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.

“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.

Just…phew!
I will do a properly well-thought review asap but make no mistake this has been my favourite vampire story in YEARS. Incredible. I just need a minute.

I couldn’t have picked a better book to kick off spooky season! This novel is eerie, atmospheric, and completely immersive making it perfect for crisp October nights when you're in the mood for something haunting, emotional, and beautifully dark.

From the very first page, the atmosphere pulls you in like fog creeping through a forest. The writing is lyrical and unsettling in the best way, with a Gothic undertone that lingers. The story is as much about transformation as it is about reclaiming power. It was raw, emotional, and unflinching in its portrayal of pain and survival.

Anka's journey is layered and compelling. She doesn’t just become a monster, she builds herself into one, piece by piece, as an act of defiance, protection, and ultimately, self-definition. It’s a powerful exploration of girlhood, rage, and what it means to take control of your own story, no matter how dark it gets. The writing is vivid, often visceral, and yet somehow still tender in its portrayal of a girl growing teeth in more ways than one.

If you enjoy books that blur the line between horror and empowerment, between fairy tale and nightmare, this one will absolutely stick with you. It’s a raw, powerful read that doesn’t shy away from darkness, but it also doesn’t lose sight of humanity either. She Made Herself a Monster is perfect for fans of dark feminist fiction, Gothic horror, or coming-of-age stories with sharp teeth. It's unsettling, beautiful, and unforgettable.

A huge thank you to the publisher and NetGalley for the ARC in exchange for an honest review!

This was a really interesting read. I loved the characters and how they interacted. The dynamics between them were well thought out and believable. I loved the tension that built throughout the book.
A really great read.

Sharp, visceral, and atmospheric. I've been looking forward to this book - a tale of a con artist pretending to be a vampire hunter in a small Bulgarian village - ever since it was first announced, and I'm thrilled that it met my high expectations. I loved the setting, the folk horror elements, the tight pacing and unpredictable plot - but most of all, I loved the characters, each complex and fully realised. An excellent read.

A complex story based in a small village, remote from its neighbours with, at the head, a man they call the Captain - a rank gained in a war long past. A man of strong views and strong appetites; he takes pleasure in holding the villagers in his debt and his kindness is often manifested in violent fashion. In his household, the dependents: Kiril, the older is the son of his sister, and Anka, younger, the daughter of the woman the Captain loved. When he had left for the war, she was his love; when he returned, she was married to his best friend. He has never recovered from the loss of her and her death together with her husband leaving the child Anka alone. A woman irreplaceable, as the wives of the village know - in any debt to him they are obliged to visit at his whim and often leave his house in pain from his pleasure. The Captain bides his time, waiting for Anka to grow into the woman that her mother was. In the household, the housekeeper Yana is a friend to Anka, protecting her where she can. Then with the arrival of a 'seer', Yulia, the story becomes thick with magic, women accused as witches and bewildering acts that the community hopes will lead to the end of the grip of suspicion, fear and terror that has hung over the college since the death of Anna's parents.

If I hadn't needed to get up early for work the next day, I would have finished this in one night.

Set in a small, rural village in 19th century Bulgaria, She Made Herself a Monster follows a superstitious community thrown into chaos following the arrival of a self-proclaimed vampire hunter. The overall story is less about vampires and more an exploration of superstition, mythmaking, patriarchy, and the ways in which people use these to gain power or protection. There's talk of witches and vampires, but the scariest monsters are men. It's atmospheric, gripping, and steeped in local folklore. I really, really enjoyed this one! Thanks Penguin Random House and NetGalley for the eARC.

Well, this was a lovely surprise. I’m going to try my best to say why I find this book so special without spoiling it. Not easy but it can be done.

When I first heard about the book, the words that caught my attention were vampires and slayers. Here comes the 90s kid raised watching Buffy so those are magical words to me. I love vampire stories and seeing this was set in what was a new setting for me sounded great. I had to google where Koprivci was and was surprised to see it is in Bosnia. I don’t think I’ve ever read a book set in Bosnia or any of the countries near it. So that also made me interested in the book because it’s cool to see different folklore influencing a story about vampires and ghosts or demons…each culture saw these things differently and I find it fascinating to learn about it.

