• Candy Man

  • By: Amy Lane
  • Narrated by: Philip Alces
  • Length: 4 hrs and 6 mins
  • 4.4 out of 5 stars (249 ratings)

Prime logo Prime members: New to Audible?
Get 2 free audiobooks during trial.
Pick 1 audiobook a month from our unmatched collection.
Listen all you want to thousands of included audiobooks, Originals, and podcasts.
Access exclusive sales and deals.
Premium Plus auto-renews for $14.95/mo after 30 days. Cancel anytime.
Candy Man  By  cover art

Candy Man

By: Amy Lane
Narrated by: Philip Alces
Try for $0.00

$14.95/month after 30 days. Cancel anytime.

Buy for $14.95

Buy for $14.95

Pay using card ending in
By confirming your purchase, you agree to Audible's Conditions of Use and Amazon's Privacy Notice. Taxes where applicable.

Publisher's summary

Adam Macias has been thrown a few curve balls in his life, but losing his VA grant because his car broke down and missing a class was the one that struck him out. One relative away from homelessness, he has 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.

©2014 Amy Lane (P)2015 Dreamspinner Press

What listeners say about Candy Man

Average customer ratings
Overall
  • 4.5 out of 5 stars
  • 5 Stars
    139
  • 4 Stars
    77
  • 3 Stars
    27
  • 2 Stars
    3
  • 1 Stars
    3
Performance
  • 4.5 out of 5 stars
  • 5 Stars
    149
  • 4 Stars
    62
  • 3 Stars
    23
  • 2 Stars
    2
  • 1 Stars
    5
Story
  • 4.5 out of 5 stars
  • 5 Stars
    136
  • 4 Stars
    67
  • 3 Stars
    29
  • 2 Stars
    4
  • 1 Stars
    4

Reviews - Please select the tabs below to change the source of reviews.

Sort by:
Filter by:
  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    5 out of 5 stars

Great pairing of Alces and Lane - sweet!

Adam is having a rough life. His mother and grandmother treated him like pond scum growing up, so he joined the military to prove he was “worthy”. He fell in love with one of his fellow soldiers, only to be left high and dry when his lover didn’t want to come out of the closet. He returned to the states to go back to school, but lost his grant when his car died and he could no longer attend classes. With his last gasp, he heads up to his cousin’s apartment for 6 months of free rent to try to get his life in order.

With what feels like divine intervention, Adam stumbles into Candy Heaven following the Help Wanted sign and is immediately set to work. His boss also plays the role of his fairy godfather and matchmaker by hooking him up with Finn, the sandwich delivery guy.

Finn is young, idealistic, freshly single, and unstoppable. He sees the darkness in Adam and knows he can bring in the light. By pairing his cheery disposition with offerings of free food, he slowly breaks through the walls surrounding Adam’s heart.

Adam, who fully believes he isn’t worthy of someone like Finn, does what he can to stave off the romance, but when he really needs help, Finn is there and it’s Finn who helps him see that he does have value and most importantly – hope.

**
This is one of Amy’s relatively “low angst” stories. Of course she will make you cry (for me it was at least twice) but most of the story is full of “awwww”. I was reminded of her story Christmas Kitsch in that Oliver – little Oliver – was the force of nature – blowing in and taking charge. In The Candy Man – that’s Finn. He won’t take no for an answer and he’s fearless.

I also really enjoyed the secondary characters and I really hope Joni gets her girl one day and that we get to read more about Rico’s romance. (Fingers crossed!). The vaguely paranormal part of the story left me with a new respect for Pixie Stix, as well!

Amy can describe a scene so thoroughly that I could picture Adam’s drawings, Finn’s hair, Gonzo’s fight against the medicine - everything. Adam’s sketch book journal was a particularly wonderful vehicle for showing both us and Finn the inside workings of his brain and past and I thought it was a tremendously clever tool.

I am thankful for this sweet story with little angst she has given us to brighten up our holiday season.


Audio

Philip Alces is growing on me I admit. I really enjoyed listening to this and thought he did a great job with Finn and Adam – especially the emotional times. I think he’s growing more comfortable with that aspect of his narration and it shows.

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!

8 people found this helpful

  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    5 out of 5 stars

Sweet 🍭🍬🍫

Amy Lane is one of my go to authors. I love everything about her. I am particularly happy when she writes with humor. Candy Man has that in spades, but that's not to say that there isn't any of her trademark angst and characters that you'd like to see swinging over the Golden Gate Bridge with a school of sharks underneath, waiting for the rope to snap. Adam and Finn are adorable and the candy store crew are people that I would like to meet. So glad that Adam has at least one family member who knows his worth and loves him unconditionally - who BTW, has his own story that I can't wait to hear. Philip, as always, is wonderful to listen to. Not sure who chooses her narrators, but they seem to get it right most of the time. This is another delicious offering that satisfied my sweet tooth without the risk of cavities 😋

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!

8 people found this helpful

  • Overall
    3 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    2 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    3 out of 5 stars

Didn't enjoy this audio.

This is a really hard review for me to write, because I *ADORE* Amy Lane, and I especially adore Amy Lane's holiday stories. In fact, some of my favorite Amy Lanes have been her holiday novellas (like Christmas Kitsch). However, I think this one got away from me, and I'm putting a lot of the blame on the audiobook version.

