Reviews with content warning for Miscarriage - Things Have Gotten Worse Since We Last Spoke

Reviews tagging 'Miscarriage'

Things Have Gotten Worse Since We Last Spoke by Eric LaRocca

55 reviews

pryingblackbird'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

1.0

There were some interesting idea in here, but the execution was horrible. Also a book isn't automatically diverse or LGBT just because some of the characters are in same sex relationships, when all of the characters are just blank, flat stand-ins to progress whatever little plot there is. Yes there's two same sex couples in the book, but they might as well be hetero or completely devoid of a gender identity, it would not influence the stories even the slightest.

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ziemelumeita's review against another edition

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dark tense fast-paced

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

2.0

Not the psychological horror that I wanted it to be. I did sort of enjoy the main short story, but then again I always enjoy the e-mail format. In the afterword, the author mentions that it's about how far people will go to keep their loved ones happy, but I rather thought it was a good commentary on online relationships and our personal responsibility towards the lenghts we will have people go for our own selfish desires. But that's about all the deep meaning I managed to squeeze out of this book. Most of the "horror" revolved around odd fetishes and dead cats and that's just old. I was already bored of the religion stuff after the first story. You can tell this book was written by a man by the way two female characters in two seperate stories were obsessed with having "a life growing inside them". The author probably thought it was the peak of depravity, when in reality it's just kind of tired and misogynistic. And don't even get me started on the horrible writing in The Enchantment. I get that it was a bit, but it hurt to read. At least the single sentence paragraphs made for a quick read and I didn't have to suffer through it for too long. It's sad, because the title was so promising.

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noczombie's review against another edition

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challenging dark tense fast-paced

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

3.5

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mallory_minerva's review against another edition

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dark tense fast-paced

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

4.0

Well that was gross

I know this book is disliked, and I find the criticisms understandable. I do not dispute the realism issues; people don't really email like that. The texting to me seemed fine on the local level however. The progression of the relationship, as well as the relationship with the Tapeworm, seemed most unrealistic, but in some ways the psychological nuance of it was very interesting. I have mixed feelings on that front. I also am unsure about the claim of the author fetishizing lesbians. I didn't pick up on it much myself but I can see why others do.

I honestly found it mostly fun. I read it in one sitting which is rare for me. The characters are good and distinct, and the scenes conveyed through texts and emails are really vivid. I also liked Agnes's tendency to tell anecdotes; a lot of the literary merit is in those moments and I actually do buy that someone would just infodump anecdotes to make a point. I think the online take on an epistolary novel was well done all things considered; this is an epistolary novel and it will read like letters, not emails, and that's fine.

The horror is... The body horror is better than the psychological horror. I did not enjoy the BDSM aspects, and the animal cruelty really felt out of place for both characters and plot-necessitated. The Findom was underexplored but maybe that's a good thing. Zoe places enough emphasis on consent and caution that I didn't really perceive much manipulation. I didn't pick up on it until she self-discloses out of guilt and concern. There's moments where I feel things are getting worse and Agnes is blundering into a bad situation though, which is good psychological horror. The body horror is well-done.

I wanted to read trash after Foucault broke me, and I certainly got it. I get the low average but this book came to me at the right time I guess.

PS: this is the most content warnings I've ever added for a review. I guess I don't do horror much.

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