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onemorepagecrew's review against another edition
challenging
dark
mysterious
tense
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
4.0
The Lost Village, written by Swedish author Camilla Sten and translated to English by Alexandra Fleming, helped solidify my enjoyment of Scandinavian horror and suspense novels. In this story, a documentary filmmaker returns to an abandoned mining town where her grandmother’s family disappeared from long ago. She has brought a few friends along to help make the film and while they are there, strange things begin happening and they suspect they are not alone. I don’t want to give away too much of the plot or characters, so I’ll leave it there.
This novel had the right level of suspense for me and enough mystery that I was never quite sure if I was dealing with supernatural powers, which I enjoyed. There is violence and there is suspense and I’d classify it as psychological tension more than outright fear. The author weaves in religious cults, mental health, and there is reference to suicide so read with care. My only small issue was the notion that a whole town could disappear a remain a mystery for decades and when they reveal what happened (no spoilers, promise) it seems that it would have uncovered long ago.
When researching this author I found that her mother is also an author with many published novels and Camilla herself has a new novel coming out in 2022. It’s called The Resting Place and I’m looking forward to reading it as well as perusing her prior novels. Side note – if you’re enjoying the television series Yellowjackets I think you will like this novel!
Content Warnings
Minor: Suicide, Violence, and Sexual violence
mongoose's review against another edition
challenging
dark
emotional
mysterious
sad
tense
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
2.75
Content Warnings
Graphic: Suicidal thoughts, Suicide attempt, Suicide, 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
creepycrawlybookworm's review against another edition
challenging
dark
emotional
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? Yes
4.0
This was a great audio read, that had me hooked quickly. There were some more predictable plot points, but others that I didn't expect too! I became more invested in the characters as the story progressed, even though not all were loveable, that isn't an issue for me particularly, as I'd rather read about flawed, interesting characters, than sugar-coated ones.
There was also a good mix of creepiness and suspense amongst the characters themselves, as well as in the town, and it worked well alongside the group dynamic and documentary parts of the story.
There was also a good mix of creepiness and suspense amongst the characters themselves, as well as in the town, and it worked well alongside the group dynamic and documentary parts of the story.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Murder, Gore, Mental illness, Schizophrenia/Psychosis , Death, and Torture
Moderate: Suicidal thoughts, Suicide, Sexual assault, Emotional abuse, Religious bigotry, Medical content, Blood, and Ableism
Minor: Cursing
caidyn's review against another edition
dark
mysterious
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.5
I received an ARC in exchange for an honest review!
When I requested this book, I wasn't quite sure what I was getting into. Just that it looked really creepy. This is a one-sitter kind of book. I read it in two because I was too tired to keep reading, but it's one that you want to binge through. It's told in two perspectives, one from Alice in the present about their investigation of a village where 900 inhabitants went missing and the second from a woman at the heart of that fateful day to show what happened.
This would have been a solid 4-star read, but I wasn't in love with the mental health rep in it. Just because someone is taking an anti-psychotic, it doesn't mean they are psychotic. I get that it's a common misconception, but it wasn't challenged in the story. Not to mention some other mental health things that were in the story.
When I requested this book, I wasn't quite sure what I was getting into. Just that it looked really creepy. This is a one-sitter kind of book. I read it in two because I was too tired to keep reading, but it's one that you want to binge through. It's told in two perspectives, one from Alice in the present about their investigation of a village where 900 inhabitants went missing and the second from a woman at the heart of that fateful day to show what happened.
This would have been a solid 4-star read, but I wasn't in love with the mental health rep in it. Just because someone is taking an anti-psychotic, it doesn't mean they are psychotic. I get that it's a common misconception, but it wasn't challenged in the story. Not to mention some other mental health things that were in the story.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Blood, Death, Medical content, and Mental illness
Moderate: Adult/minor relationship, Sexual assault, Rape, Pedophilia, and Suicide
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