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Wretch: or, The Unbecoming of Porcelain Khaw
From 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.
8 pages, Audiobook
First published March 24, 2026
About the author
Eric LaRocca
54 books3,562 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 459 reviews
April 6, 2026
“There is something inside me that does not belong, and yet I cannot imagine myself without it.”
Okay but… what did I just read and why do I feel haunted??
This book is like if discomfort, obsession, and body horror all sat down together and said, “let’s ruin someone’s day.” And honestly? Mission accomplished.
Eric LaRocca has this way of writing that feels intimate in the worst possible way, like you’re being let in on something you absolutely should not be witnessing. It’s raw, it’s unsettling, and it’s weirdly emotional?? Like… why am I feeling things while also wanting to look away?
The whole story has this suffocating, claustrophobic energy. You’re stuck inside it. No escape. Just vibes… but the vibes are deeply cursed.
And the imagery?? Some of those scenes are going to live rent free in my brain forever. Not paying rent. Not leaving. Just lingering.
It’s my favourite kind of horror though. The kind that isn’t just scary, it’s uncomfortable. The kind that makes you question things and sit in that unease a little too long. This absolutely delivers on that front.
This one is short but it hits hard, is disturbing in a quiet personal way, emotionally messy (in a good… horrifying way) and not for the squeamish. At all. I am both impressed and mildly traumatised.
Once again, Eric LaRocca proves exactly why he’s one of my favourite horror authors, completely unsettling and impossible to forget.
My Highest Recommendation!
Thank you Simon & Schuster and Titan books for my early readers copy.
Available Now!
Okay but… what did I just read and why do I feel haunted??
This book is like if discomfort, obsession, and body horror all sat down together and said, “let’s ruin someone’s day.” And honestly? Mission accomplished.
Eric LaRocca has this way of writing that feels intimate in the worst possible way, like you’re being let in on something you absolutely should not be witnessing. It’s raw, it’s unsettling, and it’s weirdly emotional?? Like… why am I feeling things while also wanting to look away?
The whole story has this suffocating, claustrophobic energy. You’re stuck inside it. No escape. Just vibes… but the vibes are deeply cursed.
And the imagery?? Some of those scenes are going to live rent free in my brain forever. Not paying rent. Not leaving. Just lingering.
It’s my favourite kind of horror though. The kind that isn’t just scary, it’s uncomfortable. The kind that makes you question things and sit in that unease a little too long. This absolutely delivers on that front.
This one is short but it hits hard, is disturbing in a quiet personal way, emotionally messy (in a good… horrifying way) and not for the squeamish. At all. I am both impressed and mildly traumatised.
Once again, Eric LaRocca proves exactly why he’s one of my favourite horror authors, completely unsettling and impossible to forget.
My Highest Recommendation!
Thank you Simon & Schuster and Titan books for my early readers copy.
Available Now!
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 ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️!
Review of advance copy received from Netgalley
”I am a haunting. I know that full well.”
i don’t even know what to say about this book, i wish it leaned more into the horror though. it’s always weird reading about grief while you’re grieving yourself, but i didn’t sympathize with Simeon at all because he was literally the worst. i think Simeon’s obsession over the death of his husband Jonathan was a little unsettling, due to the fact that their relationship wasn’t anywhere near close to how Simeon was portraying it.
”Don’t look forward to the day you stop suffering, because when it comes you’ll know you’re dead.”
he was just the most unlikable character in every way possible, but i will say that i didn’t expect that reveal or twist about who he’d been actually chatting to. this might be terrible to admit, but part of me feels like he deserves what he got.. can’t lie. i loved the whole idea of the difference between being “haunted vs haunting” and the part that played in the story. i also really enjoyed the last 30 or so pages.. especially the way it ended. the rest of the book leading up to it left a lot to be desired for me though, it felt kind of pointless.
➤ many thanks to NetGalley, the author and Saga Press for the arc, all opinions are my own.”
i don’t even know what to say about this book, i wish it leaned more into the horror though. it’s always weird reading about grief while you’re grieving yourself, but i didn’t sympathize with Simeon at all because he was literally the worst. i think Simeon’s obsession over the death of his husband Jonathan was a little unsettling, due to the fact that their relationship wasn’t anywhere near close to how Simeon was portraying it.
