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Burnt Sparrow #2
We Turn Gruesome At Night
Not yet published
Expected 8 Sep 26The nightmarish second installment of a new trilogy of provocative, disruptive and brutally poetic queer horror set in a small New England town.
From the Bram Stoker Award® finalist and Splatterpunk Award-winning author of Things Have Gotten Worse Since We Last Spoke, an intense, claustrophobic literary horror that is perfect for fans of Agustina Bazterrica, Mariana Enriquez and Paul Tremblay.
Ten years after the devastating massacre that occurred on Christmas morning in 2003 and the community of Burnt Sparrow, NH struggles to move forward. Meanwhile, Rupert Cromwell and Gladys Esherwood find themselves trapped in End House and suffering unbearable monotony day in and day out. When a town courier named Pierce arrives at End House and introduces Rupert to a secret organization known as The Perdido Society, Rupert discovers a deeply intricate and intensely sinister web of secrets spreading through the town. It isn't long before more blood is spilled, shameful transgressions are revealed, and temptations are finally satisfied.
Captivating and profoundly unnerving, this is the story of two lost souls who are sent on an odyssey into the depths of depravity only for them to discover that it's quite easy to turn monstrous, to become the thing you once despised. Lyrical, nihilistic and brutally poetic, this is shocking, unflinching, must-read horror from an author at the top of his game.
From the Bram Stoker Award® finalist and Splatterpunk Award-winning author of Things Have Gotten Worse Since We Last Spoke, an intense, claustrophobic literary horror that is perfect for fans of Agustina Bazterrica, Mariana Enriquez and Paul Tremblay.
Ten years after the devastating massacre that occurred on Christmas morning in 2003 and the community of Burnt Sparrow, NH struggles to move forward. Meanwhile, Rupert Cromwell and Gladys Esherwood find themselves trapped in End House and suffering unbearable monotony day in and day out. When a town courier named Pierce arrives at End House and introduces Rupert to a secret organization known as The Perdido Society, Rupert discovers a deeply intricate and intensely sinister web of secrets spreading through the town. It isn't long before more blood is spilled, shameful transgressions are revealed, and temptations are finally satisfied.
Captivating and profoundly unnerving, this is the story of two lost souls who are sent on an odyssey into the depths of depravity only for them to discover that it's quite easy to turn monstrous, to become the thing you once despised. Lyrical, nihilistic and brutally poetic, this is shocking, unflinching, must-read horror from an author at the top of his game.
Kindle Edition
Expected publication September 8, 2026
About the author
Eric LaRocca
55 books3,625 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 - 17 of 17 reviews
Review of advance copy received from Publisher
Reading for review in a future issue of Booklist
Three Words That Describe This Book: crossing thresholds, extreme horror meets Gothic, engrossing
Other words: claustrophobic, epic, immersive, disturbing and yet, you cannot look away. Great use of stories within stories.
When you read this book, terrible things are happening. They begin bad-- Rupert and Gladys have been trapped in End House for 10 years since readers last saw them. Burst Sparrow is still a rotted, blighted, horrible place, a place that stands in opposition to all living things that wish to grow and flourish. A place where hopelessness has rooted itself like cancer. Readers come back and hope things will get better.
Well, again, listen to LaRocca with the book’s trigger warnings-- it won't get better and in fact it will get worse in ways you cannot comprehend. But also, you will be UNABLE to look away.
The claustrophobia of the story-- the two of them trapped in the house-- and we see what happens multiple times if you try to leave, it is not in their heads-- is building in a way that we readers know it is about to burst. I mean it has been 10 monotonous years. There is a temporary solution to their predicament that is figured out, but this is the story we are reading.
Regarding Crossing thresholds: There is a point in this book where Rupert mentions that the stories his mom told him are all about crossing thresholds and well--- that is this book as well-- literally and figuratively-- both the plot but also, this is book 2 in a trilogy. The job of the middle book in a trilogy is to build a bridge from book one to three, it is the book that allows readers to cross the threshold from the story they got sucked into and takes the far enough along that they are craving the third book. Many second books in trilogies fall flat because they have to be a good story on their own and do this heavy lifting-- carrying the reader. Here we get a fascinating story by an author who understands the work that has to be done.
