Literature & Fiction
![J. C. Cervantes - [object Object] author](https://res.cloudinary.com/readsomnia/image/upload/authors/a_a_j_c_cervantes.jpg)
Flirting with Fate
"I dare anyone to read this book without a ginormous grin on their faces. Warmth, humor and enchantments burst off the page, and the colorful characters of the Granados family crackle to life with Cervantes's signature wit, aching empathy and enviable flair for whimsy." -Roshani Chokshi, NYT bestselling author of The Gilded Wolves trilogy.
Jane the Virgin meets The Sisterhood of the Traveling Pants in New York Times bestselling author J.C. Cervantes's charming, romantic YA debut.
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 swoony, heartwarming young adult debut, New York Times bestselling author J.C. Cervantes weaves an unforgettable tale about family, fate, and finding love where you least expect it.
Jane the Virgin meets The Sisterhood of the Traveling Pants in New York Times bestselling author J.C. Cervantes's charming, romantic YA debut.
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 swoony, heartwarming young adult debut, New York Times bestselling author J.C. Cervantes weaves an unforgettable tale about family, fate, and finding love where you least expect it.
Editorial Reviews
"An original twist on the modern fairy tale amplified by sisterly affection and a poignant sense of place." -Kirkus Reviews
"With playful banter, well-drawn intergenerational familial relationships, and a delightfully atmospheric meet-cute, Cervantes's romantic tale will charm readers in search of a little magic." -Publishers Weekly
"A stirring romance where the magic is rooted in the relationships among the characters. -Booklist
"A captivating romance and a heartfelt adventure at its core, mixed in with the magical tendencies of fate. A must read!" -Alex Light, bestselling author of The Upside of Falling
"Engrossing and enchanting, Cervantes' YA debut glows with magic on every page, entwining the mysteries and joys of family with utterly delightful romance in the Los Angeles hills. A sweet, spellbinding read." -Emily Wibberley & Austin Siegemund-Broka, authors of If I'm Being Honest
"I dare anyone to read this book without a ginormous grin on their faces. Warmth, humor and enchantments bursts off the page, and the colorful characters of the Granados family crackle to life with Cervantes's signature wit, aching empathy and enviable flair for whimsy." -Roshani Chokshi, NYT bestselling author of The Gilded Wolves trilogy.
"Flirting With Fate is an epic celebration of destiny, a heartwarming ode to sisterhood, and the sweetest love story. The swoony romance and hilarious magical hijinks will leave you grinning wildly and wishing you were a Grandos sister!" -Angela Velez, author of Lulu & Milagro's Search for Clarity
"Flirting with Fate is a sweet, summery romance infused with a touch of magic. Filled with strong bonds between sisters and between generations, this tale of love, fate, and family will warm your heart." -Hannah Reynolds, author of
"With playful banter, well-drawn intergenerational familial relationships, and a delightfully atmospheric meet-cute, Cervantes's romantic tale will charm readers in search of a little magic." -Publishers Weekly
"A stirring romance where the magic is rooted in the relationships among the characters. -Booklist
"A captivating romance and a heartfelt adventure at its core, mixed in with the magical tendencies of fate. A must read!" -Alex Light, bestselling author of The Upside of Falling
"Engrossing and enchanting, Cervantes' YA debut glows with magic on every page, entwining the mysteries and joys of family with utterly delightful romance in the Los Angeles hills. A sweet, spellbinding read." -Emily Wibberley & Austin Siegemund-Broka, authors of If I'm Being Honest
"I dare anyone to read this book without a ginormous grin on their faces. Warmth, humor and enchantments bursts off the page, and the colorful characters of the Granados family crackle to life with Cervantes's signature wit, aching empathy and enviable flair for whimsy." -Roshani Chokshi, NYT bestselling author of The Gilded Wolves trilogy.
"Flirting With Fate is an epic celebration of destiny, a heartwarming ode to sisterhood, and the sweetest love story. The swoony romance and hilarious magical hijinks will leave you grinning wildly and wishing you were a Grandos sister!" -Angela Velez, author of Lulu & Milagro's Search for Clarity
"Flirting with Fate is a sweet, summery romance infused with a touch of magic. Filled with strong bonds between sisters and between generations, this tale of love, fate, and family will warm your heart." -Hannah Reynolds, author of
Readers Top Reviews
PeachesBookLover0
I read this book in a day and that should tell people how much I adored it! Ava's family have the ability to pass on a blessing to the women in their line when they are on their deathbed. Ava is late coming to her Nana's side from work when a storm comes out of nowhere, she slides into the back of a truck, and barely makes it back for her Nana to say a few strange things but no blessing. Then she sees her Nana's ghost days after her funeral. She has a month to get her blessing back. With the help of her sister, Nana and a Saint.. She has to befriend the guy who's truck she hit, Rian, to get it back. The best part of this are the sisters. I just love the relationship that they have. I really liked that Ava, a girl who doesn't believe in Fate, has a whole lot of Fate thrust at her! I liked the friendship that develops between Ava and Rian but it took a backseat to get sisters for me.
