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lanid's review against another edition
challenging
dark
mysterious
tense
4.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Body horror, Murder, and Sexual assault
rubyroses's review against another edition
dark
mysterious
reflective
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
2.75
LaRocca’s new novel shares the same gripping gritty detail of his first Things Have Gotten Worse Since We Last Spoke but is fundamentally better (more thought out and exciting). The format of the novel as if written as an investigative piece surrounding the disappearance of a murder and his accomplice is an interesting concept. The novella inside the book is extremely well written and at time had me wishing it was instead the main focus. Overall the book is pretty good. You can definitely see LaRocca’s progress as an author.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Gore and Murder
Minor: Car accident
bookedandbusy's review against another edition
dark
mysterious
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
This was a wild ride from start to finish. Such a strange book, and I loved it.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Blood, Animal death, Death, Terminal illness, Murder, Animal cruelty, Homophobia, and Body horror
Moderate: Suicidal thoughts
Minor: Alcoholism
dismalrain's review against another edition
dark
reflective
sad
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.5
Content Warnings
Graphic: Murder and Violence
Minor: Cancer, Suicide, and Animal death
mikimachtchaos's review against another edition
challenging
dark
mysterious
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
Incredible. I've never read anything like this ever before. I was unable to stop reading or to take my mind off the book. It's depicted in such an interesting way, truly a masterpiece
Content Warnings
Graphic: Body horror, Toxic relationship, Violence, Physical abuse, Gore, Murder, and Blood
Moderate: Cancer, Suicide, Suicidal thoughts, Animal cruelty, Death of parent, and Terminal illness
Minor: War, Vomit, Alcohol, and Self harm
dupont1998's review against another edition
dark
sad
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.0
Content Warnings
Moderate: Child death, Murder, Suicidal thoughts, Cursing, Death, Injury/Injury detail, and Violence
Minor: Sexual content, Gore, Animal cruelty, Animal death, Cancer, Car accident, and Fire/Fire injury
sylvestra's review against another edition
dark
mysterious
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Blood and Murder
sunnybopeep's review against another edition
3.0
This was better than Things Have Gotten Worse Since We Last Met, but it was just okay. There’s something raw and real missing from the writing. It’s very poetic and beautiful, but it’s lacking any gritty edge that would make it engaging. It’s interesting and entertaining enough for a quick read, but it just doesn’t have any substance.
I understand that it’s all very lovely in the narrator’s mind because he has a warped perception of reality, but I just don’t feel that his character as a person was very convincing. He was one-dimensionally dreamy. His “lover” had no character apart from hating plagiarism for some reason. Their love was very shallow and empty.
I just don’t get Martyr. Is he a serial killer? Is he a vigilante? Is he an aspiring author? The novella didn’t align with anything he said (I guess because the entire thing was plagiarized) , and it didn’t seem related to his mission.
The audio transcripts were the weakest, followed closely by the poems. The audio transcripts lacked any sense of closeness between Martyr and Ambrose. They were just Ambrose spitting weird facts and Martyr arguing against his point. The novella was creepy and interesting, but it obviously had pacing issues because of its length. It also didn’t tie back in thematically with the frame story.
I think this quote from Ambrose perfectly sums up my thoughts about this book:
I understand that it’s all very lovely in the narrator’s mind because he has a warped perception of reality, but I just don’t feel that his character as a person was very convincing. He was one-dimensionally dreamy. His “lover” had no character apart from hating plagiarism for some reason. Their love was very shallow and empty.
I just don’t get Martyr. Is he a serial killer? Is he a vigilante? Is he an aspiring author? The novella didn’t align with anything he said
The audio transcripts were the weakest, followed closely by the poems. The audio transcripts lacked any sense of closeness between Martyr and Ambrose. They were just Ambrose spitting weird facts and Martyr arguing against his point. The novella was creepy and interesting, but it obviously had pacing issues because of its length. It also didn’t tie back in thematically with the frame story.
I think this quote from Ambrose perfectly sums up my thoughts about this book:
AMBROSE: It’s a two-hour masturbatory session. Vapid. No substance. Bland at best.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Murder
dalmavatai's review against another edition
dark
mysterious
reflective
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.0
This was a ride for sure. This book is very well-written, and especially the parts about Martyr and Ambrose, their relationship, and their conversations are so fascinating and thought-provoking. Not just Martyr's psychopathic thinking but also their conversations about what it means to be human.
However, the story within a story unfortunately didn't work for me. It was way too centred on machinery stuff (iykyk) and I just didn't give a single fuck until the very end. I think both storylines have a surprising ending that I really enjoyed, but unfortunately that didn't entirely make up for the story-within-a-story being so boring and absurd. So all in all I feel like it's around a 3🌟, but I'm definitely planning to pick up Things Have Gotten Worse Since We Last Spoke which comes out in September on Amazon UK!
However, the story within a story unfortunately didn't work for me. It was way too centred on machinery stuff (iykyk) and I just didn't give a single fuck until the very end. I think both storylines have a surprising ending that I really enjoyed, but unfortunately that didn't entirely make up for the story-within-a-story being so boring and absurd. So all in all I feel like it's around a 3🌟, but I'm definitely planning to pick up Things Have Gotten Worse Since We Last Spoke which comes out in September on Amazon UK!
Content Warnings
Graphic: Death, Injury/Injury detail, Murder, Blood, Body horror, Sexual content, and Violence
beesbookss's review against another edition
dark
mysterious
tense
medium-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? It's complicated
2.75
Content Warnings
Graphic: Murder, Abandonment, Cancer, Death, Death of parent, Child death, Car accident, Alcohol, and Blood