This book, like most of LaRoccas, is a series of short stories that are disturbing, unsettling and grotesque in a way only LaRocca seems to be able to pull off. I absoluetley loved the first three stories, and felt that the last one *(Prickle) was a little lacking. I'm not sure what it was specifically about it, but it felt somewhat rushed and a bit shallow, especially compared to the other three. I think I needed to just.. know more about the two, for me to really care what was happening. All together another fantastic collection from LaRocca, can't wait to read more from him in the future.

This Skin Was Once Mine: 5 ⭐️'s
Seedling: 4 1/2 ⭐️s
All the Parts of You That Won't Burn Easily: 5 ⭐️'s
Prickle: 3 1/2 ⭐️'s

Real rating: 3.5 - 4🖤

I haven’t read a proper horror in some time so this compilation of tales really hit the spot. Creepy and unsettling, but in the best possible ways. These stories will definitely stick with you and I’m excited to read more from this author. Thank you to NetGalley and Titan Books for the opportunity to read this as an ARC!

I really enjoyed the first short story in this collection - “This Skin Was Once Mine.” The others were just okay and left me wanting to go back to the first story.

Thank you to NetGalley, Eric LaRocca, and Titan Books for the opportunity to read and review an Advanced Reader's Copy in exchange for my honest opinion.

I've enjoyed everything I've read from Eric LaRocca and this was certainly no exception. The stories are, while not out right scary, certainly chilling and always get under my skin in a way that I can't stop thinking about. The titular story especially stood out to me in this group. This collection has some nice twists and like any collection of short stories, some titles were better than others, but I thought they were all good. It's perhaps not as strong as some of his other collections, but still a nice addition to a horror collection.

I’m going to go out on a limb here and say that Eric LaRocca is indeed an acquired taste. I really enjoyed Things Have Gotten Worse Since We Last Spoke, but I have come to realise that I loved that because I hadn’t read anything like it before. The writing is clever and authentic, but sometimes it is over complicated. It really doesn’t need to because LaRocca’s storytelling is strong enough on its own merit.

Each story felt like it dragged on unnecessarily. I found myself glancing at my watch and dreading picking it back up after a break, never a good sign. The stories did make you think in a kind of philosophical way but I wasn’t at all scared, which I need to feel in a horror story.

This was good as a sampler of an author’s work but I just didn’t love this, the way I thought I would. It makes me wonder if we have just seen this type of work from him before. There was nothing different. No ground broken. I was disappointed as I felt this was a mediocre collection at best.

I obviously love and adore Eric LaRocca’s work and will bend over backwards for each new release. With that being said, this collection fell a little flat for me.

I wanted “This Skin Was Once Mine” to end on a harder note than it did. I will admit I needed to tap out of “Seedling” because of my anxiety around the topic in general. “All The Parts of You That Won’t Easily Burn” was a solid story but I still felt the pacing was a little off. The final story “Prickle” just didn’t hold my attention at all.

Now, of the four “All the Parts of You That Won’t Easily Burn” gave me an Eyes Wide Shut vibe combined with the “wtf” vibe of a very specific moment in the film adaptation of Audition (iykyk).

Either way, this one didn’t do it for me, but I still adore the author to the end.

This Skin Was Once Mine and Other Disturbances is a collection of four horror stories that identify grief, trauma, and desperation. All four stories are thrilling and I had to take breaks after each short story to collect my thoughts before diving headfirst into the next terror. Eric LaRocca knows how to title a book and keep the readers attention with all the twists and turns he masterfully throws our way. My only issue with this book is the dialogue between characters. It was somewhat lacking to me, but I understand this is just my preference.

Thank you NetGalley and Titan Books for this ARC!

I couldn’t get through this one at ALL. I was sooo excited for it and it just fell so very flat :( The premise behind each story was fascinating but when it came down to the actual stories they were a bit cringey and felt like they were trying to be visceral as opposed to actually being really hard hitting

This was alright. A quick spooky read - 4 different short stories. All a little unhinged and odd, which is what I expected given the title, blurb, cover, and everything else. Most of these generally involved some form of body horror - so if you're not big on that, maybe check TWs.

Story 1 - Shocking, jarring, stockholm syndrome ft. grief, unhinged, with an odd sense of justice.

Story 2 - Another look at grief, bizarre, ominous and very evocative.

Story 3 - Will make you wince but also impossible to put down

Story 4 - A horrifying game that gets more and more sinister

Nothing particularly memorable but if you just want something short and unsettling I'd say to give it a read!

Thank you to NetGalley and Titan Books for the eARC!

"The worst thing someone can do to you after they've hurt you is to let you live."

THIS SKIN WAS ONCE MINE AND OTHER STORIES by @eric_larocca is a compilation of four short horror stories and in true LaRocca fashion, my skin did not actually feel like mine at times as the stories crept under and made it squirm!

