Buddy Read & Rant #18 with Jonathan Pongratz: Candy Cain Kills by Brian McAuley

Buddy Read & Rant #17 with Jonath... Book Tour: Buddy The Knight and the Q...

Buddy Read & Rant #18 with Jonathan Pongratz: Candy Cain Kills by Brian McAuley

Hello Blogging World!Iseult

Hi, I’m Iseult, and I’m trapped in a snow globe. Ahhhh!

Jonny

I’m Jonny, and all I want for Christmas is some holiday horror!

This buddy read and rant is for Candy Cain Kills (Killer VHS #2) by Brian McAuley.

Blurb:

Oh what fun it is to DIE!

When Austin’s parents drag him and his little sister Fiona to a remote cottage for Christmas, he’s less than thrilled about the forced bonding exercise. But after learning that their holiday getaway was the site of a horrific crime, this family on the rocks will have to fight for their lives against a legendary killer… because Candy Cain is slashing through the snow with a very long naughty list.

GoodReads

Amazon

Buddy Read Book Rant:Jonny

Hey Iseult. I’ll admit, I was a little nervous trying “Candy Cain Kills” out. We had some mixed feelings about the last book in this series, and I’ve talked with the author of this one through social media. For me, there’s something anxiety inducing about knowing an author and then reading their works, but luckily this was a home run for me. I loved it to pieces! What’d you think overall?

Iseult

Yes, there is an added pressure when you’ve interacted with the author. I found the present tense took me a little while to get used to, but once I did I couldn’t put the book down. This was a masterclass of a horror novella. So much happened! The characterization was rich and meaningful. The kills were gory and upsetting. The plot was delightfully twisty. There were also lots of nods to horror movie cliches and staples to fit the book nicely into the Killer VHS series. What did you think of it?

Jonny

Right? I just don’t want to hurt anyone’s feelings, but at the same time I have to be honest. Such a conundrum!

I totally agree. Present tense is the one I read the least of because it’s harder for me to get into, but from front to back this book was a blast!

The characters were important to the plot and felt real, and that really stuck with me. For Austin, I was especially touched because that was literally me circa the early 2000s. Around the time “Brokeback Mountain” came out I had just come out and wanted the same things that Austin wanted, so I felt seen. I think the LGBTQIA+ community would really enjoy this book because of that.

Who was your favorite character?

Iseult

So true!

Aw, that gave you a really personal connection to this book! I’m glad you found Austin relatable.

I loved how detailed all the characters were. I liked them all and I cared about whether they lived or died, which I find quite rare in horror books and movies. Especially for side characters. The author is very skilled at making them human. Even Austin’s friends, who could easily have been teenage stereotypes, had well rounded personalities.

My favorite character was Fiona. I loved how she battled through her disability, and I could relate to her feeling a burden on her family.

What did you think of Candy Cain?

Jonny

Yes! It made me even more invested in it. Each page I was like “Don’t kill Austin, please don’t kill Austin!”

Exactly. Every character, even if they weren’t super important, had an interesting story that made you feel for them, and that’s really tough to do in such a short time.

OMG Fiona! I absolutely loved how scrappy she was and that despite feeling like a burden she wasn’t going to let anyone treat her differently than the average Joe, even if she fell on her face from time to time. That sass won me over very quickly.

Oh, Candy Cain was such a great villain and I loved their traumatic history. They were a mystery for most of the novel and when I thought I knew everything, BAM! Plot twist! It’s hard to surprise me, but McAuley got the drop on me!

Iseult

Same! I’m pretty good at anticipating plot threads, but I was taken in by this one.

Candy Cain’s backstory hit a lot harder than I expected it to. The kills were gloriously over the top and appropriate to the genre. You can tell the author is a screenwriter. The descriptions are very cinematic. I think it would make a brilliant movie, although some of the characterization might be lost in the transfer. I loved how each chapter was told from the point of view of a different person. It helped get into their head.

What did you think of the pacing in this book?

Jonny

We’ve been bamboozled, but in a good way!

Same! I don’t want to give anything away but I had some similar experiences in the past (not anywhere near that level though) that tugged at my heartstrings. Oh my gosh, can this please be a movie? Give McAuley all creative control though so it doesn’t lose all its greatness.The kills never got stale and each one was uniquely handled. I’m actually a fan of the head hopping, but even if I wasn’t, the story still shines through and gives a lot of different angles I think anyone can appreciate.

