Reviews tagging 'Suicide attempt'

Things Have Gotten Worse Since We Last Spoke by Eric LaRocca

27 reviews

onthelam's review against another edition

dark emotional 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

this book left me feeling uneasy and unfulfilled. this was a very good concept that should have been explored properly..the actual story was creepy but it was the unnecessary tangents that seem to give it the reputation, which it just didn't live up to.  It very much felt like the 5-day fervent dream it says it was. But you know what, it was pretty good for a quick blast of creativity. Just not my thing. In the end, though it did make me want to read more books that explore a toxic relationship better.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Animal cruelty, Animal death, Child abuse, Child death, Cursing, Death, Domestic abuse, Emotional abuse, Gore, Mental illness, Self harm, Sexual content, Slavery, Suicidal thoughts, Toxic relationship, Suicide attempt, Pregnancy, and Injury/Injury detail

Moderate: Suicide and Medical content

Minor: Confinement, Cursing, Panic attacks/disorders, and Abandonment

mneex05's review against another edition

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

2.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Animal death, Emotional abuse, Homophobia, Miscarriage, Self harm, Sexual content, Slavery, Suicidal thoughts, Toxic relationship, Vomit, and Suicide attempt

himangi's review against another edition

dark mysterious sad 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

2.0

fuck this book. i hated this. 2022 is off to a great start. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Animal cruelty, Animal death, Body horror, Domestic abuse, Mental illness, Self harm, Sexual content, Slavery, Suicidal thoughts, Toxic relationship, Vomit, Suicide attempt, Schizophrenia/Psychosis , Gaslighting, Toxic friendship, Abandonment, and Injury/Injury detail

ohanaaa's review against another edition

dark mysterious tense fast-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• 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

I'm not saying I REGRET reading this; I'm saying that I feel like this definitely wasn't the book for me. I would put a massive NOT SAFE FOR LIFE warning on this. Nevertheless, having gone through with it and looking at it from the other side, it was definitely a journey. As a horror book, it definitely did its job.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Body horror and Sexual content

Moderate: Self harm and Gaslighting

Minor: Suicide and Suicide attempt

Again, NOT SAFE FOR LIFE warning.

honeybuns's review against another edition

challenging 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? It's complicated

2.75

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Animal cruelty, Animal death, Sexual content, Sexual violence, Suicidal thoughts, Suicide, Toxic relationship, and Suicide attempt

Moderate: Body horror, Gore, Blood, Fire/Fire injury, and Injury/Injury detail

cameeroo's review against another edition

challenging dark mysterious tense fast-paced

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

1.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Animal cruelty, Animal death, Body horror, Physical abuse, Torture, Toxic relationship, Vomit, and Gaslighting

Moderate: Self harm, Suicidal thoughts, Suicide attempt, Pregnancy, and Lesbophobia

emilybold's review against another edition

dark fast-paced

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

3.25

I went into the book knowing what the premise was, however it ended up being very different in tone compared to how I have heard it been described by others. At times I found the writing a bit hesitant to indulge in the weirdness of the novella, especially as it is so short, it needed to pack a punch. I was really rooting for this book throughout, and still would absolutely recommend it as an absurd, surreal psychological horror, it is still an exciting and unnerving premise, even if the writing shies away from that at times. Overall I thought it was an imaginative cautionary tale for the age of the internet, but could have benefitted from more risks from the author. 

spoiler review time! Firstly I am undecided about the format of the book. I feel this format served both as a help and a hinderance to the story in many ways. In terms of how it helped, I think it was a good attempt at immersive fiction, and I also really enjoyed how it read like a play script. Everything felt very immediate, which I thought was in-keeping with the idea of everything being instant on the internet. It also drew me in as a reader, at first, as there is no emotional context for anything these characters are saying, and leaves it to you to imagine how they are sitting at their computers and what type of people they are. But equally, this lack of emotional context makes it difficult to ground yourself in the story. It reads like a play with no stage directions. As much as stage directions aren't often that exciting, it usually gives you some context to play with or against. Ways I think the format could have been utilised better would be if we could see conversations between the characters and other people, just so we had some emotional context, but also some context of idiolect; do the characters change their language depending on who they're talking to? Having that base might have given the book some more contrast in terms of how Agnes becomes so isolated in her relationship with Zoe. Perhaps, if we had seen some emails from her boss, or we saw how Zoe contacted the bank the novella would have felt more rounded. At the beginning of the novella, the narrator pops in to explain where the text was taken from, and I think this technique could have almost served as some sort of stage direction, which would have grounded the dialogue more I think. I felt the authors note at the beginning should have been used more throughout the novella, or completely cut, so we are only working with the text the characters are seeing. I feel the format of the book will be the real make or break for people. Even though not every horror needs a sense of catharsis to be seen as complete, I felt that this book was a little shaky within that. But it was a bold attempt nonetheless, and for that this book and the author do earn my respect.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Animal cruelty, Animal death, Body horror, Emotional abuse, Gore, Sexual content, Sexual violence, and Violence

Moderate: Sexual content, Sexual violence, Slavery, Suicidal thoughts, Toxic relationship, Suicide attempt, and Gaslighting

Minor: Child abuse, Emotional abuse, Homophobia, Medical content, Pregnancy, Lesbophobia, Abandonment, and Injury/Injury detail