We Turn Gruesome At Night

Burnt Sparrow #2

by Eric LaRocca

The 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.

The 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.

Genres: Horror, Queer, LGBT, Adult

304 pages, Hardcover

Expected publication September 8, 2026

About the author

Eric 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.

Reviews

[Becky Spratford · Rating 5 out of 5]

Starred review in the July 2026 issue of Booklist and on the blog: https://raforall.blogspot.com/2026/07... (link live 7/7 at 7am central)

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.

[Katie Jae · Rating 4 out of 5]

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.

[heptagrammaton · Rating 3 out of 5]

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.

[luceski · Rating 3 out of 5]

The second instalment in the Burnt Sparrow trilogy returns to End House a decade after We Are Always Tender With Our Dead, where the lingering curse continues to shape the lives of those left behind. New arrivals, unsettling letters, and old secrets slowly peel back another layer of Burnt Sparrow’s strange mythology, while raising even more questions about the town and the people trapped within it.

LaRocca’s writing is once again beautiful, lyrical and deeply unsettling. Every page carries that signature blend of tenderness and horror, where even the quiet moments feel like they’re hiding something rotten beneath the surface.

This book leans further into the mythology of Burnt Sparrow, introducing fascinating new ideas that expand the world without ever fully explaining it. I loved learning more about the town and its strange traditions, although I finished this one with many of the same questions I had after book one… and a whole new set besides.

The characters continue to blur the line between victim and villain. None of them are particularly likeable, yet they’re written in a way that makes it difficult to completely condemn them. I constantly found myself caught between frustration and sympathy, which made for an uncomfortable but compelling read.

If you’re looking for neatly wrapped answers, this probably isn’t the book for you. It feels very much like the middle chapter of a larger story, building the mystery rather than resolving it. I’m hoping the final book pulls all of these threads together because the pieces are certainly intriguing.

If you enjoy literary horror filled with unsettling imagery, morally complex characters and stories that leave you turning theories over in your head long after you’ve finished, this series continues to deliver.

Now comes the hard part: waiting for book three…

Thanks to Titan for the ARC!

[Wren Lee · Rating 4 out of 5]

A very interesting follow up to the first installment… minor spoilers for We Are Always Tender With Our Dead are ahead.

As the story of the odd New Hampshire town of Burnt Sparrow continues, we find Rupert and Gladys ten years after the massacre on Christmas Day, and the loss of Rupert’s father and Gladys’ husband.

They have fully succumbed to the curse left behind by the family of faceless murderers, a curse of isolation that keeps them bound to End House, lest they attempt to leave, and be shredded to ribbons by some cosmic, unknowable force.

Both of them are harboring their own mountains of grief, Rupert’s being highly conflicting with his feelings about the wretchedness of his late father, and the conditions that led up to his execution at the hands of the elders in book one.

One day, with a seemingly harmless grocery delivery, Rupert receives an anonymous letter, and he is told that it is from a member of The Perdido Society: a group of individuals that send and receive letters of confessions to their own perversions, perilous invasive thoughts and gruesome actions.

Rupert is thoroughly enamored with the fact that he of all people was chosen to receive letters from another wretched soul like himself, to revel in the thought that he’s not alone in the wretchedness he feels he inherited from his late father.

Through all their grief and isolation though, Rupert and Gladys both begin to learn quite a bit about themselves, eachother, and the lengths they are willing to go to to try to gain even a shred of temporary freedom from this mansion of a house that has become their prison of unwavering and forced solitude.

So with the first book, I didn’t really know how things were going to flesh out into a second installment, but with this one, I am very eager for the third book to come out. There are loose ends that need to be tied up and I will be patiently waiting.

As always, in true Eric Larocca fashion, the writing was beautiful, the thoughts and stories within spilled out in endless lyrical prose littered with gruesome scenes of body horror and deeply uncomfortable thoughts from the mind of two clearly very broken individuals. I still stand by the sentiment that nobody does intrusive thoughts and grief quite like Larocca.

[molslittlelibrary · Rating 3 out of 5]

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.

[Milt Theo · Rating 4 out of 5]

Ten years after the events of the first volume, "We Turn Gruesome At Night" picks up the story of LaRocca's fictional small town, Burnt Sparrow, shifting gears entirely, and focusing on two characters, Rupert and Gladys, while introducing a few new ones. It is immediately revealed that Gladys and Rupert have spent the intervening decade trapped in End House, mostly indifferent or hating each other, Rupert having discovered the joys of private chatrooms and Gladys slowly sinking into despair and struggling with deeply negative thoughts.

