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The Lost Village by: Camilla Sten ARC Review

Rating: 3.5/5

*I was given an eARC of this book by the publisher in exchange for an honest review*


Happy pub day to The Lost Village! When I found this book on Netgalley, the tag lines are what really grabbed my attention. It's touted to be like "The Blair Witch Project meets Midsommar." I loved Midsommar, I have yet to watch The Blair Witch Project, but I recognize the vibe. There are some big problems that I had with the book, but the story itself was pretty solid. Let's explore my thoughts.


Summary from Amazon:


Documentary filmmaker Alice Lindstedt has been obsessed with the vanishing residents of the old mining town, dubbed “The Lost Village,” since she was a little girl. In 1959, her grandmother’s entire family disappeared in this mysterious tragedy, and ever since, the unanswered questions surrounding the only two people who were left―a woman stoned to death in the town center and an abandoned newborn―have plagued her. She’s gathered a small crew of friends in the remote village to make a film about what really happened.


But there will be no turning back.


Not long after they’ve set up camp, mysterious things begin to happen. Equipment is destroyed. People go missing. As doubt breeds fear and their very minds begin to crack, one thing becomes startlingly clear to Alice:


They are not alone.


They’re looking for the truth…

But what if it finds them first?



So, the story itself was really good. It's the kind of book that grabs your attention pretty early on and keeps it the whole way through. The book is told through dual-timelines and both timelines develop quickly so as to lead up to the big reveal at the same time. I thought this was a very clever way to tell the story, because it allows the reader the ability to completely grasp the entire context of the story. It doesn't leave much to the imagination, which I like in a horror/thriller. Sten did a great job in building up the environment and the setting for maximum creep factor. The scary scenes were really well executed, this is the kind of book that makes the hairs raise on the back of your neck. Once things really start picking up, it's hard to put down. I read the last 30% of the book in one sitting, because there was just no way I could stop reading. The horrific scenes described were very visceral, it let you understand just how gruesome some of the deaths were (I will not get more specific so as to avoid any real spoilers). It wasn't overly long either, which is good, there is nothing worse than a drawn out thriller. The length allowed it to maintain the suspenseful pace without the reader becoming too accustomed to the creepy atmosphere.


So what didn't I like? Well, the writing style was just so not for me. It took me so long to get used to the way the author chose to write this book. The modern timeline (where I would argue most of the story takes place) is written in first person, with an active voice. This honestly made it feel like I was reading fan fiction. Because so many books are written in third person, it's what I'm more comfortable reading. It took me a very long time to get used to the writing. My other primary issue with the book was that the main characters felt like they were pretty two-dimensional. Even the main character felt like she had very little character development. You'd think that with everything that happens in the book she'd experience quite a bit of growth. Fighting for your survival will do that to you, but not this protagonist. It just made the characters just generally unlikeable. I didn't ever necessarily care much about their thoughts, or opinions because they just felt like 2-D clichés.


As a whole though, if you can get over the writing style, the story itself is really good. It was a great, creepy book with enough action and mystery to keep your attention the whole way through. It has it's downsides, but a 3.5 isn't a bad rating. It is generally worth the read if you like books with a found-footage kind of vibe, complete with some high-key cult behavior. It's especially creepy because it's realistic, this kind of thing can and does happen. Thank you so much to Minotaur books for allowing me to read an ARC of this book! The Lost Village by: Camilla Sten is available everywhere today (03/23/21)!



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