This review has been shockingly hard to write. I read the book, largely enjoyed it aside from a few quibbles, hammered out half a review, then spent the next couple months unable to finish it. Or read/review anything else. Finally, I mostly rewrote it from scratch. So: Someone You Can Build a Nest In had me at “asexual monster romance” – well, and all my friends who weren’t in a reading slump saying it’s weird and good, a bit gross yet somehow cozy. In the end, I’m a little more ambivalent on it than I would have liked, but I guess that’s life.

Shesheshen is a shapeshifting blob monster. When she is pursued by hunters and falls off a cliff, she is rescued by kind, gentle Homily. Unused to kindness, she may have fallen in love just a bit. There is just one problem. Homily, too, is looking for the monster who is said to be responsible for the family curse. Shesheshen knows there is no such thing, but how is she going to prove it? And how is she going to break it to Homily that she is not human and may have – oops – eaten her brother?

Perhaps the most interesting feature of Someone You Can Build a Nest In is the ways it blends seemingly opposite tones – there is squishy body horror in the way only a shapeshifting, people-eating blob monster can provide, yes, and an extremely abusive family, but at the same time it also manages to be very funny and sweet. Shesheshen’s commentary on human habits was priceless (and dare I say, occasionally a big ol’ neurodivergent mood). The tonal difference between US and UK covers? Both fit, somehow, and I couldn’t decide which to include. And yet it mostly worked for me.

But not entirely. For one, it’s more than a bit clumsy when it comes to its themes, and I found Homily a little too perfect and with it too bland to be a good love interest. Whatever flaws she was supposed to have, the book didn’t sell me on them. Several elements of the book were also too stressful for me. The scenes involving Homily and her awful, abusive mother, for example (“eat her already,” I may have thought more than once 😂). Or several scenes where Shesheshen almost confesses the truth to Homily, but then something interferes. I know, I know, that’s on me since it’s the whole premise of the book. Or perhaps it’s just the overthinking from all the time I spent trying and failing to write something, anything about this book.

As fun as I found it, it sure is a hard one to recommend. Maybe too much horror and stress for a comfort read, maybe too light for horror, it’s easy to see all the ways it either would or wouldn’t work for someone. You kind of have to be in a mood to meet it where it’s at. Still, if the concept sounds good to you, I would say it’s worth checking out.

john wiswell said i take your cozy mystery and cozy fantasy and raise you: cozy horror. a blend of cozy fantasy with significant body horror (so be prepared for that)

some positives: i appreciated shesheshen as the narrator and her unique perspective on the world, grappling with her identity as a non-human creature rather than merely a human in disguise. i enjoyed how she remains puzzled by human behaviors throughout the story, attempting to define them for herself with varying success.

asexuality rep beyond the eldritch horror trope was refreshing. we often see asexual characters being portrayed solely as robots or monsters, so seeing a different portrayal was a welcome change. seeing shesheshen and homily's relationship unfold was another highlight, with its challenging conversations and unspoken emotions.

some things i didn't love: some parts of the book felt unnecessarily drawn out. there were moments where characters seemed to stall, waiting for the plot to advance. i hoped for more depth and understanding of the motivations behind the story's twist/reveal.

the anticipated conversation between shesheshen and homily didn't didn't hit like i was expecting after all the build-up. their confrontation about shesheshen's true nature and past actions felt abrupt and unresolved.

3/5

I’d heard of John Wiswell, one of the new generation of splendid young authors, so I grabbed a review copy of his debut novel, Someone You Can Build a Nest In. On a panel at the recent Nebula Awards weekend, a speaker referenced this book as a fresh take on the theme of monster as protagonist, in this case monster as heroic, romantic protagonist. Such characters hold a mirror to our deepest fears, offering shared humanity as a path to laying our nightmares to rest. While Wiswell’s book is not an entirely new approach to the point of view of a monster/villain, he brings a wonderful combination of grit, darkness, and lyricism to the story.

Monster Shesheshen, a formless, pluripotent jelly, is rudely awoken from her sleep in the bowels of a ruined manor by human hunters. Quickly assembling hard materials to construct human-like body parts (a metal chain for a backbone, old bones for limbs, and so forth), she disguises herself as a refugee. The ruse works for only a short tome. The hunters are relentless, driven by the obsessive local nobility who, as it turns out, have their own share of horrendous secrets. Badly injured during a chase, Shesheshen experiences her first taste of kindness when a rejected daughter of the noble house rescues her. Bit by bit, step by step, they each heal one another. The monster’s quest eventually becomes how to build a life with, rather than inside of, the love of her life. And to survive her murderous in-laws.

It's a gorgeous, inventive, intoxicating love story, filled with heart-rending truths, self-sacrifice, and gradual unfolding of character. We should all have such a monster in our lives.

Highly recommended.

