#carissa orlando

[thereadingchallengechallenge]

Review: The September House by Carissa Orlando Rating: 5/5

This is the kind of horror book I love - the kind I've tried to write for myself. A beautiful haunted house, an array of fantastic ghosts, and a protagonist with a weary demeanour who becomes oddly comfortable with the strange things happening around them.

There's a grim whimsy to The September House that feels sort of cozy in a discomfiting sort of way that I couldn't get enough of and I just loved how Orlando managed to build and keep the tension for such a long, and incredibly satisfying, denouement.

I never quite knew where this book was going, even though I knew hints were being dropped for me to pick up and puzzle over. I delighted in it all coming together, and had to remind myself to be sad, before I actually felt sad. So many wonderful, unusual emotions came out of me while I read this book. 

I would recommend this to anyone who loves a good haunting story and I will 110% be keeping an eye out for whatever Carissa Orlando writes next!  

[pinkbelugacollective]

yeah no we love persisting in a haunted house being an allegory for living with abusers you can’t escape

[bangbangwhoa]

books I’ve read in 2023 📖 no. 128

The September House by Carissa Orlando

“I had grown accustomed to solo trips through hell over the years. It seemed counterintuitive to invite company.”

[haveyoureadthisbook-poll]

[princessofbookaholics]

reading this before september ends 🎃

[bookcoversonly]

Title: The September House | Author: Carissa Orlando | Publisher: Berkley (2023)

[headinbookishclouds]

The September House by Carissa Orlando

September House genuinely disturbed me. It’s an unsettling story that is ultimately about a woman determined to stay in her house regardless of what she has to endure. Even if the walls bleed red during September, even if there are ghosts that seem intent on terrifying her, even if there is a presence in the basement that reeks of evil. Margaret and her husband Hal have always been without roots so when the perfect opportunity comes by to seize the most perfect gothic house, the both of them are thrilled, until September arrives. Margaret understands how to work the house but Hal does not and cannot take the house any longer, leaving abruptly. Their daughter Katherine discovers he left, insists she come home and that is when things start to fall apart for Margaret.

Before that happens, we get an understanding of how Margaret learned to live with the eeriness and the hauntings. The almost blasé tone that Margaret further cemented how she had come to an understanding about her house. This in turn leads to a good understanding of her character. She lives by rules and understands them. This is in contrast to her husband Hal, who is missing. Hal wanted to leave and did but did so without any communication. That’s one of the big mysteries of the book. Hal is never present in the book but his character is demonstrated with flashbacks. He provides a good contrast to Margaret. Both of them are compelling characters and Margaret’s narration about the book was almost comical. Her lacklustre indifference to the shenanigans of the house made this book even better. If I were in that same situation, I would have left the first September.

Of course, there are always exceptions to rules and the basement is the exception to Margaret’s rule. It is always boarded up for a good reason. The basement and its terror is the reason I got creeped out immensely. The other ghostly characters were also an interesting addition as well.

I need to talk about the ending as well! I have read a lot of horror/psychological thriller books and usually they always tend to end the same way. It looked like the author was heading down that route and I was so disappointed but she turned it around super quick.

Overall, the book is a great read!

See my review on GR!

[absurdsoutherner]

October reads! Highly recommend The September House. Answers the question: what if you combine haunted houses and female rage?

[ohtheylovetolietoyou]

“Things don’t happen all at once, of course.

They start gradually, changes occurring imperceptibly.

You barely notice the differences, and once they make themselves known, they seem so small that you easily accept them, adjust your life in a minuscule way.

Everyone can make minuscule adjustments.

Then there’s another change, a bigger one, but you can still adjust so easily. No problem, really.

Then another change, another adjustment, and so on and so on— and before you know it, you’re living a life that by all accounts should be unrecognizable but to you is just normal. Your life is that of a stranger’s, but it doesn’t bother you at all.” —Carissa Orlando, the September House

[shxpeshifterr]

[ademella]

Currently reading

[pinkbelugacollective]

it is so easy to hate katherine in the beginning, cuz like, why is a grown ass lesbian wit a job and an ex barreling into her mama’s house and demanding things from her when she doesn’t even visit, and then you find out this poor woman had to grow up watching her alcoholic father beat the shit out of her mother and now that he’s disappeared, her mama still won’t let go of her abusers. of course she’s always angry. she can’t save her mama cuz her mama don’t even wanna save herself 😭

[madlovenovelist]

#bookporn #coverlove

One of my most recent buys – I’m in the mood for something spooky and this looks like the ticket! I seem to be on a bit of an unintentional reading bint with creepy houses or haunted mansions… can you recommend a good horror novel about a malevolent house, I’d love to add it my my collection?

[libraryleopard]

Adult horror novel

When married couple Margaret and Hal move into their dream home–an old Victorian home sold for a surprisingly low price–they soon discover that every inch of the the house is stuffed with hauntings that reach a fevered pitch every September

Margaret, however, is unwilling to leave her dream home and decides to stick it out

After four years in the house, Hal leaves abruptly and Margaret finds herself fielding questions about his absence from her daughter while trying to hide the hauntings from her and the hauntings grow more harrowing

[blogthefiresidechats]

Shipment

When I was at the local book store last, I got myself a gift card. Since I got a gift card, I can use that to purchase stuff online (as well as in the book store obviously). I decided to buy online because there were some books that I was looking for that was not available in the store. Well, part of my shipment showed up in the mail today (as seen below). Now, I just have to wait for the rest of…

[dullroarofspace42]

Chilling and reading with my music in the background, super relaxed right now. I love when it's cold out and I can curl up under a blanket and read. I usually prefer physical books but ebooks are nice when it's dark and I hate turning on over head lights.