Reviews tagging 'Addiction'

The September House by Carissa Orlando

33 reviews

larajgriff1's review against another edition

adventurous dark emotional hopeful mysterious sad tense medium-paced

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

4.25

Sufficiently scary in the horror way while also being scary in the interpersonal way.  Though warning: if you don't like gore, don't come within 10 feet of this book.  Much like blood from the walls, it oozes from every page.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Body horror, Murder, Domestic abuse, Torture, Blood, Violence, Child death, Toxic relationship, Death, Injury/Injury detail, and Gore

Moderate: Fire/Fire injury, Emotional abuse, Schizophrenia/Psychosis , Mental illness, Addiction, Alcoholism, and Physical abuse

Minor: Forced institutionalization, Kidnapping, Suicide, Cannibalism, and Gaslighting

wordsareworlds's review against another edition

adventurous challenging dark emotional funny mysterious tense medium-paced

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

4.0

I really enjoyed this twist on a more classic haunted house story. It had me guessing until almost the end which way it would go, and ultimately I was very satisfied by how everything came together. I keep thinking about the fine line the author walked in revealing the MC's past and wanting the reader to ask just how unreliable the narrator is. Strong themes about the cycle of abuse and how survival can manifest in very different ways for different people.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Blood, Physical abuse, Animal death, Body horror, Child abuse, Death, Dementia, Mental illness, Emotional abuse, Gaslighting, Domestic abuse, Murder, and Child death

Moderate: Alcohol and Addiction

Minor: Fire/Fire injury and Suicide

mari2880's review against another edition

dark emotional mysterious sad tense medium-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

4.5

Loved this book! The plot was extremely well developed. Although some parts had a slow beat, the small moment built appropriately. I liked that this wasn’t too scary but just the right amount. I will absolutely read other titles from this author. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Body horror, Blood, Murder, Mental illness, Death, Grief, Death of parent, and Addiction

Moderate: Physical abuse, Confinement, Addiction, and Death of parent

Minor: Domestic abuse and Fire/Fire injury

tkhenry99's review against another edition

3.5

Katherine being genuinely insufferable really impeded my enjoyment of this book. plus, it’s so ridiculously unbelievable that a woman who hates her father so much would care that he went missing. 

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Blood, Emotional abuse, Fire/Fire injury, Gore, Body horror, Child death, Mental illness, Murder, Alcoholism, Death of parent, Addiction, Death, Injury/Injury detail, and Domestic abuse

zeroshi's review against another edition

dark emotional reflective medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.5

I feel like this book hits different for victims of ab*se. This isn’t simply a haunted house book and while that part is done amazingly this is a commentary on breaking cyclical toxic patterns. Also the fact this is a debut novel??? Amazingly well done by the voice actor as well. Absolutely fell in love with the main character and her troop of pranksters. The daughter was a LITTLE IRRITATING at forst but once you realize what the book is REALLY saying you see the struggle she has with seeing her father in herself. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Gaslighting, Addiction, Death of parent, Emotional abuse, Alcoholism, Toxic relationship, Gore, Schizophrenia/Psychosis , Alcohol, Dementia, Domestic abuse, and Physical abuse

hanj12's review against another edition

dark emotional mysterious reflective tense slow-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

3.5

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Death, Domestic abuse, Vomit, Alcoholism, Violence, Addiction, and Child abuse

Moderate: Self harm, Suicide, Death of parent, and Mental illness

s0apysam's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional medium-paced

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

4.0

Incredible allegory and imagery at work for relationships that develop from trauma and ensuing domestic abuse. Wow, what a read.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Addiction, Blood, Alcohol, Body horror, Child death, and Physical abuse

moiralyle's review against another edition

dark emotional reflective sad tense medium-paced

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

5.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Gore, Body horror, Emotional abuse, Murder, Addiction, Physical abuse, Alcohol, Alcoholism, Death, Domestic abuse, Blood, Injury/Injury detail, Violence, Schizophrenia/Psychosis , Child abuse, Child death, and Grief

katiengelhart's review against another edition

adventurous dark mysterious reflective medium-paced

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

4.5

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Blood, Vomit, Domestic abuse, Gore, Addiction, Mental illness, Torture, and Alcoholism

linora's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional funny hopeful inspiring mysterious reflective sad tense medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Plot
• Strong character development? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

5.0

This book made me laugh out loud and made me cry. It was written beautifully and I have a feeling that I will be thinking about it for a long time. 

I'm debated between giving it 4.75 and 5 stars, and decided to upgrade it to 5 stars because of a few scenes that were written with such care and understanding while still maintaining their humor. I do think the metaphor weakened towards the end as the plot transitioned into more traditional horror, but I loved it anyway

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Emotional abuse, Alcohol, Alcoholism, and Physical abuse

Moderate: Abandonment, Gaslighting, Self harm, Death of parent, Gun violence, Misogyny, Murder, Stalking, Torture, Vomit, Chronic illness, Confinement, Gore, Schizophrenia/Psychosis , Addiction, Child abuse, Child death, Forced institutionalization, Panic attacks/disorders, Dementia, Violence, Injury/Injury detail, Physical abuse, Alcohol, Alcoholism, Emotional abuse, Grief, Toxic relationship, and Domestic abuse