Omg i felt so validated hearing you talk about Things Have Gotten Worse, I was so excited to read it and when it was over I felt so incredibly underwhelmed and annoyed. I truly dont understand the hype for that book
I’m glad other people didn’t like it as much as I did, it just grossed me and made me upset really. I can’t look at an apple peeler the same way anymore lol
yes! "things have gotten worse" was one of the worst times i've ever had reading a book. it felt shallow and pointless. i agree with all of your points
Glad to hear you also enjoyed Our Wives Under The Sea as much as I did :) I agree that it was very fast paced in the sense that it was a page turner for me. I also wish that I cared about the main characters more, they seemed like a watered down (sorry) version of real people but at the same time I felt deeply for the loss of their relationship. I almost cared more about their potential and their history than the present time they spent with each other. Like mourning a relationship while you're still in it and coming to terms with the fact that it will end soon.
just finished reading monstrilio last week. okay perfect timing. i was so shocked by the mention of people finding it kinky cause what?! people are crazy. i actually enjoyed how casual they were about everyone being gay.. it kinda adds to the magical realism of it all. as a lesbian that grew up in a very homophobic latinx country it felt nice to read a book set it latam with a bunch of queer characters not having to deal with a homophobic society. is it realistic? ig no, but its a book about a lung growing into a boy sooo. i can see how not everyone would be a fan of that choice tho 🤔
The gecko-tapeworm thing is SO stupid and I've been genuinely baffled by all the high praise. Like, I assumed the gecko was a set-up for making her go out and get pregnant, whether by a stranger or a bank, and then forcing her to get rid of the baby, which would have been disturbing! But the tapeworm is just gross.
the whole book led up to literally nothing 😭 and if all it was gonna be was gross then i honestly feel like it should’ve been more gross than that . like he did not commit
I am a queer horror writer/indie published author and I sometimes really doubt my own writing but honestly after reading things have gotten worse I felt very encouraged because if that utter trash bag of a book can exist as a book then maybe my writing is not completely garbage like I thought
I'm from Australia and couldn't sleep, so I visited your channel just a couple hours ago and thought "dang, I wish Frankie had a new video. I have nothing good to watch". Was so excited to come back to TH-cam an hour later to see this post. You've made 1am to 3am me very very happy, and even more excited to receive Monstrilio for Christmas :D. Keep it up, absolutely love your videos!
Everytime you post I get so excited! I love knowing I'll get such an honest review as I think most book vids on TH-cam are “dark romance” or edgy books that aren't allowed to be criticized.
Our Wives Under the Sea is one of my favourite books. The body horror, the coldness, the mystery, the hopelessness. The ending was so emotional for me, i couldnt stop crying as she slipped away into the ocean. I can't wait to read Salt Slow, Armfield's short horror collection ❤
Fully delivered! This was another amazing video!! I really love the way you summarize books, book reviewing goals. I’m adding some of these to my tbr, thank youuu. good luck with ur essay!
frankie, my beloved, i literally treat your word as oath at this point. every book that you've enjoyed from past videos have been my exact taste and im curious to see what are some book that have changed your life or aspects of your thoughts!!
Yay finally a vlog where I've read most of the books! Agree on all points. Monstrilio was my favorite book last year. Our Wives was phenomenal, agree about person you married changing, the selkie wife symbolism was fantastic. I'm a huge Eric LaRocca fan girl and TBH Things Have Gotten Worse is one of his worst, I have no idea why that one became so popular compared to the rest of his catalog.
I JUST finished Monstrilio and it was soo good!! I also really liked Our Wives Under the Sea. I will keep the others on my radar hehe, but I skipped over the other segments to avoid spoilers
I have such a big TRL and you took all of these books off mine because I got to know them without having to check them out and that’s all I want from a book review. Thank you!
