I wasn’t able to get into this book- it’s well written but not for me. I didn’t care for any of the characters…or like them. Thank you NetGalley!

Thank you to NetGalley and CLASH books for the opportunity to read and review this book.

A small town in Connecticut is plagued with unexplained missing person's cases, but the cause isn't what you think (I could give you 1000 guesses and youd never say "a weird god portal in a man's basement). Through a split perspective style, we are introduced to Ghost (a greif-stricken recluse with a literal ghost following him around) and Malik (a gay police officer in the small town of Henley's Edge), who show us drastically different angles of the town. As their stories intertwine, we learn more about what is really going on to cause the strange happenings around town.

I enjoyed the split perspective aspect of the novel, but found the eventual (and late) connection of the storylines and characters to be a bit tenuous and rushed. The plot felt a bit disjoint, and I'm not sure if it was because of the perspectives not quite fitting togethet or that the novel was just confusing and strange. I also had trouble making sense of the mystical/religious supernatural elements that are especially present in the latter half of the book.

If you like Eric LaRocca's other work you'll probably like this one. If you're a language reader or otherwise appreciate lofty prose, you might also like it. For everyone else, just go in expecting something really weird. This book definitely will not be for everyone.

Double check the content warnings in other reviews before reading; there is an extremely graphic scene depicting homophobia motivated gang rape.

CWs for: rape, LGBTQ hate crime, homophobia, violence, kidnapping, mild ableism

Crossposted to goodreads at: https://www.goodreads.com/review/show/5654683728

Having read quite a bit of Eric LaRocca's shorter fiction, I was interested to see what he would come up with in a longer format. Like so much of his other work, this is a particularly strange tale. Focused on the small town of Henley's Edge and a slew of disappearances. there is an underlying current of danger throughout the narrative that was reminiscent of David Lynch's take on suburbia. Homophobia plays a key role in the plot and there are some incredibly uncomfortable scenes with this at the forefront. Similarly, the narrative deals deeply with faith and belief in God, which also leads to some difficult moments. Overall, I thought the imagery and prose were great but wasn't blown away by the plot itself. I would be interested to see more stories set in this town, but this one wasn't my favourite.
I received a free copy of this book from the publisher in exchange for a fair and honest review.

DNF @ 20% -- I can't do animal harm/abuse in books, especially horror. I also do not think the author had any parents as beta or alpha readers because there are a few moments where the parents in the story did things that, in a modern day world, would not fly.

Eric LaRocca is known for his collections of short stories that are full to the brim with chills and brutal body horror. So, naturally, I was immediately interested in a full length novel by him. The bisexual representation was just the cherry on top!

This was really hard to put down. It’s a truly gripping and spine-chilling book - a must-read for all fans of horror literature and thriller novels.

LaRocca’s writing skills and vivid imagination have led to the creation of a story that is both terrifying and thought-provoking. The characters are fully developed, and the plot is expertly crafted. LaRocca’s use of language ensures the book's appeal to a wide range of readers and his ability to invoke fear and suspense is unparalleled in modern horror writing.

Overall, "Everything the Darkness Eats" is an outstanding work of fiction. I would highly recommend this novel to anyone seeking a thrilling, spooky read.

I love Eric LaRocca so much, and this one was no exception. I find it best to go into their books knowing as little as humanly possible in order to get the most shock and awe out of it. The stories are always very very different. They always find something to make creepy and weird. I loved it, but its not my favorite by LaRocca, which will always be Things Have Gotten Worse Since We Last Spoke.

I’ve read nearly all of Larocca’s books and this was probably my least favorite. I much prefer his books that don’t have supernatural/fantasy elements. The plot on this one completely lost me. It’s slow-moving, scattered, and feels long for a novella.

Everything the Darkness Eats by Eric LaRocca features a small town plagued by mysterious disappearances, though it's seemingly devoid of police involvement. Ghost, a grieving widower, emerges as a key figure in this somber tale of companionship and self-acceptance. The book delves into dark themes of violence, delivering moments of extreme horror.

While some may find it falls slightly short of the author's previous works, it's still a strong piece of fiction. The subplot tackling hate crimes adds a disturbing realism, even though it feels somewhat disconnected from the main plot.

In this captivating book, the setting is a small town plagued by a series of mysterious disappearances. Although the narrative provides only limited information about these vanishing incidents, the enigma is introduced early on. Surprisingly, there is no mention of police involvement, adding an air of intrigue and raising questions about the town's dynamics. Overall, this book offers an immensely enjoyable read.

I'm always looking for a solid horror read, but this one just didn't hit the mark for me.
Thanks for the chance to read and review!

Grief knows no bounds for Ghost, a widower who's convinced his help is necessary in order to stop a string of disappearances in his small hometown, Henley's Edge. His continuous despair may be the exact mindset needed to pull himself and the missing from a magically dark fate...is their a semblance of hope for the road ahead?

SORROWFUL but beautiful reminder of companionship, love, and acceptance in ourselves and one another.

