I flew through this book.

This book covers so much more than just a trip into a new world. The main characters are Em, Rafe, and Jeremy on a quest to find Emilie’s long lost sister, and what they get is a whole magical world, of which the boys had been to 15 years prior, and only one of them remembers what happened.

This magical world is one of my favorites I have ever read. The writing style and imagination had me swooning because I could vividly imagine every aspect of *said place* and it is stunning. I love a good fairytale and I’d say they were right - this is an adult fairytale. This was a fun, adventurous, heartwarming read. It does cover some difficult topics, like grief and abuse, but handled with care. Other parts have you laughing so hard you cry! The banter between Emilie and the boys is hilarious. I annotated so much in this book so that when I get my hard copy I can go back through!

What I did not expect in this book was an LGBT romance. It just sounded like more of an adventure book based on the description. Though I’ve read things like Addie LaRue and The House in the Cerulean Sea and LOVED those, that’s not my preferred reading when reading a romance just because that’s not how I relate in romance. If you do not prefer reading LGBT books I would skip this one as it’s part of a central theme here, not like the previously mentioned books. If you don’t mind/ like/ even prefer LGBT romances AND fantastical whimsy then you absolutely must buy the book. It will easily become a favorite.
That aside, this story is just amazing and beautiful and whimsical and unicorns.. *sigh* ✨🩷

Thank you to NetGalley for providing me an ARC in exchange for my honest review. I will update my instagram post link as I share it to insta in the next day two!

I recently discovered Meg Shaffer from The Wishing Game. I absolutely fell in love with her ability to blend reality and fairytale! The Lost Story is no different, Meg seamlessly blends adult themes with an enchanting fantastical world.

Rafe and Jeremy were 15 year old boys who went missing in West Virginia State Forest. Only to return alive and healthy several months later. The boys were irreparably changed from their experience in “The Crow”. Rafe became a recluse living out in the woods. Jeremey became a search and rescue expert, saving young girls from the ill fate of becoming lost.

We then follow Emilie whom is grieving the loss of her mother. She is looking for any connection/ family she can find. Emilie discovers she has a half sister who went missing years ago in West Virginia’a state forest. She enlists the help of Jeremy to find her.

Inspired by Narnia and every child’s dream to escape to a world full of magic. The Lost Story paints a whimsical world full of magic, mystery and love! I enjoyed every moment of this story. If you need a cozy fairytale-esque fantasy, this is a must read!

BOOK REPORT
Received a complimentary copy of The Lost Story by Meg Shaffer from Random House Publishing Group-Ballantine/ Ballantine Books/NetGalley, for which I am appreciative, in exchange for a fair and honest review. Scroll past the BOOK REPORT section for a cut-and-paste of the DESCRIPTION of it from them if you want to read my thoughts on the book in the context of that summary.

Mixed emotions here. As a hardcore fan of The Princess Bride and The Lion, the Witch, and The Wardrobe, and The Hobbit, and oh, well, all of it, I so wanted to like this book more than I did. Especially because it was set in West Virginia and the way people communicated with each other seemed awfully real, and everything seemed very plausible at the outset.

Alas, it went down like YA treacle at the end.

So. Umm.

Hate to keep ending my Book Reports like this, but I probably won’t read anything else by this author.

PS
I am writing this at about 7p on the 16th of April of 2024. And there is a heavy and really weird and unexplained smell of chlorine in my home office (we have not yet opened our pool for the summer and I don’t have any windows open). So if I turn up missing tomorrow….


DESCRIPTION
Inspired by C. S. Lewis’s The Chronicles of Narnia, this wild and wondrous novel is a fairy tale for grown-ups who still knock on the back of wardrobes—just in case—from the author of The Wishing Game.

“This wildly imaginative book speaks to every reader who yearns for a more magical world.”—Thao Thai, author of Banyan Moon, a Today show Read with Jenna pick
As boys, best friends Jeremy Cox and Rafe Howell went missing in a vast West Virginia state forest, only to mysteriously reappear six months later with no explanation for where they’d gone or how they’d survived.

