Thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for an ARC in exchange for my honest feedback.

I loved this reimagining of Narnia and was hooked from the first to last page.

WOW!! I absolutely loved this book! The story was beautiful. I fell in love with the main characters of this book and the relationships created throughout the story. I read to escape into a world where anything is possible, and this book did exactly what I want to achieve every time I read. Thank you Meg Shaffer for introducing me to The Lost Story.

I received this book as an ARC read in exchange for an honest review. Thank you to NetGalley, the author, and the publisher.

Thank you to the publisher for the advanced copy of one of my most anticipated reads of 2024!

When I read The Wishing Game last year I didn’t think any book could create the same magic and wonder of that book. Meg Shaffer did it again with The Lost Story. It felt like a grown up Chronicles of Narnia but with wonderfully unexpected LGBT romance.

I love any book with magic/fantasy aspects, found family, familial issues and great dialogue.

I loved everything about this novel and can’t wait to buy and re-read the final edition!

Jeremy and Rafe are lost for six months in the Red Crow Forest of West Virginia. Their disappearance baffles the community as they seem to be stronger and healthier than when they went missing. Where they were residing during the time they were lost remains a secret as no one would believe their story anyway.

Fast forward fifteen years, Jeremy has been working to find lost women and girls when he is contacted by Emilie. She wants to find her missing sister. The mission unites the trio on a journey to a magical land filled with great joys and great pain.

I absolutely devoured this story! After reading The Wishing Game, I was so excited to receive an ARC for The Lost Story. I already know that this will be one of my top reads of the year! The Lost Story was fast-paced and thrilling. I loved the nod to The Chronicles of Narnia. There was a definite Princess Bride feel to the story as well. I thoroughly enjoyed the whimsy, humor, character development, and fantastical events of this tale. The storyteller interjections were also a favorite of mine.

Thank you to NetGalley, Random House Publishing Group, and the author for an ARC of this title in exchange for my honest review.

Wow wow wow! I don’t have words to express how much I love this book. In the beginning, I had a somewhat tough time getting into the narrative at first, but after 50 pages I was hooked. The way Shaffer builds the story and emerges the reader into the fantasy world is brilliant. All three main characters are relatable and developed in such a way that makes you root for them no matter what. The love story that develops (I live for the gays btw) is so deeply rooted in trust and friendship that I cried when this book was over. I truly want for a second book, but I hope that the storyline isn’t ruined or taken too far that it becomes “meh”. I would recommend this book to everyone who loves fantasy and wants to escape from our crappy world.

Fav book of 2024 so far, hands down. I didn't want to put it down and also didn't want it to end. Beautiful, magical, wonderful. Jeremy, Rafe, and Emilie are souch memorable characters. I so hope for more stories with these great characters.

There better be a "Lost Story 2" because I don't want to imagine what happened after this book, I want to read if about 250~350 pages!


I chose this book because the description caught my eye, it says "Chronicles of Narnia for adults" AND YES THAT'S EXACTLY IT. This book is just like a nice cup of tea, it's so cozy. I just couldn't put it down. It gave me all the feels from when I first read the Chronicles of Narnia.

In short; After the death of her adoptive mother, Emilie decides to search for her biological sister, so she goes after the best in finding missing girls, Jeremy! But Jeremy already knows her sister, he was lost in the woods with him when Rafe and Jeremy went missing for 6 months 15 years ago. Since they came back Rafe and Jeremy haven't talked at all. Now the three of them set out to get lost in the woods again and go back to the magic kingdom the boys were for 6 months.

This is a fairy tale and we have a narrator to interrupt the story and reminds us of that!

There's romance, friendship, magical birds, lost sisters, and family in the best and worst ways.

Thank you NetGalley and the publisher for providing me with an ARC in exchange for an honest review.

Thank you for the opportunity to read this book. While it wasn’t my “cup of tea” I can understand the appeal it has had for some readers. Reads more like a young YA book than something geared toward adults.

Although "The Lost Story" by Meg Shaffer may not have resonated with me as much as I had hoped, I can appreciate the author's dedication to storytelling and the depth of emotion portrayed throughout the narrative.

With both a realistic and fantasy back drop, the novel follows the intertwined lives of its inhabitants as they navigate love, loss, and the complexities of human relationships. Rafe, Jeremy and Emilie were each interesting, well developed characters, but I just wanted more. I felt detached from their storylines.

