This was well done, but not for me. The detail and writing was good. The horror scenes were very detailed and exciting. The pace of the story was a little slow for me, but it was clearly done to build suspense. I also didn't care for the type of "monsters" (to not give it away). Like I said it was not in my wheelhouse, but may be a good first for others.

Sinopsis en español:

Una extraña criatura acecha entre los pinos de Forest Street.

Desde el mortal DUI que arruinó su vida, Curtis Reynolds ha luchado durante mucho tiempo con la privación del sueño, la deuda, un matrimonio fallido y, francamente, justificando su propia existencia. Pero cuando su vecino anciano es asesinado, el veterano de la Guerra del Golfo regresa a casa en Forest Street, donde un peligroso encuentro lo envía a una espiral.

Luchando contra el insomnio y las visiones inducidas por el TEPT, Curtis comienza una investigación de un misterioso monstruo, cayendo por una madriguera de conejo de mitología popular, conspiración gubernamental y fantasmas de su pasado que amenazan con destruir su frágil psique y, posiblemente, todo lo que aprecia.








Reseña: la sinopsis me atrapó y tuve que pedir el Arc. Lamentablemente la historia no me encantó, estuvo entretenido y ya.




Gracias NetGalley por el ARC a cambio de mi honesta opinión.

The Street Between the Pines. This book was an absolutely incredible read. The mix of emotion, mystery, and the nostalgic aspects all wrapped into one amazing thriller, make this book a must read for those who are looking for something akin to Stephen King. J.J. Alo did a fantastic job with a wonderfully disturbed creation of a monster stalking this small corner of Connecticut.

I've seen several other reviews stating that there was too much detail during the non-horror moments of the book. However, outside of the thriller/horror genres, I am an avid lover of all things sci-fi/fantasy. Which I feel is always packed full of detail. So for this reader, the added detail provided a feeling of immersion as if I was actually there.

I give this book a full five out of five stars, and would also like to thank NetGalley, the publisher, and J.J. Alo for the opportunity to read this ARC in exchange for an honest review! All thoughts and opinions shared in this review are 100% my own.

So pumped when I got approved for this ARC. Yall, know I love some creature features, and this one is fantastic. If you're looking for a nightmare wrapped in the familiar, The Street Between the Pines by J.J. Alo will send the chills for sure. Set in the eerie, fog-choked corners of Connecticut, this tale begins with the mundane—dissatisfaction at work, a failing marriage, and the biting tension of family gatherings. But don’t let that fool you. What starts as an everyday drama spirals into something far more insidious.

Imagine a creature—wild, bloodthirsty, and stalking the woods. Government secrets buried beneath layers of deception. The line between sanity and madness blurs. And then, yes, kitty cats. But these aren’t your friendly, purring companions; these are harbingers of something darker, far darker than you can imagine. Alo’s writing crawls under your skin, building a sense of dread with every turn, every shadow. I found myself questioning what’s real, what’s not, and where the cat was.

The pacing is relentless: a heart-pounding opening, a deliberate lull, then a spine-shaking crescendo that pulls you into a nightmare you can’t escape. And that ending? Well let’s just say it might bother a lot of people, but it was insane. The Street Between the Pines is a chilling, unforgettable ride. If you read it, you might want to keep an eye on your cats. You never know who—or what—they’re watching.

Thank you Netgalley for the ARC!

The Street Between the Pines by J.J. Alo offers a compelling narrative that combines mystery, emotion, and a touch of nostalgia. The plot moves at a steady pace, drawing readers into the lives of its characters as they navigate personal struggles and complex relationships. Alo’s writing is sharp, with vivid descriptions that transport readers to the story’s setting, making it easy to immerse in the world he’s created.

The characters themselves are well-developed, particularly the protagonist, who feels authentic and relatable. The interpersonal dynamics are rich, though some secondary characters could have been explored more deeply to give them a stronger presence in the story. The emotional core of the novel is its strength—Alo captures moments of vulnerability and rawness that feel real and impactful.

