Well this book definitely solidifies my love of Eric LaRocca's writing. A Christmas massacre by three faceless people has a town feeling many emotions, and rightly so. For anyone who is considering reading this, check your trigger warnings. I think LaRocca is gearing up because this was one of my favorites of his thus far. I understand the gore and horror is beyond the typical. However, I do not feel this is gore for the sake of gore. He is sending us messages. I will always read his work!

When my daughter was four years old, the two of us were in a pretty bad automobile accident. The car flipped over twice and we ended upside down in the middle of the road. Reading this book was a lot like that. Terrifying, horrific and when the car stopped moving, kind of exhilarating. And like the aftermath of that accident, after reading about the messed up village of Burnt Sparrow, I was unharmed but really shaken up. Not for the faint of heart.

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for this ARC!

Splatterpunk is one of those genres that can be hard to get right. It definitely appears difficult to balance scenes that are designed to cause outrage and disgust with an actual plot line, so it’s one of those genres that teeters awkwardly between the two, sometimes falling more into one than the other.

This manages to balance things nicely, however. I really enjoyed the approach taken to the subjects canvassed in the book, and I felt like there was a lot of thought that went into the more controversial material. It didn’t feel out of place or like it was designed for outrage here, which was really nice.

Rupert wasn’t as well-developed as I would have liked, but he was a fine narrator, and he was certainly a fine Everyman stand in for the reader. I do think he could have been pulled out a little bit more, but I also don’t mind that he wasn’t, and that he felt like a conduit more so than a character.

I also feel like the horror themes could have gone a bit harder and the ending could have been better, but I’m also conscious that this is the start of a series, rather than the end of one. Definitely well worth a read- especially for someone looking for a little bit more from their splatterpunk stuff!

Thanks to NetGalley for this ARC in exchange for an honest review. I'm always very happy about an ARC and being able to give it a review! <3

I’m a huge fan of Eric LaRocca’s previous work, so naturally, I had to get my hands on this one too. You can imagine the happy dance I did when I scored an ARC. Pure serotonin.

It’s got that classic Eric LaRocca writing style—haunting, hypnotic, and a little bit unhinged (in the best way). He really knows how to pull you in and mess with your brain a little. Love that.

The premise was intriguing, but sadly it didn’t fully click for me. Supernatural horror is tricky—I only vibe with it on rare occasions, and this time it just didn’t land. I was a little bummed after "After Dark, I Become Loathsome" blew my mind. Expectations were high. Maybe too high. But hey, not every book has to hit the same. That said, I know this book is going to work really well for other readers. Just because it didn’t haunt me doesn’t mean it won’t haunt you (you lucky creeps).

One thing I’ll always appreciate about LaRocca is his unapologetic queerness in storytelling. It’s bold, necessary, and incredibly refreshing to see horror that doesn’t shy away from LGBTQ+ themes. More of this, please. *Raises hands dramatically in approval*

Now hold on… what the HELL did I just read?

I’m sitting here, stunned, wondering what just happened—what journey I’ve been on.

It’s Christmas in Burnt Sparrow, a delightfully messed-up little New England town. The lights are twinkling, the trees are trimmed, the cocoa is hot—and over 100 people are lying dead in the town square. Oh, and Santa’s not the only one dropping by on Christmas morning. Enter: the faceless family. Weird, right? Yes, but this isn’t Burnt Sparrow’s first run in with faceless outsiders.

Rupert, a 17 year old going through it after the loss of his mom, and his Dad are tasked with preserving the scene. Yeah…they leave it exactly as is. Why? Bureaucracy? Trauma? Vibes? Don’t ask me. With plenty of stories within a story, weird, depraved and foul things happen and then we get the utter spookiness of “End House” and the scary, scary dude that lives inside and is tasked with forever torturing the faceless family. But…they can’t die. Wtf?

What characters.. What a ride. This book reads like a nightmarish fable wrapped in New England snow and sprinkled with just enough Stephen King charm to make it feel weirdly nostalgic. Eric LaRocca is absolutely unhinged (in the best way), and I am counting down the days until the next two books in this trilogy drop.

Eric LaRocca does a lot of things really, really well. Perhaps the best is creating small towns that feel simultaneously in and outside of the real world. Off-kilter places populated with real, yet extremely troubled people, who make questionable choices. Burnt Sparrow is one of those towns, and it excites me to no end that Eric will be exploring the corners of this New Hampshire town over the course of a trilogy. Regarding choices, though, that's where installment number one, We Are Always Tender with Our Dead, shines. A town experiences a tragedy that is both common and relatable in this day and age. The questionable, yet possible ways that the people of Burnt Sparrow grieve and remember, move on and demand justice is a fascinating exploration. Each choice snowballs, a downward spiral until we're left with, well, what we're left with. WAATwOD is sure to divide readers, as any LaRocca book does, but tells a riveting self-contained story that pulls back the curtain and sets the stage for what's to come.

Thank you so much to Titan books for the E-arc!

4.25 stars!

LOOOOL YOUR GONNA DO THAT TO ME AND THEN THROW THAT AT MY FACE AS I'M TRYING TO MENTALLY LET THAT SINK IN.

