Reviews tagging 'Gaslighting'

The September House by Carissa Orlando

65 reviews

savethegibbons's review

challenging dark emotional funny mysterious 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

This book is an incredible. If you have any interest in horror, you owe it to yourself to read this book. One of the best books I've read in a long time. I don't even wanna cover anything, I'd just recommend to stop reading about it and start reading it, you won't regret it 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Animal death, Body horror, Child abuse, Child death, Self harm, and Gaslighting

christracy776's review

dark emotional funny mysterious 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: Addiction, Bullying, Domestic abuse, Emotional abuse, Mental illness, Physical abuse, Toxic relationship, Violence, Schizophrenia/Psychosis , and Gaslighting

selendrea's review

dark emotional funny hopeful tense medium-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

4.25

I went into this book with barely any knowledge of the plot, and I'm so glad I did. I thought I could predict what would happen, but this was far from the truth. The September House is more than a simplistic haunted house tale - the far scarier monsters are not the incorporeal, mutilated forms of the deceased, but the monsters that are alive. The heart of this story isn't the ghosts, the gore, the nightmares. It's family - albeit an imperfect family, but one that you end up rooting for. As a fiery daughter similar to Katherine in some ways, I loved how well fleshed out the mother-daughter relationship was.

Orlando does a brilliant job bringing the main character, Margaret, to life. She is motivated, funny, tired, and so incredibly loving. She simultaneously feels like a realistic person, but also one who is difficult to fully understand, which is purposeful. As we fall deeper and deeper into Margaret's story, her characterization and reasons behind her behavior become illuminated, and the pacing of these reveals felt perfectly spaced out.

I also want to commend Orlando on balancing horrifying elements with such refreshing use of dark humor. There were several moments in this book that made me chuckle out loud and receive a glance from my husband on the couch. I genuinely had a dream inspired by a scene in this book, that's how strongly the imagery impacted me. 

The only thing that detracted from this novel for me was a lack of subtlety. I believe Orlando could have folded in the allegory between

Margaret standing up to Master Vale versus Margaret never standing up to her abusive husband

in a less obvious way. It was as if the author didn't trust the reader to catch on to the parallels, which became a bit frustrating. I absolutely adore how the book explored

the psychological profile of a woman in an abusive marriage (if I just follow the rules, I can survive),

but I truly think with a bit more subtlety and room to breathe, I would have felt more satisfied at the end when all the puzzle pieces came together.

Nonetheless, I think The September House is an incredibly fun and successful novel. If you enjoy traditional haunted house stories with a psychological twist, you won't regret giving this one a chance!

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Addiction, Alcoholism, Body horror, Child death, Death, Domestic abuse, Gore, Blood, Murder, Alcohol, and Injury/Injury detail

Moderate: Mental illness, Misogyny, Toxic relationship, Fire/Fire injury, and Gaslighting

ssummar's review

adventurous challenging dark emotional funny hopeful mysterious tense fast-paced

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

5.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Addiction, Alcoholism, Body horror, Child death, Death, Domestic abuse, Emotional abuse, Gore, Mental illness, Physical abuse, Suicide, Toxic relationship, Violence, Forced institutionalization, Blood, Vomit, Cannibalism, Death of parent, Murder, Fire/Fire injury, Gaslighting, and Injury/Injury detail

Minor: Dementia

eklektikam's review

emotional hopeful mysterious reflective tense medium-paced

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

3.5

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Alcoholism, Domestic abuse, Toxic relationship, and Gaslighting

kit_icarus8's review

challenging dark emotional funny mysterious medium-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? It's complicated

5.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Addiction, Alcoholism, Body horror, Bullying, Death, Emotional abuse, Gun violence, Physical abuse, Violence, Forced institutionalization, Blood, Vomit, Dementia, Kidnapping, Death of parent, Fire/Fire injury, Gaslighting, Abandonment, and Injury/Injury detail

jennxreviews's review against another edition

dark emotional fast-paced

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

5.0

I didn't know if this was supposed to be horrific or hilarious, it turned out to be a roller coaster. When you think you know what's going on something will happen that will knock you down. 
Triggers for domestic abuse, alcoholism, child abuse. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Addiction, Alcoholism, Animal death, Body horror, Bullying, Child abuse, Child death, Confinement, Cursing, Death, Domestic abuse, Drug abuse, Emotional abuse, Gore, Mental illness, Misogyny, Panic attacks/disorders, Physical abuse, Self harm, Sexism, Torture, Toxic relationship, Forced institutionalization, Blood, Vomit, Dementia, Kidnapping, Grief, Cannibalism, Death of parent, Murder, Schizophrenia/Psychosis , Gaslighting, Alcohol, and Injury/Injury detail

synclaire's review

challenging dark inspiring mysterious reflective 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

4.5

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Addiction, Alcoholism, Body horror, Child abuse, Child death, Death, Domestic abuse, Gore, Self harm, Blood, Vomit, Murder, and Gaslighting

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

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