Reviews tagging 'Self harm'

They Were Here Before Us: A Novella in Pieces by Eric LaRocca

17 reviews

le_mur's review against another edition

dark

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

2.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Animal cruelty, Animal death, Body horror, Child death, Confinement, Gore, and Self harm

Moderate: Adult/minor relationship, Infidelity, Toxic relationship, and Dementia

erinmg's review against another edition

dark reflective

4.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Animal cruelty, Animal death, Body horror, Child death, Confinement, Death, Gore, Homophobia, Mental illness, Self harm, Suicidal thoughts, Violence, Excrement, and Dementia

bass_clarinet's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional tense 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

4.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Animal cruelty, Animal death, Body horror, Death, Emotional abuse, Gore, Homophobia, Miscarriage, Physical abuse, Self harm, Suicidal thoughts, Terminal illness, Violence, Blood, Excrement, Vomit, Medical content, Dementia, Grief, Medical trauma, Death of parent, Murder, Pregnancy, Abandonment, and Injury/Injury detail

wannabe_lee's review against another edition

mysterious medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• 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

3.75

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Animal death, Body horror, Death, Gore, Mental illness, Self harm, Violence, Blood, Dementia, Grief, Murder, and Injury/Injury detail

Moderate: Animal cruelty, Homophobia, and Excrement

Minor: Child abuse, Child death, Infidelity, and Cannibalism

apersonfromflorida's review against another edition

dark mysterious tense fast-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? Yes

4.25

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Animal cruelty, Animal death, and Gore

Moderate: Child death, Homophobia, and Dementia

Minor: Self harm, Excrement, and Vomit

nittiotvaan's review against another edition

dark tense fast-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? Yes

1.75

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Animal cruelty, Animal death, Body horror, Death, Gore, Self harm, Violence, Blood, and Injury/Injury detail

Moderate: Child death, Homophobia, Sexual content, Dementia, and Pregnancy

Minor: Excrement and Vomit

kawooreads'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? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

3.5

Tiktok put this author on my radar, and I found the audiobook on Libby. What a strange assortment of short tales that are brutal, vengeful, and twisted. The first story is told through the perspective of a beetle who falls in love with the woman's corpse it is feeding on... This book isn't for the faint of heart. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Animal cruelty, Animal death, Body horror, Death, Gore, Self harm, Violence, Blood, Murder, and Injury/Injury detail

mirnda's review against another edition

dark emotional tense fast-paced

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

4.5

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Animal cruelty, Animal death, Body horror, Death, Gore, Toxic relationship, Violence, Blood, Grief, Murder, and Injury/Injury detail

Moderate: Homophobia, Suicide, Vomit, and Dementia

Minor: Self harm, Suicidal thoughts, Torture, Excrement, and Pregnancy

blackcatkai's review against another edition

dark fast-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• 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

CW: violence, blood, body horror, gore, death (animal & human, child & adult for both), torture (animal & human), self harm, miscarriage/pregnancy, mental illness, ableism, homophobia (including use of slurs & other derogatory statements), interspecies love/bestiality mentioned, necrophilia, insects, murder

this was an event of a novella. a collection of short stories with a similar theme, this is gross & amazing. you get mostly stories from the viewpoint of animals & insects, with a couple human povs at the end. any content warnings you find, take seriously. LaRocca is a pro at descriptive horror and this is a very visceral experience.

a lot of ew, gross moments. but also some sweetness in a few spots. definitely not recommended for anyone new to horror or more extreme genres. but I really enjoyed this one.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Animal cruelty, Animal death, Body horror, Child death, Death, Gore, Homophobia, Mental illness, Panic attacks/disorders, Self harm, Toxic relationship, Violence, Blood, Murder, and Injury/Injury detail

Moderate: Chronic illness, Miscarriage, and Car accident

Minor: Sexual content, Terminal illness, Excrement, Vomit, Medical content, Death of parent, and Pregnancy

nedenz's review against another edition

dark tense

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

4.0

Well that was the wildest of wild rides. I'll admit I don't quite understand the last few stories as they got more and more abstract, but I enjoyed the (fucked up) ride nonetheless. I like the writing style and vignettes into really weird situations. It was incredibly graphic at times but honestly, it beautifully illustrated the only thing I knew about it going in, the book description of the piece: "The only thing more brutal than nature is love."

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Animal cruelty, Animal death, Body horror, and Self harm