Thank you NetGalley, Spotify Audiobooks, and Vincent Ralph for the early access copy of One House Left.

If you are a fan of urban legends, creepy situations, of an abundance of twists, One House Left will be a good fit. One House Left tells the story of Nate a 16-year-old and his family trying to outrun the horrors of murder road and its urban legend. After moving to a new town, what happens if the legend follows you?

The narration is engaging with a fabulous cast of narrators, it was easy to get hooked on the story.

Content warning, heavy description of murder and grief.

This book is marketed as R L. Stein vs Urban Legend which, I feel, is a huge undersell. Does is incorporate Urban Legends? Yes, of course. There centric to the plot. Are there kids dealing with frightening things? Also, yes. I just think the themes explored here are more than what they're selling.

The first half of the book is slower and raises many questions, none of which are answered. But, at it's core, you've got a group of traumatized kids dealing with coming of age themes. It's interesting enough to power through until you hit the big reveal, and it's a good one. The book turns and takes you unexpected places. I just really enjoyed my read.

That being said, I do wish we got a little more spooky and a little more character development in that first section of the book. It would be easier to connect if that had been built a little more up front.

All in all, a solid read.

I typically steer clear of YA because I find myself annoyed and too judgy and it just doesn’t seem fair to review a book knowing I may not like it, but I took a chance on One House Left and you know what, I wasn’t annoyed with it.

Given it is YA, the horror is light, but I found it enjoyable and I really liked the end twist. I would consider this like a more mature take on an R.L. Stine Fear Street book, and I mean that in the highest of compliments. I listened to this on audio and the narrators were great. Many thanks to Wednesday Books for my advanced audiobook. One House Left is to be published 8/27, just in time for spooky season to begin!

Thank you NetGalley and publisher for this arc!

What a great book!! Such a good thriller/mystery! Perfect writing style and that plot twist!! PERFECT!!

This one was likened to R. L. Stine and Urban Legend. So my expectations were pretty high which I think really did this book a disservice. A novel similar to R. L. Stine’s style…this was not. It definitely has the juvenile vibe but that’s about where it ends as far as similarities.

I don’t typically read YA as it’s not usually my favorite…totally my fault for reading this one to begin with. I just never really connected with this novel or any of the characters. The story just felt a bit clunky and disjointed to me. Even the audio narration I think used different voices and tones but it didn’t work for this one at least not for me because it was like I was reading a different story entirely.

I will say the ending was better than the beginning because the pacing picked up.

I didn’t hate it but also couldn’t really tell you much about it either. It was decent enough that I finished it.

If you’re into YA novels and enjoy Urban Legends/Folklore in a small town and murder road types of stories you might enjoy this one. It sorta reminded me of that Nic Cage movie, Longlegs at the end but with kids.

One House Left is a super twisty and fun urban legend horror story perfect for teens or adults looking for a lighter read. I’ve started getting more into NA and YA when I need a breather from my normal reads, and this book was an amazing break. The writing was well done and I enjoyed the character development as Nate and his siblings navigated being new in town…. Again.

I was pleasantly surprised by a twist that caught me totally off guard and had to rewind my audiobook to make sure that I heard it correctly. Ralph is definitely a writer that knows how to keep readers on their toes and I look forward to seeking out more of his work!!

I listened to this one on audio and the narrators absolutely crushed it!!

Check this one out if you like horror, urban legends, things that go bump in the night, and if you grew up in the cult of R. L. Stine.

**Thank you to NetGalley, Wednesday Books, and Spotify Audiobooks for the ALC of this title!**

Utterly riveting. The prologue pulls you in immediately. I will say I felt a little bored during the first few chapters but after finishing the book I understand they were needed! The ending for me was a little confusing. The characters were distinct and well-developed, by the end I felt conflicted about Nate and his family, which I think speaks to the writing. The narrators were amazing. Their tones, and inflections. They made you feel as though you were in the story!

This book was a great creepy read. It was about a cursed house on a cursed street. The family is forced to deal with its wrath.

“If they hadn’t known each other so well, they might have seen relief or happiness or excitement. Instead, they saw only terror. ”
Here are reasons to read the YA Horror book:

Urban Lore - Nate and his family grew up on the street of an Urban Lore where many murders happened
New Family - Now they have moved and are the new family on the street
Follow the mystery - He befriends a new group whose purpose is to follow and discover these urban legends

So I am not 100% sure how to talk about this book. It’s very creepy and you think you have a handle on what has happened here. But when you get to the end, it turns out to be even more sinister than you think. And I wasn’t prepared for it because there really weren't a whole lot of clues about it. I would say if you want a book where you just follow the story without a lot of knowing what is happening, this one's for you.

I tried and tried to like this book. I started it over a couple times, I pushed ahead to different chapters. I listened to the ending twice, yet still could not tell you what really happened. it just did not grab my attention at all.

This audiobook didn’t quite hold my attention.

