Reviews with content warning for Animal cruelty - Things Have Gotten Worse Since We Last Spoke and Other Misfortunes

The namesake of this short story collection was my least favorite story. That particular story felt poorly written, and while I understand it is a short story, there was absolutely no build-up. The other stories were a little better, but the animal violence was unnecessary. I did like that there was some interconnectedness between the stories, but as a whole, this was underwhelming. I guess that is what happens when "extreme" horror goes viral on Tik Tok.

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jocauliflower's review against another edition

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challenging dark emotional sad tense fast-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Character
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.5

things have gotten worse sincr we last spoke was a 5/5 for me, loved the format, body horror was very intense.

the enchantment was alright, didn't love it, just wasnt something i was intently invested in but i must admit i was hooked.

youll find its like that all over was also alright, just didnt relate very much at all but it worked with tension very well.

if i only read things have gotten worse i wouldve marked this 5 stars, but i didnt connect or feel as invested in the other 2.

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alexdefel513's review against another edition

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fast-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? It's complicated

3.0

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tropicalpanda's review against another edition

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Too gory and disturbing, I barely made it through the salamander murder and I had to stop when she began describing crucifying a baby in excruciating detail

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minimicropup's review against another edition

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challenging dark emotional mysterious reflective tense medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? No
Loveable characters? No
Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

4.0

Mood Reading Match-Up:

Bizarro, speculative, satirical threaded with low key, suggestive horror
Hits of heavy, sad, macabre horror and exploring the effects of that trauma in symbolic prose
No plot just vibes-ish, snapshot of life drama with polarizing experiences and themes
Eclectic mixes of short/novella style stories

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🐺 Growls, Howls, and Tail Wags 🐕

🎬 Tale-Telling: The writing throughout was mesmerizing. There was a rhythm to the words that made me eager to discover what would happen next. Even when the stories seemed to wander into the abstract, the prose held my attention without being distracting or seeming fake. It didn’t feel pretentious, just…different and literary?

🔥 Fuel:
1: My favourite and sits perfectly in the realm of realistically skewing nostalgia. For those millennials who grew up with the internet, this isn’t so far-fetched. Pretentious people writing long-winded weirdness was like, the entirety of late ‘90s/early aughts discussions on websites anyone could make and hardly anyone would ever find 😅. And for the younger reader wondering why anyone would even interact with the giant red flag these people were…think of Catfish fully unhinged.
2: With its echoes of "The Shining," it had an atmosphere and a deep, unsettling vibe that carries the narrative far, even if the ending leaves you scratching your head and feeling insecure about clues you might have missed (or was that just me?)
3: While not hitting the same high notes, still offered its own unique flavor.

Random Thoughts
🤓 What worked: Most of these tales were suggestive, symbolic horror more Kafkaesque nightmare than gory spectacles. It was the kind of horror that sometimes had shock value but mainly aimed to unsettle through the absurd, the satirical, and the downright bizarre. The collection might not be for those seeking straightforward or gory scares; instead, it was a deeper, more introspective form of unease and existential dread.
🫠 What didn’t: Since they're so different, not every story in this collection may hit the mark for every reader. Those who like 1 may dislike 3...those who love 3 likely dislike 1 etc.
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Content Heads-Up:
1: Food horror. Sexual content (brief, self). Animal cruelty and torture (wildlife

salamanders

). Financial insecurity. Body horror. Parental rejection (of adult child). Unemployment.
2: Divorce/separation. Suicide. Delusions. Death. Murder. Sexual content (consentual, brief). Religious/spiritual horror (death, afterlife, punishment). Parental rejection (of adult child). Infidelity. Loss of a child. Miscarriage (brief description on page). Loss of a spouse. Grief.
3: Racism (racist character opinion; off page). Gambling.

Rep:
1: Lesbian. Ambiguous gender and sexual identities.
2: Heterosexual. Cisgender and ambiguous gender identities.
3: Gay. Cisgender.

👀 Format: Kobo Plus

“Reviews are my musings 💖 powered by puppy snuggles 🐶 refined by my AI bookworm bestie ✨”

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lordslag's review against another edition

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dark emotional mysterious fast-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? N/A
Loveable characters? No
Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.5

This was my first time ever reading a short story collection and I had super low expectations because everybody I’ve seen talk about it hateddd the last two stories but I liked all of them. They didn’t move me or anything but I enjoyed reading them all the same. Not an all time favorite but looking forward to re-reading eventually. I don’t think any of the stories are like super horrific or disturbing and crazy, so if that's what you’re looking for maybe pass but they were all fun quick reads to me.

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thebechdelbitch's review against another edition

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dark mysterious tense fast-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

Some cool and creepy ideas in here but I kept being pulled out of the stories by how little these characters behaved like real people (obviously there is only so realistic you can get when someone

agrees to voluntarily contract a tapeworm for their Dom

but even in everyday interactions everyone seemed to be totally lacking in motivation or realistic drives). The middle story was especially lacking, but the final story turned things around somewhat as it seemed to live in a more "magical realism" world from the off.

Also Finneas. It's kind of worth reading for Finneas.

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pinecone22's review against another edition

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challenging dark sad tense

Plot- or character-driven? Character
Strong character development? It's complicated
Loveable characters? No
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.5

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