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andskye's review against another edition
dark
emotional
mysterious
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? It's complicated
5.0
laineyb's review
dark
tense
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
4.0
spenkevich's review against another edition
4.0
If you’ve ever thought a weekend trapped in a cabin with your parents sounded like a nightmare, do I have a book for you. Caitlin Marceau’s This is Where We Talk Things Out is horror by way of family drama, plunging us on a dark dive into a toxic mother-daughter relationship where gaslighting and long-simmering frustrations are as frightening and dealy as any ghouls or ghosts. Despite long attempts at boundaries, Miller begrudgingly accepts her mother’s invitation for a weekend at a cabin that might hopefully serve as a catalyst for repairing their relationship, or be the final fight to cut her off entirely. This short novella is drenched in dread and the tension is enough to rattle the reader as harshly as the blizzard outside their cabin, a ‘cabin turned mausoleum’ of the past where Sylvie’s infantilization of her daughter might be more sinister than she could possibly imagine. A chilling examination of toxic relationships and mental health, This is Where We Talk Things Out is a trail of red flags through trauma and towards terror.
‘Her mind once again returns to the image of herself as a doll trapped in a dollhouse.’
Working in the downtown of a summer vacation town—which can be its own special sort of horror story—I often see those awkward moments when the masks slip on families trying to have a picturesque vacation begin to go for each other’s throats. Most of the time this is just the amusement of seeing the teenager who is too old to want to be on vacation with family yet still too young to stay home doing the whole moody young teen act, but occasionally the bite seems worse. Nobody can quite cut you down like a family member. This is Where We Talk Things Out isn’t quite that type of vacation though, instead being an isolated cabin in the wilderness during a January storm and, as Miller begins to dread, they might not be there just to talk things out. This book deals with narcissistic parents and abusive relationships, so be forewarned if this is a topic that makes you uncomfortable (though, being a horror novel, it is geared to make any reader uncomfortable) and if you are experiencing these sort of issues, please know there are resources available to help. This reads like a hostage situation, tapping into horrors akin to Stephen King’s [b:Misery|10614|Misery|Stephen King|https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1554220401l/10614._SY75_.jpg|3230869] and.
The interactions between mother and daughter are at all times balanced on the edge of a knife where Miller feels she must either accept the cuts or tumble into catastrophe, and this sense of unease grows until it is practically suffocating. ‘I want you to really think about how you use your words, how you hurt me with them,’ her mother, Sylive, often says, ‘and think very carefully about how you’re going to speak to me moving forward.’ This story is bursting with gaslighting where Miller is often made to feel that her very understandable desire for boundaries are antagonistic and Sylvie frequently pushes Miller to anger in order to act victimized by her daughter. Plus there is the issue of Florence, Miller’s longterm girlfriend, with whom Sylvie seems to have gotten past her homophobia but still resentful of Florence ‘taking her daughter away.’ You know, the type of mother that will hate anyone who captures your attention.
Grief plays a large part here as well, with the death of her father looming over everything like a thunderhead ready to unleash and all of Miller’s past attempts to separate from her mother and heal start to feel like sutures being ripped apart in the tension.
Periods of grief of depression often cause us to feel nostalgic, and here is where the novel began to really turn the screws of creepy unease. The cabin is as close to a reproduction of Miller’s childhood home as possible, complete with her old clothes still in the drawer. ‘There’s something so unnatural about seeing her childhood repurposed for the cabin’s interior,’ she thinks, ‘she knows it’s Sylvie’s way of moving past her grief, but it only serves to wake Miller's own pain back.’ But is this attempt to bring back the past more than just grief, and is Sylvie’s mental health becoming far more threatening than Miller could ever imagine?
This is a story that will give you chills and take your breath away. While it heads in a fairly predictable direction when it gets there it is still a punch to the face and the journey towards the end is so full of dreads its almost a relief it ends so abruptly. Personally I wish there was a bit more as it does have a bit of a slow burn then sudden conclusion, but it still hits hard. This Is Where We Talk Things Out is an excellent and terrifying domestic horror and I can’t wait to check out more by Caitlin Marceau.
4/5
‘Her mind once again returns to the image of herself as a doll trapped in a dollhouse.’
