2.5 rounded up I’ve heard a great deal of hype about this collection. While I get the theme of the desperate measures people will take “to connect”, the actions of the characters were so outlandishly unbelievable and gross that I was shaking my head.Not really horror….just horrible stuff.

This is a collection of 3 stories from LaRocca including the viral-sensation Things Have Gotten Worse Since We Last Spoke. The descriptions of the stories below are taken directly from the book's description:

"A whirlpool of darkness churns at the heart of a macabre ballet between two lonely young women in an internet chat room in the early 2000s—a darkness that threatens to forever transform them once they finally succumb to their most horrific desires.

A couple isolate themselves on a remote island, in an attempt to recover from their teenage son’s death, when a mysterious young man knocks on their door during a storm…

And a man confronts his neighbour when he discovers a strange object in his back yard, only to be drawn into an ever-more dangerous game."

In general, I really enjoyed LaRocca's writing style and story craft. All of these stories are trimmed down to the perfect amount of backstory/plot/characters that it doesn't feel like a single part of the story could be cut as unnecessary. These three stories are all very different lengths but each one feels perfectly complete as a story. Of course, I could see how some of these could be expanded into longer works, if LaRocca wanted to, but they all work really well at their current lengths. I'd be very interested in reading more from LaRocca again.

Things Have Gotten Worse Since We Last Spoke

It feels like everyone I follow has read this by now and I've been seeing consistent praise for this story all around my social media. I'll be honest, I was intrigued but then it was gaining so much traction and so much buzz that I felt like it was maybe getting over-hyped. When this happens, I usually tend to avoid those stories for a number of months (or years, sometimes) to give the hype time to cool off and my brain time to let go of some things I'd heard. However, when the ARC of this collection came up on NetGalley I tossed my usual rule aside and requested it. As a result, I do think this first story was a little too over-hyped for me and so I was a bit let down overall. Folks weren't giving away many details of the actual plot, but there were so many visceral reactions I saw overall and so many people talking about how gross and twisted this story was.

And to be clear, this story was 100% gross and twisted and pretty fucked up in some parts. However, I was expecting more from it based on the buzz I was seeing online. Now I don't often read a lot of 'gross' horror and tend to lean more toward the psychological/medium body horror level of horror. Also, this story includes my #1 irrational fear (that is pretty specific) that hasn't come up often in the horror I read so this had all the ingredients to be a really visceral reading experience for me. However, it just didn't get me there in the end. I do think the story deserved the hype it got - I just wished I had given enough time for my expectations to go back down to a normal level before jumping in.

I think, aside from the over-hyped stuff which is no fault of the author, the main part that did lessen my engagement was the format of the story. We are reading emails and instant message exchanges between these two women and that became a sort of wall for me. It was the epitome of telling, not showing, because we really only get the characters telling each other the facts of what they did. This would be a completely different book if the emails/IMs were only a part of the book and then we follow the women in their day to day lives actually doing these acts so we can experience them 'first hand' as opposed to being filtered through their correspondence to each other. I really loved the framing around this whole story and, again, think following that portion in a full-length novel would be really interesting.

I did find the ending a bit abrupt and confusing because we get told right at the beginning how the characters end up but then the end of the story doesn't bring that full circle so I was initially confused on how the characters get to that end point. But then I slept on it and when I woke up the next morning, I was still thinking about this story and the pieces finally fell into place where (I think) I know what happened after the story ended.

4/5

TW/CW: animal death


The Enchantment

As far as horror sub-genres go, this story was much more of my regular sort of read. It leaned more toward the paranormal/psychological horror part of the spectrum and it was a really great slow-burn horror. I loved the isolated island setting and how that naturally escalated an already tense situation. I really loved the mix of threats and how they all sort of ebbed and flowed during certain times in the story. However, there wasn't a lot of time for the reader to really get settled into any one particular state of the story so sometimes these changes in focus just felt like they were coming a little too quickly. I was really impressed with the amount of character exploration and character development we got in this story. I think LaRocca did a great job of showing the reader exactly enough information of these characters and their previous lives so that the reader could tell how much of a change they were going through.

