Reviews tagging 'Abandonment'

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

74 reviews

viciousfrockery's review against another edition

challenging dark medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? N/A
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? No
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.0

this collection unsettled me in a way that's stuck with me as i eat apples, as i pick the florets of vegetables from my teeth, and as i slip into the bath. queer not as in romantic, but queer as in obsessed with the self and devoted to the other, queer from the inside out. truly excellent dip into what LaRocca can accomplish in short order. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Violence, Vomit, Gore, Body horror, Body shaming, Abandonment, Eating disorder, Sexual violence, Suicidal thoughts, Gaslighting, and Death

lauriebird's review

dark tense fast-paced

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

2.25

I really had high hopes for a book. First of all, the cover is gorgeous! Congratulations to the artist because that cover really drew me in and kept me going.

I love to read queer literature even if the characters are morally grey or ambiguous. However, I feel there is something… “icky” about the way the author wrote about the woman that I feel falls into the evil lesbian trope. I found that their motivations within the story were not often clear. I feel like it it was written to shock but not provoke the reader to look into the characters. Perhaps he wrote the shock value to distract from what little personality he gave both women? I think this story is so underwhelming for what could have been a truly remarkable premise. Neither woman has a unique voice and honestly, they sound like they’re writing in an into to philosophy course. S.Penkevich said it right when they mentioned that this could’ve been a story that examined class and power dynamics and could’ve given a deeper look into Agnes’ vulnerabilities. 

I think it’s also important to note in this story that both women are equally manipulative and manipulated. Agnes and Zoe both use love bombing and silence as punishment. However, Agnes repeatedly reaches out to Zoe (in a way that feels very “lesbians have mommy issues” but I digress) and begs for love while Zoe’s affection is contingent on Agnes completing her tasks. Once Agnes does and becomes obsessed with the relationship between the two of them, Zoe becomes disinterested which leaves Agnes presumably devastated. However, to get to this conclusion, the story meanders through nothingness. I set this book down a few times; not because I was disturbed but because I was incredibly bored.

As I stated, this could’ve been a great book! This book has so much potential. It is disturbing to a point but the prose was just too distracting for me. I feel like if the author gave himself more time to truly develop a voice and personality for both women and delve further into the manipulation and desires for both women, this could’ve been an amazing novel. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Pregnancy, Misogyny, Abortion, Toxic relationship, Miscarriage, Sexism, Animal cruelty, Lesbophobia, Vomit, Suicidal thoughts, Violence, and Animal death

Moderate: Violence and Abandonment

Minor: Grief, Classism, and Gaslighting

cheyennedowls's review against another edition

dark mysterious sad tense fast-paced

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

4.0

This book is absolutely deranged and unhinged. I would not recommend if you have a weak stomach. It’s quick paced and an extremely interesting book in the worst way. The amount of times my mouth fell agape while reading is unbelievable.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Gore, Emotional abuse, Mental illness, Toxic relationship, and Abandonment

Minor: Animal cruelty, Animal death, Child abuse, Murder, and Torture

cloud_z's review against another edition

challenging dark tense fast-paced

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

3.75

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Domestic abuse, Sexual content, Abandonment, Medical content, Self harm, Medical trauma, Toxic relationship, Toxic friendship, Gaslighting, Injury/Injury detail, Gore, Vomit, Suicide, Suicidal thoughts, and Pregnancy

rory_john14's review against another edition

dark fast-paced

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

2.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Body horror, Lesbophobia, Mental illness, Self harm, Suicidal thoughts, Death, Domestic abuse, Emotional abuse, Injury/Injury detail, Child death, Child abuse, Homophobia, Sexual content, Violence, Toxic relationship, Animal death, Animal cruelty, and Gore

Moderate: Religious bigotry, Grief, Schizophrenia/Psychosis , Suicide, Vomit, Cursing, Pregnancy, Blood, and Suicide attempt

Minor: Gaslighting, Miscarriage, Toxic friendship, Pedophilia, Classism, Medical content, Abortion, Terminal illness, Slavery, Torture, Adult/minor relationship, Murder, Dementia, Abandonment, and Death of parent

netruce's review against another edition

dark tense fast-paced

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

3.75

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Toxic relationship, Body horror, Abandonment, and Mental illness

Moderate: Animal cruelty

trashgobby's review

dark emotional tense fast-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.25

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Injury/Injury detail, Animal death, Body horror, Emotional abuse, Toxic relationship, and Mental illness

Moderate: Animal cruelty, Death, Cursing, Abandonment, and Blood

tibcanread's review

challenging dark tense fast-paced

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

1.25

I hate giving 1 star reviews, but I couldn't stand this book even more. I read this for a horror book club pick and I'm going to be honest, I just skimmed the last story. I couldn't anymore. It was gross. Not even in a fun way, just gross. I actually felt sick to my stomach reading some of these nasty descriptions. And what was the obsession with pregnancy in the first two stories? Like, why? Really.  

I found no real redeeming quality in this collection. The writing was not great (if I hear someone spooned something ever again it will be too soon, and how do ears furrow exactly??) It's only January 9th and I'm pretty sure this is going to the top of the worst books I read list for 2024 already. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Self harm, Animal death, Child abuse, and Domestic abuse

Moderate: Homophobia, Gore, Suicide attempt, Suicidal thoughts, Miscarriage, Body horror, and Schizophrenia/Psychosis

Minor: Abandonment, Pregnancy, and Child death

alexalily's review against another edition

dark tense fast-paced

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

3.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Emotional abuse, Mental illness, Vomit, Slavery, and Toxic relationship

Moderate: Animal cruelty, Animal death, Body horror, Injury/Injury detail, Self harm, Blood, Child abuse, and Child death

Minor: Sexual content, Pregnancy, and Abandonment

ladybergart's review against another edition

4.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Self harm, Body horror, Vomit, Abandonment, and Toxic relationship