Katie GPeachesBoo
Ava is the youngest of 3 sisters. The women in their family have been able to pass blessings along from generation to generation, but only on their deathbed. But when their Nana dies, and Ava is delayed by a fender bender during a freak thunderstorm, Nana throws caution to the wind, and send Ava her blessing in the hopes that it will make it to Ava. Now, Ava has to work on finding her blessing, and getting it back with the help of a saint and her Nana's ghost, or Nana will wander the earth aimlessly for all eternity. The magic that swirls through this story, as Fate has her way with the Granados sisters, is practically palpable. Each sister grows through the story, learning how to navigate their new blessing, and Ava trying to discover how to get hers back. The author sends her characters through quite a few twists as Ava falls into her unexpected relationship with the boy who got her blessing by mistake. I'm not going to lie, I called most of the twists long before they came, but the author builds the story in a wonderful way to keep you engaged, and rooting for Ava, and Nana, every step of the way. My thanks to BookishFirst, the author, and the publisher, for the opportunity to read this lovely book with their blessing!
Katie SKatie GPea
This is a sweet story about what a child’s heart will do to protect itself from abandonment. Ava’s mother ran away from her family when Ava was about 6 or 7 years old. Trust in everlasting love is hard for Ava to believe in after her mother just walked away. Is it love…fate…coincidence that makes Ava crashed into Rion’s car? Ava doesn’t believe in these silly things. She blames the wreck on Rion’s poor driving. Mind you, she rear-ended him. The story is delightful. The characters are likable. You cannot help but turn each page to see what happens next!
James FarmerKatie
Absolutely loved this YA debut by JC Cervantes. It’s such a heartfelt tale and I couldn’t get enough.
Short Excerpt Teaser
Fate's Prologue
On July 7 at precisely 9:01 p.m., a boundless, unforeseen storm claimed one life, two hearts, and six destinies.
The Southern California skies had been a brilliant blue dappled with wispy threads of white. A warm, easy, splendid kind of day where you'd think nothing could go wrong. Ah, but one's fate is not always built on solid ground. Andwrong is always a question of perspective. Take, for example, the girl at the center of this tale, Ava Granados. She is stubborn, quick-witted, was born into a mystical family, and, well, she thinks very little of me. Perhaps things would have been different for her if she had afforded me an ounce of respect.
On this summer day, like most days prior, Ava woke early and suffered through SoulCycle with her older sister Carmen. Boring, routine, sweaty. She spent the afternoon making a Pinterest board with monochromatic bedroom ideas and ended up spiraling down a rabbit hole of DIY crafts for the tactically deficient, like tiny shoe pom-poms and rag wreaths.
In two months' time, she plans to begin her senior year and get a jump- start on college applications. Until then, she is committed to one thing: joyous boredom, much to her father's consternation. He desperately wants her to go to college nearby and work for the family's design firm. Raul Granados is always ranting and raving with some version of "Mija, why write about the people doing great things whenyou can be the great one? Look at our firm, right there in Architectural Digest. Eh? Someone wrote aboutus." He would poke his chest with his thumb as his face lit up brighter than the Virgen's altar.
Little does Ava know that in precisely five minutes and sixteen seconds, I will launch a lightning rod into her life. Death. Death always gets humans' attention.
Ava has always hated thinking about death in any capacity. When she was a child, she would pray for all the dead animals' souls to go to heaven. Then she began to include all the dead insects, because their ends always felt so untimely and unfair. She thought that the only thing those poor creatures had to look forward to was being squished under a shoe or flattened on a windshield.
I almost pity her-hunched over a dim desk, reading the black-and-white memories of strangers. With no idea that her life is about to be derailed in a way she'll never see coming.
It is 8:16 p.m. now, and Ava is at the LA Times, organizing digital archives. It is her ideal summer internship: words, spines, photographs, paper. An introvert's paradise.
Fifty-nine seconds to go.
Ava leans over her messy worktable and scans a 1959 photo of some young guy carrying a banner that says marry me. No name, no other descriptors. A seemingly innocuous object. Or is it? She, of course, does not yet realize its significance. She merely looks at the date and thinks it is ironic that it is the same as today. Oh, humans.
