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sorkatani 's review for:
I've seen Eric LaRocca's books, along with their darkly gorgeous book covers, frequently recommended by friends and fellow members of the #Horrorbookstagram community, so I was really excited to finally read one of their books.
Unfortunately, it turns out that LaRocca and I aren't meant to be.
I struggled to get through the first story, was underwhelmed by the second, and gave up on the third.
I found the first story to be highly contrived, and the exchanges between the characters felt unnatural. I felt the framing device of IM and email messages wasn't well executed and that it all felt rather amateurish, especially with the constant author notes regarding the need to omit certain details. The relationship between the characters also goes from 0 to 100 in such an absurd amount of time that the entire thing felt completely implausible.
That said, I do appreciate the final image that the reader is left with.
The second story was completely lacking in atmosphere. As in, no atmosphere whatsoever.
And I didn't finish the third story.
I can't say that I would personally recommend this book, but given the number of people who have given it glowing reviews, I have to assume that I'm an outlier.
Unfortunately, it turns out that LaRocca and I aren't meant to be.
I struggled to get through the first story, was underwhelmed by the second, and gave up on the third.
I found the first story to be highly contrived, and the exchanges between the characters felt unnatural. I felt the framing device of IM and email messages wasn't well executed and that it all felt rather amateurish, especially with the constant author notes regarding the need to omit certain details. The relationship between the characters also goes from 0 to 100 in such an absurd amount of time that the entire thing felt completely implausible.
That said, I do appreciate the final image that the reader is left with.
The second story was completely lacking in atmosphere. As in, no atmosphere whatsoever.
And I didn't finish the third story.
I can't say that I would personally recommend this book, but given the number of people who have given it glowing reviews, I have to assume that I'm an outlier.