Review: One House Left

One House Left by Vincent Ralph
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

Thanks to Netgalley and St. Martin's for the pre-release copy of One House Left by Vincent Ralph. Here are my honest thoughts.

This one was a lot of fun, but it also had some pacing issues. I felt like there was a lot of repetition -

Family life: parents doing their thing, brother fighting and coming home late, sister crying on the phone, oh, I can't tell my family that I have friends

Friend group: I need to stay away. I don't want to. I'm gonna stay away. Okay, I'll hang out.

School: Oh look, another note/article.

All of this repetition made the first half of the book a bit of a slog, even though there were some interesting things sprinkled in to help make it still hold a bit of my attention, and I mean the urban legend parts, of course.

Once the 75% mark hit though, the story accelerated really fast, and skyrocketed straight towards an ending that was impossible to see coming because of the unreliable nature of the storytelling method.

All in all, it was really fun when it was fun, but the pacing issue knocked off a star for me. Recommended for Vincent Ralph fans, YA horror fans, and slow burns.

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Review: Angel of Vengeance

Angel of Vengeance by Douglas Preston
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

Thanks to Netgalley and Grand Central for the pre-release copy of Angel of Vengeance. Below is my honest review.

Let's get one thing straight here: I'm a LONG-TIME Pendergast stan... like, 20 years I've been following this series kind of fan.

Angel of Vengeance ties up the trilogy started with Bloodless and continued in The Cabinet of Dr. Leng, and it concludes with a BANG. I really can't spoil anything here, but this one definitely brought the trilogy to a satisfying close. There's only one small thing that bothers me, and I can't say what that is because I don't want to spoil even the tiniest of things, especially because all in all, it's not really a huge deal.

I love the twists and turns in this one, and how they have to outsmart their vile ancestor with schemes within schemes. I love Constance's humanity in this one - her unwavering thirst for vengeance and desire to protect her loved ones. I loved Diogenes' semi-redemptive arc in this one... but seriously, Doug and Linc, we're going to need a new spinoff because of the events of this book.

I just really loved this one. Coupled with The Cabinet of Dr. Leng as two parts of a story that is set up by the machine introduced in Bloodless, this book duo really shows that even after all of these years, Preston and Child are still at the top of their game (even if I still think Bloodless is one of my least favorites in the entire series, these two more than made up for that).

Highly recommended, but seriously, don't start here. This is book 22. Not a good place to jump in, fellow readers.



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Review: The Pairing

The Pairing by Casey McQuiston
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

Thanks to St. Martin's and Netgalley for the advanced reader copy. Below is my honest review.

I really enjoyed this one. Casey McQuiston just knows how to write queer love in a way that brings joy, and I love that so much.

This one had two bi main characters, so there was lots of love to go around! LOL.

While there was some drama, because of course there has to be, you could feel the character's pull towards each other like gravity and the backdrop of touring Europe was perfection. My biggest gripes were the detailed wine discussions, the nonstop misunderstandings due to the body count competition, and the constant "oh, everyone in all these countries clearly want to hop in bed with me!"

All in all, another solid book from McQuiston. I'll definitely be reading whatever they put out next!

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Review: Arkangel

Arkangel by James Rollins
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

Thanks to Netgalley and William Morrow for the pre-release copy of Arkangel by James Rollins. Below is my honest review.

First, if you're reading this review and you haven't read the rest of this series... what are you waiting for? Stop here and go on then! This is book 18, for goodness' sake!

18 books in and this is still one of my favorite series. I've followed it since the release of Map of Bones, and I'll continue to follow up until it ends (which hopefully is a LONG LONG time from now). (PS, in addition to these 18 books, some of the characters that join this series along the way are from his other works, like Subterranean and Deep Fathom, etc)

This one has some WILD stuff: lots of ice, Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade style puzzle rooms, carnivorous plants (TERRIFYING), and lots of shootouts and chases and danger.

Highly recommend this series. It's so much fun. You can certainly jump in here if you want, but I'd definitely beseech you to start at the beginning. You'll miss so so so much if you don't.

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