Shesheshen is minding her own business at home when a trio of home invaders break in, intent on killing her. The thing is that they're monster hunters and Shesheshen is, by most definitions of the word, a monster. She's a shapeshifting creature that, yes fine, eats humans when needed (though she tries to only eat the bad ones who are hurting others), but really all she wants is love. After scaring off two of the monster hunters (and eating the other one), Shesheshen is wounded, alone, and temporarily human-shaped when she is discovered by a traveling botanist named Homily, who treats her with the first kindness Shesheshen has ever experienced. And now Shesheshen is conflicted — she's falling in love with Homily, despite the fact that Homily's family is dead set on killing Shesheshen. She's not sure how she can keep Homily in her life while still killing off those who would kill her.

I love the idea of a fantasy novel from the monster's point of view, and for the most part, Wiswell nails it. Shesheshen is pretty gross, but she's also a very three-dimensional, sympathetic character, and it's easy to take her side in the conflict that dominates this book. Where the book falters, however, is in the plot, particularly toward the end of the book, where it wanders off into the weeds a bit, with several potential stopping points that aren't. I'd still happily recommend this to anyone who has felt like an outsider (and is OK with reading about copious bodily fluids).

Finally, look at that cover. It's definitely an early frontrunner for best of the year!

idk how to feel about this
it just wasn't really what I was expecting and no offense, I don't know if the characters name was bugging me the whole time which made my rating lower and influenced me to dislike other parts of the book, but I couldn't stand "shesheshen" it distracted me whenever I read it and I hope this isn't insensitive but yeahhh...
anyways not terrible, but not the best.

This book was... so weird. I just can't decide if I liked the weirdness.
Shesheshen has made a mistake fatal to all monsters: she's fallen in love.
I think the issue with this book is it had it's thumb in too many genres, which left me unsure where to put my footing. If it's sci-fi I know to build my belief around one thing, for horror I put my brain somewhere else, this? I was left feeling floaty. Unsure of where I was meant to build this reality.

Thank to you DAW for the advanced copy of this book!

What happens when a monster falls in love? A cute/fun/creepy book that somehow mashes up romance, fantasy, and horror into a fun read. Shesheshen is what some would call a monster, as she is a creature that can shapeshift her body into anything she needs by consuming parts. Those parts can be human, flora, or even bear traps. After being rudely awakened from hibernation by some hunters, she is chased off a cliff and then rescued by a human named Homily. Things get worse when Homily reveals she is hunting the shapeshifting monster that placed a curse on her family. From there things get even more complicated as the two start to bond, but Shesheshen isn't the only one hiding what she truly is.

Someone You Can Build a Nest In is a sapphic horror romance novel featuring Shesheshen a shapeshifting entity that falls in love with a human girl while trying to escape attack by the local villagers. However, Shesheshen finds out that she is being blamed for placing a curse on her beloveds family and resolves to help solve the curse and save her future in-laws. Even as an amorphous shape shifter Shesheshen was such a relatable character, I really enjoyed the growth of her relationship with Homily. I felt their bond grew in a realistic way as the book went on even with no physical aspect to their relationship. They had better communication skills than most couples I know in real life! I also liked the side characters, especially Laurent, and I would have liked to see even more of him (and his kinks) in the book. None of the named characters felt extraneous and they were all well fleshed out and contributed to the plot. There was a bit of a twist, maybe just to me because I did not see it coming at all but I loved the direction it took the book to. I’ve heard other reviewers comment that this would be great for fans of the movie Jennifer’s Body, but since I haven’t seen it I will be adding this to my watchlist. The novel is described as a horror but I didn’t find it too scary or graphic, I think if you are very squeamish some of the detailed shape shifting scenes may be a little much for you, but I liked how the author really thought out how shapeshifting would work anatomically. This was a very fun read for me and I am excited to go back and read through John Wiswell’s backlist.

Thanks to John Wiswell, DAW Books and NetGalley for the e-ARC. Someone You Can Build a Nest In publishes on April 2nd

Really enjoyed this read from John Chiswell. This genre is not one I normally read-- I like light-hearted fiction. This had its moments, but it was also very gruesome. I enjoyed it.

