John Wiswell: Someone You Can Build a Nest In

Shesheshen is a shape-shifting monster. She is awakened from hibernation by an attack — a few monster hunters are trying to kill her. She quickly assembles various parts to rebuild her skeleton and fights back, killing and absorbing a haughty nobleman. However, she is struck by an arrow poisoned with rosemary (which is extremely toxic to her). Badly injured, she falls off a cliff.

Disguised as a human, she is rescued by a kind woman named Homily, who nurses her back to health. Shesheshen has never encountered such kindness before, and the two become very close. But complications soon arise: Homily turns out to be the sister of the nobleman Shesheshen killed and absorbed. Homily believes her family is cursed by the monster and considers it their duty to destroy it. Shesheshen, however, has no memory of ever cursing anyone.

And it turns out that Homily’s mother killed Shesheshen’s mother years ago. And as Shesheshen grows more emotionally attached to Homily, her eggsack begins to develop. It appears to have a will of its own, intent on being implanted in a human host so that her offspring can consume the person from within.

So, there are a few complications in their love story.

But love conquers all — even when there are many, many obstacles along the way.

A fun and unusual romantic story.

The book could have benefited from tighter editing. The monster’s life cycle also raised some questions — how were the eggs fertilized? There were no male monsters present, though it was stated that monsters could be either male or female, implying two sexes. Additionally, if each female only produced one eggsack in her lifetime, and if implanted offspring fought to the death until only one survived, that would mean only one child per female monster — an unsustainable reproductive model.

Shesheshen also seemed a bit too human in her thinking. At times, she was portrayed as naïve, yet she could also grasp complex psychological concepts and recognize signs of mental abuse. Given her lack of prior contact with humans, this felt implausible.

Still, the book was a fun, light read overall.

310 pp.