With is being spooky season I finally got around to reading this book and thought it was decent. I wanted to love it more than I did, but one thing I’ve learned about books is that you’re not going to enjoy every book you read. If you are someone who is into YA spooky mystery thrillers, that are a lower age level, I recommend giving this a try! One thing I will say is that some parts were a little too YA for my test, but overall it was still a great book!

3.5/5 Stars

16 year old Nate Campbell lived on a cursed street called Murder Road. His family leaves after another death occurred, trying to avoid an angry spirit called the Hiding Boy. When Nate arrives at his new school, he gets reluctantly pulled into a trio of urban legend hunters.

This was an okay spooky read, but I think the end was what saved it for me. I gave my rating an extra half star because I hadn't seen the twist coming, so that was a pleasant surprise. The rest of the story was quite repetitive. The chapters are short, which makes it easy to read and although the pacing is slow, it made it go by quickly. I did put it down for a few days, as I wasn't fully invested in the story, but around the 75% mark I became more invested, and wanted to know how it was going to end.

What would you do if urban legends were true? In this book The Hiding Boy is real and he is slowly making his way through killing everybody who lives on his street.

Max, Seb, and Tyler who love urban legends. Only none of them happen until they meet Nate.

I love a good urban legend story and I think that Vincent Ralph did a great job with this one. There were some aspects of the book that I found to be a bit meh but I overlooked them because I did really enjoy reading it and looked forward to picking up where I left off when I was able to get back to reading. This book was creepy and great. Perfect for spooky season!

Thank you to Netgalley and Wednesday Books for the ARC!

“Ready or not, whatever you do, the hiding boy is coming for you…”

I have been in my “YA Thriller/Horror” era lately and this book definitely fit the bill! A family running from a twisted urban legend…a teenage boy trying to keep from making friends so the curse doesn’t come to them. And the first new people he meets are urban legend chasers!

I definitely agreed with the RL Stine comparison and got a bit of a Goosebumps vibe reading this book! Though a bit predictable, this book was really a fun read. I had the audio and I thought the narrator did a great job bringing the story/characters to life and amping up the suspense. A great read for the spooky season if you enjoy your books being spooky but still fun :)

”The Last House Left” is out now. This review will be shared to my instagram blog (@books_by_the_botle) shortly :)

This was a solid 4 stars for me - perfect for spooky season reading!

I enjoyed the pace and atmosphere of this story. I was a bit confused with certain bits while reading, but it all pulled together in the end. It was heavy with grey morality - things are done that you know without a doubt are wrong and bad. But when you think about the rationale for those actions , it begs the question: in the same situation, would you do the same?


Thank you to NetGalley for the advance reader copy (ARC). I thoroughly enjoyed this and will definitely be reading this author’s previous works!

Nate & his family are escaping their past from a neighborhood full of tragedies. Nate is hesitant to make new friends but finds a trio who loves urband legends & telling ghost stories. Group of friends are a favorite trope of mine in mystery thrillers. I was surprised by the ending it was much darker than I expected.

It took a bit to get into this book. Overall, it didn't really scare me and nothing really sticks out in my mind as memorable. It wasn't awful but it wasn't something I would read again. Thanks to Netgalley for the opportunity to read this book

A YA horror novel about a cursed street and a teen trying to break the curse.

I thought this one had potential, but I felt like it didn't live up to the synopsis. The short chapters make it go quick, but I felt like they were too short at times to actually accomplish anything. I also just felt like the characters were just ok, which made it hard to be invested in the story.

One House Left by Vincent Ralph is a gripping thriller that will keep you on the edge of your seat. The story follows a group of survivors trapped in a remote cabin during a mysterious blackout. As they struggle to understand what's happening, they discover a terrifying secret that threatens to destroy them all.

Ralph's writing is tense and atmospheric, and the characters are well-developed and believable. The plot is full of twists and turns, and the suspense never lets up.

A thrilling and chilling read that will have you hooked. Lots of chills in this novel. Looking forward to more titles by this author.

Carnage follows 16-year-old Nate, even as his family settles in a new town and he begrudgingly makes new friends. The first deaths on Cherry Tree Lane, later dubbed “Murder Road” by the community when it happened in 1963. Over the years, through the murders that followed, the legend told of the Hiding Boy, who partnered with evil to curse the street and its inhabitants. Why? After Nate and his family move away from there, he lands at Montgomery-Oakes High, where he meets the self-proclaimed Urban Legends Club: Max, Tyler, and Seb. This group of friends are obsessed with investigating urban legends. They decide to invite Nate to The Urban Legends Club. They go after the most gruesome of them all (urban legends)—the Hiding Boy. It’s back on Cherry Tree Lane that these tales are shocking and bloody. Is there really a “Hiding Boy?”