Working in the downtown of a summer vacation town—which can be its own special sort of horror story—I often see those awkward moments when the masks slip on families trying to have a picturesque vacation begin to go for each other’s throats. Most of the time this is just the amusement of seeing the teenager who is too old to want to be on vacation with family yet still too young to stay home doing the whole moody young teen act, but occasionally the bite seems worse. Nobody can quite cut you down like a family member. This is Where We Talk Things Out isn’t quite that type of vacation though, instead being an isolated cabin in the wilderness during a January storm and, as Miller begins to dread, they might not be there just to talk things out. This book deals with narcissistic parents and abusive relationships, so be forewarned if this is a topic that makes you uncomfortable (though, being a horror novel, it is geared to make any reader uncomfortable) and if you are experiencing these sort of issues, please know there are resources available to help. This reads like a hostage situation, tapping into horrors akin to Stephen King’s [b:Misery|10614|Misery|Stephen King|https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1554220401l/10614._SY75_.jpg|3230869] and
Spoiler
William Faulkner’s [b:A Rose for Emily|2984286|A Rose for Emily|William Faulkner|https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1348758685l/2984286._SY75_.jpg|62090508] (which you should totally read here)The interactions between mother and daughter are at all times balanced on the edge of a knife where Miller feels she must either accept the cuts or tumble into catastrophe, and this sense of unease grows until it is practically suffocating. ‘I want you to really think about how you use your words, how you hurt me with them,’ her mother, Sylive, often says, ‘and think very carefully about how you’re going to speak to me moving forward.’ This story is bursting with gaslighting where Miller is often made to feel that her very understandable desire for boundaries are antagonistic and Sylvie frequently pushes Miller to anger in order to act victimized by her daughter. Plus there is the issue of Florence, Miller’s longterm girlfriend, with whom Sylvie seems to have gotten past her homophobia but still resentful of Florence ‘taking her daughter away.’ You know, the type of mother that will hate anyone who captures your attention.
Grief plays a large part here as well, with the death of her father looming over everything like a thunderhead ready to unleash and all of Miller’s past attempts to separate from her mother and heal start to feel like sutures being ripped apart in the tension.
‘The more Miller got away from home, the more she’d been able to realise how toxic it had grown to be after her father had gotten sick. Or maybe it had always been that way, with Sylvie holding on too tightly to the child that had survived, and she’d only noticed it when her father was no longer around to keep the household balanced.’
Periods of grief of depression often cause us to feel nostalgic, and here is where the novel began to really turn the screws of creepy unease. The cabin is as close to a reproduction of Miller’s childhood home as possible, complete with her old clothes still in the drawer. ‘There’s something so unnatural about seeing her childhood repurposed for the cabin’s interior,’ she thinks, ‘she knows it’s Sylvie’s way of moving past her grief, but it only serves to wake Miller's own pain back.’ But is this attempt to bring back the past more than just grief, and is Sylvie’s mental health becoming far more threatening than Miller could ever imagine?
This is a story that will give you chills and take your breath away. While it heads in a fairly predictable direction when it gets there it is still a punch to the face and the journey towards the end is so full of dreads its almost a relief it ends so abruptly. Personally I wish there was a bit more as it does have a bit of a slow burn then sudden conclusion, but it still hits hard. This Is Where We Talk Things Out is an excellent and terrifying domestic horror and I can’t wait to check out more by Caitlin Marceau.
4/5
samlovessleep's review
dark
mysterious
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
3.5
tcgarback's review against another edition
dark
tense
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.0
⭐️⭐️⭐️
Personal Score: B+
Critical Score: C-
This was incredibly idiotic. The main character going along with things makes no sense. The general plot progression and eventual twist is obvious. The pacing is wonky going into the final act. And things never get anywhere near as intense or graphic as I expected (and that content warnings page is an amateurish joke, sorry).
So I feel weird saying that I adored this book.
It hooked me the whole way through. It’s so entertaining. I’d love to read more from this author. Her writing style is very successful; it’s just the plot plausibility that’s especially bad.
You’d think all the fighting between the mom and daughter would be tedious after a while, but it’s somehow riveting—and it’s not even smart dialogue! But it works.
This Is Where We Talk Things Out is terrific fun, even if it’s brainless.
Personal Score: B+
Critical Score: C-
This was incredibly idiotic. The main character going along with things makes no sense. The general plot progression and eventual twist is obvious. The pacing is wonky going into the final act. And things never get anywhere near as intense or graphic as I expected (and that content warnings page is an amateurish joke, sorry).
So I feel weird saying that I adored this book.
It hooked me the whole way through. It’s so entertaining. I’d love to read more from this author. Her writing style is very successful; it’s just the plot plausibility that’s especially bad.
You’d think all the fighting between the mom and daughter would be tedious after a while, but it’s somehow riveting—and it’s not even smart dialogue! But it works.
This Is Where We Talk Things Out is terrific fun, even if it’s brainless.
abbybovenzii's review against another edition
dark
emotional
tense
medium-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
4.5
sharis26's review against another edition
dark
sad
tense
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
stwdscrwdntat2d's review against another edition
5.0
Thank you to Andrew Roberts and DarkLit Press for a free copy of This is Where We Talk Things Out.
This book was recommended in the BoH FB group. Then Caitlin Marceau was added to Gage Greenwoods 2023 reading challenge. Andrew Roberts then gave away a bunch of ebooks to help with us completing this challenge. If it wasnt for all of the above I would have never found this gem.
The story was short but it had everything you would expect from a full length novel. It definitely has a misery feel with a toxic mother's delusional love.
This book was recommended in the BoH FB group. Then Caitlin Marceau was added to Gage Greenwoods 2023 reading challenge. Andrew Roberts then gave away a bunch of ebooks to help with us completing this challenge. If it wasnt for all of the above I would have never found this gem.
The story was short but it had everything you would expect from a full length novel. It definitely has a misery feel with a toxic mother's delusional love.