The Lost Story, unfortunately, was just not the book for me. With that said, it is a good story and well written - it’s just a bit outside of my normal genres that I enjoy. It is getting 4 stars from me based on the fact that for those who love fantasy stories will really enjoy this!

Thank you NetGalley for the free ARC in exchange for my honest review.

Shaffer does a great job of building up the suspense and expectation for the magical journey that gifted finder of lost girls Jeremy and his client Emily are going to undertake. Fifteen years prior, Jeremy and his best friend Rafe were lost for six months in the woods of West Virginia. Rafe doesn't remember a thing g, although nix dreams and subconscious are haunted by the event. Jeremy leaves with the ability to find lost people. When Emily was little, her sister was lost in the same woods. She just knows Jeremy can find her. He takes her up on the quest, but insists on bringing Rafe.

The characters are immediately likeable. I enjoyed this story, although think it could have been longer. The time the trio spend in the alternate world seems to pass to quickly, without adequate description and closure. Still, I enjoyed The Lost Story and look forward to reading more by this author.

A wholesome tale about overcoming grief and forgiveness and the many other trials of life. Honestly, this book didn't grab me from the get-go, but at about a quarter of the way through, I was hooked on the characters. It's a beautiful, sweet blend of childlike wonder mixed with The Lovely Bones and a whole bunch of homages to West Virginia. If you loved Gail Carson Levine books as a child, I think you would love this book so much. Also, if you like Ashley Poston, I think you would love this book.

This delightful take on a modern fairy tale leaves you reminiscing about the joys of childhood. Don’t come in expecting C.S. Lewis, but there’s a lot to enjoy as you unravel the secrets of this unlikely trio. High school best friends Jeremy and Rafe went missing for 6 months followed by a mysterious return. They are now grown men who must face their past and uncover some secrets to help Emilie find her long missing sister.

The story is interspersed with commentary from the Storyteller, which I found charming and added to the light heartedness of the story. As with The Wishing Game, the story focuses on the importance of family, friendship, and love. There are a couple heavier topics woven in and a strong LGBTQ+ representation in the romance.

As the Storyteller tells us, “Books are magic.” The Lost Story is no exception. Thank you Random House Publishing and Netgalley for the advanced copy.

✨“. . .All books are magic. An object that can take you to another world without even leaving your room? A story written by a stranger and yet it seems they wrote it just for you or to you? Loving and hating people made out of ink and paper, not flesh and blood? Yes, books are magic. Maybe even the strongest magic there is.”✨

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First off, THANK YOU to Meg Shaffer, NetGalley and Random House/Ballantine Books for my FIRST eARC! The Wishing Game was my absolute FAVORITE book of 2023, and so I was honored and grateful to be given an advance copy of Meg Shaffer’s next book.

Tbh, I found myself struggling not to compare this to The Wishing Game as I read. It was hard to remind myself that this is an entirely different book/story/reading experience (although I did notice the small reference to TWG!). That being said, one of the reasons I loved The Wishing Game so much was the writing – it was layered, beautiful, fantastical, magical. The author not only wrote the story but had to come up with all of the little elements/games/riddles, etc. I was in AWE of how much work must have gone into planning and executing the story. It was anything but simple.

The Lost Story's writing, on the other hand, was a little simpler. There’s nothing wrong with that, and it was certainly an easy/fast read, but I was anticipating something a little different. That being said, I still really enjoyed this cozy-warm hug of a book, the fantasy-for-grown-up-children-of-the-90s story, the quirky characters and, of course, Shenandoah. The simplicity of the story definitely reminded me of reading the Chronicles of Narnia and The Wizard of Oz, two of my favorite fantasy series – which just goes to show that a simple story can still be magical and impact generations of readers for years to come.

I do wish we got more time in Shenandoah – I kept reading and reading the first half of the book and found myself asking “okay but when do we get to go there?!” It wasn’t until almost 50% of the way into the book that we get our first glimpses of this INCREDIBLE fairytale land. I hope we see more!

Okay, gotta go bake some Golden Apple Christmas Cake now. 😉

Pardon me, I just finished this book 5 minutes ago and I'm still drying my eyes.
Meg Shaffer is quickly becoming a favorite author of mine, I love how she writes books for people who loves books. She writes books that remind you of the magic of books.
The Lost Story is about 2 boys who find a fairy tale world and then have to come back. The Lost Story is about a girl looking for her missing sister. The Lost Story is about where you go when you're lost.
This was a beautiful story and I loved it.

Go read this book. And if you haven't read The Wishing Game, go read that book!

Thanks to Netgalley and Ballantine books for an early copy for review.

SIX STARS! The Lost Story is a beautifully written fairytale about friendship, lost love, reunions and forgiveness! I ate up every word.

