Ok this is seriously one of my new favorite books ever. It's beautifully enchanting. Prepare to be completely submerged in a grown up fairy tale. The world building and character development is superb! Meg Shaffer did it again! Her other book " The Wishing Game" is soooo good too. So glad to have found such a talented story teller.

"Love was good in a dark place like this, Skya had told her. Love was their secret weapon."

Two young boys, Jeremy and Rafe, get lost in the woods and it seemed everyone had lost hope when they suddenly reappear 6 months later. Fast forward 15 years...Jeremy makes living as a missing persons investigator and has an uncanny knack for finding missing people. Jeremy and Rafe are no longer friends but it isn't clear why or what happened, as Rafe has no memories of being lost. Emilie is searching for her sister and she believes Jeremy can help her. The three enter into a journey to find the long lost sister.

I absolutely adored this whimsical, strange novel. It appears to be light and heartfelt on the surface but there are also dark themes throughout. This is a magical rainbow unicorn of a book about found family and sacrifice. The world-building is one of a kind.

The tender love story warmed me to the bones. The mystery was intriguing and the characters charming. I'd love to get lost in this world. The twist at the end was bittersweet and clever. This is a story of queer joy: finding self-acceptance and being brave in the face of oppression.

Thank you to Random House Publishing Group-Ballantine and NetGalley for the eARC.

⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️/5

I loved The Wishing Game so I couldn’t wait to get my hands on this book! It did not disappoint! This was magical!

Jeremy & Rafe go missing during an end of school trip through a forest. They mysteriously reappeared six months later, looking better than ever. Taller, stronger, and having people wonder how did they survive. Fifteen years later Jeremy is a missing persons investigator and Rafe is a recluse living in a cabin in the woods.

This was such an amazing adult fairytale! I devoured this book and loved every minute of it! Everything was so descriptive and you felt like you were there. I really enjoyed this book and recommended to anyone and everyone!

📘: The Lost Story by Meg Shaffer
🗓️: July 16, 2024

Thank you to NetGalley, Meg Shaffer, and Random House Publishing Group- Ballantine for this ARC!

I voluntarily read and reviewed an advanced copy of this book. All thoughts and opinions are my own.

*Reviewed on NetGalley, Amazon, and Goodreads.

The Lost Story
by Meg Shaffer
★★★★☆

Meg Shaffer's books have the best blend of fantasy and reality that make them that much more magical to read. It's so easy to get lost in her worlds!

Jeremy and Rafe went missing in the woods when they were kids- but came back healthy and happy. One doesn't remember and one won't talk about it. Now years later, they are set to help find Emilie's missing sister- which means returning to the forest and what happened years ago.

These books are like adult fairy tales - without being fantasy. I just can't say enough how much I enjoy the magical realism that makes it so these just *might* be true. I just loved getting lost in the world of Shenandoah. The story was so cute and had a lot of plot, which kept me interested. Plus there was a neat twist that surprised me!

I think I did like The Wishing Game more, just because I didn't expect to love it and did, so my expectations were low. This one was still very cute and gave the same vibes!

Read if you loved Narnia or the Wizard of Oz as a kid, The House in the Cerulean Sea, or her first book The Wishing Game.

Thank for you the opportunity to read and review this book! I really enjoyed this story. It was a really nice adult fairytale that had a lot of the nostalgia vibes from childhood fairytale’s coupled with fun adult tropes. I thought this book was a cute and cozy read that still had the ability to illicit an emotional response from me. And I love a book that truly makes me feel while I’m reading it and getting captivated by the story. I think this is a story that would appeal to a wide range of demographics. The writing style was truly lovely and the story was captivating!

📖Book Review📖
The Lost Story by Meg Shaffer
My Rating:🌟🌟🌟🌟

First, special thank you to Ballantine Books and @prhaudio for the complimentary copies. I feel blessed and happy to read this book!

I have read a ton of mixed reviews but for a Narnia fan like me, The Lost Story was the sweetest, heartwarming and magical story!

