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raavenreads's review
4.0
Happy book birthday! Now I can publish my review! Thank you NetGalley for the ARC in exchange for my honeys review!
This is probably one of my favorite Eric short story collections. These stories were sad, disturbing, and heart breaking.
I noticed that the theme with these stories were children and parents. There is also the shared theme of grief and how it affects us in different and monstrous ways. Eric’s stories never fail to make my jaw drop and heart sink at the same time.
I’d say the most impactful stories for me were: Bodies are for burning, You’re not supposed to be here, Where flames burned emerald as grass, & I’ll be gone by then. We all have complicated relationships with ourselves as well as our families, and this collection did an amazing job at exploring that. I think this is the one collection of his there wasn’t a story I was bored with or hated. Everything was off the walls as usual, but with a message underneath that I understood and was sympathetic to. I’m slowly becoming a fan here and I’m so excited that Eric’s voice in queer horror is getting such a wide audience. This collection debuts March 7th so be sure to order it!
This is probably one of my favorite Eric short story collections. These stories were sad, disturbing, and heart breaking.
I noticed that the theme with these stories were children and parents. There is also the shared theme of grief and how it affects us in different and monstrous ways. Eric’s stories never fail to make my jaw drop and heart sink at the same time.
I’d say the most impactful stories for me were: Bodies are for burning, You’re not supposed to be here, Where flames burned emerald as grass, & I’ll be gone by then. We all have complicated relationships with ourselves as well as our families, and this collection did an amazing job at exploring that. I think this is the one collection of his there wasn’t a story I was bored with or hated. Everything was off the walls as usual, but with a message underneath that I understood and was sympathetic to. I’m slowly becoming a fan here and I’m so excited that Eric’s voice in queer horror is getting such a wide audience. This collection debuts March 7th so be sure to order it!
esh2000's review
3.0
buddy read with tayi. i liked 4 out of 8 of the stories, my favourite being ‘you’re not supposed to be here’. the stories were very well written, decent amount of dark and jaw-dropping
hmn54437's review
dark
emotional
tense
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.5
This was overall a very strong short story collection from LaRocca. I love their sick and twisted mind and how that mind is able to make beauty out of the sick and twisted. Below are individual reviews and ratings for each story that I wrote out right after finishing each one.
You Follow Wherever They Go 5/5
WOW what a gut punch. Starting this collection with a heartbreaking story of a father and his child and some weird kids outside their window. I went into this story expecting some sort of terrifying twist and was left with tears in my eyes. Gorgeous and heartbreaking.
Bodies are for Burning 5/5
I genuinely love the way that Eric LaRocca explores psychology and the mind. This story was very difficult to read. Violent in the ways only Eric LaRocca can be successful at to where I’m reading some of the most gruesome lines ever written but told through such gorgeous wording that I can’t stop reading. LaRocca always leaves me wanting more and I just want to know everything about Hailey now.
The Strange Thing We Become 5/5
I’ve decided this is my favorite version of LaRocca writing. As much as I love their prose-based stories, there is just something that really hits different in their online-forum based stories. Something about the broken up nature of the story and only getting pieces of a life without any filler is just something LaRocca does SO WELL. This story was absolutely heart-wrenching and brought me back to the same feelings I felt reading THGWSWLS.
The Trees Grew Because I Bled There 5/5
I have no words. Most amazing and horrific metaphor for giving too much of yourself in a relationship with no return. Obsessed.
You’re Not Supposed to Be Here 5/5
This gave me all of the Cabin at the End of the World vibes but with the perfect LaRocca twist. Suspense-filled and absolutely perfect. This one and the title story are neck and neck for favorites.
Where Flames Burned Emerald as Grass 4/5
This one didn’t hit AS much as the other ones for me. Still good but definitely for me this story feels like the most forgettable in the bunch for this collection.
