Reviews tagging 'Death of parent'

This is Where We Talk Things Out by Caitlin Marceau

50 reviews

poisoned_icecream's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional sad tense fast-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? No
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

5.0

Miller is planning to marry her fiancée Florence. She has had to distance herself from her abusive mother, Sylvie. Unfortunately, Sylvie tracks Miller down and manages to persuade her to spend a weekend with her in a secluded cabin. Just like everything else I've read by Caitlin Marceau, this made me feel so much dread and fear each time I turned the page. Anyone who's ever had to grow up with a cruel and manipulative parent will relate to the events in this novella.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Body shaming, Homophobia, Confinement, Miscarriage, Stalking, Toxic relationship, Emotional abuse, Gore, Death of parent, Gaslighting, Cursing, Fatphobia, Child abuse, Physical abuse, and Body horror

hayleeenikole's review against another edition

dark mysterious sad tense fast-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? No
• Loveable characters? No
• Diverse cast of characters? No
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.75

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Homophobia, Death of parent, Emotional abuse, and Fatphobia

Moderate: Body shaming, Cancer, Schizophrenia/Psychosis , and Death

Minor: Car accident

sinisterbeard's review against another edition

dark emotional sad tense fast-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? No
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

2.5

This doesn't really feel like an okay novella so much as a great novel with the last act missing. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Lesbophobia, Toxic relationship, Death of parent, Homophobia, and Fatphobia

makeitrhayne's review against another edition

dark emotional reflective sad tense fast-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? It's complicated
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? No
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

5.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Confinement, Violence, Gaslighting, Fatphobia, Body shaming, Death of parent, Injury/Injury detail, Physical abuse, and Toxic relationship

Minor: Lesbophobia

vic_mcqueen's review against another edition

dark emotional tense fast-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Loveable characters? No

3.0

This was a pretty quick read. Pretty demented too. 

I hadn't originally planned to expand much more than that, but here I am, 4:15 in the morning, just having finished reading this instead of sleeping. 

It was predictable from beginning to end.

Trouble with a controlling parent. Knowing its a bad idea. A parent stalking their grown 30-something year old child. Being taken to the middle of nowhere with vague answers. Narcissistic and manipulative speach patterns.

Yeah, it went exactly where I thought it was going to go. No wow factor, no shock, just...Gross!

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Violence and Death of parent

Minor: Fatphobia

mayjulyn's review against another edition

dark mysterious tense medium-paced

3.5

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Death of parent and Violence

Minor: Fatphobia

nika_nix's review against another edition

dark tense fast-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? No
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

5.0

Wow. This was messed up, creepy as fuck and packed a huge punch in less than 100 pages. I am amazed and very, very disturbed. Have I read my favorite horror of the year already?

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Confinement, Mental illness, and Injury/Injury detail

Moderate: Death of parent, Fatphobia, and Stalking

Minor: Miscarriage and Car accident

awildkingsley's review against another edition

dark emotional tense fast-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? No
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

2.0

this was just deeply unsatisfying. i can see why this would be cathartic to write, as someone with parental trauma, but also as someone with parental trauma i wish it had been cathartic to read. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Gore and Emotional abuse

Minor: Fatphobia and Death of parent

hardella's review against another edition

dark mysterious sad tense fast-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? It's complicated
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.0

Okay so I loved this misery-esque thriller. I read it on a plane ride and it had be hooked the whole time. As someone who has worked in the anti-violence field with a focus on family violence it hit hard and nothing was surprising. 
My biggest issue with this book is the ending.

I get the goal was to be dark and mysterious. And I’m not mad at that. BUT when the main character is a good person experiencing trauma, I want a happy(at least happyish) ending. For example, the ending of Get Out is still wild and tense but the main character “wins” as he should. I wanted this for Miller too. Too many victim-survivors of domestic violence do not get a safe ending especially queer folks. I wanted to see Miller’s fiancée save her in the end.

Otherwise I think this was a great novella and the author did a fantastic job of writing a realistic and tense story.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Domestic abuse, Death, Gaslighting, Violence, and Death of parent

vixenreader's review

dark emotional reflective sad tense fast-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? It's complicated
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
• Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

4.0

Note to self: listen to your gut instinct and never get into a car with your emotionally-abusive relatives. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Mental illness, Cursing, Death of parent, Medical trauma, Emotional abuse, Fatphobia, Gaslighting, Gore, Child abuse, Injury/Injury detail, Kidnapping, Blood, Body shaming, Confinement, Grief, and Torture

Moderate: Medical trauma, Physical abuse, Eating disorder, Violence, Lesbophobia, and Sexism

Minor: Car accident and Infertility

Be warned, there is a dead body, controlling parental behaviour, dysfunctional familial relationships, and broken limbs.