The Lost Story by Meg Shaffer was a delight. I was looking forward to it after reading The Wishing Game last year and this did not disappoint. The characters are all so lovable and the story was beautiful. I loved the magical realism and exploring the idea that the magical worlds we read about as children really could be there, hidden just out of sight for most people. This book felt like a warm hug, cozy and comforting and hopeful. I think if you have ever hoped to find another world, this book is for you.

I have struggled with how to review this book because it’s not often there is a book that is a fairytale for adults. This is absolutely a fairytale but it is also a contemporary mystery and a family drama. The author has many small bits and pieces all happening at once that slowly come together to create the bigger picture. You might say, hey isn’t that what a story should be and I would say yes but…. The author could have written two or even three completely separate stories and they would have been interesting but instead she put them together and created something unique.
Rafe and Jeremy are best friends that go missing in the woods of West Virginia. When they are found, they have no explanation for where they have been for the months they were missing. After surviving together in the woods, they don’t see each other for the next 15 years. Emilie has lost her entire family. When she discovers that she has a half-sister, she is desperate to find her. That’s how she connects with Rafe and Jeremy. Each of the must work through family issues. Each must deal with learning about the fairytale world. Each must decide how they want to live the rest of their lives.

Rafe’s story is so emotional. He has such a rollercoaster from beginning to end. I was so happy that he got the chance for happiness because he suffered so much during the story. Jeremy is so strong. He had to stay away from Rafe for fifteen years even though it nearly killed him to stay away. Emilie wants family. She is willing to hope and dream that she can find her half-sister. The land of Shanadoah (that’s not a misspelling) is magical. I’m not going to give details because it is both childish like most fairytales while also being a really good story of family dynamics.

This is a fairytale set in modern times. The author takes the reader on a complex journey of mystery and self-discovery. I loved the journey and thought it was beautifully written. I will read more from this author in the future.

3.5

This was fun and whimsical. Very reminiscent of stories like Narnia (and indeed there were several references to Chronicles of Narnia throughout).

I will say, I did enjoy the buildup to the magical realm more than the actual realm itself. It became a tad bit too quest-y for me, which is something I personally don't enjoy, but the setup was fantastic. Also loved the sense of humor in this book!

This book was nothing short of a love letter to every child wishing they could jump into their favorite story. This book held so much whimsy and mystery; reading it felt like a giant hug from one of my favorite childhood books. Everything from the format with the storyteller's commentary to the characters and their adventure just made me fall so in love with this book and long for more! I hope she writes an extended epilogue because that ending left me very unsatisfied; I need more from Rafe, Jeremy, Emilie, and Skya!

4.25⭐

Last year The Wishing Game was one of my favorite reads and I’m glad to say that with The Lost Story, author Meg Shaffer does not disappoint.

Set in the (fictional) Red Crow State Forest of West Virginia, the story follows our three protagonists Emilie Wendell, Jeremy Cox and Ralph "Rafe" Howell as they embark on a quest to find out what happened to Emilie’s long-lost sister Shannon, who, when thirteen, went missing from the area decades ago. Jeremy and Rafe are no strangers to the forest, having been found six months after disappearing while on a school trip fifteen years ago. What happened to them remains a mystery to everyone except Jeremy. Jeremy and Rafe, once close friends, have been estranged since the incident. Jeremy makes finding missing girls his life’s calling and when Emilie approaches him for help in finding Shannon, he eventually agrees. Rafe is a loner, traumatized by the incident, but with no memories of the six months they were missing. Jeremy convinces Rafe to join the quest with promises that everything will be revealed in the course of their journey.

Inspired by C.S. Lewis’s The Chronicles of Narnia, this “fairy tale for grown-ups”, is a beautifully written story with endearing characters (human and mythical), vividly descriptive with superb worldbuilding, that transported me to Shanandoah with Emilie, Jeremy and Rafe.

A story of friendship, found family, love, sacrifice and courage with adventure and intrigue, emotion and humor, magical kingdoms, enchanted forests and mythical beings – sounds just perfect, doesn’t it? If you agree, this book is a must-read. I should mention that this story is much deeper than a fanciful tale for children, with several dark and sensitive themes, including abandonment, homophobia, child abuse, PTSD and mental health woven into the narrative. I enjoyed the dynamic between the three main characters and thought that the supporting characters (even the unlikeable ones) were also well thought out. The pacing is a tad uneven, but this did not detract from my overall experience. I did feel, however, that there was a tad too much going on. With so many subplots, it is to be expected that not all of them would be explored in equal depth.

