Best friends Jeremy and Rafe go missing when they were young boys and mysteriously, and suddenly reappear six months later. Where were they? How did they survive?
I was pulled into this story and found it totally mesmerizing and whimsical. Friendship, romance, secret lands. Loved the magic, a princess, a knight, a queen, a prince, mermaids, unicorns what could be more magical than that.

Thank you NetGalley and Random House Publishing Group/Ballantine Books for the opportunity to read this book

The Wishing Game was one of my top reads of 2024, and I absolutely squealed when I received an ARC of The Lost Story, Meg Shaffer's sophomore novel. Meg Shaffer has the ability to create an experience for adult readers similar to it was like to read as a child - to get swept up in a complete fairy tale, a world different from our own, where there is no doubt that good will prevail. Each time I opened The Lost Story, I was taken back to late nights of reading with a flashlight under the covers, hoping I could sneak in one more chapter before my mom knocked on the door with one final reminder that I must go to sleep! Now! The Lost Story is inspired by The Chronicles of Narnia, which I shockingly never read as a child. I loosely know the premise, but I think that allowed me to get even more lost in Emily, Jeremy and Rafe's story.

Our story begins fifteen years earlier, with a nurse examining a bulletin board displaying two missing child posters. Each poster was six months old at that point, and the children, Jeremy Andrew Cox and Ralph "Rafe" Stanley Howell, were no longer thought to be missing but rather lost in the Red Crow State Forest. When she and her date head off into the forest to see The Goblin Falls, she is taken aback upon seeing the lost boys, both of whom appearing surprisingly muscular and well-fed after being in the forest for six months.

We then fast forward to present day and see how the boys have fared in the years since being found. Jeremy has an uncanny ability to find missing girls, and he is approached by Emily who is looking to find her long-lost sister, who just so happened to also go missing in Red Crow State Forest prior to Jeremy and Rafe. Jeremy will help Emily under one condition: they must convince Rafe to join them. Rafe does not remember anything about the time in which they went missing, but Jeremy is insistent that the only way they will find Emily's lost sister is with Rafe's assistance. So Emily and Jeremy head back to West Virginia to begin the journey that will change all of their lives...

This book was an absolute delight, and I particularly enjoyed the "Storyteller Corner" chapters in which we are reminded of all the elements that are essential to a fairytale. I thought it was an ingenious way to provide commentary on the story that made it feel as though I were watching a play in which the narrator pops up on the corner of the stage to zoom out a bit on the story.

I have posted my review on Goodreads and will post a review on my instagram @thecozybookgal closer to publishing date!

Meg Shaffer has said that this is her favorite book she's ever written and, as someone who has read EVERY book she's ever written (both under her pen name & real name), I fully understand why she said this. It's not personally MY favorite book she's ever written, but it's definitely up toward the top (maybe even #2 or 3). The fantasy storyline has touches of Narnia while also blending seamlessly with the real world, in a touching, absolutely endearing way. I loved the world-building, and am realllllly hoping there's at least one more book set in this same world. Also loved the touch of the storyteller between chapters, as it truly lent a fairy tale vibe to the story.

If you grew up reading fairy tales and wishing there was magic in the world, this book is for you. If you liked stories like Narnia, Peter Pan, and Alice in Wonderland, this has the same feel, but a little more grown up.

I really liked the structure of the book, with the Storyteller breaks between chapters. I also liked how we got to know not only the current timeline, but also the original story of 15 years ago - I actually wish we got more of this.

Overall, it was a really enjoyable and whimsical read, and I’m interested to see if we get more stories in Shanadoah.

I wasn’t able to finish this. I loved the authors previous book but this had none of the same warmth. The pacing was a set mess.

This story hooked me for the first half of the book! It had a unique setting with a good mystery that kept me reading! I loved the idea of an adult fairytale and all of the hints towards CS Lewis’ Chronicles of Narnia. However, when we finally got to the fantasy world, it felt so rushed. I feel like I didn’t have time to get to know some of the characters which led me to not being very invested in the plot. I still enjoyed the “found family” theme and the beautiful descriptions of the land. I just was craving more time to see the characters bond with each other..

