Reviews tagging 'Child abuse'

Everything the Darkness Eats by Eric LaRocca

12 reviews

matty_joe319's review against another edition

dark sad 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? No

1.5

I was really excited about this book upon seeing the cover, reading the description, even reading the prologue. I had heard great things about LaRocca’s short stories, so thought the book would be good. Unfortunately, it was a lot of edge with not much substance. I loved the idea of a queer religious-critique small town horror story, but this did not have much depth of commentary or much of a clear point of view. Characters often act without motive or - at best - without intelligence, and LaRocca seems to think that suffering is the same as plot. There is a lot of suffering and there is not much plot - or at least not much that is particularly engaging. LaRocca’s prose itself is full of metaphors that feel too literal and formal narration that ends up feeling more pretentious than creepy. The opening prologue and chapters had so much tension and promise and it was a shame to see the rest of the book felt unbaked in comparison. LaRocca has a great imagination - I just hope he can find a better editor or more restraint in future works.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Gore, Hate crime, Homophobia, Rape, Sexual assault, Sexual violence, Torture, Violence, Blood, Religious bigotry, and Murder

Moderate: Child abuse and Trafficking

Minor: Biphobia and Islamophobia

Graphic depiction of

a group rape of a kidnapped gay man

audlydarling's review against another edition

dark medium-paced

2.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Child abuse, Chronic illness, Hate crime, Homophobia, Pedophilia, Physical abuse, Rape, Sexual assault, Sexual violence, Torture, Violence, Kidnapping, Sexual harassment, and Injury/Injury detail

sjbryson's review against another edition

dark emotional tense slow-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Plot
• Strong character development? No
• Loveable characters? N/A

2.5

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Body horror, Child abuse, Death, Hate crime, Homophobia, Pedophilia, Physical abuse, Rape, Sexual assault, Sexual violence, Suicidal thoughts, Violence, Blood, Islamophobia, Medical content, Kidnapping, Grief, Medical trauma, Car accident, and Injury/Injury detail

jerusha's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional 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? It's complicated

0.5

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Child abuse, Gore, Hate crime, Homophobia, Rape, Violence, Excrement, Kidnapping, and Grief

annathechaoticreader's review against another edition

dark emotional reflective tense medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• 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

 I am in absolute awe of this book. It has all of the things I love: literary prose, interesting characters, grief-filled religious themes, queerness, and horrifying & grotesque content. It's one of the most poignant horror novels I've read in a very long time and one that I will be thinking about for a long while. It is absolutely brilliant and I'm just so floored by it, absolutely recommend. 

"For Ghost, his body was nothing more than a compost heap - a crude patchwork of abused anatomy that even the most impulsive surrealist wouldn't dare commemorate on canvas. Ghost knew well he was a monster, a horrible mutation handmade by grief." page 19

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Biphobia, Body horror, Death, Gore, Hate crime, Homophobia, Physical abuse, Rape, Sexual assault, Sexual violence, Torture, Violence, Blood, Grief, Medical trauma, and Murder

Moderate: Adult/minor relationship, Child abuse, and Pedophilia

Minor: Ableism, Child death, and Car accident

amb_leigh's review against another edition

dark sad tense fast-paced

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

3.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Hate crime, Homophobia, Rape, Sexual assault, Sexual violence, Violence, and Kidnapping

Moderate: Body horror, Child abuse, Pedophilia, Blood, Excrement, Grief, and Injury/Injury detail

ecn's review against another edition

dark emotional reflective sad fast-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix

4.25

So good but not much of a build up and the quickest resolution/wrap up, which left me wanting more

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Biphobia, Body horror, Child abuse, Child death, Death, Gore, Hate crime, Homophobia, Pedophilia, Rape, Sexual assault, Sexual violence, Suicidal thoughts, Torture, Violence, Blood, Excrement, Police brutality, Medical content, Kidnapping, Grief, Stalking, Car accident, and Injury/Injury detail

jessereadsthings's review against another edition

dark tense medium-paced

1.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Ableism, Hate crime, Homophobia, Rape, Sexual assault, and Kidnapping

Moderate: Child abuse and Pedophilia

sinisterbeard's review against another edition

adventurous dark emotional hopeful mysterious sad medium-paced

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

2.5

Eric LaRocca is a potentially great novelist who's badly in need of a trad publishing editor. This reads like a great first draft, full of grammatical errors, fancy words used incorrectly, muddy plotting, and frustratingly foolish characters who take very little action and achieve nothing. With a year's polish at a proper house, this could have been Salem's Lot good, which is the book it most reminds me off. As it is, it's deeply frustrating.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Homophobia and Rape

Moderate: Ableism, Body horror, Child abuse, and Kidnapping

Minor: Child death, Miscarriage, and Car accident

poisoned_icecream's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional hopeful reflective sad tense medium-paced

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

5.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Animal death, Child abuse, Homophobia, and Sexual assault