Amelie and Benjamin have loved each other longer than they can remember. Now they know each other only in dreams. But their memories are about to come back. Memories of a lifetime spent together, in friendship and in romance. Of the separation that nearly ruined them. And of the coming back together that nearly erased them. After their separation, Amelie divorced herself from her world, leaving Benjamin and their history behind. Or so she thought. Memories are a funny thing. They can’t help but haunt you.

I’ve read several of Michael Golvach’s novels and short story collections. From gruesome horror to mind-boggling mystery to twisting, turning plots in detective/crime stories. Each of these novels and stories contained everything a reader could ask for... characters that you hated, loved, or felt indifferent to, scenes that reflected great amounts of verisimilitude, as well as plot and sub-plot lines that kept you on your toes while turning the pages as fast as you could, eager to see what’s next. I’ve lost hours and hours of sleep, but it was always worth it.

Transmissions is different. Oh, it has everything mentioned above. It’s a page-turner, it’s a wicked ride through terrifying scenes of the occult, time, and space; a story that is horrible and beautiful rolled into one—in other words, a typical Golvach novel. What made it different is the romance. As stated in the synopsis, it’s a romance from afar; a romance of memories and lack thereof. It’s a genre-bending mystery, horror, occult, love story that, for the life of me, defies adequate description. It’s a story that Alfred Hitchcock or Rod Serling in his “Twilight Zone” would present, and it is a story brilliantly orchestrated and narrated as only Michael Golvach can.

Transmissions is a novel by Michael Golvach, a story that combines romance and the paranormal in an exciting adventure featuring complex characters. Amelie and Benjamin have loved and lost; they have been friends and lovers a long time ago, then they got separated. Amelie eventually gets married after their separation, but her marriage does not turn out to be a happy one as it is loveless. So, when a letter arrives in the mailbox from Benjamin, her life begins to glow as they start to correspond with each other. Can being reconnected with Benjamin be a sign of the resurrection of their past romance? Things begin to look very hopeful for both Amelie and Benjamin when George, her husband, unexpectedly becomes excited about Benjamin visiting them. Benjamin plans to rescue Amelie from her plight, but George has his own plans, and they are sinister and appalling.

If you are looking for a well-plotted romance with a twist, then Transmissions is a book you should read. The characters are believable and very human. They are flawed in a way that makes them familiar to readers. I like the way the author creates the conflict, within a set-up in which the key female character does not feel loved in her marriage. It is natural that she should have some hope when the man she once loved deeply promises to visit her. It is even more interesting knowing that her husband is okay with that plan. George is a character that is sophisticated and who plays a key role in the story, creating outcomes that Amelie and Benjamin never envisaged, with the help of mysterious and deadly substances, devilish rituals, and two close friends that display unpredictable behaviors and that are, indeed, dangerous. Michael Golvach is a great storyteller with the ability to create characters that readers can relate to, a strong conflict, and a riveting plot. It is a page-turner with unforgettable characters and a disturbing experience.

Transmissions by Michael Golvach is a paranormal romance novel that revolves around a pair who loved and lost, in a time that is neither here nor there. The book begins with Benjamin haunted by a woman who seems to only exist in his dreams, without a name. He only knows she is everything to him. Amelie has filled her post-Benjamin life with a man who is nothing more than a person to ensure she's not alone, married and living in a loveless marriage. Through letters, we get to know their story and, oddly, George, Amelie's husband, is willing to invite Benjamin into their home. Also present are George's friends Shannon and Lawrence, a couple with the same perverse fascinations that George has, which Benjamin witnesses with horror as they unfold. Still, the former lovers, always on the brink of reconciliation, are constantly torn apart by the powers that are and the powers that were.

Michael Golvach spins a tale from little whispers and allows it to unravel itself with an alarming realism that is unusual in paranormal romance, but an absolute reality in Transmissions. Benjamin is a beautiful soul who is literally willing to say and do and withstand anything to be with the woman he loves. Amelie is a tragic woman with unusually large amounts of self-loathing without even a shred of self-pity, constantly questioning the motivations of everyone in moves that make the reader question whether the motive is self-sacrifice to spare others or self-preservation to spare herself. Perhaps both. For all of their horrors, I kind of liked Shannon, who is fantastically confident, a trait that is totally contrasted by Amelie's near invisibility in the group. She's deliciously wicked but mesmerizing, which shows just how great Golvach is at developing his characters. This is an amazing read and I am so glad it happened to make it to the top of my tall book stack.

Transmissions by Michael Golvach is the story of love, second chances, and fighting against the odds. Amelie left her past behind and hoped to look only at the future. She pushed Benjamin away and decided that her loveless marriage with George was okay. However, that all changed when she received a letter from Benjamin, and they start conversing through letters once again. Devastated by Amelie’s sad married life ignited a fire inside Benjamin, and he vowed to help her out of the mess. However, things took a strange turn when George thought it would be great for Benjamin to meet Amelie. There was something terrible brewing behind Amelie’s back, but she had no idea what it was. A horror was awaiting them, and they were not prepared for what was about to happen. But what if something miraculous happened?

Memories played a vital role in the story and in furthering the plot. Amelie and Benjamin were two very simple yet very evocative characters. At first, I thought they were too innocent, but as the story progressed and I understood them more and more, I realized that they were just cautious. Life wasn’t kind to them in the past, and remembering the past was more hurtful than they could imagine. However, I believe the author handled it well and gave readers just enough so they would want more. The narrative was smooth, it built up the atmosphere of doom and gave fair warning to readers from the very beginning. Although this was a romance novel, it was also the perfect amalgamation of horror, paranormal, and even mystery. Michael Golvach did justice to Transmissions, he did justice to his characters and he entertained me with his complex plot until the end. It was beyond brilliant.