Reviews tagging 'Child death'

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

80 reviews

dy_'s review against another edition

dark sad tense fast-paced

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

3.5

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Abandonment, Animal cruelty, Child death, Death, Miscarriage, Body horror, Child abuse, Suicide, Toxic relationship, Pregnancy, Animal death, Cursing, Grief, and Sexual content

laurenvoice's review

dark mysterious sad tense medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes

3.75

 Things Have Gotten Worse Since We Last Spoke and Other Misfortunes is a collection of short stories centred around human connection and faith. This collection of short stories is dark and not for the faint of heart.

The titular story Things Have Gotten Worse Since We Last Spoke was grotesque and disturbing. Eric LaRocca telling the story through emails and instant messenger was genius; they kept us guessing about Zoe's true identity and intentions towards Agnes and the truth behind Agnes's end. Things Have Gotten Worse Since We Last Spoke was a solid ⭐⭐⭐⭐ read; with a nice true-crime vibe.

The second story in this collection, The Enchantment, was dark and mysterious. The beginning of this story was quite horrific and a tad confusing;

I was wondering how Milo managed to crucify himself

. After the main event that started the two main characters' story on an isolated island, it felt like the story dragged a bit, and it was hard to stay interested. Nonetheless, the message gained from the themes centred around faith and religion, to the point our main characters seem paranoid about it, was well worth the read. Overall, The Enchantment was a ⭐⭐⭐.5 read.

The final story You'll Find It's Like That All Over was weird and tense. It made absolutely no sense why Mr Fowler kept going with the bets, which caused a very stressful scene involving a guillotine. But LaRocca had me hooked from the start with this story. You'll Find It's Like That All Over was a ⭐⭐⭐.75 read; it would have earned an extra 0.25 stars if it was a tad longer. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Gore, Child death, and Suicide

Moderate: Torture, Self harm, Miscarriage, Child abuse, Grief, Toxic relationship, Body horror, Emotional abuse, and Murder

Minor: Lesbophobia and Racism

summersunautumnrain's review against another edition

adventurous dark tense fast-paced

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

2.5

I wish all the gore without real context in this book would have been somewhat reduced. Definitely scarred me tho.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Animal cruelty and Animal death

Moderate: Suicide and Child death

wallywoahjack's review against another edition

dark emotional tense fast-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

2.75

This is not a book I would have typically picked for myself.. I found this book from a review from YouTube Jules Dapper. I’m mixed up which book is which and ordered this one instead of Dead Inside so I was really surprised by the plot even though I had already seen a review for the book.
This book is dark. REALLY DARK. the first story had me gagging. The writing style is really good but it’s a rough read. The stories themselves are good but like I said it’s a physically rough read. The writing is good but there is a lot of triggering content so I’d be very careful to read the tags and know what your getting into. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Infidelity, Body horror, Death, Blood, Racism, Suicidal thoughts, Suicide attempt, Vomit, Gore, Injury/Injury detail, Pregnancy, Sexual content, Child death, Miscarriage, Self harm, Suicide, Physical abuse, Grief, Sexual violence, Emotional abuse, Torture, and Toxic relationship

rosage's review against another edition

dark emotional reflective fast-paced

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

4.0

after reading the afterword it all makes much more sense. each piece left me with something to think about and sit on for a bit. this is a book i would recommend reading in parts instead of flying through like i did. you need that time to process the meaning behind each one and to see how the connect. i’ve decided to include my initial thoughts i wrote for each one just so i can go back and read them again later if i want. 

-things have gotten worse: honestly, i wish it was longer. i felt as though there were some lose ends that i would like to see tied up. i know she died but how? did she go back to work? i would also like to have seen more of their relationship and how that played into everything. i love that it was told through dms and emails though. it’s such an interesting way to tell a story. i wish it was done more often. 

-the enchantment: i really don’t have much to say for this one. personally i wish there had been more to it. it was a lot of religion and talk of christianity that i don’t really understand. her penance for “attempted murder of an angel” is to stay in purgatory for a while?? i think?? the scene with the flood was freaky though it scared me a little. 

-you’ll find that it’s like that all over: huh? just a bunch of bets to show why we should be polite? i don’t fully get it i don’t think

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Miscarriage, Suicide, Grief, Gaslighting, Infertility, Murder, Child death, Death, Animal cruelty, Animal death, Torture, Emotional abuse, and Pregnancy

hunkydory's review against another edition

dark tense fast-paced

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

3.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Body horror, Gore, Grief, Miscarriage, Self harm, Animal cruelty, Animal death, Toxic relationship, Blood, Death, Pregnancy, Suicidal thoughts, Injury/Injury detail, Mental illness, Suicide, and Child death

mik_yekcuts's review against another edition

dark 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? It's complicated

1.5

Feels like the author hates women, first and foremost. All the “horror” elements felt forced and gratuitous. Tried too hard to be edgy and shocking but the characters were not well developed enough for any of it to land. The repeated theme of crucifixion and pregnancy felt almost fetishistic, and was definitely redundant and out of place. I will say that I finished the first two very quickly but sadly was let down both times and really had to push myself to read the third story, anticipating disappointment again. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Child death, Domestic abuse, Grief, Miscarriage, Pregnancy, Suicide attempt, Animal cruelty, Animal death, Blood, Child abuse, Violence, Body horror, Death, Emotional abuse, Gore, Sexual content, and Suicide

ishouldreadthat's review against another edition

dark mysterious tense medium-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

4.0

Check out more book reviews and content here!

I received a copy of this book from the publisher in exchange for an honest review. This review is spoiler-free.

Intense, provocative, weird. Things Have Gotten Worse Since We Last Spoke and Other Misfortunes is a book I'd been desperate to get my hands on ever since I first heard about it on social media. What did I think of it? It's gross, uncomfortable, chock full of body horror, and absolutely fantastic.

This is a book that wont click with everyone - I urge readers to check content warnings before picking it up- and I definitely wouldn't recommend it to non-horror readers. But for readers like me who enjoy reading books that push boundaries and touch on uncomfortable topics, THGWSWLS is a great read. It's fast-paced and utterly compelling, combining a literary writing style with some serious disturbing content.

There are three stories in this volume -- the titular THGWSWLS is definitely the strongest of the three. It's a story of a relationship spiraling into darkness told via chat logs and emails, with a hint of serious consequences. I can absolutely see why it became such a phenomenon within the horror community and was propelled into the mainstream. The other two stories feel a little like they sit in THGWSWLS's shadow. They were good and well written, but there is a lot that makes the titular novella feel unique.

This collection is thought-provoking, disturbing, and will sit in your mind long after you finish. I would highly recommend it to seasoned horror readers - it is perfect for your spooky season TBR.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Body horror, Miscarriage, Suicide, Animal death, Animal cruelty, and Child death

nittiotvaan's review

dark emotional reflective medium-paced

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

3.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Mental illness, Suicide, Toxic relationship, Animal death, Blood, Gore, Self harm, Animal cruelty, Child death, Death, Grief, Miscarriage, Murder, and Pregnancy

Moderate: Injury/Injury detail, Sexual content, Torture, and Emotional abuse

spookieboogie's review against another edition

dark tense slow-paced

• Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated

2.75

Three stories. Third person POV.

Story one contains a sapphic couple. Story three contains an achillean couple.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Toxic relationship and Mental illness

Moderate: Suicide, Death, Child death, Animal death, Blood, Pregnancy, and Miscarriage

Minor: Sexual content and Vomit