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ezrazoe4's review
dark
mysterious
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
Admittedly I will be biased towards this book because I love eldritch main characters trying to blend into society. That wasn’t exactly what happened, but I love it all the same.
I love Shesheshen. Although I do wish we could’ve gotten more on Homily’s thoughts about Shesheshen basically eating her whole family, Catharsis in particular? That was the death Shesheshen directly caused. Nevertheless.
I really like the weird creepy monster biology. I like that the author really leaned into it and didn’t try to humanise her too much. Usually I’m not a fan of instalove, but I donno. The way this was written made me like it. Probably because it started as a big crush, then grew quickly into love? I can’t really wrap my head around it.
Also omg sapphic ace lesbians??? I’m so happy.
I genuinely did not guess that the Baroness was also Shesheshen’s mother? That was some reveal.
Anyway, in conclusion, good standalone sapphic fantasy with a lot of horror elements. I like it. Would love if there were more books like this.
I really like the weird creepy monster biology. I like that the author really leaned into it and didn’t try to humanise her too much. Usually I’m not a fan of instalove, but I donno. The way this was written made me like it. Probably because it started as a big crush, then grew quickly into love? I can’t really wrap my head around it.
Also omg sapphic ace lesbians??? I’m so happy.
I genuinely did not guess that the Baroness was also Shesheshen’s mother? That was some reveal.
Anyway, in conclusion, good standalone sapphic fantasy with a lot of horror elements. I like it. Would love if there were more books like this.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Physical abuse, Emotional abuse, Child abuse, Animal cruelty, Blood, Body horror, Child death, Violence, and Torture
temperamentalprotagonist's review
adventurous
dark
emotional
funny
mysterious
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.75
Content Warnings
Graphic: Animal cruelty, Death of parent, Gore, Grief, Murder, Blood, Injury/Injury detail, Cannibalism, Child abuse, Death, Emotional abuse, Body horror, and Child death
Moderate: Physical abuse, Suicidal thoughts, Self harm, and Suicide attempt
Minor: Homophobia
thereadingrambler's review
dark
emotional
funny
sad
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.75
One Sentence Review: Although this book appears to be a black rom-com at first, this book is deeply layered and deals with familial/parental trauma and abuse, the idea of civilization, and what monstrosity means.
Shesheshen is a monster—at least that is what everyone says. She is happily living in her lair with her pet bear, Blueberry, hunting down food when she needs it when she is woken from her slumber by a trio of monster hunters. Weakened, she is unable to kill them all and in her flight, she falls off a cliff, she assumes to her death. But she wakes up, wrapped in blankets, her wounds stitched up, and an unknown woman feeding her broth. Used to violence from humans, she doesn’t trust this woman, but Homily appears to be genuine and unaware that Shesheshen is a monster. Unfortunately, Homily reveals that she is hunting a monster who lives in the area who has cursed her family. Thus begins a confusing romance between monster and monster-hunter that manages to touch on so many complex subjects in such a caring and nuanced way I was continually impressed.
First and foremost, the book deals with the idea of the monster. The monster, especially the female monster, is a complicated figure in literature and media (my friend wrote her whole doctoral dissertation on this!). She is the site of many anxieties about women and the threat they could (and often do) pose to society. Shesheshen takes her deadliness as not only a given but a natural and logical response to her experiences. She stands as a foil to “civilization,” she is constantly questioning this entire concept and finds so many of the requirements of civilization to be baffling. She is a threat to the nebulous concept of civilization (which is the term she uses) in so many ways: literally, as she is the apex predator extraordinaire of the area, but also she disrupts the entire political and economic structure of the isthmus where she lives. Monsters are disruptive and dangerous but often in good and necessary ways.
