Reviews tagging 'Alcoholism'

The September House by Carissa Orlando

295 reviews

midsummerbri's review

challenging dark mysterious tense medium-paced

5.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Injury/Injury detail

Moderate: Alcoholism and Domestic abuse

hookerkitty's review

challenging dark emotional funny mysterious sad tense medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? It's complicated

5.0

Hands down the best book I read all year *chef’s kiss*

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Alcoholism, Death, Domestic abuse, Emotional abuse, Gore, Panic attacks/disorders, Physical abuse, Toxic relationship, Violence, Blood, Murder, Alcohol, and Injury/Injury detail

Moderate: Torture and Death of parent

Minor: Child death, Confinement, Suicide, Vomit, Kidnapping, and Cannibalism

persephonefoxx's review against another edition

dark mysterious tense medium-paced

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

5.0

“The walls of the house were bleeding again.This sort of thing could be expected; it was, after all, September.”

This book asks the question, ‘what happens when the person living in a haunted house accepts the horrors around them’ in a spectacular balance of humour, horror, and heavy themes. The September House is at its core, a story about the lengths you take to survive which sees the titular setting serving as both literal and metaphorical. 

I adored this book. It feels like a unique and complex mix of genres ranging from dark comedy, horror, physiological thriller, and mystery - with multiple characters almost finding themselves experiencing the plot as if they were in a different genre to each other. 

And while I clued in to the twists early on, I was enthralled the whole way through. 

As with all horror, I highly recommend checking trigger warnings. While this story has an air of humour, it does cover some darker themes. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Domestic abuse, Gore, and Blood

Moderate: Alcoholism, Child death, Mental illness, and Vomit

Minor: Self harm and Suicide

meagan123's review

dark emotional sad tense medium-paced

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

3.5

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Alcoholism, Animal death, Child abuse, Child death, Cursing, Death, Domestic abuse, Emotional abuse, Gore, Physical abuse, Torture, Toxic relationship, Violence, Blood, Vomit, Murder, Fire/Fire injury, Alcohol, and Injury/Injury detail

Minor: Self harm, Suicide, Dementia, and Gaslighting

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

witchymermaid's review

dark emotional mysterious tense fast-paced

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

5.0

I loved this book. I don't want to give much away, but this book had so many layers that slowly peeled away. I couldn't put it down.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Addiction, Alcoholism, Body horror, Child death, Death, Emotional abuse, Gore, Mental illness, Violence, Blood, Vomit, Cannibalism, Murder, and Gaslighting

lmconway_ak's review

dark emotional mysterious tense fast-paced

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

4.5

The perfect Halloween read! An excellent story well written. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Alcoholism, Body horror, Child death, Death, Violence, Blood, Vomit, Cannibalism, and Murder

lexkazokas's review against another edition

challenging dark mysterious medium-paced

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

3.5

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Death, Domestic abuse, Gore, and Murder

Moderate: Alcoholism

herelieshenry's review against another edition

emotional hopeful 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? Yes

5.0

This to me is the quintessential modern haunted house novel, the perfect conclusion for the lineage of the genre through the early days of Gothic haunted houses with a heavy focus on women’s anxieties and agoraphobia, to the more contemporary haunted house novel post-Amityville with focus on financial instability keeping someone within the house and the looming presence of

domestic violence

throughout the stories. If one were to study the history of haunted house novels throughout the decades, this is the perfect one for the 2020s.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Death, Domestic abuse, and Injury/Injury detail

Moderate: Child death, Gore, and Murder

Minor: Alcoholism, Animal death, and Cannibalism