Thank you to NetGalley for the ARC in exchange for an honest review!

This was a great little collection of short stories! I knew I would be in for a treat with Eric LaRocca since I LOVED Things Have Gotten Worse since we last spoke. His writing is so unrelentingly creepy, disorienting and disturbing. I rated each of the stories below:


The Skin Was Once Mine- 4,5-5, def the strongest of the collection and the most well developed. My Jaw dropped multiple times- SHOOKETH!

Seedling-2 , it had a lot of similarities with the first story in terms of setting, details and strained parental relationships for _____ reasons. It just wasn't a very strong or memorable story,

All The Parts of You that Won't Burn- 4.5 This really got under my skin- pun intended, I was so entertained and engaged the entire time, really brutal.

Prickle- 3.5 this one was so great and diabolical ! I will never look at charming old men the same way ever again,

As always, LaRocca never fails to shock in the most thought provoking ways possible. These tales range from ones centered on how pain might sometimes heal rather than harm; how grief and loss and mourning might drive us to terrible places within our minds and beckon us to do terrible things; how grief can become shared intimacy, like showing ourselves naked, like turning our minds inside out and bearing its inner workings to others; how we allow addiction and obsession and compulsion get in the way of our relationships; how we might choose fleeting desires over long term established connection; how pain becomes an escape for the less fortunate. LaRocca explores all these themes and ideas through sympathetic yet wildly disturbing characters and unreliable narrators and alluring dark twists and turns.

I was excited to get to read another spine tingle, skin crawling collection from Eric LaRocca and This Skin Was Once Mine and Other Disturbances didn't disappoint in the slightest.
From the very beginning of the first story to the absolutely devastating end of the fourth, I couldn't put this book down. It's dark and twisty and delving in deep to things in very unexpected ways.
Please find my spoiler free youtube review attached: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ueAcqAT6V74&t=1s

The question to this book is "How much do you like Eric LaCrocca"? because if you are like me and you do, this book is absolutely phenomenal. These stories stayed with me for days.

The book features four short stories that focus on broken relationships and "coming home".

An heiress to a fortune visits home after 20 years. A man finds a new obsession that draws him into a secret world. A family experiences grief after a great loss. Two old friends connect for one last time.

On their surface, each story seems innocent, until the dark begins to swallow them.

This collection features pretty standard Eric Larocca themes, so if you really didn't enjoy their other work, you may want to skip this one.

I like short story collections like this where the individual stories are fleshed out, but quick to get into and quick to finish at the same time. Overall, this was well-written and creepy and weird in an interesting way. The writing style was very descriptive and unique while still fast-paced overall. The first story (which was about half of the length of this book) was my favourite and had a really strong ending. That one was more of a 4.5 for me. The third story (which was the second longest) was also pretty interesting and unlike anything I've read before. The second and fourth stories were shorter and were alright as part of a collection but weren't as developed so my rating for the book is higher than my rating for those individual sections.

Thank you for the ARC copy.

This book was creepy and good. I liked short stories. Just enough details and depth to the stories.

A brand-new collection of four intense, claustrophobic and terrifying horror tales from the Bram Stoker Award®-nominated and Splatterpunk Award-winning author of Things Have Gotten Worse Since We Last Spoke.
Four devastating tales from a master of modern horror…
This Skin Was Once Mine
When her father dies under mysterious circumstances, Jillian Finch finds herself grieving the man she idolized while struggling to feel comfortable in the childhood home she was sent away from nearly twenty years ago by her venomous mother. Then Jillian discovers a dark secret in her family's past--a secret that will threaten to undo everything she has ever known to be true about her beloved father and, more importantly, herself. It's only natural to hurt the things we love the most...
Seedling
A young man's father calls him early in the morning to say that his mother has passed away. He arrives home to find his mother's body still in the house. Struggling to process what has happened he notices a small black wound appear on his wrist—the inside of the wound as black as onyx and as seemingly limitless as the cosmos. He is even more unsettled when he discovers his father is cursed with the same affliction. The young man becomes obsessed with his father's new wounds, exploring the boundless insides and tethering himself to the black threads that curl from inside his poor father...
Prickle
Two old men revive a cruel game with devastating consequences...
All the Parts of You That Won't Easily Burn
Enoch Leadbetter goes to buy a knife for his husband to use at a forthcoming dinner party. He encounters a strange shopkeeper who draws him into an intoxicating new obsession and sets him on a path towards mutilation and destruction...

Four short stories that will make you squirm! Some are of course better than others, but I feel they had a pretty consistent quality to all of them. very fun and quick read:)

I have never been disappointed in Larocca’s work and this might even be his best collection! it stays true to their brand of macabre, almost surreal horror. all 4 stories presented here are Larocca at the top of their craft, my personal favorite was the final story, Prickle.

I found this collection to be a bit more of a mixed bag than his others. I really loved This Skin Was Once Mine and Prickle - the first and last stories in the collection - but didn't quite click with the two middle ones. LaRocca is such a talented writing - fans of horror must check this collection out!

