Reviews tagging 'Police brutality'

The September House by Carissa Orlando

8 reviews

ceruleanseas's review

adventurous dark emotional mysterious sad fast-paced

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

3.75

While I found the plot extremely predictable, I enjoyed the book quite a bit. It's well-written and although the twists are mostly the common horror tropes, it wasn't boring. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Addiction, Alcoholism, Animal death, Body horror, Child abuse, Child death, Cursing, Death, Domestic abuse, Emotional abuse, Gore, Gun violence, Mental illness, Misogyny, Physical abuse, Torture, Violence, Blood, Vomit, Dementia, Grief, Cannibalism, Death of parent, Murder, Schizophrenia/Psychosis , Fire/Fire injury, Alcohol, and Injury/Injury detail

Moderate: Police brutality

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

nicolesanerd's review

dark mysterious tense medium-paced

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

3.0

I’m not sure that I’ve ever facepalmed from a book as much as this one made me. The characters were frustrating, to put it nicely. The plot was also completely predictable. The book contained multiple instances of hints that made it very apparent while not saying it outright. I finished in hopes that it wouldn’t be the case, but unfortunately it was. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Body horror, Cursing, Death, Domestic abuse, Drug abuse, Emotional abuse, Gore, Mental illness, Physical abuse, Torture, Toxic relationship, Violence, Blood, Vomit, Police brutality, Dementia, Grief, Death of parent, Murder, and Injury/Injury detail

anissawren's review against another edition

dark emotional hopeful mysterious 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

2.5

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Alcoholism, Child death, Death, Domestic abuse, Mental illness, Blood, Death of parent, and Schizophrenia/Psychosis

Moderate: Body horror, Suicide, Torture, Police brutality, Murder, and Fire/Fire injury

Minor: Self harm, Forced institutionalization, Dementia, and Cannibalism

priscillarobock's review

dark emotional mysterious tense medium-paced

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

3.75

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Alcoholism, Body horror, Cursing, Death, Emotional abuse, Gore, Gun violence, Mental illness, Physical abuse, Self harm, Torture, Violence, Forced institutionalization, Blood, Vomit, Police brutality, Grief, Medical trauma, Death of parent, Murder, Alcohol, and Injury/Injury detail

grnbun's review

adventurous challenging dark lighthearted mysterious medium-paced

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

4.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Body horror, Domestic abuse, Gore, Violence, Blood, and Police brutality

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

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