This is a very religion-focused story but as someone who didn't grow up in that environment, those themes didn't really impact my overall reading experience. However, for other readers with different types of faith, I could see how this might be a really different reading experience. In the Authors Note at the end of the book, LaRocca talks a bit about his own religious upbringing and how that fit into writing this story.

5/5

TW/CW: religion, suicide, animal death, pregnancy, miscarriage


You'll Find It's Like That All Over

This was the shortest story in the collection and I normally have a hard time settling into short stories. However, I really liked how this story had such a small cast and a very small environment that it was really easy to get into the story. I'd call this story more suspenseful than horror because there is this constant sense that something is 'off' about this neighbor. I really liked the framing of this story where these two almost-strangers are drawn together and there's a really great dynamic where they're figuring each other out through this game. I do wish there would have been a more gradual increase of the stakes over each phase of the game because the last phase really seemed to jump to super serious out of nowhere. As much as I think the story was positively impacted by having a small cast/setting, I really liked how the ending sort of opened the rest of this world up to the reader.

4/5



Thanks to NetGalley and Titan Books for the ARC. Expected publication date is September 6, 2022

This book is a collection of 3 short horror stories, Things Have Gotten Worse Since We Last Spoke, The Enchanted & You’ll Find It’s Like That All Over. My absolute favorite thing to do w horror books is to go in completely blind. So I’m not going to give a synopsis because I highly recommend doing the same.
All 3 of these stores fit the same vibe, horrifically terrific. They kind of all go off the same theme, but they’re all different and I love that LaRocca was able to do that. I read this book start to finish in one night, I couldn’t put it down.

Things Have Gotten Worse Since We Last Spoke - Actually turned my stomach, which isn’t easy to do.

Th Enchanted - Story was good, but unfortunately didn’t stick out to me. Surrounding the other two.

You’ll Find It’s Like That All Over - This one could have been a tad longer in my opinion, but still a very good read.

I highly recommend this book, I loved it so much I bought it physically, I can’t wait to get it. These stories were so beautifully, horrifyingly crafted & I love them. Can’t wait to read more by Eric LaRocca!!

I want to thank NetGalley & Titan books for my
Ebook copy in exchange for a review.

Thank you to Netgalley for this ARC!

have seen Things Have Gotten Worse Since we Last Spoke gaining some popularity among the horror lovers on BookTok and I was intrigued so when it was available on Netgalley along with 2 other short stories I immediately requested.

Its a short story so I was able to read it in one sitting, which I recommend to do. This is a story about an interaction online between two women intitally about the sale of an apple peeler which then turns into an obsession between these two women and things go very weird very quickly.

If you want a book to test the limits of what you think you can handle, this is it. This story is vile & disgusting, I wanted to scrub my skin afterwards and just the fact that this invoked such an emotional response means I have to give credit to the author.

Things Have Gotten Worse Since We Last Spoke is an extraordinarily creepy and uncomfortable read. But still somehow grounded by the characterisation of the two leads

I already had ‘Things Have Gotten Worse Since We Last Spoke’ on my to read list when this book came available on NetGalley, so I jumped at the chance and I'm glad that I did.

This book is very much a thought provoking mental experience, like ‘1984’ by George Orwell and ‘The Cabin at the End of the World’ by Paul Tremblay.

I really enjoyed the writing style and the way the stories drift into darkness, and before I finished I had added more of Eric LaRocca books to my wish list.

This book will not be for everyone. It has some dark and disturbing parts, and a little bit of gross stuff.
*Thank you to NetGalley for providing me with a copy of the book in exchange for a honest review.*

Hell is other people not just philosophical theory but also applicable to the commute and workplace but indeed horror needs relationships to work. Not always monster and human prey but the way two people can impact each other’s lives and make things terrible is a horror that an ancient curse can never create. In Eric LaRocca’s Things have Gotten Worse Since We Last Spoke And Other Misfortunes, we get a triptych of tales exploring terrible bargains between people creating some chilling horror.

