Rebel with a Donut

Running on Love and Donuts #1

by Chrissy Q. Martin

Five teenagers and four senior citizens together in a retirement community. What could go wrong?

A contemporary Golden Girls meets The Breakfast Club, Rebel with a Donut is a laugh-out-loud story about forging real friendships, breaking habits, discovering yourself, and finding your favorite donut.

A self-described loner, Emma hates to break rules, but that’s the one thing she must do while visiting her grandma for three weeks. Every morning Emma meets for donuts with four teenagers also being forced by their grandmothers to break habits.

Embracing a different side of herself, Emma attempts to make friends and leave behind the nobody she is at home. But Emma went to school with the boy staying next door. Tyler doesn’t remember Emma, and when their relationship deepens, Emma resolves not to reveal herself.

As the unlikely group of characters grow in their friendship, Emma has a tough time hiding her secrets. When it becomes difficult for Emma to rebel against rules and hide who she is, she runs from the fire. But it takes running into the flames for Emma to learn some people are worth breaking rules for.

Genres: Romance, Young Adult, Contemporary, Summer, Fiction, Teen, Book Club

301 pages, Kindle Edition

First published February 10, 2021

About the author

Chrissy Q Martin is a YA author. She loves happy endings, sweet kisses, laughs, a little drama, and lots of fun. All her books are no spice teen romances, perfect for young teens and the young at heart.

Chrissy is the shy girl in the corner but if give her some coffee she'll talk to you, especially if you want to talk books.

Discover all Chrissy's books, plus free books and fun stuff at her website: www.chrissyqmartin.com

Reviews

[maya venice · Rating 2 out of 5]

updated review: nevermind, I was too nice. this was boring and super repetitive. I only finished it fast because I was trying to include it in a video. after marinating in my head, I realized that this book was not worth it. it's also way too long, and somehow nothing happened

JULY 2024 old review: this was a chill, slow, lazy summer kind of book! i liked the characters and dynamics, but it felt a bit repetitive and longer than it should have been, which led me to sometimes being bored. i think it's good if you're in the mood for something lighthearted and slower though! :)

(go watch my SUMMER BOOK RECS video for a longer, more detailed review! ☀️)

[AnnaScott · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book was delightful, and the sassy grandmas were fabulous. I laughed out loud multiple times.

[Amanda Yates · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book was hilarious!! I literally laughed out loud several times during this one. It will sweep you up into the story and hold you there till the end.

I received a free copy of this book via Booksprout and am voluntarily leaving a review.

[Clarissa · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book was super funny and cute!! I really liked the setting. However, I found the main character kinda annoying. Like she constantly just told herself she was a nobody and I didn’t like the self negativity. Other than that, I really liked the overall story!!

[Claire Marie · Rating 4 out of 5]

4 ⭐️ I just realized I clicked on the third book in this series and reviewed it thinking it was the first book…oops.
I loved this book! I enjoyed reading this so much! I have never read anything like this book. It was different and fun. It was basically about grandmas and teenagers (kinda but not rly 😂). It was also written so good :) plz read this or add it to your tbr. There was no spice and some of the quotes were so good! And the idea is just so fun. I literally am just 👏👏👏😊

[Evelyn (Ev’s Novel Delights) · Rating 4 out of 5]

Woooow… this was such a sweet and funny read! ☺️

4.5 stars

RTC

[Taylor · Rating 3 out of 5]

This was a solid 3.5 stars for me! After reading several heavy books, I wanted something light hearted. This book was just that! An easy read with a fun plot. The grandmas in this story were delightful and hilarious!! The teenagers were relatable and fairly typical!

[Lynne Spreen · Rating 4 out of 5]

Emma is a shy 17yo loner with obtuse parents. She is lonely and sad. When she is sent to the Villages in Florida to keep her newly (7 months) widowed grandmother company, she is shocked to find Grandma and her three friends have invited a total of 5 teenaged grandkids to join them at the same time. The teens are forced together and become friends. A romance develops between Emma and Tyler. All of the kids have a thing (bad habit) they have to break in the 3 weeks they're visiting. It's a pretty good story with a dramatic event toward the end but it's paced kind of slowly. Also, if Emma said "You're impossible!" to Tyler any more times I would have given up. But all of the characters in this book are people you'd root for and like, and the life lessons are good ones. I think a young person would enjoy this book.

[Julie · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book is so cute and lighthearted. A quirky YA novel about a pretty average anti social girl who is shipped away to her grandma’s house. This book is so cute, and it’s a shorter read.

[ava | reading slump · Rating 4 out of 5]

Cute summer read with swoon-worthy romance and some hilarious grandmas!!