Yet, despite the manor's obviously claustrophobic and oppressive atmosphere, and one early incident with disastrous consequences, the narrative feels serene and peaceful. That is, until Rupert answers the call of a young and attractive grocery delivery man, and things are set in motion that will open both End House residents to a inner darkness they never suspected they harbored within themselves. First step: the young man delivers to Rupert a series of anonymous letters; second step: the letters describe a deeply disturbing family situation, throwing Rupert off course; final step: Rupert draws Gladys into the epistolary mystery, and it soon becomes apparent that not only does she know more than anyone suspected, she's also been preparing the ground for taking things to an entirely new level. From that point on, only ugly and revolting events happen: one trigger after another. If you like dogs and babies (and who doesn't?), expect nasty surprises. Even poor Rupert, who's already been through so much in the first volume, occasionally manifests such gross and egregiously outrageous thinking and disturbing behavior, it's a wonder he manages to keep his cool thoughout the book at all. He should've flipped out a long time ago. Perhaps this goes double for Gladys herself, but better not look very close at this sullen and unpredictable character. In fact, I'd go as far as blaming her for everything bad that happens.

The book's written in a meditative, introspective manner, the horror neither quite Gothic nor simply quiet, though it's strongly reminiscent of Victorian ghost stories - with the caveat that the ghosts in this case never appear; in a sense, the characters play the ghosts as well, stuck on the threshold between death and life. The plot has many ups and downs, reflecting the shifting moods of the two personalities haunting the story. Interludes in epistolary format and one metafictional narrative are also included. The resolution felt a little frustrating, carrying something of the divine retribution found in ancient Greek tragedy.

If you enjoy transgressive horror, namely emotionally messed up characters experiencing one uncomfortable story turn after another, this is a must read!

[Anna Reads Horror · Rating 5 out of 5]

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

[Kaylyn K · Rating 3 out of 5]

We Turn Gruesome At Night returns to LaRocca's town of Burnt Sparrow ten years after the events of We Are Always Tender With Our Dead and reveals that the two main characters, Rupert and Gladys, have been trapped in End House for the ten years between the two books. Born of the bleakness of their situation and the suffocating feeling that death is their only way to leave the manor, the two are increasingly desperate to find ways to improve their situation when a new grocery delivery man shows up with a strange letter for Rupert. Drawn to the twisted mind of a local man who is writing him letters, Rupert becomes enamoured with the idea of connecting with the outside world in any way possible and finds the solution to his problem to be bloody sacrifices that briefly appease the curse that keeps him trapped inside and allow him to leave the manor as long as he returns by sunrise.

This book is definitely more introspective than the first one, making the pace slower, but I honestly enjoyed that about it. At times, the first one felt like it was just throwing one horrifying event after another at you, but the physical situation of the characters in this forces the narrative to slow down a bit and gives you a little more time to process what is happening before the next thing happens. I maintain my critique of the first book that LaRocca does overuse words a lot in this series, particularly "wretched" (appears 16 times according to a search of the word), "gruesome" (12 times, excluding the title), and "loathsome" (also 12 times, excluding the title of At Dark, I Become Loathsome). There were also a few elements that felt unnecessary to the story, the main one being Rupert's pedophilic thoughts. He already has a lot going on in this series (his dad is a necrophile, he's witnessed and participated in the torture of the faceless family, he's becoming a serial killer, he's having sexual thoughts about a woman who is essentially his surrogate mother, so on and so forth), so adding anything more to him feels unnecessary. Him mentioning that he doesn't know and doesn't want to know the ages of the faceless people he chats with online is one thing, but directly stating that he sometimes thinks of raping an underage boy as a kindness and an honorable thing to do to prepare them for the world is a bit much.

There are a few questions I still have about the town and what exactly is going on, but hopefully they will be answered in the third book.

Thanks to Netgalley, the publishers, and the author for this ARC!

[Siobhan · Rating 3 out of 5]

We Turn Gruesome at Night is the second book in LaRocca's Burnt Sparrow trilogy, a horror series about a New England town with nightmarish goings on. This instalment comes ten years after the massacre from the first book, following two characters trapped in a house who find a potential way to escape and a strange secret society.

