The Maiden and Her Monster is the kind of book that stays with you long after you finish reading. The worldbuilding is intricately crafted, the characters are well-fleshed out and fascinating, and the relationships, which make up the true heart of the story, absolutely shine. Malka is a sister, a daughter, a friend, and a lover—sometimes wearing multiple roles at the same time—and her journey finding herself and her agency beyond her role in other people's life is incredible to watch.

Nimrah is a protector and a monster, a warrior and a servant, and her snarky, stoic, guilt-ridden and purpose-driven personality makes for such a delightful contrast with duty-bound Malka. I love how the author wove history, politics, religion, and magic together to create a world wholly original but still recognizably Jewish. I love the writing on a line-by-line level; it's the kind of gorgeous you want to highlight on kindle or maybe turn into a poster. I love the twisted creatures, human or otherwise, and I love how everything came together in the ending.

Basically, I love this book, and I'm so happy I got to read it early!

I have been craving a dark fantasy like this for so long and the fact that is sapphic makes it all the more better. I am amazed by how fantastic this novel is for a debut author and hope I’m lucky enough to read more of her work in the future. The story is so rich in culture and the characters are all so strong individually and compliment each other so well as a team. I found myself getting emotional over certain characters relationships often (especially Malka and Chaia’s love for each other) and the magic system tied to religion was very interesting to me. Overall this was a very enjoyable read with so many cool unique elements and I’m so happy I was given the chance to read it ahead of its release late this year!

4.5/5 stars

This started off as a bit of an information dump, specifically with the different phrases for the forest and time before the monster. However this world building was so elaborate if you just stick it out and put in the work it pays off significantly! This was so atmospheric and rooted in Jewish culture, I loved it. Sometimes I got quite uncomfortable thinking about how things look today and how tyrannically parallel it is in the book. this is what makes it so impactful, you can get lost in this absolutely stunning world but still connect it to today.

The pacing was fantastic, there was a bit of an information dump at the start but it leveled out really quickly to show off masterful world building. The character arcs were FANTASTIC and had you feeling so many things at once. I highly HIGHLY recommend this!

A dark and lyrical fairy tale grounded in Jewish history and mysticism that feels both timeless and timely, “The Maiden and Her Monster” explores queerness, duty, and the terrible cost of bigotry in an unforgettable way.

"Belief is not meant to be wielded as a political weapon."
"Then why is it the most powerful sword, and the sharpest knife?"
I am in debt to NetGalley for providing me with an opportunity to read this incredible debut novel. Realistically, it's more around a 4.25-4.3 star read for me, but it is so strong as a debut that I feel compelled to give Maddie Martinez her due. I don't think I've read a debut I liked so much since The Wolf and the Woodsman, and I am so excited to see what she does next.
This is a book with conflict that grows in scale and stakes in a very satisfying way, the romance subtly growing alongside it. It balances political and religious machinations with horror and emotional gut punches. My only complaint with the book is that you're truly only in the woods for about half of it, and I missed the lovely descriptions of eldritch creatures once we were in the city. I've seen a couple reviews saying that the words in different languages were hard to follow, but I had absolutely no problem with them, and the author has a helpful glossary here: https://www.maddiemartinez.com/books/the-maiden-and-her-monster/glossary.

This book is filled with grief and hope; Jewish folklore; sapphic romance, political intrigue; and some interesting magic. I very much enjoyed this read.


*Thank you to Netgalley and Tor for the eARC.

I’m such a lover of lush folklore tales, and this did not disappoint! This is a book I know I can easily recommend to lovers of Ava Reid or A B Poranek.

Slow burn enemies to lovers romance set before the backdrop of a horror/fantasy. The writing was very beautiful, matching the exquisite cover.

This was such a highly anticipated story for me, as a huge fan of religious folklore and retellings. Maddie dives deep into the lush and beautiful mysticism with plenty of drama, sapphic romance, and history. Thank you so much to Netgalley for the eARC.