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roxiethebookslayer's review against another edition
4.0
Title: Starving Ghosts in Every Thread
Author: Eric LaRocca
Synopsis: Teddy has a secret.
She's so consumed with guilt that it compels her body to literally unravel unless she feeds off the emotions of others. Teddy’s parasitic condition is usually tempered easily and is invisible to most, unless she feeds from them. However, her insatiable hunger has already begun to threaten her safety. Trapped in her tiny Connecticut hometown thanks to a careless mistake which cost her a prestigious scholarship, Teddy grieves her father’s death and cares for her neurotic mother, Mercy, who is convinced scorpion venom is the only remedy for her own peculiar skin ailment linked to her daughter’s sadness.
Once an aspiring songwriter, Teddy now merely alternates between shifts at the local market and visits to the house of her eccentric neighbor, Mr. Ridley, for fresh scorpions to bring to her mother. It’s during one of her routine visits to Mr. Ridley’s subterranean grotto of exotic animals that Teddy meets an unusual young girl named Kiiara. Immediately enamored with one another, Teddy soon discovers that Kiiara is hiding a gruesome secret, too – a secret that will threaten to undo everything Teddy has ever known and loved, and violently touch all those who cross their path with disaster.
She's so consumed with guilt that it compels her body to literally unravel unless she feeds off the emotions of others. Teddy’s parasitic condition is usually tempered easily and is invisible to most, unless she feeds from them. However, her insatiable hunger has already begun to threaten her safety. Trapped in her tiny Connecticut hometown thanks to a careless mistake which cost her a prestigious scholarship, Teddy grieves her father’s death and cares for her neurotic mother, Mercy, who is convinced scorpion venom is the only remedy for her own peculiar skin ailment linked to her daughter’s sadness.
Once an aspiring songwriter, Teddy now merely alternates between shifts at the local market and visits to the house of her eccentric neighbor, Mr. Ridley, for fresh scorpions to bring to her mother. It’s during one of her routine visits to Mr. Ridley’s subterranean grotto of exotic animals that Teddy meets an unusual young girl named Kiiara. Immediately enamored with one another, Teddy soon discovers that Kiiara is hiding a gruesome secret, too – a secret that will threaten to undo everything Teddy has ever known and loved, and violently touch all those who cross their path with disaster.
Publisher: Self published
Rating: ⭐⭐⭐⭐
Publishing Date: April 27, 2020
This is the body horror novella I didn't know I needed in my life. Before I even opened the book (which is signed! Thank you Eric!) I had this imagery in my head of a fine bone thin hand with wisps of paper thin ribbons unraveling at the fingertips. I started searching the book and online to find out where I found this picture because I wanted to draw it myself. Matter of fact, I will next to this little scorpion sketch I did.
There is no picture, that was just the image I came up with by reading the synopsis. Yes I will draw it soon.
Starving Ghosts in Every Thread takes a Romeo and Juliet style romance, grief and body horror tropes and twists them into a lyrically beautiful painted picture of pain, beauty and the tragedy of it all. Teddy is the most perfect character and I hope she is someone you all can grow to love too. Her grief, her guilt, I felt that. I am impressed this is LaRocca's first trek into horror fiction and I can't wait to read some full length prose from him!
Oh! I almost forgot and its probably the most important note: the LGBT+ rep in this story is AMAZING! I want more representation in the stories/genres I already read.
Thank you to Eric LaRocca for a gifted copy of "Starving Ghosts in Every Thread" in exchange for a honest review.
bookwormdanreviews's review
4.0
4.5 stars.
I really enjoyed this debut horror novella. It grabbed me from the first page and didn’t let go until the very end. I did not expect the ending at all! The author did a great job of keeping the pages turning the whole time. While short, 89 pages, it gets everything onto its pages very neatly. I’m very impressed by the debut and look forward to what else he has to offer in the future.
*I received a copy of the book for an honest review.*
I really enjoyed this debut horror novella. It grabbed me from the first page and didn’t let go until the very end. I did not expect the ending at all! The author did a great job of keeping the pages turning the whole time. While short, 89 pages, it gets everything onto its pages very neatly. I’m very impressed by the debut and look forward to what else he has to offer in the future.
