Reviews tagging 'Body horror'

Someone You Can Build a Nest In by John Wiswell

258 reviews

adventurous dark emotional reflective fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven: Plot
Strong character development: Yes
Loveable characters: Yes
Diverse cast of characters: Complicated
Flaws of characters a main focus: Yes

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dark emotional hopeful inspiring reflective medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven: A mix
Strong character development: Yes
Diverse cast of characters: Complicated
Flaws of characters a main focus: Yes

Apart from just being intriguing and unusual, this book does a great job exploring trauma in a way I've never seen before. For being a book about monsters, it eventually creates a very safe feeling place. It's a little wacky (in a good way).

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dark funny hopeful medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven: Plot
Strong character development: Yes
Loveable characters: Yes
Diverse cast of characters: No
Flaws of characters a main focus: Yes

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adventurous dark funny tense 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: Complicated

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adventurous dark funny hopeful inspiring lighthearted 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: Complicated

I adored this book. Its voice is charming and funny enough without veering into being too comical (personal dislike of mine), and Shesheshen's views of humanity are honest and formed in a way that makes sense. I do not find her interpretation of Homily's family or the relationships among anyone unbelievable because she has honed her sense of observation across many years. She's a very authentic character in my eyes.

This story signals itself early on, so if you somehow ended up in it and aren't on board with a sweet, loving take on the monsters of old fairy tales with sprinklings of horror and an abject appreciation for fat women, then maybe DNF it for your own sake so you don't end up having a bad time :)

I truly just think this was a beautiful story. Trying to be objective, I could see a few sticking points for some readers—a bit schmaltzy at some points, not understanding a monster's ability to integrate with humanity, predictable to a degree—but across the board I think John Wiswell knew what he wanted to write and he executed it flawlessly. These characters will be occupying my heart for the foreseeable future, and I welcome it.

(This also happens to be maybe the most successful writing of women—especially of queer women—I have seen by a man. That feels cutting, but if you too have suffered through the absolute dregs of Men-Writing-Women that a lot of people have, then you will appreciate this. It's amazing that "not misogynistic in any way" is such a plus, but my god is it a plus.)

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adventurous dark emotional

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emotional funny hopeful 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: Complicated

This book was recommended to me several times at Worldcon 2024 as a great example of cosy horror. It may seem strange to call something "cosy" when looking at that list of content warnings, and yet Someone You Can Build a Nest In hit such a comforting spot, especially on days when I felt as if society was considering me rather monstrous myself.
There's great worldbuilding, great characters, great writing, humour, twists, asexual representation, tentacles. There are even a few mentions of dragons. I don't know what else I could possibly ask of a book. It reached for my heart in ways I couldn't have expected. The ending was perhaps a little long, technically speaking, but so satisfying.
I will probably be rereading Someone You Can Build a Nest In in the future.

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dark emotional hopeful sad medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven: Character
Strong character development: Yes
Loveable characters: Yes
Diverse cast of characters: Yes

This the story of Shesheshen, a shape-shifter who builds her body by consuming the corpses of those who hunt her, and Homily, the young woman who saves her life.  It's also a tender love story.  A story about escaping toxic family relationships.  About hatred (eloquently defined as "the fear people let themselves enjoy") and "building a nest."

It's clever and dark and sweet and very, very gory.  I've never read anything like it, and I really, really loved it.


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dark emotional hopeful reflective 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

Delightfully grotesque body horror but not too graphic for the average reader. A sapphic ace romance between a shapeshifting autistic-coded monster and a bookish fat woman dealing with familial trauma. In this grounded low fantasy world that feels truly lived in, these two misfits find solace in one another in spite of their differences and a conspiracy determined to tear them apart.

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adventurous dark emotional funny mysterious tense medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven: Character
Strong character development: Yes
Loveable characters: Yes
Diverse cast of characters: Complicated
Flaws of characters a main focus: Complicated

I first attempted this book earlier this year but wasn’t feeling it at the time. I’m glad I gave it another go, because honestly, this is a delight. I adored Shesheshen’s POV and how she attempts to understand human nature. The romance element is excellent and completely unique. I think it did drag at times (I kind of zoned out during some of the body morphs) and I’m still undecided if I enjoyed the narrator or not. 

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