Reviews tagging 'Toxic relationship'

The September House by Carissa Orlando

73 reviews

emstermeegs's review

dark mysterious sad tense fast-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? No

2.5

The premise was interesting, however I wouldn't say the twists were surprising. I knew what happened to the husband from the start. 
I could tell this was a debut - it was clunky in spots, repetitive. The gore was also repetitive and at times felt unnecessary. The relationships were weird, as was the fact that people stuck around for no good reason. 

It had it's spooky moments and was quirky. The fact the main character refused to be afraid was also kind of fun, if not also frustrating. 

All in all, it was an experience. I probably wouldn't recommend to many people, but certainly a book that gives Halloween vibes. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Child death, Death, Domestic abuse, Gore, Physical abuse, Toxic relationship, Violence, Murder, Fire/Fire injury, and Injury/Injury detail

Moderate: Cannibalism

whatkatyread87's review

adventurous dark emotional funny mysterious reflective sad tense slow-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? No
• 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: Addiction, Alcoholism, Animal cruelty, Animal death, Body horror, Bullying, Cancer, Child abuse, Child death, Confinement, Cursing, Death, Emotional abuse, Gore, Misogyny, Physical abuse, Torture, Toxic relationship, Violence, Blood, Police brutality, Dementia, Grief, Death of parent, Murder, Fire/Fire injury, Gaslighting, Abandonment, Alcohol, and Injury/Injury detail

tayreads10's review

adventurous dark funny lighthearted mysterious tense medium-paced

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

5.0

Horror/thriller/mystery/paranormal chaos! I don't like reading summaries of books before I start so I can grasp the plot on my own. This one was a chaotic, sometimes funny, sometimes gory ride! Not a book I would've thought I would like, but really enjoyed it!

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Content Warnings

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

rochelleisreading's review

challenging dark emotional reflective sad tense fast-paced

5.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Alcoholism, Animal death, Body horror, Child abuse, Child death, Death, Domestic abuse, Gore, Toxic relationship, Blood, Murder, Fire/Fire injury, and Injury/Injury detail

Moderate: Mental illness, Misogyny, Physical abuse, Vomit, Cannibalism, Medical trauma, and Lesbophobia

Minor: Forced institutionalization

kristenreids's review

adventurous dark emotional 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

This was the best horror I've read in a while. There were very few slow parts in the middle. I liked that it was psychological too, I didn't expect that. Definitely recommend if you're looking for haunted house horror.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Domestic abuse, Gore, Suicide, Toxic relationship, Murder, and Injury/Injury detail

Moderate: Addiction, Child death, Misogyny, Schizophrenia/Psychosis , and Abandonment

kodi5's review against another edition

adventurous challenging dark emotional funny mysterious sad tense 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

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Animal death, Body horror, Death, Domestic abuse, Mental illness, Torture, Toxic relationship, Vomit, Murder, and Injury/Injury detail

atleastelise's review

dark mysterious sad tense slow-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? Yes

4.0

Whooweee! Family trauma! Haunted Houses! What more can you ask for. 

Thought this was a bit slow and repetitive to start but overall really enjoyable. 👻 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Domestic abuse, Toxic relationship, Blood, and Murder

Moderate: Alcoholism

Minor: Child abuse

ravenpuff's review

emotional funny reflective tense medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• 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

5.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Alcoholism, Animal death, Body horror, Child death, Cursing, Death, Domestic abuse, Emotional abuse, Gore, Physical abuse, Toxic relationship, Blood, Gaslighting, and Injury/Injury detail

Moderate: Child abuse, Self harm, Dementia, Fire/Fire injury, and Abandonment

Minor: Vomit and Death of parent

jennawhite0813's review against another edition

dark mysterious tense fast-paced

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

5.0

The Sixth Sense meets the Shining with a little bit of Tim Burton dark humor sprinkled in. What a great read! Suspense, thrill, horror...everything you could want in a a good spooky read. This book had me guessing the whole time!

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Body horror, Child death, Gore, Toxic relationship, Violence, Blood, Vomit, and Murder

blackeyedraptor's review

dark mysterious sad medium-paced

4.75

I love the author's style in this book! Her style was so simple and straightforward, her characters are well fleshed out, and her ratio of backstory mixed with current story was just perfect. 

It's a great book for anyone who loves a classic haunted house, spooky story. The house is always haunted, but in September, the house goes haywire. 

My only complaint: why did the ghosts wait for the protagonist to take down the antagonist? They could have very easily all taken him down long before the protagonist showed up. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Alcoholism, Child abuse, Child death, Gore, Violence, Blood, and Murder

Moderate: Death, Domestic abuse, Emotional abuse, Physical abuse, Toxic relationship, Vomit, and Cannibalism