I loved the idea of this book and I loved her other book but this one was just to slow and disjointed to me . It seemed to take too long to get to the point of the story.

Thank you Netgalley for providing me with this magical ARC!

This book ropes you in from the first page. It’s easy to see the inspiration from C.S. Lewis and The Chronicles of Narnia but as an adult spinoff. This is a great fantasy book for people who like contemporary books, simple magic systems and magical realism.

There are very real, adult issues in this book such as abuse, kidnapping, anti LGBT characters, trauma, etc. Despite these issues, the story sweeps you away to a magical place that you don’t want to leave. I also love that the author, Meg, set this book up for a sequel. Let’s hope it happens because I would love to come back to this world again!

I was really excited to get Meg Shaffer’s second book! Her magnificent writing flowed from her first book to The Lost Story. I loved the take of a fairy tale for adults complete with a narrator who would pop in from time to time. Once I started this book, I found it hard to put down. I loved the theme of no darkness without light that flowed through the book. I loved the LGBTQ representation. The character development was not lacking and the reader is able to become invested in the relationships. The author was familiar with old fairytales and I loved the impact books like Narnia, Wizard of Oz, and Peter Pan had on this book. I just didn’t fully love the ending. It felt like it was either really rushed OR it sets up the space for a sequel.

The Lost Story is a perfect modern fairy tale. Jeremy and Ralph go missing in a state park their early teens and are discovered 6 months later, in good health but with no explanation as to what happened. Fiifteen years later, Jeremy is an investigator who finds missing girls. Emilie begs Jeremy for help finding a sister she discovered through a DNA test after her mother had passed away, leaving her without any other family. Jeremy knows he needs Ralph's (Rafe's) help despite not talking to him for 15 years. And from here a Narnia-esque adventure begins. I loved this and hope the author considers a sequel!

Thank you NetGalley for the ARC.

I really enjoyed The Lost Story! I love Meg Shaffer’s other works so had high expectations and they delivered.
I loved that it was inspired by The Chronicles of Narnia, as someone who drew up loving those books. I thought the characters were all super great and easy to connect to and get invested in. There is some romance with out it being overtaking and it has such a nice like old school book feel to it in a good way - felt nostalgic like stuff I read when I was younger but also not immature. I loved all the settings and it was really immersive. Can’t recommend enough and will add to our library!

The review is on a pre-release version. According to the author's social media post, there have already been almost 800 changes to this version. I mention that because the first 30% of the book was rough - initial draft rough. I am looking forward to reading the published version when it comes out in July 2024.

The Lost Story was inspired by The Chronicles of Narnia, much like her first book, The Wishing Game, was inspired by Charlie and the Chocolate Factory. It follows Emilie, Rafe, and Jeremy on the journey from West Virginia to the magical land of Shanandoah. It's the classic hero's journey. I loved that the author mentioned Joseph Campbell in the Storyteller Corner. Hopefully, this will lead to a whole new group of people being aware of his work.

I loved The Lost Story. Everything about it and all it stands for. Be you and stand up for what you love.
This is a story of loss, love, fear and forgiveness. All of this tied up in a nice bow thrown into a fantasy world.
Love!

Thank you NetGalley for the ARC.

The Wishing Game was one of my favorite books in 2023 and I was ecstatic to see that Meg Shaffer was releasing a new book. The Lost Story was everything I was expecting and more. This fairytale was such an adventure with fantastic and entertaining main characters (especially the witty and mysterious storyteller). I enjoyed the two timelines of the present and events that originally led Rafe and Jeremy to Shanandoah. The ending was perfect and could possibly lead to more adventures of Shanandoah. I would love to see a sequel or a novella with more adventures with the main characters. Overall, this book was beautifully written and is a top contender for one the best books I have read this year- 5 stars.

The Lost Story comes out July 16th.

Thank you to NetGalley and Random House Publishing Group/Ballantine for the opportunity to review The Lost Story. All thoughts and opinions are my own.

4.5 stars rounding up to 5. “All books are magic.”
I absolutely loved this cozy fairytale. It was truly reminiscent of the Narnia chronicle for me. This story pulled me in from the very first page. I loved the characters, the setting and how well the fantasy and reality worlds blended. The magic of this book was something I think everyone (maybe just me?) thought or wished could happen.

However the magic isn’t the only thing in this story. There were some hard topics that were covered as well (adoption, suicide, familial loss, abuse). I really enjoyed the relationships between the characters and how they developed. There is also a fun animal companion that I wished we saw more of.

My only little issue was how often the storyteller parts came up. There were a few times that it drew me out of the overall story because it seemed to interrupt the flow. Other than that the writing was easy to follow and it was a great read.

