The September House

The September House

by Carissa Orlando

Blurb:

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.

My Reaction:

I chose to read this knowing only that it was recommended by someone, somewhere, to people who want to read books about haunted houses.  (Or at least that's all I remembered by the time I got around to reading it!)  Right off the bat, I was intrigued. It obviously wasn't your typical horror novel.  In fact, I'd describe this as "cozy horror", because it felt like a mash-up of rather gory horror and cozy mystery.  It wasn't what I expected, based on the cover, but it was interesting.  

Unfortunately, I found the book fell a bit flat for me.  I don't regret reading it, but it wasn't completely satisfying.  I'll discuss why below, because there will be spoilers.  Final verdict: Not my ideal ghost story style, but if you're up for something different, it's definitely that!  

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Okay.  Reasons I didn't fully enjoy this book:

Katherine is extremely bratty and annoying.  Couldn't stand her, to be honest. 

The cursing really annoyed me.  There was so much of it, and I found it so unnecessary.  

The gore isn't for me.  I dislike gory stuff, though I found that when the gore really ratcheted up, it was more boring than anything else.  Gore in movies and TV shows bothers me more because of all the sounds and, well, the visuals, but when I'm reading and it's just one gory thing after another, I find my mind shuts off and I skip over it.  I don't get anything from it, so why read it?  I'm not the best, these days, at visualizing things from books, anyway—more of a dialogue person, I guess—but when it's something I don't even want to imagine, why bother?  But yeah, that's another strike against the book for me. Not a fan of gore.  Give me eeriness, psychological horror, and a creepy atmosphere instead, please. 

The domestic abuse angle... I don't know, I guess it was there for a reason, but I felt it didn't pay off as much as expected.  

It was completely predictable that Hal would be discovered in the basement. 

The grand finale, final battle, or whatever you want to call it was oddly anticlimactic.  That was the part where I just started skimming—because, okay, I get it, the ghosts are all banding together and tearing Master Vale apart, and it's really disgusting and brutal and... yawn.  Once it's clear where this is all heading, I don't need the play-by-play.  Let's just get to the next part of the story.  So I found it boring, but worse, it just didn't make a lot of sense to me.  If all it took to vanquish Master Vale was for the other ghosts to band together, I don't understand why it took them so long to do it.  It doesn't make sense to me that it was so easy—or if it was so easy, why no-one else had done it already.  Yeah, Margaret was defending her daughter, like she (finally) defended her from Hal.  ...Okay?  I don't know what else to say, but it was not a satisfying ending, and I feel the book didn't give satisfying explanations for the ghosts' stories, either.  Not sure what I wanted, but not this. 

The positives?  
I really liked the housekeeper ghost.  The idea of a ghost who makes you supper and offers friendly chit-chat was oddly appealing to me.

Mars Reborn (Moon People #2)

Mars Reborn (Moon People #2)

by Dale M. Courtney

Blurb:

This Book is based on Earth into a new era of light speed travel thanks to the Powleens from a world called Sybon. And the adventure of 1st Science Officer Commander David Braymer’s journey on board his new ship called the Aurora, ”The Goddess of the Dawn”, Commander Braymer does a successful genesis and Colonization of Mars and resurrects Martians and animals that were frozen 100,000 years with mental powers. With also the war between worlds for control of the Galaxy with Earth and Powleens against the Arcons and the Thracians.

My Reaction:

Donald and I read this together to fill in a gap between books for the 372 Pages We'll Never Get Back podcast.  We read the first one along with the podcast, back in 2022, so when we noticed that the rest of the trilogy was available on Kindle Unlimited, we decided to give it a try.  

This would be another great candidate for the podcast, though I don't know if they'll want to return to the series. Lots of fodder here.  It certainly didn't fail to entertain us, and I wouldn't mind reading the last book in the series, one of these days.  It does take some extra effort to read, what with the lack of quotation marks in a very dialogue-heavy book!  I think the comedy value is worth the trouble, though.

The Sundial

The Sundial

by Shirley Jackson

Blurb:

Before there was Hill House, there was the Halloran mansion of Jackson’s stunningly creepy fourth novel, The Sundial. Aunt Fanny has always been somewhat peculiar. When the Halloran clan gathers at the family home for a funeral, no one is surprised when she wanders off into the secret garden. But then Aunt Fanny returns to report an astonishing vision of an apocalypse from which only the Hallorans and their hangers-on will be spared, and the family finds itself engulfed in growing madness, fear, and violence as they prepare for a terrible new world. For Aunt Fanny's long-dead father has given her the precise date of the final cataclysm!

My Reaction:

Hm.  I think there's a reason this is one of Jackson's "forgotten" novels.  

I started reading this one on the Kindle, but after a while, it was obvious that I was having trouble making progress with it, so I switched to audio format.  That helped me finish it, but didn't really make me like it all that much more.  

When you start reading a "lesser-known" novel by a famous author, it can be difficult to come to it with a completely open mind.  After all, it's a pretty safe bet that it's not going to be a huge crowd-pleaser, else it wouldn't be lesser-known.  Sometimes you may be pleasantly surprised, but in this case, maybe not.  There are some amusing and creepy moments, but I had a feeling early on that the end would be disappointing, and I can't say that I was wrong.  I just feel like shrugging, unfortunately.  