[Anna Jason · Rating 4 out of 5]

This was a unique YA book! What do you get when a group of teenagers visit their grandmas in a retirement community? Shenanigans, challenges, and fun. I really enjoyed this story, watching the teens bond and change. Such a cute and fun book.

[Arceli · Rating 5 out of 5]

I really loved this novel. It was awesome. The characters are amazing. I highly recommend this book :)

I received a free copy of this book via Booksprout and am voluntarily leaving a review.

[Sarena · Rating 2 out of 5]

Rebel with a Donut was a quick, fun, and entertaining read, and I love that it had a huge focus on friendship, but the romance is problematic. The male love interest is all, “Hey, I get a kick out of displeasing you!” and somehow the female protagonist finds that cute and endearing. Oh, and he just happens to be hot, but that’s a side note. What is this, kindergarten when people claim that boys are mean to girls they like?

[Violet Bove · Rating 5 out of 5]

4.5⭐️ - this was a rlly solid book, i def enjoyed it. i think one of my fav parts of this story is the diversity of personalities we got to see and the dynamics w the grandmas, made for such a funny plot. i loved how that this summer vaca was dedicated to finding what you struggle w and working on it, but they had their friends to support them and it brought them closer. tyler and emma were so good for each other, butttt the only reason this is 4.5 is bc i think they got together a bit too early, the middle was long, and it was good but I think that they should have waited a few more in book days before they did. it made it so they had too many kisses and made them less special although i think she did a great job w them ;). i also think the whole, we went to school w each other before was exaggerated, a bit too much fuss over nothing. i did rlly enjoyed how she played it out in general real time and a lot of the time it was a unique occurrence everyday!! content wise this was is pretty good, no profanity but def some innuendo, other than that j kisses and touches. i’d say 14+ or whoever is comfortable. overall this is a great book i def recommend. and i am already planning on re reading this summer :)

[Holly · Rating 5 out of 5]

Rebel with a donut is a sweet summer romance, found family young adult novel!

Emma like rules. She hates breaking them. Her Grandmother and Grandmother's friends, however, are on a mission to break their grand children's bad habits - including Emma sticking to rules. It's like golden girls meets breakfast club meets romance.

I loved this book!!! I thought it was so funny. The found family trope was done so well. The relationships are built steadily and reasonably. I loved the sweet romance between Emma and Tyler. And I LOVED the chaotic Grandmothers. They were iconic, and deserve long, happy retirements.

Go read this book! It is the perfect summer vacation read. I immediately want to re read it.

[For those who ask, it had no spice]

[Jennifer · Rating 4 out of 5]

Could not put this down!

I read this in one sitting, until 1am be cause I could not put it down! These characters just pull you in and I really liked that they were all so different, but they all wanted to make their grandmothers happy.

The romance was sweet, kinda quick, but thoroughly enjoyable. My only gripe is that he wouldn't have noticed her if they weren't thrown together like that. Its kind of addressed, but its basically treated as ' but I see you now', which feels like a non answer to me. Also she should have told him quicker, but it felt rushed after she did. But overall, this was a great, emotional read that had awesome friendships between the generations. Also I wish my grandma was like any of theirs.

[Kendell · Rating 5 out of 5]

Very good! Funny, light-hearted, and sweet! I love the characters (especially the grandmas). It has no inappropriate scenes, the most it has is kissing. Highly recommend for tweens. Only a few cuss words, but it's nothing too bad, no f-words.

[Slight Spoilers]
One of the characters does vape in one of the scenes and in another, they try to drink alcohol. They also talk about rehab, so if that's a triggering topic, I don't recommend reading it, even it's barely in it.

[Amelie · Rating 5 out of 5]

🌟:5!!!!!!
🌶️:kissing
📚: kindle unlimited

🍩🍩🍩🍩🍩🍩🍩🍩🍩

I saw the name of this book and I thought it was going to be cringe (it has the word rebel in the title and is not written by Marie lu) but it was amazing!!!!

🍩🍩🍩🍩🍩🍩🍩🍩🍩

Plot: I love the idea of bringing kids to their grandma's retirement home to break habits!!! So refreshingly original!!! I love the donut club and the sweet events that happen and draw the characters closer together!!!!

Also love that even though this was a romance it read as fiction instead of romance which was nice 😁😁

🍩🍩🍩🍩🍩🍩🍩🍩🍩

Characters:

The donut club 🍩:

Emma: didn't love her didn't hate her enjoyed her character development tho 😁😁

Tyler: awww what a cute love interest!! He and Emma are perfect for each other!! He got her to break rules and she got him to stop people pleasing 😘😘

Ravi: reliable need friend!! YES SIR! while he didn't have the same hot vibes as Tyler still a really good character and easy to live (in a platonic way) live him a Cole together!!!

