She Made Herself A Monster

Publisher: Penguin Random House
Publish date: 12 February 2026
Pages: 288
Language: English

Subjects: Fiction, Fairy Tales, Folk Tales, Legends & Mythology, Historical, Women, Crime, Small Town & Rural, Feminist

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...

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

'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