Reviews tagging 'Body horror'

Nestlings by Nat Cassidy

47 reviews

mmccombs's review against another edition

Go to review page

dark tense medium-paced

3.5

That was nuts! And gross! It was a more gruesome version of Rosemary’s Baby and it really packed a punch. I enjoyed the setting and the creatures and the dynamics of disability and Jewishness at the intersection of horror. I did find this book a little long, it felt very flat plot-wise until the end. But the payoff was really interesting and the ending was unexpected in a good way. This was a compelling horror read, would definitely recommend!
Expand filter menu Content Warnings

rachelly's review against another edition

Go to review page

dark emotional reflective sad tense

4.25

Expand filter menu Content Warnings

thegayestghost's review against another edition

Go to review page

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

5.0

Expand filter menu Content Warnings

philomathean's review against another edition

Go to review page

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

5.0

Expand filter menu Content Warnings

gawdz0rz's review against another edition

Go to review page

dark emotional tense 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

Expand filter menu Content Warnings

stephanieluxton's review against another edition

Go to review page

dark mysterious 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? Yes

3.0

This book started off feeling like it'd be a 5 star read then slowly went downhill until it reached an unsatisfying ending.

Something fantastic about this book was the authors ability to create an intense feeling of isolation in New York City. The setting is fantastic - so ominous. Our FMC is in a wheelchair which I thought was quite clever as it added to her isolation. The pacing was also quite good. The author didn't reveal too much too quickly. There were quite a few genuinely scary and unsettling moments!

There are a few issues with this book and Id say the one that struck me the most is that I didn't feel like the author didn't really capture parental love well in his writing. The FMC had basically no maternal instincts. This isn't entirely a spoiler but
the FMC is resentful towards her baby because a very difficult birth left her disabled in a wheelchair. I thought this added an interesting dynamic but my problem is that I think that was a character flaw that she should have overcome by the end of the story. It kind of seems like she will but she doesn't
.
The reveal of what's happening felt a little too much like an info dump after a nice slow build. I didn't like that in the end
the dad, who has been a mostly great dad for the whole book decides that he should just let the vampire gargoyle leech people have his baby. Why have him searching so desperately for a way out just to make him change his mind about it in a whim then kill him off. Also the wife didn't seem traumatized enough by basically killing her husband. Her whole world fell apart and she just seems fine at the end. So dumb.

I hated Frank. More specifically, I hated that frank existed as a character. He feels like he was inserted for political reasons because the author wanted to write about a stereotypical far right extremist but he genuinely added nothing to the story. I think it actually would have been more effective if
instead of being a horrible ex landlord who wants revenge of the couple for moving out and damaging his apartment, he instead was an excellent nice landlord who was seeking the couple out to return some belongings they left behind. What happens is he goes to their apartment to kill them because the dad swore at him, the couple is Jewish, and Frank is a bad person. Then he immediately gets killed by the monsters at the same time the FMC is trying to escape elthe building. What's the point? If he was a nice neighbor, he could have helped the FMC escape and then his death would have had a huge emotional impact.
Anyways, I get annoyed when it feels like authors are trying to hard to insert a political message that didn't fit naturally into the story. One more thing that bothers me is that
after the physical therapy woman gets killed/ goes missing (which was a great scene, by the way. Truly spooky), why the fuck did no one reach out to the FMC? Her coworkers would have known that was the last place she was working. Does no one notice this lady missing?

Can we also talk about how the history of the building is shrouded in mystery, but for some reason every delivery or Uber eats employee refuses to enter the building? Why do door dash employees seem to know it's a bad place but no one else seems to know?!
Expand filter menu Content Warnings

devonnkirby's review against another edition

Go to review page

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

3.0

Expand filter menu Content Warnings

autumnrain's review against another edition

Go to review page

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

5.0

Expand filter menu Content Warnings

thefmark's review against another edition

Go to review page

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

2.5

This book was good enough to (begrudgingly) finish but not to recommend. It tries to be too much and doesn’t fully succeed at any of it. The biggest travesty is that the worst character got the happy ending, it would have been more satisfying had there been no happy ending at all.
Expand filter menu Content Warnings

slatz's review against another edition

Go to review page

dark tense fast-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? A mix
  • Loveable characters? No
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.5

Expand filter menu Content Warnings