I've read a lot of LaRocca's books and generally find them to good, but not as good as I'd hoped from the premise. However, the first Burnt Sparrow book was one of my favourites of LaRocca's, with some actually horrible stuff and a nice weaving in of shorter stories to the novel format to showcase LaRocca's usual tendency towards short stories and novellas. For the sequel, I was concerned that I couldn't remember any of the details of the first book, and to be honest for a lot of the start of the book I really wished I did remember more about the first one. However, as it went on, this second book felt like it wasn't as connected to the overall town as the first one, so I didn't worry as much about not remembering the first book very well.

The concept of the novel is simple—being unable to leave a house unless you offer it a sacrifice—and I liked how it offers space to explore human nature and desires, but I felt like the book didn't quite delve as much into the darkness in its characters as I would've expected. Some of the book is taken up with other stories, one which interacts with the main narrative and the others are just like side stories, and particularly the latter felt like padding that didn't really add anything to the novel. I wish that the other stories in the book brought more in terms of Burnt Sparrow lore by connecting to the town more clearly.

This novel is less horrible than the first in the series (though there are some deaths that may well upset readers) and is more of a gothic story with some splatterpunk elements. For me, it did feel like a concept that could've been any length of story and hadn't quite been fully turned into a novel, and the interwoven stories didn't quite feel like they brought more to the trilogy itself. I'll have to wait until the final instalment to fully reflect on how the series comes together, as I can't tell if this book is perhaps just a middle part that suffers from not having a conclusion to build to. Once again with LaRocca, it's a decent story, but it didn't quite hit as hard as I hoped.

[Craig Matthews · Rating 3 out of 5]

3.5*

We Turn Gruesome At Night sees us return to the town of Burnt Sparrow, NH. As the community tries to heal from the events detailed in the preceding book, We Are Always Tender With Our Dead, we spend the majority of our time here in the monotony of End House, a de facto prison for our protagonists. No major spoilers here, but I will by necessity touch on events from that first story and would advise skipping reading if you think you'll want to read this saga.

This is the middle book of a planned trilogy, and while I think overall I liked this more than …Tender, it certainly does feel like a bridge in the overall story. The introduction to Burnt Sparrow, to its residents, and to the depravity within its limits is zoomed far, far in, and this time we spend the majority of the book with Rupert and Gladys. I did enjoy the focus on these two lost souls, their relationship after years forced in each other's unending company, and how they have dealt with their time in End House, but it felt a little like it was at the expense of Burnt Sparrow itself. Not necessarily a bad thing, just unexpected.

This is very much classic LaRocca. The characters, much like a lot of his recent work, are used to explore what it is like to become monstrous, whether situations can force people to do bad things or if it's within our nature all along. The prose is beautiful at times, but at the same time it does get a little repetitive – some harsher editing would have made this flow better, hit harder and feel leaner. It almost doesn't matter when it's as enjoyable to read the flowery descriptions and brutal, heart-wrenching moments. LaRocca puts on the page. The now customary trigger warnings are there, and as usual, they're necessary. Ignore at your own cost.

I don't intend this review to sound harsh; I really did like We Turn Gruesome At Night a lot, and I hope that comes across. It just feels a short step or two away from greatness, but perhaps the final entry in the trilogy will take all the books to that level for me. If you're a fan of LaRocca's work already, I expect you'll also love this; if you're not sold on their own inimitable style, I'm not sure this one will change your mind. Roll on book three; I'm fully invested.

[Dan · Rating 4 out of 5]

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.

[Michael Herbert · Rating 4 out of 5]

Book 2 of Eric LaRocca's Broken Sparrow Trilogy, We Turn Gruesome at Night takes place 10 years after Book 1.  Rupert and Gladys our main characters are trapped in End House with no escape.  Part Gothic and splatterpunk, LaRocca provides the trigger warnings right from the start. 

I started reading Book 2 without having read the first one.  Big mistake.  Quickly I read Book 1 and glad I did, because it provides so much more backstory of Rupert and Gladys, along with more information about the town and characters of Burnt Sparrow. 