This is a collection of dark short stories. When I say dark, I mean darrrrk so take note of the trigger warnings that the author lays out at the start of the book.

The author is talented with his words and has a way of successfully creating a layer of grief and despair within a story which is its own type of imaginative horror genre. I don't really think this type of horror is for me, however.

All of the stories were strange and very grim and I can't say I really enjoyed the stories themselves even if the writing was creative and unique.

This was a great collection of four stories, each book works well with the theme. I enjoyed how good everything worked with the theme and had the claustrophobic feel to it. I was hooked from the first story and glad I read each story. I think my favorite story was this skin was once mine, it had a great feel for the horror genre and I really felt for the people in this story. I enjoyed everything about this book and hope to read more from Eric LaRocca.

_This Skin Was Once Mine and Other Disturbances_ by Eric LaRocca is a disturbing, dark, and vivid read. Four short stories encompass this work, dealing with trauma, grief, pain, and violence. While the stories, including child abuse and parental death, are horrifying, they enthrall the reader. There is ample content warning, as LaRocca describes the murky depths of humanity.

I received a gifted copy of THIS SKIN WAS ONCE MINE AND OTHER DISTURBANCES by Eric LaRoca, thank you to Titan Books.

THIS SKIN WAS ONCE MINE AND OTHER DISTURBANCES is a new collection of four horror stories. A woman loses her father and must return to the home her mother kicked her out of twenty years prior to uncover family secrets and reexamine her own past. A man arrives at his family home after the death of his mother to find her body still there as strange things begin to happen to him. Two men play a horrible and cruel game. Lastly, a man buys a fancy knife for his husband's dinner party only to be drawn into a new addiction.

I've read and enjoyed (aka been disturbed by in a good way) Eric LaRoca's stories before, so was thrilled to have the opportunity to read this collection in advance of its release. I picked this up during a readathon and kept mentioning during reading sprints that it was unhinged in a good way as I was reading it and I think that is ultimately the best description. This collection definitely has disturbing moments with body horror in particular, but it was just the right level of weird to keep me intrigued and wanting more.

I think LaRoca puts a lot into these stories, even with the relatively short page count (the entire collection of four comes in at only 240 pages). There is a lot about grief and relationships, the good and the twisted. I thought that each story in the collection worked with the others while still standing out individually in my mind.

Definitely be aware of the content warnings of this collection but this was a great array of creepy short stories

Story 1: you could see where it was going with the Dad right away. But then it surprised you by twisting that outcome into something unexpected. I kept thinking I’d reached the horrifying end and then the story would keep going, just getting worse each time. Probably my favourite story of the four.

Story 2: this is a side pet peeve but I feel like people vomit too much in books. There are other ways to show extreme distress other than throwing up. Much shorter, body horror, the weakest of the 4 in my opinion.

Story 3: this one was so weird and uncomfy. Definitely had an element of body horror as well, stronger than in story 2. This one made me feel so uncomfortable, gave my skin the heebie jeebies. Makes you feel jittery, effectively told. And went in a wildly different direction at the end.

Story 4: was short and deranged but affective. I kept wishing we would learn more about the one older man being away for his “health” but not knowing made it more sinister for the reader to fill in the blanks

Themes of the complicated family dynamics, grief, extreme cruelty and deviance

This is a gripping collection of four short horror stories.
THIS SKIN WAS ONCE MINE - Jillians father dies under mysterious circumstances, and she's summoned to the family home she was sent away from 20 years ago by her mother. Struggling through her grief over the man she idolised she discovers a shocking secret that threatens everything she thought she knew about her beloved father.
SEEDLING - When a young man's mother dies he arrives home to find her still in the house. Struggling to come to terms with the news he notices a small black hole on his wrist. He becomes even more unsettled when he realises they are on his father's body too.
ALL THE PARTS THAT WONT EASILY BURN - Enoch Leadbetter goes to buy a fancy knife for his husband where he meets a strange shopkeeper who draws him into an obsession with self mutilation and destruction.
PRICKLE - Two old friends revive a cruel game which have absolutely devastating consequences.

These 4 stories all had me gripped from the first page. This was gripping and so fast paced I flew through it in a couple of hours. I adore Eric LaRoccas writing style. I highly recommend reading the content warnings before going into this book as some stories may be triggering for some people. My favourite was definitely This Skin Was Once Mine as it was haunting and terrifying. I highly recommend.

After reading "Things Have Gotten Worse Since We Last Spoke," I thought Eric LaRocca might not be for me. After reading "This Skin Was Once Mine," I have come to the same conclusion. I generally like body horror and darker themes, but something about these stories just doesn't resonate with me. I would still recommend his books to people who are interested in body horror because I believe LaRocca's books are good examples. I however, will not be reading more.

Thanks NetGalley for a chance to read this ARC in exchange for an honest review.

