The Maiden and Her Monster

ASSOCIATION OF JEWISH LIBRARIES JEWISH FICTION AWARD HONOREE

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.

"Beautifully written and bursting with detail, The Maiden and Her Monster is a dark, atmospheric and riveting debut, wreathed around a love story like no other." —Samantha Shannon, New York Times bestselling author of The Priory of the Orange Tree

“A dark and endlessly enchanting fairy tale, unfurled in frost and wood-smoke, the kind that is whispered by candlelight and brushes up against history itself. I adored every page.” —Ava Reid, #1 New York Times bestselling author

"Told with exquisite yearning and gorgeous prose, The Maiden and Her Monster is a dark, poignant fairy tale about resilience, faith, and redemption. Martinez’s debut will enspell you." —Allison Saft, #1 New York Times bestselling author of A Dark and Drowning Tide

"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

"The Maiden and Her Monster is an evocative, harrowing, and deeply romantic dark fantasy debut that will move so many readers the way it did me. Maddie Martinez is an incredible talent and definitely one to watch." —Alexis Henderson, author of The Year of the Witching and An Academy for Liars

"A gorgeous dark fantasy rendered in detail sharp as a tailor's needle, threaded through with longing, resilience, and enchantment." —S.T. Gibson, #1 Sunday Times and USA Today bestselling author of A Dowry of Blood

“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

"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, international bestselling author of Mistress of Lies

"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

"In Martinez’s debut, the writing is beautiful, and the story is fantastic. Highly recommended for readers who love the work of Naomi Novik, Katherine Arden, Natasha Siegel, and Allison Saft." —Library Journal, starred review

"Martinez's worldbuilding is atmospheric and richly layered, drawing from elements of Jewish folklore.... This evocative debut is a dark, captivating sapphic fantasy." —Shelf Awareness