When life gets challenging, we are so lucky to have books that allow us to escape. The Lost Story is exactly that…an escape. Meg Shaffer delivers pure magic in this fairytale fit for adults. Yes, adults need fairytales too!

Rafe and Jeremy are two childhood friends who get lost in the woods of West Virginia, only to reemerge six months later with no explanation as to their whereabouts or how they survived. This leaves the boys’ families and community with many unanswered questions. Fast forward 15 years later. Rafe is an artist who is withdrawn from society and has no memory of the time he was lost in the woods. Unlike Rafe, Jeremy clearly remembers what transpired in the woods. He is now an investigator who helps find missing persons with great, unexplainable success. Due to his uncanny abilities, he catches the attention of Emilie, a vet tech, who hires Jeremy to help find her long-lost sister. When Jeremy recognizes Emilie’s sister, he knows that he will have to return to the enchanted world and will need the help of Rafe. Stepping back into this world will reveal answers to secrets that have been buried for far too long.

Readers will have no shortage of talking points to stimulate discussions. The breadth of themes is remarkable…found family, escapism, love, trauma, adventure, loyalty, choices, deep friendships and more. Shaffer’s imagination runs wild in this inventive, quirky and unique story that is a balance of light-hearted and heavy. It’s different, but it is simply enchanting!

Thank you to Quercus Books for providing this book for review consideration via NetGalley in exchange for my honest feedback. All opinions are my own. What a lovely read!

The premise of this book is very attractive to adults who have been reading fantasy books since childhood - what if it was not too late for that magical adventure? What would the life of those children returned from Narnia be after they came back? Sadly, the book did not deliver. Change the ages of every single character to, say, 16 years at most, and the whole book would remain unchanged.

The characters being adults was the selling point, yet there is nothing adult or realistic about their lives and decisions. It is not like they have mortages to leave behind, or an unsuccessful life to run from, or a routine they have to decide to throw away, just a whole lot of... nothing. I was reading about this girl quitting her veterinary job willy-nilly, and later deciding to follow not one, but two men she doesn't really know into some woods with insinuations of never coming back, and wondering how I am supposed to believe that they are all in their very late 20s. It doesn't get better from there. Not even the 33-year-old seems able to think long-term.

As fantasy goes, this book was... boring. Nothing to write home about in the worldbuilding, nothing unique or memorable, which is not helped by the constant references to Narnia. Those are some big shoes to fill, and throwing the comparison every two chapters looked more like self-sabotage. I don't think making girls the queens and warriors of this magical world while making monsters that look like teenage boys the epitome of evil is very feminist since the 90s ended. Also, the name of this world is a bastardized version of a Native American word, changed by the (very white and blonde) queen to 'make it hers'... yikes on a bike.

It gets two stars instead of one because there were some truly good sentences here and there, but overall the book is disjointed, forgettable, and sometimes downright offensive.

The Lost Story by M. Shaffer, published by Quercus Books, is a wonderful fairy tale. Just reading the prologue I was more than intrigued, I was mesmerized.
Fell in insta love with Jeremy, Rafe, Skya and Emilie's characters and their unique story.
The story starts out heartpounding and pageturning and keeps the pace throughout the book. I couldn't read fast enough, I had to know what happens next like yesterday.
I won't bore you with repeating the blurb or putting spoilers here, only so much; I highly recommend this book and am wishing for a sequel because - I was left with questions.

A new book by Meg Shaffer, author of one of the most life-affirming and cozy books I've read in recent years (The Wishing Game) *and* it's inspired by The Chronicles of Narnia? I was so excited to hear about this book – and see it published so quickly. Fortunately, it's also excellent. (Like, really, really good.) Read this for a reminder of the magic so many of us leave in childhood, hidden strength during adversity, and the joy of human connection. I'll be recommending The Lost Story to so many readers in July and onwards.