She wonders, Did she say yes or no?
And this is all I need to strike the match.
One
Ava's cell phone buzzed, and a clap of thunder vibrated her bones. She reached for her phone, turned it over to see her sister's name on the screen.
"Hey, Carm."
Lightning lit up the night sky in great unpredictable flashes. The wind howled violently.
Carmen's garbled voice was swallowed by static and unceasing gales. Then, in a voice heavy with urgency, "Ava!"
The call was lost.
There was a moment of silence, stillness, nothingness. It was as if the universe had paused to take a breath and ask,What are you going to do now, Ava Granados?
A long shiver crawled up Ava's legs, and in the space of a single thought,Something is wrong, her phone lit up again. The single buzz prompted the sky to split open and unleash a torrent like Ava had never seen or heard.
"Carmen?" Ava couldn't control the tremble in her voice. "Is everything okay?"
"Where are you?" Carmen demanded.
A peal of thunder.
"My internship."
"This late?"
"Trying to impress the boss. Where ar...
On July 7 at precisely 9:01 p.m., a boundless, unforeseen storm claimed one life, two hearts, and six destinies.
The Southern California skies had been a brilliant blue dappled with wispy threads of white. A warm, easy, splendid kind of day where you'd think nothing could go wrong. Ah, but one's fate is not always built on solid ground. Andwrong is always a question of perspective. Take, for example, the girl at the center of this tale, Ava Granados. She is stubborn, quick-witted, was born into a mystical family, and, well, she thinks very little of me. Perhaps things would have been different for her if she had afforded me an ounce of respect.
On this summer day, like most days prior, Ava woke early and suffered through SoulCycle with her older sister Carmen. Boring, routine, sweaty. She spent the afternoon making a Pinterest board with monochromatic bedroom ideas and ended up spiraling down a rabbit hole of DIY crafts for the tactically deficient, like tiny shoe pom-poms and rag wreaths.
In two months' time, she plans to begin her senior year and get a jump- start on college applications. Until then, she is committed to one thing: joyous boredom, much to her father's consternation. He desperately wants her to go to college nearby and work for the family's design firm. Raul Granados is always ranting and raving with some version of "Mija, why write about the people doing great things whenyou can be the great one? Look at our firm, right there in Architectural Digest. Eh? Someone wrote aboutus." He would poke his chest with his thumb as his face lit up brighter than the Virgen's altar.
Little does Ava know that in precisely five minutes and sixteen seconds, I will launch a lightning rod into her life. Death. Death always gets humans' attention.
Ava has always hated thinking about death in any capacity. When she was a child, she would pray for all the dead animals' souls to go to heaven. Then she began to include all the dead insects, because their ends always felt so untimely and unfair. She thought that the only thing those poor creatures had to look forward to was being squished under a shoe or flattened on a windshield.
I almost pity her-hunched over a dim desk, reading the black-and-white memories of strangers. With no idea that her life is about to be derailed in a way she'll never see coming.
It is 8:16 p.m. now, and Ava is at the LA Times, organizing digital archives. It is her ideal summer internship: words, spines, photographs, paper. An introvert's paradise.
Fifty-nine seconds to go.
Ava leans over her messy worktable and scans a 1959 photo of some young guy carrying a banner that says marry me. No name, no other descriptors. A seemingly innocuous object. Or is it? She, of course, does not yet realize its significance. She merely looks at the date and thinks it is ironic that it is the same as today. Oh, humans.
She wonders, Did she say yes or no?
And this is all I need to strike the match.
One
Ava's cell phone buzzed, and a clap of thunder vibrated her bones. She reached for her phone, turned it over to see her sister's name on the screen.
"Hey, Carm."
Lightning lit up the night sky in great unpredictable flashes. The wind howled violently.
Carmen's garbled voice was swallowed by static and unceasing gales. Then, in a voice heavy with urgency, "Ava!"
The call was lost.
There was a moment of silence, stillness, nothingness. It was as if the universe had paused to take a breath and ask,What are you going to do now, Ava Granados?
A long shiver crawled up Ava's legs, and in the space of a single thought,Something is wrong, her phone lit up again. The single buzz prompted the sky to split open and unleash a torrent like Ava had never seen or heard.
"Carmen?" Ava couldn't control the tremble in her voice. "Is everything okay?"
"Where are you?" Carmen demanded.
A peal of thunder.
"My internship."
"This late?"
"Trying to impress the boss. Where ar...
