She Made Herself A Monster

Hardback Published on: 12/02/2026
Price: £16.99
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Bookseller Reviews

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She Made Herself A Monster
She Made Herself A Monster
She Made Herself A Monster has a striking cover and blurb that unfortunately does not best represent the story itself. I am very much drawn to gothic horro... READ MORE
The Victorian Bookseller (Waterstones 630)
She Made Herself A Monster
A captivating and fascinating debut
I went into this blind and I’m so glad that I did. Anna’s writing is so captivating I was hooked from the beginning and actually wanted more at the end. Al... READ MORE
Chloe at Trafford Centre
She Made Herself A Monster
Gorgeous story of female rage and solidarity
The summary for this book doesn't fully do justice to the story being told. The vampire hunter and monster elements are very much background to what is at ... READ MORE
Katie Roberson
She Made Herself A Monster
Women standing up for themselves
This is a great read for those who like books about women who stick up for themselves and overcoming powerful men. I love that its rooted in folklore tha... READ MORE
Cordelia, Manchester
She Made Herself A Monster
This book reads like a Brothers Grimm tale in his darkness and its reflection on humanity.
This book plays with the horror of peoples fears, of fear mongering, of the evil humans can do to one another while afraid. We reach into the depths of wha... READ MORE
IndiaReadsALot
She Made Herself A Monster
an astonishing debut.
Gifted proof from the publisher. Out in the UK in February. Wow. I absorbed the majority of this on my train journeys yesterday. A beautiful and gripping t... READ MORE
Jamie Lee at Trafford Centre
She Made Herself A Monster
A sisterhood fueled by anger
This book contains multitudes, the characters are incredibly strong and embody a strange variation of sisterhood amongst the many female characters some of... READ MORE
Carrie (Store 823)

Synopsis

Yana hunts monsters. Anka might be one. They'll need each other to survive.

'This exciting, gorgeous novel reminded me why I love vampire stories... I still have chills' Kate Heartfield, author of The Embroidered Book

Yana, a vampire hunter, rides into Koprivci promising salvation. The village’s curse has endured for many years and rumour has it that Anka – whose parents died on the night of her birth – is to blame. But enduring the villagers’ suspicion is the least of Anka’s worries; now she has reached womanhood, she can no longer avoid the odious marriage that seems to be her only option.

When animal corpses start to appear in the village square and eggs filled with blood are found in the chicken coops, panic rises. The villagers look to Yana for hope. She knows all about the monsters that stalk the night, monsters that only she can vanquish. But Yana is a liar. And monsters come in all different forms.

Yana and Anka become unlikely allies in hatching a plot to save both Koprivci and Anka from their fates. But then their plan takes on a horrifying life of its own...

'Brimming with folklore, superstitions and a dark gothic backdrop, this is a fantastic read for anyone seeking a character-driven story in a moody setting' Daily Mirror

'A tale of dark secrets, unnatural lusts and hidden violence' Annie Garthwaite, author of Cecily

'Chilling. . . expertly blending Bulgarian folklore with very modern fears and sensibilities' Laura Shepperson, author of The Heroines

'Poetic, visceral, dark... A terrifying read' Isabelle Schuler, author of Lady Macbethad

'An exquisitely-written feminist vampire story. . . Mesmerising' Anna Mazzola, author of The Clockwork Girl

Publisher information

  • Publisher: Vintage Publishing
  • ISBN: 9781787305144
  • Number of pages: 288
  • Dimensions: 241 x 162 x 28 mm
  • Weight: 484g
  • Languages: English

