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A review by laynemandros
At Dark, I Become Loathsome by Eric LaRocca
challenging
dark
emotional
sad
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
2.75
“At Dark, I Become Loathsome” by Eric Larocca: 2.75/5
My first read of 2025 shaped up to be a really weird one! Thank you @librofm for gifting me this ALC of “At Dark, I Become Loathsome.”
I picked up this book because I’ve been dipping my toes into horror a bit more and I could not resist the title or the cover of this book. I mean, are you kidding me? So compelling, so gorgeous, I had to read it immediately.
The narrative follows Ashley, a queer man struggling with his wife’s death and son’s mysterious disappearance. Grappling with an immense amount of grief, guilt, and internalized homophobia Ashley sets out to “help others” by preforming fake death rituals.
There are several stories within the story here and I think that happened a few too many times for it to have been effective for me. Additionally, the title is repeated several times in the book to the point where it became tiresome. The title is so strong that having it show up in the book once, or even twice, would have packed a more impactful punch for me. Finally, not to give anything away, but the twist at the end was really predictable and tied things up a bit ~too neatly~ for me!
The writing was wonderful and I’m excited to try more by this author. The reviews were MIXED on Storygraph so I think that this one might not have been for me, but it’s clear Larocca is a talented writer. I wouldn’t recommend this to everyone but if you’re a fan if little weird books (Tender is the Flesh, perhaps!) then you might like this.
My first read of 2025 shaped up to be a really weird one! Thank you @librofm for gifting me this ALC of “At Dark, I Become Loathsome.”
I picked up this book because I’ve been dipping my toes into horror a bit more and I could not resist the title or the cover of this book. I mean, are you kidding me? So compelling, so gorgeous, I had to read it immediately.
The narrative follows Ashley, a queer man struggling with his wife’s death and son’s mysterious disappearance. Grappling with an immense amount of grief, guilt, and internalized homophobia Ashley sets out to “help others” by preforming fake death rituals.
There are several stories within the story here and I think that happened a few too many times for it to have been effective for me. Additionally, the title is repeated several times in the book to the point where it became tiresome. The title is so strong that having it show up in the book once, or even twice, would have packed a more impactful punch for me. Finally, not to give anything away, but the twist at the end was really predictable and tied things up a bit ~too neatly~ for me!
The writing was wonderful and I’m excited to try more by this author. The reviews were MIXED on Storygraph so I think that this one might not have been for me, but it’s clear Larocca is a talented writer. I wouldn’t recommend this to everyone but if you’re a fan if little weird books (Tender is the Flesh, perhaps!) then you might like this.