If you enjoyed The Narnia chronicles, Wizard of Oz, fairytales in general, or the authors other novel The Wishing Game I think you will enjoy this.

The story begins with the reappearance of two boys who went missing in the West Virginia woods six months earlier. We then skip forward fifteen years. Rafe is a recluse. Jeremy has an uncanny ability to find missing girls. Enter Emilie, who asks Jeremy to help find her half-sister who went missing in the same West Virginia woods years earlier. The story quickly takes a turn from reality to fantasy as Jeremy, Rafe, and Emilie enter the magical kingdom of Shanandoah with all the typical fairy tale characters, a queen, and her court, a prince, knight, unicorns and magic apples. And of course there are the bad boys and the villain. The storyteller interrupts the narrative many times along the way to insert his two cents, give a little backstory, and point out how all fairy tale rules are followed as the story unfolds. The real and fantasy worlds are seamlessly woven together and what results is a fun story of loss, yearning, adventure, danger, and love.

I found the prologue of this book so compelling that I could not put the book down. I loved the references to West (by God) Virginia and the relationships in the book. A joy to read!

I thought the writing style in The Lost Story was slightly different than it was in The Wishing Game, but not to the point where it seems like a completely different author.

So if you liked her style in the wishing game, then you will probably like the way she wrote in the last story too. I thought the wishing game was a little bit better of a story, but I did enjoy the lost story.

There are some touchy subjects in the story that people may or may not agree with so that is something to keep in mind before you read it. I do think that it was tastefully done.

Everyone in this book are adults, but they all seemed a little childish to me. I don’t know if that’s because it’s kind of a fairytale where they kind of got stuck in the age that they got lost or what. But they did seem more like teenagers to me than adults. I enjoyed seeing all the relationships between the parents and all of those dynamics. I thought the found family aspect seemed slightly forced.

I wish there was a little bit more of the fairytale aspect where they were in the fantasy world. I did also enjoy the storyteller cutaway scenes. I think that’s something some people might not like but I like it when authors kind of break the fourth wall like that I think it’s fun. Overall I did enjoy this book.

I do really like the way Meg writes and I will continue reading her books if you are into fantasy books that are easy to read, you might enjoy this one.

I'll let you in on a secret. I've never read any of the Narnia series. Please don't take away my former Book-It pizza wins! While The Lost Story is inspired by Narnia, The Wizard of Oz, and other fairy tales from my childhood -- it is a  unique story that will heal your inner-child and hit you with the best dose of nostalgia, while still being an adult book that tackles difficult themes. I loved Meg Shaffer's The Wishing Game, but this book stands in a league all its own. It is a book I will think of for years to come with happy tears in my eyes and a very full heart.

Fifteen years ago, Jeremy and Rafe vanished in the West Virginia woods without a trace. Six months later they reappeared. While Jeremy remembers how they spent six magical months in a fantastical realm, Rafe has no memories of their lost time -- and Jeremy can't tell him. When Jeremy meets Emilie -- who is looking for her long, lost half sister. He not only recognizes her, he knows exactly where she is -- the magical kingdom of Shanandoah. But, he can't go back without Rafe. Can they bury their secrets, reunite sisters, and heal the rift that has kept them apart for so long?

Do you remember the feeling of reading Harry Potter for the first time? Striking out on a magical adventure, falling in love with those characters, and falling deeply in love with books? This book gave me that feeling all over again -- as an adult. Something I didn't know was even possible. I fell in love with Jeremy's devotion to Rafe, with Rafe's bravery as he faces challenges head on and unravels his lost memories, with Emilie's devotion to the sister she never met, and with Shanandoah. The book is more about the characters' journeys rather than world-building, and I wouldn't have it any other way. It's a story of perseverance and healing while being a love letter to the magical stories that taught us to dream big and imagine the impossible. At the end of the day, while there are princesses, knights, and unicorns -- there is also challenging issues that include abuse, suicide, and death. 'As it turns out you can't have a fairy tale without anything bad happening in it. Fairy tales need heroes. Heroes need dragons. Princes and knights need enemies. Life needs death. That's the price of magic.'

As I closed the book, with tears in my eyes, I had no doubt this will be one of my favorite books of the year. I cannot WAIT for this to drop in July as there are so many of my dear friends I will be buying a copy for and this is definitely on my must re-read list. 

Thank you to Random House Publishing Group - Ballantine Books for this Advanced Reader Copy via NetGalley in exchange for my honest review. All opinions are my own and freely given.