Customer Reviews

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She Made Herself A Monster
A very strange, compelling story
This was another very strange story and completely fascinating. Quite bloodthirsty in parts and some very strange characters, Women again being the main vi... READ MORE
Patricia Moren
She Made Herself A Monster
Weird, strange and exhausting
Very strange and very complicated stories within stories about vampires, family, love and friendships. Yana is a vampire hunter and settles on a small obsc... READ MORE
Sarah Wood
This reviewer received a free of charge product for review.
She Made Herself A Monster
Gothic
Anka’s parents died in a fire on the night of her birth. Since then, the village of Koprivci has endured a curse that the locals blame her for. Now of age ... READ MORE
Ella - The Story Collector
This reviewer received a free of charge product for review.
She Made Herself A Monster
Compelling story
This was another very strange story and completely fascinating. Quite bloodthirsty in parts and some very strange characters, Women again being the main vi... READ MORE
Patricia Moren
This reviewer received a free of charge product for review.
She Made Herself A Monster
Evocative and grimly compelling
Interesting, evocative, and at times grimly compelling, this debut from Anna Kovatcheva delves into Bulgarian folklore with its tales of seers, ‘witches’ a... READ MORE
Ciaran Sundstrem
This reviewer received a free of charge product for review.
She Made Herself A Monster
Good book!
I wasn’t sure what to expect when I started reading this book but I was pleasantly surprised. Each character brought something different to the story even ... READ MORE
Chloe Bolton
This reviewer received a free of charge product for review.
She Made Herself A Monster
Five stars!
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 feel... READ MORE
The Secret Book Review
She Made Herself A Monster
Dark and atmospheric
She Made Herself A Monster by Anna Kovatcheva ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ A dark and atmospheric gothic novel that promises female power blended with superstition and Sl... READ MORE
Jenna Tomlinson
This reviewer received a free of charge product for review.
She Made Herself A Monster
Good
This book set in Bulgaria has an old time horror, superstition that feeds the villagers fear. I love the premise and execution of this novel. Full of dread... READ MORE
She Made Herself A Monster
A fascinating read...
This is far from being a negative review, it is just that I feel the title to be "inaccurate": she is most definitely not a monster. Having got that out... READ MORE
Jon Jonnson
This reviewer received a free of charge product for review.
She Made Herself A Monster
.
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... READ MORE
Paulina
This reviewer received a free of charge product for review.
She Made Herself A Monster
Female Horror
Anna Kovatcheva's 'She Made Herself a Monster' is an intensely atmospheric, character-driven gothic folk horror that immerses you in a haunting Bulgarian v... READ MORE
Mark Redman
This reviewer received a free of charge product for review.
She Made Herself A Monster
This was written for me!
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, suspici... READ MORE
Rachel Plunkett
This reviewer received a free of charge product for review.
She Made Herself A Monster
A quiet yet powerful gothic folk novel
Arc provided by Netgalley “They were an odd company around the table, she realizes. Young, and old, and ageless. Women from far away, and girls who have ne... READ MORE
Harriet
She Made Herself A Monster
Gothic Revival
It gave me Frankenstein and Sweeny Todd vibes. Definitely is not my go-to genre but it was very refreshing and happy to have had the opportunity to read it... READ MORE
Kelly Johnson
This reviewer received a free of charge product for review.
She Made Herself A Monster
Not vampire, more female gothic
With thanks to the author, publishers Random House UK, Vintage, and NetGalley for providing me with an advance copy of this audiobook in exchange for my ho... READ MORE
Rob O'Driscoll
This reviewer received a free of charge product for review.
She Made Herself A Monster
I came for the vampires, I stayed for the feminist dread
She Made Herself a Monster is a gothic, folkloric novel set in nineteenth-century rural Bulgaria, where fear, superstition, and social control shape daily ... READ MORE
Manuela Pereira
This reviewer received a free of charge product for review.
She Made Herself A Monster
Amazing!
I don't know how it happened but this book completely sucked me in! Not much happens in it and yet, I couldn't pull myself away. It is really well written... READ MORE
Dominika
This reviewer received a free of charge product for review.
She Made Herself A Monster
Gothic female rage
3.5 stars rounded up to 4. I enjoyed this book although it was not what I expected from reading the marketing blurb. Although it's described as a tale a... READ MORE
Isabel
This reviewer received a free of charge product for review.
She Made Herself A Monster
Not a typical vampire novel
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 element... READ MORE
Maya Tsolova
This reviewer received a free of charge product for review.
She Made Herself A Monster
Infuriating men and the women who have to deal with them
Read this. Read this. Read this. It will make you want to foam at the mouth and punch every single male character through the page. A story about bloodthir... READ MORE
Holly Bunyard
This reviewer received a free of charge product for review.
She Made Herself A Monster
Gothic feminine rage
In nineteenth-century Bulgaria, Yana travels from village to village, posing as a vampire slayer. Until she discovers the cursed town of Koprivci, where it... READ MORE
Megan Pearce
This reviewer received a free of charge product for review.
She Made Herself A Monster
gothic debut
Anna Kovatcheva’s debut is a gothic marvel—sharp, lyrical, and quietly feral. Set in a crumbling Bulgarian village where myth and memory entwine, She Made ... READ MORE
Leanne H
This reviewer received a free of charge product for review.
She Made Herself A Monster
Gothic female rage
3.5 stars rounded up to 4. I enjoyed this book although it was not what I expected from reading the marketing blurb. Although it's described as a tale ... READ MORE
Isabel
This reviewer received a free of charge product for review.
She Made Herself A Monster
5* Review
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 survi... READ MORE
Amber-Louise Harper
This reviewer received a free of charge product for review.
She Made Herself A Monster
Folklore historical fiction
Folklore inspired novel. A good strong gothic debut for all readers who love light type books of vampires, and folklore. This book is not heavy and does ... READ MORE
Rebecca  Corcoran
This reviewer received a free of charge product for review.