I devoured this book, and loved every second of it. After reading a few mediocre haunted house books in a row, I can say that this is how you write a haunted house novel!
The September House has so many elements I love - an original story, an unreliable narrator, genuinely scary scenes, a satisfying ending, and good writing. It's a very fast-paced story, and background information is parsed out throughout the novel rather than as one big exposition dump.
It did have a few of the pitfalls I'm used to seeing in debut novels - the introduction was a bit too wordy and had unnecessary information (I don't need to know every time the main character sits down, drinks tea, moves her head). Also there were some inconsistencies (in the beginning the MC says that she and her husband don't pay much attention to horror movies, but just a few chapters later she talks about analyzing The Exorcist in her film studies class). These issues were resolved as the story progressed.
I guessed the "twist"/reveal very early on, but that didn't end up ruining my enjoyment of the book. The journey getting to that point was extremely entertaining and spooky.
I'd highly recommend this to any horror lover!

A fantastic and novel horror outing. Part stoic New England Gothic and part hilarious parody, Orlando weaves two diffuse elements together to craft a creepy, gross, and hilarious novel I had a blast reading and started recommending before I’d even finished.

Thank you to NetGalley and Berkley Publishing House for giving me a digital copy of "The September House" by Carissa Orlando in exchange for an honest review.

Many years into their marriage, well after their daughter has grown and moved out, Margaret and husband Hal buy a suspiciously low-priced Victorian. They had hoped for a dream house, a forever home after decades of renting. What they get instead is a thoroughly haunted house, complete with a full cast of horrifically maimed ghostly inhabitants. Nearly all of them had been murdered, either by or at the behest of. the home's former owner, Master Vale. (Also a ghost.)

At the start of the novel, Margaret and Hal have been living in the house for a few years. The reason for the low selling price is now quite clear. September is a particularly difficult month, when the haunting activity rachets up. The walls start bleeding; the ghosts start acting more unpredictably and sometimes violently.

Most people would abandon ship after the spirits of maimed children start showing up. (One of them BITES.) But not Margaret. She is determined that she will not be driven from her home, not by the ghosts and not by her pleading husband, who insists they cannot stay. Then Hal does leave and he isn't heard from again. Very soon, their adult daughter Katherine notices Margaret's evasive attitude regarding Hal. She becomes so upset and suspicious that she flies out to investigate his disappearance. Margaret tries to dissuade her, terrified of what will happen should Katherine realize that the house is haunted. (It's not really clear what consequence Margaret fears, but it's definitely a bigger concern to her than Hal's disappearance.)

Katherine arrives. She investigates. September marches on and the paranormal behavior gets worse and worse. Katherine becomes convinced Margaret is mentally ill because she cannot see any of the ghosts. Then the big conclusion happens and while I won't give it away, I will say I have some very mixed feelings about it.

From the start, Margaret is weirdly disassociated from everything. She insists that the house is totally manageable, totally survivable, as long as one follows "the rules." Over the course of the book, we understand that this is the same mindset she's used to manage and survive Hal's physical and emotional abuse. That explains her lack of worry over Hal's disappearance, but I found the connection between surviving (and loving) this terrible house and surviving (and loving) an abusive partner far more disturbing than any of the ghosts, including Master freaking Vale.

I love haunted house stories so much. When I got the promotional email from NetGalley, I could not hit the request button fast enough. By 25% through, I found myself truly wondering what this story could possibly offer to surprise me or keep my attention. I started scanning paragraphs and by halfway, my desire to reach the end was more clinical than compulsive. I probably would have abandoned it, had I not made the commitment to NetGalley to review it.

I wish I had better things to say about it. It's gross, rather than creepy. Dismaying, rather than thrilling. I liked that the protagonist was a middle-aged woman. I liked her relationship with the ghostly housekeeper and I really wish I had gotten more background on the character of Elias. I just can't say that was a great read, at least for me. I would be willing to read another story by Carissa Orlando, though, to see how she develops as a writer.

Really good! Perfect for all fans of creepy houses and horror books. The story was familiar and fresh at the same time. I'll gladly come back to this author in the future.

What begins as an almost funny and deceptively simple story of a woman who refuses to leave her dream house over the relatively minor inconveniences of an annual haunting, becomes a poignant tale of the stories we tell ourselves to survive terrible circumstances. I loved the cumulative experience of reading this book and I don't want to spoil it for anyone else so I will just say that this is one of the best uses of first person narration I've read in a while. All of the characters are fully realized as are the supernatural aspects of the book. Definitely sits on the same shelf as Grady Hendrix How to Sell a Haunted House, where the real monsters are the human ghosts we carry inside of us.

