Ana and Reid are looking for a fresh start after Ana's complications with the birth of their daughter, Charlie. Close to Charlie's first birthday, their names are pulled in a lottery for a chance to live in New York City in Manhattan's Deptford building. The Deptford contains highly sought-after, luxurious apartments overlooking Central Park. They quickly decide that this will be the best move for their family after the difficult year.

Immediately after entering the building for the move, Ana feels off. The building feels ominous, and she can't help shake the feeling that they shouldn't be there. As time passes, Reid is quickly becoming obsessed with the building and keeping his own secrets. Charlie is acting strange and doesn't seem like herself.  But mostly, who could possibly be opening Charlie's bedroom window at night? Ana learns quickly about the tests of motherhood and how far you will go for your children. 

This book gave me the serious creeps in a good way. If you are looking for something similar to the show Archive 81, this is for you.  The building history, the story, and the setting left me checking over my shoulder several times. I'm still itchy thinking about it, but be sure to check your trigger warnings on this one!

The estimated publication date is October 31, 2023.

Thank you very much to NetGalley and MacMillan audio for this galley copy in exchange for an honest review.

I enjoyed the book but sadly DNF, due to the narrator. It was hard to understand her pronunciation sometimes, and her tone didn’t always change between thoughts, speech and narration itself.

I’ll be looking up the book in print to see how it goes, but can’t recommend the audio, sorry.

*There are spoilers -- especially about the ending. I WILL RUIN THE ENDING OF THIS BOOK FOR YOU. IF YOU DON'T WANT THAT TO HAPPEN, DO NOT READ ANY FURTHER.*

There. You have been warned.

This book gave me some serious "Rosemary's Baby" vibes. And to be honest, I was really, really into it.

Until the end.

I absolutely hated the way the book ended. It was easily a 4-star book -- maybe even a 5-star book -- before I got to the end, but that ending completely ruined it for me. It wasn't that the book didn't have a happy ending. I'm fine with that. I've been a Stephen King fan since I was 10 years old. I'm used to gruesome and things that don't always have happy endings.

It wasn't about that. It was that the ending was so freaking unrealistic.

So, in the end, the dad dies and the mom gives up the baby to the creatures living in the hotel because A. the baby has already been changed into a gargoyle-like creature and B. the mom sees that the baby is happy in her new circumstances.

A little lame and unrealistic because, seriously, I'm a mom. And I don't care how happy my son appeared. If a bunch of monsters kidnapped him and turned him into a monster, I wouldn't just walk away and let him live his best monster life. Come the hell on. But whatever. I can suspend disbelief enough to let that one pass.

It's the mother's after-story that I can't fathom. I can't remember if the story ends with a "1 year later" or a "5 years later" now. (I should have written this review immediately after finishing the book instead of waiting for several days. But it made me mad, so I had to walk away and come back to it.)

Either way, a substantial amount of time has passed. And NO ONE has come looking for the baby or the husband. No cops. No private investigators. No family members. Nothing.

The mom told the lie that the husband ran off and left her and that she gave her baby up to her mother to raise because she just wasn't able to do it. And that's that. No questions asked, no red flags raised. The mom just goes on living her life.

HELL TO THE NO! THAT WOULD NEVER HAPPEN! I CANNOT SUSPEND DISBELIEF THAT MUCH NO MATTER WHAT! Come the hell on. Really?! What a freaking cop-out. I hated the ending so much that it dropped the book two to three stars in my eyes. Ugh. I'm making myself mad all over again.

Let me stop before I have a come undone.

I'll wrap this up by saying that - until the end - the book was good. It was sufficiently creepy, very Rosemary's Baby-esque, and well-written. The characters were MOSTLY well-developed, and the plot didn't drag or rush.

The audio narration was good, and I loved the narrator. No complaints on that front at all. But yeah, that damnable ending was the worst.

Nestlings is a great, creepy read-- good,old-fashioned gothic horror, set in New York City, and yet both fresh and noteworthy.
I was cautiously pleased to discover that the protagonist is a disabled woman. I winced at her hatred of her wheelchair, but found much to identify with; I really enjoyed her journey and empathized with her grief.

I also love the choice to steep this novel in Jewish lore, with a not-insignificant awareness of growing antisemitism in the US-- and the conspiracy theories that urge the poison along

Both of these authorial choices make Nestlings more interesting and notable than many other similar stories. I will gladly recommend this book.

Thank you to the publisher and to NetGalley for the chance to listen to an early copy of this audiobook in exchange for an honest review.

Nestlings by Nat Cassidy will be released to the public on October 31st, 2023 (Just in time for Halloween!!!).

