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Reviews tagging 'Abandonment'
Things Have Gotten Worse Since We Last Spoke And Other Misfortunes by Eric LaRocca
11 reviews
finnsnowbevi's review
4.5
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
- 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 love to read queer literature
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.
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
- 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
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
trashgobby's review
- 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
4.25
Graphic: Animal death, Body horror, Emotional abuse, Mental illness, Toxic relationship, and Injury/Injury detail
Moderate: Animal cruelty, Cursing, Death, Blood, and Abandonment
tibcanread's review
- 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 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.
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
szyca's review against another edition
- 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
4.5
Graphic: Animal cruelty, Animal death, Body horror, Death, Gore, Mental illness, Sexual content, Toxic relationship, Blood, and Abandonment
melliedm's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? N/A
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.75
1. Things Have Gotten Worse Since We Last Spoke is a gruesome epistolary story connecting two women through email and text message where their quickly dread-inducing kink relationship becomes a nausea-inducing horror-show on the desperation people have to love and be loved. Truly disgusting and I could never bring myself to read it again, but it was the best story in the collection.
2. The Enchantment follows an estranged couple as they act as caretakers for an island hotel the winter after their son’s suicide. Heavy religious themes might resonate more with other readers, but they didn’t with me. The beats in this one read more like the author wanted very much for this to be a screenplay and not a short story. It felt a little like other familiar stories in the horror canon put into a blender? My least favourite of the bunch.
3. It’s Like This All Over was mildly interesting. A man finds something strange in his yard and politely confronts his aloof neighbour about it, and then finds himself unable to refuse the neighbour’s invitations. The way the author presented the protagonist’s perspective seemed to have the opposite effect as was intended. By the end I got the sense we were supposed to very much view him as an insert that any of us could very well be, but there was a strange depersonalizations of him that made it difficult. Perhaps it was that he never has a first name, and is only “Mr. (Surname)”, which in my mind has a way of othering someone. I also would have liked to spend more time with the protagonist actually engaging with the neighbour, the escalation seemed far too sudden.
Overall an enjoyable collection of disturbing tales, and quick to read in a single dark evening alone.
Graphic: Animal cruelty, Animal death, Body horror, Child death, Death, Gore, Infidelity, Mental illness, Miscarriage, Self harm, Sexual content, Slavery, Suicidal thoughts, Suicide, Toxic relationship, Blood, Vomit, Medical content, Grief, Medical trauma, Murder, Pregnancy, Abandonment, and Injury/Injury detail
parasolcrafter's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.0
Graphic: Animal cruelty, Animal death, Body horror, Child death, Cursing, Death, Emotional abuse, Gore, Infidelity, Mental illness, Miscarriage, Misogyny, Racism, Self harm, Sexual content, Suicidal thoughts, Suicide, Torture, Violence, Blood, Vomit, Grief, Religious bigotry, Death of parent, Murder, Pregnancy, Gaslighting, Abandonment, and Injury/Injury detail
selkieteeth's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Loveable characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
2.0
Graphic: Animal cruelty, Animal death, Body horror, Child abuse, Child death, Death, Domestic abuse, Emotional abuse, Gore, Miscarriage, Self harm, Toxic relationship, Violence, Blood, Grief, Murder, and Injury/Injury detail
Moderate: Suicidal thoughts, Suicide, Vomit, and Pregnancy
Minor: Infidelity, Racism, Xenophobia, Abandonment, and Alcohol
dy_'s review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? N/A
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.5
Graphic: Animal cruelty, Animal death, Body horror, Child abuse, Child death, Cursing, Death, Miscarriage, Sexual content, Suicide, Toxic relationship, Grief, Pregnancy, and Abandonment