Alienation and isolation are two words that come to mind when it comes to We Turn Gruesome at Night.  Depraved as they are for human longing, I couldn't help but grow attached to Rupert and Gladys even if their houghts and actions are pretty despicable.  Usually when a novel is termed splatterpunk, I think the novel will be too immaturely descriptively disgusting without much of a plot or characters and I can't stand that in my horror.  Luckily, LaRocca is able to handle that with intention and purpose.  Yes, some horrible things happen, but it wasn't too gratuitous. 

One of the off putting things for me at first were the stories, letters, and the characters that suddenly take over the narrative.  It took me some adjusting to but quickly I gathered the importance of them and how it adds layers for the overall story and secondary characters that I hope will be explored more in book 3. 

Overall, I can't wait for book 3 to be released to see how it will all play out and what will happen to Rupert and Gladys, along with the town of Burnt Sparrow.  That to me, is the highest praise I can give a series, because if I can't get into the 1st novel then I've wasted my time. 

Thank you NetGalley and Titan Books for the ARC. 

[CurlUp&Hex · Rating 4 out of 5]

📚 We Turn Gruesome at Night — Eric LaRocca

⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️1/2

I just finished We Turn Gruesome at Night, book two of the Burnt Sparrow series, and once again… Eric LaRocca has me questioning people, morality, and apparently myself. 😂

We return to Burnt Sparrow—and to Rupert and Gladys—ten years after the mayhem that left them stuck inside the mansion.

Rupert soon becomes caught up in a series of letters sent to him by the mysterious Perdido Society, eventually leading to an incident. And that incident brings a revelation Rupert and Gladys can no longer ignore.

If they want what they’ve been longing for, they’re going to have to give in to something much darker—no matter who has to perish along the way.

I will say, it takes a little while for the story to reveal exactly what is happening, but I enjoyed the book nonetheless. And what I REALLY enjoyed was watching Rupert and Gladys slowly embrace the parts of themselves they’ve tried to keep buried.

Rupert has fully begun diving into his darker side and desires, while Gladys spends most of the book fighting against the dark thoughts she has pushed down for years.

Until she doesn’t. 👀

And knowing this is leading us into book three?!

I. CANNOT. WAIT.

LaRocca, once again, does not cease to amaze me. His writing always manages to trigger several different emotions at once and leaves me sitting there wondering:

How far would I go if I were in the same situation as Rupert and Gladys?

And frankly, I don’t know if I want the answer. 😂

One final thing:

⚠️ LaRocca puts the trigger warnings at the beginning of the book. READ THEM.

He is never lying when he puts those warnings there. NEVER. 😭

[Casey Masterson · Rating 5 out of 5]

For full transparency: Eric LaRocca was kind enough to have the arc of We Turn Gruesome At Night sent to me. I genuinely feel so blessed to have the opportunity to have read this book early and to have been given the opportunity by my favorite author.

Now, first things first: I'll never forgive you for the dog. I've said it to Michael Wehunt and I'll say it to you. The poor baby. 😭

With that being said: it's no secret that Eric could write literally anything and I'd be glued to it. His prose and descriptions are just so hauntingly beautiful, even when describing the absolutely grotesque. Even with the dog, I still felt the need to read each word, like someone who watches a scary movie between their fingers. His prose is just that fantastic. There are no ifs ands or buts about it.

But, GOD. I will try to keep this brief because the book technically isn't even out yet. We Turn Gruesome At Night is not only a dark continuation of what happens when we give into the horrors that have been pursuing us and join them. It is also a meditation on how we see the darkest parts of ourselves, how we confront them, and how we reconcile who we are and want to be with our deepest depths of depravity. It's incredible how Eric makes you feel both claustrophobic in End House and still uses the stagnant setting dynamically. I got a lot of Julia in Hellraiser vibes from this, particularly towards the end.

Bravo, as always. I shall await your next book in salivating silence, as always.

[Laura · Rating 4 out of 5]

3.5 stars, rounded up to 4.

I finished this one feeling almost exactly the way I felt after We Are Always Tender With Our Dead. I'm still not totally sure what is happening half the time, but I'm absolutely going to read the final installment.

This series is just...weird. Bleak, surreal, deeply uncomfortable, and completely committed to its own nightmare logic. At this point, I can't imagine any of these characters getting anything even resembling a happy ending and I'm morbidly fascinated to see how LaRocca wraps it all up.

This installment spends much more time with Gertrude and Rupert. They're still deeply unlikeable people, but somehow LaRocca keeps finding ways to make me empathize with them anyway. It's a strange balancing act, making you care about characters you probably wouldn't want to spend five minutes with, but he pulls it off.

