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Reviews tagging 'Violence'
Things Have Gotten Worse Since We Last Spoke And Other Misfortunes by Eric LaRocca
34 reviews
peckreadsbooks's review
- 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
3.75
Graphic: Animal cruelty, Animal death, Child death, Death, Emotional abuse, Mental illness, Suicide, Toxic relationship, Violence, Vomit, Medical content, Grief, Murder, and Injury/Injury detail
Moderate: Miscarriage, Physical abuse, Self harm, Torture, Murder, and Pregnancy
abookishgoth's review
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
Graphic: Animal cruelty, Animal death, Death, Mental illness, Self harm, Suicide, and Violence
Moderate: Racism and Pregnancy
nikzzz3's review against another edition
3.25
Graphic: Animal death, Child death, Death, Self harm, Suicide, and Violence
madelinequinne's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.5
Graphic: Animal cruelty, Animal death, Body horror, Confinement, Death, Gore, Mental illness, Miscarriage, Self harm, Sexual content, Suicidal thoughts, Suicide, Toxic relationship, Violence, Blood, Vomit, Grief, Religious bigotry, Schizophrenia/Psychosis , Pregnancy, Gaslighting, and Injury/Injury detail
bunnyprincess's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
2.5
Graphic: Animal cruelty, Animal death, Body horror, Child death, Confinement, Death, Gore, Homophobia, Infertility, Infidelity, Mental illness, Miscarriage, Physical abuse, Racism, Self harm, Sexual content, Suicidal thoughts, Suicide, Torture, Violence, Blood, Excrement, Vomit, Grief, Suicide attempt, Death of parent, Murder, Pregnancy, and Injury/Injury detail
xalrynne's review against another edition
3.75
So this was the most disturbing story I’ve ever read. I’ve heard about this book a lot without ever hearing what this book was about. I’m trying to find my niche horror genre so I’ve been reading different types of horror stories lately, and this was definitely the most disturbing of the bunch.
“Things Have Gotten Worse Since We Last Spoke” is an epistolary novel that chronicles the correspondences between two people. It dives deep into manipulation in a master/slave type of relationship. That’s all I’m going to say though because I think it’s best to go in knowing little.
I don’t really know what to rate this story as I couldn’t look away and was completely engaged as I flew through the narrative, but I also don’t know if I really enjoyed it or not. The story will stick with me as it’s definitely unforgettable, but it’s also just so disturbing. I know I’ve already used that word in this review but it really is the best way to describe this novella. It’s disturbing and gross and, at times, baffling. It’s almost like the author deliberately included scenes that were intended to have the biggest shock value with the reader.
Even saying all that, I would recommend this to fans of horror—maybe specifically those of body horror?—and fans of fast-paced epistolary stories.
“The Enchantment”—3.5/5 stars
Once again, this was disturbing, but not as much as “Things Have Gotten Worse.” Maybe that’s just Eric LaRocca’s style.
It’s about a couple who goes to live on an island all alone when weird things start happening to them.
I thought this story started out strong and had a good middle, but I didn’t love how it ended, mostly due to the fact that the story isn’t speculative but then adds in speculative elements at the end. I think I have found that I prefer non-speculative horror, while I prefer speculative elements solely in fantasy and sci-fi instead.
I am curious after reading the first two stories what the author’s fixation is with crucifixion as it comes up in both stories.
“You’ll Find It’s Like That All Over”—3/5 stars
This was the weakest story in the collection for me. Still interesting, but not as memorable and disturbing as the first two.
A man finds a shard of bone in his backyard with his neighbor’s initials carved into it and begins to investigate it. This story is about how far one will go to maintain appearances to continue being a “good neighbor.”
As stated in the author’s afterward, all three stories in this collection focus on the human desire to connect with someone or something else, and to what extent someone will go to find or maintain that connection. I appreciated that they all had a connecting theme to tie them together. I would recommend this collection to fans of macabre horror stories that shock you and make you think.
Graphic: Death and Suicide
Moderate: Body horror, Child death, Toxic relationship, Pregnancy, and Injury/Injury detail
Minor: Animal cruelty, Animal death, Gore, Violence, and Grief
annalena_1224's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? N/A
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.75
Graphic: Child death
Moderate: Animal cruelty, Animal death, Violence, and Grief
foremmarightnow's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.5
Graphic: Animal cruelty, Animal death, Death, Suicide, Violence, and Suicide attempt
a_wren_that_reads's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
Graphic: Animal death, Body horror, Child death, Death, Mental illness, Miscarriage, Self harm, Slavery, Suicide, Toxic relationship, Violence, Blood, Vomit, Medical content, Religious bigotry, Pregnancy, Toxic friendship, and Injury/Injury detail
If you can't handle talk of Christianity, praying, etc. Skip the second storyptitirodactyle's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? N/A
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.5
The Enchantment: 3 stars
YFILTAO: 3 stars
Graphic: Animal cruelty, Animal death, Body horror, Child abuse, Death, Emotional abuse, Gore, Mental illness, Self harm, Sexual content, Suicidal thoughts, Suicide, Torture, Toxic relationship, Violence, Blood, Medical content, Grief, Medical trauma, Stalking, Schizophrenia/Psychosis , Pregnancy, Fire/Fire injury, Gaslighting, Toxic friendship, and Injury/Injury detail
Minor: Vomit