Reviews tagging 'Death of parent'

This Is Where We Talk Things Out by Caitlin Marceau

56 reviews

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!

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Violence and Death of parent

Minor: Fatphobia

mayjulyn's review against another edition

dark mysterious tense medium-paced

3.5

---

Content Warnings

Moderate: Violence and Death of parent

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?

---

Content Warnings

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

Moderate: Fatphobia, Stalking, and Death of parent

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. 

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Emotional abuse and Gore

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.

---

Content Warnings

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

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. 

---

Content Warnings

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

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

Minor: Infertility and Car accident

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

mfrisk's review

challenging dark emotional sad tense fast-paced

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

5.0

This book is an incredibly tense and stressful deep dive into a toxic mother/daughter relationship with a story that references Misery, The Shining, and Psycho. As many have noted there are two major twists and I did see one of them coming but wasn’t clear how the ending would sort out. As depressing as it is though it seemed fitting that that is what we are building to.

I really enjoyed this short novella read and would highly recommend it to those who are looking for something dark and psychological. 

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Body horror, Body shaming, Death, Fatphobia, Toxic relationship, Blood, Car accident, Death of parent, Murder, Lesbophobia, and Injury/Injury detail

theliteraryhooker's review against another edition

dark tense fast-paced

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

4.5

A quick, deeply unsettling read. The atmosphere is incredibly claustrophobic and the events feel frighteningly plausible. It definitely packs quite the punch for such a short novella! 

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Confinement, Fatphobia, Mental illness, Physical abuse, Death of parent, Lesbophobia, and Injury/Injury detail

cursivewolf's review against another edition

dark mysterious tense medium-paced

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

2.0

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Body shaming, Confinement, Emotional abuse, Fatphobia, Mental illness, Physical abuse, Violence, Blood, Car accident, Death of parent, Gaslighting, and Injury/Injury detail

toofondofbooks_'s review against another edition

dark mysterious 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

3.5

This was delightfully spooky and made me feel just as trapped and confined as anyone would be in a cabin during a snowstorm. I love horror that plays with family dynamics and this really delivered. I do feel like I have some questions that didn't quite get answered that are nagging at me, and I feel that they could've been answered if this were a full length novel or even if there was an extra 20 pages, so that's what keeps me from rating it higher. overall a good time though!

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Alcoholism, Body shaming, Confinement, Cursing, Death, Domestic abuse, Eating disorder, Emotional abuse, Fatphobia, Gore, Homophobia, Miscarriage, Physical abuse, Violence, Dementia, Kidnapping, Grief, Medical trauma, Death of parent, Pregnancy, Gaslighting, and Alcohol