As usual LaRocca wrote an anthology of unsettling and weird horror stories.
The third story was a bit too long to keep its character, but the fourth and last could build up a lot of tension and delivers a nice ending.
3,5 stars.

I received this book from NetGalley and the publisher in return for an honest review. This review is based entirely on my own thoughts and feelings.

Overall rating : 4*
Writing skill : 5*
Characters: 4*

Included short stories:
This Skin Was Once Mine: 3*
Seedling: 4*
All the Parts of You That Won't Easily Burn: 5*
Prickle: 5*

What a fanstic, horrific collection of short stories. There is some serious body horror going on, and can easily see this being triggering for a lot of peole. Do not take the warning at the start of the book lightly.
The main story was actually my least favourite, more concentrating on a family drama with a very unusual twist. My favorite was Prickle, what the hell did I just read?!
Quickly going to aquire the other collections of his, this was a fantastic WILD ride!

After reading the author letter in the front of the book with trigger warnings for graphic child abuse, I've decided this book isn't for me. I will still promote it's upcoming release (I love this author) but won't be leaving a review. Thanks so much for offering it to me.

If you’ve read this author before, you know exactly want to expect.: shocks, gore, body horror, and, most important, excellent writing! I throughly enjoyed this new collection and will recommend the book to other horror readers on release day. Thanks so much for the opportunity to read in advance!

Interesting collection, but I wasn't a fan of every story. The author has a very distinct, gripping writing style. I can appreciate that. Horrors readers might be interested in this one.

A good collection of short stories full of body horror, gore, twists, and uncomfortable situations. If you've read "Things Have Gotten Worse Since We Last Spoke", you already know what to expect from LaRocca.

My favorite stories here are "This Skin Was Once Mine" and "All the Parts of You That Won't Easily Burn", but all the others were also entertaining to read.

LaRocca's storytelling style is so well-suited to these short collections (The Trees Grew, Things Have Gotten Worse) of novellas and short stories. These "disturbances" allow the reader a certainty that LaRocca will bring the best material at hand for a truly terrifying 200 (or so) pages.
The author has a way of wheedling under the surface layer of skin and dwelling there, itching like, oh I don't know, a piece of glass, and causing this niggling discomfort. Part of that is LaRocca's lush and often inviting prose. It softens the blow long before the hammer is set to drop, and as any reader of LaRocca's work will know, often the hammer is too big, with too many strange and sharp edges for its impact to be blunted.
Every story within brings something special to the table, but perhaps my favorite was "All the Parts of You That Won't Easily Burn". A relatively simple, if strange, idea that is examined so thoroughly, the reader cannot help but shift in their seat as LaRocca continues to unravel the layers. Also worth mentioning is the final story, "Prickle" where the escalation becomes nearly unbearable.
It is a collection full of taboo topics, the author themself warns you in the introduction, and though you, the reader, are in the most capable of hands, you might want to take that warning to heart.

Even more demented and heart-wrenching than ever, Eric LaRocca is a distinctive artist and these four novelettes are proof that he isn’t afraid of putting a lot of heart on the page even if the pain quickly follows.
Every story is like a little splinter of glass in your skin… and maybe we like it there.

Thanks to NetGalley and Titan Books for approving my request. What a delightfully disturbing book! Eric LaRocca has been on my list of to-read authors, and he absolutely did not disappoint. He packs a punch in these 4 short horror stories, each one so different than the next. Loved his writing style. And the ending of that last story 🤯

LaRocca will always succeed in making my skin crawl, and I don't know why it makes me always want to go back for more. There's something addictive in his approach and style that I can never quite put my finger on. But once again he delivered an excellent collection of stories that unlocked new fears in my brain. So. thanks I guess?

Eric wields his words with knife like precision cutting the reader deep with his unflinching examination of obession and human depravity in The Skin was Once Mine and Other Disturbances, disecting human nature and forcing us to look at the ugly parts in this unrelenting visceral experience, this was a fantastic collection of stories from beginning to end, I really enjoyed Seedling which was an evocative and metaphorical look at grief and the ripple effects of healing, also, please, can we take a moment for the ending of the last story, I am SHOOKETH! Eric never fails to mesh shocking gruesome body horror with emotional elements which results in impactful stories that stay with you long after you've read them, a true gift to the horror literary world I always enjoy his work, thankyou the publisher for the ecopy and I also received a physical arc in the post today which was a surprise I didn't think I was getting one hence me sprinting to netgalley like the book fiend I am 🤣 thankyou titanbooks!

It took me a good 5 minutes to pick my jaw up off the floor after that last page. Wow! No one writes horror like Eric LaRocca!

