Review: The Gargoyle by Andrew Davidson

Ever pick up a book completely on a whim, let it sit on your TBR for some time, finally get around to reading it and then find it became an instant favorite? Yeah...that happened to me this time. 

I was scouring Goodreads one day, looking to see if I could find any books that delved more on the darker fantastical themes that would catch my interest. You know, demons and the like. 

Buried in the Fabio-style beast-themed romances (which are way more popular than I thought, by the way) sat The Gargoyle by Andrew Davidson. 

The paragragh synopsis intrigued me, so I downloaded the Kindle version. That way, if I was disappointed, I wasn't out too much money. Disclaimer: I am in full support of libraries, I just didn't have a valid card at the time. 

Because I knew nothing of the story outside of the synposis, I decided to skim some reviews before reading so I could get a general idea of people's feelings; while at the same time, trying to avoid spoiling it for myself. In seeing that on average, it was rated 3-4 stars, I was optimistic but went in with no real expectations so at least I could be pleasantly surprised. 

Let me tell you, I was hooked almost immediately. In the beginning, you meet a young man who, in a night of recklessness, crashes his car; resulting in him suffering burns over the majority of his body. Talk about starting off strong. 

Much of the first half of the story focuses on his experiences accepting and coping with his new reality, until he meets an eccentric stranger named Marianne who claims to have been his past love from medieval Germany. She was a nun, he was a mercenary and there are continuous flashbacks throughout explaining how their love came to be under those circumstances. 

I will interrupt myself here. There were a few triggers buried within the story line that I should note: substance abuse, torture, violence, murder, mental illness as well as heavy religious influence.

I'm not very big on religion myself; but I found that given the basis of the storyline, I really didn't mind it in this application. In fact, it was quite pivotal to the story itself. 

Major perks: This story helped me to discover a trope I really love as well as one I can't stand. 

The past lovers/second chance at love concept was so well done. Like, we're talking instant favorite trope and I found myself thoroughly enjoying the history and progression of the couple throughout the story. That said, the main character, whose name we never learn, continuously suffered the "pretty-boy-turned-monster but now I'm a changed man for the better because of my accident" scenario that I really just couldn't jive with. 

I mean, tragic accidents certainly change people; especially if they are directly impacted and survive. But he was just so.....whiny. I also didn't need to keep hearing about his career in porn...

To be fair, neither of the main characters really stood out to me as exceptional characters. Not in the sense that they were bad people, but individually, I can't say I found either one of them overly interesting. It was their combined story that really kept me intrigued.  

Having gone in with no real expectations, I found that I just wanted to keep reading. Despite my.inability to really connect with the characters, I rooted for them the entire way. What can I say, I'm a sucker for a love story. And this style of love story is just perfection - just the right balance of romantic and realistic. The sappiness and tropey levels were kept in check much to my appreciation.  

Over all I need the physical book in my collection because I will be reading it again in the future. 

4.5 out of 5 stars from me.