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henrygravesprince's review against another edition
dark
emotional
mysterious
sad
tense
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
2.5
Content Warnings
Graphic: Ableism, Hate crime, Injury/Injury detail, Mental illness, Religious bigotry, Schizophrenia/Psychosis , Murder, Pregnancy, and Rape
Moderate: Suicide attempt, Bullying, Suicidal thoughts, and Toxic friendship
Minor: Physical abuse, Abandonment, Death of parent, and Grief
Ableism against Autistic & Intellectually Disabled character including demonization,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
lanidon's review against another edition
slow-paced
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
1.0
Trash. Stop making mentally ill people villains. Boring, slow, unsatisfying ending. I find it genuinely immoral to call this horror
Content Warnings
Graphic: Blood, Death, Gore, Grief, Mental illness, Murder, Pregnancy, Religious bigotry, Schizophrenia/Psychosis , and Violence
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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