I ABSOLUTELY LOVED THIS BOOK SO MUCH!!!!!!

Incredible story, amazing writing and beautifully done characters that I fell in love with throughout this book! I didn’t want this one to end and the entire time I was reading it I could picture what was going on and now want this book to become a movie ASAP! Meg Shaffer you have outdone yourself on this one and I want you to continue the story on these characters, they are just fabulous and thank you for gifting this beautiful work to all of us!

The Lost Story is out right now….run don’t walk to your bookstore and get this book right now! I need to talk about all the things with fellow readers!! Thank you NetGalley, Meg Shaffer and Random House for the ARC of this book!

I absolutely loved Meg Shaffer's debut last year, The Wishing Game, and I had very high hopes that The Lost Story would provide the same heartfelt and emotional reading experience. It absolutely did!

The Lost Story is inspired by the C.S. Lewis classic The Chronicles of Narnia and had all the elements of a modern fairytale. I think readers should go in a bit blindly to the story as I did because that's how the magic really happens. I loved the characters and their incredible banter, I loved the journey of self-discovery and evolution that they all went on, and I loved the beautifully descriptive writing style of Meg Shaffer. I was completely absorbed into the magical world she created from the beginning. This was just a really wonderful reading experience and I can't wait for more from Meg Shaffer.

Thank you to Random House Publishing - Ballentine for the advanced digital copy via Netgalley!

A really great adventure/quest story. The characters and their adulthood post-childhood-Narnia-portal situation were fascinating, and there's a fantastic romance in there, too. Every so often there are narrator-speaking-directly-to-you chapters, which I found kind of took me out of the story more than anything, but by the end of the book I even liked those, and found they were worked in very well. I'm going to read it again!

The Lost Story by Meg Shaffer is a stunning novel that I was fully immersed in from start to finish. Inspired by Narnia, this book follows the two boys who were lost in the woods 15 years ago and a girl who is searching for her sister in those same woods. I loved the character dynamic in this book between Jeremy, Rafe, and Emilie. They each have such interesting relationships together and I love them all. I had so much excitement and anticipation reading this book leading up to and during the character's journey to find Emilie's sister. The writing had me hooked from start to finish. I loved how the world was described and to see it through each character's eyes. This book had me laughing, crying, and on the edge of my seat. I absolutely loved it and will pick up anything this author publishes in the future!
Thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for the ARC in exchange for a review!

And here I thought The Wishing Game was her best! The Lost Story by Meg Shaffer was such a spectacular story.
This was a phenomenal reimagining of The Chronicles of Narnia!
An engaging whimsical fantasy read that captivated me and held me hostage till the very end!

Thank You NetGalley and Ballantine Books for your generosity and gifting me a copy of this amazing eARC!

This book is described as a fairy tale for grown-ups, inspired by C.S. Lewis’ Narnia series. I adore that series and the premise for this one is so intriguing. Rafe and Jeremy are best friends who go missing in the West Virginia forest. Rafe remembers nothing of their time there and Jeremy won’t tell him what happened. After many years apart, they reunite to help find someone else who is lost. They return to the forest on a magical journey.

Highlights |
*Stevie Nicks
*Castles
*Magical creatures
*Fairy tales
*Mix of fantasy and reality
*Buried secrets

Rating | 3.75/5 stars

I thought ‘Storyteller Corner’ was a fun addition to the book! This will likely seem strange coming from me, someone who doesn’t often read fantasy, but I wanted to feel more magic. It just seemed too perfunctory for my taste. It is easy to read and one that I think many will enjoy.

Thanks to NetGalley and Random House Publishing for this early electronic copy in exchange for an honest review.

CW | Contains mostly mild language, a bit of strong profanity, homophobia and kissing between two men.

As a fan of Shaffer’s The Wishing Game, I was very excited to read this book. It is a whimsical story that brings back memories of reading The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe when I was in middle school.

This book is a fairy tale for adults with elements inspired by The Chronicles of Narnia. Two boys, Jeremy and Rafe, go missing in a forest for six months and then suddenly turn up in better condition than when they disappeared. Fifteen years later they team up with the Emilie to find her sister who went missing in those same woods. Jeremy knows the truth, though. The girl is not missing; she is in the same fantastical realm where the boys spent their six “missing” months. The three of them embark on a fairy tale adventure to reunite the sisters and get back Rafe’s memories of those months he was “lost.”