Margaret and her husband Hal finally buy the house of their dreams (way later in life, like after her daughter is grown). Margaret knew it was a horror story waiting to happen based on the price and availability, but she wanted the house. The couple discover a haunted house, especially in September. Ghosts of the house past linger, the walls bleed blood, and no one will risk going into the basement. Margaret refuses to leave, and just lives with the spooky happenings. Her husband, Hal, unable to live that way anymore. leaves without a trace. After not being able to get a hold of her dad, their unsuspecting daughter visits the house. Now Margaret needs to keep her ghostly secrets safe along with her daughter.

This was a straight to the point spooky book and I loved it. UNTIL the last chapter! I loved the ghostly descriptions of each former house-mate, and the lurking evil in the basement. I really thought I knew where Orlando was going with her story, and I was dead wrong. The last two chapters did not flow in the right direction for me. The ending could have gone a number of different ways, but Orlando chose the least interesting path. I found most of this story to be different and unexpected compared to other haunted house tales, and then the author finished this fast paced novel with a weak ending. I am just going to try and not let the ending bother me, because the rest of the book was amazing. Not all horror is supernatural.

Wow! I had no idea where this story was going! Great addition to the horror/haunted house genre. I hope to see more books from this author.

Man, I gobbled this right up. This was an excellent story about a woman who loves her house, loves her daughter, and will brook no threat of danger to either, even if it means putting herself in harm's way. So glad I got to read an advanced copy!

Everyone knows when something seems to be too good to be true, it usually is. But Margaret and her husband, Hal have snapped up a Victorian home for a fraction of what it’s worth. Okay, so the walls bleed every September and there are creepy ghosts that mill around, but it’s really just for that one month. Then Margaret’s daughter decides to come for a visit, she wants to know why she hasn’t been able to contact her father in months. So Margaret gets busy, hiding the housekeeper with the ax through her head and making sure that no one ventures into the cellar. This is a wry, tongue-in-cheek horror story that will creep you out and make you laugh at the same time

Mark your calendars, because this book is going to be a must read this spooky season.

I was thoroughly creeped out during this entire read. The ghosts were so scary and there were a lot of them. The premise of the book reminded me a lot of the first season of American Horror Story (which was the best season, I said what I said) this would have been a 5 star read for me, If the daughter wasn’t such an unlikeable character. I was so annoyed with her everytime she popped up. Otherwise, this was the perfect horror book.

Make sure you check it out when it’s released in September! Thank you @netgalley and @berkleypub for this ARC in exchange for my honest review

I’m a huge fan of haunted house horror and Orlando did not let me down! An incredible blend of horror, mystery, dark comedy, and domestic suspense. The last three chapters were absolutely nuts but there was not one point in the book where I felt bored and disinterested in the story. The middle did feel a bit repetitive, but it was crucial to the plot and Margaret’s character. The horror is vividly written and gave me chills, I actually had to pause my nighttime reading to avoid getting creeped out. While I do wish as a very seasoned horror reader there had been more surprises, this was a well-written story and managed to be original to any haunted house book I’ve read before. Fingers crossed this becomes a movie one day because I just know this would bring on the best nightmares. Overall, a great lesson on the tenacity of humans and what we can put up with. Touched on some heavy familial themes as well with just the right amount of humor to not weigh down the reader. Highly recommend to any fan of horror, particularly those that love a haunted house story.

I really enjoyed this book. The premise was cozy/edgy, and the payoff was immense. Definitely will be ordering this title. Thank you for the ARC!

When Margaret and Hal move into their dream home, they don't expect to co-exist with ghosts or for every September to bring one month of pure haunted hell. Margaret refuses to leave. It's her dream house and she won't be run out. The same cannot be said for Hal who simply left one day. As more time goes by and there's no word from Hal, Margaret's daughter Katherine resolves to come visit and find her father. Two big problems: Katherine has no idea the house is haunted, and she's coming during the most haunted month of all.

The book starts really strong. The introduction of the ghosts and how Margaret co-exists with them is excellent. It's clear she's spent time learning how to interact with certain ghosts or avoid getting bitten by others. Margaret's resolve to stay in the house is understandable to an extent.

The mystery of why Hal isn't answering his phone or where he is isn't that shocking. It's pretty obvious from the start. It would have been more surprising if his fate was the opposite. It felt like this was meant to be a twist, but it fell flat. Katherine's actions were also very strange. She clearly hated her father for everything he did to their family, but she's hellbent on finding him. I kept wondering why she was trying so hard to find him. Why not just take the win that he was gone?

The pacing of this book is way off. It moves you a little bit forward and then gives you a flashback you don't need. I don't need a flashback on how Margaret and Hal met or fell in love or whatever. The flashbacks removed me from the story. It felt like the plot was never really moving forward enough for me to stay engaged.

