House of Monstrous Women by Daphne Fama ~ a Review

by MK French

Josephine is taking care of her family's home while her older brother is in Manila, and her father's political campaign floundered. Her childhood friend Hiraya invites her and her brother to visit, saying that if she wins the games they used to play, she can get whatever her heart desires. But she's missing information, and the house isn't what she thought it was.

Amazon affiliate links are used on this site. A free book was provided for an honest review.

August 2025; Berkley; 978-0593817582
audio, ebook, print (336 pages); historical fantasy

Taking place in the mid-1980s Philippines, at the height of the Marcos dictatorship, the story evokes the desperate air that the poor and downtrodden had. Josephine del Rosario and her brother are the only two survivors in her family when her father was killed. His campaign against corruption didn't just flounder; he was assassinated, and likely by his opponent, who was in the same camp as Marcos, for all that they lived in the countryside. The Ranoco family had been talked about before, that the women were witches or aswang, a kind of Philippine creature that is a cross between a vampire and a ghoul. Those who won games against the aswang earned a boon, and Josephine definitely wants one now. She is isolated in the house she grew up in, with her brother spending their inheritance on his education and failing businesses. The game will pit the players against each other, and there's supposed to be only one winner per pair.

We see the interplay of superstition and myth with the modern world. At least, modern for 1986. People think old beliefs should be ignored, but sometimes there's a small kernel of truth. That's where this novel lives. Along with radio broadcasts of Ferdinand Marcos making speeches in the midst of rioting before he escaped by helicopter, we have the players fighting for their lives. It's an interesting juxtaposition, though we follow Josephine through the horrors in the house and the Ranoco family as she discovers them. Without spoiling it, the decay, rot, and terrible wounds inflicted on people had happened for generations. It's generational trauma as well as political and mystical. It truly takes pain to find the good in the world, to earn a happy future. 

Buy House of Monstrous Women at Amazon

Born and raised in New York City, M.K. French started writing stories when very young, dreaming of different worlds and places to visit. She always had an interest in folklore, fairy tales, and the macabre, which has definitely influenced her work. She currently lives in the Midwest with her husband, three young children, and a golden retriever.

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