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Wretch: or, The Unbecoming of Porcelain Khaw
Not yet published
Expected 24 Mar 26From rising horror star and award-winning author of Things Have Gotten Worse Since We Last Spoke comes a nightmarish, haunting, tech-Gothic thrill ride about sorrow, memory, and the unabashed complexity of love as a transgressive act.
After his husband dies, Simeon Link finds himself overcome by grief and seeking comfort in an unusual support group called The Wretches, who offer an addictive and dangerous source of relief. They introduce Simeon to a curious figure known as Porcelain Khaw—a man with the ability to let those who are grieving have one last intimate moment with their beloved...for a price.
Hallucinatory, fiendish, and destructively beautiful, Wretch transports us to a world where not everything is as it seems, and those we love may be the ones who haunt us most.
After his husband dies, Simeon Link finds himself overcome by grief and seeking comfort in an unusual support group called The Wretches, who offer an addictive and dangerous source of relief. They introduce Simeon to a curious figure known as Porcelain Khaw—a man with the ability to let those who are grieving have one last intimate moment with their beloved...for a price.
Hallucinatory, fiendish, and destructively beautiful, Wretch transports us to a world where not everything is as it seems, and those we love may be the ones who haunt us most.
Kindle Edition
Expected publication March 24, 2026
22 people are currently reading
6006 people want to read
About the author
Eric LaRocca
54 books3,417 followersEric LaRocca (he/they) is a 3x Bram Stoker Award® finalist, a Shirley Jackson Award nominee, and a 2x Splatterpunk Award winner. He was named by Esquire as one of the “Writers Shaping Horror’s Next Golden Age” and praised by Locus as “one of the strongest and most unique voices in contemporary horror fiction.” LaRocca’s notable works include Things Have Gotten Worse Since We Last Spoke, Everything the Darkness Eats, and At Dark, I Become Loathsome. He currently resides in Boston, Massachusetts, with his partner.
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 139 reviews
August 23, 2025
⭐️ ⭐️ ⭐️ ⭐️ ⭐️
Weirdness emanates from these pages like a wafting fragrance of sinful ooze. That’s LaRocca’s speciality, a promise to make the reader squirm in their seat, and he certainly delivers on every last word of that promise in this one.
Prosaic and provocative. Surreal and spellbinding. This book never allows you to feel comfortable, constantly shapeshifting into new forms of astonishment and beguilement.
A story of longing and desperation, of self-reflection and self-deceit. It asks whether the people we love are capable of loving us back with the same fervor, but also whether the way we love others is genuine or invention. It cautions us to avoid losing ourselves in pursuit of perceived ideals. It warns us to open our eyes and see what’s in front of us.
I expected to like this book, but I didn’t expect it to be one of my favorite books of the year. LaRocca really delivered something special with this one.
Weirdness emanates from these pages like a wafting fragrance of sinful ooze. That’s LaRocca’s speciality, a promise to make the reader squirm in their seat, and he certainly delivers on every last word of that promise in this one.
Prosaic and provocative. Surreal and spellbinding. This book never allows you to feel comfortable, constantly shapeshifting into new forms of astonishment and beguilement.
A story of longing and desperation, of self-reflection and self-deceit. It asks whether the people we love are capable of loving us back with the same fervor, but also whether the way we love others is genuine or invention. It cautions us to avoid losing ourselves in pursuit of perceived ideals. It warns us to open our eyes and see what’s in front of us.
I expected to like this book, but I didn’t expect it to be one of my favorite books of the year. LaRocca really delivered something special with this one.
August 23, 2025
A “reverse haunting” is just brilliant! And that twisted ending keeps me up at night! 5 Stars ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️!
July 14, 2025
ARC for review. To be published March 24, 2025.
3 stars
Simeon Link’s husband has died and he is caught in a horrible grief spiral. He comes across an unusual grief support group called the Wretches and hopes they will be able to offer solace. They introduce the possibility that he could have one, final contact with his beloved.
So, is Eric LaRocca under some sort of blood oath contractural provision to put out a novel every month? I JUST read a new book from him (WE ARE ALWAYS TENDER WITH OUR DEAD, releasing September 9, 2025, and now, another? Maybe slow that roll (I don’t even know what that means) and focus on quality. . I liked this book better than TENDER, but neither is as good as the book before both, AT DARK, I BECOME LOATHSOME.
And I get that this is LaRocca and all, but, um, love is not sex, right?
3 stars
Simeon Link’s husband has died and he is caught in a horrible grief spiral. He comes across an unusual grief support group called the Wretches and hopes they will be able to offer solace. They introduce the possibility that he could have one, final contact with his beloved.