This story allows Rupert and Gladys and their impossible situation to cross a threshold, one that once they cross, they cannot go back. It also allows the story to cross a threshold to move us all toward book 3. Well done.
The use of stories with the story-- this time mostly through confessional letters that Rupert receives as part of the secretive Perdido Society-- those letters create both a standalone story and service to move the plot forward. LaRocca does this frequently in his work and it is always engrossing but here it is particularly useful to the plot.
LaRocca's writing never ceases to amaze me. Every single time I read anything they write I go through the gamut of emotions-- intrigued and illicit things, disgusted, revulsion, sympathy, anger, sadness, rejoicing at things I probably shouldn't rejoice at. And the entire time, no matter how uncomfortable the writing makes me feel, I keep turning the pages. And when I look up, I blink and literally notice how many dozens of pages have flown by. Where did they go? How long was I held rapt by the storytelling? The pages literally melt away. And I remember everything I read. The images, the characters, the details that he plants and comes back to. It is quite remarkable.
I am waiting for this NOT to happen. If it ever does, he will get less than 5 stars. It has not happened yet. LaRocca draws readers into this dark, blighted, sickening world and like Rupert and Gladys, you cannot leave. But unlike them, you really don't want to.
Plants the seeds for book three-- this word choice is intentional. Not a spoiler but when you read this book you will understand that word choice.
I have shared VERY little about what happens here, but trust me, you want to read it. Also don't worry about re-reading the first Burnt Sparrow book. The major points you need to remember-- LaRocca shares. Now if you never read the first book, you might be a little lost, but if you read the back cover of book 1 and know that there was the massacre-- that is enough to ground you and LaRocca fills in enough of the blanks. But I will say, the Brunt Sparrow trilogy is many to be one book released in three parts, so go back and read We Are Always Tender With Our Dead
Also can I just say, I know Eric has great titles for his books but this one is particularly perfect for this book. Again, no spoilers, but *chef's kiss*
This book and the trilogy-- feeds off of the history of horror while still being wholly new. For fans of Shirley Jackson, Clive Barker, and Poppy Z. Brite.
Three Words That Describe This Book: crossing thresholds, extreme horror meets Gothic, engrossing
Other words: claustrophobic, epic, immersive, disturbing and yet, you cannot look away. Great use of stories within stories.
When you read this book, terrible things are happening. They begin bad-- Rupert and Gladys have been trapped in End House for 10 years since readers last saw them. Burst Sparrow is still a rotted, blighted, horrible place, a place that stands in opposition to all living things that wish to grow and flourish. A place where hopelessness has rooted itself like cancer. Readers come back and hope things will get better.
Well, again, listen to LaRocca with the book’s trigger warnings-- it won't get better and in fact it will get worse in ways you cannot comprehend. But also, you will be UNABLE to look away.
The claustrophobia of the story-- the two of them trapped in the house-- and we see what happens multiple times if you try to leave, it is not in their heads-- is building in a way that we readers know it is about to burst. I mean it has been 10 monotonous years. There is a temporary solution to their predicament that is figured out, but this is the story we are reading.
Regarding Crossing thresholds: There is a point in this book where Rupert mentions that the stories his mom told him are all about crossing thresholds and well--- that is this book as well-- literally and figuratively-- both the plot but also, this is book 2 in a trilogy. The job of the middle book in a trilogy is to build a bridge from book one to three, it is the book that allows readers to cross the threshold from the story they got sucked into and takes the far enough along that they are craving the third book. Many second books in trilogies fall flat because they have to be a good story on their own and do this heavy lifting-- carrying the reader. Here we get a fascinating story by an author who understands the work that has to be done.
This story allows Rupert and Gladys and their impossible situation to cross a threshold, one that once they cross, they cannot go back. It also allows the story to cross a threshold to move us all toward book 3. Well done.
