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.

This was an interesting story with a shocking ending. It wasn't like anything I have ever read, and it definitely did not go the way I thought it was going to go. This would be a great pick for the upcoming spooky season.

Meeting new friends is hard. When Nate's family settles into a new town, new friends find him. What are the chances that they are obsessed with urban legends while he lives to escape one?

Vincent Ralph's *One House Left* is just a masterpiece in suspense and terror. The blend of supernatural horror with the eerie atmosphere of urban legends keeps you on the edge of your seat from start to finish. Nate Campbell's journey is haunting and gripping, as the cursed history of Murder Road collides with the dark secrets of his new town. Ralph expertly weaves together chilling tales and unforgettable twists, creating a story that is impossible to put down. If you love a good scare, this book is a must-read! Consider keeping the lights on though.

Thank you Vincent Ralph, St. Martin's Press, and Netgalley for the advanced copy!

🏠Book Review🏠
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Summary- 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.
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Rating- ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
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My thoughts- I’m so behind on book reviews but thank you so much Macmillan for the advanced copy which is signed and came with stickers!! I really enjoyed this one it is so wild and unexpected. Super fun YA thriller that has some wild twists you won’t see coming. I liked this one so much, the audio was fantastic. Nate and his family are just so fascinating to follow, I could not put this one down! Perfect for fans of urban legends and horror films! Be sure to grab it where books are sold today!
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QOTD- What is your favorite urban legend ?! Bloody Mary used to scare me so bad lol!
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"Ready or not.
Whatever you do.
The Hiding Boy is coming for you."

This was such a dark little horror story. A whole block is a part of urban legend and the murders and deaths are horrible. A family on the run - you are with the youngest kid's POV. It's the 4th move in 3 years, as they run from the urban legend, the Hiding Boy.

I loved the twists in this one. It isn't often I get to read about Urban Legends and this one had such an interesting premise and history. The POV was perfect, really detailed the confusion and the tension in the family while also juggling these new schools. The struggle to want to make friends but wonder if its worth it.

When I hit the beginning of Part 2, my jaw was on the ground! So many good twists in this one. The ending was perfect! I loved it!

A huge thank you to the author and publisher for providing an e-ARC via Netgalley. This does not affect my opinion regarding the book.

I enjoyed this quick thriller/horror tale.

It was a middle grade/YA thriller that I think a lot of kids will enjoy. The whole Urban Legend I think will never get old (for me anyways) and had me rereading and pulling late 90s/early 2000s movies and books for my kids that they instantly became obsessed with. And perfect time of year.

Will definitely be in my HS library.

Thank you NetGalley and the publisher for a chance to read and review.

Thank you to the publisher and NetGalley for an e-ARC of this book in exchange for an honest review.

I was excited when I read the description of this book as it seemed like a fun spooky novel, but it fell short for me.

I didn't really connect with the characters or the storyline.

I'll give 3 stars though!

This was a good story for middle school readers. When I requested I didn’t realize that. Urban Legend creepy stuff, sign me up. Perfect for spooky season.

Thank you to Wednesday Books and Vincent Ralph for the opportunity.

<b>TW/CW: Language, fighting, toxic family relationships, dementia, death of loved one, grieving, depression, anxiety, death of sibling, bullying, family drama, blood, gory scenes </b>

<b><big>*****SPOILERS*****</b></big>
<b>About the book:</b>
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.
<b>Release Date:</b> August 27th, 2024
<b>Genre:</b> Horror
<b>Pages:</b> 320
<b>Rating:</b> ⭐ ⭐ ⭐

<b>What I Liked:</b>
1. The plot sounded creepy
2. Short chapters
3. Reads fast

<b>What I Didn't Like:</b>
1. Read too YA
2. Characters feel repetitive
3. Teenage romance
4. Not horror - more mystery feeling

<b>Overall Thoughts:</b>
<b><i><small>{{Disclaimer: I write my review as I read}}</small></i></b>

Calling the road Murder Road remind me of a book called <a href="https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/196614815-murder-road"<b>Murder Road by Simone St. James</b></a>, which also talks about a road of death.

I wish the teenagers were more interesting. So far it feels like Nate is coming off very one dimensional, Hazel just keeps calling the boy she left behind, and Roman is fighting for money.

If Nate knows that his urban legend is real why would he want to risk making another urban legend real? Wouldn't he want to not be anywhere near another one?

Did you know that Nates grandmother died? Yeah, you'll only hear about it every chapter and almost every 5 pages.

They all go to Murder Road and in the boys house (not sure if this house has been vacant since the 60s the town hasn't knocked it down) they are locked away from Nate, we suddenly change character pov to Max's. Why?? This is weird. Then Seb & Tyler's.