It was hard for me to say when in history this story would take place. I would say a couple of hundred years ago but I can’t say a specific decade or even century. A war is referenced often so I tried to search all the wars that happened in Bosnia or around it and I can’t choose one that could be the one from this book. I knew it wasn’t the most recent one because I was alive during that war and this is historical fiction. It could be the war is a made up concept for this book or it could be a very local conflict that has not been reported as much outside the area. Anyway, that was just my former History major self trying to get more information from the story but it’s not something I need to know to enjoy the book.
It’s clear this is set at a time when more progress was being accessed by people through knowledge of things like science. But those people still refused to understand the science due to ignorance and fear of the unknown. It makes for a great plot device and I appreciated that part of the story.

Because the vampire side of the story was what got my attention, I was a bit confused reading the book because I don’t find that to be that prevalent. This story is more about real monsters. As in humans hurting others, whether they mean to or not. And that makes it maybe less interesting to some who just want the supernatural and the action with the vampires. For me, it makes the story a lot richer and more impactful.
We don’t have the largest cast of characters but each one plays a very important part. Even if they get less page time, their actions or just their presence influences how the story evolves. So that’s pretty cool to not just have filler characters who show up for one scene and then they’re gone.
I don’t want to say much about Yana because it’s so fun to discover how she is as a character and what her true intentions are. But I can say she’s so much more than just a slayer or a seer or whatever name people give her. She’s an incredibly layered character and what she does is maybe morally grey, but it makes sense. It crosses lines for sure but there is a point to her actions. It isn’t just done for her own gain and that’s why she’s so interesting as a character.
Anka’s story is so sad but so real. Through her, we can have so much commentary, which I adore and I always say it. There’s a very important theme that we cover with her character and I don’t want to say what because it’s a spoiler and this is an ARC review. But it was beautifully done. The nuances of her character arc were fantastic. And it’s all that which links her story with Yana’s and creates that friendship and that need to help each other.

I was very curious about Kiril because right at the beginning we see he’s a science guy. He goes to the city and can learn more about medicine and how to be a doctor. But then he goes back to a town where people believe in curses and such superstitions and…what is he going to do? They don’t believe in him and the knowledge he can use to help them. That’s very realistic. I mean, some people still refuse to respect science and everything it teaches us in 2025. So imagine back then. It was a very good portrayal of that time when people tried to leave behind the old superstitions to maybe embrace the progress that could make their lives better.
However, other aspects of Kiril as a character were a bit off putting. Realistic too and I can appreciate that. So while I understand why his character is the way it is and I find it fits the story, a few things bothered me because having a person like him around me would bother me. So maybe I’m biased in a way.

With this I’m trying to show this book is more about the characters than the monsters. It’s a great character study and I love those types of books. But to anyone who just wants monsters, it can be a bit disappointing. So it is fair to mention that.

The description of even the most basic things was very beautiful. It was very easy to visualize the town and the people and the houses…all very well done. I also felt that the author used the interludes to flex her writing skills a little, which I’m never opposed to. The writing as a whole was beautiful but those sections felt like extra pretty writing. Which for a story like this one is absolutely a great thing.

I could write about this book for hours really but I would have to make comments about things that are spoilery. And I loved finding out all the different aspects of the book on my own so I wouldn’t want to ruin it for anyone else.

This was another very strange story and completely fascinating. Quite bloodthirsty in parts and some very strange characters, Women again being the main victims but manage to retaliate occasionally.. Very satisfying conclusion.

This book is unsettling in the best way. The atmosphere is heavy with dread, and the story digs into themes of transformation, power, and the cost of survival. The writing has a raw edge that suits the subject matter, and there are moments that feel genuinely haunting.

At times, the pacing wavered and I wanted more depth in certain character arcs, but the overall impact was strong — dark, memorable, and thought‑provoking. It’s the kind of story that leaves you uneasy, yet impressed by its ambition.

A solid four stars for a bold, atmospheric read that lingers long after the final page.

I would first like to thank Random House UK, Vintage & NetGalley for providing an eARC of this book.

This book was difficult to read, despite how much I enjoyed it and how short it was, mainly due to the fact that the themes of this book are so realistically heavy and haunting. I had an idea about what I was going into when I read the synopsis, but to feel the way Kovatcheva weaves this dark fairytale of a story, blending a supernatural evil with the evils of man was a real treat. The characters felt fleshed out, though it took me a while to understand particular character's importance to the overall story more than others. The writing is lyrical, and there are lots of times where Kovatcheva knits together events with feelings, and uses them in later passages to elicit new meaning that felt very clever, although it could be confusing if you aren't paying attention. There's a scene just a little after the halfway point in the book where the blurring of past and present made for such an immersive reading experience and I was so impressed. There are also so many hauntingly insightful and thought-provoking quotes in this book, which I think I'll be thinking about and returning to read. Most importantly, I felt for the characters — hatred, fear, disgust, deep sadness, and anger for them all. The last few chapters were the most gripping, and had me on the edge of my seat in anticipation of what everyone would be left with..