Someone You Can Build a Nest In is an absurd story that somehow works. It’s a queer horror-fantasy-romance undefinable blend of a novel that explores the idea of being monstrous—or maybe, the idea of being human.

John Wiswell manages to write a monster character who really does feel alien. Shesheshen is not human. Reading her understanding of humans, the way she misconstrues human practices, creates a humorous story. It’s also simply fun to read a monster slaying sapphic romance where our main character is a monstrous shapeshifter who falls in love with a human. The course of true love never did run smooth, right?

In some ways, the story reminds me of The Salt Grows Heavy, though the two are very different. If you enjoyed reading from the perspective of a monstrous and entirely inhuman character in The Salt Grows Heavy however, you may enjoy this one.

While the ending meandered and could have been cut shorter, the story as a whole is simply a fun ride that’s accompanied by body horror and dry wit. You get to read about wrongdoers getting what’s coming for them in ways that’ll make you cry, “Huzzah!”, and again, a monster slaying sapphic romance. What’s not to love?

John Wiswell's debut novel is a captivating blend of fantasy, romance, and a unique monster's perspective. Shesheshen, a shapeshifting creature, falls in love with Homily, a human who mistakes her for one of her own. As Shesheshen grapples with keeping her identity secret, she discovers Homily is hunting a shapeshifter believed to have cursed her family.

Forced to unearth the truth while evading deadly hunters and dealing with Homily’s toxic family, Shesheshen must navigate love, identity, and acceptance. This creepy yet charming story subverts traditional genre conventions, making it a must-read for fans of fantasy romance.

I am struggling to navigate my feelings. The premise was both inventive and charming, yet the execution left so much to be desired. While I was enjoying the first half of this book, I found that the pacing stumbled towards the end and when I did finish all I felt was relief. Wiswell is a great writer, I do not think that is where he lacked, the book was simply too long. Shesheshen, our main character, started interesting but soon fell as flat as Homily. I want to end on a positive of this otherwise negative review, I did think this book was extremely humorous and do recommend it to others but perhaps those who are looking for a rather slow read that leans more cozy than horror. 3 stars.

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for providing me with this digital ARC in exchange for an honest review.

This was one of my most anticipated books of the year. I was so looking forward to it because I thought it could possibly have some similar mixed cozy X something (that doesn’t feel like it would mix well with cozy) feelings as my own WIP. For this one specifically, I heard it was cozy and horror that were intertwined. I can’t say I’m fully convinced of either of those designations.

The horror part is the one that really didn’t stick out to me. Yes, there’s a bit of gore and there’s a monster, but it felt more like a fantasy story with some dark parts to me than horror. I didn’t get the suspense or creepy factor or anything else like that from this. It did feel a little bit cozy here and there but not as much as I had expected. Yes, the idea of the romance was cute and had cozy potential but it just didn’t play out that way for me personally.

This could be because I struggled to feel any kind of connection to any of the characters. I had a hard time emphasizing with some of them and found some others to be too over the top. Combined with a hunt that felt drawn out and repetitive, I had a hard time wanting to pick this up and sticking to it and I thought it should’ve ended sooner than it did (but I’m just not a fan of cheesy endings in general and often prefer stories to end sooner).

I did really enjoy the surprise of the plot later on and how that affected the direction of the story. I also liked the commentary on monsters vs. civilization and who the true monsters are, though I would’ve liked that to be more than quick asides every once in a while. The world was easy to imagine for me, though I would’ve loved more lore about monsters in general.

So while there are some positives, overall it sadly didn’t work quite as well for me as I had hoped. I found the idea very intriguing though and there were aspects that I did find interesting so I’m open to trying more by this author.

First of all, I loved that this was from the monster's perspective. Right off the bat it felt different and it led to my immediate engagement. This is a haunting book that asks the deeper questions of life through the lens of a love story.

DNF at around 35%

I am sad to let this one go, but I don't see myself going back to it any time soon. It's not that it is a bad book but every time I put it down I found myself finding excuse after excuse to not go back to it.
The thing is that the author did a brave thing in choosing the MC, because Shesheshen is original (and pretty likable too!). I mean, she is a monster, she is an inhuman creature (and I am referring here to her nature. I am not saying she is evil or similar things, not at all! But she is pretty far from a human being) and the author did a great job portraying this. I loved her. And, to be honest, I also enjoyed Homily (and surprisingly, even Laurent... don't ask me why, but it is so!). The MCs are pretty good, and I was enjoying them.
But all the rest was given off strong "same old, same old" vibes, and I just wasn't interested. It's not that the plot is bad but... I wasn't interested in it, at all.

