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

medium-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? Yes

4.0

On the cusp of a 3.75 and 4.0. Rounded up because I'd like to read more like it, so feeding the algo my preference here.

This is a take on a monster romance, which commits to thinking through the world from non-human eyes. It makes clear connections because the monstrosity of toxic family systems and how it affects those trapped in it negatively (ultimately leading to quite a few demises). It feels like it's on the edge of being firmly in the "cozy" and "romantasy" genres, but stays just weird enough to escape those marketing pressures. In general, I enjoyed the read but could see that it had some extremely convenient coincidences for the sake of plot, and I wish the language was just a bit tighter. Solid debut, look forward to more in the future.