A Bright Enchanted Suffering by Eric LaRocca is a novella that contains two amazingly distressing tales centered around horrors that happen right in plain sight during the bright light of day…
Full disclosure: I was given a free copy of this book from the author in exchange for an honest review. This did not affect my rating in any way.
Let’s dive in!
My Thoughts on A Bright Enchanted Suffering by Eric LaRocca
I had previously posted a cover reveal of this book, and let me tell you… It’s quite amazing to see it in person as well!
The writing style that Eric uses for each tale is wonderful. The text has such a lyrical quality to it, which is a fun element especially considering the level of darkness inside each story.
Another thing that I really loved about these tales was that in a very short time, Eric was able to create characters that, as a reader, I was immediately drawn to.
Here are my quick notes about each tale:
You’re Not Supposed To Be Here
Oh my goodness, what a terrifying plot! In this one, a gay couple with their six month old son are forced to play a game… and what a doozy of a game it was!
Right from the beginning I was uneasy. That feeling only got worse and worse as the story went on. Then we’re hit with the reveal and phew! What a real world nightmare!
This is one of those stories that makes you question what you would do if you were in the position of these characters… I’d like to think I would do whatever it takes for my loved one, but I’m also a really bad liar so I’d be in trouble there.
From this tale, I loved this line: My husband had always said that if I were a flower, my stem would bend even if there wasn’t any wind.
Where Flames Burned Emerald As Grass
Another absolutely terrifying tale! In this one, a man and his daughter are on vacation. While relaxing by the pool one day, these two are about to learn that the not all friendly faces should be trusted.
When I finished this one, I jumped up and started pacing. What was fabricated and what was a prediction of fate?!
Ugh, the splinter scene had me cringing… and snakes?! No thank you! What a heartbreaking tale!
I highly recommend preordering a copy of this ASAP if you enjoy tales about horror that is very “real world”!
Shout-out again to Eric for sending me a copy with this wonderful note! <3
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Oh, this sounds really good. And that cover is gorgeous!
I definitely recommend it!! And right?!