Book Review: The Maiden and Her Monster by Maddie Martinez
Release Date: September 9th, 2025
Release Date: September 9th, 2025
Rating: 8 out of 10
Spice Level: 1 out of 5
Cover Grade: A
Audiobook Narrator: Excellent!
Synopsis
THE MAIDEN AND HER MONSTER begins in a village terrorized by a cursed forest, a healer’s daughter, Malka, has seen the woods claim girls who wander after dark. The Ozmini Church ignores these dangers, focusing instead on collecting tithes. When Malka's mother is accused of murdering a clergy girl near the forest, Malka makes a desperate deal with an Ozmini priest: she'll bring forth the monster they fear to save her mother from execution. In the shadowy depths, Malka encounters a disgraced golem, who agrees to help but demands Malka's aid in freeing her imprisoned creator. As their pact unravels a darker threat, Malka must balance saving her mother with confronting her understanding of the golem she was warned against.
Strengths: The novel excels in three key areas. First, the plot weaves rich historical, cultural, and mythological details that transport readers to another time. Second, the writing balances poetic density with emotional resonance, creating passages that linger. Finally, the characters feel authentic in their struggles and growth, while themes of resilience and hope provide the emotional backbone. The atmospheric setting blends seamlessly with elements of folklore and mythology, culminating in an ending that resonates long after the final page.
Weakness: Not a weakness, truly, but a suggestion for some readers. The overall readability, while most of the prose captivates with its richness, it demands careful attention from readers. The frequent use of Hebrew and Yiddish terminology creates occasional barriers for those unfamiliar with Jewish cultural references. Though context often helps decipher meaning, keeping track of who, what, when, where, and why alongside the narrative can be challenging. The audiobook version, with its proper pronunciations, significantly enhances comprehension of these linguistic elements. I highly recommend the audiobook either instead of or alongside the written book.
Verdict
A magical, dark fairytale that stylishly incorporates Jewish myth and folklore. I wouldn't categorize it as a romance; it leans more towards fantasy and folklore with a romantic bonus, so don’t go in thinking this is a legit romance. The focus is, to a great degree, on the journey for change against prejudicial struggles and hope rather than a romance, and I'm not mad about it. Although I would have appreciated more forest horror antics, it's an impressive debut. I even had a moment of tears, which makes it a success! (8/10)
Thank you, Maddie Martinez, Tor Books, Macmillia, Libro.fm, and NetGalley. I received an advance review copy for free and am leaving this review voluntarily. All thoughts and opinions are my own.
Pre-Order Your Copy
Aber Stoat Books (print)
Bookshop.org (eBook)
Libro.fm (audiobook) 🎧
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From the Publisher:
Publisher: Tor Books (Macmillan)
Hardcover with dust jacket / Audiobook
ISBN: 9781250367754 / 9781250417848
352 pages / 13 hours 6 minutes
Narrated by: Nikki Massoud
Fiction / Fairy Tales, Folk Tales, Legends & Mythology
Fiction / Fantasy / Dark Fantasy
Fiction / LGBTQ+ / Lesbian
Description:
A gorgeous, atmospheric debut fantasy rooted in history, folklore, and sapphic romance—perfect for fans of Katherine Arden, Ava Reid, Hannah Whitten, and Naomi Novik.
The forest eats the girls who wander out after dark.
As the healer’s daughter, Malka has seen how the wood’s curse has plagued her village, but the Ozmini Church only comes to collect its tithe, not to protect heretics with false stories of monsters in the trees. So when a clergy girl wanders too close to the forest and Malka’s mother is accused of her murder, Malka strikes an impossible bargain with a zealot Ozmini priest. If she brings the monster out, he will spare her mother from execution.
When she ventures into the shadowed woods, Malka finds a monster, though not the one she expects: an inscrutable, disgraced golem who agrees to implicate herself, but only if Malka helps her fulfill a promise first and free the imprisoned rabbi who created her.
But a deal easily made is not easily kept. And as their bargain begins to unravel a much more sinister threat, protecting her people may force Malka to endanger the one person she left home to save—and face her growing feelings for the very creature she was taught to fear.
“A dark and endlessly enchanting fairy tale…. I adored every page.”—#1 New York Times bestselling author Ava Reid
Author Bio:
Maddie Martinez was born and raised in Albuquerque, New Mexico. She has a BA in Political Science from Northeastern University in Boston, Massachusetts and an MA in International Peace and Conflict Resolution from American University in Washington, DC. You can now find Maddie in New York City, filling her tiny apartment with an unwieldy number of books. The Maiden and Her Monster is her first novel.
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