At the very end of her Acknowledgments, Daphne Fama asserts that the Philippines - in her opinion - has "the most interesting traditional sorcery in the world". House Of Monstrous Women is set in the Philippines in the late eighties, at the height of the uprising against (that generation's) Ferdinand Marcos, though our lead has escaped the protests in Manila to reconnect with the family home on a distant island. What follows does indeed illustrate that Filipino magic and folk traditions have a very detailed and rather gnarly history as it unfolds in this saga that is both properly gothic (there's an old house with secrets, storms, and running out to the cliffs), and proper horror too. She makes her case well, as this is probably the best bit of gothic horror I've read since Mexican Gothic, which is high praise from me.

Josephine's parents are murdered, assassinated by the shadowy political figures in Manila, leaving her the only option but to marry for safety. But before that horror occurs, she's invited to an old family home, somewhere she visited as a child which holds odd memories. She interacts with her long-lost sister, and her brother also turns up, who is also seeking answers. Because the house offers a bright future, if you win its game. That game is a glorified version of hide and seek, which you are not told until it starts is deadly if you lose. All of which is before you completely understand the history of the house, the women who have lived there and what they have done to survive.

House Of Monstrous Women is a relatively slow burn on its horror, relying in the early stages on Josephine's fears of the outside world to slowly slip you into what is increasingly a gothic nightmare. Indeed, the benefit this has as a book is how much Fama can control the look of the house, it starts as tumbledown, increases to being bug-ridden and by the time the game starts, it has become some sort of otherworldly gate to hell. And certainly once we get to that half of the book, the horror is laid on thick, with some very memorable descriptions to cover what appears to be a complete breakdown in reality as the dark side of nature takes over (there is a sequence that is alluded to as being akin to coughing up an embryo which is particularly striking). Fama sticks the landing, with the right kind ofgothic finality, and the uneasy tingles. A window into a different type of folk horror, but an extremely welcome one.

I felt that the pacing was off in this story, and some parts were too easy to guess. Unfortunately I kept getting Josephine mixed up Gabriella, so I was quickly confused as to what was happening. I didn't finish this book, as I didn't feel the ending would be satisfying.

This book packs a lot! Not only is it a very creepy horror (all those insects and other stuff in that house!!!!!) , it is also a country fighting against the corrupt president and a woman fighting against societal norms for a chance at the future she wants. It was really easy to root for Josephine and remember how bad things were for single women not too long ago. She is such a strong character for she not only wants better for herself, she will do her best to bring others with her. And that strength sure is needed for the nightmare of a game she must play in the creepiest house with so many dark secrets and powered by souls and bodies that lost over many years. Yes, there are definitely icky bits, when Hiraya and her sister reveal certain truths to Josephine and heartbreak during the game for not everyone will survive (the cost of a favorable future) and it meant I was sucked into the book, especially in the last part with all the action and race to find a solution that keeps most alive.

I was not really familiar with Filipino folklore before this book but it was a fascinating introduction into their aswang and how the oppression of the country with so many killed to keep the power mirrored the oppression of the house that swallowed so many and kept growing and kept the game going. I enjoyed reading this book and feel it was a very well done debut. I also loved the author's note at the end, which gave additional insight to this story. I look forward to seeing what she will write next!

4.75 stars rounded to 5

This book is truly chilling. A true gothic horror that was a visceral experience to read.
Daphne Fama weaves a narrative that explores feminine rage, political upheaval, the relationships of sisters and the nature of women. What do people do when faced with the ultimate sacrifice to change their fate.
There is body horror, and great amount of trauma. Our characters are far from perfect but each of them is just trying to survive the night in a maze-like house of supernatural horrors.

Daphne Fama's horror novel is packed full of Phillipines politics, folktales and imagery. The scenery is as lush and dense as the blood and gore. This is not a story for the weak stomached, or easily scared.

It takes a while to get going, but once it does it hurtles along at a tense, disorienting pace that leaves you feeling unmoored and unsettled...much like the house of the title.

