amys_reading_again 's review for:

The September House by Carissa Orlando
5.0
🌟 5β˜† 
 πŸ“š 09/09/25  - 15/09/25
꧁𝑨 𝒉𝒂𝒖𝒏𝒕𝒆𝒅 𝒉𝒐𝒖𝒔𝒆 π’ƒπ’π’π’Œ π’…π’Šπ’”π’ˆπ’–π’Šπ’”π’†π’… 𝒂𝒔 𝒂 π’•π’‰π’“π’Šπ’π’π’†π’“, π’…π’Šπ’”π’ˆπ’–π’Šπ’”π’†π’… 𝒂𝒔 𝒂 π’ƒπ’π’π’Œ 𝒂𝒃𝒐𝒖𝒕 π’Žπ’†π’π’•π’‚π’ π’Šπ’π’π’π’†π’”π’” π’…π’Šπ’”π’ˆπ’–π’Šπ’”π’†π’… 𝒂𝒔 𝒂 π’ƒπ’π’π’Œ 𝒂𝒃𝒐𝒖𝒕 𝒂 𝒉𝒂𝒖𝒏𝒕𝒆𝒅 𝒉𝒐𝒖𝒔𝒆.  𝑺𝒐 π’Žπ’‚π’π’š π’•π’˜π’Šπ’”π’•π’” 𝒂𝒏𝒅 𝒕𝒖𝒓𝒏𝒔 π’˜π’Šπ’•π’‰ 𝒂 𝒕𝒐𝒖𝒄𝒉 𝒐𝒇 π’…π’‚π’“π’Œ π’‰π’–π’Žπ’π’“β€¦. 𝑰 π’”π’†π’“π’Šπ’π’–π’”π’π’š 𝒍𝒐𝒗𝒆𝒅 π’•π’‰π’Šπ’” π’ƒπ’π’π’Œ.꧂ 

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 α΄α΄€Κ€Ι’ᴀʀᴇᴛ Ιͺꜱ ᴅᴇᴛᴇʀᴍΙͺɴᴇᴅ ᴛᴏ α΄‹α΄‡α΄‡α΄˜ Κœα΄‡Κ€ Κ™α΄‡α΄€α΄œα΄›Ιͺꜰᴜʟ α΄ ΙͺᴄᴛᴏʀΙͺα΄€Ι΄ Κœα΄α΄α΄‡ α΄…α΄‡κœ±α΄˜Ιͺᴛᴇ α΄€Ι΄Ι΄α΄œα΄€ΚŸ, Κœα΄Κ€Κ€ΙͺꜰΙͺα΄„ Κœα΄€α΄œΙ΄α΄›Ιͺɴɒꜱ α΄›Κœα΄€α΄› α΄α΄„α΄„α΄œΚ€ ᴇᴠᴇʀʏ κœ±α΄‡α΄˜α΄›α΄‡α΄Κ™α΄‡Κ€, ΙͺΙ΄α΄„ΚŸα΄œα΄…ΙͺΙ΄Ι’ Κ™ΚŸα΄‡α΄‡α΄…ΙͺΙ΄Ι’ α΄‘α΄€ΚŸΚŸκœ± α΄€Ι΄α΄… α΄ Ιͺα΄ΚŸα΄‡Ι΄α΄› Ι’Κœα΄κœ±α΄›κœ±. Κœα΄‡Κ€ Κœα΄œκœ±Κ™α΄€Ι΄α΄…, Κœα΄€ΚŸ, α΄‡α΄ α΄‡Ι΄α΄›α΄œα΄€ΚŸΚŸΚ ΚŸα΄‡α΄€α΄ α΄‡κœ± α΄…α΄œα΄‡ ᴛᴏ α΄›Κœα΄‡ κœ±α΄œα΄˜α΄‡Κ€Ι΄α΄€α΄›α΄œΚ€α΄€ΚŸ α΄€α΄„α΄›Ιͺα΄ Ιͺᴛʏ, α΄€Ι΄α΄… α΄›Κœα΄‡ΙͺΚ€ α΄…α΄€α΄œΙ’Κœα΄›α΄‡Κ€, α΄‹α΄€α΄›Κœα΄‡Κ€Ιͺɴᴇ, α΄€Κ€Κ€Ιͺα΄ α΄‡κœ± κœ±α΄‡α΄€Κ€α΄„ΚœΙͺΙ΄Ι’ κœ°α΄Κ€ ʜΙͺᴍ. α΄€κœ± α΄‹α΄€α΄›Κœα΄‡Κ€Ιͺɴᴇ'ꜱ α΄ ΙͺꜱΙͺα΄› ᴄᴏΙͺΙ΄α΄„Ιͺα΄…α΄‡κœ± α΄‘Ιͺα΄›Κœ α΄›Κœα΄‡ ΙͺΙ΄α΄›α΄‡Ι΄κœ±ΙͺꜰʏΙͺΙ΄Ι’ κœ±α΄‡α΄˜α΄›α΄‡α΄Κ™α΄‡Κ€ Κœα΄€α΄œΙ΄α΄›Ιͺɴɒꜱ, ᴍᴀʀɒᴀʀᴇᴛ κœ±α΄›Κ€α΄œΙ’Ι’ΚŸα΄‡κœ± ᴛᴏ α΄‹α΄‡α΄‡α΄˜ α΄›Κœα΄‡ Κœα΄α΄œκœ±α΄‡'ꜱ κœ±α΄‡α΄„Κ€α΄‡α΄›κœ± κœ°Κ€α΄α΄ Κœα΄‡Κ€ α΄…α΄€α΄œΙ’Κœα΄›α΄‡Κ€ ᴑʜΙͺΚŸα΄‡ α΄„α΄Ι΄κœ°Κ€α΄Ι΄α΄›ΙͺΙ΄Ι’ α΄›Κœα΄‡ α΄›Κ€α΄œα΄‡, Κœα΄Κ€Κ€ΙͺꜰʏΙͺΙ΄Ι’ Ι΄α΄€α΄›α΄œΚ€α΄‡ ᴏꜰ α΄›Κœα΄‡ Κœα΄α΄œκœ±α΄‡ α΄€Ι΄α΄… Κœα΄‡Κ€ ᴏᴑɴ Κ€α΄‡ΚŸα΄€α΄›ΙͺᴏɴꜱʜΙͺᴘ α΄‘Ιͺα΄›Κœ Κœα΄€ΚŸ.
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"𝕋𝕙𝕖 𝕨𝕒𝕝𝕝𝕀 𝕠𝕗 π•₯𝕙𝕖 𝕙𝕠𝕦𝕀𝕖 𝕨𝕖𝕣𝕖 π•“π•π•–π•–π••π•šπ•Ÿπ•˜ π•’π•˜π•’π•šπ•Ÿ. π•‹π•™π•šπ•€ 𝕀𝕠𝕣π•₯ 𝕠𝕗 π•₯π•™π•šπ•Ÿπ•˜ 𝕔𝕠𝕦𝕝𝕕 𝕓𝕖 𝕖𝕩𝕑𝕖𝕔π•₯𝕖𝕕; π•šπ•₯ 𝕨𝕒𝕀, 𝕒𝕗π•₯𝕖𝕣 𝕒𝕝𝕝, π•Šπ•–π•‘π•₯π•–π•žπ•“π•–π•£."

