We Can Never Leave This Place - Coming Out June 24th, 2022!
Firstly, a big thank you to Sadie Hartmann for providing me with a digital copy for review.
Now... woah. Woah, woah, WOAH. I loved Eric LaRocca's Things Have Gotten Worse Since We Last Spoke, but this one was even better! LaRocca is an incredible author and I am so excited about how his work is evolving. This cover is truly an amazing pairing for the story as well.
This story felt very current, as it occurs in a war-torn place (while a war wages on between Russia and Ukraine in the real world), and the bleakness that surrounds that. It starts out very realistic, with a young girl and her pregnant mother alone in their steadily falling-apart home, awaiting the return of the father. Two men in gas masks knock on their door and ask to be let in, revealing her dead father outside under a sheet from a dropped bomb, and then the horror begins. Suddenly, there are guests in her home of monstrous proportions and what they want from her and her family can never be reclaimed.
Heartbreaking, thought-provoking, immeasurably compelling. You will devour this novella in no time. Each piece you try will leave you hungry for more. By the end, I resembled Edvard Munch's "The Scream" and it was glorious. Coming out June 24th, you simply must secure yourself a copy.
