A review by ashanderson
The September House by Carissa Orlando

dark tense slow-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

4.0

This book... Let's start with the big positive. I enjoyed Carissa Orlando's writing style which is what kept me reading through (at least) the first half of the book. It was easy to breeze through ten or more pages without realizing you moved through it so quickly. The content in that first half, though, was a lot of what in the H-E-double hockey sticks did I just read. Those WTH moments had me putting down The September House so often, even though I enjoyed Orlando's writing. The rather random information mixed with no action or movement in that first half of the book didn't keep my attention long enough to not jump back and forth to other books.

Once I decided that I needed to just finish this read to move on to something else in my TBR, I got hooked and read the last half of the book in just a couple reading sessions. It's a rollercoaster for sure. Without giving away spoilers, I loved all the twists and turns at the end of the book, and I truly mean at the end of the book.

I can partially understand Orlando's choices for revealing information at the times she did, but I think if I had more to details on the characters or history of the house to answer a few of my questions a little sooner, I would've been more eager to read The September House straight through without bouncing to other reads. As it sits, I'd recommend this book to other horror readers because I truly enjoyed Orlando's writing style and the ending of the book was wild, but I would say be prepared for a slow start and fast paced ending.
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