This book also really reminded me of a very dreary, dark The Bear & the Nightingale (one of my favourite books), but had hints of The VVitch too. Will definitely be rereading to try and gather even more understanding.

*Edit: this book has continued to be on my mind since I finished reading. The characters and story are still haunting me. Therefore, I think I need to bump my rating to a 5 star.

She Made Herself a Monster is a dark, visceral and utterly compelling book steeped in Gothic atmosphere and Slavic folklore. From the opening pages it feels sharp and unsettling, asking difficult questions about fear, power and the way societies create monsters in order to survive their own guilt.

Set in nineteenth century Bulgaria, the story follows Yana, a travelling con artist who poses as a vampire slayer. Her carefully staged rituals offer desperate villages something to blame for their suffering and, in turn, something to hope against. When she arrives in the cursed village of Koprivici, the illness and loss gripping the community feels heavier and more dangerous than anything she has encountered before. It is here that she meets Anka, a headstrong orphan scapegoated by the villagers and trapped under the control of a predatory authority figure.

The relationship between Yana and Anka is the heart of the book. Their plan to create a monster powerful enough to grant Anka freedom is daring and desperate, and the consequences are genuinely chilling. What begins as deception soon spirals into something far darker, and the tension builds relentlessly. The folk horror elements are richly drawn and deeply unsettling, with superstition, fear and belief woven tightly into the plot.

The pacing is tight, the writing atmospheric and the characters are complex and fully realised. This is a feminist fable that explores agency, collective action and the cost of survival in a world stacked against women. She Made Herself a Monster is haunting, cathartic and unforgettable, and a truly impressive debut.

Read more at The Secret Book Review.

A great modern twist on classic middle Europe folktales. A brother and sister, brought up by their uncle in a seemingly cursed village, are both fighting against what is expected from them. With the help of a fascinating cast of mainly female characters, this was a twisty and spooky plot that I couldn't put down. It felt true to its historical setting but still a very modern story with echoes of blood throughout.

Thank you Vintage and NetGalley for the ARC!

In nineteenth-century Bulgaria, Yana travels from village to village, posing as a vampire slayer. Until she discovers the cursed town of Koprivci, where its children rarely survive infancy. The villagers blame Anka—an orphan girl who is soon to be wed against her will. Together, they form a plan to save both Koprivci and Anka from their fates.

Visceral and atmospheric, this is a story that will stay with me for some time. I loved the premise, and initially expected the story to revolve around Yana and Anka but I feel Kiril was such a huge part. Anna Kovatcheva did a wonderful job of writing such a complex character—someone who isn't simply good or evil, but somewhere in between. This story was so uncomfortable at times in the best way.

"The world of the spirits is difficult to describe to men who have never seen it and never can."

I loved the folklore elements, in particular the illustrated interludes. Overall the book was well paced and the characters well developed—a gothic feminist tale I will be recommending wholeheartedly.

"Don't be so dramatic Anka...you aren't going to die. On the contrary, you're finally going to find your place in this world."

On reading the blurb for this book, one can be forgiven for expecting to find a monster, not unlike Victor Frankenstein's creation, or a vampire 🦇 at the very least.
On reading the book, you realise that the monster in question is in human form, and that it is possible for anyone to carry a monster within.
I liked this book. I liked it a lot. With it's gothic feel and its folk horror themes of superstition and witchcraft, it was dark and sometimes disturbing. 🦇
This is very much a character driven book. The Captain, who is the father figure, is a particularly creepy character and one you just can't help hoping will come to a sticky end. Nope, not telling you. 🦇
The setting is a small village somewhere in Bulgaria, where superstition is widespread, and it is not uncommon for women to be accused of witchcraft. 🦇
So there you have it folks. Atmospheric historical fiction, folk horror with a gothic feel. 🦇
Thanks to Random House UK and Netgalley for the digital ARC.

