Reviews tagging 'Antisemitism'

Nestlings by Nat Cassidy

68 reviews

thefinalfangirl's review against another edition

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

4.75

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kultumirjam's review against another edition

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

3.25

Interesting premise and the story reeled me in quickly. I don't usually really love horror books with (view spoiler), and this book didn't make an exception. There were a few creepy moments though and the story felt original enough – possibly because of the themes of disability and Jewish cultural references. Quite well written, if not exactly my type.
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cortanasreadingnook's review against another edition

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challenging dark mysterious sad tense medium-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? Plot
  • Strong character development? Yes
  • Loveable characters? Yes
  • Diverse cast of characters? Yes
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.5

“Know your home. Know you’re home.”

4.5 ⭐️ 

When I tell you nothing could have seriously prepared me for this book. I am so fucking amazed at how Nestlings is a horror story that also teaches the bitter, painful realization of grief and heartbreak. Eerily so, this story begins when a couple with their baby daughter moves into the Deptford, a luxurious high-rise building from winning the lottery. Things have been fine till they start noticing creepy shit going on inside the building and when their baby starts showing up with bite marks, they later realize that the Deptford is hiding something. The plot escalated from there and it’s just so mindfucking. You’d think this was simply a book about vampires, but it really isn’t. This book will truly leave you speechless. It’s about how beautiful and scary motherhood can be and that it can truly fuck you up. It was an emotionally challenging read for me and 
I think I’ll be suffering because of this book days from now. I’ve loved horror & slasher films since I was a kid but reading this was truly an unforgettable experience.
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meyeram30's review against another edition

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dark emotional mysterious
  • Strong character development? Yes
  • Diverse cast of characters? Yes

3.25

This one was weird! Not weird in a bad way exactly, but definitely different from other horror stories I’ve read. Nestlings, while housing a truly unique and intriguing take on Jewish vampirism (didn’t see that coming), didn’t tick all the boxes for me. I would have loved much creepier detailing to engage an eerier and more uncomfortable reading experience. This story has some gore and mystery, but not enough overall scare factor, imo! 

I did really enjoy reading the afterword. It rounded out the story well, gave clearer insight into the motivations in Cassidy’s life at the time of writing, and showcased the well thought out subtleties of this story and its characters. The blanket message of pushing through life even when shit hits the fan is important and appreciated. 
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alisonvh's review against another edition

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dark emotional mysterious tense medium-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? Plot
  • Strong character development? Yes
  • Loveable characters? Yes
  • Diverse cast of characters? No
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

5.0

Rosemary’s Baby meets Salem’s Lot. ‘Nough said.
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dehernandez3169's review against another edition

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

4.5

I think I will read ANYTHING Nat Cassidy publishes. 

While this book wasn't as perfect and life altering as Mary, it was another masterpiece. 

Nat Cassidy has a way of writing female characters with such understanding it is so puzzling that the prose come  from a man. Ana is broken and pessimistic and she reads like a real woman.
Her husband doesn't come in and save her. She is able to save herself.
 

I don't love vampires and had I known, I might not have picked up this book. I would have missed out. I never knew I needed a Jewish take on vampire lore.

I'm on the edge of my seat waiting for Nat Cassidy's next book. 
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bibliograflieg's review against another edition

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

4.0

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curlydanreads'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? Yes
  • Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

5.0

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blacksphinx's review against another edition

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

5.0

When it was pitched to me as "Rosemary's Baby meets Salem's Lot in New York City", I was interested. When I listened to Nat Cassidy talk about this book and he said it was, in part, a Jewish vampire story, I was sold. It more than delivered on those promises with a building that feels alive, some of the most horrific body horror I've ever read, and an extremely satisfying series of Chekov's guns going off at the end. 

Please publishers, give us more disabled protagonists and more Jewish horror!
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thelstrhi's review against another edition

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adventurous dark emotional inspiring medium-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? A mix
  • Strong character development? Yes
  • Loveable characters? It's complicated
  • Diverse cast of characters? Yes
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.0

I thoroughly enjoyed this book. In fact, it is one of the books that, although a movie would never do it complete justice, I would love to see developed into something for the big or small screen. The authors way of writing made you feel like you were there and feeling all of the things that the main character Ana was going through, and although it might be trite to say, the city was such a part of the story that it was like it was a character itself. I definitely would recommend this to anyone who enjoys Jewish stories about NYC and horror. 
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