This will be a huge hit with lovers of visceral, grim horror. My only criticism was that I would have liked a little more character development, but I'm a character driven girl, so I think this will suit other readers much better.

A fun read with a sharp sting.

Think folklore, political unrest, and a house that feels alive. If you love twisted friendships, eerie hide-and-seek, and feminist horror with bite, this one’s a standout for sure.

This was certainly one of the creepiest reads of the year so far!

Josephine has been invited by Hiraya, her childhood friend and crush, to her house, to play a game they used to play as children. The catch is, Hiraya is from a family rumoured to be aswangs but the game's winner gets to have their heart's desire come true. It also gives Josephine an opportunity to see her brother, who's been invited as well, and talk with him about the future of their family and their family home.

This is another gothic read for me this year, but it's certainly one of the more unusual ones. Starting with its setting in Philippines during the people power revolution, it gives the story a very unique perspective.

The Ranoco house where most of the story is set, is honestly a character of its own. It's incredibly unsettling, filled with terrifying and creepy things. It's a giant labyrinth which only adds to the unnerving atmosphere of the book.

The cast of characters is very small which helps with the claustrophobic feeling of the book and allows us to get to know everyone really well. While Josephine is a delightful character who is easy to root for, I was surprised how sympathetic the story was towards Hiraya. I was constantly expecting the other shoe to drop but in the end I liked the direction her character took in presenting a different aspect of the theme of this book, how difficult it is to get away from the expectations put on you by your family and your heritage.

A delightful, creepy read.

This is a gothic horror with a touch of mystery, surrounding Philippine culture and witchcraft/myths. Immediately I loved the vibes, it gives creepy and weird straight away and the writing was beautiful throughout.

However it literally took until 55% for what is written on the blurb to happen and then it’s non stop until the end.

So the first half is very slow moving and I found the background of our fmc Josephine to be a little confusing, it has a lot about politics and the world she’s living in but it kind of went over my head.

So if you want the creepy hide and seek game it literally doesn’t start until 60%. At this stage I wasn’t super invested but it was well written and gory at times, and also interesting to find out about all the paranormal elements and the witchy side of things.

If you like slow moving gothic horror with beautiful writing this might be more for you!! I still enjoyed my time just not a favorite. Thanks to netgalley and the publisher for the arc.

Thank you, NetGalley and publisher, for the e-Arc.

I must say, what caught my attention was the cover and then I read the blurb and I was sold! I love creepy and atmospheric houses.
“House of monstrous women” has something I never read before, Philippine folklore. It’s a gothic, historical book, set in 1986 during the end of Marcos reign. I must admit, i do not know a lot of things about Philippine’s history, so it was a very nice part of the book.
Josephine is invited to a game of tagu-tagu by her childhood’s friend, Hiraya. The game takes place in Hiraya’s maze-like creepy houses, and besides Josephine, we have her brother and his brother’s girlfriend. Whoever wins the game, will have whatever their heart desires.

“But each year, I feel myself being crushed by the walls of this place. Pressed thin, until the face in the mirror no longer seems like my own, but an amalgamation of things that my aunt, and my mother, and all those who came before me want me to be.”

I do love reading horror and mystery books and I’m not scared easily. Safe to say that “House of monstrous women” was intense and creepy.
I like the characters, Josephine was my favourite, even if some of her decisions weren’t the most correct ones. She loves her family and friends, but sometimes she forgets to think about her life first.

“We don’t keep men here. Not for very long, anyway.
What does that mean?
Oh, I don’t know. They just come and go, men. Like stray cats or wild birds. They leave when the weather is good and return when things get bad. But it’s not as if others can’t live here. We have so many servants who have spent years with us. And periodically, someone stays. They choose to become part of this house. Or they’re made part of it.