I enjoyed this author’s other book “The Wishing Game,” so I was excited to read something else from them. This was even better than “The Wishing Game.” It calls out to anyone who grew up with a love of books and/or is working on healing their inner child. The characters are so well developed and the relationships between them are so beautiful. In some ways this book felt like an ode to the fantasy books that shaped us growing up. The story truly touched my heart. It made my heart ache with joy and sympathy for our characters. So many hard hitting topics were dealt with so gracefully. All of the characters are extremely relatable and likable. (Especially Emilie and Fritz!) The writing was so beautiful and immersive. I honestly don’t have a bad thing to say about this book. Magical realism is very hit or miss with me but this was a smash hit. Will be buying a physical copy once it releases.

After falling head over heels for the wishing game, I was so excited to read Meg's next book. Unfortunately, this didn't bring me the same joy and magic. Right off the bat I couldn't stand our fmc, she tried too hard to make her quirky with the constant reminder of her obsession for Stevie Nicks (continuously thrown into conversation for what purpose?) And "I'm not like the other girls" vibes. Plot wise it was slow moving and didn't pick up until 50-60% and would've preferred the last quarter to be the main part of the story.

“Ask any question in an infinite universe, and the answer is yes. Always yes.”

“I lost the moon."
"What? How do you lose the moon?" he asked.
She looked up at the angry, hateful sky.
"You lose the moon the same way you lose hope," she said. "One day, you look up, and it's gone."

“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.”

I fell in love with The Wishing Game, so when I saw I was able to read Meg Shaffer’s new book before it was published, I was elated. I moved it to the front of my TBR, and I don’t regret a single thing. This book touched my soul. It was the epitome of a fairytale, and that is to say, it was tinged with darkness. There can’t be light without the dark, can there? The Lost Story was perfectly paced, with a shakeup of usual fairytale tropes, which I heavily enjoyed. It was unique, while simultaneously being familiar. Just as I hope we will return to Clock Island from The Wishing Game, I also hope we will return to Shanadoah.

A book for adults who as children longed to find an entrance to a forgotten world at the back of their wardrobe. Who says adventures in other realms are only for children?!

I love the characters in this new book by @meg_shaffer . Through Jeremy, Rafe and Skya’s relationships she gently explores the many ways that love can present itself and shows the strength of friendship when total trust is at its heart. Who would we all be if not for the friends and loved ones who help us grow and shine.

Another fantastic adventure fairy tale for the adults who never stopped thinking about Narnia, Oz, the Faraway Tree, or any other land filled with villains and heroes , princes and princess, magicians and wizards and maybe some unusual animals.

This was a wild ride! I went in mostly blind, only knew the reference to Narnia so right off the bat I was interested. I absolutely adored all of the main characters and the plot/world building was beautiful! My only complaint is that sometimes the sentences were very blunt and simple and didn’t flow well

I was invited to read this book and I am happy the publisher reached out, because this was totally up my ally! Two close friends vanished one day in West Virginia, only to re-appear six months later with no reasoning for what happened or where they went - eerie! Years later, the boys are on their own paths, one who remembers what happened (which is that they spent time in a magical world, but keeps it from the other), and the other boy still immersed in despair from his time spent away. But tides turn, and the two now-grown men must return to this magical world for a mission to find another missing person.

This was just fantastic world building, I really felt like I was present in this magical realm and discovering along with the main characters. Such great imagery, I was totally blown away. I also LOVED the Storyteller. There is just a lot in this book, heavier topics for sure, but also this amazing magical realm. One of the best books I've read in quite awhile.

Thank you to NetGalley and Random House Publishing Group - Ballantine for this ARC in exchange for an honest review.

eARC Review courtesy of NetGalley.

I didn’t have any experience with Meg Shaffer’s writing going into this story, but I had heard of The Wishing Game and was very intrigued by the premise of The Lost Story based on its synopsis. However, I quickly realized that this book was not for me. I was tempted to DNF it about 30% of the way through, but felt that it could be a quick enough read to see it through and hope the ending was enough pay-off. Spoiler alert: it wasn’t.

This story’s pacing was really off for me - I found it incredibly fast paced, but it lacked any sort of high stakes. The story went so quickly that it didn’t give me any sort of reason to care about the characters or their purposes. Our main character Emilie ended up taking a really fast back-seat and so much of the purpose of the story ended up not actually feeling all that important at all. The “villain” was also predictable, and his minions were basically useless? The ending also left me less than satisfied. I suppose it sets it up for a sequel, but the “cliffhanger” wasn’t enough for me to care to see what happens to these characters in the future.

All in all, it was a really cool concept that wasn’t fleshed out and executed fully. This could have easily been a much longer, much more interesting story. Instead, the story, and its characters, were shallow, lackluster, and surface level.