AMAZING. BRING ON THE REST

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I've been sat on this review for a while thinking I had to hold it off but alas I couldn't, this is released on my b'day so happy birthday to me I guess because I just got a gift of trauma, depravity, mystery, humans beings awful, the yearning to leave, who are they? why are they here? why did it happen? RUPERT PLEASE! all of this wrapped in a bow!

Now I just need the rest of the trilogy tbh I need to know what is going down in this weird little town.

The way this is written, as always with Eric's work, pulled me in and didn't let go until I finished.

The mystery within this is what makes this work stand out for me, along with all the messed up stuff LOOL but I'm always sat and ready for lyrical writing, especially with horror.

Eric LaRocca’s writing always absorbs me and this book did not fail to grab my full attention at every word. This literary horror is poetic and haunting. Every word is meant to do something to the reader and has a meaning. I really enjoyed this book, the characters, setting and plot sucked me in. I wanted more resolutions at the end but I understand it’s a series and all may be revealed as the series goes on. A strong start to the series and I look forward to the future novels.

Dark, poetic, and haunting. LaRocca weaves grief and horror into something unsettlingly beautiful. Definitely not for the faint of heart. Huge LaRocca fan, looking forward to sharing this title!!

An okay Larocca drop. As always I will pick up the volumes he drops but I was not a huge fan of this one. Hopefully as the series goes on it gets better.

Eric LaRocca has unleashed another monstrosity that makes me want to pray for his soul. The first of the Burnt Sparrow series is extremely strong, super depraved, and completely disgusting. I dissociated multiple times while reading this because my brain was instinctually trying to protect itself from what I was reading. Very akin to the deep cut exploitation horror films from the 70’s, gave me the creeps! That said, another easy five stars. Keep them coming, Eric.

Me thinks they aren’t so tender with their dead. Or if that’s their definition of tender, I’d hate to see what sadistic looks like.

One of my favorite things is when I finish a book, and I understood what happened. I really enjoy that feeling. I don’t enjoy feeling like I just read a book in Swahili with a few English words intermingled, but only used when describing vile, morally putrid scenes.

That was this book. Don’t get me wrong, there were some things here to be appreciated. The faceless family and the human-headed bird stood out as entities I’ll remember long after I put this book away for good.

I know this fits into a broader universe and is only the first book in the series, but to have no conclusion, or to bring anything to a close felt unsatisfactory. I have no interest in seeing how this plays out.

I’m disappointed after having recently read After Dark, I Become Loathsome, and loving it so much. I had high hopes for this one. I’m sure there’s audience out there for it, but consider me squarely on the outside looking in.

The story of the strange and ugly happenings in Burnt Sparrow certainly cross the threshold at times.
While this is not my typical genre to read (more graphic, brutal horror), I think it was impactful. The plot was interesting, and darkly unique. Some of the visuals in this will stick with me for some time.

The first 70% of this book was really unnerving and gripping at times. I felt that the ending bits started falling apart a bit. I think the rest of the trilogy could be interesting, I’d check out the rest of this story.

Trigger warnings and the like etc are fine by me. I read a lot of true crime and horror so I’m not particularly sensitive to disturbing topics. I really enjoyed the author’s previous work due to the absolute horror, disgusting imagination and all round originality. I was excited to pick this up but found I couldn’t get into the characters, the town, the storyline. It didn’t capture my imagination, and I found myself trying to get into the story rather than just being into it from the first page. I would have liked to have been curiously addicted to seeing what happens next (this was my previous experience with this author’s work). However it was not my experience this time. Not sure why, maybe it just wasn’t for me. I didn’t find Rupert or his Dad very interesting or sympathetic characters. I wasn’t really interested in reading Rupert’s perspective. Thanks to Netgalley for the

I’m not totally sure what I just read but I am sure I’ll be picking up the second installment in the Burnt Sparrow trilogy.

LaRocca opens with an author’s note containing detailed trigger warnings, and I appreciated the transparency. He’s also absolutely right in describing the book as “profoundly distasteful.” This isn’t a story you enjoy in any traditional sense. It’s discomforting, confrontational, and refuses to play by the usual rules of narrative or worldbuilding.

The in media res approach is a bold choice but didn’t completely land for me. I found myself craving just a bit more grounding in the world and its logic, something to latch onto while navigating the surreal brutality and emotional chaos. Without that, some of the impact of the themes felt dulled/distant.

Still, LaRocca’s voice is unique and haunting, and there's something magnetic in his refusal to flinch. I didn’t love this book, but I respect it and I’ll be there for whatever comes next.

What the hell did I just read? That was weird!
There is only ugliness here - in Burnt Sparrow.
There are a lot of stories here - a lot of threads to pull on and then there's the main story.
Mass murder at Christmas on the streets by faceless (yes - literally without faces) perpetrators and the town elders decide to leave the bodies of the fallen where they are slain, preserving the scene. No burials, guarded by "Preservers". Why?
What follows is a descent into a depravity that is shockingly breathtaking. There are no familiar horror tropes here, just a load of nastiness. This book is not for the fainthearted.
The story is written excellently and the descriptions are vivid.
I have questions that I hope will be answered in subsequent books so I will be waiting.

