Oh my gosh this was incredible! Nat Cassidy truly is one of the best horror writers out there, his storytelling is amazing, there were definitely moments when I was scared, plus he writes such compelling, flawed, real heroines that you want to root for just because they are so resilient and feel so incredibly human. I love his books, and this was a hit. If you love vampire stories, haunted houses and gargoyles... pick this up.

Thank you Netgalley and Tor Nightfire for this e-arc

So let me just preface that I prefer to watch horror versus read it. I read many reviews say this is Marys and Salems Lot, and maybe that’s true, I wouldn’t know. But I can tell you that this reminded me a lot of the fifth season of American Horror Story: Hotel, mixed in with some of the sentimental of Mike Flanagan works and a dash of the Jewish lore/culture.

This book is well paced. I couldn’t help but get torn out of the setting when they made references to spicy romance books for some reason. However, some parts were predictable. If you’re well read and have watched a lot of fictional shows, you have to be able to guess some of how it’s going to play out. There’s a baby in the story, you know they are gonna be a key player. Bugs? Oh goodness, yeah it’s not too bad but still kind of icky. A marriage that’s kind of falling apart at the seams? It’s gonna end a certain way. And the creepy building with the creepy staff and old tenants? Yeah, you get the drift.

The sentimental part? Family, feeling home, feeling at peace and feeling like you belong. That’s all there. I guess some feelings of humanity are needed to show the evil that we face.

The ending was the most disappointing part for me. I was ready for scorched earth policy, no man standing. But sigh. Nope. Not what happens.

I would rate this about a 2.8 out of 5, rounded to three. The hard core horror thriller readers seem to love this. I gave it a shot.

TW at start: "A quick heads-up about the content of this book. You’re going to find marriage troubles, parental trauma, child endangerment, talk/images of infanticide, postpartum depression, suicidal ideation, bodily harm, ableism (internalized and externalized), antisemitism (internalized and externalized), claustrophobia, some gaslighting, and a whole lotta bug stuff. There’s also a character who’s a real racist, sexist piece of shit."

I don't know what I expected from Nestlings, but I don't think it was what I got, and I mean that in the very best possible way. I suppose I was expecting your run of the mill horror, but this was so much more. It starts with a first time mom who has been through it. Ana has had a horrific birth experience, which resulted in her near death and her current paralysis. She's also very clearly suffering from some post partum depression, and is having an understandably difficult time adjusting to all the upheaval. She and husband Reid think that maybe their luck is changing when they win the lottery to move into a swanky apartment in downtown Manhattan. It's the kind of place the rich and famous live, Ana and Reid could barely dream of it.

But when they go to see the place, it feels... off. Ana is sure she's just worrying needlessly. It isn't the most accessible place in the world, but she doesn't want to disqualify it on that alone, even though she'd be well within her rights to do so. Plus, she'd be quite happy to get out from the clutches of their toxic (putting it mildly) landlord, so off they go! Only absolutely nothing in this place is as meets the eye. While Ana and Reid are busy dealing with their own lives and managing an infant (who seems to be behaving all sorts of weird since they've moved in), they aren't quite paying enough attention to their surroundings. Which is obviously fair, because no reasonable person's mind would automatically go to "welp this place must be possessed and/or haunted by something paranormal".

I loved that for as wacky as this building and its inhabitants were, the other issues that Reid and Ana were facing were incredibly grounded. I think it was their relatability that made the book even more eerie, since any one of us can understand wanting to have a nicer home to raise your child in, to want to dismiss those nagging thoughts. Who among us hasn't looked at the cons of something, but wanted it so badly regardless that we acquiesced? It was so interesting to see the human psyche in action, but in a horror novel. I also really appreciated the choices the characters had to make at every turn. There were twists and secrets abound, but it was also a really lovely and heartfelt story at the same time, and I loved that unusual but much appreciated dichotomy.

Bottom Line: It's definitely horror, but it's also definitely heartfelt, and that was simply a mashup I never knew how badly I needed!