“They were an odd company around the table, she realizes. Young, and old, and ageless. Women from far away, and girls who have never been anywhere. The others are skilled with herbs, with cookery, with birth and death. What does Anka offer but a problem?” – p.93

She Made Herself A Monster does not make a loud claim with it’s story, rather it paints an all too familiar picture – a village believes itself cursed by supernatural means, monsters who are more human than other, and women who find themselves at the centre of it all. But where Kovatcheva’s novel strikes it’s mark and stands out is in the choices made within the expected beats of its narrative.

Firstly, the writing is beautiful. I frequently found myself pausing to highlight passage after passage of enthralling descriptions. Before anything else, the writing is what made this book an initial stand out for me.

Moving on, our two key protagonists, Anka & Kiril, stand on opposed but bound together in their relationship with the Captain: while Kiril is undoubtably fearful of the Captain and hates how he treats the women within the village he makes it a point to repeatedly side with him and do as he says; Anka, picked to be his bride when she comes of age, wants nothing more than to escape and leave the Captain and his control over her behind.

In their division we walk two very different narrative paths, watching as these two set about their inner conflicts, desires and submission under the thumb of the man who raised them. Kiril in particular treads a fine line, his imitation of the Captain glaring through in his passages of his sexual relations and shifting romantic feelings towards different women even as he expresses his clear dislike for the Captain’s treatment of the women in the village. The conflict this creates between Kiril and Anka is a persistent backbone to the novel, and opens criticism for Kiril’s mindset and eventual growth beyond the Captain’s influence.

Kovatcheva’s short novel is a masterful blend of gothic prose and folk-horror imagery, and I recommend it gladly to everyone.

She Made Herself A Monster is a dark, atmospheric, and beautifully unsettling tale rooted in 19th‑century Bulgarian folklore. Anna Kovatcheva blends superstition, patriarchy, and horror into a story where the real monsters are often human. The writing is lyrical and visceral, the characters richly layered, especially Anka, whose tragic, powerful transformation anchors the novel. Gothic, feminist, and haunting, this is a gripping folk‑horror story that lingers long after the final page. Highly reccomend.

Thank you to NetGalley and Random House UK for the advanced copy of this book to read and review.

MY FIRST 5 STAR READ OF THE YEAR?!?!?!?!?

Oh my god I feel like I'm never going to be the same after finishing this book. It has altered me in a way that only a few books ever have.

It was so beautifully haunting, gothic in all of the right ways, and full of details that made me feel immersed in the story. Plus, the writing was absolutely stunning.

There was so much depth to this, and while it did make it feel heavy, I feel like the plot needed to sit with me, I needed to feel the heaviness and depth of the story to appreciate it.

It did mean that it took me a while to read it, but that's entirely a reflection of me, not the book.

One that will haunt me for some time to come.

I'm becoming a bigger and bigger fan of folk horror every time I read one. This book specifically, with its Slavic folklore inspiration and putting so much importance on relationships and support between women, had my heart.

Yana is a vampire hunter, or so she likes people to believe. She thinks of herself more as a hope bringer. When a village is dealing with a lot of bad luck, she swoops in and creates a monster that can be blamed for all wrongs and leaves hope behind. That is until she comes to Koprovici, where she meets Anka, and a real type of monster, a man who doesn't take no for an answer.

This is a beautifully written book with a setting that comes to life on the pages. I've really enjoyed all the characters and how much focus there was on women finding their own strength and fighting for each other.

I think the strength of the writing is so clear in how it manages to turn one of the most unlikeable character for me, someone who everytime he opened his mouth I found myself mumbling "you're the worst Kiril", into someone deserving of understanding and fighting his own demons.

I also need a whole seperate book about Yulia, for so many reasons she was my favourite.

This book felt like it was written for me. Thank you to NetGalley, Anna Kovatcheva and Vintage Books for allowing me to read a free eARC.
I picked this up expecting it to be a novel with vampires in it, and was surprised to find there are none. Instead, there are spectres of vampires, suspicion of witches and bad omens all around.
An excellent book about village life in eastern Europe back when superstition and gossip meant everything. When being female was a dangerous occupation and when choice was only in the hands of the men.

I enjoyed this so much, it was a breathe of fresh air to be so surprised by its content and still love it.

4.5 ⭐ rounded to 5.