Modern horror writing is really living its best life right now! A great, disturbing collection of short stories, that really drew me in. An interesting mix of psychological and body horror, so something for everyone! Although, there does seem to be some discrepancy with dates in the first story?

In this captivating read, the author masterfully weaves a narrative that is both engaging and thought-provoking. Through a blend of richly developed characters and a meticulously crafted plot, the book offers a unique exploration of its central themes, inviting readers to immerse themselves in the story's depth and complexity. The narrative is paced perfectly, balancing moments of intense action with thoughtful reflection, ensuring that readers are hooked from the first page to the last. The author's ability to evoke emotion and create a vivid, immersive world is truly remarkable, making this book a must-read for anyone looking for an exceptional literary experience.

Beyond its compelling storyline, the book stands out for its insightful commentary on the human condition, weaving philosophical questions into the fabric of its narrative. The author's skillful use of language not only enriches the text but also elevates the reader's experience, offering new perspectives on familiar themes. Whether it's the intricate dynamics of relationships, the exploration of identity, or the confrontation with ethical dilemmas, this book tackles complex issues with sensitivity and intelligence. It's a testament to the power of storytelling to illuminate the nuances of life, making it a valuable addition to any book lover's collection. Regardless of genre, this is a work that resonates on multiple levels, affirming the enduring impact of well-crafted literature.

My first experience of Eric LaRocca and what. a .ride. Eric is an absolute talent and has such a clever way of creating truly terrifying short stories that leave you thinking about them for days afterwards.

This book, like all of Eric's, is not for the faint hearted as some parts are truly sickening but if you like horror then you HAVE to give this a read.

Eric La Rocco’s got a new collection of horror short stories coming for us and it is outstanding! Deadly family secrets, a gruesome competition between old pals and a dinner party gone vile. La Rocco’s stories always leave me feeling unnerved - and I love it.

In order of my favourites:

The title story ‘This Skin Was Once Mine’ is going on my all-time favourite short story list. A woman returns home to care for her ailing mother and learns the truth behind their estranged relationship. I just knew it was gonna get crazy, but wtaf?! MOVIE WORTHY!

‘Prickle’. Two old friends reunite and pick up a game they played as youngsters; to play, you must preform small cruelties on random strangers 😳

‘Seedling’. A son returns home after his mothers death to share in his estranged fathers grief. Bizarro and absolutely heart wrenching.

‘All The Parts of You That Won’t Easily Burn’. A man impulsively purchases a new knife for his husbands dinner party. I don’t even know what was happening but it was straight up nightmare fuel.

My experience in reading Eric LaRocca’s short fiction has been a bit of a mixed bag. The title story of his first collection, Things Have Gotten Worse Since Last We Spoke, is a delightfully disturbing tale that includes obsession, body horror, and complex, toxic queer relationships. That story was a viral sensation, and rightly so, but I found the other stories a bit lackluster by comparison.

Similarly, You’ve Lost a Lot of Blood, was a book containing a couple of quite interesting stories that were hampered by a cumbersome framing structure, and none of those stories quite panned out.

So my experiences have mostly been characterized by a feeling of almost. These are stories that skirt around the edges of greatness, but tend to collapse under some unseen weight.

Reading This Skin Was Once Mine, I once again felt that the title story was carrying the book but it also left me with decidedly less positive feelings. There’s a lot less almost in this new collection, and a lot more chaff.

The title story is pretty well delightful, bearing the rough structure of an old EC comics morality tale, where people behave in horrible ways but eventually pay the price. There’s a kind of cosmic justice at play that’s enjoyable to watch, and it’s all filtered through a sensibility that’s so surreal, so sinister, that it’s genuinely fun, just like the old horror comics. I’d have delighted in a collection of such stories.

Unfortunately, the following stories have none of the first one’s assurance, fun, or clarity.

“Seedling” bears all the marks of a great idea, with a chillingly imagined objective correlative for the certainty of death that our protagonist feels growing inside of him, and while it doesn’t have much of a story structure, it operates more in the manner of a prose poem. The trouble is that it bears none of the specificity of language required for that task. In many of these stories, the prose seems to actually be getting in the way of the narrative, drawing the reader’s attention away, rather than clarifying. No one walks in these stories. Nor do they look. Instead, every verb feels as if it’s been mined up from thesaurus with little attention to its meaning and instead for its sound. Often, the diction is simply incorrect, leading to not only frustration but an inability to attend to the story at hand.

