The Maiden and Her Monster

The folklore aspects were really beautiful and fascinating, and the religious struggles were full of anguish and did not shy away from showing the dark side of a corrupt system, which only heightened upon reading the author's note and seeing all the historic influences. But oh my, was the plot all over the place! It goes from a murder mystery to a political heist and finally adds a very sudden romance, for which I just couldn't care less. Where was the yearning? Where was the subtlety? The desperation? The characters' emotions were barely noticeable on the page, which really baffled me, because the writing style was so lush and poetic! The main character, Malka, is naive, very stuck in her thinking, and sometimes just outright cruel to the golem, so it felt a bit jarring to turn the page and suddenly see them both supposedly in love with each other. Every new realization was told through stories and folklore, which made the pacing feel slow and heavy-handed. I think a bit more editing and slightly different marketing would have helped this book to really find its footing.