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Title details for Someone You Can Build a Nest In by John Wiswell - Available

Someone You Can Build a Nest In

by John Wiswell
Carmen Rose
Audiobook
1 of 2 copies available
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1 of 2 copies available
Shesheshen is a shapeshifter, who happily resides as an amorphous lump at the bottom of a ruined manor. When her rest is interrupted by hunters intent on murdering her, she constructs a body using a metal chain for a backbone, borrowed bones for limbs, and a bear trap as an extra mouth. However, the hunters chase Shesheshen out of her home and off a cliff. Badly hurt, she's found and nursed back to health by Homily, a warmhearted human, who has mistaken Shesheshen as a fellow human. Homily is kind and nurturing and would make an excellent coparent: an ideal place to lay Shesheshen's eggs so their young could devour Homily from the inside out. But as they grow close, she realizes humans don't think about love that way.
Shesheshen hates keeping her identity secret from Homily, but just as she's about to confess, Homily reveals why she's in the area: she's hunting a shapeshifting monster that supposedly cursed her family. Shesheshen didn't curse anyone, but to give herself and Homily a chance at happiness, she has to figure out why Homily's twisted family thinks she did. As the hunt for the monster becomes increasingly deadly, Shesheshen must unearth the truth quickly, or soon both of their lives will be at risk. And the bigger challenge remains: surviving her toxic in-laws long enough to learn to build a life with, rather than in, the love of her life.

  • Creators

  • Publisher

  • Awards

  • Release date

    April 2, 2024

  • Formats

    • OverDrive Listen audiobook

      • ISBN: 9798855524451
      • File size: 276736 KB
      • Duration: 09:36:31

  • Languages

    • English

  • Reviews

    • Publisher's Weekly

      February 5, 2024
      Wiswell’s grisly debut monster romance confronts familial abuse, otherness, and healing from trauma. Three human monster hunters surprise flesh-eating shape-shifter Shesheshen during her annual hibernation and poison her with a crossbow bolt soaked in rosemary before she can consume them. Weak from hunger and incomplete rest, Shesheshen—disguised as a human—hunts for food, as she must assimilate both organic and inorganic matter to maintain her body’s structures and function. After she is unmasked and driven off a cliff, human woman Homily finds her and treats her injuries without realizing that Shesheshen is a monster. Attracted to Homily’s selflessness, Shesheshen considers turning her savior into a self-sacrificing nest for her eggs. Both Shesheshen and Homily struggle with secrets they’re keeping from each other, but as their association brings them afoul of powerful enemies, their painful pasts catch up with them. There’s a potent emotional core to this blood-soaked tale, but the occasionally shaky worldbuilding muddles the message. Still, readers looking for dark and distinctive romantic fantasy will want to check this out. Agent: Hannah Bowman, Liza Dawson Assoc.

    • AudioFile Magazine
      Carmen Rose narrates this sapphic horror/romance with a sardonic wit that makes for an immersive listening experience. Shesheshen is a shape-shifting monster who, weary of devouring an endless line of hunters seeking to eradicate her kind, constructs a makeshift human body and infiltrates the human world. What she doesn't expect is to fall for Homily, a human woman who is haunted by a family curse. Romance for Shesheshen's kind often entails egg incubation from a willing partner and the violent hatching of said offspring, but she sees in Homily the possibility of a gentler life. Rose brings each character's traits to life--from Shesheshen's deadpan humor to Homily's earnest compassion--and performs fight scenes with a liveliness that transports listeners into the battle. C.J.C. © AudioFile 2024, Portland, Maine
    • Library Journal

      August 1, 2024

      Nebula Award-winning short story writer Wiswell makes his novel debut with a monster horror-fantasy that has the story beats of a romantic comedy. Shape-shifter Shesheshen is known and feared throughout the land as "the Wyrm of Underlook," who makes a meal of any monster hunter foolish enough to engage her. Having constructed a human form for herself from old bones and a bear trap, she is soon pursued and driven off a cliff. A young woman named Homily finds and nurses Shesheshen, in her human form, back to health. Sheshenen begins to think she might be falling in love with Homily, even as she realizes that the kindhearted woman would make an excellent receptacle for her eggs. This is after Homily, who doesn't know Shesheshen's secret, confesses that she must kill the Wyrm (that is, Shesheshen) to break her family's curse. Wiswell puts a lot of genre conventions in the blender and pours readers an oddly satisfying concoction of body horror, fantasy adventure, and humorous misunderstandings. Narrator Carmen Rose adds the right balance of gravitas and emotion as Shesheshen painfully learns to love and be human. VERDICT A grimly funny blend of fantasy, romance, and horror, perfect for fans of Christopher Moore.--James Gardner

      Copyright 2024 Library Journal, LLC Used with permission.

Formats

  • OverDrive Listen audiobook

subjects

Languages

  • English

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