”Don’t look forward to the day you stop suffering, because when it comes you’ll know you’re dead.”
he was just the most unlikable character in every way possible, but i will say that i didn’t expect that reveal or twist about who he’d been actually chatting to. this might be terrible to admit, but part of me feels like he deserves what he got.. can’t lie. i loved the whole idea of the difference between being “haunted vs haunting” and the part that played in the story. i also really enjoyed the last 30 or so pages.. especially the way it ended. the rest of the book leading up to it left a lot to be desired for me though, it felt kind of pointless.
➤ many thanks to NetGalley, the author and Saga Press for the arc, all opinions are my own.”
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.
March 24, 2026
A reverse haunting. Intriguing, right?
It’s one of my life’s joys when a new Eric LaRocca book comes out. I eagerly sat down with my Kindle and let Eric fill me in on Simeon Link’s life. His grief. His son and his ex. Simeon lives in his own head most of the time, therefore so does the reader. Simeon’s head is not a place that is comfortable to be. Even though his thinking is twisted, narcissistic, and at times just plain evil, I could not tear myself away. Like the car crash thing, you know? That’s all I’m going to say about the plot.
Writing-wise, I love this author’s style. It flows in a way that seems effortless, even when describing unspeakable things. Before you can prepare yourself, you’re reading something bizarre and disgusting…your eyes just kept going because that narrative was like a river and it swept you up before you could do anything else. Another aspect of their writing that I take pleasure in is that his stories usually have other stories nestled inside. I absolutely love when that happens if it’s done well. It puts me in mind of Peter Straub’s Ghost Story, one of my all time favorites.
It’s not Straub that LaRocca puts me in mind of the most-that goes to Clive Barker. I get the same feelings today when reading Eric’s work, that I got when I first was introduced to Clive Barker. The wild imagination and brutal rawness are often as breathtaking as they are shocking. Body horror that rivals the best of them out there. Kathe Koja, Poppy Z. Brite, and Mick Garris all come to mind and I must admit, Eric is holding their own.
I continue to be super pumped about Eric’s work and I hope they’ll be around for a good long time, because I can’t wait to see what they do next!
Highly recommended!
*ARC from publisher
It’s one of my life’s joys when a new Eric LaRocca book comes out. I eagerly sat down with my Kindle and let Eric fill me in on Simeon Link’s life. His grief. His son and his ex. Simeon lives in his own head most of the time, therefore so does the reader. Simeon’s head is not a place that is comfortable to be. Even though his thinking is twisted, narcissistic, and at times just plain evil, I could not tear myself away. Like the car crash thing, you know? That’s all I’m going to say about the plot.
Writing-wise, I love this author’s style. It flows in a way that seems effortless, even when describing unspeakable things. Before you can prepare yourself, you’re reading something bizarre and disgusting…your eyes just kept going because that narrative was like a river and it swept you up before you could do anything else. Another aspect of their writing that I take pleasure in is that his stories usually have other stories nestled inside. I absolutely love when that happens if it’s done well. It puts me in mind of Peter Straub’s Ghost Story, one of my all time favorites.
It’s not Straub that LaRocca puts me in mind of the most-that goes to Clive Barker. I get the same feelings today when reading Eric’s work, that I got when I first was introduced to Clive Barker. The wild imagination and brutal rawness are often as breathtaking as they are shocking. Body horror that rivals the best of them out there. Kathe Koja, Poppy Z. Brite, and Mick Garris all come to mind and I must admit, Eric is holding their own.
I continue to be super pumped about Eric’s work and I hope they’ll be around for a good long time, because I can’t wait to see what they do next!
Highly recommended!
*ARC from publisher
March 24, 2026
Thanks to Netgalley and Saga Press for the pre-release copy of Wretch by Eric LaRocca. Below is my honest review.
I'm not entirely sure how to feel about this one. It was quite compelling to read, but it was also pretty hard to read in other places. It was definitely disturbing, and touched on some dark and triggering subjects. Overall, I enjoyed it - it was really hard to put down once it got going - but the characters weren't likable, so I didn't feel myself rooting for anyone. And the ending was a little meh overall. There were some draggy parts too.
3.5 stars, rounded down - a good story with some execution issues.
