Review: One Was Lost by Natalie Richards

Title: One Was Lost 

Author: Natalie D. Richards
Publisher: Sourcebooks Fires 

Publishing Date: October 4th, 2016

Pages: 308
Genre: YA Thriller Suspense Horror

Series: Stand Alone
Source:  Audio

 

Damaged. Deceptive. Dangerous. Darling. Are they labels or a warning? The answer could cost Sera everything.

Murder, justice, and revenge were so not a part of the plan when Sera set out on her senior camping trip. After all, hiking through the woods is supposed to be safe and uneventful.

Then one morning the group wakes up groggy, confused, and with words scrawled on their wrists: Damaged. Deceptive. Dangerous. Darling. Their supplies? Destroyed. Half their group? Gone. Their chaperone? Unconscious. Worst of all, they find four dolls acting out a murder—dolls dressed just like them.

Suddenly it's clear; they're being hunted. And with the only positive word on her wrist, Sera falls under suspicion…

I was a little leery going into this book. The Premise sounds exciting. It's a horror. The cover is creepy and I just wanted to read it but I have read two books by this author, one I loved, one not so much. Well, this book fits into the category of one I loved. This book was just what I needed to get my horror blood racing. I truly enjoyed the chills and thrills of this book. 

Six teenagers and two teachers go for a hike in the woods for a class trip. Sera thought this would be a great time to clear her head get away from the boy she can't stop thinking of. But that boy, Lucas, decided he needed a getaway too. So Here she is in the middle of nowhere with her crush. If that doesn't make things bad what about the group getting separated. Two girls and the teacher on one side of the river, Sera, Lucas, and two other teens, and one teacher on the other side of the river. When the Sera and the other wake, their teacher is out cold and they overslept, the food and water are gone, the phones going. Their clothes, gone. Everything is destroyed. They are stranged in the woods with a knocked out teacher... oh and there is a number 3 in the dirt and a word written on each of their wrists. To make things worse, really bad things start to happen and it seems there is a killer stalking them in the woods. 

I have lots of thoughts about this book and they all lead back to this... I wanted a horror, a thriller, I got one. There were some flaws I guess with the book but I didn't seem to mind. In my opinion and experience in reading horror and thrillers, it's sometimes hard to find good characters or good plot. I seem to find one or the other or just so-so for both. I read horrors and thrillers for the feelings. Sometimes I need a book that just gives me the creeps. This book did that and it was just what I was looking for. 

The characters and the plot weren't bad. The lost in the woods was fun. The survival and the stalker making things difficult. That was very fun. The reveal... it was so-so as it always is for me. It is hard for me to find a reveal to completely surprise me and/or wow me. The reveal never bothers me. I don't care if was set up well or perfectly executed. I don't care if it makes complete sense. I mean let's face it psycho killers rarely make sense right. I mean they are all crazy and psychotic, so does it need to make sense to me.... only a little. 

This book read like an old teen horror movie or book from the nineties. Which I just love. So this book made me feel good all the way around... well except for when it was making me tense. Which it did. The suspense was there for sure. It was a little nailbiting for me. It was also pretty clever on hiding who did it. Now did it surprise me... no, I figured it out right before it was revealed... but I wasn't trying too hard. I just wanted to enjoy the ride. There wasn't really too many hints throughout the book to help figure things out. The readers are just as much in the dark as the characters. I like that. I tend to try and figure things out and sometimes that takes away from the enjoyment of the read. SO I was so happy just to enjoy the ride. 

So on to the characters. I liked all of them well enough. They filled their part in the story but they weren't anything I would write home about. I liked the main character, Sera, enough. She was a bit annoying at times when she goes on and on about not becoming her mother. Her mother left her and her father for another man. She followed her heart as Sera sees it. Her heart controlled all and Sera is determined not to let her heart control her head. To me though it made her a little cold. She wouldn't allow herself to fall for a boy. Oh, get over it. Really though that was the only thing that really drove me nuts about her. I mean she made some stupid choices but it's a horror story... they didn't make stupid decisions, there would be no story. 

Lucas I really liked. I found him charming and funny and sweet. He tried to hide it behind the bad boy persona but only because that is how everyone chooses to see him anyways. I liked the way he took charge, tried to think things through, and tried to keep everyone safe. There were times I felt his intentions were too much Sera based where there were others out there to think about too, but in his defense, no one knew what was going on and who was behind the craziness. 

The other two teens that were with Sera and Lucas, Jude and Emily. There were pretty cool in there own way. Emily had issues for sure but she was smart. I mean really smart and I really think others should have listened to her more... but she didn't know how to assert herself. Jude was a bit hard to read at times. he tried to keep his life, his feelings, himself private. He didn't need an audience for his life. I did like that about him. He just needed to learn to trust a little bit in a situation where trust may be the only thing to keep you alive and get you out.

So the characters likable but not totally loveable... except for Lucas... the story was written well. I loved the writing style. The pace was just right for this type of read. The plot was between original and predictable. The suspense... highly rated. All in all, I read this book for a good horror- suspense. I got that and I am completely happy with the experience. 

Loved it! It was just the right of chill and thrill. 

Lifelong Ohioan, Natalie D. Richards, spent many years applying her writing skills to stunningly
boring business documents. Fortunately, she realized she’s much better at making things up, and
has been writing for teens ever since. A champion of aspiring authors, Richards is a frequent
speaker at schools, libraries, and writing groups. She lives in Ohio with a Yeti, a Wookie (her
dogs) and her wonderful husband and children.