John Wiswell's first novel reflects his talents as a writer and ability for growth while also seeing the best in others. Though Shesheshen is a monster that preys on human beings, her world is rocked by meeting Homily, a woman who proceeds to see the best in her. For starters, Wiswell's writing is solid. His prose is functional, but he's best with characters and humor, which is where his talents tend to shine out. He makes Shesheshen an effective protagonist and her relationship to Homily is believable. The plot iis not the strongest at times, and the setting could have used a bit more, but overall, it's a strong effort.

My thanks to DAW books for the advance copy!

"Maybe the monster is just misunderstood" isn't a new concept, but I found this telling to be engaging and unpredictable, and very satisfying in its conclusion. Very polished for a debut novel, and I look forward to seeing what Wiswell does in the future.

Someone You Can Build a Nest In by John Wiswell was such a original and unique read. I'm so happy I was given the opportunity to read the ARC of this and I cannot wait for people to read this. It was just so original and amazing. It was also so heartwarming. It was a lot of things and it was very enjoyable. Overall, I loved this and I know there will be a lot of people who will love it just as much as I did.

*“this human woman had made unkind bait out of the feeling that shesheshen shouldn’t be alone”*

*“still, in the depths of the pool, Homily’s smile haunted her. the human woman’s body heat, and the gentle way she wielded her size and her softness. the soup she’d made. the attentiveness.”*

*“let me hear you, let me judge what’s true for myself”*

*“what was it? what did you both want so badly?”* *“you.”*

---

BYE THIS WAS.. AMAZING !! HELLOO?!!:?:!: 😭 i love this ! the main characters are so lovely and they just deserve the whole world.

this book is about the story of a “monster” who had fallen in love with a human being that is hunting a shapeshifting monster.

aside from this, this story i believe is also about alienation as it is evident in some scenarios where shenshenshen was feeling utterly out of place in the human world and that really emphasizes her character and what she thinks about things.

i love homily as well AAA she’s so patient with shenshenshen and you can feel the love just blossoming when they’re together 🥹 i also think that shenshenshen is the right character to kind of show their point of view because that’s what made so fun and you really get to emphatize with her.

the names are so silly as well like wdym you named your offspring epilogue 😭 it’s so silly HAAHAHHA but i love them so much ! it’s the right names for the characters to be honest.

the writing was also very easy to indulge yourself in and i think that this was written for like a younger audience at maybe like 16-17 years old? idk maybe it’s just me! but that’s what it felt like.

overall, i gave this a 4.75 ! in my opinion this book would’ve been so much fun if it’s published like a graphic novel or something ! i feel like i would appreciate it more but nevertheless, it’s amazing and i enjoyed it thoroughly 🥹

thank you so much to the author and NetGalley for this book ! 🫶🏻

Original and heartwarming, and an unflinching look at abuse and the long-lasting effects of trauma on its victims, Someone You Can Build A Nest In sucked me in and kept me hooked. I devoured it in two days. I absolutely adored Shesheshen and Homily.

Marvelous Monster

5/5 gnomes

Unique is an understatement, this book was amazing.

It's been quite awhile since I've highlighted so many exceptional quotes/lines in a book. I would love to plaster these lines everywhere ala Shesheshen shirts for everybody.

This story is from the monster's point of view and what a point of view it is. Shesheshen's view of the world is endlessly intriguing and entertaining. I'm going to be recommending this book to everybody.

Seeing the monster's point of view on humanity and love leads to plenty of the best kinds of chaos. Love all the twists and turns and ending too.

I was intrigued by this book and I felt it had a very unique premise. Been in a bit of a reading slump lately and this was a read that helped combat that. I liked the humor a fair amount and found it to be a good mix of fun and creepy. Overall I found this book very enjoyable to read and thought it balanced both the romance and horror in it well!

Lovely little unconventional romance with a hint of action. I loved seeing Shesheshen grow from a solitary eldritch monster into a character with complex needs and wants. The romance was top tier and absolutely believable, and the twists were shocking but made sense for the themes of the show. The book truly asks the reader: Are monsters born or made?