5/5 stars for this terrifying gem! I read and enjoyed Nat Cassidy’s Mary, so I was thrilled to have the opportunity to review Nestlings before its 10/31 release. Thank you to NetGalley and Tor Nightfire! I absolutely loved this book. It has everything I want in a horror novel: characters that are dimensional and relatable, tension that builds steadily, pace that keeps you hooked, and terror that is both explicit and psychological. These characters go through an experience that while fantastical, never feels so outlandish that it takes you out of the story. They are forced to make unimaginable decisions that drive them to a harrowing fate. The writing is really well done - it is descriptive without being too much, and it enhances the feelings of terror. There are really weighty topics in this book, dealt with care: antisemitism, ableism, post-partum challenges, and sexism to name a few. Cassidy handles it all beautifully. I really can’t recommend this enough!

This book has taken a place among my all-time favorite books. I adored it from start to finish. Absolutely chilling and extremely satisfying. Also, as a Jew who has recently begun leaning into my Judaism in the wake of broad antisemitism, I was over the moon to see that experience represented in a book for possibly the first time. It's grisly, horrific, and at times quite funny. I am so glad this book exists.

A young couple, Ana and Reid, and their baby get a chance to move to an incredible building in NYC. They hope the new apartment can be a new start after the awful year they've had of losses and Ana's paralysis following her delivery. As they try to settle, they start to notice things that are not quite right.

This was horror perfection, I loved it and I can't wait for everyone else to read this. It was creepy and unsettling. I really appreciated the care Cassidy put into building his characters and and their circumstances. I felt Ana's frustrations down to my core. I found the exploration of horror themes through a Jewish lens really interesting. I also absolutely loved the audio, it flowed really well. The narrator did a great job representing different characters voices.

Thank you so much to Tor Nightfire for the ARC of this incredible book!

This was such an easy five star for me. I had similar feelings with this one and Mary, so I think if you liked one by the author you will like the other.

For me Nat Cassidy just does atmosphere so well. When reading his stories I feel so claustrophobic within our characters heads that adds to this unsettling factor. I'm constantly feeling those unsettling feelings through not only what's happening around our character but also what they themselves are feeling and saying and reacting to. He truly writes so brilliantly, in a way that makes the horror relatable.

Yeah sure maybe I'm not living through this situation of a creepy apartment and such (no spoilers here), but I can understand doubting yourself and your thoughts, being in a relationship when things get hard and the reactions/thoughts that come with that. Finding yourself in a situation that feels unescapable, and being down on your luck, feeling like no-one understands, and there's no way through. Those are the themes that make this book so terrifying. That at the core this story is so relatable. The spooky and paranormal elements just add to it.

This was an incredible book. I will forever be reading Nat Cassidy's works of art. He truly does the horror genre like no other, and you can tell he puts his heart and soul as well as a lot of research into these.

Rosemarys baby meets Salem's lot. Is truly the perfect way to summarize this book! And all I have to say is read this book.

WOW! Okay, I got to like the 50% mark and thought to myself, "I guess this one isn't as freaky as 'Mary' was"

I was wrong, lol.

I was surprised after reading 'Mary: An Awakening of Terror" to learn that it was written by a man, given that it explored patriarchy, menopause, aging and other issues from the perspective of a middle aged woman - and did it well.

In "Nestlings', Cassidy again takes on the perspective of both Reid and Ana, father and mother, and I was again surprised at how deftly he tackled Ana's sentiments about motherhood and disability. As a newly paraplegic mom who lost the use of her legs through childbirth, her relationship with her wheelchair and with her daughter is a driving force throughout the story. The top floor of the Deptford isn't an easy place for her to live, especially when the building gets...creepy.