"Someday you will be old enough to start reading fairy tales again" - C.S. Lewis

Concept: 5 ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
Writing and World Building: 3 ⭐️⭐️⭐️

I was completely drawn to this story for two reasons - 1) the author: Meg Shaffer's "The Wishing Game" was an incredible 5 -star debut and 2) It's an admitted nod to The Chronicles of Narnia, my favorite series written by my favorite author.

Drawing from the concept of returning from a fairytale world, "The Lost Story" asks the question "How could life resume normally?" Jeremy and Ralph were found in the West Virginia woods after they had been missing for 6 months. Authorities and rescue teams searched for weeks, then suddenly two hikers see them in the woods. They are well fed and have grown substantially. Ralph doesn't remember any of it, yet he has strange dreams. Jeremy has since become a search and rescue expert, finding missing girls with 100% accuracy. Jeremy distances himself from Ralph after the day they were found, until a strange girl named Emilie shows up, asking him to help her find her missing sister who vanished in the very same woods. Jeremy is the only one who remembers the magical realm where he and Ralph were for months. Now he needs Ralph's help to find Emilie's sister there. Ralph has been a reclusive artist since that day isn't exactly on good terms with Jeremy since Jeremy won't even talk to him. After Jeremy explains himself, Ralph is reluctantly on his side and together, with Emilie, they face their shared past, getting back everything they've lost.

"Jeremy took a long breath, then said, 'To quote the great lion Aslan, 'Further Up and further in'."

The concept of this book is brilliant. There are countless references and nods to Narnia and the characters there. The character of Ralph is actually drawn from one of the characters of the Chronicles of Narnia series. It is genius for Meg Shaffer to take these characters and have them experience the modern world as extraordinary, complex boys with modern struggles. I loved those aspects of the storyline. There are a few reasons I did not give this book a 5 star rating.
1. The world building was not adequate. The concepts were definitely there. The outline was there and VERY imaginative and original. There simply was not enough time spent or development of conflicts in the magical world. Jeremy, Rafe, and Emilie don't even go there until 50% of the way through the book. And even then there is really only one quick conflict they face. If this book is admittedly going to be attributed to Narnia, we need more from this magical realm.
2. Much of the language of the characters feels completely out of place. There was too much modern sexual language for a book like this. It felt out of place - like graffiti on the walls of this respectable realm. It didn't fit and took me immediately out of the world of which I wanted more! In one section, she even admits this, writing, "Very sorry, but we'll have to close the door here...After all, this isn't that kind of story".

Over all, I do think this book will do well. I highly respect Meg Shaffer. She's brilliant! I know this will reach a wide audience... as it should.

Thank you so much Meg Shaffer, NetGalley, and Ballantine Books for this excellent ARC in exchange for an honest review.

This is an amazing story!! The novel starts with a nurse and her boyfriend finding two boys, Jeremy and Rafe, who were missing for six months in Red Crow Forest in West Virginia.

Fifteen years later, Emelie, an adopted child who has just lost her mother to cancer, searches for surviving family through a DNA ancestry website. Emelie learns that she had a half-sister who went missing in Red Crow Forest a long time ago. In order to get closure and properly bury her sister, Emelie tracks down Jeremy, who has spent his adult life finding lost or kidnapped girls. Together, Rafe, Jeremy, and Emelie venture back into Red Crow Forest to find Emelie’s sister, Shannon. Turns out, forests are truly magical…..

P.S. Please write a sequel, Meg Shaffer!!

I loved this book! Great for fans of the Wishing Game, chronicles of Narnia, or anyone who likes “sweeter” fantasies.

The Lost Story by Meg Shaffer is magic. The story is inspired by the Chronicles of Narnia as if it were a real life fairytale. It will take you to other worlds and glimmer with magic.