The marketing of this book is probably the best description that it can be given. It has the exact vibes of Rosemary's Baby and Salem's Lot. A creepy baby, creepy neighbors, a creepy lottery apartment, and, of course, one of the most infuriating men as the husband. I can't even explain how annoyed I get with the male characters in these types of books - just listen to the women, they are not crazy!

Nestlings was a pretty good book - I think I'm a sucker for books marketed to be similar to Rosemary's Baby, or maybe just for books featuring creepy children in general, haha. I will be honest, though - this book didn't really hit the mark for horror in my opinion. I didn't feel the spine tingles, I wasn't looking over my shoulder or feeling uncomfortable while listening to the book. That doesn't mean it was bad, it just wasn't as scary as I was hoping for.

I felt like the book had some unique differences to set it apart from the other books in the same genre - a paralyzed mom, a baby already born rather than her being pregnant throughout the book. The multiple POVs was also a pretty cool difference - even if Reid annoyed me, it was interesting to see his side of the story.

All in all, I would highly recommend this book to anyone who enjoys books like Rosemary's Baby. and Salem's Lot. If you are used to reading horror you might find this book to be on the more mild side, but that doesn't take away from the story at all.

4.5 Stars

"She did the only thing she could do.... She threw the baby across the room" 😂

This book was wild, incredibly atmospheric, and unsettling. There is references that this compares to Rosemarys Baby, but for me I got such The Strain and Lock Every Door vibes. Don't get me wrong though the child in this book is f#%ing terrifying.

This is a book I feel like not a ton happens in the plot but Cassidy's writing and characters are incredible. He does such a great job pulling out a wide range of emotions from the reader. Creating such an unsettling environment.

The only thing stopping this being 5 stars is that I found it to be a bit predictable, I figured out the house pretty quickly and I was just waiting for the characters to catch up.

I listened to the audiobook of this book. I really enjoyed the narrator. I thought she did great job creating individual characters and accents. It was clear which character we were following or who we were listening to. I will be looking for more audio books by this narrator.

Thank you NetGalley and Macmillan audio for this advanced reader audiobook. My review is voluntarily my own.

I will be posting my review to my Instagram page the.floofs.booknook and retail sites close or on publication.

Thanks so much to Netgalley and Macmillan for the opportunity to listen to this audio ARC.

This book was EXCELLENT. I read (and enjoyed) Mary by Nat Cassidy earlier this year, and this one is even better! This reads like a season of American Horror Story, and I hope someone on Ryan Murphy's team reads this so we can get an adaptation.

It is for sure creepy and suspenseful like any great horror book, but it also has some gross moments. As a person who gets chills just thinking about bugs, I appreciated that the author gave a note of warning about them (and other more serious triggers) at the beginning of the book.

After winning an affordable housing lottery in NYC, a couple and their baby move into their dream apartment, but (of course) strange and haunted things are afoot. The horror elements were genuinely scary, the bug stuff in particular had my skin crawling. Not only is the mother dealing with postpartum depression, but she uses a wheelchair after a labor related injury and that representation was great. This story manages o be frightening and emotional but still a ton of fun.

Yo, as if new motherhood isn’t terrifying enough!!

Nestlings is a story of grief, healing, and generational (and cultural) shared trauma.

Ana and Reid seem to have hit the jackpot after a rough labour of their daughter has left Ava in a wheelchair. They win an affordable housing lottery for a prestigious building called The Deptford. The Deptford is New York City royalty, a beautiful old apartment building full of the rich and famous. Of course, not everything is what it seems.

I’m going to go against the grain and say this is a mashup of The Strain and Archive 81 (both WONDERFUL shows)! You’ve got a NYC apartment building with a secretive and dark history, unsuspecting tenants, and gargoyles!!

I felt on the edge of my seat the whole time and I thought Nat Cassidy handled the issues of postpartum depression and the struggles of being a caretaker for a loved one really well. It really captured the fear of change and new chapters in life. Those additions made Nestlings wonderfully creepy and real!

Stick around for the afterword, it’s a really great note from Cassidy about his personal inspirations and struggles that come through in this novel.

⭐⭐⭐⭐

Available October 31, 2023.