I honestly cannot say enough words to express how lovely this book was for me. The characters are lovable! It brings out a lot of emotions. A beautiful story of friendship, loyalty, secrets, trust, believing in dreams and as everyone has expressed- chosen family! Is there anything more magical than that?!
Yes it is fantasy, but I do not mind having my kingdom in a world that can really brings me all the happiness!
I highly recommend this read.
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#megshaffer #theloststory #prhaudio #prhaudioinfluencer #ballantinebooks #randomhouse #bookofthemonth #botm #bookreview

Thank you to Random House Publishing Group and NetGalley for this E-ARC.

Good lord. This book is actual magic. Imagine being able to create a book like this.

If you like Narnia, then read this book.

It’s about magic, love, unicorns and family. Rafe and Jeremy are meant to be. The end.

Jk, but also seriously. From the very first page this book hooked me. I loved everything about it. There better be another one coming out soon. I will not be okay if that’s the ending.

Rafe and Jeremy disappear in the forest in Virginia. 6 months later they are found. Only Jeremy remembers what happened but he won’t tell Rafe. Jeremy spends his time finding lost girls, Rafe spends his time in the woods. 15 years later they are reunited for more magic. And it delivered. It’s magic. And beautiful. And I love it.

I will now be packing my bags to go to the woods in West Virginia and checking every tree trunk to see what I can find.
In the meantime, you should read this book.

This was such a sweet sweet book! It exists somewhere between a 3 and 4 stars for me because the last 30% dragged a little and lacked the action, excitement, and mystery that kept me turning pages at the beginning. However, I really loved the ending and enjoyed the book overall. Readers who love a cozy magical tale akin to House in the Cerulean Sea will love this.

A main character who loves Stevie Nicks? A fancy rat? I’m in!

I had read the wishing game and liked it well enough so when I was asked if I wanted an ARC of the lost story, I thought, why not. I enjoyed this book way more than I thought I would. It was a cute easy read that didn’t take itself too seriously. I also appreciated that the author didn’t over explain things or add a lot of filler, it made for a quick enjoyable read. The way the book left off leaves room for a sequel and I really hope that happens.

I was so disappointed by the Lost Story. Maybe I went in with too high - or wrong - expectations. I adored The Wishing Game, but I was so bored by The Lost Story. The pacing was so slow, I did not connect to the characters, and the magical realism fell flat for me. I also really disliked the narrative structure where we would hop around povs somewhat randomly and have lengthy flashbacks interspersed. It made the narrative feel clunky and took away from the magic of the magical realism. I also felt a little bait-and-switched by the marketing and the romance set up - but I won't get into details because of spoilers. I'm so sad to not have loved this one, but I will definitely try Meg Shaffer's next book.

Thanks to Random House, Ballantine Books, and Netgalley for an eARC in exchange for an honest review.

2.25 stars.
It saddens me to say that I didn’t like this one. I loved the author’s debut novel, The Wishing Game and thought it was so charming and unique. Although The Lost Story had the potential to be the same, it just did not land for me. It took me so long (3+ weeks) to finish this story and looking back, I wish I would have DNFed and moved on to something I actually liked.

It felt really disjointed with the first and second halves being very different from one another. I didn’t really like the Storyteller breaks either. There were parts that seemed interesting or sweet, but overall it just did not keep me wanting to come back to read and didn’t keep me engaged when I was reading.

This one just wasn’t for me.

Meg Shaffer can do no wrong. Her writing feels so whimsical/nostalgic/immersive & I loved every second of this story. Perfectly suspenseful but also really character driven! 5 stars.

A contemporary Chronicles of Narnia for adults. The first chapters are mysterious and magical, and the vivid storytelling continues straight through to the end. I like the narrator's little side-chapters, but am confused by the fluidity of the relationships among this group of friends/lovers. I am glad the intimate scenes are "closed-door" because, as the narrator so eloquently relayed, it really isn't "that kind of story."

2.5 stars rounded up

The beginning of this book is Amazing. Pulled me in with mysteries and unexplained events, just gave you enough information so you wanted more. I was so hooked. About halfway through this book, it took a turn from sophisticated and dramatic to very elementary level fairy tale type of description, details and events. I am not sure what happened and why the drastic change. The first half had such a serious tone which I really appreciated. This book is supposed to be an adult fantasy but had a more young adult fantasy feel to it. The writing and the overall story were fine, but it just lost my interest in the second half. I wanted a more in depth, detailed and complex storyline, that really matched the first half. I would not recommend this book; it ended up not being for me.
I received an advanced ebook, via Netgalley. This review is my own honest opinion.

