This was a creepy book that had my face twisted in repugnance along the way. This is a haunted house story that has you questioning the narrator and her story the entire way through. Would you stay in your haunted house if it really only tormented you one month of the year? What if during that month, you were in grave danger; where there is dripping blood on the walls and the ghosts of past “residents” attacked you and wanted you to go into the basement where the Master of the house resides?

This was Margaret’s dream house. She came from a life of instability and was thrilled to be able to finally get a house of her own, especially one that looked the way this one did. Things were great at first but then, that first September, strange things started to happen. Was Margaret’s mental health deteriorating or did others see what was going on?

The September House is one of the best haunted house stories I've read. Like many of genre, it starts innocently enough, then twists and turns to a conclusion that scared the living daylights out of me. Margaret and Hal had a happy life together, raised a wonderful daughter, and fell into an amazing deal on a beautiful old Victorian house. Everything seems to be going well until blood starts dripping from the walls on September 1 and all hell literally breaks loose. Skip four years into the future when Hal has had enough and leaves suddenly. He's not returning any calls from Margaret or their daughter, Katherine. Katherine, who has no idea what is going in the house, is trying to find her father. Each attempt she and her mother make to find Hal is foiled by the house full of ghosts who get more and more aggressive and frightening as September continues. Will they be able to solve the mystery of the house and its ghosts. or literally die trying? I couldn't put this compelling read down until I found out. Many thanks to NetGalley for the chance to read this creepy, thrilling, fast-paced book.

A tad predictable but enjoyable nonetheless. Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for this copy in exchange for an honest review.

This book was a struggle to finish, which surprised me, as I found the premise interesting. However, the pace was way too slow for the genre. I couldn't stay engaged. The characters were annoying and didn't pull me in. I expected a seriously eerie vibe, but that never happened. I guessed the ending in advance. Dialogue felt forced and a bit ridiculous at times. The pace picked up a bit near the end, but it was too little, too late.

This book is going in my Best of 2023 Reads! I couldn't put it down and I can't recommend it enough!
Margaret and Hal have found their perfect home, a beautiful Victorian manor they can fill with antique furniture and live their golden years in while they paint and write, and feed the wild birds. Unfortunately, the insanely good price on the house is a warning to the strange and dark past of previous owners, but nothing with stop Margaret and Hal from finally finding their home. It's no big deal that the live-in housekeeper was actually murdered over 100 years ago and currently makes Margaret tea every morning. Or that Blythe was the mistress of the house who burned to death in a fireplace and will shriek and moan whenever a match is struck. Or the little boy, Elias, whose eyes turn black if you get too close and will tear and shred with his teeth. The hoard of ghosts haunting Margaret and Hal's home can be disturbing and annoying, but what house doesn't have it's quirks?!?! Eleven months of the year, it's their sanctuary and paradise - but when September rolls around, you better pay attention to the rules and avoid the basement. Because September is inevitable and unstoppable, and you might not survive...
I just reviewed The September House by Carissa Orlando. #TheSeptemberHouse #NetGalley

Trigger Warning: Abuse and Gore!

This was a very interesting (and creepy!) read. Margaret and Hal moved into, unbeknownst to them, a haunted house. Every September, the hauntings ramp up a notch to the point where Hal can no longer take it. Hal leaves the house, and their daughter Katherine comes to help track him down. In September of course.

I really enjoyed the overall storyline from Margaret's POV, but I was not a fan of her inner dialogue. Nor was I a fan of how badly Katherine wanted to find Hal, as he was portrayed as a horrible husband and father. I understand the need for flawed relationships, and I enjoyed the flawed relationship between mother and daughter. However, the story itself flowed nicely. Some elements were predictable, but I spent a lot of time reading trying to come up with my own conclusions, only to change my mind on how the story could possible end.

Hal and Margaret thought they had won the lottery when they found their dream Victorian style house at a reasonable price. Sure, some people had died there, but they were willing to overlook that details in exchange for the beautiful house. Every September the walls of the house drip blood and the ghosts appear. Hal wants to leave, but Margaret is determined to stay – this is her home. After four years Hal has had enough and vanishes. When their daughter Katherine arrives at the house to hunt her dad down, Margaret isn’t sure she can keep the secrets of the house from her, it is after all, September. As the month goes on, the hauntings grow, and secrets are revealed.