*I received a copy of the book for an honest review.*
peppers_books's review
2.0
larocca has such an interesting way of writing, it's so hard to explain. eerie but also kind of magical? i'm excited to read some of eric's other work, but i think i'm just Not Smart Enough to appreciate this one. literary analysis? metaphors? critical thinking?? don't know it!
donicareads's review
dark
tense
slow-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
1.75
trinforeman's review
4.0
What a beautiful, dark story about grief and how it can change a person. I loved the darkly written story of regret and how it poisons us to what is really there. I adore stories like this, where the underlying horror is much worse than the monster itself.
Truly captivating. Highly recommend.
Truly captivating. Highly recommend.
ericarobyn's review
5.0
Starving Ghosts In Every Thread is a stunning debut horror novella by Eric LaRocca. Filled with a deep sense of guilt and various secrets, sprinkled with violence and heartbreak, this tale will keep you on the edge of your seat!
Full Disclosure: I received a copy of this book from the author in exchange for an honest review. This did not affect my rating in any way.
When I saw the cover of this one, I was immediately intrigued. I mean, how amazing is that cover?! I love the trees and how they fade out toward the top of the cover while the two trees in the foreground and black of the ground really draw the eye to the center where the girl is standing. Then of course the bright red title text that has bits of darkness splattered or blurred onto it gives it even more of an eerie vibe!
Eric and I connected on Twitter and when Eric reached out to ask if I would like a review copy, I was thrilled! I dove into the book just as soon as I had finished up the book I had been reading when this one arrived in the mail.
My goodness. In just the first couple of pages, I was totally hooked! I was so curious to learn more about the main character, Teddy, but I also found myself feeling very protective of her right from the first chapter.
As the story continued, I couldn’t help but feel more and more protective of Teddy. It was clear that she was suffering through the guilt of something as well as the loss of her father, and that the affects of these two strong emotions were holding her back. But not only were these things weighing her down, they were also causing her to have physical reactions.
And what was that physical reaction? Well, Teddy’s Teddy’s skin would randomly begin to unravel from her body, a fact that I was equally horrified and enthralled by.
I loved that this physical element wasn’t fully explained to the reader as it left a wonderfully mysterious element up to us to dwell on long after the book ends.
The situations that Teddy found herself in the middle of in a span of just 89 pages was wicked intense! One particular scene that was set in a basement had me reading as fast as I could to see what would happen next.
This one is going to stick with me for a very long time! It’s definitely one I will be returning to time and time again.
My Favorite Passages
The skin tightens about me so terribly that I wonder if my bones might leap out of my human suit.
The thought abandons me as suddenly as it arrives, her kiss draining my mouth of all words.
Darkness has its fingers about me, dragging me with it. But, the thought does not upset me as I thought it might.
My Final Thoughts
An all around wonderful novella. I cannot wait to see what Eric writes next!
If you’re a fan of light body horror and tales with wonderful characters, then I highly recommend picking this one up when you have time to read it cover to cover. It was spooky and bizarre, and it had intense action scenes, all of which are right up my alley! It also also totally broke me.
Full Disclosure: I received a copy of this book from the author in exchange for an honest review. This did not affect my rating in any way.
When I saw the cover of this one, I was immediately intrigued. I mean, how amazing is that cover?! I love the trees and how they fade out toward the top of the cover while the two trees in the foreground and black of the ground really draw the eye to the center where the girl is standing. Then of course the bright red title text that has bits of darkness splattered or blurred onto it gives it even more of an eerie vibe!
Eric and I connected on Twitter and when Eric reached out to ask if I would like a review copy, I was thrilled! I dove into the book just as soon as I had finished up the book I had been reading when this one arrived in the mail.
My goodness. In just the first couple of pages, I was totally hooked! I was so curious to learn more about the main character, Teddy, but I also found myself feeling very protective of her right from the first chapter.
As the story continued, I couldn’t help but feel more and more protective of Teddy. It was clear that she was suffering through the guilt of something as well as the loss of her father, and that the affects of these two strong emotions were holding her back. But not only were these things weighing her down, they were also causing her to have physical reactions.
And what was that physical reaction? Well, Teddy’s Teddy’s skin would randomly begin to unravel from her body, a fact that I was equally horrified and enthralled by.
I loved that this physical element wasn’t fully explained to the reader as it left a wonderfully mysterious element up to us to dwell on long after the book ends.