okay, on the conversation about monstrilio and the cultural differences: i’m mexican and i can say that people here tend to be really homophobic or just not care at all, like complete indifference or just complete lack of acknowledgement towards the fact that you’re queer, so maybe that’s why you felt like monstrilio approached queerness in a very nonchalant way! sorry if this didn’t make sense at all LMAO my esl brain was struggling
I read “ we used to live here “ the main characters are a lesbian couple, it also doesn’t sell it self like that. There’s a lot of religious themes, I found it pretty interesting
i loved brainwyrms by allison rumfit but couldn’t get into tell me i’m worth it. brainwyrms is like if things have gotten worse since we last spoke was actually as freaky and kinky as people say it is
First --- thank you. I fucking hate Eric LaRocca's books. I've read too many hoping to find something I could like. They're all the same contrived garbage. Second -- Private Rites is excellent. Get ready for more water. Last -- Everything you disliked about Tell Me I'm Worthless is so much worse in Brainwyrms. I enjoyed both, but the heavyhandedness gets heavier. Your videos have been keeping me going lately. Thank you for the work and detail you put into all of them.
you *need* to read Where I End by Sophie White. its one of the creepiest/saddest things i’ve picked up in a while and i think it’s right up your alley!
Great video I’ve read all these except Monstrillio and Our Wives. Your review makes me excited to get to Our Wives sooner than later. I am right there with you Frankie-this year my preference is reading books with gay characters and I plan on more queer horror going into 2025
I was so looking forward to your review of Tell Me I'm Worthless ever since I mentioned it. I think the greatest think about the book is that, in similar tone of Bad Gays: A History, it doesn't glorify trans people. I believe the nuance comes from the way that it is disgusting, it is harrowing, it is horrifying, and its violence done against a trans person, violence done by a trans person, but the beauty in it is that the supernatural aspect warps the perspective of the reader.. who do you believe? Who is the villain? Who is a monster? I think for sure that the writing style and the way that the themes are presented might not be for everyone's taste, and maybe because it was the first horror book I had ever read by an openly trans author and my bias comes from just one novel reading experience, it was a wake up moment for myself. So I admit that I am a bit disappointed that you didn't enjoy it but happy nonetheless that you read it anyway! I think the other side of beauty is that the feeling of hating the characters and the idea of hating bits of it makes it so human! I love that it was so gritty and awful, which I think, reminds at least myself of the reasons why I enjoy horror and that stemming from the comfort in discomfort that is so familiar. I will also add, last note, that especially in my experience as an anarchist/socialist activist I just LOVED the themes to death, even if done poorly, I'll inject it into my veins any day. Add queer, trans characters AND horror??? I was FED. Thanks so much for giving it a shot. I was so happy to see that you'd uploaded and that Tell Me I'm Worthless was given a shot! I appreciate your perspective, and I hope that your review can help reach out to people who will also give it a shot. Now... recommendation! Andrew Joseph White was a self-published indie author turned traditional, and is a trans-man who writes young adult thrillers, horror and fantasy with specific themes of queerness, transness, and anti-fascism! Would definitely recommend his books as they are written both beautifully, with stunning craft, as well as enthralling, eerie, and exciting!
yay Frankie !!! Can I recommend a book? Pedro Páramo by Juan Rulfo :D Mexican literature, classic contemporary, I would love to hear your thoughts and perspective.
I agree with your comments about Monstrilio and the treatment of queerness. It didn't feel queer to me. Yeah, it's kind of lazy. I live on the US/MX border and I don't think it's a Latin American thing (ime, as a queer person, Latin American cultures are still pretty queerphobic). I think it's authors trying to evade the uncomfortable parts of the reality of being queer in their stories while getting cred for being inclusive.
i recommend the book boulder by Eva Baltasar its very short ...its not that unsettling but i have never read anything like it ...soo yah!!!thank u for the awesome recommendations!!!!
Does anyone have channel recs for people similar to Frankie? Love that they don't get into fanfare or try to sell you on their channel with anything other than a genuine love of reading.
I read Tell Me I’m Worthless. It was confusing for me. I do like the emotional impact the characters go through, especially Alice. I do like that it didn’t sugarcoat what the trans community has been experiencing in recent years. I felt the story was rushed and sorta fell apart toward the end.