As her relationship with Homily develops, Shesheshen is confronted with abuse and trauma. I was impressed with how this is handled within the book. In many romances, someone’s trauma is magicked away once they are in a loving, supportive romantic relationship, but Homily is not somehow free of her trauma triggers and responses once Shesheshen is in her life. In fact, Shesheshen realizes that she has fallen in love with Homily’s pain, and they have to renegotiate the relationship so Shesheshen is supporting Homily as she works through what happened to her. And the book doesn’t end with Homily being “fine;” it ends with hope for Homily and Shesheshen to have a strong relationship where they both will be made better and able to work through their trauma, pain, and emotional needs with each other as support.
This book is a little chaotic plot-wise. It is the author’s debut novel so I’m willing to be a little more forgiving, but the final 25% jumps through a number of twists very quickly. I didn’t disbelieve any of the twists, and they did raise the stakes in interesting ways, but the reader was never given a lot of time with the implications of these twists. Since this is a romantasy (technically), I think the plot fumbled a bit when trying to balance the romance climax with the fantasy climax. Obviously not in a way that ruined the book for me, but I did find myself pulled out of the book a bit, particularly when Shesheshen experienced the same consequences three or four times in a row from different confrontations. While each confrontation gave us more progression and development character and plot-wise, knowing how Shesheshen would recover every time did take away from the suspense and tension. On the other hand, this is a romance so the reader knows there is ultimately going to be a happy ending.
I would recommend this book to people who liked the tone and hijinks of Dead Cat Tail Assassins or the character depth of The Woods All Black or are chasing the more complex romantasy of The Emperor and the Endless Palace. I would also recommend this to people who are looking for something that deals with familial/parental abuse and trauma the MC’s partner has experienced and the impact that has on romantic relationships.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Body horror, Physical abuse, Animal cruelty, Blood, Cannibalism, Child abuse, and Emotional abuse
Moderate: Domestic abuse
pm_me_book_recs's review against another edition
emotional
hopeful
inspiring
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Emotional abuse, Child abuse, Death, Excrement, Gore, Child death, Domestic abuse, Homophobia, Injury/Injury detail, Blood, Gaslighting, Body horror, Physical abuse, Animal cruelty, and Violence
Moderate: Fire/Fire injury and Classism
rambles's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
funny
reflective
fast-paced
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.5
A delightfully weird book. The ending dragged a bit but I get what the author was going for.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Child death, Blood, Gore, Body horror, Death, and Child abuse
kitsuneheart's review
dark
emotional
funny
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
Cross-cultural relationships rely on clear communication and not making assumptions. Shesheshen, a blob monster, learns this when she realizes her new human girlfriend, Homily, doesn’t consider laying your eggs in your partner so they may be eaten alive by your young…to be the logical goal of dating.
Somehow, as a reader, I’m with Shesheshen on this. Infest me, Mommy.
This is definitely a pick for queer readers with family trauma. Despite this book being about a ravenous blob-monster on the run, so much of the real drama and interest is about Homily’s ruthless family, and how they have left scars on her past.
It’s also a rather asexual romance, where the asexuality is not a point of tension, which I really appreciate.
Somehow, I found this book almost cozy. The horror definitely comes through in the end, but I was so much more invested in Homily and Shesheshen’s romance and latching onto their every scrap of domestic bliss. I loved the end, and felt quite satisfied. There doesn’t need to be more. It’s just…nice. Very nice.
Advanced reader copy provided by the publisher.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Emotional abuse, Violence, Bullying, Blood, Body horror, Gore, and Injury/Injury detail
Moderate: Child abuse, Child death, Body shaming, Death, Gaslighting, Murder, and Physical abuse
Minor: Acephobia/Arophobia, Animal cruelty, and Death of parent
kaiyakaiyo's review
adventurous
dark
emotional
funny
hopeful
reflective
sad
tense
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
5.0
this was so fun and sad and unique and gory and strange and sweet and heartwarming and gut wrenching and whimsical and… you get the gist, I LOVED this.
heavier subject matter than I expected, but I think it balances well with the comedy and gore. this gave me the same “I’ve never read anything like this before” feeling as Walking Practice; I’m so pleased to have found another book for that mental shelf
I’d write forever if I had to say all the reasons I liked this, so I’ll leave it at: 5 stars, favorite shelf, so fresh and so so hard to put down.