I wish I loved this book. I wanted to love it so badly, and I was loving it in the beginning. However, the second half of the book when they travel to the fantasy realm is too rushed and reads too much like a YA book for my liking. The world building is minimal, and the fantasy elements feel a bit forced. I think the change in tone from the first to second half of the book is just too jarring for me. It didn't feel magical like I expected it to.

If you’re a fan of fairy tale settings and shorter fantastical adventures, I’d recommend giving this one a try. If you want your fantasy world more fleshed out, you might want to skip this one.

The book did a wonderful job blending elements of fantasy with a setting primarily in West Virginia.😉 It revolves around Emilie, a vet tech adrift after her mother's death, who discovers she has a long-lost sister and sets out to find her. This quest leads her to enlist the help of Jeremy, a renowned missing persons investigator, and Rafe, a reclusive artist who share a mysterious past involving a disappearance in Red Crow forest. The story unfolds through Emilie's perspective initially, though it shifts to delve into Jeremy's and Rafe's complex histories and their fractured friendship. Their journey intertwines Emilie's search with deeper personal and magical elements typical of fairy tales, though subdued without extravagant enchantments like godmothers or pixie dust.

Thank you Netgalley and Random House Publishing Group for providing me with an e-arc of The Lost Story. The adult version of the Lion the Witch and the Wardrobe. I liked that the fantasy aspects were not intense in this book that it was more reality based than anything with a hint of magic intertwined. I am honestly curious based on the ending if another book will be added in this series? No I am not going to give away the ending whatsoever, you have to read it to find out and I highly recommend that you do. This book was just as good as Meg Shaffer's first book The Wishing Game. I love that she takes tales we loved reading as kids and turns the plot into her own. The Lost Story starts with Rafe and Jeremy, who got lost in the woods but ultimately were found. Emilie knows she has a sister who was also lost in the same woods that Rafe and Jeremy were so she elicits the help of Jeremy to find her sister. Jeremy though can't do anything without Rafe, although Rafe has no clue why, he doesn't remember a thing about when the boys were missing all those years ago. A fantasy, action, romance all in one, this book was excellent!

A beautiful, fantastical fairytale for grownups! I loved this. My usual genre of choice is mystery/thriller. I love stepping into a book filled with fantasy and magic every now and then. This was a great choice!

This was such a fun read, based off The Chronicles of Narnia. I love magical books that are set half in the real world and half in a magical world. The banter between the main characters, the love story that develops and the description of the other world made this such a well written story. I highly recommend adding this to your list!

This book is filled with fantastical elements so if you like that sort of thing you may enjoy it, if not you may not. Although the love story between the two boys is sweet, it loses something because much of it takes place in the past and you never really see them getting together. There are a lot of good found family vibes in the book as well as actual family vibes both good and bad.

Oh, gosh, Meg Shaffer has done it again.

Seriously….how do I sign up to be friends with Emilie, Jeremy, and Rafe?

In Shaffer’s new novel, inspired by The Chronicles of Narnia, this trio embarks on an adventure for the ages. As teenagers, Jeremy and Rafe were lost in the wilds of a West Virginia forest for 6 months. Miraculously, they returned safe and sound…but without an explanation for how they had survived alone for so long in an unforgiving environment.

Years later, Emile tracks down Jeremy, who has become famous for his ability to locate missing women and bring them back to safety. She begs for his help in finding her long-lost sister, who went missing in the same woods five years before him and Rafe. He agrees to help and enlists Rafe, whom he hasn’t seen in 15 years. What secrets has Jeremy been hiding about the 6 months they spent missing? What allowed the boys to stay missing for so long, and what led to their decision to return? Emilie is desperate to find her sister, and so she willingly follows Jeremy and Rafe on this mysterious adventure, not entirely sure what they’ll find.

It’s magical, it’s mysterious. It’s full of wit, friendship, and BIG, big heart. You won’t regret reading this for a second.

