Book: Horns

Ignatius Perrish spent the night drunk and doing terrible things. He woke up the next morning with a thunderous hangover, a raging headache . . . and a pair of horns growing from his temples. (from Goodreads) 

I have mixed feelings on this book. It was dark, very dark. I was hooked and interested in the premise almost at once, but then it just got tragic. Religion and faith is addressed a lot throughout the book and that was just a bit draining for me to read. There are also extended flashback scenes that took away from the momentum of the book. 

One thing, which I did not know prior to reading some of the other reviews out there, is that Joe Hill is actually Stephen King's son. Given that comparison, this book is fairly mild, and I can understand more of the reason for the dark tone. Some other reviewers seemed to think there were two separate stories here; one about a man dealing with the tragic aftermath of his girlfriend's murder and another about a man who wakes up with horns. Mashing those two together made for a sometimes confused book. 

Overall though, I liked it, but it was emotionally draining because of the outrageously dark tone - books that examine a person's deepest, vile secrets are always a little rough and this book definitely goes there. I also wasn't thrilled with the end. It wrapped things up, but I was slightly let down. I would be on the fence about recommending this one. I would go with 2.5/5 stars and 'read at your own risk'.