This is definitely my level of horror, just enough that you get the creepy, spooky vibes, but not so terrifying that it leaves you sleeping with the lights on, and jumping at every sound in your house.  
I’m a bit of a wimp when it comes to scary stories and horror and so although this is very much a haunting, I wouldn’t say it’s terrifying., and for me is the perfect level of scary.  

"π•‹π•™π•šπ•€ π•¨π•’π•€π•Ÿβ€™π•₯ π•žπ•ͺ π•—π•šπ•£π•€π•₯ π•₯π•šπ•žπ•– π•₯𝕣π•ͺπ•šπ•Ÿπ•˜ π•₯𝕠 𝕑𝕣𝕖𝕑𝕒𝕣𝕖 𝕒 π•žπ•–π•’π• π•¨π•™π•šπ•π•– π••π• π••π•˜π•šπ•Ÿπ•˜ π•₯𝕙𝕖 π•—π•’π•Ÿπ•˜π•€ 𝕠𝕗 𝕒 𝕕𝕖𝕒𝕕 π•”π•™π•šπ•π•• 𝕨𝕙𝕠 π•¨π•šπ•€π•™π•–π•• π•žπ•– π•“π• π••π•šπ•π•ͺ π•™π•’π•£π•ž."    

There are ghosts aplenty and lots of strange occurences, creaky floorboards don’t even cover it – we’re talking blood dripping down the walls.  However, rather than the typical haunted house story which is focused on a family trying to escape a haunting, the story centers on Margret,  who is determined to coexist with the ghosts and gory events that get worse every September.  Margaret, is definitely  the book's greatest strength. Her unflappable, practical, and almost cheerful attitude toward the supernatural chaos that goes on in the house, and the ways she has learnt to live with it all is the source of both humor and suspense.  

I loved the way Orlando sets up and tells her story. Instead of starting at the beginning, we meet Margaret after she’s lived in the house for four years, and little by little we learn about what’s going on in the house, what happened to Hal, and why Margaret is so good at coping with difficult situations. Margaret’s nonchalant delivery about her interactions with the hauntings was such an unusual approach, and it’s one reason this story worked so well for me.

"𝕃𝕠𝕣𝕕 π•œπ•Ÿπ• π•¨π•€ 𝕨𝕙𝕒π•₯ π•œπ•šπ•Ÿπ•• 𝕠𝕗 π•šπ•Ÿπ•—π•–π•”π•₯π•šπ• π•Ÿ π• π•Ÿπ•– π•žπ•šπ•˜π•™π•₯ 𝕔𝕒π•₯𝕔𝕙 π•—π•£π• π•ž π•₯𝕙𝕖 𝕕𝕖𝕒𝕕 π•žπ•’π•Ÿ π•šπ•Ÿ π• π•Ÿπ•–β€™π•€ π•“π•’π•€π•–π•žπ•–π•Ÿπ•₯."     


