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Reviews tagging 'Racism'

Nestlings by Nat Cassidy

34 reviews

minimicropup's review against another edition

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challenging dark emotional mysterious sad tense fast-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? A mix
  • Strong character development? Yes
  • Loveable characters? Yes
  • Diverse cast of characters? Yes
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

5.0

Eerie. Apprehensive. Brave. 
🇺🇸 Set in a gothic-style Art Deco apartment across from Central Park in New York, USA 
POV: Told in third-person narration, we mainly follow a married couple grappling with the challenges of new parenthood and post-birth trauma. 
 
Mood Reading Match Up: 
-Infusions of grown-up Goosebumps vibes set against a gothic Manhattan backdrop. 
-Integrating folklore horror and mythological creatures into urban life 
-Strong, complex character studies (including the monsters) with gradually evolving atmospheric plots 
-Exploring themes and social commentary on luck, heritage, Jewish identity, the rawness of parenthood, birth trauma, and struggling with new parent identities. 
 
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🐺 Growls, Howls, and Tail Wags 🐕 
✏️ Writing: The writing style is direct and to the point, immediately drawing me in. 
 
🫥 Characters: The narrative provides a ‘fly on the wall’ perspective, mainly from Ana and Reid’s points of view, but also includes other characters when relevant. 
 
🗺️ Worldbuilding: The setting in Manhattan feels authentic and immersive, with sensory details that create a parallel universe feel. The lore around the building adds an extra layer of intrigue. 
 
🔥 Fuel: Suspense is masterfully built through scenes that lack context, keeping me guessing and engaged. 
 
🐇 Pacing: The pacing is well-executed, maintaining momentum even through intense scenes. 
 
🎬 Scenes: The novel has a cinematic quality, I want a movie/mini-series adaptation! 
 
💭 Random Thoughts: The portrayal of a parent struggling with bonding and resentment towards their child is handled with depth and realism, exploring the complexities and often unspoken aspects of parenthood. I love how this veers away from the typical mother-child bond, momma bear worship. 
 
— 
 
Content Heads-Up: Medical (birth injury). Disability (inaccessibility, paralysis). Ableism. Covid-19 (recall). Racist character (antisemitism). Anxiety, panic attacks (experienced, triggered). Toxic parent. Sexual content (consenting, relationship). Post-partum depression (recalled, insinuated). Unemployment. Suicidal thoughts, attempt. Sleep deprivation. Loss of a parent (recall, grief). Body horror (mutation, feeding, body fluids). 
Rep includes: Jewish American, differently-abled (wheelchair mobility) and White characters, delving into their experiences and traditions. 
 
Format: Library Digital via Libby. 
 
🤩 This was one of my Favourite Books of 2023
 
“Reviews are my musings 💖 powered by puppy snuggles 🐶 refined by my AI Bestie ✨”
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bookzombiee19's review against another edition

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dark emotional mysterious sad tense medium-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? Plot
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

5.0

Nat Cassidy is a wizard and I'm raptured by his writing. And his author's note is so heart touching. 
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grey_jayne's review against another edition

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dark emotional mysterious sad tense fast-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? A mix
  • Strong character development? Yes
  • Loveable characters? It's complicated
  • Diverse cast of characters? No
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

4.5

Nestlings is a page turning blast! I've been enjoying Jewish horror films and I'm glad to report that this was a great Jewish horror book. And there's quality disability representation.

The Chapters all have numerical chapters within them, a clear indicator that Stephen King is a strong influence here. Cassidy's writing flows in that vintage King way too without the problematic voice of much of King's work.

It was a lot of fun and many people are calling Nestlings the best horror book of 2023 so definitely check it out.
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bookedbymadeline's review against another edition

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dark emotional mysterious tense

4.5

Thank you to Netgalley and Tor Publishing for the eARC!

First let me preface by saying I loved that there’s content warnings at the beginning of the book, I think it’s something all authors should do! Now onto the review.

The book is told through switching POVs between Ana and Reid mostly, but occasionally we get POVs from some minor characters. I was immediately pulled in and didn’t want to put this one down! The writing is atmospheric with Very tense, eerie vibes. I had goosebumps, felt like I was being watched and general creepy crawlies while reading (do not recommend reading at night right before bed) 🫣

It slowed a bit in the middle but overall the pacing was well done! The character development was also fantastic, I really liked Ana and watching her grow throughout the novel. Although both MCs were well written, Ana was so complex and had great depth to her 😍

This novel is incredibly written in its exploration of grief and motherhood. The topics of postpartum, disability, and infertility were well written/handled with care! I can’t speak for the disability community but the infertility rep made me feel so seen. 

I loved the acknowledgements as well! I’ve never been so moved by an authors note 💗

Nestlings is a unique horror novel in terms of the plot and adding to some horror lore with a new twist. If you like horror novels or movies/shows, I’d highly recommend! Nestlings is marketed as Salem’s Lot meets Rosemary’s Baby, but it also gave  me Midnight Mass vibes 👻 I’ll definitely be checking out more of Cassidy’s horror novels!

Rep: Jewish MCs and author, paraplegia FMC, infertility rep
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