So, is Eric LaRocca under some sort of blood oath contractural provision to put out a novel every month? I JUST read a new book from him (WE ARE ALWAYS TENDER WITH OUR DEAD, releasing September 9, 2025, and now, another? Maybe slow that roll (I don’t even know what that means) and focus on quality. . I liked this book better than TENDER, but neither is as good as the book before both, AT DARK, I BECOME LOATHSOME.
And I get that this is LaRocca and all, but, um, love is not sex, right?
September 23, 2025
There are some of LaRocca’s works that I’ve loved, but recently they have felt like misses. This one included, unfortunately.
Soooo many words, dense descriptive language for EVERYTHING. Superfluous descriptive language, as if the author is trying to hit a word count. And yeah the book was a little unsettling? Mostly just uncomfortable and awkward, but none of it was scary horror at all. All the squirm just came from secondhand embarrassment.
Thank you to Saga Press and NetGalley for e-book ARC.
Soooo many words, dense descriptive language for EVERYTHING. Superfluous descriptive language, as if the author is trying to hit a word count. And yeah the book was a little unsettling? Mostly just uncomfortable and awkward, but none of it was scary horror at all. All the squirm just came from secondhand embarrassment.
Thank you to Saga Press and NetGalley for e-book ARC.
October 5, 2025
This book introduces Simeon, a man grappling with suicidal thoughts following the death of his husband.
While Simeon is painted as a tragic figure, I felt no sympathy for him. It’s not that unlikeable characters are inherently bad, but in a story centered around grief, you should at least want to feel something. Instead, Simeon's presence becomes grating, and I found myself more irritated than moved.
Then there's the Wretches support group that barely gets any attention. Which it’s the name of the book so that’s alittle surprising…
In the end, this novel reads like it’s trying too hard to be profound, but ends up lost in its own prose, leaving its characters and readers stranded without connection.
Thank you for the publisher and NetGalley for the eARC.
While Simeon is painted as a tragic figure, I felt no sympathy for him. It’s not that unlikeable characters are inherently bad, but in a story centered around grief, you should at least want to feel something. Instead, Simeon's presence becomes grating, and I found myself more irritated than moved.
Then there's the Wretches support group that barely gets any attention. Which it’s the name of the book so that’s alittle surprising…
In the end, this novel reads like it’s trying too hard to be profound, but ends up lost in its own prose, leaving its characters and readers stranded without connection.
Thank you for the publisher and NetGalley for the eARC.
November 27, 2025
Eric Larocca at his Eric Larocciest - i feel like i say the same thing about his books, if you liked one you’ll probably like at least most of his others; if you didn’t like one he probably isn’t for you.
He’s cemented himself as one of my fav horror authors from the past few years and i’ve given most of his stuff 5 stars, Wretch is possibly his darkest novel so far. He writes gruesome, dark, detailed horror that usually revolves around queer or queer-adjacent characters, and touches a lot on sexual identity and grief. This book is best going into blind, but like i said if you’ve enjoyed other works from Larocca you should like this one too.
He’s cemented himself as one of my fav horror authors from the past few years and i’ve given most of his stuff 5 stars, Wretch is possibly his darkest novel so far. He writes gruesome, dark, detailed horror that usually revolves around queer or queer-adjacent characters, and touches a lot on sexual identity and grief. This book is best going into blind, but like i said if you’ve enjoyed other works from Larocca you should like this one too.
December 15, 2025
Refracting the bleakest of lights upon ourselves, Wretch by Eric LaRocca reads like a jagged, fractured mirror, its shards digging deep into the truth of ourselves, not just the parts we wish to hold true. In the context of grief, depravity directed towards others and the self seems to run rampant, a raging bull in a fragile shop filled with gleaming porcelain and delicate mirrors. This is very true for Simeon Link after he loses his husband, a loss with seemingly unending reverberations through Simeon’s life. Enter The Wretches, a grief “support” group that searches for meaning in the mundane now tainted by loss. But Simeon needs more than what The Wretches have to offer, a fact that leads him to the doorstep of the puzzling Porcelain Khaw, a man who can allegedly bring the departed forward for one last encounter. Driven by an all-consuming desire to rid himself of sorrow and fill himself with his beloved, Simeon finds what unsettling reality lies at the end of this macabre road, one paved in anguish and suffering.
Eric LaRocca pens Wretch with an incredible amount of poetic precision, unraveling the story of Simeon Link with an atmosphere of subjective realism through unique perspective. From the very first page, readers are made to feel drawn in to Simeon’s struggle for closure amidst a sea of grief, an experience that is wholly universal to the human condition. Yet, as the chapters progress, the realities behind Simeon’s state become known at the perfect times, layers unfolding to create deep dread and undoubted unsettledness. With such unease spreading like wildfire, it’s hard to fathom a conclusion that ends in neatness.