I gave it somewhere between a 4 and a 5, rounded up. Nat Cassidy is one of my new favorite authors, going 2 for 2 between 'Mary' and 'Nestlings'. Well done

I liked it a lot more than Mary, the other novel from Cassidy. I still had problems with this while thinking it was so close to being perfect. Seemed to be a little slow and a tad too long. Too much misery happens to these people to be believable. And it really seems like too many things were put in for the purpose of "making a point." Sometimes horror can just be fun guys. It doesn't always need to hit you in the head with a brick. What about low cost housing? What about new parents? What about living with a disability? The book is good but it just seems like too much of the energy was put into that side of it. Still had good moments of terror and was interesting.

After a complication during the birth of their first child leaves Ana paralyzed and in a wheelchair, she and her husband Reid are elated to learn that they have won an affordable housing lottery for an apartment in the famous Deptford. The Deptford is one of Manhattan's most revered buildings with views of Central Park, beautiful architecture and creepy gargoyles.

Of course not everything is as it seems. Their daughter Charlie is inconsolable for hours on end. Ana is CONVINCD she closed that window... And their neighbor is, honestly, a bit too crazy for comfort.

Reid dismisses these disturbing events at first but the pair's unease and dread surrounding their new home intensifies because neither of them can explain the little bite marks all over their daughter.

This. Book. Was. Incredible.
From the very start I was completely consumed by it. I genuinely felt the dread and fear that Ana is feeling while trapped in the apartment while Reid is at work. The strange things she is experiencing while still dealing with the trauma of her being newly wheelchair-bound.
The book is creepy and has a gothic vibe and completely flips some of the expected horror tropes on their heads.

While I was concerned that Ana's disability would be shoe-horned in and used as just a tick mark on some inclusion check list, that was honestly far from the case. The inclusion feels natural and Ana's struggles with her chair are an exploration of her grief. Despite being disabled Ana still feels as completely capable as any disabled person is and doesn't feel like an allegory for weakness. Ana kicks ass!
I really loved Reid as a character too. I felt for both of them as they navigated their new lives in the Deptford.

The ending of the book is exactly what I wanted it to be. This is a book I have already recommended to several people before even reaching the 50% mark.

Thank you to NetGalley and Tor Nightfire for providing me with an ARC of this book in exchange for my honest review.

I just finished Mary by @catnassidy, so I was excited to dive into his newest book! I was not expecting this Salems lot vibes, but it was so good and creepy! Greats twists to this story and I flew through it. Thanks @netgalley for an advanced copy of this audiobook and ebook. This book will be published on October 31st!

“Know you’re home. Know your home.” This might be one of the most entertaining, smart, and enjoyable horror novels I’ve read in years. Days out, I wanted back in. There’s a lot packed in here and it’s weaved together effortlessly, with a gothic-style NYC building at the center of it all: parenting struggles, managing marriage under duress, ableism, disability, postpartum, gas-lighting, creepy ongoings, strong and believable characters, vivid city backdrop, capitalism, the need to feel successful or part of, tough choices, bugs! It’s billed as a cross between Rosemary’s Baby and ‘Salem’s Lot, and it certainly ticks those boxes. But this is a novel all its own, with its distinct and original horrors, and touches on important social and economic issues people face everyday. It’s a snapshot of NYC, where you can exist among millions of people but also go completely unseen. Baked in is a little bit of The Shining, in which characters unravel under the shadow of an impressive and alluring building. But at what cost? Add a dash of Twilight Zone to that as well. There’s a million things to say about this book and they are all good. It’s fast-paced, never feels stale, and contains some great horror scenes that’ll make you wince. It’s capped by an afterword by the author that’ll get you in the feels.

Nat Cassidy's newest horror novel, NESTLINGS, is the best modern horror novel I've ever read in my life. Hear me out before you clap back, but I'm so excited for horror fans to read this book.

When Ana and her husband Reid win the NYC housing lottery, they're given the opportunity to move to the luxurious Deptford—a beautiful pre-war luxury apartment building with beautiful views of Central Park. Ana and Reid need this opportunity as they've been struggling with their own trauma recently. Ana has recently given birth after many failed attempts to their daughter Charlie. After giving birth, Ana was left paralyzed and is wheelchair bound and has resentment toward her husband and daughter due to her immobility. This new apartment is a fresh start for this family. However, when they move into the Deptford, Ana and Reid begin to notice that its residents are very peculiar in more ways than one. Things just aren't making sense, especially when they start noticing needle-like bite marks on their daughter.