The setting was eerie, with this house that’s built like a labyrinth, with creepy servants that are everywhere at all times, with strange rooms and so many insects!! I was so tense after the 50% mark, I was scared for Josephine and I had goosebumps until the end of the book. It’s a very unsettling and strange atmosphere, I haven’t read something like this before and I’m glad I requested it.
For the first 50%, the author tries to make us comfortable with the whole setting, and explains a lot of things about Philippine’s history, so that was intriguing to see.

Overall, I enjoyed it immensely, even if made me feel strange and uncomfortable at some points, but in a good way! There is some gore and disgusting stuff, so please, check the trigger warnings. There are insects, a lot of them. We need more gothic novels set in foreign countries and cultures.

Oh, and the mansion is on a remote island!

“But I never understood the obsession with demonising women. The pretty, unmarried women. The old women in the woods. Instead of the very real threat of jealous, lustful boys, skulking in the shadows, trying to follow you home.”

Thank you to NetGalley and Random House UK for allowing me to read this ARC in exchange for an honest review.

Ok, so I won't bury the lead, I love this book. If you knew how long I have searched for a book that actually built enough tension, enough atmosphere, for an author to create characters I want to support and to build a level of uncanny that made my toes curl and my skin get goosebumps. If you knew all that, you would understand how incredibly happy I am to have found this novel.

House of Monstrous Women actually succeeded in creeping me out and I enjoyed every second of it.
Our story is set in the Philippines in 1986, we follow our FMC, Josephine del Rosario. She describes her situation, living in a small town, in a big house; she inherited its upkeep after the death of her parents when she was just a child. Whilst her brother has taken the inheritance and gone to Manila to make a success of himself, Josephine is left to tend to the estate.

She talks about the political climate that led them here, with some flashbacks to her growing up, to her friends and to a family in town that rumours swirled around. Despite the warnings to avoid them, she befriended the eldest daughter, Hiraya Ranoco, all she saw was a girl just like her. But the villagers think differently, for the Ranoco's are monsters, Aswang, shapeshifters who eat the dead, or so the rumours say.
To Josephine, Hiraya is her closest friend and ally through difficult childhood moments. An ally she loses when a mysterious fire burns Hiraya's house to the ground and the family moves away, back to their own family estate on a remote island.
As an adult, Josephine desperately misses her childhood friend, feels isolated in her run down manor with little money coming in and her brother not yet the successful politician he had hoped to be. A letter arrives, an invitation from Hiraya after all these years, to come to her home for two days, Josephine jumps at the opportunity. But of course, this is not going to be the nice weekend in the country she is hoping to experience.
This book is full of Filipino folklore, the horrors in the night, the silent veiled servants, the bugs in the walls, the ghosts of a memory. And what is a creepy house, without a good game of hide and seek?
In the background, an uprising of the Filipino people, hoping to overthrow a corrupt government is drip fed to us through radio broadcasts as we follow the more immediate story of Josephines personal challenges, fears and determination to succeed.
I loved this book, I loved the afterword, I loved the characters, I loved the setting, the build up, the tension and the gothic atmosphere. Most of all I loved at one point where I paused and thought, I might actually be scared right now.

Thank you NetGalley and the publisher for an e-ARC in exchange for my honest review.

4.5 stars.

Set against the tumultuous socio-political background of the Philippines in 1986, House of Monstrous Women is an unsettling gothic horror that will have you checking every shadowed corner of your home at night. Weaving Filipino folklore with haunted house vibes, generational trauma collides with ancient magic, and a beloved childhood game takes on a sinister edge as already strained relationships are pushed to their limits.

This book was exactly what I wanted. I flew through it, finishing it in a day. House of Monstrous Women is dealing with a lot of themes and topics at once; political corruption, desire, friendship, memory, love, impossible choices and, of course, magic, all while telling a gripping story that will capture you from the start.

