Good storyline, sometimes struggled to feel fully engaged but really enjoyed the historical cult horror vibes throughout the book

Not what I expected! There's some really beautiful writing and the Slavic folklore galore (the author was born and the story is set in Bulgaria), but it wasn't quite what the blurb made me expect. The opening is great, Yana is a self-proclaimed vampire hunter, but then there's not much about vampires at all. If anything, there are curses, witchcraft and women being accused for, supposedly, being witches, but not what I anticipated. There's blood, yes - and a lot of it - but not vampires. The characters of Yana and Anka are interesting, but not that gripping and I disliked The Captain so much. I'm sure there will be a ton of readers who will love this book, but it wasn't quite for me.

She Made Herself A Monster follows Anka who is seen as a witch and gets the blame for everything that goes on in the village because she was born on the same night her parents died. Anka has to deal with the villager’s suspicions and she has reached womanhood so can no longer avoid marrying the Captain. Animal corpses appear in the village square and eggs are filled with blood. Yana arrives in the village and claims she can save the village and destroy the monster but Yana is a liar and some monsters are human.

This was okay. Honestly, this didn’t feel very original and it felt quite derivative of other books of this type. The first 40% was intriguing but this just didn’t do anything new. The writing was good though and this did have that old timely folktale vibe which I enjoyed

“A vampire is hunger made flesh”
She made herself a monster is not a typical vampire novel. I’m pretty sure this original take will surprise you. I always love when stories contain elements of the Slavic folklore, fables and rituals and here everything is presented in the most raw and fascinating way. The sharp, quick writing makes the pages flow and the strong, fully fleshed-out characters were solid and complex.
I expected our vampire hunter to be the main character, but the central figure is Anka. Her story is so tragic and the real horror is what is to come for her. The familial trauma is reflected in every character, we have a true villain who is disgusting and evil, but also a person, who believes that he can undo the wrongs he did. Kiril is probably the most complex character; his arc is the most fleshed out. I disliked him at the beginning, but getting to know him, I sympathized with him and loved the way he grounded himself by the end. The least interesting person for me was Yana, but still her presence was the key for the events to unfold. The animal killings were necessary for the sacrifices, but still it was hard to read it, so check the triggers for animal death. It was done respectfully though, as respectful as a killing could be.
There were so many great elements, and superstitions, and tales incorporated here as metaphors. The tale of the golden girl is one of my favorite stories and I loved seeing it here. The two interludes were also a great touch. I feel like the physical copy of this book would look amazing, so I would recommend reading it physically. I’ll absolutely get my copy once it gets published.
Thank you to NetGalley and Random House UK, Vintage | Harvill for providing me with the ARC.

This didn't live up to my expectations going on the blurb, but that's not to say it wasn't enjoyable.
It was just never one I rushed to pick up.
Acaster of interesting characters, at interesting points in their lives.
There were times I cheered them,times I despaired.
A good read,

Vampires and corpses and ghosts, oh my!

Set in 19th century Bulgaria, a self proclaimed Vampire hunter promising salvation and a young girl, seen to be cursed and betrothed to be wed to an odious man find themselves an unlikely team.

Monsters come in all different forms in this book not least in the masses that are so ready to cry “Witch!” at a woman for knowing medicinal remedies, being sexually active, having emotions and/or an opinion and when animal corpses and eggs filled with blood are discovered by the locals, panic sets in.

There’s a great line in the book, “The penance for adultery is greater than the penance for a lie”. Men have been blaming women for their indiscretions since the beginning of time and women have paid an unholy price for it.

The language is so evocative and the whole book is peppered with the most beautiful metaphors. I can’t wait to read more from Anna Kovatcheva.

This novel follows predominantly Anka - a sixteen year old orphan due to the death of her mother and father on the night she was born. Her birth in the village and its circumstances have lead to the villagers believing that she has cursed the village, as no child since her birth has survived, as well as bad luck, and farming plague the small Eastern European town. In the care of the Captain, who has fathered her because of his unrequited love for Anka’s mother, is grooming her, awaiting her period for her ‘to become a woman’ in order to marry her.

Anya, is a spectral force who is also orphaned and travels from town to town to clear out unwanted spirits, vampires, and cursed that plague these towns through her apparent supernatural knowledge. But her knowledge is far greater than understanding the supernatural, her knowledge is a lie, she plants symbols of the curses she claims to know how to cure. When Anka meets Anya and sees a way to get out of the grasp of the Captain and the disdain of the town they begin to plot.

Having read a lot of similar novels, I expected this to be enjoyable but to blend into the background of several similar novels but I was unexpectedly surprised with this. In particular the focus on Kiril’s character - the ‘cousin’ of Anka and nephew of the Captain who has just returned from the village after studying medicine in the city. His insight as someone who is outside of the situation, but more embroiled in the town and its people than Anya who is a passerby. Ultimately, this novel offers a taste of European folklore, female alliance, and the witch trials. A fast paced read that twists and turns in various ways and deals with its topics with depth but not despair.

Actually ⭐️⭐️⭐️.5

I was completely drawn in to this book by its title and cover. The book on the get go was really intriguing even though it’s not my usual read.

As this is an arc review I will keep it short and spoiler free but the statement “A debut in nineteenth-century Bulgaria, a self-proclaimed vampire slayer-actually, a traveling con artist-joins forces with a teenage girl to create a monster deadly enough to vanquish their own demons.” Could not be more true.

I enjoyed this book even more than I thought I would although still not completely my genre. The pace of the book was great, I enjoyed following our ‘self proclaimed vampire slayer’ and the initial scene near the beginning (when you read it you’ll know which one!) had me completely hooked.

Thank you so much Random House UK, Vintage and Anna for the arc 🖤 overall rating 3.5