How could a horror story be so motivating and inspirational?! It really touches on survival and grief.

I wasn’t sure I’d be able to stomach a story centered around pregnancy and a baby. I knew there were some heavy trigger warnings and that scared me a little. OK, maybe a lot. But I read it anyways. And... I loved it!

New parents, Ana and Reid, are constantly down on their luck. They just can’t seem to catch a break. After struggles to get pregnant, they are finally blessed with a baby, but of course not without a cost... Ana suffered a spinal injury during delivery and is now wheelchair bound. Oh, and they live in a terrible apartment in Brooklyn with the world’s worst racist and sexist landlord. But life seems to find a silver lining when they are the lucky pick for a housing lottery in Manhattan’s most desirable, historic building that overlooks Central Park. But then odd things start to happen...

The tension in this scary story builds slowly, little by little, until it becomes too much to contain. The pressure of it all comes to a disturbingly and climactic satisfying end. A big monstrous explosion of pain, horror, and gore.

Both Ana and Reid have unlikable qualities, but they feel so real it’s scary. So many of us struggle with wanting better, wanting more. Sometimes postpartum hits, hard. Sometimes you hate your job and want the satisfying middle finger to scream out loud. But the baby won’t stop crying... The baby won’t eat... Ana can’t stand her baby. Reid can’t stand his wife. The apartment tenants just adore the baby... a little too much.

I could go on and on gushing about this horror. But perhaps you should just read it yourself. It hits that perfect spot for wanting to be scared and creeped out; wanting to be frozen in shock, mouth agape, and ask yourself, “did that really just happen?!” Of all the horror books I’ve read (so far!), this is *chef’s kiss* the best!

Thank you to @NetGalley and @tornightfire for this free e-ARC in exchange for an honest review

“We don’t belong here.”

My god, people. Cassidy can write! Nestlings felt layered, full of slow-building dread, and deeply personal. I loved it as much, if not more, than Mary.

One of the things I appreciate most about Cassidy’s work is his knack for writing believable, authentic female characters, and MC Ana was no exception. She is salty AF (totally warranted), and her refusal to “just be grateful” feels like an outright rebellion that had me shouting, “hell yes,” as I dove deeper into her story. Also, the book captures postpartum depression so well, so beautifully, that it took my breath away.

In the Author’s Note (Read. It.), Cassidy discusses the concept of emotional homelessness, the periods of overwhelming grief in one’s life. For him, it happened in 2021; for you, it could be another year. Either way, he wants you to think about grief as a transitional phase between who you used to be and who you are now. Nestlings is a tribute to loss, the existential fear and dread that comes with it, and the innate powerlessness of humans who only exist here for a fleeting moment with no apparent purpose other than being alive “just because.”

This book made me think about big things. It covers themes ranging from the question of what makes a home a home, ableism, antisemitism, and the human will to go on surviving despite the devastation left behind when everything falls apart.

I highly recommend picking up this book. It's fantastic!

Part Salem's Lot, part Rosemary's Baby is both an apt description, and barely more than a starting point for this book. Cassidy pays tribute to horror classics, and it's easy to feel his love for the genre in these pages, but Nestlings also strives to bring a modern sensibility. From the lingering atmosphere of (post) pandemic America to a younger couple struggling to make ends meet to the current pressures of parenting, Cassidy packs an awful lot into a 300 page book, yet manages to create an immersive story with enticing narrative flow and genuine creeps. Cassidy's Afterwords make for required reading, so if you're an afterword skipper, I'd suggest you don't. Those final two cents add an extra layer of empathy and understanding to a book already plumbing the depths of the human experience. At this point, I'll show up for anything Nat Cassidy unleashes on the world.

This book is described as a Rosemary’s Baby meets Salem’s Lot. I would agree that fans of those books would probably enjoy this novel. Definitely don’t skip the author’s note at the end for how his 2021 shaped this story. I used both audio and e-book format for this title. The narrator was engaging and the characters were distinct without being silly. Will recommend. Thanks to TOR and Netgalley for access to this title for review.

Set in an exclusive New York City residential building, this horror novel follows Ana, Reid and their baby, Charlie, as they move in hoping to accommodate to their new reality. Ana ended up in a wheelchair, Reid hates his job and Charlie won't stop crying. Soon enough, they realize that this building is an evil worse than what their lives have been lately.