Overall, I found this to be a charming and incredibly moving story that I would not hesitate to recommend. Read this one with your heart and you won’t be disappointed!

Many thanks to Random House Publishing Group – Ballantine for the digital review copy via NetGalley. All opinions expressed in this review are my own.

The Wishing Game is one of my favorite books! I was reluctant to read it but after all the fantastic reviews, I gave it a go and was blown away. When I heard Meg Shaffer was coming out with a new book I was so excited!

The Lost Story is about two former lost boys. Jeremy Cox and Rafe Howell who were lost in West Virginia woods for 6 months as kids. Years later, a young woman recruits Jeremy, who has a skill for finding lost people, to help find her sister who disappeared in the very same woods.

This is a fairytale-esque adventure with portal magic and a bunch of fantastical creatures. Think The Chronicles of Narnia

Unfortunately, this fell flat. The beginning was very slow and hard to get into. I found the world building lacking and not much character development. I also feel like the story is a bit young adult. I'm sad to say this wasn't my favorite. I hope the author's next book works better for me.

Thank you to NetGalley and Ballantine Books for an E-ARC in exchange for an honest review.

𝚁𝚊𝚝𝚒𝚗𝚐: 4⭐️
𝙶𝚎𝚗𝚛𝚎: fantasy 📚

𝙼𝚢 𝚃𝚑𝚘𝚞𝚐𝚑𝚝𝚜:
This was enjoyable read but it’s not my favorite

𝚁𝚎𝚊𝚍 𝚒𝚏 𝚢𝚘𝚞 𝚕𝚒𝚔𝚎:
Magical realism
Great character development
Side of mystery
Beautiful imagery
The Chronicles of Narnia vibes
Found family
M/M romance
Cozy fairytales
Themes of friendship and second chances

𝚃𝚑𝚒𝚗𝚐𝚜 𝙸 𝚕𝚒𝚔𝚎𝚍:
The pet rat

𝚃𝚑𝚒𝚗𝚐𝚜 𝙸 𝚍𝚒𝚍𝚗’𝚝 𝚌𝚊𝚛𝚎 𝚏𝚘𝚛:
A little slow

I didn't know Meg Shaffer could beat the quality of her first book, but she did!! I'm in love with The Lost Story. The characters, the lush setting descriptions- it's all perfect. I can only hope she writes another! Thanks to the publisher and NetGalley for the ARC.

Thank you to Random House Publishing Group and NetGalley for the opportunity to read an ARC of The Lost Story by Meg Shaffer. This was my first book by the author and I really enjoyed the book. The interjections by a storyteller were unique and added a nice touch to the book. It was a sweet fairy tale type story and I would really say it falls in the YA category. The dialogue felt juvenile at times. There were a few tough topics brought up but the romance was completely closed door. I will definitely by reading more books by this author.

Meg Shaffer does it again! Another 4-star read for me after The Wishing Game, which I got from BOTM. If you read the author's note at the end of the book, you learn that this isn't just inspired by The Chronicles of Narnia, but also Lord of the Flies. Now, I haven't read the latter, but growing up, I absolutely adored and devoured the Narnia series - which is why I think The Lost Story worked as well as it did for me. Other aspects I enjoyed about this book - it's captivating, I loved the characters, the plot was fairly concise (not a lot of extra 'fluff'), and it flowed very well overall. The pictures painted for me were so clear - from the landscape to the animals to the people themselves. Now, what didn't work for me? Why isn't it a 5-star read? I think the last 15-20% of the book kind of threw me for a loop - the way it ended was not something I was expecting, so it kind of took me out of the story for a minute, but I still would recommend this book for lovers of magical realism.

Thank you to NetGalley and Random House Publishing Group for this ARC in exchange for an honest review.

(4.5 stars) The Lost Story is another absolutely incredible fairytale story by Meg Shaffer! This magical, whimsical, tear-jerker of a book is written for the readers who grew up with tales like the Chronicles of Narnia, which inspired this story. Shaffer is now easily one of my favorite cozy/fairytale authors, since her books contain the perfect mix of fantasy and heart. I will absolutely be recommending her books to others, and will continue to read her stories in the future. And speaking of Shaffer’s future books, The Lost Story NEEDS (and very much deserves) a sequel!! I’m hoping this will come true based on the ending, as I would love to read more about the characters and Shanandoah!

Thank you Netgalley, Random House Publishing Group-Ballantine, and Meg Shaffer for the ARC copy. I decided to wait for the Audio and Purchased so I could tandem read. Worth the wait.
Honestly my only complaint was how fast it wrapped up. Give us one more adventure please. Meg Shaffer is definitely becoming one of my favorite writers. I only teared up in parts. I absolutely loved Rafe and Jeremy's relationship. Can we get another book please.