Thank you to Netgalley, the publisher, and the author for providing a free e-arc in exchange for an honest review.

Wow, what a ride, and I can't say that it was really a good or bad ride, just...wow. This is set to be a trilogy, and I can say that I'm interested in reading more, but at what cost? This is my first Eric Larocca book and I have heard that his books can be a little extreme and he does make a note early on of all the things that could be seen as extreme in this book.

The plot was interesting, with three faceless beings coming to the town of Burnt Sparrow and killing many of the town's residents. The main character and his father are in charge of guarding the scene of the massacre until the town can figure out what to do with the bodies and the richest man in town takes charge of providing the punishment of these three creatures, and we're taken on a wild ride for what happens with the main character and the creatures.

I feel that there was still a lot of shock factor in the story which I'm not for, especially when it really doesn't contribute anything to the plot and I also really couldn't get the meaning behind the story that the author states is deeply rooted in the story. This may be explained more in the next two books. I will continue on with the series, but it's a weird start for never having read one of his books before. If you have read and liked Larocca's work before, I think you will like this.

When a book starts like this, you know you’re in for a wild ride:

“This novel is not intended to entertain. I never set out to amuse or enthrall with my fiction. Instead, I hope to provoke, to elicit a reaction from my audience.”

We Are Always Tender with Our Dead by Eric LaRocca is a queer horror novel set in the eerie town of Burnt Sparrow where a brutal Christmas Day massacre unearths dark secrets. Seventeen-year-old Rupert Cromwell confronts grief, identity and supernatural horror in this haunting first entry of a trilogy.

“I was ten years old the day when he sewed his shadow to mine with dark thread.”

Eric’s writing is deliberate and deeply unsettling. It stirs both welcome and unwelcome emotions, sometimes all at once. His stories are designed not to comfort but to shock and move, and this one does exactly that. It is not for the faint of heart; nearly every trigger warning you can think of is here. But somehow, it is also an astoundingly raw and emotionally resonant read.

You will not enjoy this book in the traditional sense. You are not meant to. You are meant to squirm.

Releasing on September 9, if you are into dark, disturbing and emotionally intense fiction, this should be on your TBR. Grateful to be given the opportunity to read this as an ARC via NetGalley!

This arc was given to me by Netgalley, so thank you for that.

Eric LaRocca is a frustrating writer for me. The talent with writing is undeniable. His prose is lush and full, bordering on purple quite often. Every line feels like it took ages of deliberation and consideration, picked apart and strained to its breaking point. He is an expert at conjuring the most horrible and horrific things. He has a wild and deep imagination. He can make up a title like no one else. And his writing Is so readable. I Maybe see little bit why he gets so much love from The horror world. But it’s the storytelling that leaves me feeling cold so often. I’ve read many of his short stories and his novel “Everything The Darkness Eats” and there were short stories that I found compelling but his novel didn’t work for me At all.

This book opens with a plethora of trigger warnings and they are warranted. The centerpiece of the story is a Christmas Day massacre in the town of burnt sparrow committed by a family of faceless humanoids and the towns leaders decide to leave the bodies in the street where they died and give the faceless family to a wealthy man in town to do with as he pleases. The story is told through two different points of view, plus some news articles and documents. There’s themes of grief, loss, abuse, the horrors we commit against each other, the way we dehumanize others not like ourselves and make them faceless enemies to be abused and destroyed. There’s a lot going on here. And there’s also revolting and horrifying acts of depravity. My problem with all the shocking violence, gore, and sexual violence in this book is that it all feels rather cold and distant. I never felt a connection to anyone in this story. No one ever felt real to me in this so I never was affected by the truly horrifying stuff besides just cringing a little. I found the story at times felt like a bunch of different short story ideas smashed together and expanded on. It’s at times a confusing enigma and seeing as it’s the first in a trilogy leaves so many questions in its wake. This is a well written, compulsively
readable work of extreme horror that I can’t say I particularly enjoyed. I’m hoping one day his work will click
With me and I’ll see what everyone else does.

One thing that I will forever give LaRocca is their ability to write excellent prose. However, I think that while I have enjoyed some of his works before, I don’t think I am the target audience for this particular series. The writing is good, but that is about the only thing it has going for it. I think it is impossible to even begin to describe the details of this story, and I will say that there are so many trigger warnings and everyone should be aware of them before you pick this one up. There is a lot of darkness in this book. I like my books dark, but the story did not come together in the way I was hoping it would. LaRocca spent a lot of time telling us how the characters felt and there was surprisingly little plot for the length of the book. I am a reader who likes to be shown versus told, so again, while the writing is well done, this just didn’t work for me as a whole. I have to assume that things did not come together because this is the first in what is to be a trilogy, but I have so many questions and not a strong enough desire to continue on. There is an audience for this book, and I think fans of extreme horror in general will be a fan of this, but I was not the target audience, so take this review with a grain of salt. 3 stars for the writing alone.