The novel fell short of my expectations in certain aspects. The pacing, at times, felt uneven, with certain plotlines dragging on while others felt rushed. Additionally, I found myself struggling to fully invest in the central romance.

While the story was unique, and would be a wonderful fit for some readers, it wasn't my cup of tea. I appreciate Shaffer's consistently imaginative ideas.

I loved The Wishing Game so much ( my favorite read of 2023) that I was a tad nervous about picking up The Lost Story.

I withheld too high an expectation, but needless to say this exceeded it anyway. Another truly magical story, which retained the element of the power of reading and storytelling that I adored so much from Shaffer’s Debut.

This one had more of a “literal” magic than the first with inspirations from Chronicles of Narnia. The characters were so fantastic, even down to Fritz the rat!

I imagine this will make my top 5 yet again for 2024!

The Lost Story is a fantasy novel about two teens who go lost in West Virginia and appear months later without an explanation of where they were or how they survived. The story contains a bit of mystery, romance, and magic. The book has a nostalgic feeling with there being a magical place where children are safe and can have adventures away from trauma in the real world. The found family and friendships were very heartwarming. The theme of you are the writer of your own story was done well with a fantasy twist. It was also fun that there was a Clock Island reference! Thank you Netgalley and Random House Publishing for the ARC to review!

After reading The Wishing Game and enjoying it I knew I HAD to read this one. Thank you to Netgalley and Random House for the ARC.

Two boys go missing in the woods and come out 6 months later seemingly unharmed and in good condition with no explanation of what happened. 15 years later they come back together to help a young woman find her lost sister, in the same woods they disappeared from.

I'd hate to give too much away in this review so I'll try my best to keep it vague but informative. This is a fantasy book, reminiscent of Narnia, yet unique in it's world and characters. I find Shaffer's writing so imaginative and intriguing although sometimes it feels like it's intended for a younger audience, it can lean juvenile at points with the character interactions.
The story starts a little slow with us not actually getting into the magical world until about halfway through but oh my gosh once we do, I LOVED it. It was fun and whimsical and still had deep, emotional moments as well. I think this novel was a little deeper than The Wishing Game which was all very feel good and surface level(IMO).
I enjoyed the writing style with the breaks from "storyteller" that added additional info and some comedic relief.
I'm curious with the ending if we may see these characters again or if it's just an ambiguous ending to let our imagination wander.

This was a book that made me long to visit a place that doesn't exist and stay there forever.

What an adventure! I want a new genre created for adult fairy tales. The Lost Story sucked me in with a unique plot woven with fantastical imagery and lovable characters.

Fifteen years ago, Jeremy and Rafe disappeared in the West Virginia wilderness for six months. No one knew where they were or how they survived. Now they’re on a new adventure to help Emilie find her long lost sister in those same woods.

The creativity and ingenuity that went into this story just amazed me. I want more - I want to know more about every character and what comes next. I loved the beauty as well as the grief and loss captured in this tale. The gay, bisexual, and asexual representation added another level to an already excellent novel. Can’t wait to read more from Meg Shaffer!

Like the secret garden - but for grown ups. A fairy tale story I couldn’t put down. Love, magic, and of course, Fleetwood Mac.

This worked much better for me than Shaffer’s previous novel, The Wishing Game, mostly because it leaned harder into the fantasy elements of the story. Once again this is a fantastic premise, and while I still have some qualms (we spend a little too much time in the real world before finally making it “through the wardrobe”), I found in general this was much better executed. Shaffer’s attempts to balance whimsy and fantasy with some tough real-life issues is really fascinating to me, however, it’s still a little jarring that the fantasy elements of Shaffer’s books feel so juvenile at times. I wish the writing overall was more consistent.

I was much more invested in the romance of this story — it reminded me of Bridget Collins’ The Binding in the ways it explored the forgetting of a shared romantic history. The characters in general were more compelling, though I could have done with a little less of the quirky, “boop death on the nose” vibes from Emilie.

Overall a heartfelt, imaginative read.

Thanks to NetGalley and Random House for an eARC in exchange for my honest review..

I loved the WISHING GAME so much that when I saw Meg Shaffer had a new book out I had to instantly request it. I am sososos glad I was granted a copy by Netgalley.