The premise had me excited to dive in! I enjoy YA horror normally, but this didn’t hold my attention and I found myself wanting to skip chapters are they just seemed to drag. It seems like not a lot had happened until part 2 and 3 which was pretty far into the book.

The narrators however were great. I enjoyed the different perspectives of the friends.

All in all, not for me, but I would read another book by this author.

Thank you Netgalley for the advance audiobook copy of One House Left by Vincent Ralph in exchange for an honest review. This book was very creepy and kept me up until the wee hours listening to it. I really enjoyed the twists in a slasher/haunted house/curse type story.

I received an arc of this ebook through NetGalley and Spotify Audiobooks.

I gave this book 3 1/2 stars rounded up to 4.

This book starts out with 16 year old Nathan and his family having just moved, again. They are clearly running from something scary, and hoping it doesn’t follow them, for some time at least. Nathan tries to keep his head down in his new school, but soon befriends Max and her urban legends club despite his best efforts.

I didn’t know what was going on at first in this book, but it was supposed to be that way. I wasn’t sure if it was just me not understanding, but I ended up enjoying the way the plot unfolded. It definitely had a twist at the end that I did not see coming, but it made the book much better! I also really enjoyed the very end.

Thank you NetGalley, the publisher, and the author for the free ARC in exchange for my honest review.

I will say I wasn't super into this book, I don't love paranormal anything, but that being said, I did like the characters and most of the story. I didn't enjoy the whispering narrator at all, I'm sure there was a reason for it, I just didn't like it. Thankfully, it only happens a few times throughout the book. I figured it out pretty early on, but I was still very confused why some things were a "big deal", I'm sure they were added to throw people off, and the ending felt a little rushed and left me very confused lol
I give it 3.5 stars, rounded to 4. If you like paranormal things, you'll love it!!

This was a fun YA thriller/paranormal horror novel. When it was touted as R.L. Stein meets Urban Legends I knew I had to read it. Nate and his family are new in town and keep to themselves. That is until Max and her friends recruit him into their urban legends group. None of the legends have ever come true for them until Nate showed up and joined the club!

This had me hooked and guessing until the end. While there were some plot hole and missing information, more details on the hiding boy please!, it was still enjoyable and didn't detract too much from the plot.

If you are looking for a literary masterpiece this is not the book for you. If you want a nice YA horror/thriller then give this one a go!

Thank you to the publisher and author for this ARC!
When reading the synopsis of this book, I was really excited topossibly get an early copy and dive in!
Unfortunately, I struggled to contact with both the story and the characters. The pacing felt off and unnecessarily drawn out. Some themes of the story were most certainly creepy, but not enough to keep my attention.
I have enjoyed other books by this author, but this one wasn't my favorite.

Thank you NetGalley for this ARC! I listened to this audiobook. The premise is perfect for me so I’m struggling to understand why it fell short. At times I was lost and struggled to want to finish. I think it might be my own fault, I lose attention easily.

One House Left
Publication date: August 27, 2024

Thank you Netgalley, St. Martin's Press, and Ralph Vincent for this ARC eBook in exchange for my honest review.

4.75 / 5

Ok, so ...

I wish I had possessed this book when I was a young adult, along with the hundreds of other YA novels... But it was still an absolute pleasure reading it as a middle aged man, cuz this is one of the best YA horror novels I've read.

This book was so many wonderful things ...

The secrets we keep....
Our need for connection....
Our need for someone who sees and accepts us; imperfections and all....

A scary, beautiful, funny, touching coming of age story.
Lots of eerieness, atmosphere and heart.
(I've seen comparisons to R.L. Stein... but, objectively, this has much better writing.)

This was pure nostalgia... in the sense that this story reminded me of every great horror movie and novel I watched and read when I was younger. It had me thinking of so many of my favorites, and I was looking them up... This is the type of YA novel that truly reminded me of why I fell in love with horror in the first place.

The audio book was excellent as well. The narrator is extremely talented, and read the story beautifully!

(Full review and thoughts on publication date)

It’s getting to be horror season! One House Left is the next spooky listen. Fans of R.L. Stein will love this book!

I really loved this! One House Left was a fun, quick read and was surprisingly brutal for a YA book.

We follow Nate and his family who are on the run from "The Hiding Boy" proving that urban legends are real. Nate is reluctant to get close to anyone in this new town, but eventually becomes friends with Max, Seb, and Tyler. These three are obsessed with urban legends. Little do they know, Nate has firsthand experience with an urban legend.

This book started off a little slow while we explored the backstory, and certain parts were a little confusing like why Nate's family was on the run. However, it all came together in the last third to the point that I was on the edge of my seat. The ending really surprised me as I was not expecting it at all. The characters were very three dimensional, and their different personalities and motivations were well developed. There were also a lot of scenes that made me really emotional - like trying not to ugly cry. Overall, this was a fun book filled with murder, creepy urban legends, and multiple emotional moments.