I really like the 2 or 3 other stories in Things Have Gotten Worse I thought they were marginally better and more interesting especially in conjunction with the authors note at the end talking about their experience with religion and isolation. Nothing world shaking but i really enjoyed them and others with religious trauma probably would too
Things have gotten worse since we last spoke is the worst book I've ever read and it's frustrating because it's such a good premise for a better longer book. but no it reads like a first draft and i can't understand the hype or why it had to be between 2 women. It felt like it was an excuse to just write gross stuff like the rotten meat and the cat getting run over. Also the roommate randomly appearing near the end?
of course it does,, individualism has been sold to us as the end all be all for like 200 years my guy. also who has ever said the queer experience is the same globally 😭
@frankiesshelf you said something along those lines. Along the lines of didn't want the characters a queer experience similar to the straight experience. That experience can be beautiful or chaotic, doesn't have to a soapbox or a podium. Respectfully 😉
There is another book with a fascist house called White is For Witching by Helen Oyeyemi. It’s more about borders and immigration but is still quite weird/gothic with a queer element.
i haven’t read “things have gotten worse,” but i did read one of their other books “you’ve lost a lot of blood” because it was easier to get my hands on and it was also awful!!! that one felt like it was written by a 14 year old who romanticizes mass murderers on tumblr lmao
Interesting review for things have gotten worse! I haven't read this one, but I've read quite a bit of eric larocca short stories and I just do not like how he writes lesbians. All his other stories are great, imo.
Interesting selection I will have to check out our wives under the sea. I liked things have gotten worse since we last spoke (and I've just finished their full length novel everywhere the darkness eats) and I don't find it unusual that two women trying to impress each other would use such flowery language. Is La Rocca's work nasty for the sake of being nasty? Perhaps. But so what if it is. Art can set out to inspire any emotion. The Gays can have schlock and filth without being noble, same as the str8s.
absolutely they can! it’s just so boring and tired to read something that’s trying to be nasty, isn’t even being that nasty, and isn’t saying anything with it. as the reader it’s just not entertaining or interesting for me
100% disagree . this book calls itself “a celebration of queer stories”. magical realism means that the story takes place in our world but with magical elements. with all that said i can absolutely want the character’s queer identities to have more depth
honestly my least favorite thing about things have gotten worse is the fact that the two voices are indistinguishable from each other. like never at any point did i feel like i was reading emails written by two different people. it reads like a book written by one person who’s trying too hard 🫢
![[FULL] RETROSPECTIVE : Final Fantasy Tactics](/img/n.gif)
Omg i felt so validated hearing you talk about Things Have Gotten Worse, I was so excited to read it and when it was over I felt so incredibly underwhelmed and annoyed. I truly dont understand the hype for that book
I didn't watch the video yet, but just for the thumbnail I was hoping it would be a fair critique! Hahahaha, IT'S SO ANNOYIIIINNNGGGGG
it’s actually so bad when i finished it i walked around my house going “a tapeworm?! a TAPEWORM??” like i still feel cheated
I’m glad other people didn’t like it as much as I did, it just grossed me and made me upset really. I can’t look at an apple peeler the same way anymore lol
yes! "things have gotten worse" was one of the worst times i've ever had reading a book. it felt shallow and pointless. i agree with all of your points
tysm for adding spoiler timestamps 🙏🏻 great video :)
Glad to hear you also enjoyed Our Wives Under The Sea as much as I did :) I agree that it was very fast paced in the sense that it was a page turner for me. I also wish that I cared about the main characters more, they seemed like a watered down (sorry) version of real people but at the same time I felt deeply for the loss of their relationship. I almost cared more about their potential and their history than the present time they spent with each other. Like mourning a relationship while you're still in it and coming to terms with the fact that it will end soon.
perfectly worded - I could not agree more
just finished reading monstrilio last week. okay perfect timing. i was so shocked by the mention of people finding it kinky cause what?! people are crazy. i actually enjoyed how casual they were about everyone being gay.. it kinda adds to the magical realism of it all. as a lesbian that grew up in a very homophobic latinx country it felt nice to read a book set it latam with a bunch of queer characters not having to deal with a homophobic society. is it realistic? ig no, but its a book about a lung growing into a boy sooo. i can see how not everyone would be a fan of that choice tho 🤔
It’s the way i dont read ANY of the genres u read and yet you’re my fav book TH-camr and i could listen to u for hours
I really apreciate your commitment to longer videos, it is so fun to hear your well thought out commentary
i truly just can’t shut up
Our wives under the sea has potentially changed the way my neurons transmit its impulses
Things Have Gotten Worse was literally just made for the gross factor! I am forever petty after being catfished by the insanely beautiful cover it has
and then it wasn’t even that gross! like have some commitment
The gecko-tapeworm thing is SO stupid and I've been genuinely baffled by all the high praise.
