Book Reviews

Book Blurb

It’s said you can’t go home again….

The last thing Candelario “Candy” Gonzalez wants is to go back to his roots in the barrio. At sixteen, he grabs a one-way ticket to luxury and comfort as the lover and protégé of powerful drug lord, Teirso Flores.

Flores molds beautiful Candy for his own agenda—to become his exclusive attorney, and Candy’s prowess brings the term criminal defense to a new level.

But life in the very dark, very fast lane comes to a screeching halt when a child is killed by one of Flores’s thugs during a drive-by shooting. Candy walks away from his law practice and away from Flores, determined to live honestly.

Carlos Alvarez stirs both desire and confusion in Candy, because young Carlos symbolizes everything Candy left behind. Inching from his universe of opulence and power and into Carlos’s world, Candy realizes the only happiness he ever knew was in his past. Crossing the boundary isn’t easy, though, and Candy’s newfound hope draws out the demons he thought he’d escaped.

And when Flores returns to reconstruct his empire, past and present collide and lovers and friends are forced to examine their bonds in a fight for their lives.

1st Edition published as Candy G by Dreamspinner Press, 2011.

 

Book Review

Escaping from your past can be difficult – but nothing is as hard as getting out of a life of crime. Candy faces that situation in this heart-wrenching story of a man who finally tries to do the right thing, only to find out that no matter how much he wants to forget, the past and his former boss will never let him go.

Candy fascinated me from the beginning. He used to be poor, comes from the barrio, and took a way out when Teirso Flores, a powerful drug lord, offers him an opportunity. At that point in life nothing seems as terrible to Candy as remaining poor. Candy becomes Teirso’s lawyer and gets him out of more legal trouble than most people can imagine. But Candy has his own set of values, and harming children is not something he can support. With a superhuman effort he walks away from Teirso and makes a life for himself. That life includes meeting and falling in love with Carlos, a young man who reminds Candy of himself in many ways. There is only one problem. Teirso is not ready to let him go, and Candy realizes the fight is not over.

Carlos has a few secrets of his own. He wants to be an artist, but has to work two jobs to survive. At first he sees only Candy’s outer layer – the power, the status, and the success of a lawyer. Carlos falls for Candy hook, line, and sinker – wanting him to be the soulmate he has always hoped he would find. Despite the difference in their age and where they are in their lives, Carlos knows he loves Candy – only to be shocked when things begin to happen that make Candy push him away.

If you like your heroes to be badass and just a little crooked, even if they are trying to be on the straight-and-narrow now, if you want to know about two men who come from very similar backgrounds and are both trying to free themselves from those restraints, and if you’re looking for a read that is as emotionally intense and suspenseful as it is heart-wrenching and hot, then you will probably like this novel.

 

 

 

 

DISCLAIMER: Books reviewed on this site were usually provided at no cost by the publisher or author. This book has been provided by Dreamspinner Press for the purpose of a review.

Additional Information

Format	ebook and print
Length	Novel, 200 pages/61909 words
Heat Level
Publication Date	02-September-2015
Price	$6.99 ebook, $14.99 paperback, $14.99 bundle
Buy Link	https://www.dreamspinnerpress.com/books/candy-g-roots-by-c-zampa-669-b