Emilie has a half sister who was lost in the woods as a teenage. After losing her mother, Emilie is inspired to ask Jeremy, an investigator who finds lost women all over the world, to help her locate her sister.

The Lost Story was beautifully written. I was so excited to read it after loving The Wishing game. Meg Shaffer makes these fantasy-ish story’s come to life. As a child I loved the children’s movie The Hugga Bunch and this story reminded me of it. It was nostalgic and made me smile. It was happy and hopeful and truly glittered. There are no words to capture how this story made me feel.

Thank you to NetGalley and Random House Publishing, Ballantine for an advanced copy in exchange for my honest opinion. I can’t wait to read what Meg Shaffer writes next!

I loved this book so much! I’d classify it as a cozy fantasy-adjacent because it didn’t take itself too seriously. The stakes were high but it wasn’t armies battling, it was individuals battling past and present trauma.

The Lost Story manages to poke fun at fairy tales while also being a fairy tale. And I love a book that breaks the fourth wall!

Thank you to NetGalley and Ballantine Books for the opportunity to read this ARC! This is my honest review.

"Some day you will be old enough to start reading fairy tales again." - C.S. Lewis

Jeremy and Rafe, teens in West Virginia, on a school outing, go missing. Six months later they reappear healthy and apparently unharmed, but seemingly have no memory of where they were the previous six months. Fast forward fifteen years, Rafe is a reclusive artist, Jeremy specializes in finding missing people. Enter Emilie who is searching for her long-lost sister, lost in the same state forest as the boys had been. Jeremy agrees to help her but only if they can convince Rafe to go along. Jeremy remembers where they were and he knows why Rafe can't remember. The three go on a quest to find Emilie's sister and through this journey, many secrets are revealed as they travel to the kingdom of Shanandoah.

Do they find Emilie's sister? Does Rafe have the holes in his memory filled? Can Jeremy finally move forward? Read and discover parts of your self you never knew were missing.

The Lost Story grows both darker and more charming the deeper you find yourself in the narrative. Inspired by the Chronicles of Narnia, this book feels like the best of fantasy, with the depth of a Grimm fairy tale, and the charm of a romance novel. I hesitate to share too much of the plot, because it is the slow unfolding of this story that is part of its charm. If you love stories about magical places and found family this book will be for you. If you were a fan of the Wishing Game, The Lost Story will not disappoint! Well done, Meg Shaffer! Thank you to NetGalley and Ballantine books for my gifted ARC!

Thank you to NetGalley and Ballantine Books for the opportunity to read an advance copy of this book.

I liked the first half better than the second. I really liked the Storyteller Corner interruptions between some of the chapters. It was like an actor talking to the camera as an aside. I liked all the characters, but once they got to Ghost Town, I lost interest and I felt like the writing became very "young adult" all of a sudden, and that the story was rushing to be everything all at once. I wish the relationship between Skya and Emilie had been explored more - it didn't seem authentic. I think others will really enjoy this and that maybe I wasn't the right audience for it.

The Lost Story is full of gentleness, wistful yearning, the deep desire for family, and belonging.

The first 40% of the story really hooked me. I was intrigued by how the remnants of their time in the fantasy world affected Jeremy and Rafe in different ways, such as the uncanny ability to find lost girls and women or unexplained fantastical artistic visions

But somehow, it lost me. The story that promised hope in darkness ultimately felt a little bit too light. Perhaps this is because the story, while delivering on beautiful fantasy elements, never delved too deep into them. The story seemed to take a younger tone in the last half (It makes sense due to the world they're entering in being written by a child) but the adult versions felt out of place, despite how earnestly they wanted to be there. I can't quite put my finger on it but there was so much there until there wasn't.

Regardless of my own disconnection, I think The Lost Story would be a wonderful recommendation for those looking for a soft central queer love story, a beautiful fantasy world, and someone longing for the childhood nostalgia of portal fantasies.