The use of stories with the story-- this time mostly through confessional letters that Rupert receives as part of the secretive Perdido Society-- those letters create both a standalone story and service to move the plot forward. LaRocca does this frequently in his work and it is always engrossing but here it is particularly useful to the plot.
LaRocca's writing never ceases to amaze me. Every single time I read anything they write I go through the gamut of emotions-- intrigued and illicit things, disgusted, revulsion, sympathy, anger, sadness, rejoicing at things I probably shouldn't rejoice at. And the entire time, no matter how uncomfortable the writing makes me feel, I keep turning the pages. And when I look up, I blink and literally notice how many dozens of pages have flown by. Where did they go? How long was I held rapt by the storytelling? The pages literally melt away. And I remember everything I read. The images, the characters, the details that he plants and comes back to. It is quite remarkable.
I am waiting for this NOT to happen. If it ever does, he will get less than 5 stars. It has not happened yet. LaRocca draws readers into this dark, blighted, sickening world and like Rupert and Gladys, you cannot leave. But unlike them, you really don't want to.
Plants the seeds for book three-- this word choice is intentional. Not a spoiler but when you read this book you will understand that word choice.
I have shared VERY little about what happens here, but trust me, you want to read it. Also don't worry about re-reading the first Burnt Sparrow book. The major points you need to remember-- LaRocca shares. Now if you never read the first book, you might be a little lost, but if you read the back cover of book 1 and know that there was the massacre-- that is enough to ground you and LaRocca fills in enough of the blanks. But I will say, the Brunt Sparrow trilogy is many to be one book released in three parts, so go back and read We Are Always Tender With Our Dead
Also can I just say, I know Eric has great titles for his books but this one is particularly perfect for this book. Again, no spoilers, but *chef's kiss*
This book and the trilogy-- feeds off of the history of horror while still being wholly new. For fans of Shirley Jackson, Clive Barker, and Poppy Z. Brite.
June 18, 2026
I was over the moon when I got approved for this arc!! I have been down a LaRocca rabbit hole and had met my temporary end when the email came in.
This is book 2 of the Burnt Sparrow trilogy and, like book 1, this one did not disappoint!
The story starts off 10 years after the madness that was book 1. Rupert and Gladys are wrapped inside the prison that is End House, allowing the darkness to seep into their bones.
I really enjoyed this book! It was great revisiting Burnt Sparrow and seeing the depravity that would ensue. Although in book 1 Rupert was the main focus, here it was both he and Gladys.
Rupert gets looped into a secret society and Gladys is on the verge of calling it quits. Despite being housemates, they’re miles apart from each other. It was interesting watching Rupert slowly snowball into feeding his dark desires, and the mystery letters played a role in it.
With Gladys… she was sort of meh a good portion of the book but what do you expect when you’re drowning in loneliness. I think the story captures the feeling of loneliness and isolation very well, it also does a great job of showcasing how everyone has a darkness buried inside them.
There is one scene in here that was a literal gut punch but outside of that it wasn’t nearly as dark as book 1.
There were a lot of elements going on but the deeper you got in the story, the more pieces started falling into place. Not every question was answered but I expect book 3 will be wrapping the black hole that is Burnt Sparrow very nicely.
This is book 2 of the Burnt Sparrow trilogy and, like book 1, this one did not disappoint!
The story starts off 10 years after the madness that was book 1. Rupert and Gladys are wrapped inside the prison that is End House, allowing the darkness to seep into their bones.
I really enjoyed this book! It was great revisiting Burnt Sparrow and seeing the depravity that would ensue. Although in book 1 Rupert was the main focus, here it was both he and Gladys.
Rupert gets looped into a secret society and Gladys is on the verge of calling it quits. Despite being housemates, they’re miles apart from each other. It was interesting watching Rupert slowly snowball into feeding his dark desires, and the mystery letters played a role in it.
With Gladys… she was sort of meh a good portion of the book but what do you expect when you’re drowning in loneliness. I think the story captures the feeling of loneliness and isolation very well, it also does a great job of showcasing how everyone has a darkness buried inside them.
