Reviews tagging 'Death'

This Is Where We Talk Things Out by Caitlin Marceau

29 reviews

kyra_joy's review against another edition

dark emotional fast-paced

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

3.0

It was pretty good, but I wouldn’t look into to much before reading as a lot of reviews make the ending super obvious. Though it  doesn’t typically bother me, it is a super obvious twist and I found the end to come on quite quickly. It was written well though and I think would make a pretty good full length novel or even a decent movie thing just need to be more fleshed out. Needed a few more pages.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Death, Fatphobia, Blood, Dementia, and Gaslighting

cryptidkate's review against another edition

dark tense fast-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Plot
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.5

This book was a wild ride! I called one of the twists but it didn't even matter because it was so tense and enthralling. It however did not end how I thought it would at all! 

It was tough for me personally to get through as someone with a manipulive parent I've had to cut off but made it all the more scary for me.

That being said I saw myself in Miller and honestly can sympathize with just giving into a parent like Sylvie because it's "easier". Made the ending even more devastating for me!

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Child abuse, Death, Emotional abuse, Fatphobia, Toxic relationship, and Death of parent

archaicrobin's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional mysterious 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

4.5

A short gruesome novella about toxic parents, abuse, and mother-daughter resentment. This one absolutely terrified me, and though you could see where it was going I still found it disturbing. This book is so short but quick paced and addictive. Because it is rather short I don’t want to give too much away.  This was a perfect read for me until the end. The pacing was perfect the whole book until the ending which was abrupt, predictable, and a little too bleak for me. Other than that I loved this 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Body shaming, Child abuse, Chronic illness, Confinement, Cursing, Death, Emotional abuse, Mental illness, Violence, Blood, Kidnapping, Grief, Car accident, Death of parent, Gaslighting, and Injury/Injury detail

winsomefish's review against another edition

challenging dark medium-paced

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

2.75

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Death, Emotional abuse, Fatphobia, Kidnapping, and Gaslighting

molliundera_'s review

dark emotional sad tense fast-paced

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

5.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Child abuse, Death, Domestic abuse, Emotional abuse, Mental illness, Toxic relationship, Grief, Car accident, Death of parent, Gaslighting, and Injury/Injury detail

Moderate: Body shaming, Eating disorder, Fatphobia, Homophobia, Violence, Schizophrenia/Psychosis , and Dysphoria

angeldawn's review against another edition

dark tense fast-paced

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

5.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Violence

Moderate: Death, Fatphobia, and Mental illness

ericarobyn's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional sad tense medium-paced

4.5

This is Where We Talk Things Out by Caitlin Marceau is a story that is like a slap to the face, but one that hits you over, and over, and over again. 

Content Warning:
Please tread very carefully here if you have a narcissistic parent. 

With a wedding approaching, Miller is convinced that she needs to give her narcissistic mother, Sylvie, one more chance. Sylvie has asked Miller to go with her for the weekend and Miller has agreed. Miller thinks they are going to talk things out to see if they can salvage the relationship, but Sylvie has very different plans.

Right from the start, I wanted to scream at Miller for thinking things would be different this time. If only she had listened to her partner’s warning.

As soon as Miller is about to get into the car, all the red flags start to pop up.

This story just goes from bad to worse. At each new development, I couldn’t believe what I was reading. My heart broke for Miller. The gaslighting was absolutely wild.

My Favorite Passages from This is Where We Talk Things Out

And while Sylvie had a bad habit of extending poison ivy disguised as olive branches, Miller had a worse habit of accepting them.

The snow falls heavier than when Miller and Sylvie first hit the road. It comes down in sheets, which drape the trees and mountainside in a blanket of white. Even the pines lose some of their resilient green as the snow coats the branches and bleaches away their colour. The clouds hang low in the burnt umber sky, the sun almost done tucking itself out of view despite how early in the evening it still is. Miller watches as flakes of snow hit the window. perfect geometric wonders, before melting against glass warmed by the car’s heater.

Outside the cabin, the wind rattles the trees and the glass windowpanes, the snow a heavy spiral of white that covers everything in its path. Miller watches it through the open blinds, lawed by its beauty and annoyed by its inconvenience.

My Final Thoughts on This is Where We Talk Things Out

If you’re looking for a quick and brutal read that will have you gasping at each scene, then this is a great book for you!

This one made me so angry and wildly uncomfortable! I had a pit in my stomach the entire time I was reading. What wonderful work! I cannot wait to read more from this author!

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Mental illness

Moderate: Death, Fatphobia, Violence, Blood, Car accident, Death of parent, and Injury/Injury detail

voidcrawler's review against another edition

dark emotional sad tense fast-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• 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: Death, Mental illness, Violence, Blood, Kidnapping, Death of parent, Gaslighting, and Injury/Injury detail

Moderate: Cursing, Emotional abuse, Fatphobia, Homophobia, Grief, Lesbophobia, and Gaslighting

bakerreads's review against another edition

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Body horror, Body shaming, Bullying, Death, Fatphobia, Gore, Toxic relationship, Blood, Stalking, Car accident, Death of parent, Gaslighting, and Injury/Injury detail