Reviews tagging 'Grief'

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

66 reviews

batfling's review

dark emotional mysterious tense medium-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

4.0

really good - the title novella is gross and nasty and full of dread, which personally i loved. the final short story gave me the same feeling as some of shirley jackson’s work too, which is a big plus for me as i love her stuff.

some of the dialogue is sometimes a bit unrealistic or odd, but i was able to get past that just fine, especially as a lot of the characters are supposed to come off a little weird.

overall, would definitely recommend this!

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Animal death, Body horror, Child death, Death, Toxic relationship, Grief, and Pregnancy

Moderate: Miscarriage

Minor: Self harm

alloutofwords's review against another edition

dark tense medium-paced

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

3.5

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Animal cruelty, Body horror, Child death, Emotional abuse, Miscarriage, Toxic relationship, Grief, and Pregnancy

Moderate: Confinement, Mental illness, Racism, Sexual content, Blood, and Murder

finnsnowbevi's review

challenging dark mysterious tense fast-paced

4.5

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Animal cruelty, Animal death, Body horror, Child death, Death, Emotional abuse, Gore, Mental illness, Miscarriage, Sexual content, Torture, Toxic relationship, Violence, Grief, Stalking, Death of parent, Schizophrenia/Psychosis , Pregnancy, Gaslighting, Abandonment, and Injury/Injury detail

Moderate: Racism

Minor: Homophobia, Infertility, Xenophobia, and Lesbophobia

schuster_s's review

dark mysterious sad tense fast-paced

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

4.0

This book is three short stories about the "indescribable itch to connect with someone, something." 

The first novella is disturbing in a good way. Two women trying to find connection online in a queer community board. One is pushing the boundaries of her dark desires, and the other one just wants to feel loved in any way possible. How badly someone wants something shows us how far they will go to get it, whether that's a human baby, or just a tapeworm. 

The second novella was great. I would love to see a film adaptation of this. An estranged couple get a note from their son who commits suicide reading: "If you and dad love me as much as you say you do, you'll stay together after this...No matter what." We then travel with them to a seasonal hotel on an island off the coast of New England. ON their first night, a traveler appears. He seems to be the long lost son of the husband, and soon the wife feels as though he's not a human, but an angel with a message from their dead son. 

The final story is about a man who finds a bone with his neighbor's initials on it. When he goes to ask him about it, he ends up getting caught in a series of bets. As he completes the challenges successfully, racking up more cash, the challenges get stranger. How far will he go to appease this man and be a polite gentleman? 

I think this was a quick read and a nice suspenseful book. This made me uncomfortable in the best way possible, and it reminds me that being polite isn't what's always best, and that I should remember that people on the internet get to wear a mask 24/7... their intentions are not always what's best for the viewer/reader. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Death, Emotional abuse, Sexual content, Toxic relationship, Blood, and Grief

Moderate: Animal death, Child death, Self harm, and Suicide

Minor: Gore, Miscarriage, Vomit, and Pregnancy

It is suggested that the woman in the first story kills herself with an apple peeler after 'birthing' a tape worm that the other woman told her to contract. In the second story, the woman breaks her ankle and it describes her husband popping the bone back into place. It also describes her husband dying from ingesting poison. It also describes her son killing himself by crucifixion.

sina4books's review against another edition

dark emotional mysterious tense fast-paced

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

4.75

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Animal cruelty, Animal death, Body horror, Child death, Death, Suicide, Toxic relationship, Violence, Blood, Grief, and Schizophrenia/Psychosis

Minor: Torture, Excrement, and Pregnancy

mrpetej's review against another edition

dark emotional mysterious tense fast-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? It's complicated

5.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Animal cruelty, Animal death, Body horror, Bullying, Child death, Confinement, Death, Emotional abuse, Gore, Miscarriage, Self harm, Sexual content, Suicidal thoughts, Suicide, Toxic relationship, Blood, Grief, Suicide attempt, Death of parent, Pregnancy, and Injury/Injury detail

cyndakeel's review against another edition

dark mysterious reflective fast-paced

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

3.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Body horror, Child death, Miscarriage, Sexual content, Toxic relationship, and Grief

Moderate: Infidelity

Minor: Pregnancy

lauriebird's review

dark tense fast-paced

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

2.25

I really had high hopes for a book. First of all, the cover is gorgeous! Congratulations to the artist because that cover really drew me in and kept me going.

I love to read queer literature even if the characters are morally grey or ambiguous. However, I feel there is something… “icky” about the way the author wrote about the woman that I feel falls into the evil lesbian trope. I found that their motivations within the story were not often clear. I feel like it it was written to shock but not provoke the reader to look into the characters. Perhaps he wrote the shock value to distract from what little personality he gave both women? I think this story is so underwhelming for what could have been a truly remarkable premise. Neither woman has a unique voice and honestly, they sound like they’re writing in an into to philosophy course. S.Penkevich said it right when they mentioned that this could’ve been a story that examined class and power dynamics and could’ve given a deeper look into Agnes’ vulnerabilities. 

I think it’s also important to note in this story that both women are equally manipulative and manipulated. Agnes and Zoe both use love bombing and silence as punishment. However, Agnes repeatedly reaches out to Zoe (in a way that feels very “lesbians have mommy issues” but I digress) and begs for love while Zoe’s affection is contingent on Agnes completing her tasks. Once Agnes does and becomes obsessed with the relationship between the two of them, Zoe becomes disinterested which leaves Agnes presumably devastated. However, to get to this conclusion, the story meanders through nothingness. I set this book down a few times; not because I was disturbed but because I was incredibly bored.

As I stated, this could’ve been a great book! This book has so much potential. It is disturbing to a point but the prose was just too distracting for me. I feel like if the author gave himself more time to truly develop a voice and personality for both women and delve further into the manipulation and desires for both women, this could’ve been an amazing novel. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Animal cruelty, Animal death, Miscarriage, Misogyny, Sexism, Suicidal thoughts, Toxic relationship, Violence, Vomit, Abortion, Pregnancy, and Lesbophobia

Moderate: Violence and Abandonment

Minor: Grief, Gaslighting, and Classism

automatic_rae's review against another edition

dark emotional 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

4.0

Dark & twisted. Creative & thought-provoking. Gripping & gruesome.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Animal cruelty, Animal death, Body horror, Child death, Death, Emotional abuse, Gore, Infertility, Mental illness, Miscarriage, Suicide, Grief, Religious bigotry, Murder, Schizophrenia/Psychosis , Pregnancy, and Injury/Injury detail

Moderate: Abandonment

wipeout's review against another edition

dark sad medium-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

3.5

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Body horror and Miscarriage

Moderate: Vomit and Grief

Minor: Suicidal thoughts and Suicide