The collection starts off with Things Have Gotten Worse Since We Last Spoke. This tale is in the form of someone collecting the electronic correspondence between two women which we are told at the start leads to the death of one of them. A simple antique apple peeler being put up for sale leads to Agnes and Zoe chatting. An act of kindness leads to a quasi-online relationship that turns emotionally fraught and becomes a series of challenges Zoe sets Agnes in a form of Dominant/Submissive online relationship that goes very quickly to dark places.

What works is LaRocca creates the two different voices within the email. At first just two lost people but very quickly the relationship changes as the two bond. We learn very little about these two people bar odd comments about past relationships and a few mentions of the workplace. Here the question is how far you push someone to dependence on each other and Zoe enjoys pushing Agnes to ever further outrageous and more terrible acts. Then Agnes starts to push the boundaries too in a quite disturbing way back as she focuses on becoming a mother and in a truly terrifying metaphorical way. This feels more a whispered confessional as we hear what Agnes has done; how it makes her feel and the intensity gets stronger, and we begin to fear this will only end badly. There is a ticking clock of suspense wondering what exactly is going to happen and the last entry is indeed chilling and neatly rounds the while tale. It’s a dark and bleak tale but one that is supremely effective.

The next tale The Enchantment is a curious example of how an author has several recurring themes in their work. We again get a tale that looks at suicide, control, and even a focus on crucifixion (all tackled in the main tale above) . This time we have an estranged couple traumatised by the suicide of their son going to work on an abandoned island alone for the winter. Alone until a compelling stranger arrives. While this is a good short story, I ultimately didn’t find this as effective as Things Have Gotten Worse. The two stories are using themes and motifs so similar and placed so closely together that its hard not to compare them. It feels like it should have been either a much longer tale to expand the world and characters or a much tighter tale that focused the attention on the couple and not dwell so much on the son’s last days. LaRocca throws in really interesting concepts like scientists proving there is no afterlife; someone’s sudden religious conversion and an oppressive Shining like scenario but for me there is too much going on to explore any deeply and wrap up to create a cohesive story. Bar a few scenes of cosmic horror that really stand out I didn’t feel this was that effective.

Fortunately, the last short tale You’ll Find It’s Like That All Over is a much tighter and more menacing tale delivered perfectly with almost wry smile of dark humour. This is a Shirley Jacksonesque tale of two neighbours talking and one setting them unique bets for ever increasing large sums of money. LaRocca again is asking how far people go when all their better instincts are saying to run. I loved the way politeness can lead to people being very very careless. Again, LaRocca demonstrates a fine understanding of how tension works and as the story gets more macabre it makes a fascinating statement on suburban life and how we refuse to talk about dark subjects for fear of embarrassment. An incredibly skilful piece of storytelling.

This is a dark and unsettling horror collection where the message is to unsettle you and not make you comfortable about humanity. I think LaRocca is very skilled at creating flawed people doing flawed things and you start ti understand why they did this and yet making it as the slow-motion car crash we cannot take our eyes away from. It has certainly made me interested in what LaRocca has to tell in the future and as the nights lengthen some horror to help add extra chill to your bones.

Thank you to NetGalley and Titan Books for providing me with a complimentary digital ARC of this book in exchange for an honest review!

I’m a big horror fan, and I’ve heard about “Things Have Gotten Worse Since We Last Spoke” nonstop since its release. It’s been on my TBR list for awhile, so when I saw this new collection featuring the story on NetGalley, I was absolutely delighted! I went into it without knowing much about any of the three stories, which is what I recommend anyone interested to do, as well. The stories all fell a little flat for me in different ways, but I still found them to be very intriguing while I was reading. I think most horror fans will want to check this out, but every reader will likely have a different reaction. Please check trigger warnings before picking this up, though, because there are so many.

Since this is a collection of three stories, I’ll discuss each one separately and then give my thoughts on the collection altogether at the end.

