I received a review copy from the publisher. This does not affect the contents of my review and all opinions are my own. Nestlings by Nat Cassidy Mogsy’s Rating (Overall): 3.5 of 5 stars Genre: Horror Series: Stand Alone Publisher: Macmillan Audio (October 31,...
I received a review copy from the publisher. This does not affect the contents of my review and all opinions are my own.
Mogsy’s Rating (Overall): 3.5 of 5 stars
Genre: Horror
Series: Stand Alone
Publisher: Macmillan Audio (October 31, 2023)
Length: 13 hrs and 4 mins
Author Information: Website
Narrator: Cassandra Campbell
Nestlings by Nat Cassidy begins with a compelling premise. When young couple Ana and Reid received news that they had won the affordable housing lottery at the Deptford, one of the most prestigious apartment buildings in Manhattan, they thought things were finally going their way. For a long time, they had struggled with infertility, until rounds of expensive IVF led to the birth of their daughter Charlie almost a year ago. But the delivery had been fraught with complications, and in an extremely rare occurrence, Ana’s legs became paralyzed, leaving her in a wheelchair postpartum. The last eleven months were a very difficult time for the family, especially during the early weeks when Ana could not do as much to care for Charlie because she needed constant care herself.
Gradually, Ana and Reid adjusted to life with a newborn while also trying to make everything in their environment more accessible. It was this latter concern that almost led them to turn down their spot at the Deptford, an older building that isn’t exactly wheelchair friendly. Still, in the end, it was decided that if they’ve weathered all the challenges that came before, then surely, they can make this work as well. However, what neither of them anticipated were the secrets they held from each other. Ana doesn’t want to admit that a part of her blames Charlie for what happened to her, because what kind of mother feels hatred towards her own child? For his part, Reid also won’t ever let slip how he truly feels about those first few months having to take care of Ana, resenting his wife for needing so much care when he was already taking on the brunt of the parental responsibilities. Over time, beneath the daunting presence of the Deptford, these bitter feelings slowly eat away at the core of their relationship and lives.
When the pressure finally leads Reid to lose his job, a chance encounter leads him to work for a resident in the building, an older woman with an enduring sense of elegance by the name of Camilla Varné. Fascinated with the Deptford, Reid is excited when he is invited into her inner circle of longtime residents, eager to find out more about the building. Meanwhile, Ana is reaching the end of her wits with Charlie, who is displaying increasingly erratic behavior. After she bites another baby at her first birthday party, Ana and Reid become worried that something is seriously wrong.
In Nat Cassidy’s note at the end of the book, he reveals why he wrote Nestlings, including multiple sources of inspiration. Unsurprisingly, the bulk of it came from his own experiences during the uncertain time of the pandemic when the whole world was in lockdown and people all over stewed in their stresses, grief, and discontent. Both Ana and Reid felt like their allegories, simmering pots of rage and frustration on the verge of boiling over. Then, there was the author’s faith. Cassidy hints at the notion of a Jewish vampire story, which I won’t delve into in order to keep some things about the plot a surprise, but it was definitely one of the more interesting tidbits I learned about the novel’s creative origins.
As you’d probably expect, a lot of the horror inspiration also came from the masters like Stephen King as well as classic films, with Rosemary’s Baby coming immediately to mind. As I’ve noted before elsewhere, 2023 seems to be the year for birth trauma and parturition horror novels. Sensitive readers should take note that Nestlings might be hard to read if you don’t like stories involving complications during pregnancy and birth, or harm to babies and young children.
Plotwise, I found the concept behind Nestlings intriguing, as I said, though after a while it became easy to guess where the mystery was going. I enjoyed the book quite a lot until the point where everything I already knew or predicted was revealed, leaving nothing to sustain the momentum for the rest of the story. Around the three quarters mark was where the energy rather fizzled out, and my initial enthusiasm waned for the book’s conclusion compared to my excitement at the outset.
I also never warmed to either Reid or Ana, though I suspect their unlikeable qualities were by intentional design. Your feelings for them were definitely meant to change between the beginning and the end, though personally I found them off-putting from the start, and mostly just felt sorry for the baby.
Ultimately, I think Nestlings will be a great book for a lot of people, but it was not quite there for me for the aforementioned reasons. Among all the books I’ve read this year dealing with horror birth stories and malevolent babies, this one probably falls on the more average side of the spectrum.
Audiobook Comments: Narrator Cassandra Campbell is a perpetual favorite of mine, and I never have any complaints about her performances. Still, I think the Nestlings audiobook could have been improved with the addition of one or more readers, just to make it feel more immersive. Nevertheless, Campbell managed all the voices by herself quite impressively.