I'm not entirely sure how to feel about this one. It was quite compelling to read, but it was also pretty hard to read in other places. It was definitely disturbing, and touched on some dark and triggering subjects. Overall, I enjoyed it - it was really hard to put down once it got going - but the characters weren't likable, so I didn't feel myself rooting for anyone. And the ending was a little meh overall. There were some draggy parts too.
3.5 stars, rounded down - a good story with some execution issues.
February 14, 2026
Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for providing me with an ARC of this novel. All my thoughts and opinions are my own.
Real rating: 1.4
I get that this is meant to be grief-driven horror. I also get that not every character is meant to be likable. However, if I am meant to experience this genre through the eyes of a character that recently dealt with profound loss, is it too much to ask to at least make me care about said character? Like, at all?
I did not feel an ounce of empathy towards him. In fact, all I felt was weirded out, uncomfortable, and annoyed.
It is a mystery to me on why the author chose to hold off on starting the main plot of the book until the eleventh hour. It is even more of a mystery to me on why this novel is so sexual. It is perhaps the greatest mystery of all that the author chose to use that same eleventh hour to finally turn this nothing of a book into a vague semblance of something.
None of these mysteries should exist. And I have no desire to solve any of them.
Real rating: 1.4
I get that this is meant to be grief-driven horror. I also get that not every character is meant to be likable. However, if I am meant to experience this genre through the eyes of a character that recently dealt with profound loss, is it too much to ask to at least make me care about said character? Like, at all?
I did not feel an ounce of empathy towards him. In fact, all I felt was weirded out, uncomfortable, and annoyed.
It is a mystery to me on why the author chose to hold off on starting the main plot of the book until the eleventh hour. It is even more of a mystery to me on why this novel is so sexual. It is perhaps the greatest mystery of all that the author chose to use that same eleventh hour to finally turn this nothing of a book into a vague semblance of something.
None of these mysteries should exist. And I have no desire to solve any of them.
April 13, 2026
I love Eric LaRocca, and although this was not my favorite of their books, I can still feel the author through the pages. The way this is written feels deeply personal, as if you are seeing every vulnerable part of the author laid out in front of you.
One of my favorite things about their writing is their descriptions. I love the way they can describe mundane things into something grotesque, or beautiful things with macabre words. I think it's a beautiful talent. That being said, I felt that some of these descriptions were redundant throughout the story, and did not feel new to Erics work.
I love the strangeness to their stories, this one included, bringing forth concepts that I had never even considered, but I would love a more fleshed out plot, as I found this one a little hard to follow.
All of that being said, I recognize how difficult it is to write, especially something with such personal undertones, and I will support LaRocca throughout all of their next releases. I will likely read this again, and probably love it even more than I did the first time.
One of my favorite things about their writing is their descriptions. I love the way they can describe mundane things into something grotesque, or beautiful things with macabre words. I think it's a beautiful talent. That being said, I felt that some of these descriptions were redundant throughout the story, and did not feel new to Erics work.
I love the strangeness to their stories, this one included, bringing forth concepts that I had never even considered, but I would love a more fleshed out plot, as I found this one a little hard to follow.
All of that being said, I recognize how difficult it is to write, especially something with such personal undertones, and I will support LaRocca throughout all of their next releases. I will likely read this again, and probably love it even more than I did the first time.
April 20, 2026
4⭐️ - “Don’t look forward to the day you stop suffering, because when it comes you’ll know you’re dead.”
This is grief horror at its finest and trust me when I say the grief in this story is heavy. 😮💨
It follows Simeon in the aftermath of losing his husband to cancer. He joins a grief support group called The Wretches, and through them is introduced to Porcelain Khaw, a mysterious figure who claims to bring the dead back for one final encounter. As you’d expect, it’s very much a “be careful what you wish for” situation.
I really loved how this book handles grief as something that isn’t linear, but rather cyclical and invasive, seeping into everything. Memory becomes unreliable, desire blurs into longing and Simeon’s sense of self starts to come apart under the weight of it all. It almost slips into fever dream territory at times, where the line between what’s real and what he needs to believe becomes blurred.
I’ll be honest, Simeon isn’t an easy character to like. He’s kinda selfish and he frustrated the hell out of me, but I feel like that’s entirely intentional. Grief doesn’t make people likeable, and this book doesn’t try to soften or reshape it into something more acceptable.
