The Maiden and Her Monster

De: Maddie Martinez

The forest eats the girls who wander out after dark . . .

An atmospheric dark fantasy rooted in fairytales, folklore, and sapphic romance. The Maiden and Her Monster by Maddie Martinez is perfect for fans of Katherine Arden, Ava Reid, and Naomi Novik.

As the healer’s daughter, Malka has seen how the forest's curse has plagued her village. But the Ozmini Church only comes to collect its tithe, not to listen to heretics with false tales of monsters. So when a clergy girl wanders too close to the woods and Malka’s mother is accused of her murder, Malka strikes an impossible bargain with a zealot Ozmini priest. If she brings him the monster, he will spare her mother from execution.

When she ventures into the blood-soaked woods, Malka finds a monster, though not the one she expects: an inscrutable, disgraced golem who agrees to implicate herself, but only after Malka helps her fulfil an ancient promise by freeing 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’ – Ava Reid, No. 1 New York Times bestselling author of A Study in Drowning

‘A gorgeous dark fantasy rendered in detail sharp as a tailor’s needle’ – S. T. Gibson, No. 1 Sunday Times bestselling author of A Dowry of Blood

‘A dark, poignant fairy tale about resilience, faith, and redemption’ – Allison Saft, the Sunday Times bestselling author of A Dark and Drowning Tide

©2025 Maddie Martinez (P)2025 Macmillan Publishers International Limited

Reseñas de la Crítica

Blending tradition, faith and folklore with a deft hand, Martinez crafts a profound tale of self-acceptance and the bittersweet price of progress, woven through on a thread of unyielding hope (K. M. Enright, Sunday Times bestselling author of Mistress of Lies)

Reminiscent of the folktales of old, The Maiden and Her Monster is a beautifully haunting debut with sharp teeth. Maddie Martinez weaves words like a magic spell, ensnaring readers with her poignant prose and beguiling atmosphere (Chelsea Abdullah, award-winning author of The Stardust Thief)

Martinez delivers a taut and delicious debut, threading a sultry romance and tense political intrigue through an atmospheric and haunting world inspired by Jewish myth (Laura R. Samotin, author of The Sins on Their Bones)

An exquisite debut about an eldest daughter and how far she would go to protect her family. Malka's journey toward finding confidence in herself and falling in love with a certain surly golem is as legendary as the myths peppered throughout the story. This book is an instant classic (Kamilah Cole, bestselling author of So Let Them Burn)