The first, and longest, story is “Things Have Gotten Worse Since We Last Spoke.” I would rate this 2/5 stars. Though it was originally released last year, it is republished in this collection. The story follows two women in the year 2000 as they get to know one another and develop a toxic Dom/sub relationship through emailing and messaging in a chatroom. Zoe manipulate Agnes and pushes to see exactly how far she is willing to go to please her. The story is super graphic and disturbing, but it kept me glued to my screen. I was planning on just reading a few chapters, but I wound up devouring it all in one sitting.

I didn’t enjoy this one all that much, though, for two main reasons.

First, I didn’t find it all that believable. The women write lengthy messages to one another that are perfectly typed and very eloquent. There isn’t much of a difference between their voices, and I cannot imagine that people were writing like that over email and instant messenger in 2000. I started using AIM in the mid-2000s, so I know firsthand how much we all used textspeak back then. Also, Agnes didn’t have much money, so I doubt she had high speed internet to instantly respond to Zoe’s messages (there are time stamps on their chats, and they often send multiple messages to one another in seconds). They also develop a connection quickly. The horror goes from 0-100 in a short time frame. All of this felt very unrealistic.

Second, I didn’t love the manner in which queer women were used as the main characters. I’m not saying the author was being problematic, but the execution made me a little uncomfortable. Both of the women are underdeveloped (particularly Zoe, who we learn nothing about) and unlikable. Agnes discusses some of her trauma as a gay woman, but that’s the only depth we see from her. From there, the characters make poor choices portraying a manipulative BDSM relationship. As a queer woman, I definitely believe we should be represented more in all genres of books. I also acknowledge that queer characters don’t all have to be good people. However, in this story, nothing about the women is shown in a positive light. I fear that some readers might get the wrong message from the portrayal of them. If the story were written by a queer woman, I would feel better about it.

The plot was paced too quickly and the ending was too vague for me, as well. The story does make you think, but it could have been executed much better.

I want to note that the second and third stories are much shorter (the first story takes up about 50% of the book, the second story about 35%, and the final story about 15%). So, I have less to say about the other two, because they truly are short stories (rather than novellas).

The second story is “The Enchantment.” I’d rate this one 3/5 stars. It follows a husband and wife as they grieve the loss of their son, question their spirituality, and meet a stranger on an island. I think this is my favorite of the stories, because it has quite a few interesting ideas and good imagery. It felt the most like a true horror story to me, with a great ending. However, it was a bit chaotic in its plot and pacing. It would have worked so much better as a full-length novel with more time to build the world, flesh out the characters, and develop the themes.

There were a couple of things that bothered me with this one. While I do want the stories to be connected, some of the imagery and themes were too similar to the first story at times. The author could have made a couple of scenes slightly more different from each other. Although, maybe some readers will appreciate the repetition. I also thought the animal abuse was totally and completely unnecessary, especially after having already read a horrific animal scene in the first story.

The third and final story is “You’ll Find It’s Like That All Over.” I’d also rate this one 3/5 stars. It follows a man who finds himself agreeing to a series of bets with his neighbor, because he's too polite to decline. It’s quick and to the point. It seems as if the author had a very clear theme they wanted to showcase with this story, and they succeeded in making their point (albeit a little heavy-handedly). I found this to be thought-provoking, but it was a little too short. It could have been expanded with a more exciting climax. The story was okay overall, though.

While none of these stories blew me away, I still had a fine time reading them. I think something about the author’s writing just doesn’t click for me (I could do with more showing and less telling). He does know how to pull you in and keep you along for the journey, though. I was intrigued enough to read each story quickly. The themes of religion and looking for connections were interesting; they did make me think for a moment after finishing the book. I would recommend this story collection to horror readers who enjoy gory and strange reads. It is easy enough to get through that I think it’s worth a try— just go into it without many expectations and see what you think.

2.75 stars out of 5 stars, rounded up to 3 stars. With the horror genre, I’m starting to realize that sometimes the journey is more important than the ending. The reading experience for these stories is compelling if you like horror, so that’s why I rounded up.

