The Maiden and Her Monster

Debut author Martinez draws from Jewish folklore about the Golem of Prague to create a solid sapphic enemies-to-lovers romantasy marred by distractingly off-kilter prose. The forest by Malka’s monster-plagued village is notorious for eating “the girls who wandered out after dark,” but Malka’s mother, the village healer, relies on the black perphona that grows there to make her medicines. When she’s found in the forest gathering this plant, Malka’s mother is blamed for the death of the forest’s latest victim, and it’s up to Malka to prove her innocence. She goes into the forest expecting to find a monster. Instead, she meets Nimrah, a golem magically bound to the forest, who may be the source of all the monsters terrorizing the village. Nimrah agrees to give herself up and free Malka’s mother, if Malka will rescue Nimrah’s creator from prison, a mission that requires Malka to use forbidden magic and become “rooted,” or magically bound, to the golem. While the Ava Reid–esque mix of Jewish folklore, dark romance, and bloody horror will have its fans, many readers won’t be able to get past Martinez’s awkward prose style, which is littered with odd phraseology, malapropisms, and metaphors that range from belabored to nonsensical. This is a struggle. (Sept.)