The writing is stunning in this one, and I really enjoyed it! But the two stories just didn't come together for me at the end and one of them was very dark! So be sure to look up content warnings for this one!

Thank you, Netgalley for this arc

For me, this had a ton of what felt like unnecessary trauma. I thought the concept was cool, but the character development didn’t hit. I don’t feel like ghosts spirit was ever really explained & the homophobes just getting away with the trauma they inflicted felt unfinished.

3.5 stars
I’ve been so excited to finally have a full novel from Larocca, who’s quickly become an auto-read author for me. I’m still trying to figure out exactly how i feel about this one - it’s definitely a bit different for him, the Larocca horror i know and love doesn’t really start to shine until about 3/4ths of the way through the book. and the alternating storylines made it feel more like 2 novellas that were suddenly connected near the end, so it made the book feel a bit disjointed.

my rating is more based on how much I love his writing (although I felt like there were some pretty glaring goofs that should’ve easily been caught in edits - specifically regarding a blind character, we don’t yet know she is blind when introduced to the character and there’s mention of her responding to a facial expression, among other things that didn’t make sense for a blind child), and once we start getting into the horror parts of the novel we get some really interesting religious metaphors. I also appreciate how Eric always tries to include a very diverse cast of characters. and despite its faults, I was never bored with the book and it reads pretty quickly.

I still did enjoy this although I don’t think it’s as strong as I’ve come to expect- maybe he’s just an author that thrives more in shorter form, but i’m definitely still happy he gave us a full novel!

Eric LaRocca is the most talented horror writer of our generation. I'm so glad he's got a full-length novel out in the world.

This was such a creepy weird book. Just how I like them. I enjoyed the two plots. I was equally interested in both stories. I love how it all comes together at the end. I cannot wait to read more by this author. If bizarre horror is your thing, check this out. Thank you to NetGalley and Dreamscape Media for the arc in exchange for my honest review.

I would tell you that you should look at the triggers before reading this book. I did enjoy this story with the terrible triggers in this story. I know a lot of people are not liking the story due to the triggers, but I found them to be needed for this horror story to be horrific. To be able to understand the horrors that some people face. I enjoy the 2 POVs in the story and how they came together at the end.

So haunting dark and creepy. A must read for horror fans. Thank you to the publisher for the ALC. Loved.

Special thanks to Dreamscape and NetGalley for the audiobook of this book.

I tried to listen to this but I couldn't follow at first. When I did follow, I wouldn't recommend this to new readers. This book was disturbing to say the least..

Warning. The rape and hate crimes are very graphic but I found listening to it, it sounded repetetive. Even though there were different POVs, their was not a lot of character development.

Anyway, I think it's a book you'll either like or not.

Thank you Netgalley and the publisher for granting me a free E-ARC of this book in an exchange for an honest review.

Everything The Darkness Eats by Eric LaRocca revolves around a handful of disappearances in a smalltown in Connecticut.

First things first, the premise sounded really great and I really tried to like this audiobook. The narrater did an amazing job, it was just the story that didn't pull me in like I wanted it to. One thing that got to me was that the characters did so many repetitive things. The writing felt also a bit off like how many metaphors do you need in one book?
I almost forgot you need to look at the trigger warnings beforehand diving into this book headfirst. Because there are a lot of them. (For example: grief, terminal illness, homophobia, rape, gore and so on)
In overall it definitely wasn't one of his best works so therefore only two stars.

𝚁𝚊𝚝𝚒𝚗𝚐: 2⭐️
𝙶𝚎𝚗𝚛𝚎: LGBTQIA+ Horror📚

𝙼𝚢 𝚃𝚑𝚘𝚞𝚐𝚑𝚝𝚜:
Honestly, I had know idea what was going on half the time in this book. It was interesting but I got lost so many times. It was repetitive and pretty slow. I enjoyed the LGBTQIA+ aspect and the magical realism but that’s about it.

First off, thank you for giving me the opportunity to listen to this arc!

This book did make me feel vile at times and that is, in most cases, a good testament to a horror novel (IMO). However, I found the plot lacking and struggled to stay engaged during several parts of the audio. When I did sink into the hook of this book, I kind of wish I hadn’t - which again, not a negative in horror.
I liked Ghost and the narrator of this audiobook (although there wasn’t a ton of character development), I also didn’t mind the multiple POVs. What impacted the rating the most for me was the discrepancy in the story, and how certain actions didn’t make sense to the characters or the plot. Especially when it came to our character in law enforcement.
I wouldn’t recommend this to new horror readers, but I would recommend it to some one expanding their library of disturbing books.

Who doesn’t love a horror novel that begins with a cursed archeological expedition? That and other tropes make Eric LaRocca’s “Everything the Darkness Eats” a satisfying read for most horror fans.

Before I go any further, however, this book does need some trigger warnings. Most notably for me, rape and hate crimes. Both are pretty graphic. Other reviewers had a hard time getting through the book as a result.

In this story, we follow multiple perspectives of people living around a rural New England town. Several citizens have gone missing. A mysterious, dashing man who drives a Rolls Royce and claims to sell funeral plots is involved, as is a widower who has a spirit around his neck and a police detective who has been the victim of a hate crime. In different ways, they attempt to bring an end to the paranormal threat facing the town.

