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booklovingcatmom's review against another edition
adventurous
challenging
dark
emotional
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.75
Content Warnings
Moderate: Animal cruelty
lastontheboat's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
funny
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
temporal_unpleasantness's review against another edition
4.0
I would die for Blueberry. A book where not everything worked for me, but I enjoyed the prose and the juxtaposition between the tender discovery of love and the raw, visceral conflict with the outside world.
megancmahon's review against another edition
DNF.
This was such a neat concept. For the first couple chapters I thought this would be one of my favourite reads of the year, but it devolved so fast into something I just couldn't get into.
The insta-love between Shesheshen (I love that name) and Homily was not believable. Why is this monster falling in love immediately after meeting someone?
The other characters were wooden. Homily was SO annoying and lacked spine, and while I understand that was supposed to be an expression of trauma it made it really uninteresting to read. The villains were all a bunch of Joffreys - no depth at all.
I did like Shesheshen and Blueberry, and the concept of a monster falling in love with a human was awesome. Unfortunately it wasn't for me.
This was such a neat concept. For the first couple chapters I thought this would be one of my favourite reads of the year, but it devolved so fast into something I just couldn't get into.
The insta-love between Shesheshen (I love that name) and Homily was not believable. Why is this monster falling in love immediately after meeting someone?
The other characters were wooden. Homily was SO annoying and lacked spine, and while I understand that was supposed to be an expression of trauma it made it really uninteresting to read. The villains were all a bunch of Joffreys - no depth at all.
I did like Shesheshen and Blueberry, and the concept of a monster falling in love with a human was awesome. Unfortunately it wasn't for me.
bibi_reads_writes's review
5.0
No young woman of means has gone through her entire life without at least once surveying her opportunities and wishing for a dragon instead.
4.5⭐ rounded up to 5. This is the sapphic monster love story you didn’t know you needed. Fans of [a:T. Kingfisher|7367300|T. Kingfisher|https://images.gr-assets.com/authors/1642281799p2/7367300.jpg] would probably enjoy this one. I strongly recommend!
Note: I received an ARC from NetGalley in exchange for honest feedback.
❤️ Cozy, easy read
❤️ Dark humour
❤️ Story told from the monster’s perspective
❌ Some repetitions and dragging; could have been slightly shorter
Trigger Warnings: violence and murder, death, blood and gore, body horror, beheading, parental abuse, sibling abuse, trauma, gaslighting and bullying, dysfunctional family, homophobia, grief, animal abuse, cannibalism (sort of?).
Plot:
Orphaned shapeshifter Shesheshen is happily hibernating in blob form at the bottom of a ruined manor when her rest is interrupted by monster hunters. She narrowly escapes, only to fall off a cliff. When she wakes up, Shesheshen realizes that she is very much alive thanks to Homily, the warm-hearted woman who found her. She initially sees this stranger as a delicious meal, then as a cozy nest for her eggs, but soon starts to feel unsettling human emotions.
Wow, thanks Wiswell for all the sounds of crunching bones and images of juicy innards that now live rent-free in my mind…! This book was a wild ride and I absolutely loved it. I was amazed at how it explored difficult topics such as family trauma, grief, social etiquettes, obsession, the nature of humanity, co-parenting, homophobia, and more, while feeling like a light, cozy read. Some plot twists were predictable, but I didn’t see the biggest one coming and LOVED it. The ending also brilliantly avoided a possible loose end instead of falling into common debut novel pitfalls. However, the pace felt inconsistent, going from fast at the beginning to slow in the middle to fast again for the climax to slow again for the (rather long) epilogue.
Characters:
Oh gods, I loved Shesheshen. Sometimes it felt like she was more “human” than most of the insufferable humans that took part in this story. As someone with AS, I couldn’t help but relate to her when she was confused about social customs and etiquettes, or concerned about saying the incorrect thing. Her character development—from an amorphous lump whose sole desire is to survive and feed on humans, to a sensitive humanoid monster helping her girlfriend heal from family trauma—was chef’s kiss. However, I couldn’t say the same about Homily. I thought her character was inconsistent and slightly flat.
Writing:
Smart, sharp, funny. All the descriptions of Shesheshen eating and digesting and using human body parts made me crack up. I would definitely read more from Wiswell.