Fifteen years after their miraculous homecoming, Rafe is a reclusive artist who still bears scars inside and out but has no memory of what happened during those months. Meanwhile, Jeremy has become a famed missing persons’ investigator. With his uncanny abilities, he is the one person who can help vet tech Emilie Wendell find her sister, who vanished in the very same forest as Rafe and Jeremy.

Jeremy alone knows the fantastical truth about the disappearances, for while the rest of the world was searching for them, the two missing boys were in a magical realm filled with impossible beauty and terrible danger. He believes it is there that they will find Emilie’s sister. However, Jeremy has kept Rafe in the dark since their return for his own inscrutable reasons. But the time for burying secrets comes to an end as the quest for Emilie’s sister begins. The former lost boys must confront their shared past, no matter how traumatic the memories.

Alongside the headstrong Emilie, Rafe and Jeremy must return to the enchanted world they called home for six months—for only then can they get back everything and everyone they’ve lost.

To me this is a perfect companion novel to the Wayward Children series from Seanan McGuire. Rafe and Jeremy's story was about what happened after they got lost into another world, and how they navigated after coming back. But unlike McGuire's teenagers who are dealing with their recent returns, it's been a long fifteen years for Rafe and Jeremy. And only one of them remembers what happened.

That premise created real intrigue. I was completely absorbed into figuring out the details of what happened to them, and how they navigated all these years since. I find it fascinating how they dealt with the real world, the loss of their magical kingdom, and their hopes to return.
It was also interesting to follow adults who were still dealing with childhood events and traumas. Unfolding everything from their past was my favorite part.
Emilie's quest to find her sister, and figure out what happened to her, also added a lot. I loved the dynamic of the main trio, and that it didn't go into certain cliches when there's a woman and two guys. They really felt like a little found family. And the romance was beautiful.

I still enjoyed the part in Shanadoah, but it was very much Narnia's-esque and felt like I'd seen this everywhere. That's when I felt the book could have been edited down a bit. But the confrontation with the main villain brought a satisfying conclusion and rounded up the story nicely.

I haven't read Meg Shaffer's The Wishing Game yet, but now I want to.

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

I found the premise of this to be really interesting. The dynamic between Jeremy, Rafe, and Emilie was really interesting at the beginning as they got to know and understand each other. I didn't really mind the storyteller interjections. The dialogue was pretty funny and engaging as well. Weirdly, once they actually entered the fantasy world, things got... duller. I'm not sure how exactly to explain it. It feels like the fantasy world was too colorful, almost to the point of silliness. And maybe that's the point -- after all, it was a fantasy world imagined by a teenage girl. But the enemies and titles and different whimsical fantastical elements took away from the characters. Emilie and her sister Skya became quite boring and also extremely affectionate to each other despite years of estrangement and not much historical connection to go off of. Jeremy and Rafe's relationship felt more contrived. Etc and etc. The resolution of darker themes and serious topics felt underdeveloped.

Received a free copy from Netgalley.

In "The Lost Story" by Meg Shaffer, readers embark on a mesmerizing journey into a world of magic and intrigue, evoking the enchantment of C. S. Lewis's cherished Chronicles of Narnia. Drawing inspiration from timeless fairy tales, Shaffer's novel offers a captivating adventure for adults who still harbor dreams of hidden realms.

The narrative follows childhood friends Jeremy Cox and Rafe Howell, who vanished into a West Virginia forest only to reappear six months later with no memory of their disappearance. Now, fifteen years on, Jeremy is a renowned missing persons' investigator, while Rafe leads a reclusive life as an artist, haunted by unanswered questions.

When vet tech Emilie Wendell seeks Jeremy's help in finding her missing sister, the trio embarks on a quest that leads them back to the magical realm where Jeremy and Rafe spent those enigmatic six months. As they confront their shared past and unearth long-buried secrets, they navigate a world of both beauty and peril, determined to rescue Emilie's sister and reclaim what they have lost.

