An intimate, intense, unflinching account of one mother’s year+ escaping her emotionally abusive marriage, living in a hotel while searching for employment and a new home, and navigating the social services available to her. The secondary characters are a real highlight of the story - it was beautiful to watch Ciara’s world and chosen family expand.

Content warning for houselessness and emotional abuse. Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for the opportunity to read an advanced copy of this book. I learned so much from it.

Roisin O’Donnell’s debut novel, “Nesting” is a powerful portrayal of the horrors of domestic violence and the general inadequacy of available support system resources.

Family domestic abuse is something that is rarely discussed in polite society, but it is pervasive. Physical assault is occasionally documented, especially when it results in disfigurement or murder. Psychological abuse, though even more widespread and difficult to manage, is rarely addressed.

O’Donnell does a masterful job of illuminating the issue. “Nesting” is propulsive, but it wasn’t in any way a quick read. Even though I have years of experience dealing with homelessness, domestic violence, human trafficking, and substance use, I was unable to handle more than one or two segments before needing to take a break. It is all too real. “Nesting” is compelling and disturbing, visceral and disquieting. There are often moments when you want to shout out loud when our protagonist, Ciara, is on the verge of making a decision. It is all so hard. So sad.

“Nesting” is, in a word, stunning. But readers beware. The topics covered are highly disturbing and likely to linger. Shout out to all victims, families, and caregivers who are doing their best to help each family, one at a time.

Thank you to Algonquin Books of Chapel Hill and NetGalley for the eARC.

Hands down one of the best written books that I read in 2024. The writing was wonderful. The author made you feel as though you experienced every moment along with the protagonist. A deftly written story illustrating that abuse needs to be not be only physical. An evocative drama imbued with hope for women everywhere who try to escape abusive situations and the difficulties faced when they try to right their lives and their childrens’s lives.

3.5 rounded up

A solid novel about surviving domestic violence, though the quickness and patness of the story takes away from the narrative. Yes, Ciara struggles, but everything seems to just click into place for her after a certain point. Maybe this wouldn't be so glaring if it weren't for the side characters who still are in the same place as Ciara moves forward. With not exploration of why this might be, Ciara's rebuilt life feels less earned.

I liked the intense focus on Ciara, without trying to make Ryan at all sympathetic.

The bird metaphor went a little too far for me.

Honestly, my favorite parts of the book were the descriptions of place and of being homesick.

Thanks to Netgalley for the advance copy.

A phenomenal piece of writing. Great pacing...from the early sense of unease to frantic flight, desperate search for housing, stasis/frustration, emerging friendships, sense of hope, return of fear, escalation, physical unclenching and oh that ending. O'Donnell evokes a real sense of understanding and compassion for women trying to find their way out of desperate and dangerous relationships. At the same time, she has created a singular character in Ciara, never allowing her to become just an amalgam of case studies. Beautiful cover art is a perfect representation of the novel's central theme. Thank you to #NetGalley and #Hachette for this early read of #Nesting.

What a stunning heartbreaking debut. As people may know, I am obsessed with Ireland and will read almost any book if it is set there. I wasn't expecting to be so moved by this story, the characters all felt so multidimensional and real and raw. You can read the plot summary for a general idea of the story and triggers, but I highly recommend reading this one.

Thank you so much to the publishers and netgalley for the e-arc.

This book gives a great picture of not only how hard it is to leave an abusive marriage but how much harder it is to stay gone. Ciara faces impossible odds to start her life over with her daughters. This book felt very real and raw. It’s a slow burn until the end. It shines a very necessary light on domestic violence.

Thanks to Algonquin Books and NetGalley for this ARC of Roisín O'Donnell's 'Nesting.'

As per the description of this novel, we're presented with Ciara, a 30-something newly pregnant mother of three- and five-year-old (ish) daughters who after five years of emotional and psychological abuse and coercion decides, mid-laundry, to take her children and escape.

What follows is a tension filled and suspense-building account of what happens many women in that situation. She's escaping into a Dublin city that's left her behind in many ways - there's not much accommodation available and what is is overpriced and unwelcoming of women in her 'situation.' She finds herself on the welfare floor of a hotel on Dublin's north quays where she's not allowed to use the lift or be in the lobby, subsisting on carvery food, fast food, and sneakily prepared rice cooker noodles in the room she shares with her children from where she's left - largely alone - to figure out how to protect herself and her family and move on from the terror of her marriage.

She's faced with well-meaning but largely unhelpful state employees in the glacial social services and housing bureaucracy and with the coldness of the family court system. Her family is very supportive but living in England or Northern Ireland so she's very much alone but does develop a strong bond with one of her hotel-mates as well as a Brazilian gig worker who double jobs at the hotel.

Ryan (or Ryan-Patrick to his doting and oblivious mother) is a controlling menace who presents as the perfect husband. His carefully wrought campaign of seeming love and devotion and efforts to reunite his family are very sinister and very believable, especially of 'official Ireland.' Throughout most of the book (and reflected in the cover design) runs the theme of a bird that he's 'saved' and the analogy with Ciara is unavoidable and unmistakable - a tethered and abused bird, kept for amusement and control, but which on the surface seems like the caring and altruistic act of a fine man.

The tension in the writing and the pacing of the book really is a physical and stomach-twisting force. I had to put the book down repeatedly for fear of what was coming and you have to imagine that it's but a tiny fraction of the stress and terror that many women worldwide experience for real.

It's hard to go deeper with this review for fear of spoilers but at the same time it's not hard to imagine some of the events that occur throughout. It's the realness and compelling nature of the writing that keeps this book from being a straightforward documentary relating of the life of the abused woman and family in Ireland today.

Congratulations to the author and the publisher, I hope this is a huge success.