I woke up kind of mad this morning at author P.D. Alleva, mainly because I stayed up late last night finishing their novel, Golem.

P.D. Alleva was kind enough to send me a paperback copy of this book, and let me be honest.  When I pulled the book out of the package I was enamored by the cover art.  Though you absolutely should not judge a book by its cover (see what I did there?) if we are judging, then the cover of this book knocks it out of the park.

In starting this book, the first chapter was incredibly intense and well crafted.  I found myself racing through the chapter anxious to see what happened.  It was a bit sad that we didn’t really revisit Annette again until the end of the book, but the rest of the characters absolutely make it worthwhile, and seeing how she comes into play later makes it feel worthwhile. 

I love that the author made the villain of this novel the main character (whether or not that was his intention).  Golem is absolutely horrendous, a terrible human being (marble being?) and I love it so much.  Especially since it isn’t a morally grey character.  This is a villain that is crafted so well you hate him but also you kind of don’t.  Especially since the heroine of this story, Alena, is more than a match for him once she realizes what is happening and what is going on.  In addition, the origin of a Golem is very much steeped in religion and is a symbol in many different religions and I sincerely appreciate that the author did not focus on this.  Instead he took a bit of that lore and created his own story and ideas.

I think the part of this book I really didn’t like, is the book blurb paints a picture that this novel is about John Ashton, recently promoted detective.  But that is not the case honestly.  This book is truly centered around the relationship, and the battles, between Alena and Golem.  How their strengths and their weaknesses are constantly going against each other.    And if I had to pick a second part of this book I didn’t like, P.D. Alleva, why did you have to kill the dog?  What did that dog do to you?  I loved Sam and that was unforgivable.  (There were also a few spots with grammatical issues that was a bit jarring to see, but those didn’t matter to me as much as the dog dying!)

There is one scene I have to talk about, and since I don’t know anyone else that has read this book, you are all stuck with me talking about it.    There is a scene where Golem is trying to convince the owners of an orphanage to work with him.  The father says no, and he is essentially destroyed by a tentacle monster in a little girl’s body.  Then, later in the scene, HIS SON slips in the pool of his father’s blood and his hand slides into the hole in his father’s chest.  When he realizes it and yanks his hand out, part of his father’s intestines go with it.  I gagged.  My husband was lying in bed next to me going “are you sick” and like, yeah.  I am.  But not physically.  It was so disgusting and this has to be my favorite scene in the entire book.  Yes I am fully aware there is something wrong with me.

The best part of this book, overall, is the ending.  I loved the ending of this book.  (Potential spoilers here!)  The ending to this book is not really an ending.  Instead, it is essentially an open ended idea of what may or may not happen in the future.  We see Golem has survived and is thriving, we see Annette come back into the picture, but we do not see what is going to happen next.  I love that about this book and while a small part of me would love a book two, the larger part of me loves how it ended and wants it to stay like this forever, because quite sincerely, the ending to this book was perfect.

Overall – I loved this book.  This is a horror/suspense book and it touches on both of those topics rather well.  I appreciated the attention to detail in this book, and I really loved the villain.  The author clearly took the time and effort in for this story and it paid off very well.  I was furious and happy with the ending and I am still a bit tired.

Plot – 8/10

Characters – 9/10

Originality –  9/10

General Joy of Reading – 8/10

Overall Score – 34/40

Golem – P.D. Alleva

Cost* – eBook is $4.99, paperback is $16.99, and the hardback is $26.99

*Cost is based upon what the book cost when book review is published