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beholderess's review against another edition
dark
mysterious
tense
medium-paced
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
2.5
Content Warnings
Graphic: Murder, Mental illness, and Ableism
Moderate: Death
Minor: Alcoholism, Suicide attempt, and Self harm
archaicrobin's review against another edition
dark
emotional
mysterious
reflective
sad
tense
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
1.0
I have a real pet peeve about publishers marketing books incorrectly. This novel was described as a mix of Blair Witch and Midsommar and all I can say is how? There was nothing paranormal about this book at all, nothing creepy or eerie, it’s just another mediocre “crazy” cult book. I figured out the twist less than an hour into the audiobook, so the whole reading experience was me hoping I was wrong because the “twist” is dumb. I was so excited to read this one, and despite some disappointing reviews I decided to still give it a try, I shouldn’t have.
Alice is attached to this old village where her grandmother grew up. Alice heard all these stories and is enthralled with figuring out what happened to everyone in the village. Who stoned this lady to death? Where did everyone go? Why? To answer these questions Alice gathers a film crew made of friends and acquaintances with limited experience to travel to this town and film a documentary trying to figure out what happened.
Weird but mundane things start happening, none of the characters are like able or even seem like actual people. Alice is also absolutely the worst, no redeeming qualities at all in my opinion. As the gang bumbles along they start to realize they might not be alone. The story jumps back and forth between Now and Then. You see how this town starts to turn into a cult, kind of. It’s more like everyone wakes up one day and decides to just be psychos. The author tries to create a scenario where this whole cult thing makes sense, but it’s just too weak. “They all lost their jobs and this new hot guy says he’ll be their hot priest so now they’re a cult” isn’t really a good set up for me…
I did not enjoy this, I was disappointed and just kinda irritated honestly. Positives? The audiobook was great, very well done and the writing was also great. It was just everything else that sucked.
Alice is attached to this old village where her grandmother grew up. Alice heard all these stories and is enthralled with figuring out what happened to everyone in the village. Who stoned this lady to death? Where did everyone go? Why? To answer these questions Alice gathers a film crew made of friends and acquaintances with limited experience to travel to this town and film a documentary trying to figure out what happened.
Weird but mundane things start happening, none of the characters are like able or even seem like actual people. Alice is also absolutely the worst, no redeeming qualities at all in my opinion. As the gang bumbles along they start to realize they might not be alone. The story jumps back and forth between Now and Then. You see how this town starts to turn into a cult, kind of. It’s more like everyone wakes up one day and decides to just be psychos. The author tries to create a scenario where this whole cult thing makes sense, but it’s just too weak. “They all lost their jobs and this new hot guy says he’ll be their hot priest so now they’re a cult” isn’t really a good set up for me…
I did not enjoy this, I was disappointed and just kinda irritated honestly. Positives? The audiobook was great, very well done and the writing was also great. It was just everything else that sucked.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Abandonment, Alcohol, Alcoholism, Blood, Body horror, Death, Grief, Mental illness, Murder, Schizophrenia/Psychosis , and Violence
madarauchiha's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
mysterious
sad
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? N/A
- Loveable characters? N/A
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.0
❤️ 🧡 💛 💚 💙 💜 my about / byf / CW info carrd: uchiha-madara 💜 💙 💚 💛 🧡 ❤️
It's a passable horror story. It's not so much supernatural horror as it is religious and human horror. It's definitely tense, with some scary parts. There's more gore-horror than scary-horror, if that makes sense. I felt like it could have used more paranoia inducing stalking / hunting scenes. Otherwise it was pretty satisfactory. The ending was solid and answered every question posed. Despite the content warnings, this isn't too tortureporn-y. The writing and translation was clear and enjoying too.
Content warnings.
minor alcohol use, alcoholism, asphyxiation, blood, bone fractures, cancer, child abuse, confinement, death, emetophobia, infertility, jonestown massacre, mass suicide, miscarriage, murder, pedophilia, pregnancy, rape, self harm, sexual violence, smoking tobacco, suicide ideation, whorephobic language [used twice]
medium ableism towards person with autism, child abuse, childbirth, cults, emetophobia, medical content, mental illness, pregnancy, psychosis, sexual assault, suicide, suicide attempt
major ableism, arson? / explosions, cults, death, gore, murder, religion catholicism
It's a passable horror story. It's not so much supernatural horror as it is religious and human horror. It's definitely tense, with some scary parts. There's more gore-horror than scary-horror, if that makes sense. I felt like it could have used more paranoia inducing stalking / hunting scenes. Otherwise it was pretty satisfactory. The ending was solid and answered every question posed. Despite the content warnings, this isn't too tortureporn-y. The writing and translation was clear and enjoying too.
