Wow, One House Left was wonderfully disturbing. I have to say the description of ‘R.L. Stine meets Urban Legend’ had me expecting something a bit tamer as most of what I have read by Stine leaned more toward a younger audience. While the story’s main focus is on Nate, his entire family is effected by the ‘curse’ of the Hiding Boy. The setup is well done and it pulled me right in, but I have to say I was surprised by how much is going on and I wondered just how it would all come together, but the last quarter of the book nicely brings it all together. The narration is rock solid. I believe this is the third Vincent Ralph book I’ve either read or (as in this case) listened to and I would say it’s my favorite so far. Thanks so much to Spotify Audiobooks for the chance to listen to an audio ARC of One House Left.

https://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/one-house-left-vincent-ralph/1144473390?ean=2940192709528&bvnotificationId=e4bf670e-648d-11ef-8a28-12150ceb963d&bvmessageType=REVIEW_APPROVED&bvrecipientDomain=gmail.com#review/317577149

I usually have no issue reading a YA horror - and one that includes urban legends sounded so good. However, this was too slow burn and not enough horror for me.

Thank you to the author, narrator, publisher and Net Galley for providing a free e-audio version of this title in exchange for my review.

In reading the description for this book, I missed that it is a YA novel. The RL Stine reference should have clued me in, but I missed it. I don't usually read or listen to YA books, but don't dislike them.
I grew up on the RL Stine Fear Street books when I was in high school, and the Goosebumps TV shows are still some of the scariest I've watched (dolls are creepy!) . So I was hopeful for this book, with the RL Stine comparison. I should have known better - this was nothing like any RL Stine I"ve read. I may be the outlier here, but I didn't find this book to be thrilling, and could not really connect with any of the characters. The book moved SO slowly, too. Looks like the page count is over 300 pages. I feel like it could have maybe be cut in half.

Narration for this one was good, enjoyable to listen to. But there was nothing scary or thrilling for me in this one.

2 stars for "it was ok"

The book opens with a weird whispery tone of voice, and I was kind of scared because I thought that was going to be the entirety of the narration, and I didn't care for it. I quickly realized that there a few interspersed chapter breakups that are narrated in that tone for a specific reason, so it ended up being fine. The narration for the actual story was great and I thought the narrator did an excellent job encompassing what I expected the main character to sound like.

I have been in a YA thriller reading era and loved this book. It had a lot of creepy town folklore intertwined with the story, and I loved all the adventures that the teens had trying out all the urban legends.

The one thing that I didn't entirely connect with was the ending of the book. It wasn't quite what I was expecting and it kind of ruined the story for me. It didn't necessarily ruin the book, but I wasn't expecting what happened.

This is a solid read for anyone who enjoys YA thrillers.

I love urban legends so I was excited to listen to this one. This was an interesting YA horror that had some paranormal elements. There were some coming of age elements throughout that added an extra layer to the plot. While the characters were a little flat, I still was curious to see what was going to happen to them. There is a good twist that blindsided me and made for a compelling ending.

I’m still wondering what the heck I just read??!!

I realize that it is based on teens…and that is not usually a problem for me.
I also realize it’s touted as a horror genre…but that’s not quite right either.
What I read was a book about a boy, who grew up on a road where many people were murdered…(aka, murder row), and his family has been running for years.
Why? How is this going to help them?

So, as I’m reading, I figure I’m going to get all the answers…but what I feel like I got were more questions…

Sorry to say this was a BIG miss for me.

Thanks to #NetGalley and #SpotifyAudiobooks for an ARC of the audiobook in exchange for an honest review.

One House Left by Vincent Ralph, and narrated by an assortment of people. Release date is 8/27/24.

2 ⭐️⭐️ for me. Apparently I’m in the minority on this one…

Being as I did not like this one, I will not post to my normal sites…just Goodreads and NetGalley.

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I enjoyed this one a lot more than I thought I would based on the reviews. Definitely going but a copy for my shelves!

One House Left is a suspenseful paranormal thriller that started a little slow but ended with a huge bang.

Nate grew up near "Murder Road", a street cursed by the vengeful “hiding boy”. Nate is a loaner and didn’t try hard to make friends. His plan of not making friends fails and he makes friends with a group obsessed with urban legends.

Nate does not tell them who his family is and where he is from knowing it will spark them to want to talk about it or maybe even go to Murder Road.

Part one of the book was mostly set up for the ending. It over stays it’s welcome and gets a little bland. I was feeling a little down on this book until we hit part two. From part two until the conclusion I was hooked and couldn’t put this one down.

I love when I don’t see the ending of a book coming. I never saw this ending coming. It was not just shocking but it made sense and was very well thought out.

One House Left is a great horror book that starts slow but it’s worth it to see this conclusion.

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for the ARC.
Great job. I liked the suspense and the mix of an urban legend into this book. And while it is a YA book I still found it to be a good and engaging read.

This is the first book I've read by Vincent Ralph and it won't be the last. I really enjoyed One House Left. This book follows a boy named Nate as he and his family run from an urban legend and the curse that follows them. I really enjoyed the balance between character development and quick moving plot. There was never a dull moment. The way the secrets and twists unfolded was incredibly satisfying. The spooky vibes and sinister final twist really made for a great horror. And the narration really immersed me in the story and made everything that much creepier.

Thank you to the publishers and netgalley for this audiobook in exchange for an honest review.

What happens when a group of urban myth podcast group meets up with a person who has actually survived the scariest street in the world? What happens is a very suspenseful YA novel! Max and his family have moved many times trying to out run their past, or have they?

