Shesheshen is minding her own business at home when a trio of home invaders break in, intent on killing her. The thing is that they're monster hunters and Shesheshen is, by most definitions of the word, a monster. She's a shapeshifting creature that, yes fine, eats humans when needed (though she tries to only eat the bad ones who are hurting others), but really all she wants is love. After scaring off two of the monster hunters (and eating the other one), Shesheshen is wounded, alone, and temporarily human-shaped when she is discovered by a traveling botanist named Homily, who treats her with the first kindness Shesheshen has ever experienced. And now Shesheshen is conflicted — she's falling in love with Homily, despite the fact that Homily's family is dead set on killing Shesheshen. She's not sure how she can keep Homily in her life while still killing off those who would kill her.
I love the idea of a fantasy novel from the monster's point of view, and for the most part, Wiswell nails it. Shesheshen is pretty gross, but she's also a very three-dimensional, sympathetic character, and it's easy to take her side in the conflict that dominates this book. Where the book falters, however, is in the plot, particularly toward the end of the book, where it wanders off into the weeds a bit, with several potential stopping points that aren't. I'd still happily recommend this to anyone who has felt like an outsider (and is OK with reading about copious bodily fluids).
Finally, look at that cover. It's definitely an early frontrunner for best of the year!
This book will be published April 2, 2024.
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