However, LaRocca delivers one of the most complete, horribly harmonious endings made possible through a cacophony of stark revelations, cycles with no end, and concentrated horror. Any sense of footing within this plot is absolutely obliterated thanks to the way this novel unfolds, an artful decay of notions previously believed to be fact. Wretch is the kind of novel that asks looming questions regarding hunger, desire, entitlement, and contaminated perception. LaRocca provides answers in earnest, taking the form of all we wish to push away.
Penned with prose that aches with hurt and desire, Eric LaRocca explores the demented repetition of despair perpetuated by grief with Wretch. Such a story elicits deep contemplation surrounding the endless nature of sadness, the contamination it seems to so easily breed under the best (worst) conditions. Possession no longer only belongs to demons or the dead in these pages; no, the living are more than capable of this kind of ruthless hold with little regard for care. Gruesome, gutting, and grotesque, Wretch is a harrowing union of possession and grief, forming a monstrously gorgeous modern horror story.
Eric LaRocca pens Wretch with an incredible amount of poetic precision, unraveling the story of Simeon Link with an atmosphere of subjective realism through unique perspective. From the very first page, readers are made to feel drawn in to Simeon’s struggle for closure amidst a sea of grief, an experience that is wholly universal to the human condition. Yet, as the chapters progress, the realities behind Simeon’s state become known at the perfect times, layers unfolding to create deep dread and undoubted unsettledness. With such unease spreading like wildfire, it’s hard to fathom a conclusion that ends in neatness.
However, LaRocca delivers one of the most complete, horribly harmonious endings made possible through a cacophony of stark revelations, cycles with no end, and concentrated horror. Any sense of footing within this plot is absolutely obliterated thanks to the way this novel unfolds, an artful decay of notions previously believed to be fact. Wretch is the kind of novel that asks looming questions regarding hunger, desire, entitlement, and contaminated perception. LaRocca provides answers in earnest, taking the form of all we wish to push away.
Penned with prose that aches with hurt and desire, Eric LaRocca explores the demented repetition of despair perpetuated by grief with Wretch. Such a story elicits deep contemplation surrounding the endless nature of sadness, the contamination it seems to so easily breed under the best (worst) conditions. Possession no longer only belongs to demons or the dead in these pages; no, the living are more than capable of this kind of ruthless hold with little regard for care. Gruesome, gutting, and grotesque, Wretch is a harrowing union of possession and grief, forming a monstrously gorgeous modern horror story.
September 23, 2025
Eric LaRocca does it again! This was wild, grotesque, emotional, disturbing, and such a fun ride! I had an incredible time reading this and THE ENDING!! This book has topics of grief, loneliness, obsession, self-reflection, trauma, hopelessness, suffering and so much more. It was soooo good! I highly recommend this to anyone who likes horror!!
Thank you to Netgalley and Saga Press for sending me an e-arc to read and enjoy!
Thank you to Netgalley and Saga Press for sending me an e-arc to read and enjoy!
September 25, 2025
Another fantastic piece of work from LaRocca! I was fortunate enough to score an ARC through NetGalley and the author and boy did this book exceed my expectations and then some. This book wrecked me much like the authors previous works.
Wretch is a terrifying decent into uncertainty. The reader is left trying to piece together what’s real vs what isn’t. This is perfect for fans of psychological horror with grief and those who love a sharp and poetic prose.
Highly recommend! Wretch releases on March 24th, 2026. Thank you to NetGalley and Eric LaRocca for this ARC.
Wretch is a terrifying decent into uncertainty. The reader is left trying to piece together what’s real vs what isn’t. This is perfect for fans of psychological horror with grief and those who love a sharp and poetic prose.
Highly recommend! Wretch releases on March 24th, 2026. Thank you to NetGalley and Eric LaRocca for this ARC.
October 2, 2025
Eric LaRocca is an author that I always find myself gravitating towards. I'm not sure why considering that a lot of their most recent endeavors have been either fine or just plain bad--but there are a few shining examples that I actually really enjoyed and own copies of.
This however was another mis-fire... and keep in mind that's about 3 in a row now.
The idea of a "reverse haunting" sounds cool. The idea of being so locked up in your grief that your desperate to manifest their image because that's what you are training yourself to see in order to cope--haunting their spirit and their peace just for your own comfort. And being indoctrinated into a group that feeds on each other's misery and grief by tasking you with taking picture of these 'hauntings'?
There's a lot that LaRocca could've done with this idea but it's wasted on a story that starts off on the wrong foot and drags on, is unengaging for the most part, cringey characters, and on top of that feels like a Cassandra Khaw book with how 'thesaurus-y' it feels.
I will say that the experimentation with mixed media in this book was interesting. I love to see books incorporate unconventional styles. And part three and the epilogue (the book is split into a prologue, three parts, and an epilogue) flipped the book on it's head and I found myself interested in seeing it to the end. But getting to that point was such a slog that I'm not sure I would recommend the whole book. It would be so much better if it was condensed and added as a short story in one of LaRocca's short story collections.