I still wish there were a little more grounding in the world and its mythology. The in medias res storytelling worked a little better for me this time because I knew what to expect but I still found myself wanting just a few more answers here and there.

At this point, I'm fully invested. I may not understand every piece of this puzzle, but I trust LaRocca enough to follow him wherever this story is headed, even if I'm pretty sure it's going to end in absolute catastrophe.

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for an early copy in exchange for an honest review. All opinions are my own.

[Nicole Francisco · Rating 5 out of 5]

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!

[Jose Villanueva · Rating 4 out of 5]

Thanks to NetGalley and Titan books for the ARC!

I'm a huge fan of Eric LaRocca and I've been so looking forward to this next installment in the Burnt Sparrow trilogy. While there were questions I still wish were answered, overall, I really enjoyed the direction of this novel.

The first book introduces us to Rupert and the town of Burnt Sparrow. After a mass murder, the town is never quite the same and we see just how it affects every one in book one. I was really hoping book two would give us a little more background on the why of everything that happened in Burnt Sparrow, but it instead took us to the future to show where our lead characters are, ten years later.

It's a LaRocca book, so of course there are many very troubling scenes and disturbing details, but the writing is as beautiful as ever. My only nitpick when it comes to the writing is that the words "loathsome" and "wretched," are used SO much. I remember having the same thought during the first book, and it may just be because it's used in the title of another LaRocca book, but I feel like it showed up every few pages. A stupid critic to offer, I know.

If you're a fan of the first book, or a fan of LaRocca, I'm sure you'll like this one. It's the middle book, so the pacing is a bit slower but I enjoyed getting to just sit with the characters. Can't wait for the final book!

[maddison · Rating 5 out of 5]

described as an “odessey into the depths of depravity” we turn gruesome at night is exactly this and more. whilst this follows on from we are always tender with our dead, this is also a hugely interpolated narrative of stories within a story - and this just works - and if you thought things could not get more sick and twisted, they do. la rocca’s prose will never not do it for me !! following on from the fall out the first burnt sparrow book set ten years prior, our protagonists, through its events, form a twisted pseudo-family, claustrophobically contained in the end house. with themes and explorations of queerness, body horror, decay and neglect, moral corruption, secret societies and more, this is simultaneously a story of containment and contagion with depravity spreading like an illness. we see individuals become tainted by the degenerating effects of burnt sparrow and the end house. i highly recommend this and the burnt sparrow world to any fans of the obsessively horrific, slightly traumatising and weird, but i cannot recommend this without pointing out the tws - roll on the next instalment (book 3/3!!)- let’s see if i’ve recovered by then.

[dnrizm · Rating 3 out of 5]

I feel as though I have to mentally prepare myself for an Eric LaRocca book now. I never know what I'm getting myself into while still knowing that I have to be ready for something depraved. This man is grim and puts misery onto the page like not many others. The man's lucky he's so good at it or I might have to pass on some of his work (due to the heavy material). But I don't find his horrible characters and situations they find themselves in to be for shock value. Shocking, definitely, but I still feel like these are justified by real emotions and thoughts.

We Turn Gruesome at Night deals with horrible people--none of which could I call a protagonist. But still somehow, no matter how disgusting and awful and loathe some and gruesome these characters are, there's some sort of pity or sympathy to be had for them.

Also, Eric LaRocca...if you sonder any of these characters as the story's "hero", you're wild. But good for you!

Get on the right head space and--i dunno if I can say enjoy. I guess you can read it and sit with it and just contemplate the world we live in and the world of Burnt Sparrow.

[Ashe · Rating 4 out of 5]

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.

[Lizzie · Rating 5 out of 5]

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.

[ScarlettAnomalyReads · Rating 5 out of 5]

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..

[Nikki Kossaris · Rating 5 out of 5]

We Turn Gruesome at Night continues to prove that this series feels like Candide filtered through the imagination of Clive Barker. .

Eric LaRocca takes readers on another bleak journey through Burnt Sparrow, where every revelation peels back another layer of corruption and despair. The horror is visceral, but what lingered with me most was the existential dread woven through the story. Much like Candide, the characters are forced through seemingly endless trials, only here those trials are drenched in blood, shame, obsession, and monstrosity.

