This was such a sweet read and definitely the first of many I will be reading by this author. I found all the characters relatable in their own way. The romance aspect was written so well.

Dacre and his younger brothers are staying with their mum in Mexico. Since his parents split she lives in Mexico and their dad in Texas which involves frequent travelling. This trip is going to be different. First there's Francisco, their mum's new boyfriend who is 20 years her junior. Then there's Sal.

Sal and her dad own and run an avocado farm. They used to have help in Sal's aunt Matilda but she's recently passed away and they're struggling. Dacre comes by to buy some avocados and Sal offers him a job on the spot, without even knowing his name.

Sal thinks Dacre is a good worker but she's annoyed by his frequent bathroom breaks, down to his diabetes which he hasn't told her about to avoid the inevitable sympathy issues. All that changes when they go on what's supposed to be a 2 day delivery trip together...

I thought this was really cute and I loved how Dacre and Sal's friendship evolved.

This was definitely a cute story. I understand more than most about grappling with chronic illness and this story and the love that was kindled was so cute.

DNF 81%
I just did not care for any of the characters, and that affected the story a great deal.
It sounded sweet and funny, but it just wasn`t.

I love books where people have diseases but they're just normal people. And I definitely love women leading characters who own their own business and don't need a man. This book did not disappoint and I really enjoyed it.

DNF. I just did not think writing style was at a professional level and I couldn’t get into it. I really wanted to like it. The cover is gorgeous and I love the title. I think there’s potential but it’s just not there yet.

Thank you NetGalley, authors, and publisher for the ARC in exchange for an honest review.

Thanks NetGalley for the preview!

This book was sweet but never really seemed realistic. I felt the diabetes scenes were forced and the events in the jungle didn't match the mood. It felt really out of place and kind of silly. The twists and turns didn't quite match up.

***Thanks to the publisher and Netgalley for providing me with a digital copy of this book in exchange for an honest review***

A sweet teen romance. Very realistic.

I want to thank Netgalley for providing me with this book in exchange for my honest review.

This book gave me all the feels! Im a huge fan of this book. It was unique, Interesting and so much fun to read.
The characters were amazingly their different personalities lept off the page.
The pacing was fast and honestly I read it in one sitting and enjoyed it so much.

I started reading this book and, unfortunately, there were a few things in the opening pages (a many more later on) that didn’t set the story right for me.

They say write what you know. But writing what you know doesn’t mean that you should only write about the things you already know. What it means, I think, is that you should know what you’re writing about, and if you don’t know, you better research until your brain can’t hold any more information on the subject.

Following this advice and canon, I was dubious about how much the authors (yes, this book ahs two of them: Candace Robinson and Gerardo Delgadillo) really knew about many of the things that figured as main themes in their novel.

So many little details, from not knowing that, in any plane, the compartments above the seats are called overhead compartments, to how Dacre talks about needing insulin during a flight to the flight attendant, the lack of veracity took me out of the story way too often to make this a enjoyable read. And veracity becomes even more important when you have embarked in depicting a culture that is not your own, as in this case.

The story in itself is nothing new, what could have given originality was the execution and the integration of important things like intercultural relations and people with chronic conditions, such as diabetes. The thing is, I don’t thing any of those two things was properly placed (and/or researched) into the story.

Instead of Dacre’s condition becoming a vehicle to better understand the emotional and everyday reality of living with diabetes it became a crutch, the one single thing defining Dacre. Hence turning him into something of victim, which is exactly the opposite of how people living with diabetes want other to see them.

Beyond those drawbacks, the story is simple enough. Boy meets girl, girls shows boy how to grow avocados, girl had aunt with diabetes, boy hides his diabetes not to worry girl, it all comes crashing down when things get dangerous.

All in all, not my cup or tea, because of the flavor and how it was prepared.

Thank you, NetGalley, for a complimentary ARC in exchange for my honest opinion.

I'm sorry, but I DNFed. It seemed too stereotypical-an angry young teenager-mad about moving, his mom's new relationship, and oh yeah, his diabetic illness that he didn't want to define his personality but did anyway. The young teenager girl who's too busy working to date. So what will happen to these characters? Well naturally they fall in teenage love. This book was not for me, but I do appreciate the opportunity to be able to read it.

I had a hard time connecting with this book. I felt like I got to the end without really knowing who the characters were or what was going on.
There were some good moments throughout, and there was definite potential.
However, for me, it felt too rushed and underdeveloped.
I would have liked to have seen the characters and the story fleshed out a bit more.

Avocado farming, adventure, romance, oh and dash of real life problems from deeply engaging and relevant characters. What more could you possibly want from a novel?