It's definitely a bummer because I had really high hopes for this one.

4.5 stars

Woah! This was a very unexpectedly great book. I was expecting an average run of the mill haunted house. What I got was so much more. Kind of a blended genre novel. I read it in one sitting. I will be sure to keep my eye on Carissa Orlando and what she brings in the future!

𝐓𝐡𝐢𝐬 𝐡𝐨𝐮𝐬𝐞 𝐰𝐚𝐬 𝐞𝐯𝐞𝐫𝐲𝐭𝐡𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐈'𝐝 𝐞𝐯𝐞𝐫 𝐰𝐚𝐧𝐭𝐞𝐝. 𝐒𝐮𝐫𝐞, 𝐢𝐭 𝐰𝐚𝐬𝐧'𝐭 𝐩𝐞𝐫𝐟𝐞𝐜𝐭, 𝐛𝐮𝐭 𝐬𝐨𝐦𝐞𝐭𝐢𝐦𝐞𝐬 𝐢𝐭 𝐚𝐜𝐭𝐮𝐚𝐥𝐥𝐲 𝐰𝐚𝐬. 𝐎𝐫 𝐚𝐭 𝐥𝐞𝐚𝐬𝐭 𝐚𝐬 𝐜𝐥𝐨𝐬𝐞 𝐚𝐬 𝐚𝐧𝐲𝐭𝐡𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐜𝐨𝐮𝐥𝐝 𝐜𝐨𝐦𝐞 𝐭𝐨 𝐩𝐞𝐫𝐟𝐞𝐜𝐭 𝐢𝐧 𝐭𝐡𝐢𝐬 𝐥𝐢𝐟𝐞, 𝐰𝐡𝐢𝐜𝐡 𝐚𝐝𝐦𝐢𝐭𝐭𝐞𝐝𝐥𝐲 𝐰𝐚𝐬 𝐧𝐨𝐭 𝐯𝐞𝐫𝐲 𝐜𝐥𝐨𝐬𝐞. 𝐈𝐭 𝐰𝐚𝐬𝐧'𝐭 𝐡𝐨𝐫𝐫𝐢𝐛𝐥𝐞 𝐞𝐯𝐞𝐫𝐲 𝐬𝐢𝐧𝐠𝐥𝐞 𝐝𝐚𝐲--𝐬𝐨 𝐟𝐞𝐰 𝐭𝐡𝐢𝐧𝐠𝐬 𝐞𝐯𝐞𝐫 𝐚𝐫𝐞--𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐰𝐡𝐞𝐧 𝐢𝐭 𝐰𝐚𝐬𝐧'𝐭 𝐡𝐨𝐫𝐫𝐢𝐛𝐥𝐞, 𝐢𝐭 𝐰𝐚𝐬 𝐚𝐥𝐦𝐨𝐬𝐭 𝐥𝐨𝐯𝐞𝐥𝐲. 𝐈 𝐤𝐧𝐞𝐰 𝐡𝐨𝐰 𝐭𝐨 𝐬𝐮𝐫𝐯𝐢𝐯𝐞 𝐡𝐞𝐫𝐞, 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐈 𝐚𝐥𝐰𝐚𝐲𝐬 𝐡𝐚𝐝 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐬𝐞𝐧𝐬𝐞 𝐭𝐡𝐚𝐭 𝐢𝐟 𝐈 𝐣𝐮𝐬𝐭 𝐬𝐮𝐫𝐯𝐢𝐯𝐞𝐝 𝐥𝐨𝐧𝐠 𝐞𝐧𝐨𝐮𝐠𝐡, 𝐢𝐟 𝐈 𝐣𝐮𝐬𝐭 𝐩𝐥𝐚𝐲𝐞𝐝 𝐛𝐲 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐫𝐮𝐥𝐞𝐬 𝐰𝐞𝐥𝐥 𝐞𝐧𝐨𝐮𝐠𝐡, 𝐈 𝐜𝐨𝐮𝐥𝐝 𝐦𝐚𝐤𝐞 𝐢𝐭 𝐢𝐧𝐭𝐨 𝐚 𝐩𝐞𝐫𝐟𝐞𝐜𝐭 𝐡𝐨𝐦𝐞 𝐨𝐧𝐜𝐞 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐟𝐨𝐫 𝐚𝐥𝐥, 𝐈 𝐣𝐮𝐬𝐭 𝐧𝐞𝐞𝐝𝐞𝐝 𝐭𝐨 𝐰𝐨𝐫𝐤 𝐚 𝐥𝐢𝐭𝐭𝐥𝐞 𝐡𝐚𝐫𝐝𝐞𝐫.

