A review by wcont
The September House by Carissa Orlando

dark emotional funny mysterious reflective sad tense medium-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? A mix
  • Strong character development? It's complicated
  • Loveable characters? It's complicated
  • Diverse cast of characters? No
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.0

The September House is such a unique interesting idea and I enjoyed almost every moment of it. The concept is basically what if someone lived in a haunted house but was ok with it? What would it look like I someone was happy to persevere in that situation?

This excellent concept is supported with a snarky and almost sarcastic tone throughout which really resonated with me (one of the funnier books of the year for sure.) It gets into some heavy topics which are explored well- but I have to note that they cause some tonal issues. At a certain point this dark comedy stops being funny and there are no more laughs left.

This gets into the ending which is the weakest part of the narrative. For a book that relies on playing with tropes in unexpected ways, the end is very tropey and not especially satisfying. It's still a very good book, and 80% of it is amazing. This is an easy recommendation for spooky season (though some major trigger warnings are in store.)
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