Thank you to the author, @netgalley and the publisher, @titanbooks for the e-ARC.

Three of these four stories were very compelling, jarring or otherwise memorable, while one was just ok. Synopsis and my thoughts for each:

💥THIS SKIN WAS ONCE MINE - a young woman returns to her affluent family home after the death of her father to confront her dying mother...things don't go according to plan. This one was particularly icky to me as it involves danger noodles🐍 which are a no go for me, dawg!

💥SEEDLING - this was definitely grief horror but just didn't quite work for me.

💥ALL THE PARTS OF YOU THAT WON'T EASILY BURN - a man gets sucked into a strange cult where strangers ritualistically create minor fissures in their skin and introduce pieces of glass... This one is my favorite I think and a few scenes are still living rent free in my brain!

💥PRICKLE - old gentlemen friends meet up and play an old game of inflicting minor pains on unsuspecting strangers until the game takes a turn...I was kinda bored with this one at first but when things started picking up the tension was palpable!

As an FYI, these are heavy on the body horror so if that is not your thing, consider this a trigger warning!

This was fun and I enjoyed all four of the stories, which never really happens with short story collections. I've read a couple of LaRocca's stories before so I knew I was in for a ride!

It starts off strong with This Skin Was Once Mine which is my favourite of the lot. It is eery, unsettling and full of tension that it seems straight out of a horror movie (that I would love to watch).

The body horror in Seedling was more unique than I've ever read before but it was a great way of exploring shared grief between a father and son, even if it was disturbing.

But All the Parts of You That Won't Easily Burn was the one that grossed me out the most so this was my least favourite as I struggled to keep going. Without saying too much, the main character is introduced to a kink of cutting their arm and placing glass inside which just made me feel a little sick the entire time.

Prickle had an unexpected ending that left my mouth open and an uneasy feeling long after finishing.

Despite All the Parts lowering my rating slightly, this was still a solid anthology and I can't wait to read more of LaRocca's work.

In this gripping collection of horror stories, the anthology kicks off with a chilling bang.

This Skin Was Once Mine sets the stage with its haunting atmosphere and twisted characters. The tension builds through unsettling elements like a sinister music box and the slithering menace of snakes, making it hard to shake the feeling of dread it instills.

Seedling takes a disturbing turn with a seemingly mundane black hole that transforms into a nightmarish vortex. The story twists perception and reality in a way that leaves the reader unnerved and wary of the ordinary.

All the Parts of You That Won't Easily Burn delves into the dark obsession that a simple online purchase can spark. The narrative skillfully escalates from everyday curiosity to a frenzied spiral of destruction, showcasing LaRocca’s ability to turn the commonplace into pure horror.

Prickle concludes the anthology with a masterful blend of suspense and subtle terror. It’s a fitting end that wraps up the collection with a profound sense of completion and lingering unease.

Each story in this anthology not only entertains but also explores the depths of psychological fear, making it a must-read for fans of the genre.

Thanks to Titan Books for the eARC!

Horror is as I’ve mentioned before about that reaction it creates. That can be either supernatural in nature or very human. Horror doesn’t need justification or happy endings it’s the sobering idea that bad things in the universe can just happen because. Transgression of normality as we see it is quite key to the format. But great horror I think should be aiming to do that and say more about being human. Otherwise it’s just poking things with sharp knives to get reactions. Eric LaRocca takes this to extremes in their latest horror short fiction collection This Skin Was Once Mine And Other Disturbances but while I appreciate the way these stories can be stretched to the boundaries I do actually wonder now if that is all there is to the stories.

This Skin Was Once Mine - the title story focused on Jillian who we find is a troubled woman in her thirties who is informed that her beloved father has passed away. She returns home to the funeral. LaRocca bounces back and forth in Gillian’s life and the key to this tale is child abuse. Gillian’s ‘perfect’ father we find was abusing her and this has shaped her choices and yet she still doesn’t see it.

I think the story is about how cycles of abuse can generate. Gillian as an adult hasn’t really processed what happened to her and discovering a young woman trapped in her father’s basement leads her to own and take control of her. Yes that’s disturbing but ultimately for me the story falls down with two many loose plot ends and there is no previous indication that Gillian would behave like this. Indeed in her own quasi relationship she prefers people to take charge of her. There is no catharsis in the story and indeed Gillian’s action lead her to become a prisoner. But then plot strands don’t really end very satisfactory certain characters. Is it horror - absolutely but not sure it’s landed it points that well.

Seedling - in this short story we have. An exploration of grief and family secrets. Our narrator is awoken by his father calling to say his mother has passed away. He returns to the family home immediately. His father and he never had a great relationship and the meeting is awkward but then our narrator spots a mysterious black and deep wound appearing in his arm.

