Reviews tagging 'Self harm'

The September House by Carissa Orlando

49 reviews

keenanmaree's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional funny mysterious 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? No

5.0

What a roller coaster! Funny, sad, and genuinely scary. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Body horror, Child abuse, Child death, Death, Domestic abuse, Emotional abuse, Gore, Physical abuse, Torture, Violence, Blood, and Death of parent

Moderate: Alcoholism, Dementia, Cannibalism, and Alcohol

Minor: Animal death, Mental illness, Self harm, Suicide, Forced institutionalization, and Fire/Fire injury

amyalwaysbooked's review against another edition

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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Content Warnings

Graphic: Alcoholism, Child abuse, Child death, Death, Emotional abuse, Gore, Physical abuse, Blood, Vomit, and Alcohol

Moderate: Mental illness, Police brutality, and Gaslighting

Minor: Self harm

killmoore_'s review

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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Content Warnings

Graphic: Alcoholism, Animal death, Body horror, Bullying, Child abuse, Child death, Confinement, Cursing, Death, Domestic abuse, Emotional abuse, Gore, Mental illness, Panic attacks/disorders, Physical abuse, Self harm, Suicide, Torture, Toxic relationship, Violence, Blood, Vomit, Grief, Cannibalism, Death of parent, Murder, Schizophrenia/Psychosis , Fire/Fire injury, Alcohol, and Injury/Injury detail

shelleys_shelf's review

dark emotional mysterious sad tense medium-paced

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

5.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Body horror, Child death, Death, Gore, Mental illness, and Murder

Moderate: Alcoholism and Domestic abuse

Minor: Self harm and Suicide

willa_reads_books's review against another edition

dark mysterious tense medium-paced

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

4.0

i really enjoyed this book. it’s not super scary or freaky and there is a very good twist at the end. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Body horror, Child death, Death, Gore, Blood, and Injury/Injury detail

Moderate: Self harm, Dementia, and Murder

Minor: Suicide

soobooksalot's review

challenging dark emotional lighthearted mysterious reflective tense fast-paced

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

5.0

Fans of haunted house tales are in for a wicked treat!
 I've had my eye on The September House for awhile and was thrilled when it arrived in a recent book box. 
 What a unique book. I was hooked by the writing style from the very first pages, and totally taken in throughout.
 Margaret and husband Hal purchased an 1800s-era house that happened to come with more chattels than expected. Ones that scream, bite, and make the walls bleed every September. A basement from hell.
 There's a whole host of "pranksters" in the old Vale house, with visible evidence of how they met their ends. 
 Oh it's a dark scenario, and at times gorey and spooky. Yet author Carissa Orlando tells us the story with touches of humour and humanity that make the scary nearly charming.
 I loved the whole experience and even more impressive that it's a debut.
 Recommended!

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Alcoholism, Animal death, Child death, Death, Mental illness, Self harm, Violence, Blood, Vomit, Dementia, Death of parent, Alcohol, and Injury/Injury detail

sarah984's review against another edition

dark funny medium-paced

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

4.5

This book dragged a little bit in the middle but overall I really enjoyed it. The voice was fun, there were some surprisingly effective scares, and it managed to surprise me a few times.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Body horror, Child death, Gore, and Injury/Injury detail

Moderate: Alcoholism, Animal death, Death, Domestic abuse, Mental illness, Panic attacks/disorders, Physical abuse, Torture, Violence, Blood, Vomit, Dementia, Fire/Fire injury, and Gaslighting

Minor: Confinement, Fatphobia, Gun violence, Self harm, Suicide, Forced institutionalization, Police brutality, and Cannibalism

Insect/bug content

amaranth_wytch's review

dark emotional mysterious tense fast-paced

5.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Alcoholism, Animal death, Body horror, Child abuse, Child death, Cursing, Death, Domestic abuse, Emotional abuse, Gore, Mental illness, Physical abuse, Torture, Violence, Forced institutionalization, Blood, Vomit, Dementia, Cannibalism, Murder, Schizophrenia/Psychosis , Fire/Fire injury, Alcohol, and Injury/Injury detail

Moderate: Self harm and Suicide

bambooboy's review

dark emotional funny hopeful lighthearted sad tense fast-paced

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

5.0

It can be hard to write an allegory for domestic violence without coming off insensitive or ham-fisted. In The September House, Orlando manages to gracefully use the metaphor of a haunted house beautifully. This book was darkly funny, with engaging characters that keep you wanting more of them after you put the book down.

I was concerned that she was going to go the coward's route and have the protagonist institutionalized after being characterized as crazy, but luckily she does not!

There is real growth among the characters and you find yourself rooting for them, even those that you might be surprised by. The descriptions are artistically disgusting, and the detached nature of the protagonist's voice is startlingly realistic. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Alcoholism, Animal death, Body horror, Child abuse, Child death, Confinement, Death, Domestic abuse, Emotional abuse, Gore, Mental illness, Physical abuse, Torture, Toxic relationship, Violence, Blood, Vomit, Kidnapping, Grief, Suicide attempt, Death of parent, Murder, Fire/Fire injury, Alcohol, and Injury/Injury detail

Moderate: Bullying, Cursing, Suicide, Forced institutionalization, Cannibalism, and Gaslighting

Minor: Self harm, Stalking, and Schizophrenia/Psychosis

Detailed description of content warnings below

--Father is an alcoholic, who becomes sober and then relapses
--Father is emotionally and physically abusive to mother; attempts to be abusive to daughter so mother removes her from home
--Multiple child murders, graphic descriptions of torture and murder
--Gaslighting protagonist as to existence of ghosts
--Many graphic descriptions of bodies being twisted and deformed, tortured
--Protagonist is abused emotionally and physically for many years and the ways she copes are covered
--Multiple people commit suicide in the house, deaths described
--Multiple descriptions of vomit, especially vomiting flies
--One character is murdered in a fireplace, attempts made to burn entire house down
--Daughter attempts to institutionalize mother