After a bunch of romcoms and fluffy reads I really wanted something different, and The September House deliver! This was such a delightful book. It really got my heart racing, at the end that my heart rate was so high that my apple watch gave me workout minutes. Whoops. Talk about a gripping read. This is probably my favorite horror book to date this year. It just had everything I love, supernatural elements, a little gore, and some psychological games. Just perfection. I loved the underlying theme of the book that strong women can truly survive anything thrown at them, it’s just so true. Be mindful that this book does deal with some heavy topics such as alcoholism and domestic abuse. This book was eloquently written, and I was hooked right from the start.

I can’t recommend this book enough for fans of a good horror book. Check it out!

Thank you so much to the publisher, Berkley Publishing, @berkleypub, and Netgalley, @netgalley for this e-arc in exchange for an honest review.

Additional links will be added once posted.

I started reading September House thinking it was a typical horror/haunted house story but it is so very much more. Margaret and Hal have a long history together, and when they finally manage to buy their dream house they think they're settled for the rest of their lives. When the story begins we find Margaret trying to hold it together in her increasingly haunted house, Hal is gone and her daughter is coming to try to get an answer as to what is going on. This is where it all starts to unravel and we get to see the reality of Margaret and Hal's relationship in little snippets. This is a fantastically written horror story that is actually an anthem to strong women who can survive just about anything.

Is Margaret's house really haunted or is she just descending into madness? And where exactly is her husband who has been missing for over a month? I kept turning the pages to find out and read this in one sitting.

3.5 stars - I really liked the conclusion of this haunted house story which retrospectively sold me more on it as a whole. I also liked the idea of the thematic content, which I won't elaborate on since it would be spoilery. What I struggled with the pacing and the tone. I'm not totally convinced the tone ultimately supported the metaphors the author was getting at and there was just a lot of waiting that didn't feel like it was building to anything. But overall, I did find this to be a satisfying and entertaining horror novel so thumbs up for that

This was not what I expected at all. I wish I had been warned about the large part of the plot revolving around domestic abuse because that was both surprising and hard to read. I found myself irritated with all the characters for most of the book and guessing the ending, which did not make for an enjoyable read. I liked that the narrator was less afraid of the haunting and more annoyed - I thought that was pretty funny and different - but I wished that levity was carried throughout the entire book. I gave this novel 2.5 stars, rounded up to 3.

Holy crap this book freaked me to hell out! I’m not one who gets creeped out easily but this book actually had me cringing at times.

Margaret and her husband Hal bought a large Victorian house on Hawthorne Street for surprisingly a reasonable price. They were so excited to finally have their dream home. Until the haunting began. Every September, blood drips down the walls and the ghosts of precious inhabitants appear. After four years, Hal can’t take it anymore and leaves. But not Margaret. Nothing will keep her away from her dream house.

I freakin devoured this book. I loved the writing and the story itself was very well done. This book was very unique and entertaining. I don’t think I’ll ever been able to look at September the same after reading this book. I’ll constantly be looking at my walls for blood. There’s mentions of physical abuse and detailed descriptions of gore so just beware of that before reading.

If you love haunted houses and scary as hell ghosts then I highly recommend picking this one up on September 5th (aka my birthday!!) I promise you’ll be in for a treat.

Thank you so much to Berkley and NetGalley for the e-arc!

Oh, this was wonderfully gruesome and scary!

In the beginning, it seems like it’s going to be a little quirky, but also kind of a standard haunted house book. It definitely *is* a little (but not irritatingly) quirky, but it is NOT your standard haunted house book.

This becomes a story of grief and unimaginable horrors.

I loved our main character – and worried for her – and found myself not wanting to come up for air!

Fast paced, yet atmospheric, and a definite good read!

• ARC via Publisher

I’ve have not been a lover of horror or haunted house novels, but let me tell you that there are some recent reads that have made this lit-fic lover revisit her fandom. “The September House” is a horror book but it is also funny, psychologically intriguing, inventive, twisty, and a crazy-unputdownable read.

