Reviews tagging 'Physical abuse'

The September House by Carissa Orlando

173 reviews

reading_oyster's review

dark emotional mysterious sad tense fast-paced

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

3.75

A decent read. Not my typical genre choice but I chose it for the spooky season. Read a review saying that it was a little predictable and at first I thought it wasn't but once I got near the end, I made a spot on guess of parts of the plot. But then it hits you with a plot twist which was reasonable and made sense. Then it hits you with another plot twists (a reversal actually). This book is mainly plot driven and has a great plot for a mystery/horror book. Would be a great movie/show adaptation honestly. Very similar vibes to "Haunting of Hill House" 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Child death, Death, Gore, Violence, and Murder

Moderate: Alcoholism, Domestic abuse, Physical abuse, and Blood

Minor: Suicide attempt

rajaraks's review

dark emotional funny mysterious reflective sad tense fast-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

5.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Death, Gore, Blood, Murder, and Injury/Injury detail

Moderate: Domestic abuse, Physical abuse, and Toxic relationship

Minor: Alcoholism, Cursing, and Mental illness

andy5185's review

dark emotional mysterious sad tense medium-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

2.0

I wanted to like this so much based on all the buzz, but in the end I found it too cliche for my taste. That said, the ghosts were all really well rendered and it definitely had some truly horrifying chiller moments.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Addiction, Alcoholism, Child abuse, Child death, Death, Domestic abuse, Emotional abuse, Gore, Mental illness, Physical abuse, Suicide, Torture, Violence, Blood, Vomit, Grief, Religious bigotry, Murder, Fire/Fire injury, and Injury/Injury detail

mlthomas234's review against another edition

challenging dark funny mysterious tense medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Diverse cast of characters? No

4.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Domestic abuse, Emotional abuse, Gore, Physical abuse, and Blood

Moderate: Addiction, Alcoholism, Body horror, Child abuse, Death, Mental illness, Grief, Murder, Schizophrenia/Psychosis , and Alcohol

fulltimelogan's review

dark emotional mysterious tense fast-paced

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

4.75

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Domestic abuse and Physical abuse

Moderate: Alcoholism

gem114's review against another edition

dark mysterious reflective fast-paced

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

5.0

I’m not usually a horror fan, but I couldn’t put this down.

I loved how the author explored the parallels of staying in an abuse relationship to staying in the haunted house. Of course Hal couldn’t adapt. As the abuser, he wasn’t nearly as practiced as Margaret at “making a heaven out of a hell.”

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Alcoholism, Child abuse, Child death, Death, Domestic abuse, Gore, Physical abuse, Violence, Blood, Dementia, Death of parent, Murder, Alcohol, and Injury/Injury detail

Moderate: Animal death, Cursing, Suicide, Excrement, Vomit, and Fire/Fire injury

Minor: Panic attacks/disorders, Self harm, and Schizophrenia/Psychosis

ems_rxlibrary's review against another edition

3.75

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Alcoholism, Cursing, Death, Domestic abuse, Gore, Physical abuse, Torture, Violence, Blood, and Injury/Injury detail

supa_bekka's review

adventurous dark mysterious fast-paced

4.5

The September House was the Halloween read I was looking for.

The story takes place in a beautiful Victorian home and features a full cast of ghastly ghosts. Unlike most haunted home stories, this tale doesn't focus on unraveling the mysteries behind the house. The main character has already done that, years ago. This is what happens when the reality of the housing market dictates the story, and the characters have to figure out how to embrace their new haunted home.

The September House also has several themes comparing the entrapment of a haunted house to the entrapment of an abusive marriage. While not the most profound book about those topics, I thought the author had enough to say and handled it deftly enough that it worked for me. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Alcoholism, Gore, and Physical abuse

michellefre's review against another edition

5.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Addiction, Alcoholism, Body horror, Child abuse, Child death, Cursing, Domestic abuse, Emotional abuse, Gore, Mental illness, Physical abuse, Self harm, Suicide, Torture, Toxic relationship, Blood, Vomit, Murder, Fire/Fire injury, Alcohol, and Injury/Injury detail

rubberrosebooks's review against another edition

emotional mysterious sad tense medium-paced

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

3.75

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Alcoholism, Child death, Confinement, Cursing, Death, Domestic abuse, Emotional abuse, Gore, Physical abuse, Torture, Violence, Blood, Vomit, Murder, and Injury/Injury detail