I found myself drawn to the MC in his lack of belief in anything beyond his routine, his traumas, and pessimism after all he's been dealt, BUT this characters sole existence allows for the possibility of hope, even if it must be sought and even when the hopeless do not believe they're deserving.

Read if you Like:
- Sad MCs
- Antithesim
- Unsettling Imagery
- Magical Realism

Thanks, NetGalley, for allowing me access to an e-book copy of the novella in exchange for my honest review. ✨️

In this long novel (his first), Larocca tries to extend his writing range, and although he succeeds in the idea department, the disjointed narrative and unexplained character origins make this a tough sell.

A series of disappearances have taken place in the quiet town of Henley's Edge, when Ghost (yes, his real name) is drawn to a secret cult led by a mysterious old man named Heart Crowley. This man has healing powers and may be behind the disappearances, but Ghost has a mystery of his own as well: he seems to have a spirit who accompanies him and pesters him all the time. The other protagonist is Malik, a policeman, and his husband who are targeted by hate groups and attack them in their home. While both of these storylines converge at the end, there is little purpose on the Malik one since most of all the important events are witnessed/acted by Ghost and Crowley. Ghost himself has a strange and rushed love-at-first-sight encounter with a woman named Gemma, who is herself drawn first by Crowley and his cult. But this sudden interest of Ghost in her feels awkward, and the fact that more people disappear without law enforcement acting more predominantly in the rest of the book is suspiciously unexplained. While the purpose of Crowley and his nature is interesting in itself, it hardly makes up for a disjointed point of view and, one could even say, gratuitous violence in the Malik storyline; there is almost no reason to mix these two stories, so it makes one think if the Ghost storyline wasn't first concocted as a short story and then mixed with the Malik one to make it longer.

Unfortunately, this underdeveloped novel will probably not satisfy the eager readers of Larocca's great horror short stories.

A solid mystical horror story with themes surrounding the ethics of creation and responsibility for suffering. Not what I expected from LaRocca, I feel like his recent work has become less experimental than what he is known for and this was an example of that, but even as it echoes the typical expectations of the genre, some unexpected things happen within and it especially picks up around the halfway mark.

Thank you to NetGalley and CLASH books as well as the author for this ARC. It was an absolute blast!
#NetGalley #CLASHbooks #EricLaRocca #EverythingtheDarknessEats

Oh Mr. LaRocca, you are amazing! The author’s writing is relatable and easy to read. It’s also super fun and delightfully disturbing. LaRocca’s previous works are tough to top. This is a story about a small town in Connecticut that has a problem with people disappearing. The reason for the disappearances is a sinister secret.
This was a fun and quick read, although not perfect. The reader should be aware that there are scenes of extreme sexual and physical violence. There is also a religious note throughout. This isn’t a book for the faint of heart as is the case with all of Eric LaRocca’s books. There are a lot of things to like here. I thought the imagery was beautiful and the characters were sympathetic. The moments of extreme horror were enjoyable. Unfortunately, the author’s previous books were more enjoyable to me.
This book deals with a small town with multiple disappearances. There is very little about these disappearances in the narrative except in the beginning. There’s no mention of police involvement. There are multiple narratives happening at once. One deals with our protagonist, a man named Ghost. Ghost has just lost his wife in a car accident. He shows some supernatural abilities but we’re never shown why. The second is about our antagonist, a dapper and stylish old man named Heart Crowley with serious delusions of grandeur. He also has supernatural abilities. He uses mind control to abduct his victims. We aren’t given much information about most of the characters pasts’ which makes it hard to swallow the events of the story. It’s not often that I say this but I wish this book were longer. I would love to know more about these characters and their backgrounds. The third narrative deals with a married couple who are enduring expressions of hate from their religious neighbors who don’t want a same sex couple among them. When they call the police they’re treated to a lecture about PDA rather than help with the escalating hate crimes. This feels like it’s here to make a point rather than to enhance the plot. I understand the point. It hurt to see what these two men endured because of hate. This was the most disturbing plot point because of how real it is. These things really happen and people need to know and be disturbed by it. The convergence of these narratives does occur but, again, I needed more information. The technical trouble with this book was distracting. Similes are everywhere! Everywhere! This story needed editing.
All in all, there are some great things in this book. The story was fun. The writing is top notch. Eric LaRocca is a talented author and I will continue to read what he writes. This one just needed as little extra editing and some more information.

I was so disappointed (and kind of disgusted) with Eric LaRocca’s EVERYTHING THE DARKNESS EATS. And I really was excited for this ever since reading the author’s previous novella THINGS HAVE GOTTEN WORSE SINCE WE LAST SPOKE (which I enjoyed).

The synopsis says it’s about “An insidious darkness threatens to devastate a rural New England village when occult forces are conjured and when bigotry is left unrestrained.” Sounds interesting, right? And the opening prologue was so good, too. Really set it up.