There is one scene in here that was a literal gut punch but outside of that it wasn’t nearly as dark as book 1.
There were a lot of elements going on but the deeper you got in the story, the more pieces started falling into place. Not every question was answered but I expect book 3 will be wrapping the black hole that is Burnt Sparrow very nicely.
June 22, 2026
I wonder if reading the first book in this trilogy would significantly change my opinion on this one. Will revisit when i get round to reading.
Thank you to Titan Books and Netgalley for access to an Advanced Reader Copy.
This was a twisted novel, divulging into the minds of Rupert and Gladys. There was a balance of twists and turns that were expected and unexpected and as with all of LaRocca’s wonderful novels, plenty of horrific discomfort in the detail and depictions of situations and thoughts.
Despite the average rating I am looking forward to the next instalment, and getting my hands on the first to see if that would benefit my experience.
Thank you to Titan Books and Netgalley for access to an Advanced Reader Copy.
This was a twisted novel, divulging into the minds of Rupert and Gladys. There was a balance of twists and turns that were expected and unexpected and as with all of LaRocca’s wonderful novels, plenty of horrific discomfort in the detail and depictions of situations and thoughts.
Despite the average rating I am looking forward to the next instalment, and getting my hands on the first to see if that would benefit my experience.
Review of advance copy received from NetGalley
Obsessive horror. Very much a novel where most that is said is inside a person's head, in a way that reads - to me, sometimes - as over-explanatory/expository, or repetitive, but is also consistent with the poetic-affective whole.
Review of advance copy received from Author
Bury me in this town honestly. While this is the second book in the series, it doesn’t follow directly after the tragic circumstances of the first book. Instead, the atrocities that happened in the first have had some time to fester and root their way into every part of the town.
Rupert and Gladys are cursed and trapped in End House, 10 years has gone by since the massacre and they can’t get out of the rotting stenching place. If they try to leave, they’re dragged back - forced into the mouldy house’s suffocating embrace, as if the building itself won’t let them go. Until another incident happens, which leads them to bleed out into the wider town. Rupert especially has dealt with so much abuse, we as a reader get to see first hand the psychological torture he is suffering and just how deeply it’s infecting him. We get introduced to a new POV who has some very sick and twisted thoughts, but what will transpire when this individual collides with End House?
I really do think that splatterpunk and gothic go together so well, and we need to see more of these sub-genres together. What could be better than a gorgeously poetic highlighly mouldy description of a house paired with a side of suicide ideation and foul play? These themes are already present in the gothic, LaRocca just pushes them to the extreme. And I mean extreme.
“Perhaps this was their intention from the very beginning—to curse the residents of Burnt Sparrow with the excruciating knowledge that we are all capable of performing certain monstrosities for the sake of our own comfort, for the sake of our own deluded sense of self.”
Eric’s prose is perfect and trust me when I say this is just as good as the first, the sequel being even darker. The depravity has had time to seep into the walls, and at times I genuinely felt trapped inside End House. We begin to see just how deep the darkness of this town runs - and what it’s doing to its people.
I say this every time I read a LaRocca book but honestly, he manages to shock me every time. I HIGHLY recommend this series and I can’t wait to see what everyone else thinks. Oh and this definitely has potential for many more books, as Burnt Sparrow is the perfect place for different traumas to take root.
If you are somehow unfamiliar with LaRocca’s work and like authors such as Chandler Morrison, Brain Evenson, Gabrielle Wittkop, Clive Barker, Poppy Z. Brite then this series in particular will be for you.
See below for themes:
Themes of:
Suicide ideation
Cancer
Infant death and neglect
Grief
Animal death
Abuse
Rupert and Gladys are cursed and trapped in End House, 10 years has gone by since the massacre and they can’t get out of the rotting stenching place. If they try to leave, they’re dragged back - forced into the mouldy house’s suffocating embrace, as if the building itself won’t let them go. Until another incident happens, which leads them to bleed out into the wider town. Rupert especially has dealt with so much abuse, we as a reader get to see first hand the psychological torture he is suffering and just how deeply it’s infecting him. We get introduced to a new POV who has some very sick and twisted thoughts, but what will transpire when this individual collides with End House?