In true LaRocca style, the writing is absolutely beautiful without feeling overworked. It’s heavy and raw, and you really feel the weight of what Simeon is carrying. I will say it’s a bit of a slow burn, but that definitely works well for the story.
It’s been a while since a book genuinely left me staring at a wall with its ending, but I loved how it tied everything together. This one is really dark and sad, and it doesn’t offer easy answers, but it’s thought-provoking and definitely one of those books you’ll think about for a long time.
Thank you so much to @simonschusterau for the ARC. 🫶🏼
This is grief horror at its finest and trust me when I say the grief in this story is heavy. 😮💨
It follows Simeon in the aftermath of losing his husband to cancer. He joins a grief support group called The Wretches, and through them is introduced to Porcelain Khaw, a mysterious figure who claims to bring the dead back for one final encounter. As you’d expect, it’s very much a “be careful what you wish for” situation.
I really loved how this book handles grief as something that isn’t linear, but rather cyclical and invasive, seeping into everything. Memory becomes unreliable, desire blurs into longing and Simeon’s sense of self starts to come apart under the weight of it all. It almost slips into fever dream territory at times, where the line between what’s real and what he needs to believe becomes blurred.
I’ll be honest, Simeon isn’t an easy character to like. He’s kinda selfish and he frustrated the hell out of me, but I feel like that’s entirely intentional. Grief doesn’t make people likeable, and this book doesn’t try to soften or reshape it into something more acceptable.
In true LaRocca style, the writing is absolutely beautiful without feeling overworked. It’s heavy and raw, and you really feel the weight of what Simeon is carrying. I will say it’s a bit of a slow burn, but that definitely works well for the story.
It’s been a while since a book genuinely left me staring at a wall with its ending, but I loved how it tied everything together. This one is really dark and sad, and it doesn’t offer easy answers, but it’s thought-provoking and definitely one of those books you’ll think about for a long time.
Thank you so much to @simonschusterau for the ARC. 🫶🏼
April 12, 2026
Rating: ⭐⭐⭐⭐.5
Eric LaRocca continues to prove he is a master at portraying the most isolating aspects of the human experience on the page. He captures the heavy strings of grief and despair, and the ugly resentment that builds when you feel the world doesn't understand your suffering. I found myself highlighting so many lines that felt like a visceral reflection of my own darkest moments.
Simeon’s journey with Porcelain Khaw and the concept of a reverse haunting were easily the highlights for me. The middle section involving the support group felt a bit disconnected imo and I struggled to see the importance to the story. However, I was quickly drawn back in when Simeon finally meets Porcelain Khaw. The atmosphere was dark and mysterious and the bugs... omg! The ending was absolute perfection and left me stunned. As a little side note I would absolutely LOVE a deeper dive into Porcelain Khaw and his story. I feel like there is so much more there and LaRocca would absolutely deliver.
Thank you to Edelweiss and Saga Press for the DRC! All opinions are my own.
Eric LaRocca continues to prove he is a master at portraying the most isolating aspects of the human experience on the page. He captures the heavy strings of grief and despair, and the ugly resentment that builds when you feel the world doesn't understand your suffering. I found myself highlighting so many lines that felt like a visceral reflection of my own darkest moments.
Simeon’s journey with Porcelain Khaw and the concept of a reverse haunting were easily the highlights for me. The middle section involving the support group felt a bit disconnected imo and I struggled to see the importance to the story. However, I was quickly drawn back in when Simeon finally meets Porcelain Khaw. The atmosphere was dark and mysterious and the bugs... omg! The ending was absolute perfection and left me stunned. As a little side note I would absolutely LOVE a deeper dive into Porcelain Khaw and his story. I feel like there is so much more there and LaRocca would absolutely deliver.
Thank you to Edelweiss and Saga Press for the DRC! All opinions are my own.
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.
March 8, 2026
Billed as a horror novel, I found myself wondering if the horror was the deep well of depression I was falling into while reading this. Make no mistake, it’s authentic in the rawness that grief leaves our psyche. It doesn’t hold back any punches there. The yawning absence of someone that should be there does indeed bring its own horror in loss. But this…ain’t it. I tried. I really did. But I grabbed this ARC because LaRocca was known for his splatterpunk. And what I got was an intense need for a Prozac prescription. By the time I was halfway through I still couldn’t figure out what made this horror or where it was headed. I was honestly starting to be too depressed to find out. Right about the time we got to the shared delusion/cult thing, I was out. I saw what LuLaRoe and essential oils did to people. No thank you. Hard. Pass. I really did try in this one but unfortunately it just wasn’t a good fit for me.