I'm trying so hard to stay on the bandwagon but I feel like I'm being dragged behind it. Please Eric LaRocca... slow down a little bit and focus a little more on storyboarding instead of trying to meet a two-per-year quota.
*Thank you to Netgalley for providing me an ARC copy of this book. All opinions expressed are entirely my own*
This however was another mis-fire... and keep in mind that's about 3 in a row now.
The idea of a "reverse haunting" sounds cool. The idea of being so locked up in your grief that your desperate to manifest their image because that's what you are training yourself to see in order to cope--haunting their spirit and their peace just for your own comfort. And being indoctrinated into a group that feeds on each other's misery and grief by tasking you with taking picture of these 'hauntings'?
There's a lot that LaRocca could've done with this idea but it's wasted on a story that starts off on the wrong foot and drags on, is unengaging for the most part, cringey characters, and on top of that feels like a Cassandra Khaw book with how 'thesaurus-y' it feels.
I will say that the experimentation with mixed media in this book was interesting. I love to see books incorporate unconventional styles. And part three and the epilogue (the book is split into a prologue, three parts, and an epilogue) flipped the book on it's head and I found myself interested in seeing it to the end. But getting to that point was such a slog that I'm not sure I would recommend the whole book. It would be so much better if it was condensed and added as a short story in one of LaRocca's short story collections.
I'm trying so hard to stay on the bandwagon but I feel like I'm being dragged behind it. Please Eric LaRocca... slow down a little bit and focus a little more on storyboarding instead of trying to meet a two-per-year quota.
*Thank you to Netgalley for providing me an ARC copy of this book. All opinions expressed are entirely my own*
December 6, 2025
a short novel (under 200 pages) that manages to overstay its welcome. verbose, heady and titillating with the promise of an uneasy, culty horror. it sounds fantastic but somehow larocca fumbles the execution, and i was just left wanting.
thanking the publishers & netgalley for the ARC.
thanking the publishers & netgalley for the ARC.
November 14, 2025
Apparently, my comfort genre is just grief and rot now, because Wretch delivered both.
Simeon is lost after his husband’s death and joins a grief support group called The Wretches. There he learns of Porcelain Khaw, a man who says he can help people see their loved ones again. At first, it feels like something that might actually help him, but it slowly turns into something a lot darker and more unsettling.
This one hooked me from the start, and once things began to fall apart, I couldn’t stop reading. It starts off dripping in grief before sliding into something strange and almost dreamlike by the end. At one point, the story takes this turn involving beetles, and what happens to Simeon there was pretty wild. It’s trippy and honestly one of my favorite parts of the book. I love when a story leans into that kind of surreal, mind-bending space, and Eric nailed it. It’s disturbing, but in a way that really gets you thinking. It made me sit with the idea of control, loss, and what happens when you stop being yourself.
It’s pretty emotional and definitely unnerving from start to finish. Check the trigger warnings, because it gets dark, but if that kind of story’s your thing, it’s so worth it. Five stars, easily one of my favorites this year.
Simeon is lost after his husband’s death and joins a grief support group called The Wretches. There he learns of Porcelain Khaw, a man who says he can help people see their loved ones again. At first, it feels like something that might actually help him, but it slowly turns into something a lot darker and more unsettling.
This one hooked me from the start, and once things began to fall apart, I couldn’t stop reading. It starts off dripping in grief before sliding into something strange and almost dreamlike by the end. At one point, the story takes this turn involving beetles, and what happens to Simeon there was pretty wild. It’s trippy and honestly one of my favorite parts of the book. I love when a story leans into that kind of surreal, mind-bending space, and Eric nailed it. It’s disturbing, but in a way that really gets you thinking. It made me sit with the idea of control, loss, and what happens when you stop being yourself.
It’s pretty emotional and definitely unnerving from start to finish. Check the trigger warnings, because it gets dark, but if that kind of story’s your thing, it’s so worth it. Five stars, easily one of my favorites this year.
November 7, 2025
Wretch is a super and I mean super slow burn, following the POV of Simeon Link, a widower. Simeon, although he is grieving, I personally found him hard to like - and it wasn't his grief that it made it this way. It was just Simeon being Simeon.
The more the book goes on, and the more you get to know and SEE Simeon for who and what he truly is, you understand exactly how he ended up in the situation he is in. I shook my head so much, side eyed and just shuttered so much reading this book. AND I JUDGED, HARD!!!! When it got to the 77% mark, and I said "Oh, brother"; I just knew it was going to go downhill from there and it did. Everything that came next was wild.
Now, even though this book started slow, and I mean slow, it was worth continuing. Because the way this book explained every question I had and ended on such a cliff hanger that left me STANDING with my KINDLE in HAND!!! LaRocca HOW DARE YOU!!! I would read a part two. I NEED MORE OF Porcelain Khaw. That's a POV I would clock in for.