Audiobooks are the most subjective way to interpret a story. You can love the story, but if the narrator doesn't agree with you in some way, it can blow it for you. Something like the tone of a reader's voice, the age of the reader, how well they do female voices; these things all contribute to how I feel about an audiobook.

I've listened to Philip Alces before, and I probably shouldn't have given him another shot. I looked back at my previous review of his narration, and I feel much the same way again. I find him to be too theatrical, too over-the-top, too MUCH for a realistic narration. He makes the characters sound cartoonish, IMO, and I don't enjoy his style. I give him credit for effort, and I think he really put his all into the narration, but it reads all wrong to me, especially for an Amy Lane book, which tend to have some serious angst. I thought that Philip Alces read the characters awkwardly, and I think it made me less invested in the romance.

Perhaps because of the way that this audiobook was narrated, I just didn't feel that spark between the MCs. The story felt a little rushed, and I had trouble staying focused on what was happening. I enjoyed parts of it, but it wasn't that feeling of awe that I get from most of my Amy Lane stories.

I want to read this book in ebook form to see if I could feel more connected to the story. I suspect that I would. I would recommend people skip the audio for this one.

**Copy provided by the publisher in exchange for an honest review**

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!

3 people found this helpful

  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    5 out of 5 stars

sweet

the start was a bit nebulous. I wasn't sure if I was meant to engage with Derrin. The main characters once we got to them were awesome and having Derrin watching over them was sweet. The narration was so much better than the last disaster I listened to. All the voices were easily distinguished without being characatures. All in all I enjoyed it and will look for more by this author and narrator!

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!

3 people found this helpful

  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    5 out of 5 stars

Not to sweet

I usually like Amy's more angst-y stories, but I really liked this story. Finn is bubbly sweet without being sticky, and Adam is down but not out. Looking forward to more of this series.

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!

2 people found this helpful

  • Overall
    2 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    3 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    2 out of 5 stars

Frustrating

I liked the premise of this book, and I loved the author’s note, and the opening of the book. It had a lot of potential. But for a bunch of characters who are supposedly so full of kindness and compassion, they sure don’t exhibit much of either. And boy howdy, talk about impatient. Darrin and Finn both seem to be of the attitude “Yes, well, your life may have been an absolute nightmare from the moment you were born until the moment you showed up on our doorstep, but it’s perfect now, so just immediately get over all your trauma and learned ways of coping with the world and meet us on our terms RIGHT NOW.” And NONE of these fuckers has the slightest concept of boundaries, much less respect for them. Adam actually does a great job expressing his needs and boundaries, and they stomp all over them and then blame him and yell at him for trying to fix the mess they made.

I am something like 3/4 of the way through, and I don’t know if I’ll finish, because honestly, I am getting angrier by the minute. The cat thing just pushed me over the edge to write this review. I just cannot believe the author can describe people that callous and inconsiderate as kind or compassionate.


Just, as a note to authors? You can’t just SAY things about your characters and have them be true. You have to demonstrate through their actions and dialogue how they are as people. If the description and actions/dialogue don’t match up, it causes cognitive dissonance in your reader, and that is never going to go well.

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!

1 person found this helpful

  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    5 out of 5 stars

Sweet little story

What made the experience of listening to Candy Man the most enjoyable?

The narrator was amazing. The characters were a mixed bag of funny and grumpy. And the sitting; seemed like a magic land.

Who was your favorite character and why?

Finn. He is such a sunny guy. Life is full of rainbows and puppies for him. Made me smile.

What about Philip Alces’s performance did you like?

He sounded like reading me a good night story, he didn't sound too old or too young. He sounded excited to read the book, and most important you can the difference between characters. And the females didn't sound ridiculous.

Was this a book you wanted to listen to all in one sitting?

Yes. It wasn't long and fun to listen to. Mix of relationships and romance, with some family drama.

Any additional comments?

Will definitely listen again, will cheer me up anytime.

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!

1 person found this helpful

  • Overall
    4 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    4 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    4 out of 5 stars

Sweet story well told

On the one hand we have Adam, an army vet who just can't seem to catch a break. His car breaks down. He's lost his grant for college. He's got no place to go except to his cousin's, where he hopes to start life anew. On the other hand we have Finn. Happy, happy, lovable Finn with the endless optimism and the Doctor Who scarf. They're made for each other. If only Finn can convince Adam of his fact....

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!

1 person found this helpful

  • Overall
    4 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    4 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    4 out of 5 stars

Sugary sweet

#mm #short 😍 #swoony

Loved this book. The story and all the characters were great. Most short stories usually feel cut off or lacking but this one had so much packed in. It was interesting the whole time and felt complete in the end. It would prob be a 5 star for a lot of people. The only reason I rated it as a 4 is it's a sweeter no angst read compared to what I normally go for. Though I have read a couple Amy Lane books in the past that were way too fluffy and gushy for me but this wasn't like that. It was the perfect amount of sweet.

The narrator did a pretty good job. Used different voices. Did female ones decent which u dont find alot. Good pace and tone.

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!

  • Overall
    4 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    4 out of 5 stars

A sweet story

This was a good, sweet story with likable characters. But man, did Adam ever have some issues. If there was ever a character in desperate need of therapy it was him. I felt sorry for Finn who had to shoulder the burden of healing Adam who constantly pushed him away because of all his issues. But don’t let that turn you off because it’s still a good story! The narration was great.

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!