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readingrobin 's review for:
Someone You Can Build a Nest In
by John Wiswell
dark
emotional
funny
mysterious
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
Thank you to NetGalley and DAW for a free ARC in exchange for an honest review.
Have you ever wanted to see a romantic fling between a shapeshifting lump of flesh with no concept of humanity and a woman from a monster hunting family that has some SERIOUS issues? I know I did when I requested this title, which worth reading just for its odd, niche concept alone.
Shesheshen's voice is highly enjoyable as she tries to makes sense of humanity and navigate her developing feelings for Homily, the member of a family she had seemingly placed a curse on. I always love getting into the mind of the monster and, here, we find that maybe she's not the most nefarious and cruel thing on the isthmus as Homily's family moves in to slay her. Big trigger warning to anyone that has gone through serious familial abuse, whether physical or emotional, there's a lot of it here and it gets fairly uncomfortable at times. Homily, for the majority of the story, stands there and accepts it, and I so wish more was done to show her rising and standing against her abusers. There wasn't really a moment of empowerment, just a quick shift of character so that now she's working against them. It doesn't really feel earned and just for character development's sake I had hoped it would land harder.
The romance between them is mostly what keeps this story from being a full out horror tale. There are some gnarly description of organs and the eating of them in order for Sheshesen to take on a human shape, but that's mostly it. Their relationship is sweet though and I highly appreciate the sapphic asexual representation.
There is a point in the story where it really loses some of its gas and ends up spinning its wheels for a good while. The plot cycles in on itself a few times before leading to a very drawn out conclusion. You get the climax, which was tense, engaging, suspenseful, and then you read five or six chapters of denouement to see how the characters and aftermath settle. It really could have been condensed into a single epilogue and at that point I think I was rushing to finish the book.
Aside from that, I think it's a very interesting and unique take on the monster lover romance. Very spice free and willing to go to some weird places.
Have you ever wanted to see a romantic fling between a shapeshifting lump of flesh with no concept of humanity and a woman from a monster hunting family that has some SERIOUS issues? I know I did when I requested this title, which worth reading just for its odd, niche concept alone.
Shesheshen's voice is highly enjoyable as she tries to makes sense of humanity and navigate her developing feelings for Homily, the member of a family she had seemingly placed a curse on. I always love getting into the mind of the monster and, here, we find that maybe she's not the most nefarious and cruel thing on the isthmus as Homily's family moves in to slay her. Big trigger warning to anyone that has gone through serious familial abuse, whether physical or emotional, there's a lot of it here and it gets fairly uncomfortable at times. Homily, for the majority of the story, stands there and accepts it, and I so wish more was done to show her rising and standing against her abusers. There wasn't really a moment of empowerment, just a quick shift of character so that now she's working against them. It doesn't really feel earned and just for character development's sake I had hoped it would land harder.
The romance between them is mostly what keeps this story from being a full out horror tale. There are some gnarly description of organs and the eating of them in order for Sheshesen to take on a human shape, but that's mostly it. Their relationship is sweet though and I highly appreciate the sapphic asexual representation.
There is a point in the story where it really loses some of its gas and ends up spinning its wheels for a good while. The plot cycles in on itself a few times before leading to a very drawn out conclusion. You get the climax, which was tense, engaging, suspenseful, and then you read five or six chapters of denouement to see how the characters and aftermath settle. It really could have been condensed into a single epilogue and at that point I think I was rushing to finish the book.
Aside from that, I think it's a very interesting and unique take on the monster lover romance. Very spice free and willing to go to some weird places.