This is a collection of 3 short stories including a reprint of the viral title story, Things Have Gotten Worse Since We Last Spoke. I have wanted to read this for a long time anyway and jumped at the chance to read it in a collection with others. They are all dark stories and can be disturbing for some. They are vastly different but are still related in their themes of people wanting human connection and the lengths some will go to achieve this.

In Things Have Gotten Worse the whole story is told through emails and instant messages. This was a weird but fascinating novella that involved codependency, loneliness, obsession and manipulation among other things. This was by far my favorite of the 3 stories. From that point on we get a short religious story and an even shorter story of a man who takes his politeness and people pleasing to the extreme. These were all enjoyable but I do wish they were all longer, especially the last two. These would make amazing full-length novels, but I felt like I was kind of left hanging they way they ended here.

Be sure to check trigger warnings on this if you need them. There are plenty.

Thank you to #netgalley and Titan Books for the advanced copy in exchange for an honest review!

Mr. Eric LaRocca, what am I going to do with you, sir?

I read Things Have Gotten Worse Since We Last Spoke and I reviewed it on Goodreads quite...badly. It really was horrifying and I hated the experience from the pictures it scarred to my brain. Nevertheless, when I saw this ARC I thought "Why not? What could possibly go wrong?"

The answer, EVERYTHING.

This book is split into three different stories, Things Have Gotten Worse Since We Last Spoke, about two young women in a chatroom that quickly goes downhill when their weird and dark desires reach the surface; The Enchantment Hotel, about a couple who go to a remote island after their son dies and an unexpected visitor knocks on their door; and lastly, You'll Find It's Like That All Over, about a man who, after finding an unexpected object in his backyard and confronts his neighbour about it, enters a game of ever-ending dangers.

So first, I'm going to give a review on THGWSWLS (it's a long title, sorry), so first things first: I love a good horror book/story, but this one...this one made want to throw up until the memory of everything I read was gone from my mind. I am forever scarred from what I read and I think that shows how good the writing is. The author's note is the most confusing thing in the world, I swear. I'm still trying to understand if it was real or not. The writing is so simple, since it is just two women chatting with each other via messages/e-mails, yet so disturbing and horrifying, I still get chills just from reading some parts of it. The way the story quickly turns dark and pushes us with it, down the drain we go with horror and disgust (poor salamander, I mean, come on!) never to return again. That ending...I cannot even with it. I am still haunted by that. I swear on everything, if I am ever approached with the question "What have you done today to deserve your eyes?", I will die.

Second story: The Enchantment Hotel. What. A. Rollercoaster. What was that?! I was confused, angry, horrified, more confused, then I was happy?, and all of a sudden shocked, and horrified once again. Name any negative emotion, I probably felt it while reading this. The story is very easy to read, with short chapters and easy vocabulary, but the storyline itself, now that will bend your head in ways you never knew possible. This was so twisted and crazy, I was so confused at that ending and at the same time I loved it. The poor cat, come on! (I am sensing a pattern in these stories, Mr. Eric LaRocca, when it comes to animals, and I am not enjoying it!!) I honestly don't know what to say about this one. The ending was so haunting and, at the same time, it felt like a cycle from something briefly referenced in the story (was that on purpose? Oh, I swear if it was...) and that makes it ten times more exciting and crazy all in one. I think I'll stop this review here, it's still bothering me a bit and I need therapy after reading this story.

Last, but not least: YFILTAO (long title again, sorry!). This was my least-favourite in terms of storyline. It was very fast-paced, making it a bit to rushed. I think it could be very interesting if it was a little bit more daunting or elongated, making us dread the end out of excitement or horror. I liked the way it gradually turned into something so dark and weird, and the ending really feels like it could definitely have a sequel or something like that, the way it ends allows the author to make something new on this storyline. And the way the title fits within the story, it is so so well done and it really shows how some things are just never-ending cycles.

This was a very interesting and horrifying and crazy reading experience, and I have no doubt it was one of the best horror genre books I ever read, even with its traumatising outcomes.

What have you done today to deserves your eyes? I had the guts to read this. That must count for something.

Signing off,
B.