WOW!! All the stars for this impressive, creative, unputdownable sophomore novel from the author of The wishing game! A modern fairy tale with nods to The Lion, the witch and the wardrobe by C.S. Lewis and perfect for fans of Guy Gavriel Kay's The Fionavar Tapestry series. It's really hard to top a stellar debut but Meg Shaffer has certainly done it with The lost story!

I loved the mix of modern and fantasy, the parallel world, the bonds of sisterhood, friendship and queer love plus the complicated, messy family dynamics of an emotionally and physically abusive, homophobic parent. There was also excellent disability rep in the form of a Schizophrenic parent who committed suicide.

Other parts I loved about this book included the chapter asides by the omniscient mysterious 'storyteller,' and the epic quest nature of the book where the characters are forced to make terribly hard decisions about life and love.

Amazing on audio narrated by Jorjeana Marie and HIGHLY recommended! Many thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for an early digital copy and @prhaudio for a complimentary ALC in exchange for my honest review!!

DON'T.MISS.THIS!!!!

The Lost Story by Meg Shaffer ⭐️⭐️⭐️

I wanted to love this one so badly, but it never clicked for me. I never bought into the characters or their relationships, it felt more “telling” than “showing”, and there was a YA feel that I didn’t enjoy.

While it wasn’t for me, I so enjoyed the positive West Virginia representation. Shaffer’s descriptions of West Virginia captured the beauty and magic of the state. And yes, saying “West, By God, Virginia” is a real thing.

I also enjoyed the land she created; I wish we would’ve spent more time there. I could’ve done with more descriptions of everything and how things came to be. Give me more backstory and more details.

Fans of found families, make-believe, magical places, and fairytales will enjoy this one.

Thank you to @NetGalley and @randomhouse for the ARC copy of “The Lost Story” by @meg_shaffer


Rating: ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
Genre: Fantasy, Romance
LGBTQ+ representation, found family
Release date: July 16th

Meg, you’ve done it again! The Lost Story effortlessly transported me into the fantasy world of Shanandoah, a world that feels like “Neverending Story” “Peter Pan” and “Narnia” all wrapped up into one book. Pretty quickly, I knew this was going to be another 5 star read from Meg. I really enjoyed The Wishing Game and had very high hopes for this new release too.

The Lost Story begins with two best friends, Jeremy and Rafe who have been missing from home for months. Until one day, they’re found on a hiking trail in the Red Crow forest, looking stronger than ever and not as if they’ve been missing in the woods for months. Flashforward to 15 years later, we come across Emilie who is searching for her long lost half sister who has been missing from the Red Crow area for 10+ years. With the help from Jeremy and Rafe, she’s able to locate her sister and uncover the magical history behind the hidden land Shanandoah.

As an avid fantasy reader, The Lost Story is the perfect happy medium. It’s easy to follow, funny, thrilling, and of course leaves you wanting to read more.




Review links:

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/p/C9fKFTmgi2r/?utm_source=ig_web_copy_link&igsh=MzRlODBiNWFlZA==

Goodreads: <a href="https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/199927030-the-lost-story" style="float: left; padding-right: 20px"><img border="0" alt="The Lost Story" src="https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1699644888l/199927030._SX98_.jpg" /></a><a href="https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/199927030-the-lost-story">The Lost Story</a> by <a href="https://www.goodreads.com/author/show/22371885.Meg_Shaffer">Meg Shaffer</a><br/>
My rating: <a href="https://www.goodreads.com/review/show/6260686887">5 of 5 stars</a><br /><br />
LGBTQ+ representation, found family <br />Release date: July 16th <br /><br />Meg, you’ve done it again! The Lost Story effortlessly transported me into the fantasy world of Shanandoah, a world that feels like “Neverending Story” “Peter Pan” and “Narnia” all wrapped up into one book. Pretty quickly, I knew this was going to be another 5 star read from Meg. I really enjoyed The Wishing Game and had very high hopes for this new release too. <br /><br />The Lost Story begins with two best friends, Jeremy and Rafe who have been missing from home for months. Until one day, they’re found on a hiking trail in the Red Crow forest, looking stronger than ever and not as if they’ve been missing in the woods for months. Flashforward to 15 years later, we come across Emilie who is searching for her long lost half sister who has been missing from the Red Crow area for 10+ years. With the help from Jeremy and Rafe, she’s able to locate her sister and uncover the magical history behind the hidden land Shanandoah. <br /><br />As an avid fantasy reader, The Lost Story is the perfect happy medium. It’s easy to follow, funny, thrilling, and of course leaves you wanting to read more. <br />
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<a href="https://www.goodreads.com/review/list/125683851-kaitlin-merrick">View all my reviews</a>