𝑻𝒉𝒆 π‘Ίπ’†π’‘π’•π’†π’Žπ’ƒπ’†π’“ 𝒉𝒐𝒖𝒔𝒆 π’˜π’Šπ’π’ 𝒉𝒂𝒗𝒆 π’šπ’π’– π’„π’‰π’†π’†π’“π’Šπ’π’ˆ, π’„π’“π’šπ’Šπ’π’ˆ, 𝒂𝒏𝒅 π’‚π’π’ˆπ’“π’š, 𝒔𝒐 π’—π’†π’“π’š π’‚π’π’ˆπ’“π’š.  π‘»π’‰π’Šπ’” π’ƒπ’π’π’Œ π’˜π’‚π’” π’ƒπ’†π’‚π’–π’•π’Šπ’‡π’–π’π’π’š π’˜π’“π’Šπ’•π’•π’†π’. 𝑲𝒆𝒑𝒕 π’Žπ’† π’†π’π’ˆπ’‚π’ˆπ’†π’… 𝒕𝒉𝒆 π’†π’π’•π’Šπ’“π’† π’•π’Šπ’Žπ’† 𝒂𝒏𝒅 𝑰 π’˜π’‚π’” π’Žπ’π’“π’† π’†π’‚π’ˆπ’†π’“ 𝒕𝒉𝒂𝒏 𝒆𝒗𝒆𝒓 𝒕𝒐 π’‡π’Šπ’π’Šπ’”π’‰ π’Šπ’• 𝒂𝒏𝒅 π’‡π’Šπ’π’… 𝒐𝒖𝒕 π’˜π’‰π’‚π’• 𝒉𝒂𝒑𝒑𝒆𝒏𝒔. 𝑰𝒕 π’Žπ’‚π’š 𝒃𝒆 𝒂 π’π’Šπ’•π’•π’π’† π’•π’‚π’Žπ’† 𝒇𝒐𝒓 𝒕𝒉𝒐𝒔𝒆 𝒕𝒉𝒂𝒕 π’π’Šπ’Œπ’† 𝒕𝒐 𝒃𝒆 𝒇𝒖𝒍𝒍 𝒐𝒏 𝒔𝒄𝒂𝒓𝒆𝒅, 𝒃𝒖𝒕 𝑰 π’•π’‰π’Šπ’π’Œ π’Šπ’‡ π’šπ’π’–β€™π’“π’† π’Šπ’π’•π’ 𝒉𝒂𝒖𝒏𝒕𝒆𝒅 𝒉𝒐𝒖𝒔𝒆 π’”π’•π’π’“π’Šπ’†π’” π’˜π’Šπ’•π’‰ 𝒂 𝒔𝒉𝒂𝒓𝒑 π’•π’˜π’Šπ’”π’•, π’˜π’‰π’†π’“π’† π’”π’–π’“π’—π’Šπ’—π’‚π’ 𝒇𝒆𝒆𝒍𝒔 𝒋𝒖𝒔𝒕 𝒂𝒔 π’‘π’”π’šπ’„π’‰π’π’π’π’ˆπ’Šπ’„π’‚π’ 𝒂𝒔 π’Šπ’• 𝒅𝒐𝒆𝒔 𝒔𝒖𝒑𝒆𝒓𝒏𝒂𝒕𝒖𝒓𝒂𝒍, 𝒕𝒉𝒖𝒔 𝒄𝒐𝒖𝒍𝒅 𝒃𝒆 𝒕𝒉𝒆 𝒔𝒕𝒂𝒓𝒕 𝒐𝒇 π’šπ’π’–π’“ π’”π’‘π’π’π’Œπ’š 𝒔𝒆𝒂𝒔𝒐𝒏 𝒓𝒆𝒂𝒅𝒔. π‘ͺπ’“π’†π’†π’‘π’š, π’‡π’–π’π’π’š, π’–π’π’”π’†π’•π’•π’π’Šπ’π’ˆ, 𝒂𝒏𝒅 π’”π’π’Žπ’†π’‰π’π’˜ 𝒓𝒆𝒍𝒂𝒕𝒂𝒃𝒍𝒆. 


TROPES
β«Έ Haunted House 
β«Έ Paranormal
β«Έ Ghosts
β«Έ Horror
β«Έ Mystery
β«Έ Single POV 
β«Έ Missing Person

Book starts at the beginning of September, and we follow what happens through September, with the book ending at the end of the month.  

TWs
β«Έ Alcoholism 
β«Έ Domestic Abuse
β«Έ Emotional Abuse
β«Έ Physical Abuse 
β«Έ Murder
β«Έ Injury Detail
β«Έ Ghosts
β«Έ Missing Person
β«Έ Trauma