This wonderful book wraps up my reading for April. The emotions that I felt while reading this! This is a retelling of The Golem of Prague. This is a story that deals with some heavy themes. There is misogyny, imprisonment, torture, discrimination, religious persecution, abuse, noncon elements not heavily detailed, violence, murder, illness. There is also yearning, elements of forbidden romance, prayer magic, family ties, faith, hope, misunderstanding, miscommunication, second chances, female rage, and resilience.

I really enjoyed this story overall. The witty banter between Malka and Nimrah was so good and direct. The political and religious aspects were realistic and speaks of a tumultuous history for the Jewish community. The discrimination and persecution that they have faced throughout time. The relationship between the Maharal and Nimrah was beautiful and heartbreaking.

I felt like the ending was satisfying. I think the author did a fantastic job for their debut novel! You should definitely check this book out. It officially releases on September 5th, 2025

This was one of my most anticipated reads of the year, and while it was good, I didn't love it as much as expected. The writing style felt a bit slow to me and graphic/border lining on horror more than fantasy at times. I did like the sapphic romance and parts of Jewish mythology!

The premise of this book really drew me in and I was so excited to start this!! While I did enjoy the overall idea of the story, I had a bit of a hard time connecting with it the way I was hoping for. The unfamiliar terms personally made it challenging for me to follow along at first and I was just struggling to stay invested in this. I also didn’t really connect with the characters which made the story feel a little flat to me personally. Despite all this, I do believe this book will be enjoyed by so many other people, and I do want to revisit this story in the future and hope that I end up connecting with it more :’)

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for this e-arc!!

Love that it has foundations in Jewish myth. It is not something I am very familiar with, but the vibe overall shined through wonderfully. I love queer romance.

Maddie Martinez’s The Maiden and Her Monster is truly stunning debut from start to finish. I’d been highly anticipating this book ever since seeing its deal announcement on PM, and after reading it, I can definitively say that it will be a standout amongst 2025 fantasy releases. Martinez wove together the art of storytelling, religion, history, language, and folklore in a way that feels new and exciting, following her FMC’s (Malka) journey to save her mother and her hometown as she wrestles with her faith and attraction to a monster she should hate. The author delivers a story that is dark, lush, romantic, and above all, a moving tale about corruption, perseverance, love, and the power of words changes who we are at our cores, making it easy to root (punny, iykyk) for Malka and the triumph of the Yahadi people.

Read this book! I am eagerly looking forward to seeing what Martinez puts out next!

Thank you to NetGalley and TPG for an ARC in exchange for an honest review.

This book caught my attention with the promise of sapphic yearning and I wasn't prepared for how beautiful and heartbreaking this story would be. It took my breath away so many times, and I literally forced myself to slow down while reading it so I could savor every moment.

Thank you to NetGalley and TOR publishing group for the digital advanced copy of The Maiden and Her Monster by Maddie Martinez. This review reflects my own thoughts and opinions.

Malka lives with her family in the village of Eskravé, where the Yahadi people live in fear—both of the deadly Rayga, who hunts girls in the forest at night, and of the Ozmini Church, which suppresses their religion. When Malka steps forward to uncover the truth about the Rayga and save her mother, she sets off on a journey far greater than she imagined. The terrifying creature turns out to be Nimrah, a golem created through Kefesh—Yahadi magic that Malka has always been taught to fear. As she travels deeper into the mystery, Malka begins to question everything she’s been told. To protect her people and survive, she must embrace not only the truth, but also her emotions and the power of Kefesh.

This is an incredibly detailed and layered story, weaving together religious beliefs, Jewish mystical traditions, and history into a rich fictional world. Maddie Martinez does a masterful job of exploring the power of stories—and how they can be twisted to serve those in power. History is full of examples where religion has been used to justify actions, influence emotions, and villainize others and by placing this theme in a fictional context, Martinez allows readers to step back and clearly see those patterns. The result is a story that feels both timeless and timely, giving readers a lot to reflect on.

Malka, as a protagonist, can be a challenging character. She’s stubborn and deeply rooted in her beliefs, which sometimes made it hard for me to connect with her—especially as my own understanding of her world evolved faster than hers did. Her shift in feelings toward Nimrah, from fear to love, felt a bit sudden, and I wasn’t entirely convinced by that emotional turn. While I admired her strength, I also found myself frustrated by her resistance to change.

The book is heavier than I expected. From the description, I anticipated a more romantic or coming-of-age story, but the romance is secondary, and the narrative leans more into horror, trauma, and resistance. The first encounter with a monster was so intense that I initially thought it had to be a dream sequence—I actually had to reread it to be sure it was happening in real time. If you're not in the right headspace for a darker, more emotionally demanding read, this book might catch you off guard. But if you’re ready for it, it’s a bold and thought-provoking story that lingers long after the final page.