THIS BOOK IS INCREDIBLE. A horror masterpiece—I said what I said! This story has it all: family drama, horror, psychological thriller, and suspense; and it's done so well and organically. I loved every character, the Greene family (Ana, Reid, Charlie) and all of the Deptford's unique residents. This book dives into many different types of storylines, but has many triggers, including parental trauma, child endangerment and abuse, postpartum depression, suicide ideation, ableism, antisemitism, racism, and sexism. That being said, they're necessary for the messaging that happens in this book. Also to note, this book has major Jewish representation, which I haven't seen in much modern horror lately (I can't say more, but IYKYK by the end what I mean). I really hope Nat ventures back into this universe in some capacity because my only regret is that it's over. Nat Cassidy, you are a genius.

Nestlings by Nat Cassidy is a work of art here!
She writes such captivating horror stories! And this gothic literature was freaking perfection.
If you’re looking for something to read during spooky season this one would be such a great choice. It’s dark, macabre and pretty damn creepy but it also had a really unique plot and a main character that I thought was so interesting.
Quick paced and filled with thrilling twists, this horror novel captures a reader's attention and refuses to let go.
This is a clever, fun, well-developed tale to add to your horror collection.

I would like to thank NetGalley and Tor Nightfire for the opportunity to read this ahead of its publication date in return for my honest review.

5/5 Stars

TL;DR - Haunting, Gothic-esque horror unlike anything I’ve ever read - a fresh take on the “something is wrong with my baby” brand of spooky. Not only is it unsettling and then downright terrifying, it’s also a very grounded exploration of trauma, grief, disability, parenthood, and just the straight-up horror of being human. There is so much heart in this book, and as much as I loved the horror, I loved the humanity more.

Big thanks to Tor/Tor Nightfire and NetGalley for providing the ARC for this book in exchange for an honest review!

***Trigger Warnings for: death of a parent, marriage troubles, birth trauma, becoming disabled traumatically (mentioned and on-page), paraplegia, child endangerment, mentions of infanticide, postpartum depression, suicidal ideation, bodily harm, ableism (including the c-slur), antisemitism (including the k-slur), claustrophobia, gaslighting, insects (so much bug ick), racism, sexism, panic attacks, homophobia (including the f-slur), mentions of intravenous drug use and addiction, and mentioned death of a child.***

(I really appreciate that the author/publisher included trigger warnings at the start of the book! I would love to see more authors follow suit!)

‘Nestlings’ by Nat Cassidy is a truly unique horror book that tackles so many real-life things, while also being a wholly unique horror experience. We follow Reid and Ana Greene, a Jewish couple who win an affordable-housing lottery and move into a top-floor apartment in the illustrious and mysterious Deptford Building in New York City. Ana is still struggling to come to terms with becoming paraplegic during the birth of their daughter, Charlie, and Reid is coping with his own trauma and grief from the ordeal. They think this is a new beginning, a fresh start for their family, but they quickly learn something is very wrong with their new home, and those who reside within it.

Before we start, I have to put special caution out to any wheelchair users, especially those who were forced to become wheelchair-bound in a traumatic way - this book is probably going to be rough for you. One of the main characters deals with this throughout the book, and we see this in deep third person POV, so we’re in her head in an extremely intimate way through her struggles, and her disability is a major theme throughout the book. She contends with a lot of ableism (internal and external) over the course of the story, and there is one character we get intermittent POVs from that calls her “Roller Bitch”, among other things, so be prepared for that. There is also a scene approximately 83% of the way through the book where her bodily autonomy relating to her use of a wheelchair is egregiously violated by someone in a high-stakes and dangerous scenario. I’m not currently a wheelchair user, but as a disabled person who has trauma surrounding violations of bodily autonomy (and who has needed various mobility aides in the past and likely will again), this was extremely and viscerally horrifying for me, so if you have trauma surrounding this, please exercise caution.