Overall, the book was worth the read. I would def suggest it to friends.
I received a copy of this ARC from NetGalley.
The more the book goes on, and the more you get to know and SEE Simeon for who and what he truly is, you understand exactly how he ended up in the situation he is in. I shook my head so much, side eyed and just shuttered so much reading this book. AND I JUDGED, HARD!!!! When it got to the 77% mark, and I said "Oh, brother"; I just knew it was going to go downhill from there and it did. Everything that came next was wild.
Now, even though this book started slow, and I mean slow, it was worth continuing. Because the way this book explained every question I had and ended on such a cliff hanger that left me STANDING with my KINDLE in HAND!!! LaRocca HOW DARE YOU!!! I would read a part two. I NEED MORE OF Porcelain Khaw. That's a POV I would clock in for.
Overall, the book was worth the read. I would def suggest it to friends.
I received a copy of this ARC from NetGalley.
August 19, 2025
This book fell flat for me in multiple places. It felt.. cringey in a way. For about 2-3 chapters all you read about is how the main character continuously wants to take a razor and end it all and whereas I get why and the sentiment for it it really affected the way the book read. He refused to get out of his grief and even at one point fucked his ex wife thinking that was going to help. Obviously grief makes people do weird things but the way Simeon was written I didn't feel pity or sadness for him at all. I found him totally annoying. Especially when we got a chapter talking about how he could only think about throwing his child in the alligator exhibit????!
Some chapters were extremely long, and I love a chapter as good long chapter as much as the next person but in a book like this it made no sense to have entire chapters dedicated to blog posts, I feel it could use some trimming because it felt like filler at some points and the plot was being overrun with it.
I wish I could've enjoyed this more then I did.
Thank you to Netgalley and Saga Press for an e-arc in exchange for an honest review.
Some chapters were extremely long, and I love a chapter as good long chapter as much as the next person but in a book like this it made no sense to have entire chapters dedicated to blog posts, I feel it could use some trimming because it felt like filler at some points and the plot was being overrun with it.
I wish I could've enjoyed this more then I did.
Thank you to Netgalley and Saga Press for an e-arc in exchange for an honest review.
October 10, 2025
As always LaRocca does grief horror like no other.
The lines are reality blur as the possible truth leaks out. The mind is such a powerful place even in a broken state. Our main character finds out just how far the rabbit hole goes while searching for answers he just doesn’t want to see. It’s dark, beautiful, and poetic. Thank you to netgalley and the publisher for the arc copy
The lines are reality blur as the possible truth leaks out. The mind is such a powerful place even in a broken state. Our main character finds out just how far the rabbit hole goes while searching for answers he just doesn’t want to see. It’s dark, beautiful, and poetic. Thank you to netgalley and the publisher for the arc copy
December 2, 2025
~thank you to the author, the publisher & NetGalley forgiving me a chance to read & review this book~
I don’t get it. I didn’t even understand half of what was happening. Reading the excerpt, I was expecting to find out more about that but …. Idk. I felt like the book was just random writing and all jumbled and didn’t make sense. I’m just confused.
I don’t get it. I didn’t even understand half of what was happening. Reading the excerpt, I was expecting to find out more about that but …. Idk. I felt like the book was just random writing and all jumbled and didn’t make sense. I’m just confused.
August 27, 2025
I've always had a mixed response to Eric LaRocca books, but no matter what I know I'm going to have a time. So when I saw he had a new book coming out I was so excited to get an ARC for it. But then this book was the most boring thing I've read in a long time. I don't know how a book less than 200 pages can be this slow! Every thought was repeated for PAGES.
Wretch is about Simeon, who after the death of his husband is having a hard time adjusting. He's searching online for any connection and is led to a group called the Wretches, and eventually a man named Porcelain Khaw with the promise of being connected to his dead husband.
Besides the incredibly slow and honestly bad writing, there were so many issues with this book. There were so many moments I had to put it down to look around and see if anyone else had read the same thing as me. While the story is about a gay man, it felt so incredibly homophobic - making comments like only heterosexual people can be monogamous, gay people are built different? And it wasn't just our MC, every queer relationship in this book seemed so problematic.
There are so many things I could go on about, but the I'm going to stick with this as my final thought. The ending? I see so many people going on about how amazing the twist is. But it was dumb! The reason no one could guess it is because the character in question was so flat and had no personality that no one expected him to do anything except stand there (what he literally does for 95% of the book).
Thanks to Netgalley and Saga Press for giving me a copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.
Wretch is about Simeon, who after the death of his husband is having a hard time adjusting. He's searching online for any connection and is led to a group called the Wretches, and eventually a man named Porcelain Khaw with the promise of being connected to his dead husband.