I am absolutely gobsmacked by this book and how original the premise was, and when I 𝒕𝒉𝒐𝒖𝒈𝒉𝒕 I understood what the author was trying to do, I had to take a break because I burst into tears. The conclusions I drew may be totally wrong, but if I'm right, Carissa Orlando just became the new writer to watch.

Margaret and Hal buy a large Victorian, a home that has changed hands many times over the years, for a very reasonable price. Since neither of them had a stable home growing up, they are drawn to the idea of fixing it up and turning it into something special. The realtor 𝒅𝒊𝒅 mumble something about some incidents in the house, but Margaret and Hal can't be swayed. Soon after they move in, they start experiencing strange happenings in the house that worsen in September.

What made this book so different was the nonchalant, casual tone Margaret used when she described the walls dripping blood, the man with the broken body who lived in the closet, the angry child whose jaw would unhinge so he could bite, and worst of all, the thing in the basement that all of the inhabitants are scared of. Margaret mops up the blood, cleans up the dead birds who hurl themselves to their death on the windows of the house, and chats with the dead maid, who makes a mean pot roast. Then after four years, Hal has had enough and leaves, pleading with Margaret to come with him. She refuses; this is her home, and she will stay.

When the couple's somewhat estranged daughter finds out about her father's disappearance, she visits the home for the first time and is shocked by her mother's erratic behavior. Fearing for her mental health, she attempts to remove her from the house, but Margaret isn't leaving her home. And the home isn't going to let her leave,

Do everything in your power to BEG, cry, and offer your first born for a copy of this book. I've already pre-ordered it! So thankful to NetGalley and Berkley for this stunning early read that will publish on September 5, 2023.

I've been talking about this book to everyone I know. I LOVED this book. What a wild ride! I could not put it down. I thought I knew what was going on but every chapter sunk you in deeper and deeper. What you see on the outside is never close to what it's really like on the inside. 5 Stars +

I'm applauding Carissa Orlando for creating a magnificent piece of work that seamlessly blends different genres, including horror, mystery, dark comedy, supernatural thriller, domestic suspense, and psychological thriller. The story perfectly combines concepts from Insidious, The Exorcist, and The Sixth Sense in a haunted house theme. It's hard to stop myself from flipping the pages, and I am completely engrossed in the amazing writing.

Can you imagine a house with bleeding walls, a housemaid whose head split off with an axe, serving the best tea, a nine-year-old boy with fangs who likes to bite, a man hiding in a closet holding a lighter, and a small girl who keeps pointing to the haunted basement where something sinister resides? Margaret, in her mid-fifties, was thrilled when she found her dreamy Victorian house on Hawthorn Street. Despite the realtor's warnings about the previous deaths in the house, Margaret and her husband could finally afford a place like that. However, they didn't know that every September, a sinister entity takes control of the house, sending pranksters, causing the walls to bleed, and playing deadly mind games with the new inhabitants.

Now Margaret's husband, Hall, is missing, and she is too afraid to confront what happened to him in the house. When her daughter Katherine realizes something is really wrong about his disappearance, she visits her mom to get to the bottom of it. Margaret is too agitated to hide the house's secrets from her daughter, and when the skeletons in the closet are adamant to show their faces, the only logical thing to do is surrender.

Overall, this complex story made me jump from my seat and guffaw several times. The author intelligently combined different genres to create a perfect and addictive read. I highly recommend this book to anyone looking for something fresh, unusual, and unique.

Many thanks to NetGalley and Berkley Publishing for sharing the digital reviewer copy of this amazing book with me in exchange for my honest opinions.

This was a really fun, fresh take on haunted house horror! I breezed through this in 2 days. The author is new to me and I will happily buy more books from them.
I give away books weekly on my tiktok of newly released books to help promote books I love. I'll be including this in my Sept. giveaways.
TYSM for letting me be an ARC reader for this one!

What a fun and surprising take on the usual haunted house story. An especially rewarding read for horror fans as horror tropes and cliches are made fresh and funny. And just when you think you have a handle on everything, a carefully built ending is extra explosive.

What a great horror story! Vengeful ghosts, including a boy who loves to bite, one who makes dinner, and a vengeful spirit who wrecks havoc every September, blood streaming down the wall. Even the husband and daughter are a different kind of horror.
When Margaret and Hal find their dream home they’re excited to move in and begin again. It’s idyllic until that first September when hauntings and havoc begin in full force. By the third September Hal demands to leave, but Margaret insists this is home and all they have to do is follow the rules. When Hal disappears daughter Katherine decides to visit for the first time and brings another type of disturbance to an already horrific situation.
The descriptions are intense and detailed, the plot original, and the horror is perfect.