This book is a riveting compilation that delves into the abyss of human nature with a masterful touch. The author skillfully weaves short stories that explore the darkest corners of the human psyche, leaving readers both disturbed and captivated. The narratives are rich in atmospheric details, creating an immersive experience that lingers long after the book is closed. Each story, though brief, packs a punch, delivering thought-provoking twists and turns that keep you on the edge. While the darkness may be intense, the writing is undeniably brilliant, making this collection a must-read for fans of dark literature fiction. The only reason for withholding that fifth star is a longing for a bit more variety in tone across the tales, but overall, an enthralling journey into the shadows of the human soul.

A collection of four intensely dark horror stories that turns a mirror on the human body and transforms it into something truly disturbing. It takes the complexities and nuanced nature of interpersonal relationships only to dissect it and see just how deeply these relationships can infect our minds, how they can become addictive or obsessive in dangerous ways - each story offering a chilling version of human connection that turns dark.

In our title tale, This Skin Was Once Mine, Jillian’s father dies mysteriously and she returns to the home she’s been exiled from for the last two decades but his death reveals secrets about his past that may make everything she knows a lie. In Seedling, a young man returns home after his father tells him his mother has passed to find her body still laying on the floor with a strange black mark on her wrist, one that is now on his father too. Our third story, all the parts of you that won’t easily burn Enoch is purchasing a knife for his husband to use at a dinner party but meets a strange shopkeeper who lures him into a dangerous and intoxicating new obsession. And our final story, Prickle sees two old friends recount a cruel game from their past and revive it for one last set time with deadly consequences.

Although each individual tale offers a new perspective, a new characters voice, there is a quiet, careful and poetic style of storytelling that moves throughout each title with such vivid, rich detail and settings that almost felt like secondary characters themselves even with the stories being so short.

Intense, uncomfortable but hauntingly beautiful - this is the kind of horror that doesn’t need ghosts and ghouls because it knows we can find plenty of nightmares in the real world.

***This review will go live on Goodreads on 4/1, per the request of the publisher.***

This release is made up of four stories, the first of which is the longest and the title story of the bunch. It was surprisingly my least favorite, and I felt that the quality was not as high as the rest. It was imaginative for sure, but it felt to me like something that could have been written very early in LaRocca’s career when compared to the rest of these pieces, which come across as more polished and developed in both language and content. The title story was also very extreme, and while I do read horror because I enjoy it, that kind of thing doesn't really appeal to me. I will say there was some satisfaction in the ending, at least.

The second story, “Seedling” is SO BIZARRE and disturbing but I liked it a lot more than the first one. I think it has the potential to upset people in an entirely different way than the former story did. I won’t spoil anything but what I liked about “Seedling” was how the narrative is very straightforward until an element of body horror is introduced, but then there’s also a symbolic act between two family members that, while not literal, is deeply taboo and unsettling. So be warned before you read. This piece felt like it belonged on one of those "Craziest Movies I've Ever SEEN!" YouTube compilations I like to watch, and I loved it for that.

The third story, “All the Parts of You That Won’t Easily Burn,” has elements of Clive Barker in it, which is very high praise, and truly it is a dark and twisted tale not for the faint of heart. But much like “Seedling,” it’s weird and it’s violent and I was so intrigued that I read each page delighted to find out where in the world this was going. In a thousand years I wouldn’t have guessed exactly what was about to happen. This one is my favorite, with “Seedling” as a close second. 

The final story, “Prickle,” is interesting but not quite as strong as the previous two. (Though I do like this one more than the title story.) It ends a little bit abruptly, but I see what he was going for and it certainly leaves an impression.

I haven’t read everything by LaRocca, but I have read several, and my reactions have ranged from “This is good/alright” to “This isn’t really for me.” But I remember LOVING “You’ve Lost a Lot of Blood.” So I do recommend that one and most of this collection. Whether you're a fan of LaRocca or not, he definitely isn't afraid to explore deeply disturbing themes in his writing, and he openly admits to working through personal demons while doing so.

Thank you to Netgalley and to the publisher for letting me read this ARC in exchange for my honest review! All my opinions are my own.

Biggest TW: Child abuse, SA, self-harm, chronic illness, incest, cutting

Wow, this is a super dark collection of stories, which should be expecting when picking up something by Eric LaRocca... but damn.

The first story, This Skin Was Once Mine, was my favorite in the collection. It was incredibly bleak and a little heart breaking while being so full of twists that I had no idea were coming. I think that this first story is the one with the heaviest subject matter and requires the most care with going into. The story collection as a whole offers some really interesting insight into many topics like abuse, nature versus nurture, trauma, grief, infidelity, and more. One of the stories, Seedling, was such an intense look into the manifestations of grief and trauma that I was left reeling once the final sentences scrolled by. The last two stories weren't as hard hitting for me but they were equally as disturbing and unsettling and the final scene in the last story will have a lot of people gasping I'm sure.

Overall, I would highly recommend this collection to anyone looking for a quick read that will have you feeling uncomfortable in your own skin.

Content Warnings: self harm, child abuse, attempted suicide, imprisonment, murder, wounds, fire, assault, death of a baby