The rest of the book? 👎🏽

The writing was terrible, the characters even worse. I didn’t care about any of them and the main character Ghost’s (that’s his name, pretty cool name) whining and repetitive threats to God became annoying really fast. And I didn’t get why one of the characters had to be Muslim? At first I was glad to see the representation but he was an idiot. In fact, all the characters were idiots who made bad decisions - one after another. I was rolling my eyes and skimming a lot toward the end.

I feel kind of bad about posting my negative review, but at the same time, I feel it was too on the nose when it came to the topic of bigotry. Some parts seemed gratuitous for gratuitous’s sake. Nothing creative about it and there was so much potential. And the ending was unsatisfactory.

I read some reviews after finishing it and am glad I wasn’t the only one who felt this way. As someone pointed out, it almost seemed like this was a first draft of a story and that’s exactly how it read to me as well. Oh well, not everything’s going to work out for us I guess. 🤷🏻‍♀️

LaRocca knocks it out of the park again. As with most of their books, Everything the Darkness Eats is not for the faint of heart. I physically flinched at one point, and there aren't many authors who can do that to me. A violent, macabre study in grief, survival, and what it means to realize the universe's indifference to our existence, this is not a book I'll soon forge

I adore Eric LaRocca and I've learned that while I read EVERYTHING he puts out, not everything he writes is for me. This wasn't one of my favorites. Perhaps too linear? I love his writing style and how he's not afraid to venture into the weird, uncomfortable depths of human existence. However, the gay couple storyline broke me. As always he finds a way to take something horrifying and punch it up to the nth degree which is why I will ALWAYS read his work.

I had read already Things Have Gotten Worse Since We Last Spoke and enjoyed it a lot, so when Eric LaRocca's debut novel appeared on Netgalley I jumped to the opportunity.

Horror was not my favourite genre, but it is really growing on me, thanks to well written books like this one. In here we follow Ghost and Malik, 2 very different characters, totally unrelated, but that will create a cohesive and harrowing story together. One of the beauties of the book, for me, was the way the author made us care for the characters. We felt for them, which, of course, made matters worse for us, as we suffered alongside them.

It was good, enjoyable and a page turner. Recommend it to all horror fans, and to everyone who likes a good story about interesting and different people.

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One keeps the ability to change throughout our lives, and that explains my recent passion for horror books. Even though I still don’t like horror movies, the books have carved a place in my heart, and I’ve been reading a lot more lately. Eric LaRocca is not a new author to me, I previously read his short story collection “Things Have Gotten Worse Since We Last Spoke”, and it was weird and enticing. Now that his debut novel has reached Netgalley, I just had to take the opportunity.

In this book we follow two very different main characters. Ghost is a grieving man, who got lost in life when his pregnant wife died, and Malik is a police detective that has recently moved to this conservative Connecticut town with his husband and is currently investigating a series of strange disappearances. Their paths don’t cross, except for the fact that they both live in the same town. We add to this a charming and mysterious elderly man, Heart Crowley, that also lives here. Considering the book is only 202 pages long, things go really wrong, really fast. They reach an extreme body horror point, which made me question the sanity of continuing to read.

I liked this book, the story is well developed, we feel for the characters and care with what happens to them, which makes all the difference in a scenario like this. It was a pleasure to read (albeit a painful pleasure), that caused just the right amount of anxiety, as we would expect. I recommend it to all that are not easily scared, that like stories that push our boundaries and make us question the limits of human nature.

I think this is a good debut novel for LaRocca; however, I do prefer his short stories!

I had really high hopes going into this, but I ultimately felt let down by this one.

Things I liked:
- Amazing poetic prose
- Entertaining story
- I really liked Ghost and his character arc
- I thought the magical realism aspects were an interesting addition
- Quick read

Things I didn't like:
- There were some plot issues that didn't fully add up for me
- The pacing was off and at times the story felt dull
- Felt a bit YA in my opinion

“Her world was darkness, and that’s often where the monsters felt most at home.”

Eric LaRocca is quite famous for writing messy, sad, grief horror. Everything the Darkness Eats is no different. We follow a few different points of view, all handling grief their own ways. Some worse than others.

Ghost Everling was in a car accident with his wife, Hailey, and she did not survive. It’s been three years, and he’s trying to navigate his new life with a ghoul on his shoulder telling him the accident was his fault.

Heart Crowley is an eccentric elderly man who manages his grief by trying to control every situation around him.

Malik and husband Brett are grieving the marriage they could have had, had they not dealt with the homophobia from the neighborhood.

For most of the story, you have no idea how the three different stories connect, but in the end, boy do they connect. As always, LaRocca weaves a tale that takes you by surprise while hurting your feelings the entire way.

This story is not a fast story, unlike their other works. There’s a lot underneath the words, a lot of subtext. I actually would like to reread this story in the future to see if I can pick things out that I hadn’t seen originally.

There were a couple slow parts, which makes this not quite a five star read, but enjoyable nonetheless.

CW for death, gore, rape, sexual violence, homophobia, sexual assault, blood, mental illness, grief, torture, and car accident