Through Shaffer's richly imagined setting and compelling characters, "The Lost Story" captures the imagination and hearts of its readers. Blending fantasy with suspense, Shaffer delivers a spellbinding narrative that will keep readers enthralled until the very end.

The Wishing Game was my favorite book of 2023 so I was thrilled to receive an ARC of The Lost Story. It began so well - unsolved missing sister and promises of a Narnia like world. What could be better! And I enjoyed the Storyteller chapters sprinkled throughout. About 30% into the novel, it became clear this wasn’t going to be all I had hoped it would. The author tried to cover too much ground and too many themes. It was just all too much. It should also be noted (since this book is marketed to has nods to CS Lewis and Narnia) that there is a heavy homosexual theme throughout. There is also sexual content and adult language. So it’s definitely not a children’s book like Narnia. Overall, I had such high hopes for this book but ended up feeling let down. The overall tone of the book felt extremely juvenile and the story rushed.

Once upon a time in West Virginia, 14-year-old best friends Rafe Howell and Jeremy Cox go missing during a school field trip to Red Crow State Forest. After six months, they are found in the same woods—alive, inexplicably healthy, and with no explanation as to why they got separated from their group and how they survived in the wilderness alone. But the plot of 𝘛𝘩𝘦 𝘓𝘰𝘴𝘵 𝘚𝘵𝘰𝘳𝘺 truly begins 15 years later when missing persons investigator Jeremy and reclusive artist Rafe reunite to help a young woman named Emilie uncover what happened to her sister Shannon, a kidnapping victim who was last seen in the same forest decades ago. Amazingly, the truth behind Jeremy and Rafe’s disappearance as well as the answers to Shannon’s mystery lie in the magical but dangerous realm of Shanandoah, an otherworldly land to which the trio must journey and fill in the missing pieces of their life stories.

𝘛𝘩𝘦 𝘓𝘰𝘴𝘵 𝘚𝘵𝘰𝘳𝘺 is a whimsical, charming tale about friendship, romantic love, familial bonds, and the places we call home. I admit, however, that despite an intriguing premise and important themes about relationships and identity, the novel fell short for me in a few areas. The book started strong, but halfway through I felt like the author was trying to cram too much world-building and too many plot resolutions in 350 pages. The result was some stilted dialogue, various underdeveloped character relationships, and a somewhat rushed conclusion. But what saved the book for me was its enchanting tone and sweet ending. Ultimately, 𝘛𝘩𝘦 𝘓𝘰𝘴𝘵 𝘚𝘵𝘰𝘳𝘺 is an enjoyable novel I would recommend to those interested in a cozy and contemporary fairy tale.

4.25 stars. Thank you to Ballantine Books and NetGalley for an advance reader copy in exchange for an honest review.

A super interesting, fantastical, magical read that i would recommend to fans of Narnia. I liked the worldbuilding and the characters.

A validation for American fantasy lovers. Having gone to West Virginia every summer of my youth for a family reunion (and heck, probably reading Chronicles of Narnia on the twisty drives!), this book felt personal. America is also a land of secrets and magic, portals to process the world through magic. The characters feel real and warm, with a pleasant balance between platonic intimacy and gentle romance. You want to hear this tale around a fire in Shenandoah National Park. You want to wake up in this world. The prose shines like that perfect stone you find in the creek when you’re seven years old.

Jeremy and Rafe, two kids in West Virginia, went missing years ago for an entire six months. They arrived back taller, older, but with no memory of where they’d been. Fast forward to present day and they do not speak to each other - Jeremy is a missing person’s expert and Rafe has been in and out of mental hospitals. Emile arrives to bring them back together, as well as a red crow, as they go off to search for someone else who went missing ages ago.

