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rhiannonafternoon's review against another edition
dark
mysterious
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
5.0
Do not underestimate the impact of the horror this book can impart based on its size. A collection of people all falling under the spell of a mysterious man in small town CT, with a side story of horrible homophobia and related crimes. Surprisingly a happy ending, but wow is there a lot to unpack here. I really loved it, you just have to experience it yourself.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Sexual violence, Violence, Kidnapping, Hate crime, Grief, Death, Homophobia, Blood, Suicidal thoughts, Car accident, Rape, Physical abuse, Excrement, Sexual assault, and Injury/Injury detail
Minor: Drug use
ericarobyn's review
challenging
dark
emotional
mysterious
sad
tense
fast-paced
5.0
Everything the Darkness Eats by Eric LaRocca is a dark and brutal supernatural thriller set in a town where small-minded hatred runs rampant.
In the quiet town of Henley’s Edge, vulnerable people are going missing. The police are aware but don’t seem to have any leads. One officer is determined to solve the case but soon finds himself a victim of hate crimes that steadily get more violent.
Can both cases be solved before it’s too late for everyone involved?
Set up to focus on various perspectives, readers will get sucked into each storyline! Following the characters into their individual circles of darkness, orbiting around one another until they all meet in a dark basement.
I absolutely couldn’t wait to see where this twisted and dark tale was headed.
With Eric’s writing, you know he isn’t going to shy away from the darkness. As I highlighted some content warnings above, please be prepared for various scenes that will make you flinch and want to rage over the horror of it all.
My Favorite Passages from Everything the Darkness Eats
She mindlessly began to covet the lines around his mouth and eyes until they resembled the scratches at the bottom of a teacup. She thought of a silver spoon, circling the bottom of a cup–going over the dark thin lines like the immeasurable loop of time, the nauseating ache of infinity.
Ghost felt unclean, as if he could sense Mr. Crowley crawling around inside him, rummaging through his thoughts and overturning stacks of memories until he came upon the one thing that mattered most to Ghost-his sweet Hailey. He knew he should leave, but a curious part of him begged to know the answer to a question that needed to be asked.
My Final Thoughts on Everything the Darkness Eats
Horror fans, you need to have this book on your radar!
Content Warnings
Graphic: Rape, Sexual violence, Homophobia, and Violence
Moderate: Death and Child death
Minor: Car accident
enchantressreads's review against another edition
challenging
dark
tense
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
“Her world was darkness, and that’s often where the monsters felt most at home.”
Eric LaRocca is quite famous for writing messy, sad, grief horror. Everything the Darkness Eats is no different. We follow a few different points of view, all handling grief their own ways. Some worse than others.
Ghost Everling was in a car accident with his wife, Hailey, and she did not survive. It’s been three years, and he’s trying to navigate his new life with a ghoul on his shoulder telling him the accident was his fault.
Heart Crowley is an eccentric elderly man who manages his grief by trying to control every situation around him.
Malik and husband Brett are grieving the marriage they could have had, had they not dealt with the homophobia from the neighborhood.
For most of the story, you have no idea how the three different stories connect, but in the end, boy do they connect. As always, LaRocca weaves a tale that takes you by surprise while hurting your feelings the entire way.
This story is not a fast story, unlike their other works. There’s a lot underneath the words, a lot of subtext. I actually would like to reread this story in the future to see if I can pick things out that I hadn’t seen originally.
There were a couple slow parts, which makes this not quite a five star read, but enjoyable nonetheless.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Death, Gore, Rape, Sexual violence, Homophobia, Sexual assault, and Blood
Moderate: Mental illness, Grief, Injury/Injury detail, and Torture
Minor: Car accident
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