I really liked The Lost Story. I felt like it hit the feeling of a fairytale right on the head. The settings were lushly described and the plot was well done.

However, I think The Lost Story really flourishes because of the relationships between characters. I was absolutely rooting for Rafe and Jeremy, I loved Emilie from the moment she was introduced. Each of their relationships were fun and interesting. I wont spoil anything, but this holds up throughout the book with other characters as well. Even the relationships with the more minor characters are fleshed out and feel important.

This book was really good and if you find the summary in any way interesting, I definitely recommend it!

I requested this title as The Wishing Game was one of my first ever NetGalley reads that I really enjoyed. Unfortunately, this one just didn't click for me.

I was expecting to like this better than Shaffer's debut, as the premise for this book is much more up my street, but the writing felt flat, the character interactions felt oddly forced, and the ratio of showing to telling just didn't balance out correctly. I do enjoy her writing style and may still pick up her future works, but this one just wasn't for me.

This whimsical book will have you remembering what it felt like to read The Chronicles of Narnia for the first time as a child. Meg Shaffer takes you to an enchanting land, hidden in the hills of a state park in West Virginia. As boys, Jeremy and Rafe were lost for 6 months in these forests. Now 15 years later, Emilie drags Jeremy and Rafe on a quest to find Emilie's sister who went missing in those same forests 5 years before the boys did. Only Jeremy knows what happened to the boys when they were lost for 6 months but cannot tell Rafe who does not remember what happened to him. The three must work together to go back to an enchanting place filled with magic and unicorns, to get back everything and everyone who was lost.
I LOVED this book. The writing style and story were refreshing and stood out among the other books I have read this year. I loved all of the characters and slowly getting to know what happened to the lost boys pulled the story along. I also really enjoyed the storyteller. I should have figured out who it was a lot sooner than I did!

This was a cutie read! Meg Shaffer is a wonderful storyteller and I will keep coming back to her books! They do feel a little cheesy but I like it and after two of her books, I know what to expect! This was a magical journey and I was intrigued from the jump! The first half was so good but felt that the second half was a little busy. But again, still enjoyed! I liked the queer rep, found family, and nods to other fantasty books. Perfect cozy, fall read!

Unfortunately, I don't think Meg Shaffer's writing style is for me. This book missed the mark for me but I think people that enjoyed the Wishing Game will really enjoy this title as well.

This book was just not for me.

With the whole "Narnia-inspired" taglines, I was expecting so much more and was infinitely disappointed [was it ACTUALLY inspired or did they just wave The Chronicles of Narnia over the paper/computer and call it a day? Because that is what it felt like].

As someone who has read The Chronicles of Narnia almost every year [when I was younger, it was multiple times a year as I had few books and these were my absolute favorite books] since I was eleven [and I will be 57 this year...wait what?? LOL], to say I love Narnia is a ginormous understatement and my expectations are extremely high when it mentioned as inspiration for something and this book fell very short.

The dialogue [UGH! Do people really talk like this? I mean, no one I know ever talked like this, not when I was 23, not when I was in my 30's, not now. It is just so juivinial and off-putting {other reviewers have used the whole horse and berries example and I whole-heartedely agree} ], the characters [who are 23/30's but act and talk like they are all teenagers which is often very disconcerting and off-putting], the almost non-existent world building [I often felt we the reader were dropped into the middle of the story and were just expected to know what was going on and be able to keep up, even though there was no actual world-building going on], writing that felt VERY upper middle-grade to young YA [see above about dialogue and characters] and and and....you get the picture right?

I almost DNF'ed this and then realized I only had 20% left, so I just soldiered on - yeah, I kind of wish I had just stopped - THAT ENDING??? Sigh. Sigh. Sigh.

I am glad people love this [and fully recognize that not every book is for every person], but for me, it was just a huge miss.

I was invited to read/review this by the publisher, Random House Publishing Group - Ballentine and I thank them, Meg Shaffer and NetGalley for providing this ARC in exchange for an honest review.