I'm not sure if I'll ever bother with the remaining of the "lesser-knowns" that I've yet to read.  Revisiting one of the stronger novels might be a better bet, if the mood strikes me.

Ugly Love

Ugly Love

by Colleen Hoover

Blurb:

When Tate Collins meets airline pilot Miles Archer, she knows it isn’t love at first sight. They wouldn’t even go so far as to consider themselves friends. The only thing Tate and Miles have in common is an undeniable mutual attraction. Once their desires are out in the open, they realize they have the perfect set-up. He doesn’t want love, she doesn’t have time for love, so that just leaves the sex. Their arrangement could be surprisingly seamless, as long as Tate can stick to the only two rules Miles has for her.

Never ask about the past.

Don’t expect a future.

They think they can handle it, but realize almost immediately they can’t handle it at all.

Hearts get infiltrated.

Promises get broken.

Rules get shattered.

Love gets ugly.

My Reaction (with a slight spoiler):

This was a shared read with Donald.  Why?  Because 372 Pages We'll Never Get Back chose it for the podcast.  (And I hope—and believe—that they feel truly sorry for what they've done, this time.)

Years ago, I didn't mind a good romance—and maybe I could be interested in reading romance again, at some point—but this particular kind of romance novel has never and will never be for me.  It's even worse when you're reading it aloud.  You really experience that weapons-grade cringe when you're saying it out loud.  Of course, I didn't actually speak much of it aloud: I made the executive decision to skim over large sections of this book, summarizing as I went, and I'm not even sorry.  It was an essential survival mechanism at work.

Well, I mean, what is there to say about this book?  I hated it and the characters in it.  Miles is a creep and Tate is pathetic.  The two of them together gross me out.  Very little of any interest happens, to the point that a brief description of shopping for curtains and a rug was a high point in the novel.  And boy, is it ever brief!  They literally walk to the store, choose the first things they see in the window, then turn around and leave again.  We're denied even the pleasure of vicarious browsing and comparing a few different options.  Given the choice between an in-depth description of actual shopping and yet another scene of these two "bumping uglies"—to quote Cap—trust me, I would have loved to have read an awkward squabble over curtain fabric, colors, etc., but it wasn't to be.

Again, Tate is infuriatingly weak, Miles acts like such an utter POS jerk (his tragic backstory is no excuse for using Tate and treating her like crap), and a few scenes seemed borderline abusive and were very uncomfortable to read.  Not just the painful sex scenes, either.  The roof-top pool scene where he's following her around and pinning her against the side of the pool gave me chills.  His actions felt almost threatening to me.  He felt more like a potential serial killer than an attentive lover.  (Also, is it just me, or isn't it kind of odd that this guy who's so traumatized by something that involved water would suggest they go swimming?  It just feels strange and unrealistic to me.)

Then there's the center justification thing, which was annoying, too, of course.  

So no, this wasn't a good read for me.  I really disliked this book. Still not as bad as Shadow Moon, though.  That's probably the worst thing I've ever read.

A Sincere Warning About the Entity in Your Home

A Sincere Warning About the Entity in Your Home

by Jason Arnopp

Blurb:

"Dear friend,

This is no chain letter, hoax or prank.

It is a sincere warning about your home and the entity which dwells within.

Your home has been haunted for quite some time.

I am sorry that I could not personally deliver this document. I did not even post it myself. The postmark on the envelope will not help you, should you ever attempt to locate me.

When this letter is complete, I shall entrust a friend in another country with repackaging and sending it on my behalf. This letter also may or may not have been translated from its original language.

You do not know me. You must never know me.

Neither do I know you, beyond your name, address and appearance. I have seen you in person but you have not seen me.

Think back to the day that you moved into your home. I contrived to casually pass by as you stood outside. I saw your face, but you did not so much as glance my way. I did not stop walking. I simply committed your face to memory and moved on before you became aware of my presence.

Why did I want to see you?

I suppose my conscience drove me to it. Just as it compels me to finally write this letter.

I wanted to see exactly who I was passing the entity on to."

My Reaction:

Depending on your perspective, this is either a long short story or a short novella.  I saw it recommended somewhere as a good creepy tale and was intrigued by the premise.  The idea is that you've received a large envelope in the mail, with no way to trace it back to its source.  Inside is a letter from the previous occupant of the home into which you've just moved—but instead of wishing you happiness in their much-loved former home, or letting you know that there's a trick to one of the window latches, or even asking to come around and revisit the house they grew up in—though that alone would be worthy of a shudder—they're warning you about a dangerous entity attached to the house—one that they're certain you will encounter soon, if you haven't already.  

It's a great idea for a story!  I didn't personally find it quite as creepy as some readers have.  If I'd read it alone at night, in an empty house, it might have felt a bit more disturbing.  However, I did read part of it in the wee hours after waking and being unable to get back to sleep, and even then I don't think I felt many chills.  (I've lived in this house for over 20 years, and we had it built ourselves, so maybe that has something to do with it.)  

Still, it's an interesting premise, so I'll give some points for that!