I also need to talk about one of the POVs, even though we (thankfully) only get a few sparse chapters. Reid and Ana’s former landlord, Frank, is just a straight-up piece of shit. Like the full-on racist/sexist/ableist/homophobic/antisemitic right-wing raving lunatic we all know and hate. His chapters were pretty rough to get through as someone who belongs to a number of groups he goes on tirades about. Please pay close attention to the trigger warnings and know that most of the -ism/-ist/-phobia triggers mentioned above are very prevalent in his POV.

That out of the way…

Holy. Shit.

I can’t even put into words how much I loved this book. It’s my literal job to pick apart books and lay out what worked and what didn’t, but here I am, staring at my laptop with nothing, like I just didn’t go on a mind-blowing emotional and psychological roller-coaster.

Let’s start with atmosphere. This book is so subtly insidious from page one. Obviously, it’s horror, so you go into it knowing something is wrong, but the way it just drips slowly through the narrative like cockroaches crawling out in the dark is just so masterful. I completely understand why the author has won awards for the things he writes because jeeze, it’s both insane and insanely well-written. So many moments of going “oh shit” when the pieces fall together and I know something bad is going to happen. And the monsters themselves! I am HERE for creepy shenanigans inspired by Jewish folklore - so original and refreshing, I need more, please and thank you. And then the building itself being a character and an entity (again, in a really unique and intriguing way) is just so cool. Definitely one of my favorite horror tropes, and the reason I classify this as a good ol’ Gothic horror.

All of the characters in this book felt like real people (even the ones who, you know, aren’t real people). Reid and Ana are complex, nuanced, living-and-breathing people, and they are messy, and I loved every minute of it. I found myself relating to them, even in their struggles that I can’t personally relate to from my own life, because the author just does such a good job of making them into believable people who I want so badly to succeed and get good things. I mean, it’s horror so they mostly don’t, but still.

Did I expect a horror novel to also be a beautiful exploration of the highs and low of processing grief and trauma? Nope, but here I am, and I loved it! Horror - good horror - is quickly becoming one of my favorite genres because of just how gorgeous the juxtaposition between the messy, beautiful, painful reality of life as a human and the horrific, dramatic, otherworldly elements can truly be. This book is a perfect example of that, of how much sharper the details of real life become when painted over with the broad brush of the unknown.

I appreciate the author taking time to explore not only birth trauma through the birthing parent’s lens, but also through the lens of their partner. I don’t have personal experience with either scenario, but I do know that traumatic births affect all parties involved (obviously in different ways), and I think this book has a very real and visceral conversation around partner trauma that goes undiscussed, especially when the partner happens to be a man.

And then there’s Ana and her personal journey. Though our disabilities aren’t the same, I related on a deep level to her struggles. I was younger than her when I became disabled, but to this day, going on 20 years later, I still struggle with what it means to be disabled. The author mentions in his author’s note that he wanted her to be a “bad” disabled character, one who’s “cranky, depressed, confused, stubborn, in mourning for her life before”, and honestly? That’s all of us at some point. I so appreciate that he wanted to portray the “ugly truth” of disability, to not water it down and turn it into inspiration porn. Ana has a fucking rough time of it, and I am so heartened to see it, because it is fucking rough, and while yes, stories of people finding happiness despite their struggles are needed, the raw, screaming-yourself-bloody stories need to be told, too, and this one does that artfully.

On that note, the author’s note had me in tears, because while this author is, from what I can tell, able-bodied, I really feel like he gets it, and that care comes through in the story itself and the author’s note. I wholly appreciate how much research and thought clearly went into respectfully portraying the disabilities represented in this book. I was sitting there through the whole book thinking “there’s no way an able-bodied author could write the nuance of disability this well”, but fuck, here we are. The author clearly did a lot of research (and drew on the experiences of close family members while they struggled with health issues), and honestly, as someone who is disabled and has trauma and ebb-and-flow grief surrounding that, I felt incredibly seen by this book. It may not jive for everyone, but it really did for me. Thank you, Nat, for putting so much effort and thought into representing disability so well.

