2.45k reviews for:

Sour Candy

Kealan Patrick Burke

3.56 AVERAGE

dark mysterious fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven: Character
Strong character development: Complicated
Loveable characters: No
Diverse cast of characters: No
Flaws of characters a main focus: No

Good short read
dark tense medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven: Character
dark mysterious tense fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven: Character
Strong character development: Complicated
Loveable characters: Complicated
Diverse cast of characters: No
Flaws of characters a main focus: Complicated
dark mysterious fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven: Plot
Strong character development: No
Loveable characters: No
Diverse cast of characters: No
Flaws of characters a main focus: No

Honestly, this was okay. There were some good concepts I enjoyed, like the whole switch and all that, but then most of it I didn’t like. I’m not a huge fan of supernatural in horror, not in this way. I also think that this was too short. A lot of things were unanswered/unexplained. 

Novellas are tough. I think this one could have used a few more pages to ratchet up the tension and better develop the atmosphere. But this is still fairly effective, and the concept is fun. A good read if you're looking for snackable horror.
dark tense fast-paced

"Four months to the day he first encountered the boy at Walmart, the last of Phil Pendleton's teeth fell out."

And thus begins Burke's novella. If that doesn't grab your attention I'm not sure what will.

This is a book I discovered through some reviews on here and used my current Kindle Unlimited subscription to pick up (free for three months back on Black Friday). It's written crisply, with little to no fat and doesn't fob off the reader with quick atmospheric scares. The fear comes from the story itself and how quickly a life is ravaged here. I'll say little else about it in order to not give the game away.

Burke has other books available through Kindle Unlimited and I'll try and check out some more in due course. I'm particularly interesting in his novel, Kin, and the novella, Blanky.
dark tense fast-paced
dark mysterious sad tense fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven: A mix
Strong character development: Complicated
Loveable characters: Complicated
Diverse cast of characters: N/A
Flaws of characters a main focus: N/A

S҉o҉u҉r҉ ҉C҉a҉n҉d҉y҉🍬

Can a piece of candy change your entire life? 

I didn't know what I was walking myself into reading this one, I've seen other bookish folk read and love it and decided to give it a try. What's the harm? It's only under 100 pages....

Well damn, I wasn't prepared for that mind f*ck.. 

Imagine you living your life, divorced,  now with a new girlfriend and going on about your day, then you hit up Walmart (why sh*t ALWAYS happen in Walmart?) and while shopping there's the regular screeching child somewhere down the aisle, and instead of minding your business you come by and notice the disheveled parent (I mean, I relate at times, I also have a kid) that seems to be heavily disassociated and the little munchkin offers you candy... (who eats candy from a kid? I don't even eat/drink after mine) and you eat it. Fast forward a bit, now you're the parent of the kid, and no one believes you that It's NOT YOUR CHILD! 

The descent to madness, on what's real and what's not, the creepy kid, the candy, the mysterious motives, and the creeping dread that crawls inch by inch. 

This was a fast-paced, psychological thrill, with a touch of eldritch horror a very well put together story in such a compact book.