𝙰𝚋𝚘𝚞𝚝 𝚝𝚑𝚎 𝚋𝚘𝚘𝚔

Years and years ago two little boys disappeared in Red Crow state forest for half a year. When they finally returned they couldn’t explain where they had been and how they survived, and Rafe didn’t remember a thing of all these months at all. Jeremy didn’t speak to Rafe anymore after their return and since then made a living finding lost children; somehow he always knew where to find them. Then some day a girl named Emilie asks Jeremy for help since she just learned she has a big sister who went missing in the same forest… The only way to find her is to join forces and go into the forest together. Rafe doesn’t want to have anything to do with Jeremy since he refused to tell him what happened in the forest. When Jeremy promises he’ll be able to show Rafe all he doesn’t remember, they decide to go…

𝙼𝚢 𝚝𝚑𝚘𝚞𝚐𝚑𝚝𝚜 𝚊𝚋𝚘𝚞𝚝 𝚝𝚑𝚎 𝚋𝚘𝚘𝚔

I loved The wishing game and was so happy to be allowed to read Meg’s new novel, and it did not disappoint… What an whimsical story of hope, fantasy, friendship and family, and lots of humor. The story is so well thought of and I loved the writing style, it has a lot of humor in it. I loved the little hint to Clock Island in the end ;) The story deals with abuse and a father not accepting his son is gay, and the way the story ends in this respect was very beautiful.
Loved the last sentences too:
“Since fairy tales have happy endings, this means one of two things. Either this isn’t a fairy tale… Or it’s only the beginning.”
I can highly recommend!
Thank you Netgalley for the ARC

Nearly a decade and a half after two boys went missing for a 6 month period after they disappeared in a state park in West Virginia, things are far from normal with Jeremy, who has never said anything about where they went, and Rafe, who does not seem to remember anything about it.

They have moved on with their lives, in a fashion. But Rafe is a tortured artist, unable to share his creations with the world at large, while Jeremy has an uncanny knack for finding missing girls.

But when Emilie comes to him in the hope that he can help her find her sister, Jeremy sees in her a key to the mysterious events that he and Rafe experienced during their journey into a hidden magical kingdom of Shanandoah fifteen years ago...

This is an engaging adventure story. A fairytale with depth, it features three well-drawn protagonists that grown up readers will find relatable. Moving and evocative.

4.75 Stars

15 years ago Rafe and Jeremy disappeared in a West Virginia forest.
Six months later they were found by hikers.
Jeremy remembers everything but says nothing. Rafe has no idea what happened to them.
Even now 15 years later.
Emilie just found out that she had a half sister who died 20 years ago in the same forest. And she asks Jeremy to help her find her body.
And that's only the very beginning of our story....

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Let me start this by saying that I don't like fantasy books or movies. I haven't watched the Hunger Games or Lord of the Rings or any kind of Star War thingy.
But I love everything Meg/Tiffany writes. And I loved her first book as Meg Shaffer last year. That was not fantasy - but it felt awfully close in some ways.
But I obviously had to read this one too. And I loved it. The first half we barely have any fantasy. Mini thingies. But of course then we need to go to where they boys were for six months all those years ago. Because Emilie's sister might be there too. And that place is not a little hidden cabin in the woods. Nope.
We don't go through a wardrobe - but that's kinda what you can expect here too...
It doesn't matter if you're a fantasy lover or a fantasy hater - it's such a beautiful story! I loved this book. I loved Rafe and Jeremy and Emilie. They are so perfectly adorable and broken and ugh. I just adored them. And I so want to see them and this story on TV one day! And I also wouldn't mind a second book either. The chances don't look too bad either - but don't worry - we don't get a cliffy!

THE LOST STORY was such a sweet and fun and heartbreaking and wonderful and beautiful and adventurous story of love and life and friendship and family and dreaming and wishing and hoping and losing and finding and imagining and believing and forgiving and forgetting and remembering and .... all the things. READ IT!

Are you sitting comfortably? Then I’ll begin.

Once upon a time in the Red Crow State Forest of West Virginia, two boys, Jeremy Cox and Rafe Howell, are lost in the woods for six months with no rational explanation except perhaps it’s just one of those rare miracles. Fifteen years on, Rafe lives a solitary existence and has no memory of those lost months whereas Jeremy does. He’s become a famous and successful missing person investigator. He’s hired by Emilie Wendell to find her missing half sister, Shannon, who disappears from the self same State Forest many years ago.The intrepid threesome, whose stories interlock, though not all of them yet know it, head to Red Crow State Forest to step into their pasts, into the unknown and into who knows what. Well, we all know how fairytales go, don’t we? Sit back, relax and just go with the flow.