I really don’t know what else to say about this book other than I was genuinely afraid for everyone involved, and that the tension starts at 100 and only ratchets up from there, until the very last pages.

Final Thoughts:

This book is easily one of my favorite horror books of all time (I’m pretty new to the genre, but still). I will definitely be buying a physical copy for my shelves and displaying it with prominence!

3 / 5 ⭐️'ˢ

“Nestlings” By Nat Cassidy

📕 Edition: Audiobook & eBook

While I enjoyed the overall narrative, I was not a fan of the ending. The baby 💩 scene though… omg you go from 😂 to 😱!

My main gripe, other than the ending, was with the audiobook format. The chapter structure was confusing, with numbered sections that the narrator referenced. I often found myself lost, thinking these were chapter titles. It forced me to switch to the ebook to understand the layout.

Despite these issues, Cassidy's ability to weave a tale of unease and paranoia is impressive. The subtle, needle-like bite marks on the baby added a chilling element to the plot, leaving me with a sense of lingering dread.

In the end, "Nestlings" is a captivating read, albeit with some structural challenges in the audiobook format. The storytelling is unique, and if you can overlook the minor hiccups, you'll be in for a mysterious and unsettling journey.

Thank you @NetGalley, Nat Cassidy and @Macmillanaudio for providing me with this ARC in exchange for my honest review.

Nestlings releases October 31st!

This book chilled me to the core. Like its really disturbing and I had a hard time reading it without literally jumping out of my skin. I love scary books, but this one was wild.

I don't quite think the ending stuck the landing as much as I wanted it to, but this was an insanely entertaining thrill ride with some creepiness, some spookiness, and a prevailing message on how we deal with different types of grief (and the changes that come along with it).

This is the first horror book in a good long time that genuinely scared me. Very wary of reading this one too late at night, and that's such a good thing. The atmosphere and slow-burn mystery was so well executed that my mind went wild trying to guess the endings and twists. I was right on a couple, but that is rarely something that "ruins" a book for me.

I really enjoyed the relationship dynamics between all the characters and watching how our protagonists evolved. The characters and their motivations were all realistic and it made some of the choices they made easy to empathize with even if I hated the character themself. The inciting incidents leading up to the climax were some of the most haunting things I've read recently, and I found myself gasping and talking out loud while reading, which doesn't happen often.

I will say that once everything was revealed and the climax was occurring I found myself getting a little more bored and confused, but it didn't do a lot to mar my overall enjoyment of the book. Nestlings is being marketed as Rosemary's Baby meets Salem's Lot and while I haven't consumed either piece of media, I can totally see where they're pulling from and I think it's brilliant.

I wouldn't hesitate to recommend this to my fellow horror lovers and I can easily see Cassidy becoming one of my favorite authors in the horror space today.

Nat Cassidy has done it again! He’s written another creepy, chilling, mysterious horror story that I thoroughly enjoyed.

I loved Nat Cassidy’s book ‘Mary’, so I was so happy to get the chance to read ‘Nestlings’ on NetGalley. This was such a chilling read and I definitely need to own a physical copy. This story felt like watching an episode of American Horror Story or Creepshow. There’s icky bug moments, an old, posh hotel with strange residents, Rosemary’s Baby vibes, and very creepy babies. I love Cassidy’s writing and his books are just so interesting and enjoyable. I also loved the author’s note at the end of the book.

There’s always a deeper meaning to Cassidy’s books, and Nestlings tackles serious issues (that are mentioned in a note at the beginning of the book) and mixes in horror (and lots of disgusting bugs!).

I highly recommend Nestlings, especially if you are looking for a new horror book to read this year.

4.5/5 stars