I really do think that splatterpunk and gothic go together so well, and we need to see more of these sub-genres together. What could be better than a gorgeously poetic highlighly mouldy description of a house paired with a side of suicide ideation and foul play? These themes are already present in the gothic, LaRocca just pushes them to the extreme. And I mean extreme.
“Perhaps this was their intention from the very beginning—to curse the residents of Burnt Sparrow with the excruciating knowledge that we are all capable of performing certain monstrosities for the sake of our own comfort, for the sake of our own deluded sense of self.”
Eric’s prose is perfect and trust me when I say this is just as good as the first, the sequel being even darker. The depravity has had time to seep into the walls, and at times I genuinely felt trapped inside End House. We begin to see just how deep the darkness of this town runs - and what it’s doing to its people.
I say this every time I read a LaRocca book but honestly, he manages to shock me every time. I HIGHLY recommend this series and I can’t wait to see what everyone else thinks. Oh and this definitely has potential for many more books, as Burnt Sparrow is the perfect place for different traumas to take root.
If you are somehow unfamiliar with LaRocca’s work and like authors such as Chandler Morrison, Brain Evenson, Gabrielle Wittkop, Clive Barker, Poppy Z. Brite then this series in particular will be for you.
See below for themes:
Themes of:
Suicide ideation
Cancer
Infant death and neglect
Grief
Animal death
Abuse
June 12, 2026
We arrive back in Burnt Sparrow, at End House, ten years after the conclusion of the first book. Everyone is as wretched, loathsome, and pitiful as they have ever been.
First, to get the content warnings out of the way, this book goes places, much like the first one did. I am a reader hardened by years of literature that deals with challenging and taboo subjects. I am not afraid to wander into extreme horror, and I regularly enjoy splatterpunk novels. Personally, I felt the tone of the content warning oversold where these books would go, but please be aware that if you are sensitive to disturbing content, this book may not be for you.
Onward. This book is a three-hundred-page character study. We spend the vast majority of it with Rupert and Gladys as they are transformed into what they must become in order to escape their situation. The goings-on in Burnt Sparrow are much less of a focus this time. In that way, the lens is pulled in close, which I enjoyed. At times in the first book, I felt like we were rushing to bounce around town. That is not the case here.
While I normally like LaRocca’s writing, and praised *Wretch* for its literary merits, I got real sick of reading how wretched, loathsome, pitiful, vulgar, and maudlin people and their emotions were. That might be my biggest knock against the book: the writing felt like it was trying too hard.
Now, I still enjoyed the book a lot. I liked it more than the first. I finished it and was immediately sad I would not be getting the third one any time soon. I am fully invested in what is happening in Burnt Sparrow. I NEED ANSWERS!
Probably a 3.75 for me, rounded up to a 4.
Thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for providing me with an ARC. All opinions are my own.
First, to get the content warnings out of the way, this book goes places, much like the first one did. I am a reader hardened by years of literature that deals with challenging and taboo subjects. I am not afraid to wander into extreme horror, and I regularly enjoy splatterpunk novels. Personally, I felt the tone of the content warning oversold where these books would go, but please be aware that if you are sensitive to disturbing content, this book may not be for you.
Onward. This book is a three-hundred-page character study. We spend the vast majority of it with Rupert and Gladys as they are transformed into what they must become in order to escape their situation. The goings-on in Burnt Sparrow are much less of a focus this time. In that way, the lens is pulled in close, which I enjoyed. At times in the first book, I felt like we were rushing to bounce around town. That is not the case here.
While I normally like LaRocca’s writing, and praised *Wretch* for its literary merits, I got real sick of reading how wretched, loathsome, pitiful, vulgar, and maudlin people and their emotions were. That might be my biggest knock against the book: the writing felt like it was trying too hard.
Now, I still enjoyed the book a lot. I liked it more than the first. I finished it and was immediately sad I would not be getting the third one any time soon. I am fully invested in what is happening in Burnt Sparrow. I NEED ANSWERS!