Thank you to Saga Press for the gifted eARC in exchange for an honest review. All opinions are my own.
Thank you to Saga Press for the gifted eARC in exchange for an honest review. All opinions are my own.
Did Not Finish
March 19, 2026DNF.
Nothing wrong with the book! Really enjoyed the first bit. The MC's dead husband shares the name with my own (alive) husband and just couldn't deal with putting myself into that mindset. A little too close to home. Will check out other works from this author though!
Nothing wrong with the book! Really enjoyed the first bit. The MC's dead husband shares the name with my own (alive) husband and just couldn't deal with putting myself into that mindset. A little too close to home. Will check out other works from this author though!
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*
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.
April 10, 2026
when the narrator threatens suicide for the 500th time:
February 26, 2026
Ah, Jeez, this was not good.
Overwritten, waffling, meandering and repetitive…the prose here is so purple even Prince would have said it was too much. The Clive Barker influence is obvious for all to see, but it’s like Barker being written by a desperate person on Tumblr trying to create something meaningful and failing miserably.
This is such a massive drop-off since last year’s At Dark I Become Loathsome and two in a row now from La Rocca that have been massive misses. I don’t get it. Is it just a direction that doesn’t click for me? Or is this a social media hit author being pushed for quantity over quality by their publisher?
Thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for the review copy.
Overwritten, waffling, meandering and repetitive…the prose here is so purple even Prince would have said it was too much. The Clive Barker influence is obvious for all to see, but it’s like Barker being written by a desperate person on Tumblr trying to create something meaningful and failing miserably.
This is such a massive drop-off since last year’s At Dark I Become Loathsome and two in a row now from La Rocca that have been massive misses. I don’t get it. Is it just a direction that doesn’t click for me? Or is this a social media hit author being pushed for quantity over quality by their publisher?
Thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for the review copy.
Review of advance copy received from Publisher
Thank you so much for the proof
This isn't like what I was expecting and this might not be for everyone, but give me grief horror!!!
What made this a 4.5 star read for me was afterwards and the days after where I went over the points in the story that linked, that interconnected, the subtle horror from non-stop of grief and what it does to us and changes us. Do we haunt the dead? We do. More than they do us. What levels would you go for one more moment? Currently I'm loving grief horror and it seems to be helping me in ways - Simeon isn't a perfect character, there are thoughts and moments he has that makes you want to swing at him, but he is also human and flawed and haunted. You root for him one moment and in others you're staring him down thinking WTF? - totally different, to me, from Eric LaRocca's other work but it just worked.
This isn't like what I was expecting and this might not be for everyone, but give me grief horror!!!
What made this a 4.5 star read for me was afterwards and the days after where I went over the points in the story that linked, that interconnected, the subtle horror from non-stop of grief and what it does to us and changes us. Do we haunt the dead? We do. More than they do us. What levels would you go for one more moment? Currently I'm loving grief horror and it seems to be helping me in ways - Simeon isn't a perfect character, there are thoughts and moments he has that makes you want to swing at him, but he is also human and flawed and haunted. You root for him one moment and in others you're staring him down thinking WTF? - totally different, to me, from Eric LaRocca's other work but it just worked.
March 24, 2026
3.5*
TW: Suicidal ideation. Like, lots of it. Among other things that feel too spoilery to mention.
Wow this book is messed up. From the start, you can tell it is going to be, but then you get into it and... horror really is the perfect category for it, that is for sure! That said, I am torn on how I felt about it. I will say this: I could not put it down because I was absolutely invested. It might have been in the way one can't look away from a train wreck, but it's still morbidly intriguing.
Our main character, Simeon... well, to put it very bluntly, he sucks. And at first I was a little annoyed by this, by this whiny, selfish man who spends most of his life waxing poetic about how deeply he has suffered, more suffering than any human has ever undertaken, all the while blithely ignoring his son because he hasn't the fucks to give. And look- grief truly is a beast, there is no doubt. But make no mistake, Simeon was hardly a shining bastion of human decency before his husband died, so we can cross that excuse off the list. But here's the thing: I daresay that if Simeon was likeable, this book may have been too hard to handle. Too depressing, too upsetting. Had we followed the woman we meet in the prologue, I'd have been weeping by the second chapter. But Simeon, in his sheer unlikability, makes the reader more able to engage in the story without wanting to yeet themselves into a river or something.
