertaining and magical, but it won’t be a favorite. I think I would have enjoyed it more if I had read it in my teens. Overall, I give this book 3 stars, and I would still recommend it. I think it’s more for teens than young adults. I’d recommend it to my youngest daughter if she were into reading books. Right now she’s focused on anime and her video games. Maybe she’ll become a reader later on, as her big sister did.
Content: It’s a sweet YA romance with light content, only kissing and some explicit language. It does have death & grief (discussions of death), a minor car accident, and some emotional healing.
What to Expect:
✨Magic Realism
✨Fated Love
✨Meet Cute
✨Slow Burn
✨Family Traditions
✨Emotional Healing
About J.C. Cervantes
J.C. is a New York Times best-selling author. Her books have been published in more than twelve countries and have appeared on national lists, including the American Booksellers Association New Voices, Barnes and Noble’s Best Young Reader Books, and Amazon’s Best Books of the Month. She has earned multiple awards and recognitions, including the New Mexico Book Award and the Zia Book Award.
She currently resides in the Land of Enchantment with her family and spoiled pups, but keeps part of her heart in Southern California, where she was born and raised. When she isn’t writing, she is haunting bookstores and searching for magic in all corners of the world.
Author also writes under Jennifer Cervantes
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My obsession with reading started over 30+ years ago when I went to my first Scholastic Book Fair and found R.L. Stine's Fear Street series. Later, I came across Anne Rice's novels at my public library when I was fourteen when my obsession with vampires started. I was the girl who preferred to be a vampire over a princess any day. My husband says I would leave him a heartbeat for a vampire that looked like Spike or Angel (from Buffy the Vampire Slayer) or Damon Salvatore from The Vampire Diaries. (It's true, though, and he's accepted it.)
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