Customer Reviews

It's Like Candy: An Urban Novel

5 star:		(18)
4 star:		(8)
3 star:		(2)
2 star:		(1)
1 star:		(1)

 

 

This book took the mean streets of Queens, NY to another level. River is a hustler who knows nothing but sex, money, and drugs. She was abused sexually, mentally, and physically by her mother at a young age along with her sister, Star. River gets feed up with her mother and decides to make it on her own in the streets. Star is left behind - with the abuse.

River meets Big Red and Twinkie who takes her in and guide her on the streets. Big Red is an aggressive man who develops strong feelings for River but tries to hide them to the GAME. Twinkie is Big Red's right hand man and together makes them unstoppable in the streets. They begin their hustle in the streets by using River as bait to rob and terrorize "Tricks".

Star life is hell as she is left behind with her sick mother. Star is doing things that adults do at a young age. She is very miserable and wants a better life. She then leave but will she survive on the streets?

River then meets Eric and gain feeling for him - however, he is the assignment. Yung Slim is a PIMP who takes Star under his wing into a life of prostitution. Will Star and River ever reunite?

This book gets better at the end. It has many twists that you have to read it to understand it. I recommend this book to other and await the auther's - Erick S. Gray next book.

I loved this book soooooo much! Excellent from cover to cover! River and Starr both had it hard and it all worked out at the end. I loved Eric and how he sacrificed everything for the woman he loved. This book has more twists and suprises than you are going to know what to do with! Most definitely deserving of 5 stars! This book was straight fire!

This book needs to be a movie!! It had all the ends and outs of a great movie script. I would love to see this movie put on the big screen. This was a tale of suspense, crime, abuse, murder, betrayal, and love. The only drawback that I found was that I thought Eric's character was a tad bit weak. I would have liked to have seen him be much more rugged and thugged out than he was. But all in all, this was a good read. There was a lot going on in the story which I liked. This is only my second book by Eric Gray (Booty Call was my 1st and I LOVED IT!!). His writing style keeps my attention. Nasty Girls is next on my list!

Erick S. Gray has written a compelling novel set in the streets of New York. IT'S LIKE CANDY follows the young lives of two sisters that fled their abusive home. Instead of protecting her children, River and Starr's mother exploited and prostituted them. River left first, and turned to a life of crime stealing. Starr followed suit a few years later only to turn tricks for survival. Neither sister had forgotten of the other, but the years and the life on the streets separated them. Will the sisters ever be reunited or have a chance at a life not filled with pain?

I read BOOTY CALL a few years back, and I was not impressed. It was okay at best. So Erick has remained under my radar until his book was recently voted as a BOTM. If this is how he is getting down now, I may have to check out his other titles. IT'S LIKE CANDY's crisscrossing storylines mesh together for a dramatic, gritty tale. The opening scenes establish an intriguing mood of malice and drama that is sustained throughout the novel. All the characters are surprisingly convincing - including the certifiable Yung Slim. Don't quite know how this book's title comes into play, but IT'S LIKE CANDY is definitely a tale worth reading.

Reviewed by: Toni
4.5 stars

I shook my head in horror as I read this book. Starr's and River's flashbacks about the molestation they endured from their perverted druggy mother was sickening to read and I can only imagine how painfully real. The bloodshed, drugs, prostitution, and street battles in these pages were frightening. I felt intimidated by most of the characters---I had to remind myself that this was only a book! Even though Eric shouldn't have gotten off so easy after snitching and River should have paid the price for all of the men she wronged, I was happy that River and Starr finally found their way. Erick S. Gray definitely dishes a hot street saga here.

River and Starr are sisters in their early teens that run away from an abusive home and their drug-addicted mother. River joins a lucrative stick-up crew but her crew has a secret that she's not privy too. Things get out of control when River falls in love with one of their victims, Eric. Now River wants out of the game but will she be able to escape? At age sixteen, Starr is working for a ruthless pimp. When one of her dates assaults her in a motel room, Starr meets a woman in the hospital that encourages her to change her life for the better. But it's not easy for Starr to get out of the streets. Eric is a small time hustler that's doing pretty good for himself and has distanced himself from the drama of the streets. All of this changes when Eric's cousin Yung Slim comes home after a seven year stint in prison. Yung Slim is ready to reclaim the streets and to settle old grudges. He wants his cousin Eric to be his right hand man but Eric isn't sure if he wants to get involved.

