Someone You Can Build a Nest In

By John Wiswell

Nebula and Locus Award Winner!

Hugo Award Nominee

An NPR, Washington Post, Book Riot, Library Journal and Audible Best Book of 2024!

"This novel is monstrously perfect, in every way" —P. Djèlí Clark for The New York Times


“This unusual queer romance is a heartfelt fable about disability and the possibility of reconciling conflicting needs through love and understanding.” —The Guardian

"Sweetly furious, darkly funny, and gruesomely wholesome. It's a love story for the unloved, a happily-ever-after with a higher-than-average body count. I just adored it." —Alix E. Harrow, New York Times-bestselling author of Starling House

Shesheshen has made a mistake fatal to all monsters: she's fallen in love.

Shesheshen is a shapeshifter, who happily resides as an amorphous lump at the bottom of a ruined manor. When her rest is interrupted by impolite monster hunters, she constructs a body from the remains of past meals: a metal chain for a backbone, borrowed bones for limbs, and a bear trap as an extra mouth.

Badly hurt by the hunters, Shesheshen’s nursed back to health by Homily, a warm-hearted human. Homily is kind and would make a great co-parent: an ideal place to lay Shesheshen’s eggs so their young can devour Homily from the inside out. But as they grow close, Shesheshen realizes that eating her girlfriend isn’t an option.

Just as Shesheshen’s about to confess her identity, Homily reveals something else: she’s hunting a shapeshifting monster that supposedly cursed her family. Has Shesheshen seen it anywhere?

Shesheshen didn’t curse anyone, so now she has to figure out why Homily’s twisted family thinks she did. As Shesheshen’s hunt for the monster becomes increasingly deadly, the bigger challenge remains: learning how to build a life with, rather than in, the woman she loves.

A stealthily funny, slyly smart, and remarkably touching story. Its wisdom will creep up on you as surely as your affection for its monstrous main character.”—Veronica Roth, #1 New York Times-bestselling author of When Among Crows

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Published Apr 2, 2024

363 pages

Average rating: 7.71

128 RATINGS

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Community Reviews

tripp2mylou
Apr 04, 2025
7/10 stars
I am so bummed to miss a book discussion about this because I absolutely adored this book!
Lyndsey Ercan
Dec 12, 2024
8/10 stars
If Manon Blackbeak is your favorite TOG character then this book is for you.
sajaella
Jun 19, 2026
5/10 stars
All the characters in this novel are flat and it feels like the author was afraid to add nuance to our protagonists in case it made them less likeable
thereadingbanshee
Jun 01, 2026
This is a gem for sure

It has so many good quotes, it pulled at my heartstrings A LOT, i loved the obvious disability rep there and the trauma discussions, and yea just all around goodness :3

also, it did have a pacing issue for me, towards past the middle until almost the end sadly, which made me less emotionally invested. Honestly doesn't take out every other good things this book has, and makes me want to go through it and maybe reread it sometime !
i'm going to need a physical copy for that though lmao
MordecaisMomsAshes
May 04, 2026
7/10 stars
It's not a subtle book. But it's VERY enjoyable

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