Thanks to Netgalley and the publisher for an early e-copy of the book!

Eric LaRocca has some of the most interesting, unique horror that I've read. This latest release includes "Things Have Gotten Worse Since We Last Spoke" and two other short stories--"The Enchantment" and "You'll Find It's Like That All Over." I'd read the title story before and enjoyed it, and enjoyed it still upon reread. LaRocca does a fantastic job, in all three stories, of exploring the need and desire for human connection, and the way that need can turn deadly. Their characters try desperately to hold onto someone or something and in that desperation madness unfolds. The stories are dark and can be gruesome, but they're such a beautiful exploration of what it means to be human. To want something so badly you'll do whatever it takes to get it. The connection I found most interesting to reflect on was the desire for motherhood, which is definitely present in the titular story and "The Enchantment."

I was quite enchanted, for lack of a better term, by "The Enchantment," which was definitely my favorite piece in the collection. I would love to see LaRocca explore religion in more of his stories. Everything about this story worked for me: the setting, the tension, the bleak depiction of fanatic belief...it was great.

And, it goes without saying that the craft and writing of these stories is great. LaRocca's writing is exquisite and descriptive in the best ways, even though sometimes that description is grotesque and hard to read. I can't wait to see what LaRocca comes out with next.

Things Have Gotten Worse Since We Last Spoke and Other Misfortunes is a collection of three short stories that explore concepts of faith, obsession, and emotional reliance.

Ultimately, the ideas in each story are extremely interesting. The first involves a relationship that happens entirely over instant messenger/email and quickly devolves into an uncomfortable obsession. The second involves the unraveling of a woman after losing her son. The final short story entertains the question of how far one will go to maintain politeness.

Unfortunately, I found each story lacking. I fully believe a short story can be just as deep and insightful as a novel, but these all felt underbaked: huge concepts with little attention to the greater themes the author seemed interested in developing. Some moments (honestly…many moments) rely more on shock value than quality content. There were so many moments to make these stories deeper, yet they never actually capitalized on those possibilities.

I will also say that while I didn’t find any of these super disturbing as far as horror goes, if you’re squeamish…you might want to avoid (especially the first one.)

Am I glad I read it? Yes, the ideas intrigued me enough to be glad I had the experience. Do I recommend it? Eh. It’s a short read (easily a one day finish), so I’d say if it sounds even a little interesting than it’s not too big of a commitment. I’d

Thanks to the publisher for providing a free rARC in exchange for an honest review.

I am a huge fan of the original novella and hyped it to anyone who would listen when it came out last year. What you’ll find in the newly released collection Things Have Gotten Worse Since We Last Spoke and Other Misfortunes are stories of people yearning for what is lacking in their lives and seeking to fill that void.
In the first story, “Things Have Gotten Worse Since We Last Spoke,” is an epistolary tale told in emails and text messages between two young women seeking connection—what starts as kindness and friendship quickly devolves to stomach-churning acts of sadomasochistic control. This story is brutal and if you are easily squeamish, read with caution.

The second tale, “The Enchantment,” we find a couple trying to repair their marriage in the wake of losing their only child. In the desperate need to connect to their son, Olive clings to her faith while husband James accepts the loss of faith in a world that has just discovered that there is no afterlife awaiting them when they pass. Lots of supernatural and rich religious symbolism present in this story. I would have loved if this had been fleshed out as a full novel.

The last story, “You’ll Find It’s Like That All Over,” is an odd tale of a man who finds a mysterious bone in his yard that leads him to his neighbor seeking answers. What follows is a bizarre encounter where his innate politeness and inability to say no when pressed upon leads to a series of bets with staggering consequences. This story gave me big Alfred Hitchcock Presents/Twilight Zone vibes. Like the entry before, I would have loved to read more of this story.

All in all, I really enjoyed this read and was thrilled to know that it lives up to the unsettling vibes of its original story. Please check the trigger warnings before reading, there is a lot of material that some might find upsetting.