This story, narrated well by Andre Santana, draws on a lot of tropes that will remind readers of Joe Hill and Stephen King: the car, the manor house, and the mysterious disappearances. LaRocca, though, doesn’t hold back with the graphic depictions of the struggles his characters are facing. The evil in this story is not just some supernatural being, but also the other people in the town who are bigots or disengaged. It’s a very quick listen if you can stand the darkness, and the ending is not as bleak as the rest of the novel.

I enjoyed it, and though I can’t remember having read other works by this author, I will seek them out. I received this audiobook from NetGalley.

Unfortunately, this book was just not for me. Thank you Netgally for the opportunity to listen to this but I just didn't realize how dark this was.

LaRocca gave us an eerie atmosphere with his delicate wording. The multi-POV in a horror was a bit odd, but it didn't take away from anything.

While I enjoyed this book, I can't say I remember the events. I just remember liking the book.

Oh gosh, what do I even say about Everything the Darkness Eats?

It was an amazing book, but also such a hard and emotional read.
I don't think that I was fully prepared for what I was getting myself into when I started this book. I am still glad that I did read it though.

***Content warnings for this book:
Death, Injury/Injury Detail, Homophobia (including slurs), Graphic Rape, Graphic Sexual Assault, Graphic Abuse, Gore, Murder, Blood, Ritual Sacrifice, Ableism, Home Invasion, Terminal Illness, AIDS, Islamophobia, Grief, Death of a loved one, Death of an infant, Biphobia/Bierasure***

This story is told to us in a narrative form that follows multiple people who are effected by the events happening in the small Connecticut town of Henley's Edge. Our cast of characters is varied and diverse. A group of people who would be impacted by the internal workings of a small town in profound ways that intersect but are also unique and troubling.

I feel like a lot of this story is me going "yup... that tracks" when something happens that does feel into my pre-conceived notions of how a small town would engage with and deal with the particular issues at hand.
I know this is unfair in a lot of ways and it did make me stop and wonder if LaRocca was writing from personal experience, general stereotypical knowledge, or held beliefs?

I did find myself needing breaks from the contents of the books. Don't get me wrong, I am no stranger to a dark and traumatizing book, but something about this one just hit so differently... I am wondering if it was feeding off of my own concerns over treatment I might receive as a trans person in those places.
Harnessing real fears and concerns of those within the communities of the characters to make the struggles and pain feel more real.
I also wonder.... if maybe this would have been less needed had I been reading with my eyes and not my ears.

On that note.. the audio was really good. I loved the flow and tone that Andre Santana brought to the story. The depth that was given to the hard moments and the emotion that was brought into the characters.

Overall, I am happy that I read this book and I am curious to pick up more of their books in the future. I would recommend this book so long as I also gave them the laundry list of trigger warnings.

Literally my only major critique is that there is not a connected list of trigger warnings provided by the author/publisher on the listings.

***I was provided a copy of this book via NetGalley. This review is my honest opinion and thoughts about what I read.***

I do not mind some darkness in a novel, but this work may be a little too bleak. LaRocca's skill has always been make emotions palpable, but when that comes in painful forms it does here it makes for an incredibly difficult read. There's an inordinate amount of sexual abuse in the latter stages of this novel, and every act is treated with such visceral language that it gets quickly sickening. Luckily this doesn't take up too much of the novel, and the first half is incredibly solid, and I loved getting to spend time with the characters early on, but as the story goes on and the fates of characters get darker and darker, one can't help but wish LaRocca had gone at least a tad bit lighter than the pitch black brush he chose to paints the proceedings. There's certainly an audience for this, and it may just be my own sensibilities that can't this level of darkness, but it was a bridge too far for me. It's all the more a pity, as I've adored the author's other works, and this has certainly not done enough to turn me off his work in the future.

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for early access to this book.

I had to break my no DNF rule for this one at about 20%. I am familiar with a lot of LaRocca’s work and felt like this had potential to be good from what I did hear of it but the narrator of this audiobook was soooo unserious like I genuinely was trying not to laugh out loud in tense plot point moments. I might try and get a physical copy of this and give it another try but this audiobook is a no from me.

Unfortunately this didn't work for me. There were different stories that only came together at the VERY end and it just wasn't enough for me. The story felt very disjoint and it was jarring every time I switched POVs. I also was just bored for most of the story. I didn't feel connected to the characters and the plot wasn't noticeable enough throughout. I have heard great things about other Eric LaRocca books though, so I will definitely try some of their other works! I hope they work better for me.

Everybody has a secret, everyone has a fear, everyone has their own monsters.

At Henley’s Edge 5 disappearances have occurred within 5 months. Officer Malik is investigating the disappearance when him and his husband receive a brick through their window with a homophobic message attached. The book follows the two tales concurrently as they slowly converge.

This is a dark occult horror with an LGBT+ storyline and a lot of violence and gore. I won’t quite sure what to make of it to be honest, I felt like the two stories could have been linked better and it just felt like there was something missing for me.

The narrator was great.


 2.5 rounded up.

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

Two parallel stories are being told that randomly intersect at the end.
The first story is that of an older man that is kidnapping elderly people in a small town. He then barters with a young man, Ghost, to basically use him to channel the “spirits”.
The second story is about a gay couple that live in a close-minded neighborhood and become victims of a homophobic crime.

I really believe this book would have been better if it was just two separate stories. The way they mesh at the end felt messy. I also felt like there were a lot of pointless graphic things happening and the author didn’t really explain why. Sometimes it felt like I was just reading a paragraph to see how many awful slurs/stereotypes could be thrown in.

I listened to the audiobook of this and I did enjoy the narration.