Like, I assumed the gecko was a set-up for making her go out and get pregnant, whether by a stranger or a bank, and then forcing her to get rid of the baby, which would have been disturbing! But the tapeworm is just gross.
the whole book led up to literally nothing 😭 and if all it was gonna be was gross then i honestly feel like it should’ve been more gross than that . like he did not commit
i LOVE your spoilers. life is not long enough to read all the books i want to read so i’m happy to hear your summaries
I am a queer horror writer/indie published author and I sometimes really doubt my own writing but honestly after reading things have gotten worse I felt very encouraged because if that utter trash bag of a book can exist as a book then maybe my writing is not completely garbage like I thought
I'm from Australia and couldn't sleep, so I visited your channel just a couple hours ago and thought "dang, I wish Frankie had a new video. I have nothing good to watch". Was so excited to come back to TH-cam an hour later to see this post. You've made 1am to 3am me very very happy, and even more excited to receive Monstrilio for Christmas :D. Keep it up, absolutely love your videos!
THE HAT!!!!!!!!!!!
I love gay people
I wish they were real
Everytime you post I get so excited! I love knowing I'll get such an honest review as I think most book vids on TH-cam are “dark romance” or edgy books that aren't allowed to be criticized.
Our Wives Under the Sea is one of my favourite books. The body horror, the coldness, the mystery, the hopelessness. The ending was so emotional for me, i couldnt stop crying as she slipped away into the ocean. I can't wait to read Salt Slow, Armfield's short horror collection ❤
I love your recommendations so much, I also really enjoyed monstrillio, can’t wait to hear about your thoughts!
Yippee!! New Frankie’s shelf video!!!
Fully delivered! This was another amazing video!! I really love the way you summarize books, book reviewing goals. I’m adding some of these to my tbr, thank youuu. good luck with ur essay!
frankie, my beloved, i literally treat your word as oath at this point. every book that you've enjoyed from past videos have been my exact taste and im curious to see what are some book that have changed your life or aspects of your thoughts!!
Yay finally a vlog where I've read most of the books! Agree on all points. Monstrilio was my favorite book last year. Our Wives was phenomenal, agree about person you married changing, the selkie wife symbolism was fantastic. I'm a huge Eric LaRocca fan girl and TBH Things Have Gotten Worse is one of his worst, I have no idea why that one became so popular compared to the rest of his catalog.
I JUST finished Monstrilio and it was soo good!! I also really liked Our Wives Under the Sea. I will keep the others on my radar hehe, but I skipped over the other segments to avoid spoilers
I've read ALL these books. This is wild, can't wait to hear your thoughts.
I was desperately in need of a Tell Me I'm Worthless spoiler review!!
I have such a big TRL and you took all of these books off mine because I got to know them without having to check them out and that’s all I want from a book review. Thank you!
You've become one of my fave WFH companions
okay, on the conversation about monstrilio and the cultural differences: i’m mexican and i can say that people here tend to be really homophobic or just not care at all, like complete indifference or just complete lack of acknowledgement towards the fact that you’re queer, so maybe that’s why you felt like monstrilio approached queerness in a very nonchalant way! sorry if this didn’t make sense at all LMAO my esl brain was struggling
I read “ we used to live here “ the main characters are a lesbian couple, it also doesn’t sell it self like that. There’s a lot of religious themes, I found it pretty interesting
i loved brainwyrms by allison rumfit but couldn’t get into tell me i’m worth it. brainwyrms is like if things have gotten worse since we last spoke was actually as freaky and kinky as people say it is
THIS IS WHAT WE WANTED AND NEEDED
First --- thank you. I fucking hate Eric LaRocca's books. I've read too many hoping to find something I could like. They're all the same contrived garbage. Second -- Private Rites is excellent. Get ready for more water. Last -- Everything you disliked about Tell Me I'm Worthless is so much worse in Brainwyrms. I enjoyed both, but the heavyhandedness gets heavier.