5/5 Stars
Many thanks to #NetGalley and #TitanBooks for providing me with a review copy of this novel. All thoughts and opinions are my own.

Things Have Gotten Worse Since We Last Spoke and Other Misfortunes is a collection of three short stories by Eric LaRocca. LaRocca's strengths are originality and inventiveness; each story features a unique and interesting premise, particularly the titular story, which takes the form of an epistolary narrative set in an online chatroom in the early 2000s. LaRocca's writing is also a strength - its snappy and engaging. Unfortunately, the execution of each story left something to be desired. Though each story started strong, they all sort of trickled off, and I felt that the horror elements were used for shock value rather than as part of the narrative. Regardless, I'm definitely interested to read more of LaRocca's work in the future!

you know those books and movies that leave you vibrating with the need to dig in and analyze stories for hours and hours with others? that's how i feel walking away from this collection.

i read 'things have gotten worse since we last spoke' about a year ago, and was surprised to find it just as haunting and unsettling as it had been before. it's a gripping, unusual work about finding and projecting connection, and finding limits.

"the enchantment" absolutely absorbed me. this story of a couple working through the grief of losing their son is at once so simple and so complex, and i can't get it off my mind. there is so much to say about grief and faith, and reality and horror and how to make a story extra special by combining such simple writing with stunning horror. i need to talk about this story with someone, now.

"you'll find it's like that all over" was harder for me to get into, if only because i hadn't finished processing "the enchantment" and kept getting distracted. but this game of increasing-stakes bets played between strangers was fascinating and a really interesting look at polite connection. it mostly felt like horror when you start to question your own limits.

eric larocca accomplishes something so special and unique in these stories.

<i>thank you to netgalley for an advanced copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.</i>

I didn't realize that this was a collection of horror stories, so I was a bit puzzled as I was reading the first one, the novella with the same title as the book. In this story, two women form an online relationship where their devotion to one another is put to extreme tests. In the second story, The Enchantment, a couple on the verge of estrangement is brought back together by a tragedy. Serving as caretakers on an isolated island in the off-season, their solitude is broken by the arrival of an unexpected guest. The final and shortest story concerns Mr. Fowler, who is somewhat ashamed that he's never taken the time to get to know their elderly neighbor. When he has an encounter with the neighbor, once again (as with the other stories), things get taken to extremes.

As someone who doesn't read a lot of horror, I wasn't sure where these stories were going. I did enjoy them, although the characters all put themselves in bizarre situations and didn't really react as one would expect them to. I do think people who enjoy creepy stories that have unpredictable endings will enjoy these stories.

There are three very interesting and jarring short stories in this book that are definitely not for the faint of heart. The stories really made me think about the topics of desperation, companionship, and social interaction. I think if you're a fan of shock horror and can handle some gore descriptive, then I think you will enjoy this. After reading this, I think I am more of a fan of psychological horror, but I still liked this book.

Thank you Titan Books and NetGalley for this arc in exchange for my honest review!

Holy heck what a ride! This was dark, twisted and everything you could hope for coming into spooky season.

I'd heard lots about Eric LaRocca and his work sounded right up my street.

This book includes his novella 'Things Have Gotten Worse Since We Last Spoke' plus two short stories. 3 stars felt like the right rating for this even though I did enjoy my time reading it.

I loved the title novella - it's was morbid, shocking and disgusting. Good times! Then the start of the second story had the same effect, but then it just trickled out. I then personally didn't find the third story lived up to the other two.

I'd definitely read more from LaRocca though - I loved the writing and concepts. I just wish there was more of it in this book!

Thank you to Netgalley and the publisher for an ARC in exchange for an honest review.