“All the Parts of You That Won’t Easily Burn” gives us a more familiar narrative structure, as well as LaRocca’s trademark body horror that becomes indistinguishable from sexual fetish, but it feels a bit forced, with the question of why our protagonist would even begin his dark descent simply abandoned, so it feels more like an exercise in shock than any character-driven exploration. And once again, the language is so strange, so imprecise, so often simply “wrong,” that it sometimes had the ring of prose clumsily translated from another language.

I had high hopes for “Prickle,” the closing story, as it once again felt much more assured, and the language much clearer, with an almost nineteenth century stateliness about it, but the end of the story dashed my hopes, as any kind of development that had been made was simply tossed aside like the proverbial baby in the bloody bathwater.

I don’t know what to make of This Skin Was Once Mine, because it feels as if its many parts might have been written by as many different authors, or perhaps at as many different stages in one writer’s development, but I do know that it did not deliver either scares or deep discomfort, which is a shame, because I think there is a unique and interesting voice lurking back there somewhere, if only it could push through the language and assert itself.

THIS SKIN WAS ONCE MINE And Other Disturbances by Eric LaRocca
Other Books I Enjoyed by This Author: Things Have Gotten Worse Since We Last Spoke And Other Misfortunes, You’ve Lost A Lot of Blood, The Trees Grew Because I Bled There

Affiliate Link: https://bookshop.org/a/7576/9781803366647

Release Date: April 2, 2024

General Genre: Horror, LBGTQ-Gay, Single Author, Short Stories

Sub-Genre/Themes: Death, dying, grief, love, toxic relationships, secrets, lies, fathers, parents, self-harm, body horror, obsession, mutilation, cruelty, games, emotional abuse

Writing Style: Gruesome, Transgressive, Raw

What You Need to Know: A collection of four stories, similar to LaRocca’s first collection. One titular tale stands out as the clear favorite with a few other tales to anchor it as a “collection”

My Reading Experience:
THE SKIN WAS ONCE MINE- a woman tortured by her self-image as a ‘monster’ returns to her childhood home after the unexpected death of her father. Her emotionally unavailable mother is being cared for by a mysterious man who seems like more than just a caretaker. This story is insidiously dark and disturbing. So much going on in the sub-text–that readers are left wondering about what truly happened. Triggers for child abuse
SEEDLING- A young man’s father calls to tell his son that his mother has passed away and to come and pay respects. When he gets to his parent’s home, he realizes that his mother’s dead body is still in the house. This story, clearly, was symbolic of shared trauma and grief between father and son expressed through these strange wounds that opened up on their bodies. But then it takes a dark turn and I’m not entirely sure what to make of the ending–pretty gruesome!


ALL THE PARTS OF YOU THAT WON’T EASILY BURN-I don’t know exactly what it is about the writing style of this story but it reads almost like a long parable. It has this whole, “One day there was a man named Enoch and he goes to a shop to buy an expensive knife for his husband. The shopkeeper is a strange man who convinces Enoch to pay for the expensive knife with an experience instead of money. He wants to cut Enoch and put a tiny piece of glass in the wound.” Do you know what I mean? And this one triggered my trypophobia, BAD. So be aware of that…(holes!)

PRICKLE- I honestly didn’t finish this one.

Final Recommendation: Horror readers who enjoy sampling a variety of speculative, grotesque, gruesome, body horror/emotional trauma, short stories you can finish in one sitting will enjoy this book. The first story is worth the price of admission–not every story will stick the landing for every reader.

Comps: Nineteen Claws and A Blackbird by Augustina Bazterrica, Full Throttle by Joe Hill, Spin a Black Yarn by Josh Malerman

A special thanks to NetGalley for the advanced copy of This Skin Was Once Mine and Other Disturbances, an exceptional collection of four short-stories from queer horror author Eric LaRocca. LaRocca has been on my TBR for quite some time and this collection was my first introduction to his writing.

I was completely blown away by the four tales presented here and am looking forward to reading more of his work. The overarching theme to this collection seems to be the pain we inflict on one another - whether that be physical, emotional, or mental. These were dark, traumatic yet beautifully written stories that come with a strong content warning to the reader.

It was an absolute privilege to devour LaRocca's latest work prior to its release in April of this year!

This is my first time reading short horror stories from Eric LaRocca, but I read "Things Have Gotten Worse Since We Last Spoke" and that was quite enough to understand his style. I "enjoyed" that one, for lack of a better word. IYKYK.

This short story collection doesn't disappoint, it delivers exactly what you expect from this author. As often happens with short story collections, I liked some more than others, namely "This Skin Was Once Mine" and "All the Parts of You That Won't Easily Burn", but they were all good overall.

Expect gore, twists, disturbing subjects, and imagery that may stay with you after you're done reading!