That said, some of Simeon's musings did make me a little too uncomfy: his (at times) flat out disdain for his child, and his constant insistence that gay men were incapable of sustaining monogamous relationships. Like dude, just because you're a jerk, don't paint all gay men in the same light! Seemed wrong to me, especially because it was never really argued against in any way. I also simply don't think this dude was capable of love. Most of his "fondest" memories of Jonathon involve sex, and he doesn't really mention much of who Jonathan was as an actual human being.
I also would have liked a bit more of the story of the Wretches, since they are the titular entity but don't get a ton of page time. They were fascinating to me! I'd also love more backstory on Porcelain Khaw! But overall, the story was engaging, the atmosphere was disturbingly on point, and I was entertained (and appalled!) throughout. The ending is probably a bit divisive, but I actually think it worked quite well here, and I wasn't mad at it! I would also read another book in this world, fwiw.
Bottom Line: The one instance where I feel like having an unlikable MC actually really works!
You can find the full review and all the fancy and/or randomness that accompanies it at It Starts at Midnight
TW: Suicidal ideation. Like, lots of it. Among other things that feel too spoilery to mention.
Wow this book is messed up. From the start, you can tell it is going to be, but then you get into it and... horror really is the perfect category for it, that is for sure! That said, I am torn on how I felt about it. I will say this: I could not put it down because I was absolutely invested. It might have been in the way one can't look away from a train wreck, but it's still morbidly intriguing.
Our main character, Simeon... well, to put it very bluntly, he sucks. And at first I was a little annoyed by this, by this whiny, selfish man who spends most of his life waxing poetic about how deeply he has suffered, more suffering than any human has ever undertaken, all the while blithely ignoring his son because he hasn't the fucks to give. And look- grief truly is a beast, there is no doubt. But make no mistake, Simeon was hardly a shining bastion of human decency before his husband died, so we can cross that excuse off the list. But here's the thing: I daresay that if Simeon was likeable, this book may have been too hard to handle. Too depressing, too upsetting. Had we followed the woman we meet in the prologue, I'd have been weeping by the second chapter. But Simeon, in his sheer unlikability, makes the reader more able to engage in the story without wanting to yeet themselves into a river or something.
That said, some of Simeon's musings did make me a little too uncomfy: his (at times) flat out disdain for his child, and his constant insistence that gay men were incapable of sustaining monogamous relationships. Like dude, just because you're a jerk, don't paint all gay men in the same light! Seemed wrong to me, especially because it was never really argued against in any way. I also simply don't think this dude was capable of love. Most of his "fondest" memories of Jonathon involve sex, and he doesn't really mention much of who Jonathan was as an actual human being.
I also would have liked a bit more of the story of the Wretches, since they are the titular entity but don't get a ton of page time. They were fascinating to me! I'd also love more backstory on Porcelain Khaw! But overall, the story was engaging, the atmosphere was disturbingly on point, and I was entertained (and appalled!) throughout. The ending is probably a bit divisive, but I actually think it worked quite well here, and I wasn't mad at it! I would also read another book in this world, fwiw.
Bottom Line: The one instance where I feel like having an unlikable MC actually really works!
You can find the full review and all the fancy and/or randomness that accompanies it at It Starts at Midnight
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.
April 19, 2026
I don't think I've ever been this conflicted before in regards to a book.
After reading and really enjoying The Trees Grew Because I Bled There, I dove into this one with high hopes and high expectations. Unfortunately, I think I may have set those expectations too high, considering I almost DNF'd this book a few times and really had to force myself to finish it, hoping that it'd turn around towards the end.
The first 20-ish percent of the book was enjoyable and did a good job of setting the tone, themes, and overarching dread into place. The final 20-30 percent do a good job of delivering on all of those things that were previously set up and - while really not being that horrifying of a horror novel - it was satisfyingly uncomfortable. That leaves the other half of the book, the central portion, an utter slog.
