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.

This wonderful read made me think it was set hundreds of years ago but it isn't... quite remarkably it is set in 1986 and is a tale filled with suspense, horror and intrigue.

It is a brilliant read and one that held my imagination.

Josephine is invited to the home of her friend, and newly orphaned jumos at the chance to 'play like they used to'

no spoilers from me but this a must read.

I loved the setting. I enjoyed feeling afraid along with Jospehine and I adored my reading time

this needs to be a movie..