• Skip to main content
  • Skip to primary sidebar
FanFiAddict

FanFiAddict

A gaggle of nerds talking about Fantasy, Science Fiction, and everything in-between. They also occasionally write reviews about said books. 2x Stabby Award-Nominated and home to the Stabby Award-Winning TBRCon.

  • Home
  • About
    • Reviewers
    • Review Policy
    • Contact
  • Blog
    • Guest Posts
    • Lists
    • Neurodivergence in Fiction
    • Why You Should Read…
  • Reviews
    • Children’s / Middle Grade Books
    • Comics/Graphic Novels
    • Fantasy
      • Alt History
      • Coming of Age
      • Debut
      • Epic Fantasy
      • Fairy Tales
      • Grimdark
      • Heroic Fantasy
      • LitRPG
      • Paranormal Fantasy
      • Romantic Fantasy
      • Steampunk
      • Superheroes
      • Sword and Sorcery
      • Urban Fantasy
    • Historical Fiction
    • Horror
      • Debut
      • Demons
      • Ghosts
      • Gothic
      • Lovecraftian
      • Monsters
      • Occult
      • Psychological
      • Vampires
      • Werewolves
      • Witches
      • Zombies
    • Science Fiction
      • Aliens
      • Artificial Intelligence
      • Alt History
      • Cyberpunk
      • Debut
      • Dystopian
      • Hard SciFi
      • Mechs/Robots
      • Military SF
      • Space Opera
      • Steampunk
      • Time Travel
    • Thriller
  • Interviews
    • Book Tube
  • SFF Addicts Podcast
    • SFF Addicts Clips
    • SFF Addicts (Episode Archive)
  • TBRCon
  • SPFBO 7
    • SPFBO Articles

Review: Things Have Gotten Worse Since We Last Spoke by Eric LaRocca

June 14, 2021 by David W Leave a Comment

Things Have Gotten Worse Since We Last Spoke by [Eric LaRocca]
Amazon
Barnes & Noble
Book Depository
Goodreads

Rating: 8.5/10

Synopsis

Sadomasochism. Obsession. Death.

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.

What have you done today to deserve your eyes?

Review

This is going to be a pretty short and succinct review being that this is a 102 page novella, mostly revolving around text chat and emails – an epistolary novella in better terms.

What have you done today to deserve your eyes?

I’d seen tons of people in the horror community either purchasing copies of this book or talking about how much they loved it, so I figured I would give it a shot. LaRocca, outside of being a mutual on socials, is relatively unknown author to me (hence my hesitancy to believe the hype) but friends whom I trust with book recommendations RARELY leave me disappointed.

What starts out as a seemingly normal email thread for the purchase of an antique apple peeler becomes a shared obsession that borders on possession. It is a tale of loneliness and the feeling of being wanted and loved, to the point where you are willing to risk everything for it. Throughout the back and forth between the two characters, LaRocca gives the reader glimpses behind the screen as to who these women are – though again, we ASSUME based on the synopsis that these are women, but it is the internet (and if it is on the internet, it must be true right?).

Sometimes, you never know if you are in the right audience for a read and this was one of those times. Sadomasochism ain’t really my thing, neither is body horror (thanks a ton, The Troop by Nick Cutter), but there was something about this one that I literally could not set it down. In saying that, if you do chance upon this little story, it is a 1-sitting type read. No way you can set it aside and come back to it. It is one where the pace and intensity continues to ramp up until the very end.

Things Have Gotten Worse Since We Last Spoke is a dark, heavy-hitting novella that is a borderline masterwork in epistolary horror.

Filed Under: Reviews Tagged With: Adult, Adult Horror, Death, Eric LaRocca, Horror, LGBTQ, Obsession, Sadomasochism, Things Have Gotten Worse Since We Last Spoke

About David W

Believer, Hubby, Girl Dad. Owner/CEO of FanFiAddict. Works a not so flashy day job in central Alabama. Furthest thing from a redneck and doesn’t say Roll Tide. Enjoys fantasy, science fiction, horror and thrillers but not much else (especially kissy kissy).

Other Reviews You Might Like

Review: Steel Guardian (Rusted Wasteland #1) by Cameron Coral

Review: Sons of Darkness (The Raag of Rta, #1) by Gourav Mohanty

A Sea of Cinders (The Voice of No Quarter #1) by Adam Bishop

Reader Interactions

Leave a Reply Cancel reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

Primary Sidebar

Sponsored By

Use Discount Code FANFI For 5% Off!

Follow FanFi!

Sign up for updates and get a FREE story from Michael R. Fletcher!

What Would You Like To See?(Required)
Please select the type of content you want to receive from FanFi Addict. You can even mix and match if you want!

FFA Recommends

Get This Book
Get This Book
Get This Book
Get This Book

Recent Reviews

Recent Comments

  1. Rob on Review: Legends and Lattes by Travis BaldreeJune 20, 2022
  2. WS_BOOKCLUB on Review: Perception Check (The Mages of Velmyra Saga #1) by Astrid KnightJune 15, 2022
  3. Peter Andersson on Like This Game? Read This Book: 11 Book Recommendations for Gamers by M.J. KuhnJune 11, 2022
  4. King Bell on 5 Trad-Published Books/Series I Plan to Start in 2022May 31, 2022
  5. Deven VanKirk on Review: Dawnshard (The Stormlight Archive #3.5) by Brandon SandersonMay 23, 2022

Archive

Copyright © 2022 · Powered by ModFarm Sites · Log In