(I should have counted how many times the word “juices” is used, just to see if it had beaten [b:Haunting Adeline|58763686|Haunting Adeline (Cat and Mouse, #1)|H.D. Carlton|https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1628900532l/58763686._SX50_.jpg|91913524]. Probably not. But for some reason, the word didn’t annoy me as much in this one, ahah!)
Audiobook:
Perfect narration! It was very refreshing to hear a British accent, hehe, and the actor did a really good job at changing her voice for the various characters.
Follow me on Instagram: @bibi.reads.writes
4.5⭐ rounded up to 5. This is the sapphic monster love story you didn’t know you needed. Fans of [a:T. Kingfisher|7367300|T. Kingfisher|https://images.gr-assets.com/authors/1642281799p2/7367300.jpg] would probably enjoy this one. I strongly recommend!
Note: I received an ARC from NetGalley in exchange for honest feedback.
❤️ Cozy, easy read
❤️ Dark humour
❤️ Story told from the monster’s perspective
❌ Some repetitions and dragging; could have been slightly shorter
Trigger Warnings: violence and murder, death, blood and gore, body horror, beheading, parental abuse, sibling abuse, trauma, gaslighting and bullying, dysfunctional family, homophobia, grief, animal abuse, cannibalism (sort of?).
Plot:
Orphaned shapeshifter Shesheshen is happily hibernating in blob form at the bottom of a ruined manor when her rest is interrupted by monster hunters. She narrowly escapes, only to fall off a cliff. When she wakes up, Shesheshen realizes that she is very much alive thanks to Homily, the warm-hearted woman who found her. She initially sees this stranger as a delicious meal, then as a cozy nest for her eggs, but soon starts to feel unsettling human emotions.
Wow, thanks Wiswell for all the sounds of crunching bones and images of juicy innards that now live rent-free in my mind…! This book was a wild ride and I absolutely loved it. I was amazed at how it explored difficult topics such as family trauma, grief, social etiquettes, obsession, the nature of humanity, co-parenting, homophobia, and more, while feeling like a light, cozy read. Some plot twists were predictable, but I didn’t see the biggest one coming and LOVED it. The ending also brilliantly avoided a possible loose end instead of falling into common debut novel pitfalls. However, the pace felt inconsistent, going from fast at the beginning to slow in the middle to fast again for the climax to slow again for the (rather long) epilogue.
Characters:
Oh gods, I loved Shesheshen. Sometimes it felt like she was more “human” than most of the insufferable humans that took part in this story. As someone with AS, I couldn’t help but relate to her when she was confused about social customs and etiquettes, or concerned about saying the incorrect thing. Her character development—from an amorphous lump whose sole desire is to survive and feed on humans, to a sensitive humanoid monster helping her girlfriend heal from family trauma—was chef’s kiss. However, I couldn’t say the same about Homily. I thought her character was inconsistent and slightly flat.
Writing:
Smart, sharp, funny. All the descriptions of Shesheshen eating and digesting and using human body parts made me crack up. I would definitely read more from Wiswell.
(I should have counted how many times the word “juices” is used, just to see if it had beaten [b:Haunting Adeline|58763686|Haunting Adeline (Cat and Mouse, #1)|H.D. Carlton|https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1628900532l/58763686._SX50_.jpg|91913524]. Probably not. But for some reason, the word didn’t annoy me as much in this one, ahah!)
Audiobook:
Perfect narration! It was very refreshing to hear a British accent, hehe, and the actor did a really good job at changing her voice for the various characters.
Follow me on Instagram: @bibi.reads.writes
willdpage's review
emotional
funny
hopeful
lighthearted
reflective
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? No
3.5
dperez1998's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
funny
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
s_h_a_r_i's review
adventurous
dark
emotional
funny
fast-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
A lonely shapeshifting monster looking for someone to lay her eggs in, finds love and meets the family. Kind of sweet. Mostly hilarious. Often gory, but in a fun way.
Superb audiobook narration.
Superb audiobook narration.
zeemonster's review
adventurous
emotional
funny
hopeful
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
5.0
ava_aurum's review against another edition
dark
emotional
funny
reflective
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
4.0