Someone You Can Build a Nest In is the first novel by award winning SF/F short story writer John Wiswell. The story is a fantasy romance that's F/F, features ace characters, and oh yeah, one of them is a shapeshifting monster that desires to find someone it can lay eggs in for their babies to eat their way out of and through (and the other is a maybe a little neurodivergent human). Wiswell's works often deal with serious themes while also being incredibly quirky and amusing, and this novel - as you can imagine from the premise - continues that trend in excellent fashion.

As I'll further detail below the jump, I really liked Someone You Can Build a Nest In. Its third person protagonist Shesheshen is delightful in how her monstrous point of view gives her a surprisingly good view of humanity (while also giving her plenty of blindspots) and the story does an excellent job with themes of parental/familial emotional abuse through its human love interest Homily - whose family shuns her and always treats her like dirt as she tries to be good amongst its aggresive monster hunting ways. Oh and the story is somehow still light despite that, features a number of delightful quirks (like a pompous human man in the nearby village Shesheshen repeatedly threatens to try to get him to do things she needs who responds in a surprising way), and whose central romance winds up being incredibly charming and surprising in how it plays out. Without spoiling anything, I'll say this book takes its final act or two into directions I very much didn't expect, after seemingly setting itself up for some well used (if not loved by me) romance tropes. So yeah, this book is a real winner, and I'll be unsurprised if it shows up on awards lists.

Trigger Warnings: Emotional Abuse from Parents and Siblings: The romantic interest, Homily, is repeatedly berated and emotionally abused by her sister and mother, and her learning she doesn't have to simply accept this, and that suffering for the sake of her family/loves is not right or good, is a major theme.

Plot Summary:
Shesheshen is a shapeshifting monster whose default form is basically a blob...but she can incorporate things she eats like bones and metal to give herself a bone structure and appear more human. It's a necessary adaptation for when she needs to go down to the local village to eat someone for sustenance, but otherwise Shesheshen prefers to live alone in her lair with her giant blue furred bear she's trained as a companion. And she dreams of her most warm memory: the warmth of emerging from her egg in the corpse of her father and eating her way through him and her siblings...and hopes that one day she can find the perfect person to lay her own eggs in so her offspring can have the same experience.

But when monster hunters awaken Shesheshen from hibernation early, the act of defending herself goes wrong: she successfully eats the pompous noble lord leading the hunt, but the two hunters with him survive and lead the villagers against her while she's still weak, and she falls off a cliff trying to elude them. When she wakes up, she finds herself surprisingly being nursed back to health by a human woman named Homily, who has mistook her for a fellow human. Shesheshen is at first confused by Homily's kindness....and then is absolutely smitten. Here is the person she would love to lay her eggs in....but there's just one problem: How can she admit to Homily she's not a human but a monster when Homily's family is hunting a monster that they believe cursed her whole family...a monster that is Shesheshen herself?

This novel is smartly told entirely from Shesheshen's perspective - we never see from the perspective of the human characters, but only the shapeshifting human eating monster. Shesheshen grew up on her own, without a parent, and relies on her instincts and experience for knowledge about the world: which at times makes her wise but at other times makes her (understandably naïve). She doesn't understand human social dynamics to be sure, but at the same time she doesn't have the upbringing in human social ways that would condition her to ignore what is accepted by humans but is obviously horrible if you come to think about it. Most notably, Shesheshen doesn't understand the willingness of humans to accept their own suffering for the sakes of others whose actions show they don't actually value or care for them to deserve their sacrifice...most notably, one's family.

For that is the struggle faced by the story's second main character, Shesheshen's love interest Homily. Homily is a girl who's clearly asexual in a world where that isn't quite understood (at one point, Homily is shocked and relieved that Shesheshen also isn't interested in kissing) and is perhaps a bit neurodivergent and unable to truly quite react to people as would be considered "normal" and socially appropriate. She's immensely kind and caring - hence her nursing of Shesheshen back to health - but to a fault, to the point where she tries to care for and help her family even as they unfairly berate or even physically harm her...and she can't help but blame herself for her family's actions and feelings towards her. We never see Homily interact with her brother, but he's a pompous asshole, and her two sisters both feel at constant liberty to scream at and physically harm her whenever they want...and Homily blames herself for her sisters wanting to do that, as if something she did while they were growing up is responsible for that. Meanwhile, Homily's mother is a cruel person who seemingly cares about nothing more than slaying the monster she thinks is responsible for a curse on their family...no matter how many innocent lives of villagers or mercenaries she hired it costs, and sees Homily not being as violent and as aggressive as her siblings as a massive flaw and something worth yelling about. And yet Homily can't break away from that family, even as Shesheshen can see how they don't deserve her love.....which of course causes Shesheshen to plot to eat that family to save Homily. She is a monster after all.