This book consists of 3 absolutely weird and wonderful short stories, all very different and all more than a little creepy! I feel like all 3 stories could actually have held their own as novels, padded out with more details, particularly the second story. The writing was wonderful and I definitely felt like I needed to know more. All in all a wonderful and quick read I would recommend to any horror fan.

This is a strange little book. It consists of one novella - 'Things Have Gotten Worse Since We Last Spoke' and two short stories - 'The Enchantment' and 'You'll Find It's Like That All Over'. The first and last stories in the collection felt like they had potential. In 'Things Have Gotten Worse', two women connect over email when one is trying to sell her grandmother's antique apple peeler and develop a strange, swift obsession with each other. In 'You'll Find It's Like That', a man enters into a dangerously escalating series of bets with his neighbour. Neither of these stories exactly worked for me - the first came too close to torture porn for shock value for my liking while the second felt too abrupt and abbreviated - but both have memorable images and phrases. In contrast, 'The Enchantment' was a bit of a mess; it starts with the arresting idea that the afterlife has been proven not to exist, but does nothing with that at all, choosing instead to focus on a couple grieving after their son commits suicide, an experience which seems like it would have been much the same regardless of belief in an afterlife. Finally, Eric LaRocca's writing is consistently off-kilter and stilted; I thought this was a stylistic choice when reading 'Things Have Gotten Worse' but soon realised it wasn't, which robbed that novella of some of what made it interesting as well. 2.5 stars.

Thank you ever so much to NetGalley for providing me with an ARC to review.

3 stars!

When I say I was excited to read this, believe me, I had been waiting to read this for a LONG time.

Oh boy. I wanted to give this 5 stars, I was ready to give this 5 stars before I even to get my hands on it. I heard so many good things, that this book was amazingly messed up, right up my alley.

I am so sad that I couldn’t give it more. Like I feel like I should like it more but I sadly don’t. I was so underwhelmed that I’m shocked.

Don’t get me wrong the main story is fantastic, but I was expecting something WAY different and somehow even more messed up than what I read. Okay, the ending did take me by surprise but at that point I was just confuse with how fast things were going between Agnes and Zoe like SO FAST. Not really a buildup to make the relationship become more full and slowly build up to it becoming unsettling and seeing how things would change as they spoke, it was just 0-100 straight away. I feel like if the story was longer, of course, there would be more depth in their conversations and maybe see Zoe change their relationship to more unsettling and darker levels. But they would communicate via email and be like talk tonight? And the conversation would start but then end like can’t talk for very long, g’ night.

I do love how messed up this is, I was cackling! But I thought it would take a much darker turn in Zoe manipulating Agnes into making her trust her and we witness Zoe breaking away so she would have full trust and control, in small bits that Agnes wouldn’t realize and then start making Agnes do things etc.

The other two stories were okay but I felt that underwhelmed that I didn’t enjoy them as much.

Regardless, I understand the reaction to this and really appreciate being sent an ARC of it. I’m excited to read more by Eric LaRocca as his stories really are my type, just this sadly wasn’t.

I don't know if I've ever read something more unsettling... or compelling. I'd heard some buzz about the main story, but wanted to wait until a little closer to Spooky Season to read it. It seemed almost serendipitous that I found this extended version, with two additional stories, on Netgalley in late August. The Skeleton King works in mysterious ways. Ha! That's just a little Halloween humor, but actually, themes of faith are prevalent in this book. There's a common thread that each tale shares; someone searching for connection.

