Reviews tagging 'Lesbophobia'

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

12 reviews

finnsnowbevi's review

challenging dark mysterious tense fast-paced

4.5

---

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

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. 

---

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

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

steffivandewouw's review

dark mysterious reflective tense fast-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

4.5

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Animal cruelty, Toxic relationship, and Toxic friendship

Moderate: Animal death, Sexual content, Slavery, Suicidal thoughts, Medical trauma, Pregnancy, and Gaslighting

Minor: Death, Vomit, Lesbophobia, and Outing

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

jalecd's review against another edition

challenging dark sad tense fast-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

3.0

Things Have Gotten Worse Since We Last Spoke - 4/5
An unsettling depiction of obsession, kink, and how human nature often makes us seek out the very things that destroy us. A visceral and uncomfortable read.

The Enchantment - 2/5
With key themes of religiosity, grief, and what grief can do to the human psyche, I expected a bit more from the plot. Ultimately, I was left with more questions than answers, and honestly a bit confused by the plot. 

You’ll Find It’s Like That Over - 3/5
An enjoyable read commenting on people pleasing and the human desire to maintain social etiquette no matter the cost. It was a bit anti-climactic but I enjoyed the build up 

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Animal death, Child death, Death, Miscarriage, Self harm, Sexual content, Suicide, Toxic relationship, Blood, Grief, Pregnancy, Fire/Fire injury, and Injury/Injury detail

Minor: Racism and Lesbophobia

stardustdreamer's review against another edition

dark 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

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Animal cruelty, Animal death, Body horror, Child abuse, Child death, Death, Gore, Infidelity, Suicide, and Toxic relationship

Moderate: Mental illness, Miscarriage, Racism, Sexual content, Suicidal thoughts, Medical content, Murder, Schizophrenia/Psychosis , and Pregnancy

Minor: Lesbophobia

soft_plush's review against another edition

dark mysterious reflective tense fast-paced

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

4.75

This book was way more intense than I thought if I’m honest. Especially the first story but I do recommend reading it if you’re up for some gross detailed parts as well as big twists and turns and stuff that will genuinely make you question what you just read. 

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Death, Miscarriage, Suicide, Vomit, Grief, Pregnancy, and Lesbophobia

Moderate: Grief, Pregnancy, and Lesbophobia

Minor: Pregnancy and Lesbophobia

laurenvoice's review against another edition

dark mysterious sad tense medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes

3.75

 Things Have Gotten Worse Since We Last Spoke and Other Misfortunes is a collection of short stories centred around human connection and faith. This collection of short stories is dark and not for the faint of heart.

The titular story Things Have Gotten Worse Since We Last Spoke was grotesque and disturbing. Eric LaRocca telling the story through emails and instant messenger was genius; they kept us guessing about Zoe's true identity and intentions towards Agnes and the truth behind Agnes's end. Things Have Gotten Worse Since We Last Spoke was a solid ⭐⭐⭐⭐ read; with a nice true-crime vibe.

The second story in this collection, The Enchantment, was dark and mysterious. The beginning of this story was quite horrific and a tad confusing;

I was wondering how Milo managed to crucify himself

. After the main event that started the two main characters' story on an isolated island, it felt like the story dragged a bit, and it was hard to stay interested. Nonetheless, the message gained from the themes centred around faith and religion, to the point our main characters seem paranoid about it, was well worth the read. Overall, The Enchantment was a ⭐⭐⭐.5 read.

The final story You'll Find It's Like That All Over was weird and tense. It made absolutely no sense why Mr Fowler kept going with the bets, which caused a very stressful scene involving a guillotine. But LaRocca had me hooked from the start with this story. You'll Find It's Like That All Over was a ⭐⭐⭐.75 read; it would have earned an extra 0.25 stars if it was a tad longer. 

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Child death, Gore, and Suicide

Moderate: Body horror, Child abuse, Emotional abuse, Miscarriage, Self harm, Torture, Toxic relationship, Grief, and Murder

Minor: Racism and Lesbophobia

themeadowlibrary's review against another edition

challenging dark 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? It's complicated

1.5

What have you done today to deserve your eyes?

An interesting concept with some really badly done writing. 

I wish I could give this a higher rating because it was viscerally disturbing and unique. However, the writing fell extremely flat for me, and the overall story seemed rushed. 

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Animal cruelty, Animal death, Body horror, Emotional abuse, Mental illness, Self harm, Sexual content, Toxic relationship, Blood, Vomit, Medical content, Medical trauma, and Gaslighting

Moderate: Death, Homophobia, Suicidal thoughts, Stalking, Suicide attempt, and Lesbophobia