Shapeshifting monster Shesheshen just wants to be left alone in her lair, but the land’s royal family is determined to kill the worm that cursed them. When one of these royals brings a hunting party to her lair as she hibernates, she must fight to defend herself and kill them. She sets out on a journey of survival that brings her to Homily—one of the siblings of this royal family who is utterly different from the rest of them—and falls in love.
Shesheshen has been on her own for so long and despises all the natural things humans engage in, from talking to eating to smelling. But Homily’s selfless generosity from the moment they meet makes her realize this woman is the love of her life, and the person she wants to build her nest in for her offspring. After all, her father had been an excellent nest, which made him a wonderful father. This is the idea of love and family that Shesheshen knows as her kind of species.
Wiswell’s worldbuilding relies mainly on crafting the lore of the monster and Shesheshen’s existence. His writing has a way of making terrifying body horror and the grotesque sound almost lush and beautiful. Shesheshen is a monster who creates herself by killing other beings and taking their parts as her own, forming the semblance of a body. This book is not for the squeamish.
Homily’s family abuses her mercilessly, making her their scapegoat for all the family’s misfortunes. Her mother, the Baroness, has raised her other children to hate Homily in the same way. Theirs is a family that favors cruelty, fear, and hatred, which makes Homily the black sheep.
On top of her kindness and generosity, her queerness also makes her a target for her family’s violence and mistreatment. When Homily brings Shesheshen home, not knowing that her new girlfriend is the very monster her family hunts, the Baroness and Homily’s siblings gaslight and berate her, making Homily feel that she is the reason her family cannot slay the monster.
In a story that comes from a so-called monster’s perspective, the true monsters are actually the people who hunt her and abuse Homily. As the story unfolds, the Baroness reveals she is not who she says she is, and that her reason for hunting Shesheshen is also a lie. But Shesheshen also learns that her idea of family and love, building a nest for her young, may also not be the truth of her existence.
The relationship between Shesheshen and Homily develops and grows sweetly. While Shesheshen comes off as sarcastic and aloof, Homily finds her charming and funny. At the same time, Shesheshen becomes smitten with Homily’s plus-size figure and roiling laughter, and even comes to enjoy her company and talking with her.
Their relationship also works well because both characters are described through the lens of asexuality. Shesheshen describes kissing as “failed cannibalism,” and Homily is relieved when she doesn’t want to kiss, as she also despises the behavior. Instead, they show intimacy and affection for each other in different ways—the careful touching of hands, holding tight to one another, caring for each other’s wounds.
[Spoilers, highlight to read] While the story does end with the two characters together, it can’t be called a happily ever after. The final pages show the aftermath of their adventures as Homily deals with PTSD and Shesheshen learns to be in a relationship without the constant onslaught of life-threatening situations. [End of spoilers.]
All in all, a dynamic story with ever-changing characters. Some plot points were predictable, but they were still well-written and kept me engaged.
