A review by thereadingrambler
Someone You Can Build a Nest In by John Wiswell

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.
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