Your videos have been keeping me going lately. Thank you for the work and detail you put into all of them.
damn it! i was gonna give brainwyrms a try but now i’m very much reconsidering
so so pumped for private rites though !!
@@frankiesshelf I mean -- it's a messy sexy romp -- but there is nothing subtle about it. I told my husband it felt like it was written in all caps.
lol i read "things have gotten worse", short story but soooo disturbing. love your reviews 💖
Your bigfoot hat is sooo good did you design it yourself??? I wanna make one inspired by it
you *need* to read Where I End by Sophie White. its one of the creepiest/saddest things i’ve picked up in a while and i think it’s right up your alley!
yes!! i’ve been looking for this book forever i really think i’ll like it. creepy / sad is the best combo
Great video I’ve read all these except Monstrillio and Our Wives. Your review makes me excited to get to Our Wives sooner than later. I am right there with you Frankie-this year my preference is reading books with gay characters and I plan on more queer horror going into 2025
omg, I've read only Monstrilio and our Wives! Both very good. would recommend definitely interested in the others 👀
honestly yes! love the hat ❤
YES this is exactly what I needed. I can't wait to find a copy of Monstrilio and chow down
The hat is the coolest thing I've seen all day
PLEASE FRANKIE PLS MAKE A WINTER REC VIDEO. I NEEEED IT. IM IN THE THROWS OF SEASONAL DEPRESHUN HELP ME FRANKIE ILY ILY
I was so looking forward to your review of Tell Me I'm Worthless ever since I mentioned it. I think the greatest think about the book is that, in similar tone of Bad Gays: A History, it doesn't glorify trans people. I believe the nuance comes from the way that it is disgusting, it is harrowing, it is horrifying, and its violence done against a trans person, violence done by a trans person, but the beauty in it is that the supernatural aspect warps the perspective of the reader.. who do you believe? Who is the villain? Who is a monster?
I think for sure that the writing style and the way that the themes are presented might not be for everyone's taste, and maybe because it was the first horror book I had ever read by an openly trans author and my bias comes from just one novel reading experience, it was a wake up moment for myself. So I admit that I am a bit disappointed that you didn't enjoy it but happy nonetheless that you read it anyway!
I think the other side of beauty is that the feeling of hating the characters and the idea of hating bits of it makes it so human! I love that it was so gritty and awful, which I think, reminds at least myself of the reasons why I enjoy horror and that stemming from the comfort in discomfort that is so familiar. I will also add, last note, that especially in my experience as an anarchist/socialist activist I just LOVED the themes to death, even if done poorly, I'll inject it into my veins any day. Add queer, trans characters AND horror??? I was FED.
Thanks so much for giving it a shot. I was so happy to see that you'd uploaded and that Tell Me I'm Worthless was given a shot! I appreciate your perspective, and I hope that your review can help reach out to people who will also give it a shot.
Now... recommendation! Andrew Joseph White was a self-published indie author turned traditional, and is a trans-man who writes young adult thrillers, horror and fantasy with specific themes of queerness, transness, and anti-fascism! Would definitely recommend his books as they are written both beautifully, with stunning craft, as well as enthralling, eerie, and exciting!
yay Frankie !!! Can I recommend a book? Pedro Páramo by Juan Rulfo :D Mexican literature, classic contemporary, I would love to hear your thoughts and perspective.
ooh thank you that looks great
Omg I just saw thiiis and I have a 2 hour work trip tomorrow!!!!! I am so stoked omg
frankie that hat is awesome please show more of your knitting
that bigfoot beanie is awesome!
I agree with your comments about Monstrilio and the treatment of queerness. It didn't feel queer to me. Yeah, it's kind of lazy. I live on the US/MX border and I don't think it's a Latin American thing (ime, as a queer person, Latin American cultures are still pretty queerphobic). I think it's authors trying to evade the uncomfortable parts of the reality of being queer in their stories while getting cred for being inclusive.
Our Wives Under the Sea is one of my all time faves!! I think you might like Grey Dog by Elliot Gish.
i recommend the book boulder by Eva Baltasar its very short ...its not that unsettling but i have never read anything like it ...soo yah!!!thank u for the awesome recommendations!!!!
