July 2018 | Never Hollowed By The Stare

Candy Man – Amy Lane

Adam Macias has been thrown a few curve balls in his life, but losing his VA grant because his car broke down and he missed a class was the one that struck him out. One relative away from homelessness, he’s taking the bus to Sacramento, where his cousin has offered a house-sitting job and a new start. He has one goal, and that’s to get his life back on track. Friends, pets, lovers? Need not apply.

Finn Stewart takes one look at Adam as he’s applying to Candy Heaven and decides he’s much too fascinating to leave alone. Finn is bright and shiny—and has never been hurt. Adam is wary of his attention from the very beginning—Finn is dangerous to every sort of peace Adam is forging, and Adam may just be too damaged to let him in at all.

But Finn is tenacious, and Adam’s new boss, Darrin, doesn’t take bullshit for an answer. Adam is going to have to ask himself which is harder—letting Finn in or living without him? With the holidays approaching it seems like an easy question, but Adam knows from experience that life is seldom simple, and the world seldom cooperates with hope, faith, or the plans of cats and men.

Lots to love about this sweet little treat!

First, Candy Heaven is real!!!

According to the author’s note, there is an actual Candy Heaven somewhere out there in Sacramento owned by a fabulous candy man named Darrin which I’d say would make a great pilgrimage site for book tours.

Whether or not the real Darrin can read fortunes out of Pixy Stix is something I want to find out because fictional Darrin did a sugar reading and saw that Adam and Finn go together like peanut butter and jelly so he set things in motion to get them together.

The tie-dye flags mentioned in the story:

The loft Adam hides in to avoid Finn:

Candy Man has some bits of magic realism, fairy tale-like elements, low-angst drama and maximum cuteness levels that make it a charming read. There’s also a homicidal cat who has seen better days, a friendly dog, a new kitten and Finn’s delightful family.

Despite all the bad things that happened to Finn and especially Adam, the book is chock-full of humor, happiness and hope, enough to make even hardcore pessimists like me see things in a brighter light even just for a little bit.

Finn is a curly haired, blue-eyed ginger who wears that dog hat from Adventure Time. He is a walking ray of sunshine with the boundless energy and enthusiasm of a Labrador retriever. Also with the persistence of a hound on a scent so Adam stood no chance.

“I was going to fall in love with you whether I liked it or not, and it’s just a good thing you were awesome, or I would have been fucking doomed.“

Random redhead as Finn Stewart.

Meanwhile, due to some terrible circumstances, Adam is pessimistic as fuck and has a tendency to sink into a pit of negativity had he not been forced out of his shell by do-gooders, Finn, Darrin and the other Candy Heaven employees. On the upside, he is a really great artist, has dreams of becoming an animator and leaves sandwiches on dumpsters for the homeless. And despite the pessimism, he is full of hope. He’s just low-key about it.

Sufjan Stevens as Adam Macias.

Try as he might to deny it, Adam knows he and Finn are on to something. Finn might be the talkative one, but Adam has some great lines.

“Right now you and me are-we’re a sketch. And we could be a real great picture someday, with ink and oils or watercolor, and hell we may even be a movie.”

Yep, a match made in ~~candy~~ heaven! Sorry, couldn’t resist that one (^_^;)

Rating:
4.5 Stars – perfection is only half a step away

Soundtrack: Sugar, You
Artist: Oh Honey
Album: Wish You Were Here

(source: https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/23525657-candy-man)