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Reviews tagging 'Child abuse'

Things Have Gotten Worse Since We Last Spoke And Other Misfortunes by Eric LaRocca

21 reviews

nobeliumreads's review against another edition

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dark mysterious tense slow-paced

3.5

Thank you Netgalley for providing a digital ARC.

Three short stories so this review is basically three reviews in one. I have to admit that I do not read horror often and the last two did not feel like horror to me. But, they were all quick and fast-paced reads that I found intriguing regardless and am excited to see what the author has for us in the future. 

1. Things have gotten worse since we last spoke (4 stars)
CW: Animal cruelty, animal death, body horror, vomit, suicidal thoughts, sexual content, child abuse 

I’ve already read this one and I didn’t notice any changes when I reread it so I’m going to assume nothing was changed, however I definitely appreciated the story a lot more this time around and even though I already knew what was to happen, I did still feel dread whilst reading it. 

I remember not knowing what to expect going into this book; all I knew was that it was sapphic horror in an internet chatroom and though the format was quite new to me and I wasn’t expecting it, it was good! Pretty much my only complaint was that I wish we had more because I was quite invested in Agnes and Zoe’s relationship but I liked where it left off too.

Agnes eating the meat had me cringing just like when I’d first read it. After reading the contract, I really thought Zoe would be the one to look out for, but Agnes’ downward spiral became surprisingly morbid and horrific pretty quickly. She was so entranced and eager at times to do whatever Zoe asked, and then it culminated in her desperation for a child and her unhealthy obsession with it. It was so intriguing to see Zoe’s clear apprehension in where things were going, and then after that how she ended things when it became too much for her.

Overall, my favourite of the three!

2. The enchantment (3 stars)
CW: Death of a child, suicide, suicide attempt, infidelity, miscarriage, death 

An intriguing beginning and end and I did like it and thought it had potential, but the writing and pacing really threw me off. The word ‘notice’ and the phrase ‘senses herself’ appeared way too much and I found that the story wasn’t subtle at all as things that the characters miss are constantly pointed out in a ‘what they don’t see is…’ sort of fashion. I’m not sure if that was intentional, but it just felt juvenile to me. 

As we neared the end, I felt like everything was being rushed as we had time skip after time skip and there wasn’t enough happening in each little section. I think I would have liked more set up on the religious aspect of the story, or even the story just being longer in the first place. In general, I was just so thrown off by the writing that I did not feel any strong emotions with this one.

3. You’ll find it’s like that all over (3 stars)

I’m not quite sure what to make of this one. It felt more like a really long riddle than anything else and although I did love the theme and the ending, I think it’s just not for me. I did like the writing though and how Mr. Fowler was so desperate to stay courteous and polite he went through all of that despite his growing reluctance because honestly relatable. 
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