Such is the character setup for a plot that, with a lot of very fun Wiswell quirkiness (like I mentioned before the jump, there's a human villager character who's a pompous ass at the start whose reaction to Shesheshen is very different and kind of funny), looks like it's going in directions you'd expect: where the humans are revealed as the real monsters but Shesheshen and Homily's relationship is broken apart at first by the revelation of the truth of Shesheshen's physical monstrosity. There's even a part where Shesheshen finds herself growing an organ that pumps blood for the first time, as if she's growing a heart. But here's the thing - without spoiling - that makes this book a step up from other books: it does not go in the directions you'd expect (alright the theme of Humans often being the real monsters is real, but that's about it). There are some late plot twists in the final third that shift things massively on their head, Shesheshen and Homily's relationship and the revelation interact in very different ways, and it all comes together in an immensely satisfying, if far from bloodless, conclusion.

Just a remarkably satisfying Queer/Ace Fantasy Romance (or Romantic Fantasy - but I think it counts as romance since it has a Happy Ever After of a kind). Highly recommended.

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.

5/5 stars
Recommended if you like: fantasy, light horror, monster main characters, LGBTQ+ characters

This review has been posted to Goodreads as of 1/30 and my review blog as of 3/12, and will be posted to Instagram on 3/22.

TW: gore, animal cruelty, abuse

I definitely thought this was a novella going into this and didn't realize it wasn't until I got past all the acknowledgements, ARC stuff, and table of contents and the book was still on 1%. Most of the horror I read is in novella format, so I was a little worried I was going to end up with more than I'd bargained for, but luckily that wasn't the case!

This book definitely has gore in it, at times quite a bit, but I wouldn't really classify this as a gorey novel and, in that same vein, while Shesheshen is a monster and devours people, I wouldn't classify this book as 'horror' necessarily. I suppose it is somewhat in the same vein as The Salt Grows Heavy, though Shesheshen and the mermaid are very different. I actually thought some of the scenes of Shesheshen eating were funny at times, she has an interesting outlook to things that can be humorous.

Shesheshen herself is the only one of her kind that she knows. Her mother was killed when she was young and she devoured her siblings before they could devour her and has lived in monster solitude ever since. It's clear that her early life has a great impact on her since she wants to find someone to build a nest in who will be a better parent than her father was (and whom she views as just a setting, albeit a nice nest), how she wants to be able to be there for her offspring, and how she questions some things about her own existence since she had no one to teach her otherwise. I found Shesheshen to be interesting, particularly in the way that she can absorb items around her and utilize them to build her body's structure.

Despite being a 'monster,' Shesheshen clearly has empathy and feelings. Her best friend is a blue bear named Blueberry and the two are obviously close and Shesheshen definitely loves her. Likewise, she's able to recognize the hypocrisy of humans calling her a monster while killing what- and whoever they feel and being mean to one another. Shesheshen is also drawn to Homily's kindness and it quickly becomes clear that she has a strong protective streak when it comes to the people and things she cares about.

Homily is depicted as kindhearted and even expresses similar sentiments about hunting animals and monsters that Shesheshen does. These two are two of the things that most strongly draw Shesheshen to her. But Homily has also been through some shit and has a hard time around people as well as the tendency to let people hurt her, either in a "go along to get along" kind of way or because she thinks she deserves it. Despite this, Homily also has a strong protective streak and protects Shesheshen and others on multiple occasions.

While not a main character, I have to give a shoutout to Laurent, whom I find hilarious. May he be happily terrorized for the rest of his days.