Show me a fantasy steeped in folklore, and I’ll get giddy at the thought. Therefore when I saw the synopsis for this, it sounded perfect, and after being fortunate enough to receive an early copy of this, I went into this ready to devour it and got much more than I expected.

It took a little while for me to get into this, the beginning of the story was a lot and I wasn’t fully sure at first, but I kept at it, and I’m so glad I did.

*folklore steeped in Jewish history
*incredible world building
*dark fantasy
*so well written
*terrific character arcs and evolution
*sapphic
*enemies to lovers
*slowburn

*The Maiden and Her Monster* kept my interest and kept me thinking about its vivid timeliness in today’s world.

A definite recommendation from me!



Thank you to Tor Books and NetGalley for the DRC

If you're looking for a story that's exciting and emotional this is a good option. While it starts off a bit slow and confusing for the reader with all the terms being thrown around, the story will ultimately draw you in once Malka begins her journey. The plot is engaging, the characters are well described, and the romance, while not my favorite, still keeps you invested. I enjoyed the banter between Nimrah and Malka even if I wish they had spent more time together to flesh out their romance. The magical elements and world-building is entertaining and I loved that there were stories woven throughout the book. Overall, this novel will keep you turning pages and wondering about what will happen to Malka and her friends. 4.6/5 stars rounded up.

This book is astounding. Ms. Martinez did a glorious job with this. I was hooked from the first page and stayed hooked. I read most of the book in the past few days. This book never left my head as I was reading it.

It is a beautiful tale of overcoming obstacles surrounding faith. While I am not a religious person, it is lovely to read.

Thank you to Maddie Martinez, TOR, and NetGalley for the opportunity to read this early!

This is one of the tougher ARCS for me to review and here's why;

I didn't read the trigger warnings (my fault) and with the happenings of the world currently the religious and political discussions in the books could make it difficult for some.

As a visual person the world building was for me to imagine and that made it hard for me to get into this book.

That being said I could absolutely see someone loving this book. Reading is subjective just because it wasn't for me doesn't mean it'll be like that for someone else. This is incredible written.

An incredibly rich, heartbreakingly dark reimagining of the golem myth. Although this was much harsher of a story than I usually read, the characters were so well-written and the plot was so compelling that I was glued to the pages from the first to the last. Highly recommend for fantasy lovers who enjoy darker stories with strong feminine protagonists.

First off, let me just say thank you to Maddie Martinez, TOR, and NetGalley for the opportunity to read this early! When I first heard about “The Maiden and Her Monster”, I was immediately intrigued and the book didn’t let me down. It was an amazing reading experience for me. It has so many of the elements that I typically love in storytelling, a connection to folklore rooted in real world history, a examination of violence as a tool of dismantling oppression, and a sapphic romance that was woven throughout the story seamlessly.

I’ve often struggled with fantasy novels that contain elements of romance in the past, but I loved the way this book makes the romance relevant to the plot and allows their feelings to really develop over time, rather than expecting us to believe two people with complex interconnected history would be able to immediately disregard years of trauma. For me, the romantic elements of the story always provided meaningful context to the larger conflicts surrounding faith-based oppression and societal change rather than distracting from them or feeling out of place beside them. Truly, if you’re a fan of sapphic yearning with a side of religious trauma (I am), this book is for you!!

Martinez is able to write with impressive clarity and emotion about the power of belief and holding to the parts of your faith that are inherent to who you are, even while being able to criticize those who use the tenets of that faith to do harm. The story also looks at how when religion and politics become intertwined, it usually results in the worst possible outcomes being forced on religious and ethnic minorities. It’s an incredibly timely read, for more reasons than one.

While I had some minor quibbles with pacing and would’ve loved to have learned more specifically about the magic system, overall this book absolutely hit for me and I can think of a lot of people who I’d eagerly recommend it to.

Man I wanted to love this book but by the end it was just okay for me.

Will I be telling others about it and suggesting it? Absolutely because I know many people who will enjoy it far more than I.

The plot was there, there characters were there. The romance, which was a huge selling point for me, could have been more.

My main issue was the world building was there but also not. I would have liked more but more in a way that was easier to understand. My list of words to look up grew very quickly with this book.

Overall I respect that it was a retelling of an established story and the sapphic element was just lovely. It was well done. But the story of the golem in general I think is just not for me. So I leave this book as an okay.