Besides the incredibly slow and honestly bad writing, there were so many issues with this book. There were so many moments I had to put it down to look around and see if anyone else had read the same thing as me. While the story is about a gay man, it felt so incredibly homophobic - making comments like only heterosexual people can be monogamous, gay people are built different? And it wasn't just our MC, every queer relationship in this book seemed so problematic.
There are so many things I could go on about, but the I'm going to stick with this as my final thought. The ending? I see so many people going on about how amazing the twist is. But it was dumb! The reason no one could guess it is because the character in question was so flat and had no personality that no one expected him to do anything except stand there (what he literally does for 95% of the book).
Thanks to Netgalley and Saga Press for giving me a copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.
August 24, 2025
Blurb / Summary:
Wretch follows Simeon Link, a grieving husband who joins a secret group called The Wretches—people who believe photographs can reveal glimpses of the dead. From there he encounters the haunting figure of Porcelain Khaw, who promises one final reunion with his husband… though nothing about the process is simple, or safe. What unfolds is a surreal, grief-soaked descent where memory, obsession, and horror bleed together.
My Thoughts (⭐️⭐️⭐️):
This book feels like wandering through a dream where every hallway is lined with old photographs and none of the faces are smiling 📸🖤. LaRocca captures grief in a way that is raw, poetic, and sometimes unsettlingly beautiful. There are passages that ache in a way only deep loss can.
That said, the story moves in slow, spiraling circles, echoing Simeon’s obsession. It’s less about scares and more about atmosphere—like sitting in a candlelit room where the shadows whisper but never fully step forward 🕯️👁️. By the time the ending came, I was left feeling hollow, which I think was the point… but it didn’t fully land for me.
Final Verdict:
⭐️⭐️⭐️ — A haunting meditation on grief dressed as horror. Dark, lyrical, and dreamlike—but heavy and repetitive at times. If you want a horror story that feels like poetry carved into grief itself, this might be for you. 🌑📖
Wretch follows Simeon Link, a grieving husband who joins a secret group called The Wretches—people who believe photographs can reveal glimpses of the dead. From there he encounters the haunting figure of Porcelain Khaw, who promises one final reunion with his husband… though nothing about the process is simple, or safe. What unfolds is a surreal, grief-soaked descent where memory, obsession, and horror bleed together.
My Thoughts (⭐️⭐️⭐️):
This book feels like wandering through a dream where every hallway is lined with old photographs and none of the faces are smiling 📸🖤. LaRocca captures grief in a way that is raw, poetic, and sometimes unsettlingly beautiful. There are passages that ache in a way only deep loss can.
That said, the story moves in slow, spiraling circles, echoing Simeon’s obsession. It’s less about scares and more about atmosphere—like sitting in a candlelit room where the shadows whisper but never fully step forward 🕯️👁️. By the time the ending came, I was left feeling hollow, which I think was the point… but it didn’t fully land for me.
Final Verdict:
⭐️⭐️⭐️ — A haunting meditation on grief dressed as horror. Dark, lyrical, and dreamlike—but heavy and repetitive at times. If you want a horror story that feels like poetry carved into grief itself, this might be for you. 🌑📖
August 30, 2025
I first discovered Eric LaRocca through reading his book At Night, I Become Loathsome (I still haven't recovered enough from that one to write a review). First, I'll say that you don't simply read a book by this author. You experience it; it lives and breathes within you, you will think about it when you're not reading it, and when you finish it, you will want to tell others about it. Since I've now read two of this author's works, I've decided that he is the king of emotional horror. Or, alternatively, the king of writing things you can't look away from, no matter how disturbing or uncomfortable you are. You know what his writing really reminds me of? One of the last chapters of Don't Push the Button by John Skipp, entitled "The Logic of Depression in a World Made of Pain." Love and suffering, suffering and love. Powerlessness. Hopelessness. We're not alone in our feelings; the kicker is whether we're willing to face them, and horror does this. Thank you, Mr. LaRocca, for not shying away from the various nightmares we all face at some point or another, but instead helping us face them a little bit at a time through your books and characters. Thank you to Saga Press | S&S/Saga Pressfor providing this book for review consideration via NetGalley. All opinions are my own.
December 3, 2025
ARC
I'd like to thank Saga Press and NetGalley for the chance to give "Wretch: or, The Unbecoming of Porcelain Khaw" an early read in return for an honest review.
Within "Wretch", we find La Rocca at his most accessible. This is a story about loss, grief, and hauntings, which are typically found within their novels, but this one is told in a way that most people would be able to find some sort of common ground within. While this may be an LGBTQIA+ story, the sentiment behind it remains something that nearly anyone who has lost someone they are close to can feel.
