The Lost Village by Camilla Sten [book review]

The Lost Village book Summary:

The Lost Village follows Alice Lindstedt in Silvertjarn, Sweden. Alice is an inspiring filmmaker. That’s what she went to school for and that’s what she continues to want to do. For the longest time, she has wanted to do a film at the well-known Lost Village. She’s not really sure why no one has gone there to film but Alice is more than happy to be the first. But her group has to be careful. Not only are the buildings there old and haven’t really been taken care of, but the place is also considered haunted. Considering the whole town disappeared why wouldn’t it be haunted?

Quote:
"Pure hearts have nothing to hide--neither from God nor each other."

What I thought of The Lost Village:

First off I want to state that I actually really like Alice’s character. She’s real and very relatable. I can honestly see us being friends if she were real. I actually admire a character like her too. Growing up I actually wanted to become a filmmaker once I was done with school. I wanted to make horror movies because 1) I love them and 2) there aren’t very many females who make them. Unfortunately, I let people talk me out of it since film really is a hard thing to get into.

So, I actually got an advanced copy of this book and I can’t even begin to explain how excited I was about it. It was one of my most anticipated reads for 2021. Why was it my most anticipated read? One reason is that I love the cover. It’s creepy and caught my attention. That leads to the second reason.. I love horror books even though I haven’t been reading many lately. The third reason is that I always (not sure why) love horror books that follow a film crew or a podcast.

Plus, the storyline caught my attention. The idea of a whole town disappearing really intrigued me. How could a whole town disappear and no one is able to find them?

What I liked

What I like about The Lost Village are the characters. The characters are realistic. They jump off the page and are three-dimensional. One issue with most horror books is that there’s really no character depth. Typically I can’t relate to them and I don’t even really care whether they die or not. Harsh, I know but it’s the truth. The Lost Village makes you care for them and their well-being.

Another thing I enjoyed is the creepy setting. I don’t know if I would ever want to go to a place like this especially alone. The fact that the place has absolutely no cell service is another reason why I wouldn’t want to go there. It would suck for something to happen and not be able to call anyone. The storyline keeps you guessing and ultimately keeps you reading.  

What I disliked

What I disliked about The Lost Village kind of outweighs what I did like about it.

The storyline is a slow burn story which means you don’t really get a lot of information. That’s understandable when it comes to a horror story because you want the “surprise” to be at the end of the book. I feel like because this book is a slow burn there aren’t really enough creepy aspects to the story. There are a few parts that are a bit creepy and really made you want to figure out what’s going on, but there isn’t enough in my opinion.

On top of the story not really being as creepy as I thought it would be I’m also not really happy with how things ended. I won’t give any spoilers but the ending was a bit of a disappointment and not what I was expecting when I started this book. I guess I was kind of hoping something a little creepier and something that hasn’t quite been done before.

If you’re here I’m assuming you’re a fan of horror books and movies. How do you guys feel about horror books and movies that have in-depth characters?

If you enjoyed this review then make sure to check out my review for The Haunting of Gallagher Hotel.