Romantic fantasy with humour, heart and a great heroine who's allergic to rosemary, can change shape and it's usually considered a monster.
The so called-monster is cleverer and sweeter and most of the humans she met and I didn't cry when she killer the aristoguy at the beginning of the story.
The rest is a well plotted, fast paced, and humorous story that kept me reading and made me laugh.
A bit gorey at times but always humorous and full of heart
Shesheshen is a great heroine and I loved her even if I wouldn't be so happy to meet her.
Cant' wait to read other books by this author, this one is highly recommended.
Highly recommended.
Many thanks to the publisher for this ARC, all opinions are mine

For fangs of T. Kingfisher, a fun, creative read and surprisingly wholesome romance. As a non-romance reader, I would have preferred this to be a bit heavier on the horror. This dragged in the middle and could have been a bit shorter, and the monster felt a bit too anthropomorphized by the end, though her interactions with humans in the first half were perfect. Overall an enjoyable read. Thank you to the publishers for the opportunity to review.

Okay, I LOVED this book. The premise of a monster not only learning what love it, but learning how to love a human is just as wonderful as it sounds in this novel. I found myself laughing just as often as I was ooh-ing and aww-ing over the adorableness the characters displayed towards one another. I felt the LGBTQ+ and neurodiverse vibes the characters gave off which made the entire novel all the more enduring despite it being considered a horror-romance. I've recommended this novel to all of my friends! Thank you Netgalley for the ARC!

One of the most curious and brilliant reads of recent times!
Intriguing from the premise I devoured every page. A unique romantic story even if for me the ending isn't up to the rest!

Thanks to Negalley and publisher for the e-ARC!

**Thank you to NetGalley and DAW for the eARC of this title and to DAW for the physical ARC! Apologies I am past publication getting this review up.**

As a mood reader, it is sometimes a struggle for me to pick out my next read. When the mood hit for this one though, I knew it was going to be the perfect, cozy little monster fantasy that I needed.

I felt that the characters in this one were so unique and well thought out, and I enjoyed riding around in the head of a monster as she navigated her feelings towards the human world.

My only complaints with this one were that the ending didn't quite hit the mark for me, and that is the big reasons for not being a 5 star read for me. Overall, I would recommend this book for fans of cozy fantasy, monster romance, and epic adventure!

This was just too intriguing to put down. Will the shape-shifting monster lay her eggs in the very person her body is compelling her to love? She is not human and therefore not at the mercy of some strange organs she's picked up to assimilate. The question is ever persistent as I tore through this book. I was very satisfied by the wrap up and so glad that my dwindling free time was taken up by this story.

What a unique romance. I don’t think I’ve ever encountered a protagonist like Shesheshen. Her character growth is remarkable and the parallels between her trauma and Homily’s are wonderful. Truly a beautiful story of ending cycles of trauma grossly told.

OK but how to describe this? It’s a horror I think but also has super tender moments of romance and delves into grief and trauma in a really understated way? Idk but I really enjoyed it. Basically, ashapeshifting “monster” accidentally falls for a human only to find out that she’s hunting … the monster. Sweet and funny and gross all at the same time. I initially picked it up because of the cover, and I’m so glad I did!!

3.5 okay okay hmmmm. I really wanted to LOVE this book. while I did really enjoy a lot of it (it’s really unlike anything i’ve ever read!) it felt about 75 pages too long. LOVED the concept and it was funny! loved how gory it was, loved how insane some of the plot points were. but the pacing was just not for me.

All in all, this was good. I think a lot of people could really enjoy this cozy horror romantic fantasy vibe. I liked it, but I didn't love it. I will probably not think about this much beyond right now if I'm honest.

Going into this book, I was so intrigued and ready to eat up this story following a forbidden lovers kind of romance. And for the first half, I would say that his was giving me everything I wanted. But the second half started to fall apart for me, and I honestly had trouble paying attention at times.

- Shesheshen was a wonderfully created character - immensely complex and ever-changing
- Homily was a precious kind of love interest being introduced after nursing Shesheshen back to health. However, Homily felt like a very flat, doormat-type character for much of the book (no help from the in-laws treating her like garbage). I think I wanted more from Homily?
- Shesheshen constantly being in hiding, protecting her secret identity as a shapeshifter while navigating the fact that the woman she was falling in love with (despite not understanding what love is) was actually trying to hunt her? Iconic.
- I did really love the relationship here, and the constant inner battle for Shesheshen on what to do about this woman she loves, but knowing what nesting will do to her. It is endearing to read about he inner turmoil and how it all comes together.
- The twist with Homily's mom was interesting, but also I was already kind of losing interest, and trying to follow the mechanics of everything here was impossible for a visual reader - there is no good way to visualize a shapeshifter who can mold their flesh and bones and muscles and orifices at a whim and the image of the nesting of eggs from the egg sac? Yeah, you can forget that.
- The audio was done very well, I think the narrator helped build a cozy feeling, while also adding enough differentiation between voices to carry the story clearly.

This was a very enjoyable read! Cozy horror that goes great with a rainstorm and hot coco. The characters are developed really well, and the journey taken by Shesheshen over the course of the book is beautiful.

There are some spots I felt that dragged, but for the most part it’s all really well paced.