Someone You Can Build a Nest In

This is like nothing I've read before. The melding of horror and romance was so interesting. My reaction from one moment to the next was often "ew wtf" to "aww that's so sweet". This is a story I will be thinking of often.

Someone You Can Build a Nest In is the sweetest, most disgusting book I've ever read. John Wiswell's story of a eldritch monster stumbling into a fantasy romance is, somehow, both heartwarming and foul.

The way Wiswell weaves romance into a human-eating monster's psyche is truly remarkable, and a testament to himself as a storyteller & character builder. I loved Shesheshen immediately, relating greatly to her repulsion of social courtesies & disregard to pointless societal standards. Following her into love & danger was a journey I'm so thankful I got to experience.

While this novel spends most of the time laughing at its own absurdity, there is also a deeper, bigger, gentler message about grief, abuse, & the uniquely human terror of Being Known. This story is moving, compassionate, & made with lots of love.

Thank you to Netgalley and Quercus books for providing me with an EARC of this novel in exchange for an honest review!

I had such a good time with this book! Shesheshen was such an integrated g protagonist to follow, and the exploration of her humanity and Homily's family dynamics had me hooked the whole way through.

Homily in particular was such an interesting character. Her upbringing and family dynamic were incredibly toxic, but pulling yourself away from the cycle of abuse is hard, and this book handled her situation so respectfully. It wasn't a cure-all after she met Shesheshen, and it's something she still has to work on even beyond the last page on the novel.

I do feel like there could have been a little more development regarding the relationship between Homily and Shesheshen. I do think that, to some extent, the nature of the characters lent to the quickly-developed romance; one character who is a major people-pleaser vs someone who isn't quite human and likely hasn't experienced much, if any, human compassion in their lifetime, so this is something I'm being more lenient with. However, at times it did feel a little like they were saying a lot and barely anything to each other all at once.

The actual dynamic between Homily and Shesheshen was actually beautiful though; the unconditional acceptance the each of them gave each other, allowing them both to be entirely comfortable with one another and growing together was so refreshing, and the asexuality of the characters was just something they both experienced and loved about one another. It was such an unconventional and beautiful relationship.

One thing that absolutely didn't affect my rating but I wanted to point out; this was completely unreadable on a Kindle.

Netgalley does allow you to send books to your kindle, and this is my main method to reading digitally, but the numbers used in the formatting made it basically impossible unless you were willing to read a sentence per page. I'm sure this is a pre-publishing format and won't be in the final product, but it's something I wanted to point out.

Once again thank you for providing me with a free digital copy of this book!

I love Someone You Can Build a Nest In. It’s not just a new favorite book, it’s my favorite love story of all time. All. Time. And I will never stop recommending it to everyone who makes eye contact with me.

I’ve seen this book categorized as both horror and dark fantasy but it does feel like horror to me. Horror-romance. Hormance? It’s similar to the cozy horror of Rachel Harrison, and I love her, so it really comes as no surprise that Someone You Can Build a Nest In is my jam, but I wasn’t expecting to fall in so deeply in love with it. I wasn’t expecting the true and beautiful LGBTQIA love (I believe at least Shesheshen is asexual, maybe Homily too but it’s not explicitly stated so I’m not positive and either way they’re both female), plus-size rep, unforgettable and ridiculously lovable characters, and an engrossing story full of action and emotion.

Shesheshen is one of the most interesting characters I’ve read in a long time. The rules of her monster body and how it worked were fascinating and her confusion over human behavior but ability to understand the most important things was strangely relatable. I love her so much, I didn’t want the book to end.

This was a library borrow, like most of my books (because lol money haha) but I am really looking forward to buying a copy at some point!

Shesheshen can make her body out of anything and hide anything in it (your skull, that branch, a bear trap) and she's so good she can look like a real human too no matter how much she's carrying around— likely to trick you so she can eat you. We meet her when she is woken up by hunters towards the end of her hibernation. After she becomes injured during her escape, she is found and saved by a kind traveler.

I immediately loved Shesheshen and being in her head. It was interesting and sometimes funny to see her commentary on how monstrous humans are and how much she understands about the human mind, while also being like wtf is up with humans and not really knowing a lot about herself. I did start to struggle around the quarter point, then there were some mean, nasty AF characters, and then there was some animal abuse, but I was satisfied with how it was resolving and the twist. There is a sort of arc shift in the last 2-3 chapters, but I LOVED it. Those chapters could easily become their own book and I would definitely devour that. Maybe Wiswell will write a novella.

I was impressed by how Wiswell handled mental/verbal (and reference to physical) sibling and parental abuse in this and I can see this being a hard or cathartic read for that reason. And humans are eaten in this book so that might be disturbing for some. So m

Someone You Can Build a Nest In is a literary chimera, stitching together romance, body horror, fantasy, and a smattering of sci-fi into a narrative as unconventional as its shapeshifting protagonist.

At its heart (Or is it?) is Shesheshen, a monster whose introspections on her next meal are as gruesome as they are fascinating. Wiswell doesn't shy away from the graphic; he dives headfirst into the visceral inner workings of his creature. The descriptions are lengthy, detailed, and not for the faint of heart. Yet, they're not gratuitous. Each gory detail serves the plot, highlighting a stark contrast between Shesheshen's monstrous nature and the unexpected humanity that emerges from her relationship with Homily.

The romance at the core of this tale is warm and genuine, an ironic twist considering it involves a monster contemplating devouring her lover. Wiswell navigates this complex dynamic with a deftly, ensuring the reader remains invested in their unconventional love story.

However, the book does, at times, stumble in its ambitious attempt to juggle its myriad elements. The landing isn't as solid as one might hope, leaving a sense of a narrative that, while intriguing, doesn't quite coalesce as seamlessly as it could have. However, these moments are more than made up for by the warmth and humanity that shine through.

This is not a book for everyone. Its graphic nature might deter some, but for those with a stomach for it, the book offers a unique reading experience. It's a story that, despite its flaws, leaves a lasting impression, with its better parts outweighing the sum of its whole.

This novel might not resonate with everyone, but for those it does, it has the potential to become a cult classic. Wiswell's bold storytelling and the poignant humanity he weaves into the narrative make this one that will not be soon forgotten.

🫀