This is one of the best books that I have read in awhile, I was not able to put this one down. I was pulled in by the story tellers and the parallel world. I hope there will be a part two.

This book reminds me of why I love fairytales. Two boys went missing as teenagers and 15 years later, a woman asks them for help to find her missing sister. It caught my interest in the first few pages. It takes you on an adventure and you feel like a kid again. It also reminds you of how precious life is. Things happen, good or bad, but we don’t make the rules.

As a lifelong fan of the Chronicles of Narnia the description pulled me in. And this book does not disappoint. A love story of many levels this is a delightful read.

Thank you to Random House and NetGalley for the ARC! I absolutely loved this book, even more than her first. This is an absolutely beautiful and intriguing world. This is like "The Lion, the Witch and The Wardrobe," only gayer. Jeremy and Rafe were lost at the age of 14, in the woods of Morgantown, WV. Friends from school, Jeremy had more privilege. HIs mother is a PhD and a professor at WVU, whereas Rafe has an abusive father and his family is the salt of the earth. After returning, they are separated by years and miles. The first 40% of the story is setting up the characters, the action happens when they return to Shanandoah, where they once were. Absolutely a fantasy novel. The "storyteller"
intercedes every few chapters with some narrative and exposition that helps the story along. Every character is believable, and the narrative takes the reader deeper and deeper into the story. I hope there will be a sequel, I need more to this one!

I really enjoyed <i>The Wishing Game</i> by this author, but sadly this one was a miss for me. The first half was very different from the second half, which changed drastically. None of the characters really stood out to me and I had trouble telling them apart. Other reviewers have said that this reads like YA even though the characters are adults and I would have to agree. It felt very young to me.

This book was so cozy and fantastical and magical. It genuinely felt like reading a childhood fairytale again as an adult. Each character was so distinctive and felt real and the romance between Jeremy and Rafe was phenomenal. Also love Emilie and her Stevie Nicks obsession.

I have not read a book so fast in a really long time. It was the perfect book at the perfect moment for me. Part suspense/thriller (sort of) part fantasy. There was creativity and humor, friendship, betrayal?, love and unicorns. I probably could have lived without the romance, but I'm always one who can live without the romance.

I adored this book, probably my first favorite of 2024 and absolutely recommended for anybody who loves Narnia. It is not perfect, but who cares? It's pure fun.

West - By God! - Virginia!

I enjoyed The Wishing Game by Meg Shaffer so I was excited to pick this one up. The story follows two boys who got lost in their teens for 6 months. One of them now helps find missing women - this is where the third main character comes into play.

The three go back to the world the boys found in their youth to find Emilie's sister. I enjoyed the story, but I really wanted more detail and story about the world. It focused on a love story between Jeremy and Rafe, the two lost youth. While a nice addition, it seemed to take over the story. That was unexpected from a story that referenced Narnia in the description.

Meg Shaffer has written a magically addictive tale that is timely, relateable, and captivating. This book brings back memories of The Princess Bride, The Neverending Story, and a sprinkle of Peter Pan.

The story starts as a modern mystery with Emilie who has enlisted Jeremy, a famous missing persons investigator, to help find her missing sister. Jeremy and Emilie wrangle Rafe, a recluse and Jeremy's estranged best friend from high school, to help navigate a mysterious world to find Emillie's sister.

This book deserves four stars. It has everything a reader could want when wanting to revist their childhood fantasies as an adult. Who doesn't want to walk through a mystical door to a magical land? On top of the wonder and adventure, Shaffer makes her characters relateable and inclusive. Each character comes from a different background, and they are not all pleasant, but these lives are what make the story relateable.

I will strongly be recommending this to teens and adults who love adventure, magic, princes/princesses, knights, and characters who grow as the story develops. I can't wait to see what Shaffer writes about next.

I read Meg Shaffer’s debut novel last year and was so excited to be approved for this ARC and it lived up to expectations and then some!!

This book was a sweet and witty adventure novel that didn’t take itself too seriously. The characters I immediately was rooting for and fell more and more in love with them as the story went. Highly recommend this book to anyone but especially people who love a fantastical adventure!

I'm a fan of Meg Shaffer and was very excited for this book.
I greatly enjoyed her previous title, The Wishing Game.
In The Lost Story, Shaffer writes about two men who went missing in the woods for six months when they were teenagers. Rafe has no memory of those months, but Jeremy remembers everything about the magical realm where they lived, fought, and triumphed. Jeremy is approached by a young woman named Emily who needs his help to find her missing sister, a woman Jeremy has met before - in the fantasy world he thought they left behind.
Exciting! I loved the premise. Mysterious amnesia! A magic world! Secrets!
Shaffer included a fun literary device of a 'storyteller' who breaks up the chapters with their own omniscient story details and fairy tale knowledge. The book takes fairy tale tropes/rules seriously and the way Shaffer succumbs to them or subverts them is very entertaining.
All that being said, the book didn't work for me. I think I was so enthralled by the idea that I wanted a serious fantasy world with serious stakes - fully built out and engrossing. The relationship between Jeremy and Rafe ended up being the author's main point of interest.
The fantasy world was mostly...silly. Shaffer alleviates a little of the world building pressure with the admission that the world was dreamt up by a preteen girl, but it felt hard to invest in the story when nothing felt like it truly was life or death.
The Emily character is almost completely unformed. She has no wants, no desires, no need for information beyond the surface. She's a perfect vehicle into the fantasy world because she slows nothing down with a personality - but I wanted more *anything* from her. Have an opinion! Ask a follow up question! Be someone!
There are two plot twists in the book that I think younger readers will really enjoy.
I will read Shaffer's next book, as I'm sure it will be top notch! This book will be great for a lot of people, it just wasn't for me.