It's Like Candy is an explosive novel by Erick S. Gray. Gray brings a gripping street tale that's full of drama and suspense. This novel focuses on a variety of topics such as childhood abuse, estranged family members, self-worth, and police corruption. You'll feel the uncertainty of Eric as he tries to choose the right path for his life. Readers will also see the growth in River and Starr as they try to escape their past. There are a lot of surprising twists and turns in this novel that will keep readers on their toes. The lesson in this novel is that your past does not have to dictate your future. It's Like Candy is an engrossing page-turner that shows why Erick S. Gray is one of the rising starts of urban fiction.

Reviewed by: Radiah Hubbert
of Urban-Reviews (Rating Scale:4 Books=Impressive)

This book is really good and make you think. What do you do when you are force to survive on the streets, doing anything and everything to live. These are the questions two sisters River and Starr have to deal with, when they are out there robbin and selling your body. I really enjoy this book Mr. Gray do not hold any punches about what can occur when abuse is in the family. So I recommend that you buy this book.

Starr and River are sisters and victims of their circumstances. Their drug-addicted mother introduced them to the world of prostitution just as they entered their teens. River left home and became a part of a trio who robbed wealthy, unsuspecting men. Starr escaped her hellish home only to sell her body on the streets. Both girls know their risky lifestyles could eventually lead to their death, but they don't know the way out.

Eric, a small-time hustler, is content making money by providing female entertainment for parties and events and moving small shipments of marijuana from suppliers to dealers. He becomes the victim of one of River's schemes, and in the process, falls in love with her. He is also being pressured by his cousin to step up his game and become one of his soldiers in a gang of ruthless pimps and drug dealers. Eric resists because he knows about his cousin's volatile ways and that he has just recently been released from prison. His cousin's presence is immediately felt as he attempts to take over the streets and avenge past wrongs done against him. His disrespect of the game and hostile takeovers result in a bloody street war that has far-reaching impacts.

IT'S LIKE CANDY is a page-turner. I read avidly to the end, curious to know how it would all play out. Gray incorporated so many twists and turns, which thoroughly shocked and entertained me. Filled with the elements of sexual abuse, violence and revenge, Gray also balanced it out with love, spirituality and redemption. Although there were way too many characters, the main ones were fully developed. His portrayal of street life was raw and gritty. I highly recommend this as one you can't put down.

Reviewed by Paula Henderson
of The RAWSISTAZ Reviewers

"Blood is thicker than water" is a saying that most of us grew up on. Though it rings true most of the time, there are events that take place in our lives that will make us re-evaluate this belief. It's Like Candy is a story that will have you wondering if you should really stand by all that your family does. Erick S. Gray has written a book filled with emotional ups and downs caused by the hands of family members. The twists will have you with your mouth wide open.

The first character introduced is River. River ran away from home because she could not take the constant abuse that she endured by the hands of her Mama. When she left, she left behind a younger sister named Starr, who also eventually runs away because of the abuse. Leaving one type of abuse to pick up another gets each girl into more trouble than they could possibly handle. Starr becomes a prostitute for a big time pimp named Rome, and River is helping a couple of guys to rob possible tricks and hustlers. One had never stopped thinking about the other, but the dangerous lifestyles that they are apart of may just cost them their lives, before they find each other.

Eric Beaumont is the son of a hire-to-kill name Yung Black. Yung Black got killed and Eric does not want to end up that way. But messing with his cousin, Yung Slim, who was just released from prison, may send him to the very place he did not want to go to, the morgue. Yung Slim is a feared individual by most but not by all. When he gets out after doing seven of his ten years in prison, he automatically thinks that he can just go back to where he left off. Things changed a lot while he was gone. It was not going to be that easy. Though Eric and Yung Slim's Uncle Pumpkin told Eric to leave Yung Slim alone he felt that since he was his blood he needed to have his back. But how far was Eric willing to go for his cousin? Would he kill for him or maybe even loose his own life for him?

It's Like Candy is filled with jaw-dropping twists. Gray did such a great job with the description of characters, scenes, even down to their clothing, that the only thing you are left wanting is more. I recommend this to readers that like reading urban fiction.

Jennifer Coissiere
APOOO BookClub

once starting to read this book I found myself taking every chance I got to get back to it....breaks at work...before class started and before I went to bed.Needless to say I ended up reading the book in two days. I definely will be reading alot more from this author!