The Lost Story by Meg Shaffer follows Jeremy and Rafe fifteen years after they were mysteriously lost in the woods for six months. While they have gone their separate ways, a young woman named Emilie brings them back together to help search for her long lost sister who went missing in the same forest. Is there a magical secret in the woods?

I loved The Wishing Game by this author so I was excited to read her next book and I’m happy to say that I loved this one even more! It might be a bit of recency bias but this book was truly magical. I went into it blind and I feel like that’s the best thing to do so I won’t say too much about the story. It takes a bit for the plot to get moving. The author really takes the time to flesh out the main characters but once this book hits the 35ish percent mark, it takes off and is such a fun time.

This book had everything I want in a cozy story. This book feels like a warm hug for most of it. There are a few points of drama and action as well to keep the pace going. There is also the sweetest romance ever that happens that had me kicking my feet!

With two amazing books, Meg Shaffer is firmly cemented as an autobuy author for me. Her books have the whimsy of a middle grade story but with the themes of an adult story and I adore them so much.

This is my first time reading Meg Shaffer and I did not know what to expect. Shaffer will now be on my list of Authors to look out for. Her writing almost has a fairy-tale-like quality despite the rough themes explored throughout 'The Lost Story'. Each character was deeply complex and had depth. Shaffer's world-building was great and you can tell she fully thought everything through.

Overall, a mesmerizing story.

Now this is a MUST READ, cozy fantasy!

Meg Shaffer does it again! The Wishing Game was one of my top reads last year, and The Lost Story has just earned a top spot for this year.

I love a good fourth wall break, so once the storyteller interrupted, I was all the way in! Add to that all the best ingredients of a "Once Upon a Time..." tale set against the backdrop of West Virginia, and I was hooked (as a Marshall girl with family still in WV, I might be slightly biased when it comes to the setting though).

I laughed out loud. I cried. I loved these characters and this world. I hope this isn't the last we see of them.

Oh and one final thought: West by God Virginia!

When I learned that Meg Shaffer had a book being released this summer after loving her debut novel, The Wishing Game, I knew I had to get my hands on a copy.
The Lost Story evokes many similar feelings that I had about The Wishing Well and it is well worth a read.
This story focuses on two men who were childhood friends, Jeremy (now grown and specialized in finding missing children) and Rafe (a reclusive artist living in the deep woods of West Virginia).
After becoming lost themselves in the woods of West Virginia as two teen boys they have been estranged and are now reunited by a young woman looking for her long missing sister.
I enjoyed the magical elements to this story and like many reviews have mentioned it’s loving nods to the childhood Narnia series.
While it did not immerse me as deeply as her first novel, it is absolutely worth picking up to escape from whatever your present world holds.
Thank you to Ballantine Books and NetGalley for this advance readers copy.

You know that feeling when a book is everything you needed in that moment? A book that makes your heart lighter with every page, and you don’t want it to end because it makes you so happy? That was The Lost Story for me. It was the whimsical cozy fantasy I’ve been craving and I’m only sad that it’s over.

This book has all the ingredients of a perfect fairytale. If you don’t believe me, read the book, the recipe is included. Magical worlds, a brave prince, a princes in distress, and a villain that will break your heart are all part of what makes this such an enchanting read. There’s even an unexpected second chance romance that you can’t help but swoon over.

This book even comes with a narrator, The Storyteller, who reminded me of the grandfather from The Princess Bride. Every few chapters they are there to shed insight into our heroes past or use anecdotes from classics to foreshadow events to come. I found this aspect charming and looked forward to each of these short passages.

Like any good fairytale there is a morale of the story. Although this book is fairly light hearted, it does have some great messages about dealing with childhood/family trauma and healing. These meant a lot to me, as my own childhood was rocky at best, and I may or may not have cried a little 🥹

If you were the kid that spent your days imagining worlds of magic or always went looking for the doorway to a hidden world, this is definitely the book for you. It was *chef’s kiss* and I can only hope that the hint to a second book was actually a promise. Overall ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️