A feminist story like no other, nuanced and elegant in its highlighting of brutality, superstition and powerlessness. There is a collective strength in this story that is so refreshing and uplifting. Especially a coming together of women putting themselves at risk to help another woman. I truly loved all these female characters! They are strong but not loud, their strength is internal, an innate power that makes them resourceful and therefore invincible.

On the other hand, the male characters of the Captain and Kiril are small, defined by their position in society and, especially for the Captain by violence and fear instilled in others, falsely portrayed as power. As for Kiril, I have to admit that I both hated and had compassion for him, but I finally understood that he was just a product of the status quo, and that when change was demanded of him, he came through, acting as a real healer.

The characters that surprised me the most were Anka and Yana, for different reasons. Yana (and her mum before her), for retaining faith in humanity, even after seeing how cruel it could be. A con, yes, but to give hope to people without harming anyone. I should add here that her acts included animal sacrifices, which I found very upsetting as an animal lover. There is especially a scene that had me bursting into tears (consider yourself warned).

However, what she does is genius, as instead of burning witches or exorcising vulnerable people, she creates and blames monsters, giving people what they want, a scapegoat. And that's what Anka did, she was willing to make herself a monster in order to become the agent of her life, unwilling to yield to a fate she didn’t choose. Unwilling to kneel to someone she didn’t want just because they expected her to be grateful, or because they said so.

This is a story of true feminine power, that doesn’t need to shout or to hit to be felt. True strength acts in silence, using intellect and opportunity without boasting. This is the story of a brilliant group of women and their bravery, when they slayed the true town monster! Elegant prose and richly gothic, I highly recommend it.

Thanks to Vintage Books and Penguin Random House for a copy and this is my honest opinion.

The people of Anka’s village believe she is to blame for their curse. Since she was born, crops have blighted, livestock failed, and children died. Her ‘uncle’, the Captain, took her in after her parents died, alongside his nephew Kiril. Kiril has just returned after time in the city learning medicine, while Anka has been left with the Captain, who is grooming her for marriage when she reaches womanhood. Tensions in the village have risen, with accusations of witchcraft and sacrificed animals. When Yana, a vampire ‘hunter’ or ‘seer’, arrives, these tensions reach a climax, and the village must face its monsters.

She Made Herself a Monster is a brilliant folklore-inspired horror which builds a real sense of tension and claustrophobia, reflecting the fears and suspicions of the people. The setting is ambiguous; it is clearly an Eastern European village loosely set in the 19th Century, at the precipice of modernity but still embedded in superstition and folklore. While Kiril wants to bring what he has learnt, modern medicine and enlightenment, he is still stuck in patterns from the past. Meanwhile, Anka is desperately trying to escape her fate. Yana brings a layer of complexity, manipulating superstitions but also sowing seeds of hope. It explores familial trauma, with characters desperately trying to right wrongs, acting by their own moral codes and often failing those around them.

Between the main narrative, we also see vignettes of folk or fairytale-like stories, which create a complex, multi-layered and timeless narrative. The book not only forces us to ask what makes a monster, but what makes someone complicit, and does that complicity make a monster? While it feels timeless, it also feels particularly timely in our current new cycle. Kovatcheva has crafted an exceptional debut which feels like a classic, combining folklore with feminine rage.

This was such an enthralling book that I couldn’t put down. I loved the mixture of folklore and mythology from Bulgaria with the added weaving narrative that Kovatcheva creates. I adored the characters, particularly the uneasy alliance between Yana and Anka and how the story progressed. This was really one I couldn’t put down, from the atmospheric narrative to the interesting lore and characters it was just a thrill from start to finish.

This book gave me spine tingles - in the best way!

She Made Herself A Monster is a stunning, elegant and atmospheric story, written beautifully and loaded with folklore, gothic vibes and a tangible feminist edge.

I don't want to go into detail about the plot or storyline as I think it's best to go in with no conceptions, however I will say this wonderful book offers a fresh voice, and took me by suprise, being more of a slow burn with twisting delicious tension building and bursts of shock and feminine rage, rather than an all out vampire hunt as maybe expected. The title could not be anymore on point.

It's very character driven, which I enjoy and lends itself perfectly to the intense and cloying atmosphere. You can feel the story wrap itself around you and the Eastern European village setting is vivid and tangible. I couldn't put it down - it's haunting and unsettling and raises the question about who is the real monster that women face down. It's really evocative and heavy and dark and makes the reader feel deep emotion and there's a lot to reflect upon.

I can not recommend this stunning book enough!