Does anyone have channel recs for people similar to Frankie? Love that they don't get into fanfare or try to sell you on their channel with anything other than a genuine love of reading.
I read Tell Me I’m Worthless. It was confusing for me. I do like the emotional impact the characters go through, especially Alice. I do like that it didn’t sugarcoat what the trans community has been experiencing in recent years. I felt the story was rushed and sorta fell apart toward the end.
I really like the 2 or 3 other stories in Things Have Gotten Worse I thought they were marginally better and more interesting especially in conjunction with the authors note at the end talking about their experience with religion and isolation. Nothing world shaking but i really enjoyed them and others with religious trauma probably would too
Please read Closer by Dennis Cooper I need to hear your thoughts about it. It's insaane.
That toque is awesome. 👏
You should definitely read something by Agustina Bazterrica, an argentenian horror genius.
Things have gotten worse since we last spoke is the worst book I've ever read and it's frustrating because it's such a good premise for a better longer book. but no it reads like a first draft and i can't understand the hype or why it had to be between 2 women. It felt like it was an excuse to just write gross stuff like the rotten meat and the cat getting run over. Also the roommate randomly appearing near the end?
Oh thank god
best comment to receive
America / West has a fascination with labels. The queer experience globally is *not* the same.
of course it does,, individualism has been sold to us as the end all be all for like 200 years my guy. also who has ever said the queer experience is the same globally 😭
@frankiesshelf you said something along those lines. Along the lines of didn't want the characters a queer experience similar to the straight experience. That experience can be beautiful or chaotic, doesn't have to a soapbox or a podium. Respectfully 😉
There is another book with a fascist house called White is For Witching by Helen Oyeyemi. It’s more about borders and immigration but is still quite weird/gothic with a queer element.
If you love grief horror, check out The Haar by David Sodergren!
i haven’t read “things have gotten worse,” but i did read one of their other books “you’ve lost a lot of blood” because it was easier to get my hands on and it was also awful!!! that one felt like it was written by a 14 year old who romanticizes mass murderers on tumblr lmao
obsessed with the thumbnail, gay people are scary!!!!
Interesting review for things have gotten worse! I haven't read this one, but I've read quite a bit of eric larocca short stories and I just do not like how he writes lesbians. All his other stories are great, imo.
Can u do reading vlogs pleeeese🥹🥹🖤
Frankie Frankie I beg of you read Jawbone (Monica Ojeda) if you haven't already
you should read PARADISE ROT!!
GOOD HAT!!!
You should give Brainwyrms a go if you liked Tell Me I'm Worthless. I read it and gave it 5 stars but I was also disgusted the whole time.
I gave this video a like as soon as you said “I think it’s horrific to be queer” lmao
"things have gotten worse" just reminds me of reddit
👣👒bigfoot hat👒👣bigfoot hat
Interesting selection I will have to check out our wives under the sea. I liked things have gotten worse since we last spoke (and I've just finished their full length novel everywhere the darkness eats) and I don't find it unusual that two women trying to impress each other would use such flowery language.
Is La Rocca's work nasty for the sake of being nasty? Perhaps. But so what if it is. Art can set out to inspire any emotion. The Gays can have schlock and filth without being noble, same as the str8s.
absolutely they can! it’s just so boring and tired to read something that’s trying to be nasty, isn’t even being that nasty, and isn’t saying anything with it. as the reader it’s just not entertaining or interesting for me
I'm sorry, but talking about "reflecting reality" in a book where a lung grows into a boy is... nitpicky.
100% disagree . this book calls itself “a celebration of queer stories”. magical realism means that the story takes place in our world but with magical elements. with all that said i can absolutely want the character’s queer identities to have more depth
Trans?
honestly my least favorite thing about things have gotten worse is the fact that the two voices are indistinguishable from each other. like never at any point did i feel like i was reading emails written by two different people. it reads like a book written by one person who’s trying too hard 🫢
Our Wives Under the Sea 🫶 Monstrillio 🫶 ugh some of my faves
Tell Me I’m Worthless is actively on my tbr also