Reviews tagging 'Child death'

Things Have Gotten Worse Since We Last Spoke And Other Misfortunes by Eric LaRocca

96 reviews

mayion's review against another edition

dark mysterious reflective sad tense fast-paced

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

4.0

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Child death, Death, Gore, Suicide, Blood, and Injury/Injury detail

cupofcauliflower's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional sad tense fast-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.5

things have gotten worse sincr we last spoke was a 5/5 for me, loved the format, body horror was very intense. 

the enchantment was alright, didn't love it, just wasnt something i was intently invested in but i must admit i was hooked. 

youll find its like that all over was also alright, just didnt relate very much at all but it worked with tension very well. 

if i only read things have gotten worse i wouldve marked this 5 stars, but i didnt connect or feel as invested in the other 2. 

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Adult/minor relationship, Animal cruelty, Animal death, Body horror, Child death, Miscarriage, Suicide, Toxic relationship, Blood, Excrement, Grief, and Toxic friendship

tropicalpanda's review against another edition

Too gory and disturbing, I barely made it through the salamander murder and I had to stop when she began describing crucifying a baby in excruciating detail

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Animal cruelty, Animal death, Body horror, Child abuse, Child death, Cursing, Death, Emotional abuse, Gore, Mental illness, Panic attacks/disorders, Sexual content, Slavery, Torture, Toxic relationship, Violence, Blood, Grief, Murder, Gaslighting, Toxic friendship, and Injury/Injury detail

jasper_wildlife's review against another edition

adventurous challenging dark mysterious tense fast-paced

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

5.0

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Body horror, Child death, Death, Gore, Miscarriage, Self harm, Sexual content, Suicide, Toxic relationship, Blood, Vomit, Grief, and Pregnancy

Minor: Animal death, Homophobia, Infertility, Infidelity, Vomit, and Lesbophobia

sleepyshelves's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional mysterious reflective tense slow-paced

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

4.25

Ew.

A collection of short stories that have been ruining my brain and rotting my bones.

Eric LaRocca writes religious existentialism so well. Christ-figures adorn each story in this collection. Crucifying the believer and challenging nonbelievers alike, LaRocca can tie a noose and execute the reader without them seeing it coming. Wild.

I still can’t figure out how his relationship with his mom must be if they keep dedicating these stories to her and her faith. 

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Body horror, Child death, Death, Mental illness, Miscarriage, Racism, Self harm, Suicidal thoughts, Suicide, Excrement, Grief, Religious bigotry, Pregnancy, and Injury/Injury detail

mashley14's review against another edition

dark emotional mysterious tense fast-paced

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

4.0

Generally, I liked it.

I didn't realize that the version I purchased had extra stories included, which was a pleasant surprise! Especially since I was, at first, confused by how many pages were left when Things Have Gotten Worse Since We Last Spoke ended. But then! Extra spooky stories! Very exciting.

Short Story 1:
I liked how fast paced it was, it kept my attention peaked and I wasn't bored. This was awesome because my biggest problem with a lot of horror novels is that they take forever. Obviously, this is a short story, but still. Her slow descent into madness was captivating, and I loved how the format showed how much time had passed between correspondences. I also enjoyed how complicated both of the characters were--that's something I look for in a good story.

Short Story 2:
This one was a doozy. It took a while for the action to really start rolling, and that was difficult for me. I liked the complicated relationships between the characters, and the weird double meaning of

the son's note

. This was a time where I predicted something about the plot, but the story wasn't predictable--the author made me feel smart. 

Short Story 3:
This was my least favorite, but not because it was poorly written or anything like that. It was short and sweet and it definitely took a different turn than I expected, which is all we want from horror, no? 

All in all, I enjoyed this collection of stories, and I definitely recommend to anyone who enjoys 

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Child death, Death, Gore, Self harm, and Suicide

tibcanread's review

challenging dark tense 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

1.25

I hate giving 1 star reviews, but I couldn't stand this book even more. I read this for a horror book club pick and I'm going to be honest, I just skimmed the last story. I couldn't anymore. It was gross. Not even in a fun way, just gross. I actually felt sick to my stomach reading some of these nasty descriptions. And what was the obsession with pregnancy in the first two stories? Like, why? Really.  

I found no real redeeming quality in this collection. The writing was not great (if I hear someone spooned something ever again it will be too soon, and how do ears furrow exactly??) It's only January 9th and I'm pretty sure this is going to the top of the worst books I read list for 2024 already. 

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Animal death, Child abuse, Domestic abuse, and Self harm

Moderate: Body horror, Gore, Homophobia, Miscarriage, Suicidal thoughts, Suicide attempt, and Schizophrenia/Psychosis

Minor: Child death, Pregnancy, and Abandonment

macyplier's review against another edition

dark emotional mysterious fast-paced

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

3.5

This was my first time ever reading a short story collection and I had super low expectations because everybody I’ve seen talk about it hateddd the last two stories but I liked all of them. They didn’t move me or anything but I enjoyed reading them all the same. Not an all time favorite but looking forward to re-reading eventually. I don’t think any of the stories are like super horrific or disturbing and crazy, so if that's what you’re looking for maybe pass but they were all fun quick reads to me.

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Animal cruelty, Animal death, Child death, Death, Emotional abuse, Gore, Miscarriage, Self harm, Sexual content, Suicide, Toxic relationship, Blood, Vomit, Grief, Pregnancy, Gaslighting, and Injury/Injury detail

eldritch_bxtch's review against another edition

dark emotional mysterious reflective sad tense medium-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

4.0

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Animal death, Child death, and Gore

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

3.0

Some cool and creepy ideas in here but I kept being pulled out of the stories by how little these characters behaved like real people (obviously there is only so realistic you can get when someone

agrees to voluntarily contract a tapeworm for their Dom

but even in everyday interactions everyone seemed to be totally lacking in motivation or realistic drives). The middle story was especially lacking, but the final story turned things around somewhat as it seemed to live in a more "magical realism" world from the off. 

Also Finneas. It's kind of worth reading for Finneas.

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Child death, Miscarriage, and Suicide

Moderate: Animal cruelty, Animal death, Grief, and Lesbophobia