Thank you to Netgalley for allowing me to read an ARC copy in exchange for an honest review.

This is a book filled with religion, politics and culture. It deals with heavy topics of oppression and grief. And while I understand the importance of such topics, which were not lost on me, the main plot became quite maudlin for me personally and is not something I’d typically gravitate towards. That being said, I could not invest myself as wholly as I would have liked.

The best part came in the tumultuous relationship between Malka and Nimrah. Watching their interactions go from hatred to reluctance to an inevitable pull was truly magical. Had the story focused more and on that aspect during the main plot, then perhaps it would have sold it better for me.

I have spent a fair amount of time figuring out exactly where I failed to connect with this, and I think one of the main points is that I wish it had been historical fantasy instead of second world fantasy. The mix of real and fake words, real religions going under pretend names was both confusing and distancing without, as far as I could tell, any real point except the convenience of making things up. The romance also felt strangely contemporary for the world-an instant bickering which seemed surprising given that one of them is magical and the other has consistently learned that speaking out can be dangerous. It felt more like a familiar shape of a romance than a real connection.

The idea was fantastic and the writing was strong enough that I'll definitely be keeping an eye out for what Martinez does next, even though this didn't land for me.

I truly wanted to love this book, I really did. The premise was intriguing, and I absolutely LOVED the idea of a dark fairytale retelling of the gollum of Prague. However, this book was extremely hard for me to get through. The world building felt underdeveloped, and I was anticipating the story to take place mostly in a dark forest, but it focused mostly 0n the capital city. The relationship between our two FMCs also just didn't feel believable to me. Where was the tension and the buildup??? I also found myself confused between the actual religious terminology and the words that the author made up. Perhaps a glossary of some sorts could be incorporated?

Thank you for the advanced eARC!

The Maiden and Her Monster is a dark fantasy with a sapphic romance. I thought I would love this.

Unfortunately, it desperately needs a glossary. The book is a tough read, I won’t lie. I don’t shy away from books that include other languages- they’re great! I can usually piece together the context from the surroundings of the rest of the story, or simply look it up. The Maiden and Her Monster certainly contains a lot of a Hebrew & Czech but also seemingly made-up and fantasy words, which made it difficult to digest or understand what was happening without constant rereading.

The book also does not shy away from tough moments. Malka and Nimrah both face a lot of difficulties that they are forced to overcome, but moreso than their character journeys, I was surprised to be reading depictions of gore that were a brutal read.

The romance also left a bit to be desired. Enemies to lovers (or, begrudging acquaintances to lovers, in this case) can be tricky to nail correctly. And this it seemed, did not do it. Malka and Nimrah do not seem to like each other in the slightest to start, and are only working together to benefit something else entirely. Then, suddenly, they’re in love! I felt like I missed something entirely while I was reading.

Thank you to Netgalley and Tor Publishing for providing this arc in exchange for an honest review!

Martinez has crafted a fairytale for the ages, feeling both ancient and modern. “The Maiden and Her Monster” intertwines queer identity into a tale that will live in your thoughts long after you put down the book. This was a highly anticipated read for me and I was blown away.

3.75 stars! ⭐

this was a lush, immersive story inspired by jewish history and culture. i honestly can't believe that this is the author's debut novel, because the writing was absolutely fantastic. whilst reading, i was consistently blown away by maddie martinez's prose.

in the maiden and her monster, martinez explores themes such as religious oppression, the dangers of the 'us vs. them' mentality, and what it truly means to be a monster. the struggles of the yahad in this fictional world are a direct reflection of the difficulties faced by the jewish people in our world—right down to the mandate that requires them to wear a patch on their cloaks so that they are easier to single out. the comparison between the two was not subtle in the slightest, but that was the whole point.

the first half of the novel is quite slow—there's a healthy dose of worldbuilding thrown in there, so you really just need to hold on and let the author take you on a ride. there were also a lot of new terms for me, so i spent a good chunk of time sorting through all of the vocabulary. i imagine that jewish readers likely won't have this problem, since they'll already be familiar with many of the customs practiced by malka and her village.

the second half of the book is where things really start to ramp up. that's when i fully locked in and became invested in the characters and their fates. the last half is definitely far more propulsive than the first, so much so that it almost felt like i was reading two separate books. so if you find that you aren't vibing with the story at the beginning, give it time—you might change your mind!

be warned now: despite its gorgeous cover, this book does not shy away from both violence and gore. it contains depictions of things like decapitation, dismemberment, and a few other nasty bits. however, i think it was a solid story that worked very well as a fantasy standalone, and i'm looking forward to seeing what this author puts out next.