This book was everything I expected it to be, from simple but eerie situations to shockingly disgusting scenes. There were scenes where I quite literally jumped, a reaction I expected only from horror movies and never thought I'd encounter in a book, since the act of reading a jump scare takes more time than simply watching it (so I have time to prepare myself). I was even hesitant to read this at night!

I loved how the characters were fleshed out! The author gives them realistic fears and anxieties, thus making them more real and easier to empathize with. No matter how disgusted or uneasy I felt, I never wanted to stop reading this. The writing sucks you in from the start, always providing the reader with a good ratio of dialogue and descriptions.

Highly recommend to every horror lover, as well as anyone that wants to read something scary for Halloween!

The nitty-gritty: Disturbing and creepy, Nestlings is the perfect horror story to curl up with this Halloween.

Nestlings arrives just in time for Halloween, and I couldn’t have picked a better book to end October with. Nat Cassidy takes inspiration from several familiar horror stories and combines them into a thoroughly unique, imaginative and creepy tale. And when I say “creepy,” I mean it. Cassidy’s imagery is terrifying at times, and he’s tapped into a couple of my personal fears (weird creatures running up and down walls and on the ceiling will never fail to scare me to death! Probably a hangover from the Buffy episode "Listening to Fear".) Nestlings has an old school horror vibe that I loved—think vintage Stephen King—but it’s set in the present. 

Ana and Reid Greene have just won the housing lottery. After a long wait, they’ve finally been accepted to the swanky Deptford Apartments, a historical building with views of Manhattan’s Central Park. They move into their 18th floor apartment with their one-year-old daughter Charlie, excited to be leaving Brooklyn (and a horrible landlord) behind. Ana feels some stress being up so high, because she’s been in a wheelchair for the past eleven months, but she’s eager to make a fresh start with her family after a very tough year.

Right away, however, Ana senses something “off” about the Deptford. Charlie seems upset and won’t stop crying. Ana looks out the window one day and notices the building’s famous gargoyles—which were there the day before—are gone. When Reid orders take-out, the delivery people refuse to enter the building. One day, Ana hears crying coming from the apartment next door, and she discovers something very unsettling. And what’s up with the creepy concierge? Ana knows they don’t belong here, but how to convince Reid?

Reid, on the other hand, is fascinated by the history of the Deptford, although as far as he can tell, only one book about it has been published. When he wanders into a hidden corridor off the lobby and meets a charismatic older woman named Camilla Varné, he’s drawn into a secret world of glamor. But when Charlie attacks and bites another child at her birthday party, Ana and Reid know something has to be done. Something terrible is wrong with their daughter, and as a mother, Ana will do anything to protect her.

Cassidy’s Deptford reminded me of the Bramford from Rosemary’s Baby, and he did a great job of creating a creepy atmosphere right from the first page. From the outside, tourists stop and gawk at the building and the stone gargoyles that adorn the rooftops. But inside, things get weird. The highly sought after apartments are oddly quiet; hallways disappear into the dark, only to become dead ends; in one disturbing scene, Ana takes a stroll in the building’s courtyard and finds herself lost and trapped. Yes, there is something wrong with the Deptford, and all these little “wrong” things slowly add up to something horrific. The author lives in New York City, and he’s done a great job of making the descriptions and ambiance of the city feel authentic.

Ana and Reid are the perfect married couple—at first. They have been through a lot. Ana went through IVF in order to get pregnant, which was a struggle in itself. And then during labor, her legs became paralyzed after a weird reaction to the epidural she was given. And so she left the hospital in a wheelchair, not knowing if the paralysis was temporary or not. Reid was suddenly faced with not only a newborn to care for, but a wife who required constant care. On top of all this, they lived in a Brooklyn apartment that came with an asshole of an apartment manger named Frank. Moving into the Deptford meant they could leave Frank behind—that is until Frank shows up at their new place to terrorize them. The Deptford should have been a fresh start for the family, but this is horror, so nope. Moving only made everything worse.