A fantastical fairy tale about two boys who were lost in a West Virginia forest for 6 months as teenagers. The story meets them 15 years later when they return to not just any old forest, but a portal to another world.

Meg Shaffer’s writing is such a delight. Her story was detailed without being verbose. I could taste the Golden Apples and hear the mermaids whisper. I want to catch falling stars and watch the sunrise over the Blue River. If there will be additional books in this series, I will absolutely read them. And if there won’t be, I will happily imagine the fairy tales Skya will write with her unicorn-erasered pencil.

Thank you to NetGalley, Random House Publishing Group - Ballantine and Meg Shaffer for the ARC of The Lost Story.

The Lost Story by Meg Shaffer is an enchanting journey into an adult fairytale realm that gripped me from the very beginning. Shaffer's fabulous writing weaves a beautiful narrative, bringing artfully crafted & lovable characters to life. The love story, the concept of found family, & the magical setting of Shenandoah make this book an absolute gem – a perfect escape into a world of wonder.

For fans of The Wishing Game, The Lost Story is a MUST read, showcasing Meg Shaffer's storytelling prowess once again. Highly recommended to anyone seeking a magical getaway within the pages of a book.

I extend my heartfelt thanks to #NetGalley, #TheLostStory, and @meg_shaffer for the captivating ARC experience. These opinions are voluntary and entirely my own.

I will post to other social media sites closer to the publication date 7/16/24.

A pair of best friends disappear in a state forest in West Virginia for several months when they are young teens, emerging unscathed physically but changed forever emotionally and mentally. Years later, as adults, the friends reconnect to help a young woman whose only sister was lost in that forest at the same time and who never returned. The three travel through a portal in the forest to a magical land that looks like a child dreamed it up.

Maybe they did...

I flat-out LOVED this book, loved the magical realism, loved the relationships and the friendships. I am not a fan of high fantasy or books that require maps and genealogy charts. I prefer my alt-universes to be ones that mimic just enough of the real world to make sense, but I also appreciate innovation, whimsy, and magic.

For the magical realist neophytes, this is a good gateway tale, one with a narrator who pops up now and then to nudge the reader along the journey and explain things that might be contradictory or unusual...or to muck things up entirely. That's the charm of an omniscient narrator.

As soon as I finished this book, I went in search of Meg Shaffer's first novel. Can't wait to read that one too.

Thanks to Netgalley for the arc to review.

Prepare to be spellbound by "The Lost Story" by Meg Shaffer, a mesmerizing tale of friendship, mystery, and the allure of the unknown. Childhood friends Jeremy and Rafe vanish into the depths of a West Virginia forest, only to emerge six months later with no memory of their extraordinary journey.

Fifteen years later, Jeremy has become a sought-after investigator of missing persons, while Rafe grapples with scars both seen and unseen. When vet tech Emilie Wendell seeks Jeremy's help to find her missing sister, the trio embarks on a quest that will lead them back to the enigmatic realm where Jeremy and Rafe were lost.

Shaffer's masterful storytelling blends elements of fantasy and suspense, weaving a captivating narrative that keeps readers on the edge of their seats. As Emilie, Rafe, and Jeremy confront their past and journey into the unknown, they must unravel the secrets that have haunted them for years.

With its richly drawn characters, evocative prose, and tantalizing twists, "The Lost Story" is a gripping exploration of love, loss, and the enduring power of friendship. Lose yourself in this enchanting adventure where every turn of the page reveals new wonders and revelations.

Thanks so much to NetGalley and the publisher for the ARC!

This was a book that will stay with me for a long time. It is filled with mystery, love, magic, lost worlds and a really good plot. If you had the ability to write your perfect world into existence, what would you write? This book will make you think about that very topic.

The Lost Story at its heart is a book about fairy tales. This book starts by discovering two boys lost in a vast state forest after an extended period of time. The plot quickly fast forwards 15 years later and picks up with one of the boys having the ability to find lost items and people. The Lost Story is a wonderful character driven novel filled with magical realism with a touch of fantasy. I really connected with all of the main characters and rooted for them across their different adventures.

It made me nostalgic for a child's imagination and grateful for a well written book to export me to different lands. I loved this book so very much. 4.5 stars rounded up to 5. Thank you Random House Publishing and Netgalley for the advanced copy. This honest review contains my own opinions.

There are books that bring me back to the magic that reading was for me as a kid. The Lost Story is the kind of book that I loved as child, but now can appreciate the grown up version of those fairy tales as an adult. I loved and rooted for the characters, the magic within it is explained, and it beautifully shows us how the trauma we have as a child carries with us in ways seen and unseen. How that trauma can mold our personalities in ways we didn't realize. It is a beautiful story. Easily 5 stars and one I will tell others about.

See more in Instagram - @bookish_starry_skies

Thank you to my new MUST READ author, Meg Shaffer, the publisher, and Netgalley for this advanced copy.