Margaret and Hal find their dream house—where is never indicated—and can’t believe how affordable it is. Of course there’s a caveat. The house is haunted, apparently by people murdered there. And there are a lot of them. Practical Margaret finds work-arounds. Hal does, too, but not as successfully. One thing they can’t work around is September, when the house and its dead occupants go berserk. Blood runs down the walls, the ghosts scream, the house heaves and there’s something in the basement. They’ve made it through three Septembers but Hal has had enough and asks Margaret to come with him when he leaves. She refuses.

Their daughter Katherine becomes worried when she can’t reach her dad, and heads to the house to find out what happened to him—in September. Margaret had thought Katherine was successfully launched and doesn’t want her there, but whoops! There’s her daughter banging on the door.

Everything ramps up after Katherine’s arrival, and we learn a great deal about Margaret as well. Katherine has a good reason to be so angry and her mother’s meme about setting rules and following them takes on a new light. “The September House” comes to a slam-bang end,
frightening and tragic all at once.

Carissa Orlando conducts the story like Dudamel. Her characters have depth and even some humor—I especially liked murdered housekeeper Frederika who is happy to continue keeping a sparkling house and preparing her 19th century recipes for Margaret and Hal. Except for in September, of course, when her discombobulation is particularly disturbing.

This is Orlando’s first book and I hope she’s at her desk right now working on a new one. I wondered why Margaretl didn’t just go on vacation in September and leave the house to finish its own business, but what would happen with no mortals there? That’s an idea for a “September House” followup.

Go fall down a horror hole and visit “The September House,” a high quality fright.

I absolutely loved this book. It is full of surprises and will keep you guessing until the end. The characters are well fleshed out and it’s a great read from beginning to end. Highly recommend!

I know I’m going to be the outlier on this one. It’s already received a number of high ratings. For me, it was a giant disappointment.

First of all, it seems this story was meant to be campy. Some of the things that bothered me were probably supposed to make me laugh. Unfortunately, the book failed to amuse me in any way. Everything about it seemed silly. The villain was over the top ridiculous. I also found many of the character interactions to be incredibly grating.. For example, Margaret continuously rebukes her ADULT daughter for swearing, constantly saying, “Language!” every time a bad word exits Katherine’s mouth. It just seemed obnoxious to me but I *think* the author was going for humor. The only parts of this book that successfully made me laugh were the dedication and the acknowledgements.

Secondly, I KNOW this was meant to be creepy. But that aspect fell flat for me. I mean, the house basically bleeds. I thought I was in for a horrific treat. But, no. I suspect all of the annoyance I felt hindered the creep factor. At any rate, the eerie vibe was not there.

I suspect this was meant to be a mystery. I am a little confused about whether or not the author was aiming for suspense and shock or if she realized the reader would know the answer from the start. It seemed so obvious that I just cannot imagine anyone writing this and thinking they’d concealed something. So maybe it wasn’t supposed to be a mystery? That’s the real mystery here.

I found the arrangement to be frustrating, as well. The story was already moving along slowly, only to frequently be impeded by a flashback that gives us some background on the house or Margaret’s relationship with Hal. I understand why this information was important, but surely there could have been a more interesting way to tell the story. Although I did find the history of deaths surrounding the house intriguing, there was very little else within those progression disruptions to keep me engaged..

Okay, here’s where my feelings get complicated. If you don’t want spoilers, close your eyes immediately! Do not read any further!

Are your eyes still open? Okay, cool. Let me complain about the “Is she or isn’t she delusional?” trope. Could we please just put an end to this in stories? I’ll give the author points for not taking the completely insensitive route in the end, but I am tired of the way games are played with a genuine symptom of mental illness. I grew up with a delusional parent. Can we stop making that into a fun, twisty plot line? It isn’t any of those things.

I also hated the overall implication surrounding Margaret’s *hush, hush* family history. Why was this treated like such a taboo subject? Yes, I am fully aware of the author’s background in psychology. That does not mean I think she used her knowledge well here. I mean, yes, I know not everyone wants to confess to having a delusional parent (which, obviously, doesn’t apply to me), but making it seem like mental illness is such a shameful thing in a contemporary novel just doesn’t sit quite right with me, especially since it was hinted at so the author could do a big, shocking reveal later. That’s just kind of gross.