Probably a 3.75 for me, rounded up to a 4.
Thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for providing me with an ARC. All opinions are my own.
Review of advance copy received from NetGalley
Well I have to say I am always worried about a second book in a trilogy however this book did not disappoint in the slightest. Disturbing from the very first page to the end, I was completely locked in, unable to look away. Right before I read the sequel, I re-read the first book however I do not think it was really necessary but it helped set the gothic horror tone. We end up back into Burnt Sparrow, 10 years after the incidents in the first book. I like a good time jump and this one was done well without too many details or lack thereof. I felt that I too was stuck in the Esherwood estate with Rupert and Gladys, waiting for the next part of the story. I like how we have some old characters and some new, I want to know everything about all of them. I enjoyed the little snippets of horror that Eric LaRocca adds through letters and others sharing gruesome tales. Theses mini stories help add to the lore of Burnt Sparrow and they truly stick with me. At times this book can be very claustrophobic, disturbing and intense so definitely mentally prepare yourself for what is to come. The third book is set up well and I find myself still wanting to learn more about this spooky little town. I cannot stop talking about this series with anyone who will listen to me, I will patiently wait until the third book!
Review of advance copy received from NetGalley
Thank you to Titan Books and Netgalley for an e-arc copy of this book!
3.5 stars rounded up -
The 2nd novel in the Burnt Sparrow series doesn't fail to impress. Eric LaRocca's writing is just as beautiful and haunting. He touches on some subjects that are genuinely tough to read, and there's been times in this book that made me feel slightly uncomfortable to read.
Personally, this book didn't hit as hard for me as the 1st book in this series (We are always Tender with our Dead) - I think I enjoyed the tragic nature of that novel more than reading our 2 MCs give into their more monstrous desires. But we were introduced to a new POV and character in this book; that will carry over to the 3rd book and I'm interested in learning more about character and his motives. So, while I think this book suffered some middle book sag (establishing more of the story and buildup for the next book) still interested in carrying on with this and seeing what/how Burnt Sparrow is cursed and seeing how the curse will effect the town and people.
3.5 stars rounded up -
The 2nd novel in the Burnt Sparrow series doesn't fail to impress. Eric LaRocca's writing is just as beautiful and haunting. He touches on some subjects that are genuinely tough to read, and there's been times in this book that made me feel slightly uncomfortable to read.
Personally, this book didn't hit as hard for me as the 1st book in this series (We are always Tender with our Dead) - I think I enjoyed the tragic nature of that novel more than reading our 2 MCs give into their more monstrous desires. But we were introduced to a new POV and character in this book; that will carry over to the 3rd book and I'm interested in learning more about character and his motives. So, while I think this book suffered some middle book sag (establishing more of the story and buildup for the next book) still interested in carrying on with this and seeing what/how Burnt Sparrow is cursed and seeing how the curse will effect the town and people.
Review of advance copy received from NetGalley
I adore diving into sick twisted words of wtf & Eric woo’d me yet again. His books are a one click for me so when I saw this one I screamed & prayed to all the weird ones that I’d get approved.
It’s a wonderful mix of splatterpunk, gothic, horror with so many cringe worthy moments that you expect from a LaRocca book.
If you loved the first book (ya sicko! Me too!), this is an awesome follow up with some of the most beautifully demented prose in the horror genre.
I felt such a mix of terror, excitement, & dread at what Gladys & Rupert were going through yet I couldn’t help turning the page. I have zero idea how he can create such a wild ride, but I adore his wicked brain for it.
5 horrified, nightmare, stars for this one…I’m still thinking about this one days later. It’s going to destroy you but isn’t that what we enjoy about a LaRocca story? I’m almost sad to let this one go but have high hopes we’re getting a 3rd. *crosses fingers*
Thank you to Eric LaRocca, Titan Books, & NetGalley for destroying not only Gladys & Rupert but exploding my brain too.
It’s a wonderful mix of splatterpunk, gothic, horror with so many cringe worthy moments that you expect from a LaRocca book.