Thank you to NetGalley and Random House Publishing for an Arc of this Story.

The Lost story follows two men who were once lost and a girl trying to find her sister.

I have a lot of feelings about this book. I really enjoyed it but also feel like it was missing something. I rate it 3.5

I loved the first 10% and it really pulled me in. I liked the storyteller Interjections, although I wish some of them weren’t just a sentence long. I liked the idea and thought it was a fun read! I love a good introductory map! There were parts that were genuinely funny to me and parts that made me feel for the characters.

I didn’t like the interactions between characters . I didn’t like the romance because I didn’t feel any buildup to it. It wasn’t there, it wasn’t there, *blink blink* oh, they’re kissing? They are late twenties and early thirties and they feel 13. I wish that the story was written in a way that felt more like the story was being told to me. We have short little snippets of 2nd person POV and then back to a disconnected 3rd. I wish they crossed over into shanondoah sooner. We don’t get to travel there until 41% I wish we had more time there rather than here and I wish that time was more explored. I feel like there was a lot of talking about how much fun they had in Shanandoah as teenagers, but it’s not really explored. I wish they knew how shanandoah was created, even if it was something silly like a drop of sun fell into a cloud that rained on a tree and the roots of that tree became mountains and valleys and the leaves became people yada yada yada.

Over all, I thought it was good! I really think it would go hard as a middle grade book, with some minor tweaking. Age the characters down a bit so they got lost at like 8 and are going back at 15? Or leave them the same age and remove some suggestive content to make it more age appropriate. I would have loved having a fun and easy introduction to fantasy as a tween!

I would suggest this book to people wanting to get into fantasy and younger readers.

Every once in a while you pick up a book, start reading, and realize… this is something special. That was The Lost Story for me.

Ralph and Jeremy vanished in a West Virginia state park for 6 months without a trace. We find out what happened to Jeremy and Ralph in those 6 months while embarking on a quest with Emilie to find her sister who disappeared in the same state park.

This story was achingly beautiful in all the right ways. The characters were so easy to love. The found family they created was fun and entertaining. Balancing nostalgia for childhood fantasy and fairytales with adult themes and how the characters overcome them is tough, but Meg Shaffer certainly found a way to do it and do it well.

I enjoyed every moment reading this book.

As someone with deep personal ties to the great state of West Virginia, it was portrayed in all of the ways one would hope. You may think West Virginia probably wouldn’t be where your new favorite fairytale is set but it was perfect. Perfect, perfect, perfect.

Five stars all around, you don’t want to miss this one!

Thank you NetGalley and Random House Publishing Group- Ballantine for this ARC in exchange for my honest review!

Read if you love…
Feeling nostalgic about all of your favorite childhood fairytales
Inclusive love stories
Far away lands with magical critters
Found family
Stories with real world, sometimes tough themes and characters who triumph regardless
Pet rats who save the day
West- by God- Virginia!

Review will be posted to socials closer to pub date.

I absolutely LOVED The Wishing Game - so I was super excited when Random House reached out offering me an ARC of this book.

I really enjoyed this story. It was full of magic and adventure. I will say, though, that this one is a lot slower moving than The Wishing Game. The interesting/magical stuff doesn't even really begin until half way through the book. I think the first half of the book could have been cut in half and we could have had a lot more of the adventure and magic and this would have been a five star read.

That said - definitely a four star read and the characters are all quite likeable!

PITCH: Frozen meets Chronicles of Narnia with hints of Bridge to Terabithia

I crawled inside this book and quickly was transformed into my 12 year old self reading a magical book for the first time. While a brand new story, this book wraps around you a blanket of nostalgia for children’s stories gone by. It’s contemporary fiction mixed with fantasy. Quick moving and full of fun writing (“I want to look death in the face and boop his nose”), this book is a perfect summer in the hammock read.

(By the way, can we cast Jonathan Groff as Ralph? )

Review posted on Instagram, 25 Feb 2024.

This story was so intriguing and had me hooked from the start! I loved the world this book created and how the story progressed. I will definitely recommend this book to everyone!

The Lost Story will appeal to those who like stories inspired by Narnia that include a contemporary setting with doorways to other worlds. It also includes a queer love story. Two boys once went missing in the West Virginian woods for several months and no one knows where they went during that time. As adults, they are helping a woman find her lost sister. Their search will reveal the mystery of where they disappeared to all those years ago.

This book does have a habit of breaking the fourth wall and the beginning was slower than I expected. The first half leans angsty as it deals with themes of loss and trauma as the boys deal with the events that led to them running away in the first place and the aftermath of their return. The fairy tale bits start around the halfway point when they head back into the woods and into a world that felt like it belonged to a child's fairy tale. But going to another world isn't enough to escape the ghosts of their past.

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for providing me an ARC copy in exchange for an honest review.