Book Review | The September House by Carissa Orlando

The September House by Carissa Orlando

A woman is determined to stay in her dream home even after it becomes a haunted nightmare in this compulsively readable, twisty, and layered debut novel.

When Margaret and her husband Hal bought the large Victorian house on Hawthorn Street—for sale at a surprisingly reasonable price—they couldn’t believe they finally had a home of their own. Then they discovered the hauntings. Every September, the walls drip blood. The ghosts of former inhabitants appear, and all of them are terrified of something that lurks in the basement. Most people would flee.

Margaret is not most people.

Margaret is staying. It’s her house. But after four years Hal can’t take it anymore, and he leaves abruptly. Now, he’s not returning calls, and their daughter Katherine—who knows nothing about the hauntings—arrives, intent on looking for her missing father. To make things worse, September has just begun, and with every attempt Margaret and Katherine make at finding Hal, the hauntings grow more harrowing, because there are some secrets the house needs to keep.

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For the Reading Challenge(s):
2024 52 Book Club Reading Challenge (Prompt #31: Includes a personal phobia)

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The Reason

It was one of the nominees for the Goodreads Choice awards and I saw it on another blogger’s post. It caught my attention because I love a good haunted house story, and this one had a protagonist that was determined to stay. I was hooked immediately!

The Quotes

“I had grown accustomed to solo trips through hell over the years. It seemed counterintuitive to invite company.”

“Didn’t you just tell me that people can change? You can change.”
I hadn’t the first clue what she was talking about. I changed all the time. I was flexible. I bent. I had changed little by little, steadily over the years, until by all accounts I was a person who should have been unrecognizable but to me was just who I was. I ought to have been a stranger to myself, but it didn’t bother me at all.”

“Everything is survivable.”

The Characters

Margaret, I’m not sure what to say about her. She’s one of the most interesting characters I’ve ever known. She’s relatable, she’s got a sense of humor about dark things, she’s loyal to a fault (literally), and she’s strong in her own way. In her own words, her best asset was her ability to bend, be flexible.

And a whole bunch of ghosts, who I will not introduce because it’s so much more fun for the reader to meet them in the book.

My Thoughts

This book was incredible! There were so many surprises, both good and bad, and I couldn’t help but get sucked in. I love Margaret as a character. She had a dark sense of humor, and so much stoicism for enduring the circumstances she found herself in. I love the way the story was written, the insight into Margaret’s thought processes. I don’t want to say more, for spoilers, but I did take notes on my e-reader as I was reading in real time, and I’ve posted them up for anyone who’s interested!

For my notes and reactions on the book – with SPOILERS – check out Notes & Reactions | The September House by Carissa Orlando. This post has SPOILERS and assumes you have already finished the book. It is password-protected to prevent accidental spoiling. Password is “SPOILME0002”. Proceed at your own risk.

My Feels

It’s funny because this book felt heavy and light at the same time. It was heavy stuff, but handled in a light-handed manner, and I found myself going with it. I mean, why not look on the positive sides? Why not focus on the successes? The small celebrations? Interestingly, at the end of it all, Margaret, whose greatest asset is her ability to bend, also has the strongest boundary that she won’t allow anyone to cross. She doesn’t have many rules, but she has that one, and it’s non-negotiable. I have so many feels about this whole book, in so many different ways. They’re all very confusing and I don’t think I can categorize them. It’s just, I loved it!

My Rating

5/5 stars. It’s just so good!

Have you read this book? Would you read this book? Did you like the book or do you think you would like it?