Reviews tagging 'Child abuse'

Things Have Gotten Worse Since We Last Spoke by Eric LaRocca

185 reviews

mallory_minerva's review against another edition

dark tense fast-paced

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

4.0

 

Well that was gross

I know this book is disliked, and I find the criticisms understandable. I do not dispute the realism issues; people don't really email like that. The texting to me seemed fine on the local level however. The progression of the relationship, as well as the relationship with the Tapeworm, seemed most unrealistic, but in some ways the psychological nuance of it was very interesting. I have mixed feelings on that front. I also am unsure about the claim of the author fetishizing lesbians. I didn't pick up on it much myself but I can see why others do.

I honestly found it mostly fun. I read it in one sitting which is rare for me. The characters are good and distinct, and the scenes conveyed through texts and emails are really vivid. I also liked Agnes's tendency to tell anecdotes; a lot of the literary merit is in those moments and I actually do buy that someone would just infodump anecdotes to make a point. I think the online take on an epistolary novel was well done all things considered; this is an epistolary novel and it will read like letters, not emails, and that's fine.

The horror is... The body horror is better than the psychological horror. I did not enjoy the BDSM aspects, and the animal cruelty really felt out of place for both characters and plot-necessitated. The Findom was underexplored but maybe that's a good thing. Zoe places enough emphasis on consent and caution that I didn't really perceive much manipulation. I didn't pick up on it until she self-discloses out of guilt and concern. There's moments where I feel things are getting worse and Agnes is blundering into a bad situation though, which is good psychological horror. The body horror is well-done.

I wanted to read trash after Foucault broke me, and I certainly got it. I get the low average but this book came to me at the right time I guess.

 PS: this is the most content warnings I've ever added for a review. I guess I don't do horror much.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Animal cruelty, Animal death, Body horror, Child abuse, Child death, Gore, Miscarriage, Self harm, Sexual content, Toxic relationship, Medical trauma, and Pregnancy

Moderate: Homophobia, Suicide, and Lesbophobia

shelbymarie314's review against another edition

challenging dark tense fast-paced

• 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, Child abuse, Child death, Gore, Miscarriage, Violence, Medical trauma, and Murder

angstyweeaboo's review against another edition

dark tense fast-paced

3.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Animal cruelty, Animal death, Child abuse, Child death, Toxic relationship, and Murder

Moderate: Gore, Homophobia, Mental illness, Self harm, Sexual content, Vomit, and Pregnancy

Minor: Suicide

from_paradise's review against another edition

dark fast-paced

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

2.5

girl so many parts to this could have been SO good but they were all done so half-heartedly... disappointing

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Animal cruelty, Body horror, Child abuse, and Gore

imogil's review against another edition

dark 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

i should’ve listened to tiktok when they said it was lesbian torture porn. literally why was this written. even the authors note provided no clarity on why this was written. i hate that it was set out as if it was a true crime case - even though unfortunately that could make very poignant commentary on our societal obsession with “true crime” and not letting victims rest but i doubt the author went into this story thinking of that. he literally described their story as “a nightmarish fever dream of inspiration, an arduous ordeal of painstaking creativity.” i understand the want for portrayal of unhealthy bdsm dynamics i guess and the want for people to read gorey horror but it wasn’t even well written??? agnes did not show any signs of being mentally ill to the point that she could be exploited so whole heartedly. i HATED zoe and the fact that she did all of that to agnes - RUINED AGNES’S LIFE - just to see if she could. the only reason this book has 1 star is because the author - unfortunately - has a great grasp on descriptive language and i was able to picture a lot of this really well. 
i do realise that this was a dead dove clearly labeled do not eat and yet i chose to eat the dove anyway. i have read many dd:dne fics and stories before and been fine - i guess this dead dove just wasn’t to my taste. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Animal cruelty, Animal death, Child abuse, Child death, Death, Emotional abuse, Gore, Self harm, Torture, Toxic relationship, Blood, and Injury/Injury detail

Moderate: Mental illness, Sexual content, Vomit, and Medical content

Minor: Homophobia and Lesbophobia

unhealthy bdsm dynamics, graphic depiction of a tapeworm and the passing of it, graphic depiction and description of eating raw insect filled meat

miwandie's review against another edition

dark 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

3.0

shai-hulud ft. vore kink 🪱🤰🏻

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Animal cruelty, Animal death, Body horror, Child abuse, Child death, Death, Emotional abuse, Mental illness, Self harm, Toxic relationship, Vomit, Suicide attempt, Pregnancy, and Gaslighting

flavroc'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? No
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.75

Pacing is a little too quick, reader should sit with the horror described for greater effect. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Animal cruelty, Animal death, Body horror, Child abuse, Child death, Mental illness, Self harm, and Toxic relationship

Moderate: Emotional abuse and Gore

specklethecrow's review against another edition

dark fast-paced

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

1.75

I saw this book recommended online and decided to give it a read. It certainly was interesting.
I'm not one for gore or the trigger warnings but decided to try, seeing how fast I was reading it. I finished this book in under 2 hours and lost my appetite even faster.
Please read the content warnings before you read the book!!

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Animal cruelty, Animal death, and Toxic relationship

Minor: Child abuse and Vomit

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

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

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

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

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