I honestly don’t know what to do with this book, and I feel like this book doesn’t really know what it IS. It switches between third person narrative and first person, the first person perspective being a storyteller who interjects bits of information, but nothing really relevant. It is strange when it comes around to the storyteller part and the storyteller isn’t that likable. There’s so much talking, especially in the beginning. SO dialogue heavy. Some of it is witty and smart, but it seems to slow the whole plot down. I feel like it takes forever to get going in the beginning. I had to stop myself several times to wonder, “what age group is this for?” because it swings a bit childish. I know that Jeremy and Rafe are adults, but Emile seems really young, and the way things are described, it just has a young adult feel, especially when it gets to the other land.

This is billed as a “modern fairy tale,” and it has a lot of fun elements: the other world, the random food and flora/fauna of the fairy tale land, some of the banter between Emile and Jeremy, the romance between Rafe and Jeremy, and it says outright that it owes a lot to Narnia (it is referenced several times) which I get. But honestly, this book had huge potential for me and just really missed the mark.

Thanks to Netgalley and the publisher for this ARC.

I really enjoyed this book. It was different than anything else I've read recently. I couldn't put it down! I will keep an eye out for this author's future work!

Six months after they went in the forests of West Virginia, two young teen boys are found in the woods. One didn't remember anything from the time they were gone, and the other wasn't talking. Even to his friend.

Fifteen years later, Jeremy is a searcher for lost souls. He spends his time looking for missing girls and women with a high success rate - one that garners him international attention as a savior of the lost. When Emilie approaches him to help find her missing sister, it looks like the perfect case for Jeremy to take - until he realizes it will take him back to the very forests he and his friend were lost in years before.

Rafe and Jeremy haven't spoken since they were rescued from the forest. But it will be imperative that the two work together to solve this case, as only together will they be able to reenter the woods and rediscover what happened to them so many years ago.

This is a great story, with a multitude of magical creatures and a society much different from our own. The characters are full of heart and well developed, and the relationships between them are perfectly imperfect, leaving readers with an emotional connection they will reflect on long after reading the last page.

A great read for adults who were fans of The Chronicles of Narnia as a child, and anyone who enjoys thinking of the possibility of magical realms just beyond our reach.

I picked this one up because I loved the Wishing Game and this book did not disappoint. I loved how imaginative this book is and how everything fits together. The characters are well-developed and it’s easy to get absorbed in the story.

This was my first Meg Shaffer book and I was pleasantly surprised.

Here's what I liked:
- The setting descriptions. I mean, wow, Shaffer was able to describe things in a way that made me not just feel like I was there but I could smell and taste everything happening.
- Loved the characters. They were all wonderful.
- Writing: honestly, impeccable. Loved it.

Things that could've been better:
- Pacing. It felt slow for the first half of the book and then it got going and was 100% worth the rest of the read. Just wish it happened faster.
- Character development was a bit lacking but not terrible. I just needed a little bit more from it.

Thanks to NetGalley and Random House for an e-ARC in exchange for an honest review.

Thank you SO much, NetGalley and Ballantine books for the ARC. What a beautiful read!

The Lost Story was one of my most anticipated reads of the year. I loved The Chronicles of Narnia growing up, so I was ready for the whimsical, magical world that this book promised.

Plot: Fifteen years before this story takes place, Jeremy and Rafe went missing in the woods and reappeared six months later. Rafe has no recollection of those six months, but Jeremy does. Jeremy grows up and becomes a detective specializing in finding missing women. Emilie approaches him and asks her to help him locate her sister, who went missing in the woods years before Jeremy and Rafe. Jeremy agrees, and so the magic begins, as the trio enters/reenters the magical world of Shanandoah to find Emilie’s sister.

What I liked:
- Shanandoah was just as magical as promised. The details were beautiful. The writing was perfectly descriptive. The story was fun and adventurous and had all of the cozy/whimsical magical elements of my dreams. It truly felt like a fairytale.
- The characters were endearing. I wanted to hug all of them.