Simeon is a very grating character, and while he's clearly meant to be unlikable in many regards, that unlikability isn't written in a way that is compelling or interesting enough to carry a whole novel. The reason I kept having the impulse to DNF the book was because it felt like half of the text was some variation of "I miss Jonathan" or "I'm a terrible person". Grief, regret, and self-loathing are all incredibly powerful emotions and states of being, so it's totally understandable for someone to get trapped in wallowing in their pain, but the way its written here just makes the pacing feel glacial and the overall text feel bloated.
The overarching concepts here are great, the scattered horror elements are compelling, and Porcelain Khaw is an interesting horror character/creature/being/etc. This story would have made a really fantastic and unsettling novella at half its current length, but in full novel form it was sadly just a middling read for me.
Thank you to NetGalley and Saga Press for the review copy!
After reading and really enjoying The Trees Grew Because I Bled There, I dove into this one with high hopes and high expectations. Unfortunately, I think I may have set those expectations too high, considering I almost DNF'd this book a few times and really had to force myself to finish it, hoping that it'd turn around towards the end.
The first 20-ish percent of the book was enjoyable and did a good job of setting the tone, themes, and overarching dread into place. The final 20-30 percent do a good job of delivering on all of those things that were previously set up and - while really not being that horrifying of a horror novel - it was satisfyingly uncomfortable. That leaves the other half of the book, the central portion, an utter slog.
Simeon is a very grating character, and while he's clearly meant to be unlikable in many regards, that unlikability isn't written in a way that is compelling or interesting enough to carry a whole novel. The reason I kept having the impulse to DNF the book was because it felt like half of the text was some variation of "I miss Jonathan" or "I'm a terrible person". Grief, regret, and self-loathing are all incredibly powerful emotions and states of being, so it's totally understandable for someone to get trapped in wallowing in their pain, but the way its written here just makes the pacing feel glacial and the overall text feel bloated.
The overarching concepts here are great, the scattered horror elements are compelling, and Porcelain Khaw is an interesting horror character/creature/being/etc. This story would have made a really fantastic and unsettling novella at half its current length, but in full novel form it was sadly just a middling read for me.
Thank you to NetGalley and Saga Press for the review copy!
Did Not Finish
April 18, 2026I've read 2 books by this author before. things have gotten worse since we last spoke, which I gave 4 stars to, and this skin was once mine and other disturbances, which I gave 3 stars to. this one was a dnf. 😭 unfortunately, I'm not sure whether I wanna read more from this author because I'm not really vibing with their writing style as of late...
and that was my biggest issue with this one. the writing was over descriptive for me to the point where I just wanted the story to get on with it. it had a few great quotes, but it soon annoyed me a little when every time something had to be overly described. I don't know if that makes sense, lol.
this book, in the first 20 pages, gets quite depressing, so check your trigger warnings! sadly, this one wasn't for me.
and that was my biggest issue with this one. the writing was over descriptive for me to the point where I just wanted the story to get on with it. it had a few great quotes, but it soon annoyed me a little when every time something had to be overly described. I don't know if that makes sense, lol.
this book, in the first 20 pages, gets quite depressing, so check your trigger warnings! sadly, this one wasn't for me.
March 31, 2026
As always, LaRocca is good for a quick, squicky, perverted, poetically written tale where you just kind of mutter to yourself "whaaaaat the fuuuuuuuck" a bunch of times while reading.
Continues the "grieving, reprehensible gay man with a complex" theme of At Dark I Become Loathsome and the "Most Pathetic Dad of the Year" theme of both that title and We Are Always Tender With Our Dead.
Loved the idea of a reverse haunting.
The narrator's oft repeated "my beloved Jonathan" and "my precious Carter" was notable... almost as if he believes if repeats it enough times it'll manifest into truth.
Continues the "grieving, reprehensible gay man with a complex" theme of At Dark I Become Loathsome and the "Most Pathetic Dad of the Year" theme of both that title and We Are Always Tender With Our Dead.
Loved the idea of a reverse haunting.
The narrator's oft repeated "my beloved Jonathan" and "my precious Carter" was notable... almost as if he believes if repeats it enough times it'll manifest into truth.
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.
April 11, 2026
Second attempt of Eric LaRocca he is just not my cup of tea. This is grief horror something I'm learning I'm not a fan of. I didn't mind the writing just really not interested in the concept.
January 24, 2026
Thank you to Saga Press for providing this ARC for review consideration via NetGalley. All opinions are my own.