I’ll Be Gone By Then 4/5
Kind of like the one before it this one didn’t hit as much as the other ones. I enjoyed it and thought the ending was very interesting but I was waiting for that Eric LaRocca creep factor and instead was just really sad.
Please Leave or I’m Going to Hurt You 3/5
Maybe I need to reread that one or maybe incest and I just don’t vibe but this one definitely wasn’t my favorite. It’s very possible I just don’t understand it or couldn’t see past the incestual thoughts to get the overall point of the story but it definitely wasn’t my favorite.
You Follow Wherever They Go 5/5
WOW what a gut punch. Starting this collection with a heartbreaking story of a father and his child and some weird kids outside their window. I went into this story expecting some sort of terrifying twist and was left with tears in my eyes. Gorgeous and heartbreaking.
Bodies are for Burning 5/5
I genuinely love the way that Eric LaRocca explores psychology and the mind. This story was very difficult to read. Violent in the ways only Eric LaRocca can be successful at to where I’m reading some of the most gruesome lines ever written but told through such gorgeous wording that I can’t stop reading. LaRocca always leaves me wanting more and I just want to know everything about Hailey now.
The Strange Thing We Become 5/5
I’ve decided this is my favorite version of LaRocca writing. As much as I love their prose-based stories, there is just something that really hits different in their online-forum based stories. Something about the broken up nature of the story and only getting pieces of a life without any filler is just something LaRocca does SO WELL. This story was absolutely heart-wrenching and brought me back to the same feelings I felt reading THGWSWLS.
The Trees Grew Because I Bled There 5/5
I have no words. Most amazing and horrific metaphor for giving too much of yourself in a relationship with no return. Obsessed.
You’re Not Supposed to Be Here 5/5
This gave me all of the Cabin at the End of the World vibes but with the perfect LaRocca twist. Suspense-filled and absolutely perfect. This one and the title story are neck and neck for favorites.
Where Flames Burned Emerald as Grass 4/5
This one didn’t hit AS much as the other ones for me. Still good but definitely for me this story feels like the most forgettable in the bunch for this collection.
I’ll Be Gone By Then 4/5
Kind of like the one before it this one didn’t hit as much as the other ones. I enjoyed it and thought the ending was very interesting but I was waiting for that Eric LaRocca creep factor and instead was just really sad.
Please Leave or I’m Going to Hurt You 3/5
Maybe I need to reread that one or maybe incest and I just don’t vibe but this one definitely wasn’t my favorite. It’s very possible I just don’t understand it or couldn’t see past the incestual thoughts to get the overall point of the story but it definitely wasn’t my favorite.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Miscarriage, Death of parent, Kidnapping, Mental illness, Fire/Fire injury, Incest, Cancer, Death, Violence, and Blood
raincorbyn's review
5.0
They've done it again.
Messy, queer, gross horror with loads of heart is my favorite, and LaRocca is so good at it. Don't get me wrong, my day is ruined, but I feel like tomorrow can be better than it would have, having gone the places we go and the strange things we become.
Messy, queer, gross horror with loads of heart is my favorite, and LaRocca is so good at it. Don't get me wrong, my day is ruined, but I feel like tomorrow can be better than it would have, having gone the places we go and the strange things we become.
airxsouls's review
5.0
Thank you to NetGalley for a copy in exchange for an honest review
I've read some of the author's past work and always enjoyed the things he writes. He has a way with words that come across so spectacularly in his writing and every detail he shows. This collection showed his prowess with storytelling in ways like never before.
Every story sucks you in and shows you a horrifically great world he's built for you. You're Not Suppose To Be Here was probably my favorite of them all and it blew me away with how much it made me squirm in my seat. I can't wait to read more by him!
I've read some of the author's past work and always enjoyed the things he writes. He has a way with words that come across so spectacularly in his writing and every detail he shows. This collection showed his prowess with storytelling in ways like never before.