The book contains 3 stories:
* Things have gotten worse since we last spoke
* The Enchantment
* You’ll find it’s like that all over

In the first and main story two lonely young women in an internet chatroom in the early 2000’s find each other and a darkness that threatens to transform them. The second story follows a couple that is torn apart and brought back together, isolating themselves on a remote island in an attempt to recover from their teenage son’s death. The third story is an escalating game between 2 strangers/neighbors.

In each of these stories we find themes of people wanting to connect, have a higher purpose, or struggling with some inner conflict. Unfortunately it just didn’t hit for me. I realize it’s fiction and it’s about seeing how far someone is willing to go - to find what they are looking for - but just didn’t feel believable or like horror despite the nature of the disturbances. I’m guessing others will enjoy these peeks into 3 lives so don’t let me discourage you; just wasn’t my thing.

This book was so good! It's strange, weird and made me feel super uncomfortable, and I absolutely loved it!

The book is made up of 3 novellas:

Things Have Gotten Worse Since We Last Spoke - The title story is the longest in the book. Told as a true crime report and as emails going back and forth between 2 women. It takes some disturbing turns. Like I was not prepared for it at all! But it's a really good story! This was my favourite of the book.

The Enchantment - this is a story focused on religion and grief. I enjoyed this one although I wasn't sure what was going on for some of it! I really liked the ending!

You'll Find It's Like That All Over - this was a fun story showing how far we go to be polite and not cause offence.

I'm so glad to have read this book as I've had my eye on it for ages! I've added practically every other book the author has written to my wishlist and I can't wait to read more! Thank you to titan books for having me on the blog tour!

In this collection of three short stories, Eric LaRocca explores themes of desire, particularly our inherent longing for connection, and how far we will go to obtain it. The titular story immediately grabbed me, taking the form of online correspondence between two women who form an unusual relationship that soon turns dark and twisted. It's the longest of the three stories and the most captivating.

LaRocca's early 2000s take on an epistolary tale works well in appealing to our inner voyeur as we go through the private emails of these two characters. Despite knowing little about them, we feel a closeness because we have access to their private thoughts, which only serves to heighten the horror of the ensuing events. It's disturbing and unputdownable.

The second story deals with grief and religion—specifically the afterlife, while the third is the shortest and follows a neighbour who plays a series of mind games on the main character. These two stories weren't as captivating as the first but thematically fit in with the collection and left me excited to read more of LaRocca's work.

Many thanks to Titan Books and NetGalley for providing me with a digital review copy.

Thank you for the chance to read the arc. This is my first time reading a book by this author and it won't be the last
Each of the the stories left me scratching my head, yelling at the main characters, or just wanting to smack them to bring them back to reality.
The imagery is very clear but the unknown is scary. Im usually good at guessing what's going to happen but this book gave me the runaround. I loved it.
4stars

I’ve seen the novella, Things Have Gotten Worse Since We Last Spoke talked about and highly recommended in horror and book groups for a while now. When I saw the author was re-releasing it along with two other never before seen stories in one volume, I was eager to see for myself what all the hype was about. While Things Have Gotten Worse Since We Last Spoke is an excellent (and stomach churning) gem of a story, I have to admit I preferred the other two stories. My favorite being the middle one, only I wish it had been longer and given us a few more answers. This author really knows how to write in a way which leaves you feeling emotional, tense and just a little creeped out. This collection would appeal to new readers to this author (like me) or people who have read Things Have Gotten Worse Since We Last Spoke and are wanting to revisit this story alongside some other chilling reads. Thank you to the author, publisher and NetGalley for a copy of this book.

Having been a fan of LaRocca's Things Have Gotten Worse When We Last Spoke when I read it last year, I was surprisingly disappointed in this collection. Unlike my first impression of the first novella, I found the other stories childish and unpolished, the writing, at times, bordering on lazy. While I still enjoy the titular story, I was so bored reading the other two I almost dnf'ed this several times. Overall a disappointment, but I wouldn't rule out LaRocca completely---the potential and creativity is definitely there, but for a tradicionally published collection, it lacked proper direction.