I couldn't even get through the first few chapters of The Wishing Game, so I was worried I would hate this one. But I ended up loving it. It was good from begginging to end. I loved the writing and the characters. I especially loved the "Storyteller Corner" parts. If you like the Wayward Children series by Seanan Mcguire, then I highly recommend you read this.

I was a fan of the Wishing Game and so anxiously looked forward to the Lost Story.

Simply put this book is an adult fairytale. It's easy to love the characters as they are so well done. The author does a fantastic job of describing this fairytale land making this book a delight!

This hurts my heart.
I loved Meg Shaffer's previous novel.
She is a phenomenal writer.
This just wasn't for me.
The Lost Story started off strong and the premise was unique but it couldn't keep my attention.
I wasn't invested. I thought about DNFing multiple times.

A huge thank you to NetGalley and Random House Ballantine for my gifted advanced readers copy of this book.

I look forward to picking up Meg Shaffer's next book.

🌳 I’m pretty sure this is going to be an unpopular opinion, but this book didn’t wow me.

🌳 I loved the first part of the book. I was completely drawn in by the situation, the characters, and the promise of something very unique to come. I’m a huge fan of magical realism so I couldn’t wait until the men returned to the magical land they were lost in as boys. But the second half, when they were back in the magical land, felt rushed and sloppy. The world-building was weak IMO (I barely even pictured the scenes) and I didn’t engage at all. There was almost too much going on in the second half and nothing was given enough detail or attention for me to fully engage in any of it.

🌳 Even the storyteller’s interludes were peculiar. At first, I found it charming and unconventional, but later it became an obvious plot device to advance the story without actually telling the story.

🌳 While I appreciated Shaffer’s previous book, The Lost Story fell short of my expectations.

Thank you @netgalley and Ballantine Books for an eARC of this book, which I have read and reviewed honestly and voluntarily.

5/5!

I love the magic that Meg Shaffer puts into these stories. I loved the Wishing Game last year, so that made this an automatic pick up for me and let me tell you that I was not disappointed. If you like magical realism and feeling like you are being transported to your childhood, you HAVE to check this book out. It was phenomenal.

Thank you to Netgalley & the publisher for my e-arc copy!

Thank you to NetGalley and Ballantine Books for the ARC of The Lost Story!

Two teenage boys go missing in Red Crow State Forest in West Virginia and after six months everyone has given up hope of them being found alive when they suddenly reappear - one completely fine and the other missing his memory of the entire time they were gone. Jeremy grows up to become a missing persons locater superstar. He is approached by a woman whose sister also went missing in the Red Crow and she is desperate for his help to find her. Jeremy, Rafe, and Emilie must go back to the Red Crow but they will never be the same.

I enjoyed this book but I really wished we got more of what happened in Shenandoah. The flashbacks are never fully fleshed out stories and the time the characters spend there in the present is actually very short. A lot more time is spent in the real world talking about past and present problems and I wish there was more "show, don't tell" to the actual plot. For being hyped as a grown up Chronicles of Narnia retelling, this book barely delved into the Narnia part, which is arguably everyone's favorite. The descriptions of Shenandoah are very middle schoolesque and the tension is very low. The fantasy world felt almost middle grade. There was so much potential for this book but I was ultimately disappointed.

3.5 stars but rounded to 4

The Lost Story by Meg Shaffer is a good, magical fantasy read. I loved the journey part of it and the jumping between different worlds. I didn’t really understand the relationships between all of the characters. The timeline and pacing was also a little confusing to me. This book was good, but I think that her debut novel was better.

Thank you NetGalley and Random House Publishing Group - Ballantine for an eARC in exchange for an honest review.

The lush descriptions of nature and scenery gave me a clear picture of the settings and scenery, and I enjoyed the clever use of symbolism. The premise and opening of this book immediately drew me in, and I enjoyed the character journey from start to finish. In particular I thought that Rafe's family dynamics were explored in an interesting and nuanced way, though I would also caution that there are mentions of child and spousal abuse.

The one thing that prevented me from rating this higher was that I felt as though the reader isn't trusted to understand this book on their own. Especially toward the end, there is a lot of telling and not much showing. If something odd is happening, you will be told directly. If something is going to be important later, you will be told directly. I would have liked to be able to be surprised by the story more, and moreover I felt patronized at times. Many thanks to NetGalley and Ballantine Books. This is my honest review.

3/5 Good character work, but felt a bit spoon-fed.