The pacing was really great. We had a solid buildup with the family and some behind the scenes thrills that helped prepare the reader for the inevitable confrontation. Right around the halfway point things really get crazy and that’s pretty much the perfect pace for me. Chef’s kiss!

I also just love that there’s a Christmas horror book out there that got five stars from me. I thought it would never happen and here we are!

Okay, here’s my big question. Do we take a break with #3 in the series or do we skip ahead to see what happens next in the gruesome sequel to “Candy Cain Kills“?

Iseult

Aw, Jonny. Huggems. I’m sorry to hear that. Those passages were hard to read.

I agree. There was no repetition with the kills, and they really built up and up to a terrifying climax.

I loved getting into the different characters heads. It helped to see them as fully realized people, especially as some of the characters weren’t around for a long time and the book covered a lot in a short page count.

I agree, the pacing was superb. It hit all the violent milestones you’d expect in a horror story, while giving enough time for the characters to develop and let the reader care about them. It also upped the ante with each action scene in various inventive ways.

I love Christmas horror, and this book is a great example of the sub-genre.

Oh, I don’t know! I’d like to dive straight into the sequel, but I also like to read a series in order. What are your thoughts?

Jonny

No worries. I think that if we can get past the struggles in life that it makes us stronger and can put us on a better path, or in the case of this book, a darker one. I bet a lot of people could see their own struggles in the backstory, and that gives this horror novella some extra heart.

And those kills were pretty creative overall. Snaps for McAuley!

That must’ve been so hard to capture all of that in a short time. And in some parts we see the aftermath of events through a different set of eyes that is just haunting for the reader.

So true. This book ticked all the boxes and then some.

I’m kind of on the fence myself. I tend to be a stickler for reading in order, but I’ll admit my gut was also telling me we might want to read the sequel first. I’d definitely be on board for that.

Iseult

That’s a very good way to look at life. Unfortunately for Candy Cain it was definitely a darker path.

I really loved the humanity in this book. It had a lot of heart, and was much more satisfying as a result.

Mmm, sounds like we are going to jump straight into the sequel! It’s great we can binge the two books and we don’t have to wait for the sequel to be published! I look forward to seeing what McAuley does with the characters.

Jonny

Thanks! Yes, definitely a much darker path for Miss Candy Cain.

Right. I think that sometimes people expect horror to be just blood and gore, but it can be so much more and more impactful too.

Yay, sequel here we come! I actually already bought the sequel and I totally agree on the not waiting part because patience is a struggle for me. From what I’ve seen on the blurb of the next book, this one takes place right after the events of the first one. I bet it’s gonna be a wild ride!

Iseult

Yay! It will be nice to dive in while the details of the first book are so fresh in our minds.

Thank you for reading this with me, Jonny. I really enjoyed it and I’m looking forward to the next one!

Jonny

My thoughts exactly!

I had such a blast and can’t wait for the sequel!

That’s A Wrap!

Thanks for joining us on our buddy read and rant of “Candy Cain Kills“! We had a lot of fun, and hope you did too! We will definitely be doing some more buddy reads in the future, so stay tuned!

In the meantime, why not check out Iseult and Jonny’s other fun buddy reads?

Buddy Read & Rant #17: Melon Head Mayhem by Alex Ebenstein

Buddy Read & Rant #16: I Found Puppets Living in my Apartment Walls by Ben Farthing

Buddy Read & Rant #15: The Worm and His Kings by Hailey Piper

Buddy Read & Rant #14: The Forgotten Island by David Sodergren

Buddy Read & Rant #13: Stolen Tongues by Felix Blackwell

Buddy Read & Rant #12: Parachute by Holly Rae Garcia

Buddy Read & Rant #11: A Door into Evermoor by Kent Wayne

Buddy Read & Rant #10: The Haunting of Trinity House by Travis Liebert

Buddy Read & Rant #9: Dark Waters by Katherine Arden

Buddy Read & Rant #8: The Ten Thousand Doors of January by Alix E Harrow

Buddy Read & Rant #7: Until Summer Comes Around by Glenn Rolfe