That said, there are areas where the book could improve. The pacing can feel uneven at times, with certain sections dragging a bit while others rush toward resolution. Additionally, while the story is engaging, some plot twists felt predictable, which slightly reduced the tension.

Overall, The Street Between the Pines is a satisfying read that provides enough emotional depth and intrigue to keep readers hooked. While not flawless, it’s a solid effort from Alo, and I’d be curious to see how his future works develop.

Thank you to NetGalley for the arc of this book!

4 stars

This was a really interesting read. I was lured in instantly by the cover, and by the premise.

When I started reading I couldn't stop and dug through this one pretty quickly. The writing was fantastic and expertly detailed. However, sometimes it felt like TOO much detail/backstory, but I would prefer that over too little.

The middle slumped a little bit for me, but all in all, I really enjoyed this one. This will be a re-read for me come this next years spooky season because the atmosphere was excellent and I really enjoyed the sense of dread I felt for most of the book. This also gave a lot of Lovecraft/King vibes, so if you enjoy them, then this is a must read.

Thank you again for the ARC copy NetGalley!

I love the cover. It made me look into the book. This wasn't really for me. I'm a big fan of horror, but this missed the mark for me. Thanks to Netgalley for the opportunity to read this book

The horror parts get 5 out of 5. The not-horror parts are too detailed filled and could easily be shortened about 50%. Thanks to NetGalley, the publisher and the author for a chance to read this eARC in exchange for an honest review. All opinions are my own.

For the most part, I enjoyed the book! As soon as I saw this cover, I knew I needed to read it. Give me a creepy creature any day, it’s so compelling.

The Street Between The Pines is very descriptive, all the time. I think this worked well for some scenes — being gruesomely descriptive in horror, especially deaths or close calls is super effective. This is where J.J Alo’s writing works the best, I think!

Where this lost me was in some of the non-horror sequences. Giving precise directions on where our main character, Curtis, is driving, though, and which roads he turned on lost me a bit. I also think some of the descriptions were ‘clinical’ for lack of better term. I would love to see more visceral descriptions, especially when talking about how the monster kills. I didn’t take anatomy! I don’t know the body parts Alo is referring to all of the time and instead of painting a vivid picture in my mind, it lost me a bit.

The pacing felt overall good, all of our main cast is very fleshed out. Curtis, Amy and Wes all feel real. Their problems feel real.

Overall, very solid 3.5! I liked this book, just the way some of the descriptions were handled didn’t 100% work for me. Very interested in Misery Plaza, releasing in April!

I’ve seen some fairly meh reviews about this book but I personally really enjoyed it. I read a lot of Fantasy (outside of all the horror novels I read) so I really enjoy books with a lot of in depth detail and I feel like this book had more than the typical horror genre. I also may be a bit bias because the amount of things I had in common with this main character was more than usual. I happen to be a military vet that specialized in the same electronics area as Curtis (just in a different branch). I also struggle with PTSD so that was easy to relate to as well. The pop culture references such as music and movies are also things I listen to and watch. Lastly I also have a special needs son.

I really enjoyed the swapped povs for some of the chapters as well. It was fun to see the creature through others eyes and not just the MMC.

I will say I had an idea about the cause of everything before I got to the end but they didn’t make me enjoy it any less.

Overall I thought it was a fun read! Plus cats. Cats are great.

I'm not sure why this book didn't work better for me, but it was alright. The story was like a cheesy, fun horror movie, but something was missing. I kept trying to imagine the creature and I just had rodents of unusual size in my head the whole time (even though this one is not really that). It was a quick read, there were some gorey parts but for some reason as I was reading them I kept thinking why am I not loving this more? I don't really know, can't pinpoint what is missing for me. It was a fine read, but not amazing.