Books are magic, well this one sure is. Fan-blooming-tastic and I LOVE it! This book is exactly why I read, to have an experience like this. I’ve read some great books so far this year and this one is up there with the best of them. Just like the original inspiration (CS Lewis, The Chronicles of Narnia) the author transports the reader to another world allowing individuals to set aside any troubles and forget wide issues or concerns, and be enchanted by the beautiful, colourful prose. I love the tone throughout, but the little inserts between chapters are so clever and frequently very funny. There are some fabulous descriptions of places and of characters so you can visualise them with ease and just get swept along with the storytelling. The three main characters are so likeable as is Rafe’s mum, definitely a mum of the year. It’s an excellent fairytale, with Stevie Nicks, a read with a smile which entrances though it does have a dark side (every fairytale has to have a baddy or baddies) so sure not to stray into that.

Overall, it has all the ingredients you expect of a fairytale and it’s an excellent homage to the books that inspire it. It is imaginative, creative, funny and immersive. I highly recommend this even if this isn’t your normal genre and I can’t wait to read more by Meg Shaffer.

With thanks to NetGalley and especially to Quercus Books, Arcadia for the much appreciated arc in return for an honest review.

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for the ARC.
To be honest, I went into this book feeling very nervous. There’s no way it could ever beat The Wishing Game, right? WRONG! Not only was this a 5-star read, it became one of my all-time favorites and solidified Meg Shaffer as an auto-buy author for me. The moment I was done with the arc I immediately pre-ordered the hardcover. I was dreading writing this review because I simply could not find anything to criticize, so this is me singing my praises.

This felt like a children’s book for adults in the best way possible. This was so smartly written and the way she bent but at the same time stayed very true to “the fairy tale” was incredible. I’ve always had a really hard time picturing what I read but this was so atmospheric I could perfectly see the landscapes in my head. I LOVED the characters and their relationships and the interruptions of “the storyteller” and her breaking the fourth wall were just perfect. Everything was wrapped up so nicely and I wouldn’t change a single thing about this book.

If you’re a fan of Every Heart a Doorway or even if you did not like it but found the premise interesting, please pick this up. Actually, I highy lencourage anyone who wants to feel like a child reading their favorite book for the first time to pick it up. I want to finish my review by saying that if I had to forget everything about a secret world just to get a sequel to this book I would in a heartbeat. Maybe the fact that I don’t have any recollections of being in a secret world means we’re already getting one, who knows? A girl can dream.

West - by God! - Virginia , that was a bullseye.
After "Wishing game" became my favorite read of 2023, I was more than eager to read Meg Shaffers next book. Thank everyone involved so much for approving me for this ARC. Jeremy and Ralph went missing as teenagers and to everyone's surprise, came back home 6 months later. Noone knows what happened and how they survived. 15 years later Emilie asks Jeremy for help finding her sister, who got lost in the same forest years before them. And what he tells her is an even bigger surprise.
Lost Story, loosely based on Narnia, was less emotional for me ( Wishing Game had me constantly in tears ) but offered more twists and adventure. This had me reading till midnight on a workday. By the end I was in tears and I cannot wait for her next book.
"I wrote the story. I don't make the rules."

4.5 stars - a cosy portal fantasy with vibes of Narnia and Peter Pan.

Teens Jeremy and Rafe go missing for 6 months in the middle of forest. When they reappear, healthy and well, Jeremy is unusually quiet and won’t speak to Rafe about his missing memories of the time away, fast forward 15 years later Jeremy is working as a missing persons investigator and has a visit from Emelie who’s sister went missing 5 years before Jeremy and Rafe in the same forest. How did the two boys survive in the wilderness and where is Emelies sister.

A fairytale for grown ups! Mysterious and magical and lots of fun. I loved all of the characters and the ending hinted at a sequel!

The excerpts from the ”storyteller” I really enjoyed they were funny and witty and gave the reader more insight and information.

Rafe and Jeremy’s relationship was well done but I would have loved to see more time with them in the other world along with Emelie.

The descriptions of the landscapes, colours and animals were very vivid and I could imagine myself there.

It does have some darker themes woven into the book but they are handled well and they don’t take you away from the fun lightness of the main story.

Unfortunately a DNF at 61%. The book started okay and is easy to read, but right from the beginning I felt that the book did not suit me. I don't like the dialogue and feel that the three characters are not really connected and I have a hard time liking any of them. Their feelings towards each other do not reach me as a reader.