I am at a loss for how to describe the horrors of this book. Nightmare followed by nightmare. A compounding hell of wishes coming true only to have the rug pulled out from underneath you.
The comparison to Rosemary’s Baby is spot on even though it is totally unique.
Nat Cassidy has turned into a must buy author with this one

This was super creepy, on par with Mexican Gothic, with an old maze of corridors and wings both occupied by odd residents and seemingly unoccupied. The baby got some bites and then there was this eerie focus on what kinds of insects were plaguing them. But it's not insects. Well, not really. I love when authors invent new monsters to scare us, where it's not your usual zombies or vampires or rabid animals, and here we have an excellent example of that. Also, there aren't many things as creepy as a baby who is possessed or changing into something else and possibly malevolent, so it had that going for it, too.

I’ve wanted to read this book since it was announced. After reading Mary and loving it, I had to get my hands on Nestlings.

I listened to the audiobook and was pulled into the world of The Deptford. A historical apartment building in New York. Things are strange there; a manically smiling concierge, a gravely voiced elevator man, and silent and empty halls.

Reed and Ana have one the housing lottery and an apartment on the top floor. Although Ana is wheelchair bound and something is whispering that they don’t belong her, they move in with there baby Charlie in tow.

This was a great listen and I enjoyed the Jewish lore surrounding monsters and especially vampires. The tale is about motherhood in all its forms and really resonated with me.

Narration was great. Lots of characters with distinct vocals. I really enjoyed this one.

The traumatic birth, paralysis and postpartum depression were enough to make this horror for me! Add in all the other *actual* horror themes, and we have one very unsettling and creepy story! The feeling of dread started fairly early on and only escalates as you read further. It escalates quickly. I was provided an audio copy in exchange for my honest review thanks to NetGalley and the publisher. The audio was really well done.

Trying to describe this book without giving away plot is so hard. But this book was incredible! It was horror that just made you cringe throughout the entire story with how icky it was. Throw in unreliable MC's and you got yourself a hit. I cannot recommend Nat Cassidy's books enough. This was incredible.

This was everything! Everything!
It has culture and disability, and religion!
This book even has birth injuries. I was disabled giving birth too!
It has supernatural beings and a racist landlord and birth injuries. I love the setting. I am so into historic building I would jump at the chance to live there even if I would have to deal with that. I also felt bad for the creatures at the end. I wasn't expecting that.
It was just so nuanced and spooky and I want to read ten more books like this.

And the narration could not have been more perfect! OMG I loved every single moment I spent listening to this.

"I can't be in a vampire story; I'm Jewish."

One of the reasons I was drawn to reading another one of Nat's books after I loved Mary was his unique storytelling style and unabashed self-expression. Nat makes his intentions clear, and his forewords and afterwords carry a vulnerability that grants readers deeper insight and a stronger connection to the material—a facet I genuinely appreciate.

From the description, it's evident that this book is marketed with numerous references, so I wasn't expecting it to be a groundbreaking, genre bending concept. Instead, it crafts an eerie ambiance where tension steadily mounts, and there are numerous nods to various horror tropes. While the monsters may not be entirely unfamiliar, what makes this work stand out is how it skillfully weaves them together with fresh concepts drawn from Judaism, creating an overwhelming sense of unease. I'm only sad it doesn't release until Halloween, because it's a great addition to your spooky season lists.

Thank you Macmillan Audio for the ARC

Thank you to @netgalley and @Macmillan.Audio for the advanced reader (listener?) copy!

Nestlings by Nat Cassidy comes out October 31, 2023. 🖤

Do y’all see this cover?! My creeper heart is in love.

It’s described as a little bit of Rosemary’s Baby and a little bit of Salem’s Lot, but honestly this book holds its own.

Pros:
-build up of paranoia/dread
-characters are well-developed and well-written
-unsettling atmosphere
-covering taboo subjects
-descriptive setting

Cons:
-None, honestly. If anything, I would have preferred this as a physical book instead of an audiobook.

Nat Cassidy is going to end up as one of “the greats” to me.

Please double check content warnings before picking this up!

This was an interesting story. I am not much of a horror reader in that I have issues really feeling "scared" from a book, but I can appreciate this for the unique and interesting story that it is. The apartment building reminded me of The Cecil Hotel, so that was fun. I also really enjoyed the authors note at the end of the book, and the aspect with the female MC being in a wheelchair. Overall, interesting, but maybe just a bit too vampirey for me LOL. I will read more from this author in the future.

I requested this one because it might be an upcoming title I would like to review on my Youtube Channel. However, after reading the first several chapters I have determined that this book does not suit my tastes. So I decided to DNF this one.

Calling it now: this is my favorite read of the year. I know it’s only October, but it’s going to take a miracle for anything to top this.

So intriguing, disgusting, creepy, and horrifying. sometimes funny. It checks so many of my boxes. I LOVED the audio, but I am definitely going to have to buy a physical copy as well.