The situations that Teddy found herself in the middle of in a span of just 89 pages was wicked intense! One particular scene that was set in a basement had me reading as fast as I could to see what would happen next.
This one is going to stick with me for a very long time! It’s definitely one I will be returning to time and time again.
My Favorite Passages
The skin tightens about me so terribly that I wonder if my bones might leap out of my human suit.
The thought abandons me as suddenly as it arrives, her kiss draining my mouth of all words.
Darkness has its fingers about me, dragging me with it. But, the thought does not upset me as I thought it might.
My Final Thoughts
An all around wonderful novella. I cannot wait to see what Eric writes next!
If you’re a fan of light body horror and tales with wonderful characters, then I highly recommend picking this one up when you have time to read it cover to cover. It was spooky and bizarre, and it had intense action scenes, all of which are right up my alley! It also also totally broke me.
roxiethebookslayer's review
4.0
Title: Starving Ghosts in Every Thread
Author: Eric LaRocca
Synopsis: Teddy has a secret.
She's so consumed with guilt that it compels her body to literally unravel unless she feeds off the emotions of others. Teddy’s parasitic condition is usually tempered easily and is invisible to most, unless she feeds from them. However, her insatiable hunger has already begun to threaten her safety. Trapped in her tiny Connecticut hometown thanks to a careless mistake which cost her a prestigious scholarship, Teddy grieves her father’s death and cares for her neurotic mother, Mercy, who is convinced scorpion venom is the only remedy for her own peculiar skin ailment linked to her daughter’s sadness.
Once an aspiring songwriter, Teddy now merely alternates between shifts at the local market and visits to the house of her eccentric neighbor, Mr. Ridley, for fresh scorpions to bring to her mother. It’s during one of her routine visits to Mr. Ridley’s subterranean grotto of exotic animals that Teddy meets an unusual young girl named Kiiara. Immediately enamored with one another, Teddy soon discovers that Kiiara is hiding a gruesome secret, too – a secret that will threaten to undo everything Teddy has ever known and loved, and violently touch all those who cross their path with disaster.
She's so consumed with guilt that it compels her body to literally unravel unless she feeds off the emotions of others. Teddy’s parasitic condition is usually tempered easily and is invisible to most, unless she feeds from them. However, her insatiable hunger has already begun to threaten her safety. Trapped in her tiny Connecticut hometown thanks to a careless mistake which cost her a prestigious scholarship, Teddy grieves her father’s death and cares for her neurotic mother, Mercy, who is convinced scorpion venom is the only remedy for her own peculiar skin ailment linked to her daughter’s sadness.
Once an aspiring songwriter, Teddy now merely alternates between shifts at the local market and visits to the house of her eccentric neighbor, Mr. Ridley, for fresh scorpions to bring to her mother. It’s during one of her routine visits to Mr. Ridley’s subterranean grotto of exotic animals that Teddy meets an unusual young girl named Kiiara. Immediately enamored with one another, Teddy soon discovers that Kiiara is hiding a gruesome secret, too – a secret that will threaten to undo everything Teddy has ever known and loved, and violently touch all those who cross their path with disaster.
Publisher: Self published
Rating: ⭐⭐⭐⭐
Publishing Date: April 27, 2020
This is the body horror novella I didn't know I needed in my life. Before I even opened the book (which is signed! Thank you Eric!) I had this imagery in my head of a fine bone thin hand with wisps of paper thin ribbons unraveling at the fingertips. I started searching the book and online to find out where I found this picture because I wanted to draw it myself. Matter of fact, I will next to this little scorpion sketch I did.
There is no picture, that was just the image I came up with by reading the synopsis. Yes I will draw it soon.
Starving Ghosts in Every Thread takes a Romeo and Juliet style romance, grief and body horror tropes and twists them into a lyrically beautiful painted picture of pain, beauty and the tragedy of it all. Teddy is the most perfect character and I hope she is someone you all can grow to love too. Her grief, her guilt, I felt that. I am impressed this is LaRocca's first trek into horror fiction and I can't wait to read some full length prose from him!
Oh! I almost forgot and its probably the most important note: the LGBT+ rep in this story is AMAZING! I want more representation in the stories/genres I already read.
Thank you to Eric LaRocca for a gifted copy of "Starving Ghosts in Every Thread" in exchange for a honest review.