The story follows Josephine in the Philippines in 1986. Josephine's parents were assassinated, leaving her alone with her brother who is determined to continue their father's political legacy, even if that means agreeing to Josephine marrying a much older man. They are in a terrible situation as her brother's mounting debts and refusal to communicate with Josephine about what is going on - even refusing to return to their home town and see Josephine - leads to them both receiving a mysterious invitation from a childhood friend of Josephine's, Hiraya. Hiraya, a girl from a family whose family have always been accused of being witches, invites them to her family's legendary home and to play a game. Just a game. But it is a game that could make all of their dreams come true, if they are willing to pay the price.

The characters are easy to get lost in. I think the brother and his partner could have been more fleshed out, but to be honest, I didn't care that much. I was far more enchanted by the complicated relationship between Josephine and Hiraya. The kind of magic that appears in this novel is dark and twisted and demanding. It involves blood and pain and sacrifice, consuming those who wield it which produces a dark, thrilling gothic that I personally loved. I was thinking about it when I wasn't reading it and it has really stayed with me. This was easily one of my most enjoyable reads this year.

House of Monstrous Women is a gothic horror novel set in the Philippines in 1986, in which a young woman finds herself in a nightmare of a house, playing a game alongside her brother and childhood best friend. Josephine lives in Carigara alone in the family home, running out of money since her parents were killed and her brother moved to Manila. When her childhood friend Hiraya offers Josephine a chance to come to her family's old mansion to play a simple game that could give Josephine whatever she desires, it seems like a chance to escape. However, the house seems to not want to help, and the more Josephine learns, the worse her chances seem to be.

The book starts off slowly, building up Josephine's family history and how tied their tragedies are to the political situation, whilst showing her exploring Hiraya's house. Once the game begins, the book becomes much more fast paced, with a gripping run to the end. It also features some great horror moments like crawling through impossibly tight tunnels for your life and discovering the truth about the food served in the house. There's plenty of the gothic side too in terms of social commentary, not just in the political situation but also the position of women in society and how Josephine is looking set to be forced to marry an older man, and the children's game turned into a deadly fight fits in well with this.

Whilst the book was mostly a quite slow burn gothic novel for the first half, I liked how it then became more tense and also more creepy as it went on, especially with all the insects. If you like gothic horror, this book delivers a tense story that explores the complicated bonds between family and friends and a fight against oppression.

When Josephine receives a letter asking her to return to the home of a childhood friend, it seems the answer to her prayers. Destined to marry an old man and live out her life in a way that will subsume her identity and passion, she can't resist the promise of an escape. All she has to do is play a game they once played as children, and if she wins, all that she desires will be hers.

But the house of the Ranoco family is not what it seems. There are secrets beyond the sprawling rooms and dark shadows of the estate that no one ever talks about. And the game they played as children is no longer a game -- it is a matter of life, death, and perhaps something in between...

Daphne Fama's chillingly brilliant novel blends Phillipino folklore, real world history, and it's own twisted take on the haunted house genre to create something that feels very special indeed. Perfect for fans of Guillermo Del Toro or Silvia Moreno Garcia, this feminist fable is by turns unsettling, thrilling and darkly haunting. Like Josephine herself, once you cross the boundaries and enter the Ranoco house, you will find yourself unable to turn back -- and you will willingly play the game until its beautifully blood-soaked ending....

This was a departure from my usual reading. While I’ve ventured into gothic literature before, this novel leans more heavily into folklore and the weight of generational family trauma. The writing is intricate making for a slow burn. It took me a few days to read, but once I hit the final third, I couldn’t put it down. The suspense of how everything would unfold had me racing through the pages.

The story is heavily set on a game of Tagu-Tagu, a dark and twisted variation of hide-and-seek where the winner is granted a single wish. Yet, beneath the surface of this unsettling game lies a deeper exploration of family, friendship, and the burdens women bear for their families. The character development is great and despite disliking Alejandro I felt I understood him at the end.

The afterword from the author was a beautiful touch. You can truly feel the care and passion poured into this book.

Thank you to NetGalley for providing the ARC!

3.75⭐️ House of Monstrous Women truly delivers on its title. This gothic horror, rooted in Filipino folklore was unnerving and atmospheric in its horror aspect, but also deeply dark, violent and upsetting from a historical perspective.