What I didn’t like:
- The story does not even begin until around the 52% mark. The first half of the book moved too slowly and could have been cut in half. In contrast, the second half moved too quickly - I wanted to be in Shanandoah longer. I felt myself getting antsy in the beginning and wanting to skip ahead. I also needed the existing magical scenes to last longer, and I needed more of them.
- This is likely connected to my previous point, but we needed just a tad more development of the relationships among the characters. Since this is meant to be a fairytale, I know character development wasn’t the highest priority, but I needed a smidge more.
- The writing at times had a bit of an identity crisis - it flounced between adult and YA. This didn’t bother me too much, and perhaps this was intentional, but is worth noting.

Overall, I had a great time with this book. I really hope the author creates a sequel - I would love to spend more time in this magical world.

First of all thanks to Netgalley and Random House Publishing Group for providing me with this ARC in exchange for an honest review.

For all lovers of C.S Lewis and L. Frank Baum, you may love this story full of fantasy in a world where adulthood is already established.
Jeremy and Rafe, teenagers of 14 and 15 years old and best friends, are famous in their hometown for a fact that until now no one can explain: while they were on a school trip to a city they disappeared and no one heard from them again, until months later they were They appeared out of nowhere, without a scratch but without answers, because apparently they had forgotten what had happened to them.
Fifteen years later Jeremy becomes a celebrity because he is a lost person finder with a very special gift because apparently he can find anyone. He meets Emilie, a girl who has the urgent need to find her sister kidnapped from her decades before. Jeremy knows that only Rafe can help them find Emilie's sister, and the journey they are about to take is beyond anyone's imagination.

This book is full of love and magic, it hooked me from the first moment since all the characters have that little thing that makes you fall in love with them from the beginning. I loved the plot, it is addictive and the setting was such that it made me want to get to know West Virginia.

I already knew the author's work with The Wishing Game and I loved it and I think that with this book she surpassed herself.

Another whimsical and heartwarming story from Meg Shaffer. She continues to prove the power that stories, especially those from our childhood, hold in our lives. What I love about her work is that while it is targeted towards adults (who sometimes need a reminder that it is okay to believe in the impossible), it is simple enough to be read to children as a bedtime story. Thank you to NetGalley, Meg Shaffer and Ballantine Books for an ARC of The Lost Story!

“Books are magic. Maybe even the strongest magic there is”.

Meg Shaffer did it again. She created a wonderful magical story full of hope, love and books. I’m utterly obsessed with the way she writes. It is a stunning book to read.
I did prefer The Wishing Game and felt like the plot was easily predictable but it was still magical. The romance in here was to die for and the found family trope so well done. The ending was PERFECT. The last few sentences are permanently inked to my brain. I cried of course. It’s Meg’s personal magic trick.

As a huge fan of the Wayward Children series by Seanan Maguire, this sounded right up my alley. It followed the same premise but that was okay with me because I was expecting this to be written more for adults.

It wasn't. 

Here's the thing...the beginning started off great. I loved that the young boys had aged to nearly 30 in their 15 years of being back and were figuring out a way to return.  I was ready for adult themes, dialog, mature queer romance, mystery, and knock me on my ass magical world building.

None of those things happened.

In fact, the Wayward Children series is more grown up, fleshed out, unique, and grappled with characters far more complex than this book even came close to. 

Instead, we got 30 year old men talking and acting like high schoolers. A weird uninteresting side character who just drove the plot to where it needed to go next, and some kinda foofoo ding dong let's make the bad guys go poof with a nose boop "magical land". Ugh. It was such a let-down. Especially once I got halfway into the book. But let it be said that the first 1/4th of the book had such promise!

Also, the whole narrator bit was unnecessary. 

The more I think about this book, the more convinced I am that it was written by a 9th grader.

I'm sorry that this was a total miss for me because I truly appreciate that I was granted the privilege by Netgalley and Random House Publishing Group: Ballantine to receive this ARC for my honest feedback and review.