. Inspired by C. S. Lewis’s The Chronicles of Narnia, this wild and wondrous novel is a fairy tale for grown-ups in every way. The characters are simply beautifully drawn, the world-building perfect, and even the back story is amazing.

Two boys get lost in the woods and find their way out 6 months later. Claiming they remember nothing, they go about their lives. Fast Forward 15 years and Jeremy, one of the boys, is not a card-carrying finder of lost girls. Emilie is trying to find her sister who went missing 15 years ago.

Here’s the setup for this – Jeremy has been looking for Emilie for those 15 years and he can take her to her sister, but a few things have to happen first.

I hate spoilers, so none here, just know that this fantasy/romantasy/epic battle fairytale is beautifully constructed and written with utmost attention to details, feelings, and love interests.

Brava, Meg Shaffer and thanks to Netgalley for a sneak peek. 5 stars ( wish I could give it more)

Thanks to Netgalley and the publisher for an ARC in exchange for an honest review!
What a delightful, heartwarming, imaginative fairy tale! I loved every single thing about this story and the magical world that may have been based on a picture on a Lisa Frank trapper keeper. Rainbow colored sand, unicorns, fire moths, and Valkyries are things I never knew I needed in my life. I loved Skye and Emilie and their sisterly bond. I loved Jeremy and Rafe and all of the things they went through and experienced together. I especially loved the storyteller parts of the chapters because it made the story that much more like a fairytale. The story is unique and fun and I may have shed a few tears but I also laughed out loud several times as well. I can't wait for the sequel! (Please tell me there really will be a sequel!!)
You need this book in your life. Go read it. Even if you're not generally a fan of fantasy, you will still like this book. It's more of a regular fictional story with some magic sprinkled in. I think you'll love it.

⭐️ Rating: 2.5 stars rounded up

I really, really wanted to like this one more than I did, but there are definitely some things that I truly enjoyed about The Lost Story:

— It was inspired by The Chronicles of Narnia
— It had a mysterious fairytale narrator
— Fritz!
— Fleetwood Mac references
— Basically, the entire first 45% of the book

I adored the first half of this book- it was intriguing and mysterious, and, as a huge fan of fairytales and the Narnia series, it felt incredibly nostalgic. However, once I began nearing the 50% mark, I started to lose track of where the story was headed. The dialogue wasn’t my favorite, the pacing was off, and it was difficult to tell what the major conflict was supposed to be.

This one might not have been for me, but I’m grateful to have had a chance to read an early copy. Thank you to NetGalley, Random House Publishing, and Ballantine Books for providing an ARC in exchange for an honest review!

4.5 Stars

I really enjoyed this story! It was adventurous, magical, emotional, exciting, and all around lovely!

Two 15 year old boys get lost in a forest for 6 months. When they are found one remembers everything, the other doesn't. 15 years later the two boys journey back to the forest to help find a woman find her sister who went missing close to 20 years ago in the same forest. They stumble into a magical world that is so much fun.

The characters were loveable. Found family is one of my favorite book tropes! This book also has a delightful (and tasteful) romantic subplot. I feel like this book hit on so many levels. There is something in here for everyone.

At 15, Jeremy and Rafe disappeared for 6 months in the Red Crow wilderness of West Virginia. When they returned, Rafe had no memory of their time missing, and Jeremy's mother packed up and moved them to England to live with his grandparents. 15 years later, Jeremy is a finder of lost girls and women and a case brings him back to the Red Crow wilderness, and he hasn't seen or spoken to Rafe since he'd left the hospital shortly after their return. Emilie is looking for her older sister Shannon who disappeared there 18 years ago and she is hoping that Jeremy can find her body. When Jeremy sees the her photo, he recognizes her from his own time lost. But they weren't in West Virginia; they'd crossed into another world, one of magic and danger. And now he needed Rafe to get back there, and bring the Lost Princess to her rightful home.

The fantasy world of Shannandoah felt very "realistic" as something dreamed up by a pre-teen girl. Unicorns and woman warriors, magic and danger all on a brightly colored palette straight out of Lisa Frank. There is love: romantic, friendly, and familiar, but the romance is PG to PG-13 at the most. It was an interesting take on a fairytale and I enjoyed it.