If you loved the first book (ya sicko! Me too!), this is an awesome follow up with some of the most beautifully demented prose in the horror genre.
I felt such a mix of terror, excitement, & dread at what Gladys & Rupert were going through yet I couldn’t help turning the page. I have zero idea how he can create such a wild ride, but I adore his wicked brain for it.
5 horrified, nightmare, stars for this one…I’m still thinking about this one days later. It’s going to destroy you but isn’t that what we enjoy about a LaRocca story? I’m almost sad to let this one go but have high hopes we’re getting a 3rd. *crosses fingers*
Thank you to Eric LaRocca, Titan Books, & NetGalley for destroying not only Gladys & Rupert but exploding my brain too.
Review of advance copy received from NetGalley
Oh how I hoped for this one, I loved the previous Burnt Sparrow book and could not wait for this one and I was not disappointed.
It's been a long ten years since the massacre and nothing really recovered. Rupert and Gladys are trapped in End House and Burnt Sparrow is a level of hell no one would want to live in.
No matter how many times they try to leave they can't and the over and over torture of ten long years sounds like the worst thing imaginable. But no the worst part for me is the smell that suffocating feeling, I was flinching just reading Larocca describing it. Ick.
I'm going to be honest, I think I liked this more then the first own, the focus on Rupert and Gladys, what the house is grinding then down into being over that long ten years, irs deliciously fucked up and I was absolutely seated for it.
I need the third books already and this one isn't even released yet, how am I going to survive..
Hopefully better off than Gladys and Rupert for sure.
Burnt Sparrow feels like an obsession that has latched onto my soul..
It's been a long ten years since the massacre and nothing really recovered. Rupert and Gladys are trapped in End House and Burnt Sparrow is a level of hell no one would want to live in.
No matter how many times they try to leave they can't and the over and over torture of ten long years sounds like the worst thing imaginable. But no the worst part for me is the smell that suffocating feeling, I was flinching just reading Larocca describing it. Ick.
I'm going to be honest, I think I liked this more then the first own, the focus on Rupert and Gladys, what the house is grinding then down into being over that long ten years, irs deliciously fucked up and I was absolutely seated for it.
I need the third books already and this one isn't even released yet, how am I going to survive..
Hopefully better off than Gladys and Rupert for sure.
Burnt Sparrow feels like an obsession that has latched onto my soul..
Review of advance copy received from Netgalley
Welcome back to Burnt Sparrow!! I've been so excited to read the next book in Eric LaRocca's Burnt Sparrow trilogy, and I wasn't disappointed.
There's something about LaRocca's writing that just gets to me and I can't look away. He evokes such atmosphere, claustrophobia, fear, in his writing and WTGAN is no exception. The tension looming throughout End House as we witness the ways in which Rupert and Gladys have been existing by themselves for the past 10 years is palpable. Something has got to give. But not in the ways you might expect. The arrival of a couple of new characters provide some new interest and the way in which one of them impacts on Rupert and Gladys, is significant.
Book two allows us to hear more from Rupert and learn more about who he is and how the events of the past 10 years and all he has endured, has impacted on him and made him who he is today.
The Perdido Society is so damn intriguing and very cloak and dagger. I suspect we will learn more in Book three.
Whilst I would argue that book two isn't as dark as book one, I would still highly recommend checking the trigger warnings as there are a lot of wild scenes, particularly some animal abuse and infant abuse/death.
Like the first book, I have a million unanswered questions and I think we're being set up for one hell of a final book. I literally can't wait.
Thank you to Netgalley for the ARC.
There's something about LaRocca's writing that just gets to me and I can't look away. He evokes such atmosphere, claustrophobia, fear, in his writing and WTGAN is no exception. The tension looming throughout End House as we witness the ways in which Rupert and Gladys have been existing by themselves for the past 10 years is palpable. Something has got to give. But not in the ways you might expect. The arrival of a couple of new characters provide some new interest and the way in which one of them impacts on Rupert and Gladys, is significant.