I can certainly understand why people might be captivated by Things Have Gotten Worse Since We Last Spoke. I haven't been able to stop thinking about it since I read it a week ago. I recognized the desperation in Agnes, and the hunger in Zoe. The scariest villains will always be human, nothing is more monstrous than the dark desires of man. But this story also gave me a goal: find time to appreciate my surroundings and recognize the beauty in my everyday life. I REALLY want to deserve my eyes. Having said all that, it was the second story, The Enchantment, which resonated most deeply with me. The extreme isolation of the island, combined with the alienation of affection, primes you to understand just how frantic Olive would have been to matter to someone. After the sudden, shocking loss, she clutches so tightly to her faith, yearning for meaning in her life. And her prayers are answered, gruesomely. I'm not big on body horror, but it's well done and not overly barf-y in this book. Last, but certainly not least creepy is, You'll Find It's Like That All Over. Polite and gentle Mr. Fowler finds himself in over his head with mysterious neighbor, Mr. Perlzig. This is a tale told to make you squirm. Mr. Perlzig seems harmless enough, but he keeps upping the ante on his bets with Mr. Fowler, and you can only guess at his motivation. My mortification meter needed adjustment after reading this. I didn't know you could almost die from third-hand fictional character embarrassment until now.

Taken as a whole, this collection is something spooky and special. Eric LaRocca deserves all the accolades, and his eyes, I guess. 5 stars. Thank you to Netgalley and Titan Books for the chance to review this advance copy.

What have you done today to deserve your eyes?

First of all, this is going to be a very difficult review to write, as I went in completely blind to this book and I feel this is the best thing to do, so I don't want to give too much away!
Having said that, going in blind, this was not what I expected. I thought I was going to be in for three disturbing horror novellas and after finishing it and thinking about it for a few days, I can't help but feel a bit disappointed and let down by this book.
Whilst it is definitely weird and creepy in parts I just never felt like this grabbed me nor did I find it that dark and disturbing.
The best of the three stories, (Things Have Gotten Worse Since We Last Spoke, The Enchantment and You'll Find It's Like That All Over) was definitely the best in my opinion and I would have even liked that to be expanded into a full novel by itself.
The artwork on the cover is brilliant and really does make you want to read what's inside, but unfortunately this was just OK for me

TW: animal abuse

I've seen Eric LaRocca's books, along with their darkly gorgeous book covers, frequently recommended by friends and fellow members of the #Horrorbookstagram community, so I was really excited to finally read one of their books.

Unfortunately, it turns out that LaRocca and I aren't meant to be.

I struggled to get through the first story, was underwhelmed by the second, and gave up on the third.

I found the first story to be highly contrived and the exchanges between the characters felt unnatural. I felt the framing device of IM and email messages wasn't well executed and that it all felt rather amateurish, especially with the constant author notes regarding the need to omit certain details. The relationship between the characters also goes from 0 to 100 in such an absurd amount of time that the entire thing felt completely implausible.
That said, I do appreciate the final image that the reader is left with.

The second story was completely lacking in atmosphere. As in, no atmosphere whatsoever.

And I didn't finish the third story.

I can't say that I would personally recommend this book but, given the number of people who have given it glowing reviews, I have to assume that I'm an outlier.

I appreciate NetGalley, Titan Books, and Eric LaRocca giving me a free digital copy of this book to read in exchange for an honest review.

I’m not sure how to even begin. But basically, there are three short stories and I read them all in one sitting. All the stories are unsettling and creepy, but that’s the point right? In that aspect the book is perfect! There is some dark and gruesome subject matter depicted so for those who are sensitive, beware.

Thought-provoking stories on the nature of relationship and the fear of loneliness. On the surface, some may be put off by the shocking images, but the idea that someone can lose themselves so completely in the pursuit of love is compelling. The religious imagery in the first story did seem a little misplaced, but was central to the second story. Looking forward to reading more from this author.

Things Have Gotten Worse Since We Last Spoke And Other Misfortunes is a short collection of three horror stories that explores dark themes of death, obsession, sadomasochism, and transformation, for better or for worse. Two lonely women in the early 2000s meet on an Internet chat and slowly succumb to their dark desires. A couple move to a remote island to escape the aftermath of their son’s death, only to meet a mysterious stranger. A man confronts his neighbor in a strange and dangerous game, right in his own backyard. The premises themselves are enticing if not slightly juvenile, at least in theory.

Knowing that the main short story was actually published previously under a smaller imprint, I deliberately stayed away from any previous information about the original publication, as I didn’t want that to color my reading experience. However, I will say that one of my bigger qualms with this read was that the collection did not feel cohesive, and it seemed very obvious that it had not always been a collection and did not truly stand alone as one.