Cole: lowkey scared me at first but I reeeeally enjoyed her character development and I'm excited to see where she progresses through the series. Her comebacks were hilarious too!! 😁

Hannah: omg I think she had the best character development out of all of them!!! She went from being stereotypical popular girl to being a much better character!!! She's another one I can't wait to see the development in!!! Also her and Cole give off Genevieve and Chris vibes from to all the boys I've loved before and I love it!!

The grandma's 👵:

BAHAHAHHA loved them all sm

Pam: so cute love that she got Emma out of her box!!

Patty: typical grandma super cute!!

Iris: uhmmmmm she's had interesting hobbies

Martha: MY FAV I LOVE THAT SHE WRITES STEAMY ROMANCES THAT FITS HER CHARACTER SO WELL

🍩🍩🍩🍩🍩🍩🍩🍩🍩

Overall: loved this book!! Can't wait to read the rest of the series!!!

[Ariana · Rating 3 out of 5]

Spoilers:




I really did enjoy this book. I loved the setting and especially the grandmas and the grandkids, the whole plot and the donut club (they had me wishing I was apart of a ‘donut club’) this book was great, I rally resonated with the main character Emma, like I saw myself in her many times where it was a bit laughable. I liked Tyler and his character, he was cool and charming (I guess) but in all honesty I felt no real connection between the two and I it was a bit cringey at times. Yes,yes they liked eachother and started dating but idk. I can’t be the only one who thought Ravi and Emma would have been pretty cute together, that was my first initial thought but I guess I was wrong. They really seemed to understand eachother and got along soo well, and I was rooting for them. I loved the cousins, Hannah and cole, they were polar opposites and bickering but they cared for eachother. Now if I’m being honest, if I had to hear Emma say ‘you’re impossible’ one more time I feel like I’m going to throw my iPad across the room, it was sooo repetitive!! Anyway this book was good and I definitely recommend.

[Once Upon a Page · Rating 3 out of 5]

This was a cute, easy read.

I loved the first half and thought it would be a rare 5 ⭐️ for me, but after the romantic pairing happened, it got a bit boring.

The characters were all great, and generally very likeable, but I hated the main conflict (that she used to go to school with the love interest and he didn’t remember). I still have no idea why she was keeping it a secret? 🤷‍♀️ there was some bonus drama at the end for no real reason, and the term pink flamino(es) was very overused. People will assume they are pink unless told otherwise!

I also took issue with the whole aspect of getting the characters out of their comfort zone when some of their original traits were good ones! Sure let’s block the emergency fire access, or throw non-recyclables into the recycling so that the whole lot gets trashed? And why not steal too? Nothing wrong with following the rules in my opinion so this kind of made me mad.

Still a decent read though, and I’m looking forward to reading more from the author

[Anonymous 5 · Rating 5 out of 5]

This was my first experience reading something by this author and it was a very enjoyable read. It had a fun and unique storyline which captured my attention from the start and held my interest till the last page. The story focuses on four senior citizens and five teenagers in a retirement home. With a generation gap like that you know there will be some hilarious laugh-out-loud moments coming your way. The story is about finding your true self and brings together an unlikely group of people who grow together and form deep, meaningful, lasting relationships. The story is fun and full of heart and had me turning the pages, not wanting to put it down. A really heartwarming story that will bring a smile to your face and leave you with a warm feeling when you are done. I really enjoyed this book and look forward to reading more by this author.

I received a free copy of this book via Booksprout and am voluntarily leaving a review.

[Sarah Michelle · Rating 3 out of 5]

The story was cute. I was really in the mood for a YA book. I’m kind of burnt out on reading a bunch of smart, and this was refreshing to read. I liked the character and the premise of the story even if it seemed a little far-fetched about these grandmas getting together and issuing all these challenges or what not, don’t know how realistic that is but it was cute enough. I mean, I can maybe kind of see some grandmothers getting together and say hey let’s get our grandkids here for the summer and forcing them to interact with each other. You know a little disbelief and tickling me that this was in the villages because I live very close to the villages. I’m very familiar with the villages and I was pleasantly surprised to see that there was a reference made to the fact that STI‘s are super high in the villages so when it was first mentioned, I was like I hope this author doesn’t completely ignore that fact And she didn’t so that was great and I thought the relationship between the female character and the male main character. I mean it was very adult. Very cute. Very adolescent was very age appropriate so I enjoyed it. The whole story itself read very age appropriate I am not a huge fan of why a stories were 17-year-old is acting like a 30-year-old like it’s just not realistic so I enjoyed the story for what it was. I thought the little romance was cute, and I was looking forward to reading the next book in the series