Content warnings.
minor alcohol use, alcoholism, asphyxiation, blood, bone fractures, cancer, child abuse, confinement, death, emetophobia, infertility, jonestown massacre, mass suicide, miscarriage, murder, pedophilia, pregnancy, rape, self harm, sexual violence, smoking tobacco, suicide ideation, whorephobic language [used twice]
medium ableism towards person with autism, child abuse, childbirth, cults, emetophobia, medical content, mental illness, pregnancy, psychosis, sexual assault, suicide, suicide attempt
major ableism, arson? / explosions, cults, death, gore, murder, religion catholicism
Content Warnings
Graphic: Ableism, Fire/Fire injury, Death, Gore, and Murder
Moderate: Ableism, Abandonment, Medical content, Mental illness, Schizophrenia/Psychosis , Sexual assault, Suicidal thoughts, and Suicide
Minor: Alcohol, Alcoholism, Blood, Cancer, Child abuse, Confinement, Death, Vomit, Infertility, Suicide, Miscarriage, Murder, Pedophilia, Pregnancy, Rape, Sexual violence, Drug use, and Suicidal thoughts
caseydoten's review against another edition
dark
mysterious
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
2.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Death, Blood, and Violence
Moderate: Mental illness
Minor: Alcoholism, Pregnancy, Physical abuse, and Murder
wherethewildreadsare's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
mysterious
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
4.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Mental illness and Religious bigotry
Minor: Adult/minor relationship, Alcoholism, and Sexual assault
literarilythrilling's review against another edition
dark
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
2.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Death, Mental illness, Ableism, and Suicidal thoughts
Moderate: Sexual assault, Rape, Sexual violence, and Body horror
Minor: Alcoholism
thrillofthepage's review against another edition
dark
mysterious
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
4.5
This book was everything I wanted it to be...it was creepy, atmospheric, and spine tingling. As soon as I saw the comparison to The Blair Witch Project I requested it immediately!
The Lost Village follows Alice, a documentary filmmaker, and her small crew to an old, abandoned mining village in Sweden. Alice longs to find out what happened to the almost 900 people who vanished from the village in 1959, including her great-grandmother’s entire family. Everything was left as though the townspeople would return, but 60 years later Silvertjärn stands empty. The only people left in the village were a woman tied to a pole, stoned to death, and a newborn baby.
The setting was absolutely incredible and the way Sten crafted the village made it a character itself. As soon as the crew saw the town I got goosebumps just from the anticipation of what was to come. The vivid descriptions of the homes, the church, and schoolhouse were so creepy and kept me on the edge of my seat. Books where the setting is its own character are some of my favorite and this was no exception.
The Lost Village is told through dual timelines, Then and Now. For a majority of the book I loved the Now timeline because that’s where the action was. However, the closer I got to the end the more invested I was in the past timeline. It was fascinating to witness the changes in the village and I thought the reveal was perfect.
If I had one critique it would be that I wanted a little more from the ending. I liked the ending, but it did seem a little far fetched and I did figure it out. This was the only thing that kept The Lost Village from being a five star read for me.
I loved this book and think it would make an amazing Netflix series! If you enjoy spooky, sinister stories then I highly recommend The Lost Village by Camilla Sten!
The Lost Village follows Alice, a documentary filmmaker, and her small crew to an old, abandoned mining village in Sweden. Alice longs to find out what happened to the almost 900 people who vanished from the village in 1959, including her great-grandmother’s entire family. Everything was left as though the townspeople would return, but 60 years later Silvertjärn stands empty. The only people left in the village were a woman tied to a pole, stoned to death, and a newborn baby.
The setting was absolutely incredible and the way Sten crafted the village made it a character itself. As soon as the crew saw the town I got goosebumps just from the anticipation of what was to come. The vivid descriptions of the homes, the church, and schoolhouse were so creepy and kept me on the edge of my seat. Books where the setting is its own character are some of my favorite and this was no exception.
The Lost Village is told through dual timelines, Then and Now. For a majority of the book I loved the Now timeline because that’s where the action was. However, the closer I got to the end the more invested I was in the past timeline. It was fascinating to witness the changes in the village and I thought the reveal was perfect.
If I had one critique it would be that I wanted a little more from the ending. I liked the ending, but it did seem a little far fetched and I did figure it out. This was the only thing that kept The Lost Village from being a five star read for me.
I loved this book and think it would make an amazing Netflix series! If you enjoy spooky, sinister stories then I highly recommend The Lost Village by Camilla Sten!
Content Warnings
Graphic: Death, Murder, Torture, and Violence
Minor: Adult/minor relationship, Alcoholism, Blood, and Grief
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