To its credit, there are lot of good ideas here. There is a lot of good writing here, too. Many, many absolutely gorgeous phrases are scattered throughout this work, hitting you almost to the effect of a freight train with how well they pack a punch, and how viscerally they turn an image. This is a smooth read at least in its language, one that demands one sitting. I don’t want to discount any of the things this collection does have going for it, as it does have its merits.

However, to me, this felt like it was relying on these good phrases and good-yet-fragmented ideas to carry the work. I didn’t feel like the pieces were cohesive with one another, or that many of the themes the author attempted to convey throughout really resonated beyond their actual technical inclusion in the narratives. There were definitely repeated themes, but their repetition felt more like a vague semblance of connectivity, rather than really adding to the narrative or the understanding of it in any way. I’m not sure that these pieces were slow-burn enough to achieve what they attempted to achieve, and yet didn’t pack the punch that a good psych-horror short story typically does, either.

I also had mixed feelings on the way the author chose to approach the very abusive/manipulative lesbian relationship in the first story. While I certainly don’t think authors should stick to writing only about their specific demographic, this felt like a man writing lesbian trauma porn for his own shock factor, rather than contributing to the narrative with the choice to write these characters the way he did. (It’s worth noting that the author uses he/they pronouns, but identified as a cis male at the time this story was first written and released, and this is what comes through so uncomfortably in this particular story.) The characters in this story have no other identity outside of their combined visceral trauma and manipulation, and though it is a short story, I would expect some kind of development in such similar cases.

I also think the choice to tell the first story as a “true crime”-esque tale, with email and IM messages carrying the narrative, made it even more disjointed from the other two stories, and further prevented there being any substance to the characters aside from their shared trauma and joint manipulation. There are definitely stories in this genre and with this narrative structure that I do enjoy, but I feel that the choice to represent a specifically lesbian relationship in such an abusive and violent way without any of the actual character development or attention to the characters within the narrative as anything other than devices to move the plot was a bad move on the author’s part, not because fiction necessarily needs to reflect reality but because this portrayal specifically exaggerates the trauma and violence without backing it up with any true substance.

Overall, it’s obvious that the writer is both talented and incredibly creative, and I did write down quite a few truly beautiful quotes from the work; however, I can’t say that I enjoyed the collection as a whole or the narrative choices the author made throughout. I almost feel that short story form was not what these pieces needed to truly thrive, and wonder if they would be more impactful in long-form. I am, despite this, grateful for the opportunity to read an ARC of this work as provided by NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

The afterword of Things Have Gotten Worse Since We Last Spoke and Other Misfortunes describes these three very different tales as being all connected by the exceedingly fundamental feeling of human connection. What is the human condition if not a deep need for some sort of connection on whatever kind of level that may be? Eric LaRocca uses vivid imagery throughout three stories to set grim scenes that lead their characters on different searches for connection whether it be for love, faith, or the need to be in the good graces of others regardless of the cost.

LaRocca made a name for themself with the original Things Have Gotten Worse Since We Last Spoke, which I thoroughly enjoyed, so I was extremely excited to get some additional tales tacked on to an already stomach turning story. What they manage to give us is, in my opinion, a newer type of horror that’s completely unnerving and gag worthy in the best way possible. The Enchanment’s use of religious imagery in a horror setting truly shows that Eric LaRoccq is bringing something special to the horror genre.

With hints of The Shining and The Twilight Zone, LaRocca delivers on the unsettling as well as the downright confusing and thought provoking type of horror that leaves you wanting more by the end. You’ll Find It’s Like That All Over takes the cake for me with it’s Twilight Zone tone and Rod Sterling-esque message.

I really think the addition of these new stories amps up what already was a twisted and fresh story. If you’re a fan of Eric LaRocca or horror in general, I recommend checking out Things Have Gotten Worse Since We Last Spoke and Other Misfortunes. Thanks to NetGalley for this Arc!