Now this is probably the best tale in the quartet. This an exploration of death, family secrets and resentments and can any reconciliation take place. It’s more a strange comic horror tale as these wounds grow and can stretch and absorb. Do they represent the secrets; our own mortality ever coming for us or something else? It is just slightly spoiled by suddenly going very straightforward into a tale of domestic violence and murder - was that going on the whole time? No real indications are given and there seems no real justification for the father to end up dead.

All the Parts That Won’t Easily Burn - Enoch seeks a knife for his humans not just any knife but something special. The shopkeeper decides he will sell his prized possession on condition that Enoch allows him to be cut and a piece of glass inserted in his skin. A moment that then takes over Enoch’s thoughts and brings him into a decent world of similar people all seeking the same experience.

Now this can be a metaphor for people discovering their secret sexual desires and a community that supports it. Things are graphic and escalate as Enoch had to recruit someone and that stranger has even more stranger desires. Things get bloody and messy. That’s about it. It’s a shocking tale in terms of gore but I don’t think it actually goes anywhere you don’t think it will.

Prickling - this is a more Jacksonesque tale of two old men finally meeting after ten years in a park. It touches on old age and just possibly repressed love as these two old men seem always on the verge of sharing true feelings. But instead there is game to be played first. Each bets the others to do something horrible to a park visitor without being caught. Horrible games are played and then to win the day one is asked to make a child swallow a pebble. At that point things go terrible. The build up is strong, the exploration of how age makes people weaker, more selfish and perhaps encourage this type of behaviour is though a little weak. It’s dark and nasty and that’s still an effective horror tale.

I’ve now read LaRocca several times and they’re a talented and effective horror writer but each story follows a certain pattern and I’ve really felt progression. It’s pick often a taboo subject and so something extreme with it. Yes that’s horror but after a while it all feels a little samey. Subtext exists but isn’t ever really tackled head on in favour of a nasty ending alone. I think there is a point you can say I’ve seen enough of an author’s work to appreciate what they can do but perhaps admit that it’s not quite what I want to read. For now I think I’m going to wait until I hear something really special has been written. This is a collection that shows the sharper bloody edge of horror but that’s about all it seems able to do.

actual rating: 4.5/5 stars

eric larocca truly shines in a short story format. his stories always have a way of getting under my skin and living in my head rent free. even if not completely grounded in reality, they always display the truly horrific reality of humanity. the writing is impeccable. the concepts are astounding. and i truly cannot get enough of their work.

this skin was once mine: 4.5/5 stars
seedling 3.5/5 stars
all the part of you that won't easily burn 4.5/5 stars
prickle 4.5/5 stars

thank you to titan books, eric larocca, and netgalley for an arc of this book in exchange for an honest review

If you've read Eric's previous collection of short stories, Things Have Gotten Worse Since We Last Spoke, this collection follows well in it's footsteps. I had to step away after each story to let my brain recover but that's to be expected. This collection focuses on family secrets and the traumas we carry between us.

This Skin Was Once Mine - 3⭐️
Seedling - 3⭐️
All the parts of you that won't easily burn - 4⭐️
Prickle - 4⭐️

Eric LaRocca is amazing yet again. The first page took my breath away and made me pause reading because I could not move past it. It was so well written. The stories got stranger and stranger as you read, and I was one of those books where you're scared to turn the page because you're not sure you can take what comes next. A huge fan of LaRocca and can't wait for the next book.

I was looking forward to another short story collection from Eric LaRocca but I was ultimately disappointed. The stories did not make much sense and it seemed like LaRocca was trying to hard to be deep. The story still needs to have a plot and be scary. 2 stars

✨ Review ✨ This Skin Was Once Mine and Other Disturbances by Eric LaRocca

Thanks to Titan Books and #netgalley for the gifted advanced copy/ies of this book!

This is my second collection by Eric LaRocca and it made me just as squirmy and uncomfortable as the first!

There are four short stories inside of it, some of which worked better than others for me.

ALL THE PARTS OF YOU THAT WON’T EASILY BURN
"Enoch Leadbetter goes to buy a knife for his husband to use at a forthcoming dinner party. He encounters a strange shopkeeper who draws him into an intoxicating new obsession and sets him on a path towards mutilation and destruction..." -- this one was absolutely a cringey, creepy, awful delight. I couldn't put this one down!

My second favorite was THIS SKIN WAS ONCE MINE, where Jillian grieves the father she idolized while in her childhood home she was exiled from 20 years ago. Things get creepy fast and it's pretty clear her dad had some serious issues, even while Jillian continues to idolize him. This is weird and creepy and uncomfortable at its core.

Seedling and Prickle were okay but didn't captivate me in quite the same way!

Definitely love how he mixes the cringey and creepy with gross horror. A master too at mixing in queer relationships to these stories!

⭐️⭐️⭐️ (3 - 3.5)
Genre: horror, stort stories
Pub Date: Apr 02 2024

to call these tales "disturbances" is perfect. they are sick, twisted, kinky, and positively nauseating, you will cringe and you will keep going. do not read before bed. big recommend.