Reviews with content warning for Vomit - The September House

The first 150 pages or so of this book I found to be pretty slow, and was disappointed, thinking I wouldn't end up liking this book I had been excited to read. I was also initially bummed when they started drawing comparisons between the main character's past to what was happening in her current house.

Luckily, about halfway through, this book picks up steam and gets pretty interesting. As much as I didn't want to like the direction the book was going, the author's storytelling just kept convincing me she knew what she was doing, and she won me over.

I really appreciate the twist this book DIDN'T take at the end, because I think the direction it could have taken is so overused, and I'm glad we got to enjoy the story as it played out.

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cde10's review against another edition

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dark sad tense medium-paced

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

4.0

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cait_henry56's review against another edition

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dark mysterious medium-paced

3.75

This could have been so good. I tore through this book in two days, and maybe that is my fault for how annoyed I am after ending. The haunted house and the extended metaphor for familiar relationships was realistic, terrifying, and heartbreaking. But my suspension of belief cannot handle the motivations of Margaret and Katherine, why they were both so hellbent on the former not explaining about the house, and the latter looking for Hal even after the shoe drops about him.

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thegayestghost's review against another edition

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adventurous challenging dark emotional funny sad tense fast-paced

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

4.0

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amyalwaysbooked's review against another edition

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dark emotional mysterious tense slow-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

3.0

The premise of The September House was interesting. Margaret and her husband Hal buy their dream house in their middle age. When things prove to be a bit more haunted than expected, Margaret refuses to let go of the house and learns to deal with the spectral residents. However, when Hal goes missing Margaret has to keep her daughter from snooping around and finding out about the "pranksters" in her home.

I had expected this to be a horror-comedy when I went in, and to an extent, I think that's what Orlando was going for. I didn't find it all that funny or endearing. Margaret comes off as absent-minded and accommodating to the ghosts in the house which I found annoying more than charming. When you add Margaret and Hal's daughter Katherine to the mix it's even worse. She's an angry, short-tempered character that never grew on me.

I gave the book three stars because I can see what Orlando is trying to do with this book. Margaret's willingness to follow the "rules" of the house and its ghosts is clearly a metaphor for

being the victim in an abusive relationship

but it's all so on the nose that I rolled my eyes more often than not. If I had felt more attached to Margaret and the other characters this could have worked better, but it all fell flat for me.

The last twenty percent or so really ramped up the action, horror, and gore which I appreciated. However, after the climax, it all peters out into a lackluster resolution that leans back into the book's attempt at horror/comedy which doesn't hold up.

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lbsalas's review

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dark emotional funny hopeful mysterious sad tense medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
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

4.5

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killmoore_'s review against another edition

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dark mysterious tense medium-paced

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

4.0

Let me start by saying that I was SO excited to get my hands on this book. So many rave reviews, so much hype, I was READY for the spooky haunted house story of the year...

... and for me, this one fell a bit flat.

Despite being full of gore, this read like a PG13 horror movie - perhaps its the narration style, but it was severly lacking in the fear and anxiety I always seek out in a good haunted house novel. That is what caused this to be a 4 star read for me.

I still very much enjoyed it. The story is fun, the characters are perfectly atrocious, and I truly loved both of the plot twists. It was well written, and the ending was a trip. I would LOVE to see a movie made out of this honestly, it would translate beautifully, and will definitely pick up more books by this author.

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