Ana was my favorite character. Not only has she gritted her teeth and adapted to life in a wheelchair, but she’s embraced her new lifestyle, which I thought was a nice way to approach her disability. And if you think running from creepy monster-like creatures is scary, try running from them in a wheelchair when you’re on the top floor of an apartment building. There is one nail-biting scene where Ana has to crawl down eighteen flights of steps, and it was one of my favorite scenes in the book. Ana has also dealt with postpartum depression (on top of everything else!), and she still has flashes of wishing she didn’t have a baby. It was heartbreaking to read about, and Cassidy puts a horrific spin on it by making it true: there is something wrong with Charlie, so maybe her feelings are justified.

Reid’s character is the perfect foil for Ana. He sort of reminded me of Jack Torrance in The Shining. Not the crazy, killer Jack Torrance, but the one who is seduced by the Overlook Hotel. Reid is obsessed with the Deptford, especially a tragic event that happened on the roof called the Plummet of 1919, and you can see he’s slowly pulling away from the rest of his family, especially when he meets Camilla.

The final climax, when the reader finally learns the truth about the Deptford, is very weird and to be honest didn’t completely make sense. But it was suitably gross, and I thought it worked. What I loved, though, was the ending, which jumps ahead five years. That’s where the emotional punch hits hard, and I thought it was so well done.

Nat Cassidy includes a rather long Author’s Note at the end, explaining his personal reasons for writing the story as well as a list of influences. He mentions Rosemary’s Baby and Salem's Lot in particular, but savvy readers will recognize other well known books and movies as well. It was the personal bits that interested me the most. I always appreciate when authors open up about their struggles, and some of the things Ana and Reid experience in the story echo the author’s experiences. I guess what I’m trying to say is, it’s definitely worth reading.

I had a blast reading Nestlings, and I can’t wait to see what Nat Cassidy does next.

Big thanks to the publisher for providing a review copy.

Ana and Reid have won the lottery--literally, they've won an apartment in the Deptford, one of Manhattan's most beautiful and historic apartment buildings. The view of Central Park is stunning, even if the gargoyles are a little creepy and the elevator makes Ana, who has used a wheelchair since the catastrophically complicated birth of their daughter, more than a little nervous. Reid is thrilled; Ana, less so. She's frustrated, she's in pain, and she's struggling with growing resentment toward her husband, her baby, and her entire world. Reid is quick to dismiss Ana's fears, even when he can't quite explain away the odd phenomena she experiences, but even he's started to notice some ... strange ... occurrences around the building. And in their baby's crib.

Ooooh, I couldn't put this one down! Cassidy knows how to bring the spooky--the atmosphere of NESTLINGS is just irresistibly creepy. But Cassidy's real strength is his dedication to exploring his characters' anxieties and relationships. Ana is such a wonderful horror heroine: you can't help but feel for her, and the complex tension she feels between resenting her baby (and all the pain from her birth) and being absolutely dizzy with love for her propels the novel forward like a freight train. Loved this one!

I loved this! This was such a well-crafted mesh of different horror tropes with an interesting cast of characters, well-realized setting, and compelling plot. I found this story really unique and fresh, without reinventing the wheel. This was a spectacular and thrilling horror read coming out just in time for the spookiest time of the year!

This was a fun book. I will admit that it’s kinda goopy gross at times, but any good horror book is. Well, maybe not goopy. Lol this was definitely less blood then strange goo. Oh and there a bugs, seriously gross bugs. Lol, so if you can’t do creepy crawly things coming in and out of the body, I’d stay away from this one. But, if you can stomach it, the ick factor is totally worth it.
I am obsessed with the setting of this book! Not only is it in NYC, but set in a gorgeously gothic apartment building, complete with iron gates and gargoyles. Something about strange hotels and old apartment buildings really call to me. This one, The Deptford, is crawling with creepy history, missing people, and untimely deaths. Oh and the staff!! Omgosh, Cassidy describes the elevator operator as a Gremlin. Lmao, I could seriously picture it. The Deptford may be in the middle of the city, but it most definitely lives in its own world.
I did enjoy the Jewish take on vampire folklore. It was original and well written. I also appreciated the main character’s disability. It’s not often, especially in horror, where the main character has such a hard obstacle going in. If the demons they will face isn’t enough, getting away from them is even harder!! Cassidy did Ana justice in this book. He didn’t make it easy on her at all, but it was real.
I loved this book. For a second novel, Nat Cassidy didn’t slack. I think I may have liked this one better then Mary…

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!