And now let’s get into the parallel drawn between a haunted house you’re bound to and a domestic violence situation that holds you hostage. On the surface, this was pretty good. I DO like that Orlando aimed to communicate something meaningful here. But I am not just the child of a delusional parent. I also grew up with an alcoholic parent (which plays a role in this book) and, lucky me, married an abusive spouse (whom I left 20 years ago). I brought a lot of firsthand experience into this that made me scrutinize the characterization of this story’s DV victim.

Yes, you absolutely do have to follow certain rules to survive the abuse, but in real life, those rules are constantly changing and you never really know when you’ve broken one. Like the book suggests, things aren’t always bad. You think you can live with it as long as there is some good. You can fool yourself into believing the bad isn’t that bad. But I felt like the author depicted Margaret as a willing victim, rather than properly connecting it all to a house that wouldn’t let her leave. I wasn’t completely comfortable with what the author seemed to imply about those living in domestic violence. Margaret recognized the abuse, just as she could clearly see the ghosts (AKA tricksters). Those living through it in reality are gaslighted and demeaned so aggressively that their reality is compromised. They don’t always recognize the abuse. Maybe the author wanted to represent this through the ghost aspect, but I’m not entirely sure and, if that was the objective, I don’t think it was well conveyed. I just didn’t see the lines drawn between the two themes as solid or straight. As a survivor, it often bothered me.

Enough of my snarky, embittered review. Read this if it interests you. But know that the voice of experience in the heat of domestic violence is not heard here. Not as far as I can tell. Obviously, I don’t know what the author may have gone through in a personal relationship, but I genuinely did not get the feeling that she wrote this with a firsthand understanding.

I am immensely grateful to Berkley and NetGalley for my copy. All opinions are my own.

Ghosts, ghouls, and gore! This one delivers on all three. I really liked the overall story and the plot twist. I did feel a little nauseous by the end, though. It's a bit heavy on the gore. Not for the faint of heart. Or maybe I'm a wimp. That could be too. Highly recommend for your spooky season tbr!

Great haunted house story. Instead of Halloween these ghosts chose September for their yearly appearance, While the male owner of the house cannot tolerate the annual happenings, the woman decides to stay out. The books is well written and definitely kept me hooked.

TW: Abuse, Some Gore

Actual Rating 3.5

When Margaret and her husband Hal found a large Victorian home for sale at a reasonable price, they couldn’t believe their luck. But they slowly came to realize that that the house came with its own set of problems, the largest being that every September, the ghosts of former inhabitants appear, some of whom seem to have been brutally murdered. After four years, Margaret has learned to work around these apparitions, but Hal couldn’t take another September and abruptly left. With another September beginning and their daughter on her way to investigate Hal’s absence, Margaret realizes that this September may just be the worse one yet.

I loved the premise of this book, not only of the hauntings focused around September but also of a protagonist who refused to give up her dream home and learned to work around these horrific events. The author executed it quite well, and it made for an interesting read. It was difficult to find any fear for the apparitions since the narrator treats them so nonchalantly, which was an interesting approach. However, there were a few scenes that got my heart racing. There were also some particularly gross descriptions of things that, while relevant to the story, might be off-putting if you have a weak stomach.

Another thing the author did well was writing realistic characters. They were neither bad nor good, and it wasn’t possible to like them the entire time. Their flawed personalities added to the atmosphere and interest of the book, though I will admit I found the daughter’s personality to be a bit frustrating at times as well as a little contradictory. The author included interesting history relating to the ghosts, and I enjoyed that aspect as well as the personalities of the ghosts.

I knew where the mystery was going from near the beginning, which did detract a bit from my enjoyment as it did away with any shock or tension that should have been present with the reveal. There were also several instances throughout the book where the plot ground to a halt and lost my interest, though it always picked back up again.

This creative paranormal mystery was a solid read even with the few qualms I had. My thanks to NetGalley and Berkley Publishing for allowing me to read this work, which will be published September 5th, 2023. All thoughts and opinions expressed in this review are my own.

This book was very frightening. It was well written and fast paced. It was definitely one I couldn’t read at night. The writing style was very enjoyable.