Such a unique YA read I don’t think I’ve ever read before and I absolutely loved it, teenage romance and avocado farming you wouldn’t put them together or think it would work, but it really does. Well research Ed and written, the characters are well developed, the diabetes is well represented ( having it in the family it rings so true) . It’s a great emotional rollercoaster of a book, it teaches so many things like self respect , love and family. It’s a great friends to lovers romance and a thoroughly entertaining read. Highly recommended

Thanks to netgalley and the publisher for a free copy for an honest opinion

Avocado Bliss is a book that I felt a little complex, but realistic characters and situations. Sal is an avocado farm girl and Dacre is a random guy who goes to buy avocadoes. Sal and Dacre bond and their love develops. Dacre’s character was trying hard to be something more than a diabetic throughout the book. The story was slow moving for my liking, but I managed to finish the book. The ending was not upto expectation, the ending was rushed. A lot was going on in this book, i feel its too complex to be YA novel.
I received a reader’s copy through NetGalley. Thank you authors and Evernight Teen. The review is based only on my opinion of the story.

I actually DNF'd this book because the story just wasn't for me. I see the potential in the story so I would base that being an average book with an okay plot. 2.5 rating.

Avocado Bliss by Candace Robinson and Gerardo Delgadillo is a beautiful young adult love story, and my first book by this author. I love this book! Dacre Vinson and his two little brothers travel between their father's in America and mother's in Mexico. Dacre's mother has a history of moving in with different boyfriends, than packing up and moving to different towns when the relationship ends. This time in another new town with her latest boyfriend who is much younger than her. When Dacre goes to buy avocado's for his family, and a girl offers him a job on the spot, and he accepts to escape his home. Dacre also has type 1 diabetes, which affects every aspect of his life. There is so much going on in this book, I don't know where to begin, take my advice and just read it. I strongly recommend this wonderful book.
I received a complimentary copy of this book. Opinions expressed in this review are completely my own.

This was a struggle to finish really, I kept reading and hoping to feel involved and to actually care about any of the characters but I just didn’t.

Dacre’s diabetes just kinda feels shoved in your face as soon as possible. Like this is how the character is defined: the diabetic one. Rather than it be peppered throughout the book and the characterisation. This is the first thing I learn about the character, before I've even worked out if I like them or not.

With the diabetes, is it necessary to have so many examples of Dacre checking his sugars and injecting? Again it seems like his illness matters more than he does. Right now it certainly has more characterisation. It's not until about 40% in that we learn something else about him other than the fact he has diabetes.

To be fair, all the characters just bore me. I haven't really been able to connect with any of them. The "robot" thing just irritates me. I feel like the avocados have more personality than Sal. I do not care about her in the slightest. Then by 60% in she's talking about the robot as it's a separate entity.

Urgh and what a rubbish ending too; it was just so sickly sweet and patronising – it felt really quick even though at times the book seemed to drag. Although, their “relationship” didn’t exactly start until after halfway through the book so maybe it wasn’t completely rushed in the grand scheme of things.

Overall this wasn’t even a cute rom-com or a slow burning romance. This was an awkward, bumpy story that didn’t seem to contain actual characters per-se but just individual characteristics or stereotypes that are never fully developed. Just disappointing, really.

Dacre wants to be more than his Type 1 diabetes. Sal wants to be more than the avocado girl. As their worlds collide when Dacre accepts a job from Sal on her Pa's avocado farm hilarity ensues as well as an adventure that could change them both forever. 

I have so many feelings about Avocado Bliss, all very complicated and layered together since there are just so many things that I feel the authors did very well. First of all, fantastic setting choice--I feel it's getting hard to find a contemporary fiction book in YA that isn't set in the United States. The different setting introduced a different culture that I'm sure many U.S. readers have not had the pleasure of being exposed to, and I enjoyed it immensely. Second, banter was spot on and I loved the dynamic between Dacre and Sal as they both opened up to each other and broke away from what they considered the core part of themselves. It really forced me as a reader to ask myself that question as well, and consider what I feel is the core part of myself. Overall, this was an extremely odd and adorable book that I didn’t bet on having as big of an impact on me as it did; it really encourages all who read it to let their weirdness ooze out (in the best way) and own that core part of themselves.

I only have a few suggestions for improvement. I felt like the writing was a little underdeveloped at times, but of course this will improve with time as the authors continue to write more books and develop their writing. The last minor complaint is I do feel Dacre was pretty negative at times in regards to his Type 1 diabetes, and even though this fact was an essential part of his character, could have been portrayed a little differently in a way that would still serve the author’s needs and the plot in the book while also not making me as a reader feel kinda blah.

Avocado Bliss was a fun, warm and fast-paced book with complex and realistic characters. Dacre doesn't like having diabetes, which I fully understand, but I wish his inner monologue wasn't that negative. Nevertheless, the authors managed to write tension in the book and it was overall a nice read.