Curtis Reynolds is trying his best to keep his marriage and household afloat after a DUI accident that took the life of a young woman. Making matters worse is the fact that his house has fallen into land that is being taken for “eminent domain” and the offer on the house is less than he owes. What Curtis and his neighbors are soon to discover that someone or something else has decided to become an inhabitant in the neighborhood. What follows is a creature feature worthy of the SyFy network. I feel like for me this was a 2.5 star read. It wasn’t a bad novel but I feel like some of the internal monologue was a little too flushed out and wordy. I feel like there was potential here but the plot was somewhat recycled for me. I did enjoy the cats in the novel and it came as no surprise that the author is a cat lover.

This was a very, very detailed oriented book. Almost to a Stephen King level of detail. Monster horror isn’t usually my thing but I really enjoyed this read. The gore was excellent.

Thank you to NetGalley for this ARC. All thoughts are my own.

As someone who is pushing themselves to read outside there comfort zone, I will state that this is not my usual story. But truly what hooked me was the fabulous cover art! Its eye catching and hard to look away from. While the writing is very detailed with a rich atmosphere, I fear i would have like more character development. These characters fell flat for me at times.

I'm going to rate this book a 2.5 stars. potentially would be higher to a true horror story lover.

First off, this book was phenomenal! This book hooked me. For some reason, it gave me Stephen King's "The Mist" and Resident Evil vibes. If you want a good psychological thriller, with some horror in it then this is the book for you.
This book has deeper meanings than you realize at first, and the ENDING had me gasping! (thank goodness for the afterword, though). I give this book a 5 star rating and can't wait to purchase it for my physical collection. I will also be giving a review on my YouTube channel, Life With Holly, as well as my TikTok, life.with.holly
Thank you to NetGalley, JJ Alo, and the publication team for letting my read this ARC.

UGH--so many mixed feelings about this book.
First, I can SMELL this book. Why does literally every character smoke? Gross.
Second, I felt like this book couldn't decide if it wanted to be a horror novel or a deep dive into broken relationships. There was way too much thinking about past wrongs and drama.
Third, some stuff just made no sense. Why does the main character have visions? Do they have any point? It adds to the feeling that this book is two different books spliced together by chunky black thread.
Thanks to NetGalley and SNE horror for the ARC

This was such a good quick read! Once I picked it up I couldn’t / didn’t want to put it down. If you want a good x files type book then you need to pick this book up!

Meh overall.
Annoying characters, and the plot never fully developed.
The scary parts seemed forced,
Not my kinda good.

2.5 stars. Thank you to NetGalley for this ARC. All thoughts are my own.

This had the bones to be interesting but ultimately I was bored throughout the entirety of the novel.

Stylistically, I disliked a lot of the word choice and felt like it needed another round of edits. For example, “ocular sockets” was used instead of “eyes” and “breaks” was used instead of “brakes”. I also felt like there was too much description and detail. It was paragraphs and paragraphs of detail that felt unnecessary to the story. The pacing was extremely slow and while it’s possible it was bogged down by the amount of details, I think it was just a slow paced story.

The monster intro was spectacularly cool, and I thought I’d be in for an action packed horror/thriller but ultimately, the action only made up like 10% of the story. I will say, it did remind me a lot of Stephen King’s brand of horror which I think was part of the intent, and it was well executed. Also, while I didn’t like Curtis as a character, I do think he was complex and well developed, just unlikeable.

The cover art for The Street Between the Pines by J.J. Alo is amazing and what drew me in. I’m fond of supernatural horror, but this one missed the mark for me.

The book opens with a horrific scene that drew me in, but the pacing was not great. I enjoyed the atmosphere, but I had a hard time with the plot and the breaks from the main story. Additionally, the main character was extremely unlikable, which doesn’t have to be a deal breaker but so much was from his perspective that I couldn’t get into it.

Other readers could enjoy this greatly. The atmosphere is amazing, and if that is what you care most about you could love this. If you like supernatural horror and don’t mind unlikable characters or an odd pace this is the book for you.