I enjoyed reading about Shesheshen's attempts to stay close to Homily, and confess that she's the 'monster' who Homily thinks cursed her family (but definitely didn't), and how major hijinks ensue as a result of this decision. Shesheshen definitely has gotten herself into a situation here and it was funny to read her desperately attempting to outmaneuver the humans trying to hunt her down. She shows some remarkable cunning, and it's clear she has a good mind for strategy. But I did find her attempts to get out of the situation without devouring the whole hunting party to be quite hilarious.

While this is ostensibly a humorous story about a queer monster falling in love with a human, this book also tackles themes like abuse and the cycle of abuse. Shesheshen has suffered at the hands of humans who have come to kill her, which is one kind of abuse, but Homily has suffered through having a truly demonic set of family members who seem to delight in harming her, both physically and emotionally. A large part of this story is about healing from that and not falling into the same cycles, wittingly or unwittingly.

Overall I enjoyed this book and found it to be fairly light-hearted, despite its contents. There is some gore, but it's not too bad, and Shesheshen's 'monster' shenanigans are done very matter-of-factly and with a great deal of attention paid toward whether Homily would think it too weird.

First, I have to say that I loved every bit of this story. For a horror tale about a monster who eats people/things and uses them to mold her body, it is surprisingly wholesome. Like, this is also a love story, and a sweet one at that. It's hilarious, too. Some of the characters are absolutely terrible, and it's very much a "who is the real monster" kind of story. It's one of the most delightful horror/monster stories I've ever read.

Reminded me a lot of T. Kingfisher's style, which I am a huge fan of, so this is an author I'm going to have to find more from. I desperately hope that they write tons more stuff like this, because I love love loved it.

I heartily recommend this to pretty much everyone.

"Someone You Can Build a Nest in" by John Wiswell is a captivating blend of horror and heartwarming romance that left me enchanted. I saw this described by other readers as a cozy horror, and I couldn't agree more. It's like a gory Grimm fairy tale wrapped in the comforting warmth of "The House Witch" by Delemhach. Imagine if Neil Gaiman's "Stardust" focused on Lamia, the head witch, and her journey to redemption after years of seeing the error of her ways.

The relationship between Homily and Shesheshen (which I confirmed with the author rhymes with "succession") is beautifully depicted, proving that soulmates can find each other regardless of their outer appearances and in spite of all odds. Shesheshen's natural detachment and ignorance, born from years of isolation, gave her a snarky sense of humor that she grew into over time. Shesheshen's personality shines through as a badass character that adds depth to the story as we see her grow in more ways than one.

As an animal lover, I have to award bonus points for the sweet addition of Blueberry, the lovable blue bear/confidante who is Shesheshen's, as the kids say, "ride or die." Overall, this is a perfectly visceral and captivating tale that combines horror with heart in a truly unique way.

A hilarious yet absolutely charming sapphic horror romance told from the perspective of the monster. This book is for all my Jennifer's Body loving girls, for all my horror fans, and for anyone who appreciates a good sapphic romance, this book is IT. The story follows a flesh-eating shapeshifting monster who accidentally falls for the monster hunter who is after her. Shesheshen has been pretty content with her life, she is a shapeshifting monster who is essentially a lump at the bottom of a ruined manor. She consumes humans in order to make her own body and maintain it. However when the latest group of hunters chase her out of her home and she falls off a cliff she is surprisingly rescued by Homily, a kind hearted and sweet woman.... who just happens to be the daughter of the family of monster hunters hell bent on killing Shesheshen. To make matters worse, Shesheshen is falling for Homily and hiding who she truly is while trying to keep up the facade of being a human. Eating her girlfriend is definitely not an option but Shesheshen needs to feed and its nearly impossible with so many monster hunters around and Homily's twisted family watching them. Can Shesheshen find a way to build a nest and family with the woman she loves... or will the truth of who she actually is completely ruin any chance at happiness? This book was so funny yet so sweet. I loved the sapphic monster romance in this so much and had a fun time with the variety of characters (Laurent had me laughing so much).The horror in this book was so well done, it was giving Alien levels of horror and the body horror was fantastic. This book completely blew my mind with how good it was and I can't wait to for everyone to add this to their list when spooky season comes around!!

*Thanks Netgalley and DAW for sending me an arc in exchange for an honest review*