I cannot claim to know much or anything at all about the People Power Revolution nor the Philippines as a whole, but the violence, oppression and terror depicted in this story was both eye-opening and heartbreaking.

Daphne Fama’s prose is beautiful and I really enjoyed her rich descriptions of the setting and characters. However, I think this book definitely would’ve rated higher for me had it not been a super slow burn up until the 60% mark, which is a shame because once it found its footing it really sank its claws into me and kept me turning the pages to find out how the games would end and what would happen to our characters.

If you enjoyed the premise of the film 𝙍𝙚𝙖𝙙𝙮 𝙤𝙧 𝙉𝙤𝙩 but wish it had a little bit more oomph - I highly recommend picking this one up.

Thank you endlessly to the author, publisher and NetGalley for allowing me to read an advance copy!

Thanks Netgalley and the publisher for an egalley of this book! My opinions are my own.

I'm still fairly a newbie to horror books - honestly I've really only read books by Grady Hendrix before, and those are SCARY but amazing so luckily they didn't put me off! So when I heard about this sapphic horror story based on Filipino folklore I was very intrigued.

The scares started out very classic, with shadows moving in the dark and classic 'nightmares' (but are they??) type of scares, which honestly I find very fun. I will say, without spoiling anything, that if you're not a fan of bugs or insects I would recommend staying away from this book too (it's no Southern Bookclub's Guide to Slaying Vampires - if you know you know - but it still made my skin crawl a bit so use your judgement on that). Then the scares progressed to some pretty spooky stuff and I did really enjoy how scary it was in the end!

On the relationship side I'm a teeny bit disappointed, hence the four stars instead of five, because it was a sweet relationship but it was already kind of established and I didn't feel the growth and much longing, except from Josephine wanting to escape and live happily with everyone in her home town. I would have appreciated a bit more there if it was going to be in the book at all, otherwise it skirts a little too close to pandering in my books.

Overall a fun read, with some genuinely scary bits, and a nice experience reading about Aswang and Filipino folklore in a horror setting.

Rounding up to 3 🌟

I found the start of this book SO slow.
I'm all for setting a scene, but honestly, it took too long.
What happens then , is I fond myself not fully engaged with the rest of the book.
Which is a shame, because there were some great moments in this one.
The house was fascinating, the family that lived there interesting.
The politics side even sparked my curiosity a bit.
I just feel I wasn't invested enough.

This book offered a rich blend of Philippine folklore and political struggle, both of which I found particularly engaging. The depiction of the Aswang was soooo creepy, I genuinely caught myself glancing around my dark room while reading! The book offered a sinister, gothic atmosphere that I really enjoyed.
That said, the pacing felt somewhat slow, it didn't really 'pick up' until the 60% mark. However, once it did, the story became intense and unpredictable. Overall, it was an eerie and compelling read.

Monstrous is right. I read an eARC of this book on NetGalley so thank you to the author and the publisher.

This book was absolutely fascinating. I was completely gripped by this terrifying cat and mouse chase in a creepy, unnavigable house. This book is set in the Philippines in the 1980s and the characters live in a back drop of political terror. This punctuates the decisions they make and helps to understand why they’d pursue the dangerous choices they are presented with.

The bulk of this story takes place in an unforgiving house on an island. This was an absolutely fantastic horror house novel, with the character of the house integral to the menace and fear the characters encounter. The setting and atmosphere was just perfect. This novel was seriously unnerving, the tension through the roof as the second half of the story unfolds.

There are some really grim horror elements to this book. I don’t want to give away spoilers, but I would check content warnings if you know there are certain themes in horror you don’t like. It is bloody and gruesome but I didn’t find this gratuitous.

I was so invested in the main character. I felt so much rage on her behalf at the way people tried to force their own agendas on her. I could understand why she came to be where she was and I was really scared for her as the jeopardy increased throughout the book.

Really impressed with this one. Recommend this to horror fans and it’s one I would return to.