Carissa Orlando: The September House

In her debut novel, Carissa Orlando shows that a house can hold on to many things:

Margaret and Hal always wanted a big Victorian house, and once their daughter moves out to go to school, they know that now is their chance to own their dream home. When they purchase the home on Hawthorn Street, they couldn't believe their dreams had come true. However, this home has a dark history that has chosen to stay within except for the month of September, the house weeps blood, the souls trapped inside the house become more present and sometimes violent. This would have most people fleeing for their lives, but not Margaret, this is her house, her home and she will do whatever it takes to ensure it stays that way. But after 4 years, of Septembers Hal cannot take it anymore he wants out, and when he goes missing, their daughter Katherine comes to the house to try and find him.

This book was not as scary as I thought that it would be but it is still the perfect for a spooky read for October (or September) or really anytime of the year. The book is a bit slower that I was expecting as well but it very much comes together with the culmination at the end of the book. I still think about bones crunching and crushing and it makes me cringe. There are points in the book where you really don’t know how it will all play out and I liked the suspense that this created. I think the main part that I did not like was that it was a bit predictable with regards with Hal, I think that it is obvious from the beginning

I loved Margaret as a main character and her ability to not only adapt but accept the pranksters (as she calls them) for what they are, victims of horrible murders and knows that what they are doing in their afterlife is not their or her fault. Even Julian the one that likes to bite, she just knows that is she follows the rules, September will be over, and things get back to relative normalcy. You also feel sorry for why Margaret has had to adapt to any situation that she has been in and why she creates rules that surround her life. She did not have a happy marriage and one that seemed to get worse and worse as time went on. Margaret is for sure the best part of this book

I normally prefer dual POV books as it gives a more rounded story but this having only Margaret’s POV was the right decision. As much as this book is about the house, it is really just as much (or even more) about Margaret. Even though we only have her POV we get to see what she has experienced in the past both within the house and before the house, that give us a greater picture of what she has endured. Also, I was not the biggest fan of the daughter Kathrine, so I'm happy that we did not get her POV.

This was a great debut novel, a great spooky read and an amazing main character. If you are looking for a Gothic type Horror book that I would say is not as dark as a lot out there, pick this one up. I look forward to seeing what Orlando comes out with next.

Enjoy!!!

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