They are lost in this haunted house and Seb just died but suddenly in the middle of all of this we have Tyler over here questioning his life decisions and whether he should take a school scholarship. What???

The house turns into this 1408 Stephen King ghost thing where their spirts from their pasts and worries of their lives kill(try) to them off.

Tyler and Max survive. The police even talk about how the town should knock down the 5 houses and yeah why aren't they?? How is the town doing this since they've had so many people killed at these places.

So we now know that Roman is responsible for the death of 5 bodies and feeding the house people just because Roman interrupted the curse to knock the door down saving the other kids (I guess).

Oh they killed Hazel's boyfriend in the house.

I'm confused why they wouldn't approach the town about knocking the houses down to see if it'll stop the curse they have, but they don't even try that path they just jump into leading people to the houses.

In theory then since Roman broke up the houses killing those people that broke in and broke the door down what did that mean that little girl that saved Max and Tyler but also be haunted and have to lure people to houses? She interrupted the natural order of things.

So it's 6 months later and they are knocking the houses down starting with the one where Seb died in. Magically Nate and his family is able to just blend into this huge crowd and you're going to tell me not one person recognizes any of them. Like how is that even possible. They grew up in this town and no one recognizes them especially since Max had put out a podcast saying they were on the lookout for them and they had disappeared but they just get in watch the house get knocked down and sneak out.

<b>Final Thoughts:</b>
This book reminded me of The Craft. That a new girl that had the final power showed up and gave the existing group the power they were missing. Nate is that character that shows up to make the urban legends come alive.

It's never explained how the urban legends came true when they were around Nate. It's never explained and kind of seemed an after thought to a storyline that was pretty massive.

I wanted to like this story but it all just felt very meh to me. The characters weren't interesting and at times could come off annoying. The tone of the book was too YA. There was the twist of Nate framing the group, but it seemed so out of character to the person we had been following around and reading his thoughts that suddenly he'd set his friends up to be murdered.

In the end though I don't know if I'll remember much from this book. Wasn't terrible but also wasn't very memorable.

<a href="https://www.instagram.com/horrorghoulreads/"><b>IG</a>|<a href="https://bookwordreview.wordpress.com/"><b>Blog</b></a>

<b><small>Thanks to Netgalley and Wednesday Books for the ebook & Spotify Books for the audiobook. All thoughts and opinions are my own.

Vincent Ralph's One House Left is a chilling tale rooted in the eerie lore of Murder Road, where the vengeful spirit of the Hiding Boy has cast a long, dark shadow for decades. Sixteen-year-old Nate Campbell, trying to escape the curse with his family, finds himself drawn back into the nightmare when he joins an urban legend club in his new town. Ralph effectively builds an unsettling atmosphere, blending new and old ghost stories that blur the line between reality and myth. The suspense is palpable, and the haunting premise keeps the reader intrigued.

However, One House Left falls short in delivering a fully satisfying experience. While the buildup of tension is commendable, the pacing can be uneven, with some sections feeling rushed while others drag on. The characters, particularly Nate, could have been more fleshed out to make their struggles more relatable and the stakes feel higher. Although the novel succeeds in creating a spooky ambiance, it doesn't quite manage to live up to its potential, leaving the reader wanting more depth and resolution. Despite its flaws, it's still an enjoyable read for fans of supernatural thrillers, but it doesn't quite reach the heights it aims for.

I really enjoyed One House Left. It deserves its comp to R.L. Stine, though this is better written...

I totally kid. I love R.L. Stine and appreciate all of his work and his contribution to the Horror space. I still read his books today and will continue to do so, well, forever. Anytime I see a new release compared to Stine's stories, I am going to check it out. It's the Publishers doing their work. They sold me. Sometimes it pays off, other times not so much. Happy to report it def paid off here.

This story follows 16-year old, Nate Campbell, who grew up on a cursed street, dubbed Murder Road, haunted by a vengeful spirit known only as The Hiding Boy. Every few years a different house on the street is plagued by some sort of violent tragedy. Nate and his family, trying to outrun the curse, move to a new town at the start of this story and that is where we pick up with Nate.

We follow him as he navigates being the new kid, while also trying to outrun his past. Will he be able to do so? Is it even possible to escape from the clutches of Murder Road?

I was hooked into this one from the start. It was giving me total Fear Street vibes with the narration style and the way the MC, Nate, presented his story. He was pulled into a clique of friends at his new school, led by the strong-willed, Max, who love learning about and exploring urban legends. Little did they know that Nate was actually living one.

Max seemed like such a cool girl to me. I loved her. Everything about the way she was described and the confidence with which she carried herself, she was def my fave in this one!