I was surprised to find this to be a much more tame read than I had anticipated it to be. There are a few gross-out moments, but overall, this was a fairly easy and tame novel to sit through. As I've come to find out, LaRocca's writing style here is smooth and quick, even when it does dive into deeper, more complex ideas that Simeon, our main character, mulls over. Having read other of LaRocca's works fairly recently, I can confidently say that this novel shows his consistency; when reading a LaRocca novel, you know that you're going to be in for a surprise, whether it be the subject matter or deeper, overall themes, but they're all told in a way that makes you think deeper.
While this may be LaRocca's easiest novel to read, I still think that it is going to alienate a lot of people. It's an LGBTQIA+ story, which I know a lot of people wouldn't be able to overlook. But, for those willing to give this story a chance, it's a strangely relatable novel that has plenty of emotional highs and lows, along with some classic LaRocca horrors.
Be sure to give "Wretch: or, The Unbecoming of Porcelain Khaw" a read when it is published on March 24, 2026!
I'd like to thank Saga Press and NetGalley for the chance to give "Wretch: or, The Unbecoming of Porcelain Khaw" an early read in return for an honest review.
Within "Wretch", we find La Rocca at his most accessible. This is a story about loss, grief, and hauntings, which are typically found within their novels, but this one is told in a way that most people would be able to find some sort of common ground within. While this may be an LGBTQIA+ story, the sentiment behind it remains something that nearly anyone who has lost someone they are close to can feel.
I was surprised to find this to be a much more tame read than I had anticipated it to be. There are a few gross-out moments, but overall, this was a fairly easy and tame novel to sit through. As I've come to find out, LaRocca's writing style here is smooth and quick, even when it does dive into deeper, more complex ideas that Simeon, our main character, mulls over. Having read other of LaRocca's works fairly recently, I can confidently say that this novel shows his consistency; when reading a LaRocca novel, you know that you're going to be in for a surprise, whether it be the subject matter or deeper, overall themes, but they're all told in a way that makes you think deeper.
While this may be LaRocca's easiest novel to read, I still think that it is going to alienate a lot of people. It's an LGBTQIA+ story, which I know a lot of people wouldn't be able to overlook. But, for those willing to give this story a chance, it's a strangely relatable novel that has plenty of emotional highs and lows, along with some classic LaRocca horrors.
Be sure to give "Wretch: or, The Unbecoming of Porcelain Khaw" a read when it is published on March 24, 2026!
September 28, 2025
thank you to the publisher/arc team for letting me get my greedy little hands on this book early!!
there is a long list of quotes, deep dives, and yap sessions i could have and still i don’t think that would cover the surface as to what this book is even about. the meaning. one’s own interpretation of it.
it’s a ride. a weird bug filled ride.
but while it is weird and leaves you confused, repulsed, aching, frustrated, and torn; it is also an amazing take on grief. how haunting it feels, hollow, desolate. the desperation of grieving someone you love.
some of the quotes in the book showcasing the human condition, gayness, grief, the cruelty we as humans can still spread to someone even after they die is just chef’s kiss amazing. i wish i had more words, excerpts i could post, because reading this book is a whole experience i don’t think i could ever explain other than if you’ve ever grieved someone, whether alive or not, this books is going to woo your mind!
there is a long list of quotes, deep dives, and yap sessions i could have and still i don’t think that would cover the surface as to what this book is even about. the meaning. one’s own interpretation of it.
it’s a ride. a weird bug filled ride.
but while it is weird and leaves you confused, repulsed, aching, frustrated, and torn; it is also an amazing take on grief. how haunting it feels, hollow, desolate. the desperation of grieving someone you love.
some of the quotes in the book showcasing the human condition, gayness, grief, the cruelty we as humans can still spread to someone even after they die is just chef’s kiss amazing. i wish i had more words, excerpts i could post, because reading this book is a whole experience i don’t think i could ever explain other than if you’ve ever grieved someone, whether alive or not, this books is going to woo your mind!
December 11, 2025
first off, i'd like to thank netgalley, saga press, and eric larocca for providing me with an advanced copy of WRETCH in return for an honest review! this was my first time reading anything by larocca, and after this book, i have become a fan of their prose and a fan of how they can make me uncomfortably squirm while reading disturbing details throughout the novel (i loved it!)
in my humble opinion, this is grief horror at its finest, definitely a fever dream of a book that will haunt me for a while. the ending absolutely destroyed me, and i may be billing larocca for my next therapy session. because we read horror responsibly around here, i do recommend checking the trigger warnings for this book-- while this novel is beautifully written and cut me like a knife, there are some sensitive topics and scenes that may not be for everyone.
i cannot wait to add the rest of larocca's work onto my TBR and dive into whatever else they have written!
in my humble opinion, this is grief horror at its finest, definitely a fever dream of a book that will haunt me for a while. the ending absolutely destroyed me, and i may be billing larocca for my next therapy session. because we read horror responsibly around here, i do recommend checking the trigger warnings for this book-- while this novel is beautifully written and cut me like a knife, there are some sensitive topics and scenes that may not be for everyone.
i cannot wait to add the rest of larocca's work onto my TBR and dive into whatever else they have written!
