Hello Everyone :)
I pray today finds you all doing well, and I want to thank you all for joining me for another book review here on The Preppy Book Princess.
If I'm being honest, I do still enjoy reading scary stories somedays. This is especially true at certain times of the year, when they just seem so atmospheric and moody for the season.
That being said, I mean scary Christian friendly type of stories, not horror or ghost stories or the like.
One of my favorite authors to pick up for these kind of stories is always Jaime Jo Wright, and her recent release was one of my most anticipated reads for last year.
I hope you'll keep reading below for my full review to find out whether or not I thought this one lived up to the hype.
The Souls of Lost Lake by Jaime Jo Wright:
Source: Library
Publisher: Bethany House
Publication Date: April 5th, 2022
Genre: Christian Fiction/Thriller/Mystery/Dual Timeline
Synopsis:
Wren Blythe has long enjoyed being among the Northwoods, helping her father with programming at a youth camp. But when a little girl in the area goes missing, an all-out search ensues, reviving the decades-old campfire story of Ava Coons, the murderess, who still roams the woods. Joining the search, Wren stumbles upon the Coons cabin ruins and a rotting porcelain doll. But even more terrifying is seeing her name etched on the doll's foot like a sinister omen.
In 1930, Ava Coons has spent the last ten years carrying the mantle of mystery since she emerged from the forest as an eight-year-old girl, spattered with blood, dragging a logger's axe. She has accepted she'll never remember what happened to her family. When a member of the town of Tempter's Creek is murdered, rumors spread that Ava's secret is more malicious than previously imagined.
Both women discover that to save the innocent, they must face an insidious evil.
(synopsis from goodreads)
My Review:
I'm coming at this review as someone who has been a huge fan of Jaime Jo Wright right from her very first novel. I've come to expect great things from her books over the years, and The Souls of Lost Lake was one of my most highly anticipated releases for last year. Unfortunately, this one ended up not being anything like what I was expecting, and I hope it's not indicative of what's to come from either this author or this publisher in the future.
I will say for positives that the writing was fantastic as always, and I did enjoy the fact that the mystery kept me guessing right until the end. I always find that this author is one of the masters of the dual timeline, and I love the fact that she can write two distinct character POV's over a huge time gap without ever leaving the reader confused as to which voice is which.
Unfortunately, while I've come to love the spooky and scary elements of this author's stories over the years, this one went way too far for me. It didn't read like a Christian mystery, and instead felt very much like a secular horror or slasher type of novel. I was very uncomfortable with just how gruesome most of the content was, and it seemed highly out of a place in a novel being marketed within the Christian market. I entirely avoid these kind of stories within the secular genre, and if I'd known what I was picking up, I honestly would have passed right over it.
Perhaps, however, the biggest letdown of all was that in a story as dark as this one was, there were next to no faith element to bring some light. Neither main character (Ava and Wren) ever came across as someone who has learned to depend on their faith, and the faith element overall seemed superficial and kind of like an afterthought.
There were also quite a few triggers included in this one that I wasn't expecting, and like so many other reviewers, I didn't like the message that seemed to be implied on mental health being an acceptable reason for horrendous acts to have been committed.
Final Rating: 3/5.
Unfortunately this one was a miss for me, and that honestly makes me sad because I've truly loved every other novel Jaime Jo Wright has ever written.
Thanks so much for reading guys! I hope you all have a great rest of your day :)
This is not a sponsored post. All thoughts and opinions are my own. The photo does not belong to me, and all rights to the respective owners.
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