The author keeps readers on edge and they’ll wonder why Nate’s family moved away. If what the Hell Chasers experience is real, what truths lie behind it? The climactic scene is in chaos. It’s a fascinating horror and mystery novel.

This is an exciting book that becomes more and more scary as it goes along. Nate is a sympathetic character, and he's new to the neighborhood after being forced to move from place to place to place with his family. It was interesting to learn more about his back story as we were experiencing an urban legend come to life on "Murder Road." Thanks to NetGalley for letting me read this.

Book review for One House Left by Vincent Ralph. Releases 8.27.24

Book summary: R.L. Stine meets Urban Legend in the next twisty horror novel by New York Times bestselling author Vincent Ralph.

“Ready or not. Whatever you do. The Hiding Boy is coming for you.”

Sixteen-year-old Nate Campbell grew up in the shadow of Murder Road – a street cursed by the vengeful spirit of the Hiding Boy.

Every few years, for nearly six decades, a different house on that street has been the scene of a tragedy.

Nate and his family move to a new town as they try to outrun the curse once and for all. But, when he is pulled into his new friends’ urban legend club, new ghost stories merge with old until there is nowhere left to run.

Book Review: ⭐️⭐️⭐️

I was very intrigued from the book description. Growing up, I was a huge R. L. Stine fan and loved Urban Legends. The book starts slow building into the characters and the world surrounding them. I expected more when Nate and his friends would go out and try the urban legends they heard about. It fell flat and the mystery could have been developed more.

I did not like the ending. It was a twist that I didn’t see coming and not a good twist at that. The story just became weird at this point.

I was hoping for more with this story. Better storytelling leading into the mystery. The book had potential and I wished we were given more with it. It could have been a lot creepier but it just started getting weird and I didn’t enjoy it at the end.

3.5 for this spooky YA read. It felt a bit angsty and predictable at first. But then, boom. That twist hit and I most definitely has not been expecting it. Which boosted it up to a 3.5

With R.L. Stine vibes, "One House Left" by Vincent Ralph creates a thriller with paranormal elements. Additionally, it has a touch of YA horror as well.

Going in forgetting it was more YA focused, the book left me intrigued nonetheless. I finished this is literal hours because the twists kept my interest.

The book was rather slow paced at times and that grated on my patience. However, I think there will be plenty of fans of this one. It also left me curious about Vincent Ralph's backlist as this is my first book.

Thank you to NetGalley and Wednesday Books for this gifted copy.

I didn't love this or hate this. It kept me entertained and the short chapters kept me focused and wanting to keep reading. I'll admit I did not see the ending coming, and I love when that happens. The twist was one I wasn't expecting and it didn't let me down in the way so many other twists in books have. I would definitely recommend this to anyone who is looking for a quick thriller to read.

Try as I might, I could not get into this book. It just didn't seem to flow easily and it was slow moving.

“Ready or not. Whatever you do. The Hiding Boy is coming for you.”

This paranormal thriller had a really intriguing premise! I found the writing style very unique too. And liked the inclusion of urban legends.

I loved the short chapters! And did like that it switched POVs in the last part. Although I didn’t necessarily connect strongly with any of the characters.

I found it to be a slow burn until parts two and three and then it picked up pace. I was curious how it would all come together as a lot going on, but it did conclude nicely.

This one definitely will give you creepy vibes for spooky season!🖤

Thank you to the author, publisher and NetGalley for allowing me to review this ARC with honesty.

So this is the first time reading this author and I believe this is YA horror so I knew going in that it would a bit different from other things I've read (mostly adult horror and thriller.) That being said, I was taken aback by some of the gruesome details that it showcased in the different urban tales (not a bad thing, just surprised) and it kept me entertained about two thirds of the way in - where things kind of went sideways. I'm not going to say it is a very confusing book but to me, it was. And I say this because it very well could have been. That being said, I was left just - numb to the characters. I won't say names of characters to avoid spoilers but certain places where said characters end up was just - off.

It was an okay read, I would probably still read another from this author. I'm not just not sure it hit right near the end.

My Rating: 2.75 (rounded up) 3

3.5 stars rounded up. This was an interesting ride of a book. I went into expecting a horror/ghost story. And that's what I got. Sort of.

I wasn't really sure what was going on a lot of the time, but it was creepy and fun with some twists that made me wonder what I'd missed.

I read an ARC of this book from NetGalley. All comments are my own.