[victoria velazquez · Rating 2 out of 5]

I had high hopes for this book, but it didn't live up to the hype for me. The plot was fine, but one part towards the end was completely random and unneeded. The side characters were probably my favorite part of it all, with the sassy grandmas and well-developed teenage characters. The main character and the love interest were boring, had barely any personality, and there was not enough tension between them. (Also, those names are way too basic.) A few parts in the book were extremely cringy, and the main character--Emma--kept repeating the same line throughout the book. I counted at least 11 different uses of the same line, "You're impossible", which is a slick thing to say once, not 11 times. The background characters were 100% more interesting than the main characters, who lacked charisma. One thing I did enjoy was the ending, which, fortunately, was not as cringy as the rest of the book.

[Karen · Rating 3 out of 5]

This was a book club pick for me. The blurb looked like fun and we needed a light hearted book to change things up. This one did the trick. It was a young adult book about a group of high schoolers the summer before their senior year. Each one had a grandmother who lived in the same community in FL and they all decided to set up a three week span where the 5 kids would come and be given a schedule of activities to do as they all have things they needed to work on....one needed to get out of her personal box and break some rules (no laws to be broken though), one needed to work on not pleasing everyone, one needed to stop studying 24/7, one needed to get off social media and the other needed to stop drinking/smoking.

Nice quick read that was entertaining. Not sure I will read others in this series right away, but if I need another quick, light read I may pick one up.

[Ashley Thornburg · Rating 5 out of 5]

Rebel with a Donut was such a delightful and refreshing read! My mom, my mema, my 13-year-old daughter, and I chose it as our first pick for our new summer book club—and it couldn’t have been a better choice to span four generations.

The grandmothers were not only adorable, but absolutely hilarious, and we loved watching the teens grow and evolve throughout the story. The premise was unique, fun, and heartwarming...and best of all, it was clean and completely comfortable to read and discuss together as a family.

While there were a few brief references beyond kissing, they were handled with humor and restraint. Like a grandmother warning there better not be anything going on, or a character who happens to write adult romance novels. Nothing felt inappropriate or out of place for younger or more sensitive readers.

We’re all already counting down to book two!

[Charlotte · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book was really cute! It was abt a 17 yr old goodie two shoes who goes to look after her grandma in Florida, with four other teenagers (that she didn’t know would be there). The writing was really good and I laughed a lot throughout the book. You can ask my sister. When I told my mom I finished the book she went, “did you finish the book that you were laughin’ about?”

This book was the perfect ya summer read !! They all had to break habits, for ex the main character Emma was always following the rules so she had to break a rule every day (as long as the rule didn’t get her arrested😃) it was a really nice easy read that I got through in like two days….. hehe

And I loved how it was set in real places in Florida, and they did all these cool things with their grandmas. I would totally recommend this to one of my friends 🤭

Thank you, Chrissy Q Martin.

[bitter · Rating 4 out of 5]

I love stories that have people-pleasers or rule-following wallflowers who have to learn to embrace risk and find freedom.

The characters just pull you in and I really liked that they were all so different, but they all wanted to make their grandmothers happy.

The romance was sweet, kinda quick, but thoroughly enjoyable. My only gripe is that he wouldn't have noticed her if they weren't thrown together like that. Its kind of addressed, but its basically treated as 'but I see you now', which feels like a non answer to me. Also she should have told him quicker, but it felt rushed after she did. But overall, this was a great, emotional read that had awesome friendships between the generations.

[Vania · Rating 3 out of 5]

Fun summer vacation idea with a twist. I loved all the grandma's and their personalities. I did find the love interest to be a little much for how young the kids are supposed to be and didn't really like how much the main character was "backed against a wall" for a kiss by the male love interest. It was written in a way that just didn't sit right with me and I pictured the characters as just too young for that to be appropriate but that may just be me. I was entertained and it was a very quick read.

[Emily Pennington · Rating 5 out of 5]

I enjoyed reading this book with its fun story line about breaking rules and occasional circumstances that might make that a not-so-bad idea. The story is entertaining, focused around five teenagers and four senior citizens together in a retirement community, so you know you are being set up for hijinks. The interaction between the characters makes the story come alive, and making the characters more personable. I look forward to reading more from this author.

[Sarah Fedele · Rating 3 out of 5]

"Alone, each grandma has a distinct personality. Iris is the drama queen, Patty is the sweetheart, Martha is the authoritarian, and Grandma is the introvert. But when the grandmas are together, they are the same, but different. Their personalities blend and they bring out the best in each other."
"You really can't judge a book by its cover. You don't even know what waits in the pages to surprise you."
-Rebel with a Donut
By: Chrissy Q Martain
page. 176