There's all sorts of mystery throughout this story as well. I had so many questions. I didn't really know what was going on half the time, purposefully on the author's part, and it kept me hella intrigued. People were acting strangely, Nate was receiving mysterious threatening messages, it wasn't quite clear the circumstances under which Nate's family left their old home; there was so much I wanted to know.

That's one way to keep you furiously flipping pages!

There was a huge twist around the 70%-point, that legit left my jaw on the floor. I couldn't believe what was happening and it totally changed my perspective on everything. I felt that was so well played by the author. As far as reveals go, it was definitely one I did NOT expect!

I also loved the escalation of this story. It was like a snowball rolling down hill. The pacing was very well done. There's a lot that I appreciated about this story, but I won't risk saying more because I don't want to spoil anything. Just know, I was impressed. Overall, I loved how the concept of Urban Legends was used by the author to tell this story. I found the characters so compelling, especially my girl, Max. As YA Horror novels go, this is at towards the top of the class!

Thank you to the publisher, Wednesday Books and Macmillan Audio, for providing me with copies to read and review. This is the 2nd-book I have read from Vincent Ralph and I'm definitely seeing a progression in his work.

I look forward to reading more from him!

One House Left took me completely by surprise. The story is broken up into parts and during the first part I thought I knew exactly the direction it was headed, and by part 2 I knew I was wrong.
We are following Nate and his family as they arrive at yet another new house in a new town. They move a lot, and the family seems to be falling apart. Nate goes to school and does his best not to be noticed, he doesn't want to make friends, doesn't want to be included, and it all is going to plan until he meets Max and her friends.. but mostly Max.
She and her friends get together and test out urban legends. One of my favorite parts of this book! Now this is the last thing Nate wants to be a part of. He was amid an urban legend of his own, one that is very well known, called the Hiding Boy. Which was super creepy. But Nate likes Max and decides that as much as it scares him he wants to be close to her. Which is a mistake on many levels.

There are so many twists and turns and I didn't see any of them coming! Every page held a new puzzle piece that I was trying and failed to put together until it was revealed. Once I started this I couldn't put it down, and I will definitely be reading more by this author.

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

I have been exploring more YA horror lately, but I didn't want this one to end!

It's about loyalty, and friendship, and tricksters. There's almost always a trickster in a horror story and if it's done right, you will be shocked. Not fooled, maybe, but still...shocked. And this one was done right!

Nate is the new kid in town, trying very hard to be invisible, when he's spotted by Max. Max is the unofficial leader of the Hellhole Chasers, a trio that is on a mission to verify or disprove urban legends. Nate and his family are running from one particularly nasty string of murders connected to their former residence on Cherry Tree Lane,. famously known as Murder Road. Now the trio is a quartet and some local urban legends are coming true.

The book is divided into three parts, and the second part slips into paranormal happenings. While I'm not a fan of paranormal, this section had the most vivid and horrific descriptions. but it was necessary for the emotional denouement of part three. Well emotional for me, but maybe I just had something in my eye.

I recommend you read this book with the lights on. And remember..."he's coming for you."

Thank you to NetGalley and St. Martin's Press for an advance reader's copy.

“We shattered her heart into a million unsalvageable pieces because we had no more ways to fight back.”

Although this line is near the end of One House Left, I don’t think it gives anything away. It just lets you know that Vincent Ralph’s new YA thriller is about more than spooky ghost stories. It’s about love and family and redemption, but it’s also, in typical Vincent Ralph fashion, spooky season perfect, and I loved every minute of it!

This one was very much not for me, I had trouble connecting to the story and the characters and found that I was quite confused while reading and honestly, kind of bored. I agree with the others that say this is nothing like RL Stine, so if that was a draw for you, you may want to reconsider. While this one was a miss for me, I will still definitely try another by this author.

One House Left was a creepy YA horror story. I really liked this book. This was the 2nd book that I’ve read by Vincent Ralph and I enjoy his writing.

I loved the 90s Fear Street vibes in this book. The story was mysterious and chilling. There were twists that I did not see coming. The ending was very suspenseful and scary.

I definitely recommend this book to YA horror lovers. I’m looking forward to reading more books by this author.

This was a good and creepy story that keeps you guessing about what is actually happening. This would probably really good as an Audio book with the creepiness of it. I enjoyed it but felt there was just something missing for me to say I loved it.

This was the perfect mix oh the spooky I grew up on and new levels of scary I love now as an adult. I’m so grateful I got this arc sent to me, it was the perfect mix of nostalgia and brilliant horror writing. This will definitely be an author I look out for.

https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/203578713

Okay I will admit I was surprised by the turn in this book…I started out a little slow but as things started unfolding I sped through the remaining half. I definitely recommend this for anyone who loves horror and mystery combined.

This was a great and creepy book. I loved the twist at the end. I'm not a big horror reader, but really enjoyed this one!