Thank you to Netgalley for my gifted copy of this book.

While I absolutely LOVED the Wishing Game, this one was just not what I was expecting. The idea behind the story was intriguing and while I would have liked to know what happened to the boys while they were lost in the Red Crow, at about the 30% mark it just lost it's "oomph" for me. I am certain there are many that will love this story, but it just missed the mark for me.

Even with that being said I would totally read another book by Meg Shaffer just based on how much I enjoyed The Wishing Game.

A beautiful ode to Narnia and all things fantasy, The Lost Story will be a big hit for readers of C.S. Lewis. It also put me in mind of The Princess Bride as there is a funny narrator to the entire book.
It would be easy to over explain and ruin things so I will say the ingredients are:
Queen
Prince
Best of Friends
Magical Creatures
A quest of sorts
Villains
And in addition, there are societal issues explored within the framework of a fantasy.

I read this book but I believe an audiobook would be wonderful entertainment for the entire family.

4.25 stars

Thank you to Penguin Random house for offering an early e-copy via Netgalley. All opinions are my own.

Disclaimer: I appreciate NetGallery giving me an ARC in return for a honest evaluation.

The Lost Story by Meg Shaffer was such a lovely read, and it helped me get through my reading slump. It is the first time I have read a narration format that was created in a fun and witty way, and it added to the enjoyment of the reading experience. In fact, I read the entire book in one sitting because I was eager to know how the tale would unfold.

I really liked the book's concept, and it brings back memories of my adolescent years when I longed to run away from everything and find bliss in the fairy tale world. The book covered several significant themes, including parental abuse, homophobia, and abductions. They were handled appropriately, but there was no in-depth exploration of it. The plot has a whimsical and happy feel to it (similar to the fairytales we read as children), so doing that would not suit the vibes it was trying to portray, thus I understand why it tries to keep things light.

This book really surprised me! I loved the narration format, and I read the whole book in one sitting because I just wanted to unravel the whole mystery of it. The true crime first half immediately pulled me in, as did the obvious "the characters are connected somehow but what is it!!!" elements throughout. The premise was fun and nostalgic while also tackling some hard subjects. I loved the found family we get to experience, the romantic relationships explored, and the magical world that unravels around them all.

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for an e-arc in exchange for my honest review.

Perfect for fans of The Chronicle of Narnia, Peter Pan, and The Wizard of Oz! The Lost Story introduces readers to a magical fantasy world hidden in the wilds of West Virginia called Shenandoah. Reading the descriptions of Shenandoah feels like stepping in a Lisa Frank picture full of magical creatures, a riot of color, and the very essence of girlhood 💝🦄

I love the premise of two kids coming back from a seemingly impossible magical adventure and having to reckon with their experience. Shaffer explores this through the characters of Jermey and Rafe but I wish she would have spent more time delving into their internal conflict especially in the back half of the book.

Ultimately, the central question of The Lost Story seems to be not if magic is real, because of course it is 😉, but what would you do to get it back if you had lost it?

Thank you to NetGalley, Penguin Random House, Ballentine Books, and Meg Shaffer for providing me with an eARC of this book in exchange for an honest review! 🥰

Rating: 🌟🌟🌟💫 3.5 stars

Absolutely loved the concept of this book. Jeremy and Rafe were young when they went missing for months. And come back, but not the same. Fast forward to now and Jeremy finds missing persons which is why Emelie seeks him out, to find her sister. Again, I loved the idea but this book was easy for me to put down.

3.5 STARS for me but I'm rounding up because I just know fans of Meg Shaffer's first book will love this book!

First my rating system to give you and idea of where my head is.

1 Star: Basically loathe.
2 Stars: Didn’t like it. but still finished it.
3 Stars: Liked it!
4 Stars: Really Liked it!
5 Stars: LOVED IT!

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

Inspired by The Chronicles of Narnia The Lost Story gives a grown up twist on a classic tale. The book follows best friends Jeremy Cox an Rafe Howell, two boys who disappear in the woods of West Virginia only to turn up 6 months later looking better than ever. 15 years later Jeremy and Rafe are living separate lives until Emilie Wendell requests Jeremy's aid in finding her lost sister who just so happened to disappear in the same woods the boys had disappeared in. Reconnected the threesome set out on a journey to find Emilie's sister.

If you're a fan of Meg Shaffer's debut novel The Wishing Game you're going to LOVE The Lost Story. It gave me similar feel good vibes. The questions the story brought up had me wanting to keep turning pages, I wanted to know the answers to my questions and see what happened while Jeremy and Rafe were lost in the woods! I got all the questions I need and it was left open ended up enough to wonder if there’s a part 2 coming! I would read it!

I am almost without words. What a beautiful story. Terrific characters. Such emotion. Highly recommend!

I absolutely adored The Wishing Game, and jumped at the chance to read more from Meg Shaffer. The concept is very creative, and I love the idea of friends going missing here, but finding a whole new world to explore! And I'm hopeful since this was an ARC, some of the plot holes and inconsistencies will be worked out.

I also liked the Storyteller, and thought the concept of a narrator talking to the reader directly was very entertaining.

That said, this fairytale fell short for me. It's really more of a love story with a fairytale backdrop than a fairy tale itself. I was just hoping for more the friendship aspect talked about in the blurb, not a major love story. A love story that feels inappropriate at times, because at it's core, they are kids. Kids being physical. It just wasn't for me.

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for the opportunity to read this book!