Book two allows us to hear more from Rupert and learn more about who he is and how the events of the past 10 years and all he has endured, has impacted on him and made him who he is today.
The Perdido Society is so damn intriguing and very cloak and dagger. I suspect we will learn more in Book three.
Whilst I would argue that book two isn't as dark as book one, I would still highly recommend checking the trigger warnings as there are a lot of wild scenes, particularly some animal abuse and infant abuse/death.
Like the first book, I have a million unanswered questions and I think we're being set up for one hell of a final book. I literally can't wait.
Thank you to Netgalley for the ARC.
Review of advance copy received from NetGalley
Burnt Sparrow is still a grim and gruesome place, and honestly it fills me with dread. While we don’t see what happens to Robert within the 10 year span between the first and second in this trilogy, it’s easy to see he’s been suffering. The suffering has left him and his housemate Gladys feeling apathetic.
Like the first, this story was gruesome, dark and very heavy but in different ways. As the trilogy progresses we see Robert accept some aspects of his life and grow into them. Despite the graphic nature of this book I enjoyed reading Robert’s depraved thoughts, in his world it just makes sense.
Overall, this left me feeling bleak but excited when I remembered this is a trilogy. I’m looking forward to the conclusion.
Thank you NetGalley for this ARC
Like the first, this story was gruesome, dark and very heavy but in different ways. As the trilogy progresses we see Robert accept some aspects of his life and grow into them. Despite the graphic nature of this book I enjoyed reading Robert’s depraved thoughts, in his world it just makes sense.
Overall, this left me feeling bleak but excited when I remembered this is a trilogy. I’m looking forward to the conclusion.
Thank you NetGalley for this ARC
Review of advance copy received from NetGalley
Thanks to Titan Books and Netgalley for an eARC of We Turn Gruesome At Night by Eric LaRocca. We Turn Gruesome At Night is the second chapter in the Burnt Sparrow trilogy and is very successful in not only keeping what made We Are Always Tender With Our Dead unique but also in redefining it. While the second chapter is nowhere near as visceral as the first, I think what makes this novel so engaging is the character work it places on Rupert and Gladys. Both characters are fleshed out more in this novel and set up a climactic finale for the final chapter, with new characters and new dynamics added to Rupert and Gladys' situation.
June 14, 2026
Another fantastically bleak trip to Burnt Sparrow!
This was a very disturbing character study focusing on the despair and depravity humans can be reduced to. While I enjoyed how unsettling it was overall, I did find myself wondering where the story was going at times. I became a little bored waiting for something to happen beyond hearing the main character’s thoughts.
I don’t remember feeling that way with the first book, which felt darker and much better paced overall.
I would still highly recommend this, and I can’t wait to return to Burnt Sparrow.
Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for the ARC in exchange for an honest review.
This was a very disturbing character study focusing on the despair and depravity humans can be reduced to. While I enjoyed how unsettling it was overall, I did find myself wondering where the story was going at times. I became a little bored waiting for something to happen beyond hearing the main character’s thoughts.
I don’t remember feeling that way with the first book, which felt darker and much better paced overall.
I would still highly recommend this, and I can’t wait to return to Burnt Sparrow.
Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for the ARC in exchange for an honest review.
June 20, 2026
LaRocca tells us more about this weird little town, just a decade down the line from the original book, and gives us some more grade a weirdos struggling with some unique scenarios in some inadvisable ways, and more and more behind the weirdness of this small town, while also knitting together mroe short stories from LaRocca. Highly recommended, and can't wait to see where the hell this goes next.
Review of advance copy received from NetGalley
All the characters (and some new ones) are back being just as vile and disgusting as they were in book one… So how does Eric have me rooting so hard for them? 5 Stars ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️! I can’t wait for the final book to come out to finally find out what the heck is going on in Burnt Sparrow!
June 22, 2026
thanks to titan books for a free arc of this title! while i think that the first installment in this trilogy packed more of a punch, larocca manages to evoke quiet grotesqueries in the second volume of the burnt sparrow trilogy. full of loathsome transgressions and foul clauses of morality.
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