Wretch by Eric LaRocca is a transgressive horror title that deals primarily with the desperation that accompanies grief. Following the loss of his husband, Simeon is suicidal, unemployed, and deeply unhappy. When a mysterious support group leads him to someone who could help him reconnect, he’s willing to do anything to have one last connection.
Having read a handful or LaRocca’s other books at this point, I do think that this title is pretty in line with the language and themes he’s used in other titles. If you really got into it in the past, then this may be for you, but if you’ve found him to be wordy or convoluted in the past Wretch is in no way a departure from that style. Personally, like in or the instances, I do think the author errs on the side of being verbose to the point of losing some meaning. It feels at time if there’s a lot of language that’s meant to convey depth and introspection but which really just feels like someone to hit a word count.
The story is characterized as transgressive horror; in some ways I agree, in some ways I’m not sure that’s the fright clarification. In the traditional sense, this doesn’t exactly read as a horror story. The tension and pacing make it so that it feels so measured and linear. Even the horror elements are more unsettling and transgressive than horrific or shocking. The book is transgressive, however, in its theming at times. There are very casual mentions to torture, trafficking, suicide, and child abuse that come across with so little fanfare that it’s somewhat surprising. LaRocca consistently pushes the envelope of just how messed up a discussion can be without it really even seeming to raise alarm bells. Case in point, there’s a whole section about a father fantasizing about throwing his infant to an alligator pit that’s somewhat positioned as shocking, but which is really just par for the course.
At the end of the day, I can’t recommend this novel, except maybe for readers who are already fans of the author’s work and who are going through some form of loss. Maybe that’s the cathartic target audience. In my persona reading I found the book vacillated wildly between torturously slow self-masturbatory whimpering from Simeon, who isn’t even a “good” bad protagonist and mentions of sadistic yet disinterested interactions with medium/cosmic prostitute Porcelain Khaw. It just really didn’t have a very robust plot, characters that felt compelling, or pacing that kept my attention. I’m giving this book a 2/5 out or 5. I have liked this author’s works previously, but as other reviewers have pointed out, there has been a breakneck pace of publishing. The last two titles have failed to really live up the way earlier works did.
Wretch by Eric LaRocca is a transgressive horror title that deals primarily with the desperation that accompanies grief. Following the loss of his husband, Simeon is suicidal, unemployed, and deeply unhappy. When a mysterious support group leads him to someone who could help him reconnect, he’s willing to do anything to have one last connection.
Having read a handful or LaRocca’s other books at this point, I do think that this title is pretty in line with the language and themes he’s used in other titles. If you really got into it in the past, then this may be for you, but if you’ve found him to be wordy or convoluted in the past Wretch is in no way a departure from that style. Personally, like in or the instances, I do think the author errs on the side of being verbose to the point of losing some meaning. It feels at time if there’s a lot of language that’s meant to convey depth and introspection but which really just feels like someone to hit a word count.
The story is characterized as transgressive horror; in some ways I agree, in some ways I’m not sure that’s the fright clarification. In the traditional sense, this doesn’t exactly read as a horror story. The tension and pacing make it so that it feels so measured and linear. Even the horror elements are more unsettling and transgressive than horrific or shocking. The book is transgressive, however, in its theming at times. There are very casual mentions to torture, trafficking, suicide, and child abuse that come across with so little fanfare that it’s somewhat surprising. LaRocca consistently pushes the envelope of just how messed up a discussion can be without it really even seeming to raise alarm bells. Case in point, there’s a whole section about a father fantasizing about throwing his infant to an alligator pit that’s somewhat positioned as shocking, but which is really just par for the course.
At the end of the day, I can’t recommend this novel, except maybe for readers who are already fans of the author’s work and who are going through some form of loss. Maybe that’s the cathartic target audience. In my persona reading I found the book vacillated wildly between torturously slow self-masturbatory whimpering from Simeon, who isn’t even a “good” bad protagonist and mentions of sadistic yet disinterested interactions with medium/cosmic prostitute Porcelain Khaw. It just really didn’t have a very robust plot, characters that felt compelling, or pacing that kept my attention. I’m giving this book a 2/5 out or 5. I have liked this author’s works previously, but as other reviewers have pointed out, there has been a breakneck pace of publishing. The last two titles have failed to really live up the way earlier works did.
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