4 ⭐️

My favorite read from this author thus far. so creepy and eerie and I loved every minute. I love how its so easy to read and get instantly hooked.

Thank you so much to Titan Books and NetGalley for providing me with an e-ARC; it is greatly appreciated.

I was approved to read this halfway through the day, and it gets archived tomorrow, so I'm not sure why the publisher is still approving requests, as this gave me no time to read. I felt very rushed, so my reading experience was probably not the best because of this.

Things Have Gotten Worse Since We Last Spoke - This went in a different direction than I was anticipating ! I read the last page several times, because I just could not believe that's how it was ending. I'm not sure how I feel about the portrayal of mental illness here though. Also, strong content warning for animal cruelty/death.

I did enjoy the format of telling this story through emails and IM messages. It made the story snappy, but man, I could not imagine entering a contract with someone that quickly. They really barely communicated with each other. Unless that wasn't supposed to be all their correspondance and I just missed that point.

The Enchantment - Honestly, I did not read this one. As I type this it's almost 10pm where I live, and the description of this story didn't appeal to me at all, so I'm not going to force myself to stay up to read it.

You'll Find It's Like That All Over - This started in a way that really had me hooked on wondering where it was going to go, but in the end I'm just left asking, "Why ?". I don't understand the purpose of this story, or anything it was trying to say.

Overall, this is an odd collection, but I'm sure fans will be happy that there is now another way to get their hands on Things Have Gotten Worse Since We Last Spoke.

*4.25

So, I really really enjoyed Things Have Gotten Worse Since We Last Spoke and Other Misfortunes as a short story collection. I had already read Things Have Gotten Worse Since We Last Spoke (2021) at the beginning of the year and I still love the story just as much as the first time. But I found the addition of Eric LaRocca’s two new stories, The Enchantment and You’ll Find It’s Like That All Over, fascinating. All three stories are very different stories to each other in the way that they are being told, but they do all have somewhat of a common theme of the need and wanting to belong and to feel a connection. I think, despite obviously loving the titular story, that The Enchantment is the most interesting and beautifully haunting story of all three of them. It’s the story that stuck with me for the longest, and I genuinely think if you are even remotely intrigued by LaRocca’s work that you shouldn’t miss out on reading this story.

With that said, I don’t necessarily think this is LaRocca’s best work, I have a personal preference for You’ve Lost a Lot of Blood, but I do think they have an exceptional way of capturing their audience. LaRocca manages to write, well, fucked up queer stories and it is REFRESHING. I love an author who doesn’t shy away from queer stories that are horrific, terrifying, but also so so beautiful. This collection is all of these things, there are horrific and gross off-putting moments, moments that make you feel squeamish, but there are also beautiful and soft moments that captivates you in these stories. I have to admire LaRocca for this.

He is by far one of the most interesting authors of our time and it’s great seeing them become more ‘mainstream’ and have their books become more available in bookstores. I can’t wait to read more by him in the future (I mean, this may have been an e-ARC but I am absolutely going to buy this next time I get paid so I can add to my ever growing collection of Eric LaRocca books)

TL;DR please do yourself the pleasure and read Things Have Gotten Worse Since We Last Spoke and Other Misfortunes. You won’t regret it.

This was my second book by Eric LaRocca and I absolutely loved it!
I was so exited when I got accepted of this ARC on NetGalley and it was amazing!
This novella contains three short stories with such a unique writing style. It was impossible to put it down, these stories are tied together and each story have a deeper meaning and message.
I highly recommend this book!

Thank you so much to netgalley and the publisher for an ARC of this book in exchange for my honest review.

I really don’t have anything eloquent to say about this one. Apparently this just isn’t for me. I know this is highly praised but I just wasn’t feeling it. There was a lack of cohesion, plot holes, disjointed writing styles and just bizarre scenarios . The cover is stunning but the book left me underwhelmed.