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A review by beau_reads_books
The September House by Carissa Orlando
5.0
“Needs must when the devil drives.”
Now that’s what I call a haunted house! Orlando’s “The September House” derives its title from the spooky ooky goings-on of what is normally a rather pleasant abode. However, come the titular month, all hell breaks loose in the form of bleeding walls, screaming ghosts, and a few other fun and inviting realty features. A few reviews are lambasting this as “cozy horror” as if that reduces the staying power of a gosh darn good ghost story. The metaphors are raw, the plot structure is clever and cyclical, and after the book really picks up about halfway through: smooth sailing. Not to mention, some ridiculously tasty gore sequences. “House” has it all. I love a big concept with a heart of gold.
There is some character creation and dialogue work to be honed: not everything flowed together in a way that streamlined reading time. Even if the writing felt stilted, sometimes repetitive, the strength of the story outweighed anything I could thumb my nose at. This was truly a blast to read.
4.5/5 Nothing wrong with cozy, see me kicked back, snug as a bug in a fuckin’ rug.
Now that’s what I call a haunted house! Orlando’s “The September House” derives its title from the spooky ooky goings-on of what is normally a rather pleasant abode. However, come the titular month, all hell breaks loose in the form of bleeding walls, screaming ghosts, and a few other fun and inviting realty features. A few reviews are lambasting this as “cozy horror” as if that reduces the staying power of a gosh darn good ghost story. The metaphors are raw, the plot structure is clever and cyclical, and after the book really picks up about halfway through: smooth sailing. Not to mention, some ridiculously tasty gore sequences. “House” has it all. I love a big concept with a heart of gold.
There is some character creation and dialogue work to be honed: not everything flowed together in a way that streamlined reading time. Even if the writing felt stilted, sometimes repetitive, the strength of the story outweighed anything I could thumb my nose at. This was truly a blast to read.
4.5/5 Nothing wrong with cozy, see me kicked back, snug as a bug in a fuckin’ rug.