December 15, 2025
A classic Eric LaRocca tale full of distasteful and horrendous acts that’ll leave you questioning your own morals — how far would you go and what would you be willing to do, to be reunited with the person that you love the most in the world? Would you let grief consume you so fully and deeply, that you’re unable to see any reason?
Wretch beautifully explores grief and how it affects your whole being and how often, we are not the ones being haunted by the dead but rather, we haunt the dead with our own grief. It’s grim, disgusting and macabre, but so well written and deeply thoughtful in its exploration of grief.
The ending as superb and I think worth it. I, at least, didn’t fully realise that that’s how it would end but it felt true to the story! Honestly, can’t wait to get my hands on a physical copy of this gorgeous book (I LOVE the cover!).
/// ARC courtesy of Saga Press, Eric LaRocca and Edelweiss.
Wretch beautifully explores grief and how it affects your whole being and how often, we are not the ones being haunted by the dead but rather, we haunt the dead with our own grief. It’s grim, disgusting and macabre, but so well written and deeply thoughtful in its exploration of grief.
The ending as superb and I think worth it. I, at least, didn’t fully realise that that’s how it would end but it felt true to the story! Honestly, can’t wait to get my hands on a physical copy of this gorgeous book (I LOVE the cover!).
/// ARC courtesy of Saga Press, Eric LaRocca and Edelweiss.
September 23, 2025
Thank you to Net Galley, Saga Press Books, And Eric Larroca for the digital ARC of this book. This was a particularly hard one to grade. The writing was top notch. The concept was new and the characters well fleshed out. Our main subject is a man who is in deep grief over the death of his husband. He is in so much grief that he turns to unusual outlets to help him get a grip on his life.
The horror is visceral and it did remind me of vintage Clive Barker. The problem was that it was very very bleak. It's not just that the main character was unlikeable. He was sad on a colossal scale. I walked away from this in a bit of a funk.
For readers of Clive Barker this may be your ticket. 3 1/2 stars rounded up to four.
The horror is visceral and it did remind me of vintage Clive Barker. The problem was that it was very very bleak. It's not just that the main character was unlikeable. He was sad on a colossal scale. I walked away from this in a bit of a funk.
For readers of Clive Barker this may be your ticket. 3 1/2 stars rounded up to four.
November 24, 2025
I've read a lot of LaRocca and really enjoy his writing. Aside from Things Have Gotten Worse Since We Last Spoke, this is probably my favorite of his. My stomach churned at multiple points, but not due to any of the goriness - purely because of the gritty bits of what it means to be human and grieving and the complexities of that grief!!!
Horrified. Absolutely horrified!!!
Thank you to NetGalley for an ARC in exchange for an honest review.
Horrified. Absolutely horrified!!!
Thank you to NetGalley for an ARC in exchange for an honest review.
August 17, 2025
Okay, first of all, can we talk about this cover?! It immediately grabbed my attention and made me want to dive in.
I really enjoyed this one. The story had me hooked, and I couldn’t help but feel so bad for Simone throughout. It definitely pulled at my emotions.
I have never read anything quite like this before, which made it such a refreshing read. Solid 4 stars from me!
I really enjoyed this one. The story had me hooked, and I couldn’t help but feel so bad for Simone throughout. It definitely pulled at my emotions.
I have never read anything quite like this before, which made it such a refreshing read. Solid 4 stars from me!
November 14, 2025
thanks to netgalley and the publisher for a free arc of this title! holy hell, eric larocca has done it again. dripping with gorgeous, disgusting prose, queer longing, and visceral, painful depictions of grief, wretch shocked me through and through. loved the nestled narratives that i've come to expect from larocca's work, little nesting dolls of story within, but the gut punch of this story is truly the final chapters. twist after twist after twist had me reeling in the final pages. excellent, as always.
August 25, 2025
This book is like a bowl of rotting fruit, painted up to resemble a hauntingly beautiful still life; a painful reminder of the beauty that once was ....
A story that reads like a grotesque mosaic of love and loss and grief.
I absolutely loved it. 5 stars.
A story that reads like a grotesque mosaic of love and loss and grief.
I absolutely loved it. 5 stars.
Want to read
July 8, 2025This cover!!!!
October 12, 2025
Unfortunately, I don't have anything positive to say about Wretch. It was a boring trudge through the thickest word-syrup I've ever encountered. The only frightening aspect of this horror novel is how genuinely exhausting it was to read and how pathetic the narrator, Simeon, behaves. I don't even dislike him. He's such a monotonous main character that to feel any emotion toward him seems like a waste of time. Maybe I just don't get it.
I LOVE the cover though.
I LOVE the cover though.
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