Every story sucks you in and shows you a horrifically great world he's built for you. You're Not Suppose To Be Here was probably my favorite of them all and it blew me away with how much it made me squirm in my seat. I can't wait to read more by him!
jlynnmartin's review
I once again don't know how to articulate my feelings about Eric LaRocca's books. I really enjoy his writing style, I think it's very beautiful, but the topics are just so... disturbing. I enjoyed just about every short story in this though.
sarahsunshinereads's review
4.0
Eric Larocca definitely knows how to write creepy/ messed up stuff. 3.5 rounded up. Some stories were stronger than others.
capernex's review
4.5
I think this is one of the best short story collections I've read. I really enjoyed all of these. Creepy and unsettling and unique.
brandontscott's review
5.0
*4.5
This is one of the best collections of short horror that I've ever read! I think each of the stories brought an interesting perspective to the collection overall. My overall ratings for the individual stories are as follows:
You Follow Wherever They Go (4/5)
Bodies Are for Burning (5/5)
The Strange Thing We Become (5/5)
The Trees Grew Because I Bled There (3/5)
You’re Not Supposed to Be Here (5/5)
Where Flames Burned Emerald as Grass (5/5)
I’ll Be Gone by Then (4/5)
Please Leave or I’m Going to Hurt You (4/5)
Each of these stories was haunting in its own right, and LaRocca covers such interesting topics that make the reader not only uneasy, but fearful at facing those aspects of humanity. One of the major themes covered in this collection is parenthood; there are so many maternal/paternal fears that are commented on through these stories. Just like Things Have Gotten Worse Since We Last Spoke, The Strange Thing We Become and Other Dark Tales subverted my expectations of the length to which LaRocca would take his stories and left me with a deeply unsettling feeling after completing each story and thus the entire collection.
Overall, this is a phenomenal sampling of what LaRocca has to offer as the phenomenal author on his way to horror royalty that he is. It's not for the faint of heart, but if you can take some truly disturbing imagery check it out!
One MINOR thing that took me out of some elements of the story were the repeated phrasing and imagery used by LaRocca in multiple stories within the collection: "liver-spot-dotted," many pieces of imagery referring to "ancient deities," and I've learned, through this collection, that LaRocca LOVES describing plants... mainly flowers. Again, a SUPER minor thing to mention, but it did tend to take me out of the story a bit because I would recall the times they had been used before in another story.
This is one of the best collections of short horror that I've ever read! I think each of the stories brought an interesting perspective to the collection overall. My overall ratings for the individual stories are as follows:
You Follow Wherever They Go (4/5)
Bodies Are for Burning (5/5)
The Strange Thing We Become (5/5)
The Trees Grew Because I Bled There (3/5)
You’re Not Supposed to Be Here (5/5)
Where Flames Burned Emerald as Grass (5/5)
I’ll Be Gone by Then (4/5)
Please Leave or I’m Going to Hurt You (4/5)
Each of these stories was haunting in its own right, and LaRocca covers such interesting topics that make the reader not only uneasy, but fearful at facing those aspects of humanity. One of the major themes covered in this collection is parenthood; there are so many maternal/paternal fears that are commented on through these stories. Just like Things Have Gotten Worse Since We Last Spoke, The Strange Thing We Become and Other Dark Tales subverted my expectations of the length to which LaRocca would take his stories and left me with a deeply unsettling feeling after completing each story and thus the entire collection.
Overall, this is a phenomenal sampling of what LaRocca has to offer as the phenomenal author on his way to horror royalty that he is. It's not for the faint of heart, but if you can take some truly disturbing imagery check it out!
One MINOR thing that took me out of some elements of the story were the repeated phrasing and imagery used by LaRocca in multiple stories within the collection: "liver-spot-dotted," many pieces of imagery referring to "ancient deities," and I've learned, through this collection, that LaRocca LOVES describing plants... mainly flowers. Again, a SUPER minor thing to mention, but it did tend to take me out of the story a bit because I would recall the times they had been used before in another story.