The prose are hot even when the subject matter is ugly, creating a disturbing contrast that makes the novel difficult to put down. This isn’t horror interested in comforting its readers. It’s horror that stares directly into humanity’s darkest impulses and asks what separates us from the monsters we fear.

A brutal, nihilistic, and strangely hypnotic continuation that left me both unsettled and completely invested in where this nightmare goes next.

[Mel Garcia · Rating 5 out of 5]

Thank you to Titan Books and Eric LaRocca for the e-ARC of We Turn Gruesome at Night.

Before diving into this one, I made it a point to read the first book in the Burnt Sparrow series "We are Always Tender with Our Dead". I wanted to fully immerse myself into the world of Burnt Sparrow and Rupert, and I'm so glad I did. This was my first real taste of extreme horror/splatterpunk, and I honestly wasn't sure what to expect (I went in completely blind). His writing is hauntingly beautiful. No matter how disturbing the subject matter, there's a beauty and elegance to his prose that kept me completely immersed.

We Turn Gruesome at Night is visceral, uncomfortable, and emotionally relentless. But beneath the horror is a story that asks difficult questions about the lengths we'll go for the people we love and the scars we carry long after the damage is done.

This series has been unlike anything I've experienced before, and I already can't wait for book 3 to release. I would love to purchase hard copies of this series for my bookshelf.

[Kate Connell · Rating 4 out of 5]

Had to re-read Burnt Sparrow #1 before this to remember everything that happened, and I prefer this to the first, which hopefully means the third will be my favorite of the series. As always with Eric LaRocca this book comes with strong trigger warnings for anything you can imagine, including but definitely not limited to (Animal death, Suicidal thoughts, Child abuse, Pedophilia, Suicide, Abandonment). Overall, I enjoyed this book, as much as one can enjoy a LaRocca creation, and found the short stories the characters shared to be more engaging for me this time, but that may be the fact that it was the only storyline outside of the home for the majority of the novel. If you enjoy LaRocca and aren't too worried to walk the streets of Burnt Sparrow, this is worth a read but be prepared for where the mind will have to wander.

This book picks up ten years after the events of the first book, with the town of Burnt Sparrow still struggling to move on from the events of Christmas Day 2003. Rupert Cromwell and Gladys Esherwood are still in End House, because they've learned they cannot leave. A decade stuck in the house has been mind numbing, especially when the third occupant of the home left a year ago. When a delivery boy named Pierce offers Rupert a connection to the outside world through a secret organization known as The Perdido Society, Rupert finds a zest for life again. As he shares with Gladys, he learns more about the Society, and the two learn there may be a way out of their predicament.

Thank you to NetGalley for an eARC of this novel.

[Liz Wilson · Rating 4 out of 5]

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.

[Carly F · Rating 3 out of 5]

I think I'll land on a 3.5, This was gross, disturbing, and completely Eric LaRocca.

It's an incredibly intense look into what we're willing to put up with to feel less uncomfortable. Whether that being stuck in the same place for eternity or just really, really constipated. What makes a monster? Nature? Nurture? Is everything against you? Like it says in the book (paraphrasing) "sometimes it's easier to do the awful thing instead of the good and decent thing."

LaRocca's books have never been a 5 star for me but I am so morbidly fascinated every time. It's lyrical soul crushing. It's poetic filth. It's that thing that you can recognize as being both beautiful and disgusting. Unfortunately, I will be back for more, and that makes me concerned for my wellbeing.

Thank you to the publisher and NetGalley for allowing me to get a look at this e-ARC in exchange for my honest thoughts.

[Alana · Rating 5 out of 5]

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

[Jeffrey Kuehn · Rating 4 out of 5]

We Turn Gruesome At Night by Eric LaRocca
Received as an ARC.
Rupert and Gladys “live”/ trapped in a place called End House.
They can not leave and their existence is just monotony. The house is deteriorating around them.
Gladys tells Rupert she’s going to end her life and he is welcome to join her.
Until Rupert gets an anonymous letter handed to him by the new grocery delivery boy. The letter is disturbing and intriguing.
He is smitten with Pierce the delivery boy.
Gladys has a plan to entice him to be part of physical encounters that both her and Rupert can joyfully indulge in
Things don’t go as planned
Rupert did something that lets him be free of End House but he feels obligated to help Gladys earn hers.
They both know what they need to do to break free
4⭐️