🏡🏡🏡🏡
THE SEPTEMBER HOUSE
Carissa Orlando
Berkley
Publication Date: September 5th, 2023
353 Pages
Goodreads | Amazon
This is one dark, messed up read and it was a perfect spooky season pick for me! I loved Margaret’s internal thoughts, I kept asking myself “Is she crazy?” Imagine finally being able to afford your dream home, which turns into a haunted house with many secrets, and let me tell you the house isn’t the only thing with secrets. The September House is a haunted house that shows its paranormal side in a spectacular fashion every September.
After four years Margaret’s husband, Hal has had enough of their unwanted guests and wants to leave, but Margaret refuses to do so, so he leaves without her. No one has heard from Hal since he left so their estranged daughter returns to find out exactly what happened to her father. Can Margaret keep Katherine from finding out about the guests while her daughter visits this September?
Margaret has learned the rules of the house and follows them exactly but it’s hard to do with her daughter visiting and snooping around. I loved how Carissa Orlando used the house and its ghostly occupants as secondary characters. I hated Margaret’s daughter Katherine as she acted like a spoiled child having temper tantrums…she’s thirty years old for crying out loud. There is a good twist at the end of the book and at first, I was disappointed as I thought to myself, “Oh no, the author isn’t going there, is she?” But Orlando redeemed herself and just when you think things have calmed down the truth is revealed and all hell breaks out for Margaret and everyone around her.
This isn’t just a story about a haunted house, it’s a story about a marriage and parent-child relationships. Let me just say, if this was me I’d get the fuck out as soon as possible but I can see Margaret’s point. She waited a long time for her dream home and her husband ruled the roost for so long that she decided she wasn’t going to leave and she was going to take control of things by following the rules. Still, if my house were haunted there be no keeping me from running away.
This title is currently available for purchase.
Leave a Reply