heavier subject matter than I expected, but I think it balances well with the comedy and gore. this gave me the same “I’ve never read anything like this before” feeling as Walking Practice; I’m so pleased to have found another book for that mental shelf
I’d write forever if I had to say all the reasons I liked this, so I’ll leave it at: 5 stars, favorite shelf, so fresh and so so hard to put down.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Emotional abuse, Child abuse, Injury/Injury detail, Violence, Child death, Domestic abuse, Gore, Blood, Body horror, and Murder
Moderate: Vomit, Grief, Abandonment, Gaslighting, Animal death, Physical abuse, and Animal cruelty
tisjenna's review
dark
emotional
hopeful
reflective
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
4.25
Content Warnings
Graphic: Gore, Domestic abuse, Child abuse, Child death, and Death
faliiza's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
emotional
funny
hopeful
lighthearted
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.5
Arc review
Amazing. My jaw was on the floor on page one. The gore and monstrosity was unapologetic from the start. This story also had a heavy load of trauma and dark themes. But as it often is, the obvious monster isn’t always the worst.
Despite the ugliness, the writing was so fun and whimsical even. The book had some golden moments of situational comedy and hilarious conversations. The story moved swiftly and had that tense monster hunting vibe paired with the comedy of the monster being among the hunting party.
The sapphic/asexual romance was so tender and precious my heart was about to burst. It was pure and just right for the characters, honouring each others’ boundaries and understanding their baggage.
My only issue with this story was the ending. I felt that the last few chapters were unnecessary. The story would have been just about perfect without them.
Amazing. My jaw was on the floor on page one. The gore and monstrosity was unapologetic from the start. This story also had a heavy load of trauma and dark themes. But as it often is, the obvious monster isn’t always the worst.
Despite the ugliness, the writing was so fun and whimsical even. The book had some golden moments of situational comedy and hilarious conversations. The story moved swiftly and had that tense monster hunting vibe paired with the comedy of the monster being among the hunting party.
The sapphic/asexual romance was so tender and precious my heart was about to burst. It was pure and just right for the characters, honouring each others’ boundaries and understanding their baggage.
My only issue with this story was the ending. I felt that the last few chapters were unnecessary. The story would have been just about perfect without them.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Emotional abuse, Violence, Gore, Animal cruelty, Abandonment, Murder, Blood, and Gaslighting
Moderate: Child abuse and Physical abuse
laurareads87's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
3.0
Someone You Can Build a Nest In is ambitious: not only is the character non-human, she’s not even approximately humanoid (unless she chooses to be) but rather a shapeshifting blob that can take objects in from her environment – chair legs, knives, body parts of others – and use them to shape herself. It’s well written and I’d happily read more from John Wiswell, but not everything about this worked for me.
What I liked: the novel includes thoughtful asexual sapphic representation, some well considered conversations about trauma and its impact on relationships, and a mix of graphic gore and violence with humour that somehow inexplicably worked in terms of overall tone. The pacing mostly worked for me. There are some fantastic descriptions and turns of phrase in this book.
What I didn’t love so much: Shesheshen felt way too human as a non-human POV; I understand wanting to make the POV character somehow relatable, but this didn’t quite work for me. The last 20% or so of the book felt like an unnecessary add-on. The insta-romance wasn’t convincing (I’m admittedly not a romance reader, and those who are might like this aspect of the story more than I did).
Thank you to the author, DAW, & NetGalley for providing me with an ARC.
Content warnings: emotional abuse, physical abuse, gaslighting, child abuse, child death, blood, gore, body horror, injury detail, violence, murder, death, animal cruelty, animal death, grief, abandonment. Don’t be misled by reviews calling this ‘cozy’ – the abusive dynamics in this book are severe and pervasive.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Gore, Grief, Abandonment, Body horror, Violence, Murder, Injury/Injury detail, Emotional abuse, Physical abuse, Child abuse, Gaslighting, Animal cruelty, Animal death, and Blood