The Lost Story by Meg Shaffer is the kind of book I don’t normally read: fantasy. But, it’s not all fantasy, which is what sucked me in. It starts as the simple story of a young woman whose adoptive mother has died and now she is searching for family. She knows she had a sister, but that sister disappeared twenty years earlier. Her solution is to approach a man, Jeremy Cox, who had himself once disappeared for six months, and now seemed to have a special talent for finding people who wanted to be found. He said no. But then later he knocked on her door and said he would go if he could get his friend, Rafe (Ralph) to go as well, but he cautioned her that Rafe was odd and he should approach him alone. Well, she went with, anyway, and Rafe agreed, so long as his mother would agree. But to approach his mother he had to have a haircut and shave. Emilie was used to cutting dog’s hair, but it apparently translated well. Maggie, Rafe’s mother agree they should go and find Emilie’s sister, so they did. What they found was extraordinary but Emilie had seen hints of it at Rafe’s cabin and she was amazed.

This is a very different kind of book. Starts off as a mystery, becomes a fantasy, and ends as a love story. Rafe, especially was an exceptional characters. All these years they thought he suffered from mental illness and tried to cure him. It couldn’t have been further from the truth, although some of it was repressed rage at his now dead father. There are so many themes, I hesitate to even try to unpack them in a review. Let me just say, plenty of issues come to light, and many are solved along the way. It was a fun and very engaging read. Thanks Meg Shaffer!

I was invited to read The Lost Story by Random House Publishing Group-Ballantine. All thoughts and opinions are mine. #Netgalley #RandomHousePublishingGroupBallantine #MegShaffer #TheLostStory

When I seen that Meg Shaffer had a new book I was excited to read it, since I loved The Wishing Game.

I really wasn’t ready for what was coming, absolutely ADORED this book! I love the characters, the plot, and the storyteller. It was one of those books that you wish could go on and on. I was sad when it was over.

Meg Shaffer is officially an “always buy” author. This may be my favorite book of the year!

Love! Love! Love! Wish I could give more than 5 stars.

Thank you to NetGalley and Ballentine Books for the opportunity to read an advance copy in exchange for a honest review.

Happy publication day to The Lost Story! This was a magical book that doesn’t take itself too seriously and I thoroughly enjoyed it 💖

I had really enjoyed The Wishing Game last year and was excited to come into another literary realm with The Lost Story. @meg_shaffer did not disappoint. A woman is looking for her long lost sister and seeks the help of two men who have seen her before but in a magical world. The premise alone was enough to draw me in - hook, line, and sinker.

The world she created was so rich and detailed and definitely starts off with a bang. The love it speaks of runs deep through the heart of the story. Although I also enjoyed the jokes and banter, and all those narrator intermissions in between.

I feel like this was made for someone like me that is a full grown adult but a kid at heart. ✨I really recommend it ✨

Thanks so much to @netgalley @randomhouse @meg_shaffer for the opportunity to read this!

Meg Shaffer's THE LOST STORY is an exceptional, well-wrought, wild and inventive ride. Ostensibly the tale of two boys missing so long they went from "Missing" to "Lost" to "Forgotten," the story begins six months after the boys disappeared from a state forest when two hikers find the boys, barefoot in November with strange stories, scars, and a view into a world no one can believe is real. How their time away in that other world affected them and everyone in their lives is fascinating, absolutely entrancing in Shaffer's incredible storytelling hands. I loved how the story shifted voices and views and ultimately how the parts unified into one wonderful read. I am in awe of the art, the skill, the determination of a writer at the top of her game. I received a copy of this book and these are my own, unbiased thoughts.