At some points, the storytelling lacks cohesion/enough context to explain what we as the audience are seeing as the narration shifts away from Nate to that of the urban legends and hiding boy. It also gets hard to follow when Nate slips in and out of reality. The narrator difference to denote the changing of characters is clear, but more than once I found myself rewinding the audiobook to see if I'd missed something in terms of content. There is some framework for suspense and horror throughout the novel, but it only started really building at around the 70% mark. Nate is a weird guy, but his palpable anxiety, combined with the unspoken horrors behind his actions make the payoff for the last 30% more impactful. Max is an amazing character and her friendship with Henry is one of my favorite parts of the book. Max, Seb, and Tyler are all interesting characters and really nice people. The strength of this book really is its characters.
The secondary twist of Hazel's boyfriend being dead was heartbreaking. The long phone calls were her listening to his voice on the answering machine over and over. She was a part of the crimes they were committing, but she also became a victim, as Rowan became a monster. Seb's death with his brother by his side, especially after he bonded with Nate, broke me. I'm glad Tyler and Max made it out, and I'm glad the hiding boy and the last house followed Nate and his family after what they did. A good revenge against a monster is to make sure they're never free, and that's what the narrative did. A story about people being punished for doing the right thing is a really interesting concept, and I think Vincent Ralph did it justice.
This is definitely a book for a young adult audience, but it was written with precision and intention in the characters and their relationships.

One House Left had the makings of the perfect spooky season read. The first two thirds were slow with surprise details that pushed the story forward. The last third seemed to be action packed and I became increasingly confused on the characters and who we were following. I did not see the main twist coming, so I could see how this would be enjoyable by young adult readers. I had difficulty connecting with the characters as they were not fleshed out for reasons apparent towards the end of the book.

One House Left is YA Horror from Vincent Ralph.

"16-year-old Nate Campbell grew up near the street they call Murder Road. Every few years there's a new tragedy and someone is killed - all because of the curse of the Hiding Boy. Nate and his family have moved several times to distance themselves. But now Nate has fallen in with a group of friends that worship urban legends...and there's no where left to run."

I really liked Ralph's last book - Secrets Never Die. This one, not so much. The first half is repetitious and the stroy seems to be going nowhere. The last part is better but the ending is a letdown. Not really a cliffhanger but a bit open-ended.

This is a large cast audiobook. They do a decent job trying to build suspense.

Fans of low grade horror may enjoy this one.

Audiobook Review - One House Left is a fantastic YA Horror/Thriller. The story really builds with the actions and terror at the closing chapters. Hand this to YA horror fans especially fans of Natasha Preston and Natalie D. Richards. Highly recommended!

This was a slow burn for me, once I got to the last quarter I was locked in though! I also liked the family trauma aspect to it. Plus, the audiobook narrator was really good!

Wow this book terrified me with its blend of horror and paranormal thriller. Sometimes I did lose track of the story but in the best possible way. I thought things were going one way and was shocked when they went in a completely different and clever direction.

Thank you Netgalley, Vincent Ralph, and spotify audio for the sudiobook! A great narration by Pete Cross, Jesse Vilinsky, Andre Santana, TJ Clark, Gary Tiedemann. I've always been a lover of all things creepy and urban legends really were always on the top of my list growing up. This book did not disappoint. Although it was a little heavy and sad just the predicament, but it was creepy and crazy as well. Must read if you love all things bump in the night!

Rating: 4/5 Stars
Pub Date: 8/27
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I always love a good YA every now and then and this one was the perfect amount of creepy. Everyone knows of a "murder house", or at least one that everyone considers a "murder house". But to know the people who lived there, well that's an entirely different story...
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One House Left is follows Nate and his family as they settle into a new town after their constant move to avoid the curse of "murder road." It's at the new school that Nate meets a bunch of misfits who are obsessed with urban legends. I really enjoyed all of the characters and felt like they were easily distinguishable. The pacing of this one was steady to fast, as I devoured this one pretty quickly.
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I loved reading about the urban legends that the kids tested out. That was a huge thing back in the day around my area so that was pretty nostalgic. This added more of an eerie elements to an already creepy story. This one had some awesome twists thrown in there, especially that ending - that was something that I did not see coming at all, but it was *chef's kiss* perfection. It completely brings the story full circle while also bringing in that perfect shock value.
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I listened to this one via audiobook while reading along with my eARC. This had multiple narrators. Pete Cross, Jesse Vilinsky, Andre Santana, TJ Clark, Gary Tiedemann were all incredible. I felt like I was a part of the gang because of how well these narrators brought this one to life. If you are thinking of picking this one up I highly recommend the audiobook.
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I really enjoyed this book and highly recommend it to all my thriller / horror friends. This didn't read too much as a YA except for the main characters are teens. I think that this one is going to be a huge hit during spooky season. Be sure to grab this one. Huge thank you to NetGalley, Vincent Ralph, Spotify Audiobooks and St. MArtin's Press for the ALC and the eARC in exchange for my honest review.

A gripping thriller that blends suspense with psychological depth. The story centers around a central mystery involving a seemingly ordinary house with a dark and sinister past. As the narrative unfolds, readers are drawn into a tense and unsettling atmosphere where secrets are gradually revealed. Ralph's storytelling is effective in creating a sense of dread and anticipation, with well-developed characters and a plot that keeps readers guessing. The novel is praised for its engaging pace and the way it skillfully balances tension and intrigue, making it a compelling read for fans of psychological thrillers and mysteries.