Thank you @netgalley, Penguin Randomhouse, Ballantine Books, and Meg Shaffer for this eARC in exchange for my honest review. The opinions expressed in this review are mine alone.

Overall: ⭐3 / 5
Concept: 5 /5
Main characters: 4 / 5
Supporting cast: 2 / 5
Plot: 3 / 5
World-building: 2 / 5

🌶️ 1 mild chili pepper / 5

Content Warnings (may not be a complete list)
Grief, mentions of terminal illness in a loved one, death of a loved one, child neglect and abuse (physical and emotional), child death, homophobia, hate violence, child abduction/kidnapping, substance abuse/dependence, mental illness, panic attack/disorder, feelings of abandonment, emotional and physical trauma, violence, torture.

I have been procrastinating writing this review. I am just so sad. I was ecstatic to receive this eARC and I am heartbroken I can’t rave about it. When I read the description I fell in love with the concept. A fairy tale for adults with a queer romance that makes you feel you are never too old to visit Narnia or Wonderland? Please don’t mind me while I go examine the back of a few wardrobes and follow some fluffy white bunnies around. I was expecting to enter a magical realm of enchanted whimsy, fun, and adventure with a cast of characters I could see as siblings or best friends. I was certain I would get lost in Shanandoah alongside Jeremy, Rafe, and Emilie. Sadly, for me, the concept and the execution just didn’t align.

The Lost Story follows three main characters: Jeremy Cox, Ralph ‘Rafe’ Howell, and Emilie Wendell. At age 14, Jeremy and Rafe disappear into Red Crow State Park in West Virginia. They are gone for months. Their families and communities are shocked when they return, not only alive, but stronger, taller, and healthier than before they disappeared. In the aftermath of their return, the boys seem to take separate paths. Jeremy becomes a missing persons investigator but never forgets about Rafe or the magical land they called home for six months. Rafe has no memory of the time during their disappearance but is haunted by mysterious dreams that feel real and symptoms of PTSD. Fifteen years, after their return, Emilie approaches Jeremy to ask him for help finding her long-lost sister, who disappeared in the same forest years before he and Rafe went missing. He realizes Emilie is the missing piece he has been waiting for. It is finally time he and Rafe confront the lost memories of their past and return to the land that enchanted them as boys. Themes of romance, friendship, self-love, and found family emerge as the three characters adventure into the world of Shanandoah.

In the first several chapters I was hooked. The opening setup is great! After getting to know the characters and starting to root for their relationships, I was anxious for Jeremy, Rafe, and Emilie to enter into the magical realm. I could not wait to see the magical world they would be entering and the quests that awaited them. Unfortunately, my enthusiasm quickly and progressively waned from the time they entered Shanandoah, all the way through to the end of the book. I truly mourn what could have been after they followed the red crow through that strange tree portal.

If the idea of Shanandoah was a panoramic, Narnia-esque world, it felt more like standing backstage on a movie set and seeing the two-dimensional setting props. It was as if I was Dorothy expecting to go from black and white to technicolor, but somehow it turned out to be the opposite. I just could not stay engaged. This wasn’t a long book, 336 pages in e-book form and 352 pages hardcover. I think extending the plot in favor of world-building and secondary character development would have helped fill in the gaps. Jeremy, Rafe, and Emilie started with such personality. I loved their relationships. I cared about them. They just didn’t have the setting, plot development, or strong supporting cast needed to thrive.

I know some people are bothered by the narrator breaking the fourth wall, but I didn’t mind it. In this case, I think it supports the whimsical, ‘someone is reading you a fairy-tale’ feel the story was going for.

Finally, the end didn’t feel like a cliffhanger to me, it just felt incomplete. I was not left with a feeling of wanting more. I had that unsatisfied feeling that comes when you nearly finish a puzzle, minus one piece.

Though The Lost Story didn’t live up to my expectations, I still find myself thinking about the characters, especially Jeremy and Rafe’s relationship, and some parts have stuck with me. In keeping with the story's archery theme - it made it on the target but it wasn’t a bullseye. For me, it did not “kill the spider.”

I do feel, however, that some people will enjoy this story. Many reviewers have! If you are looking for an adult fairy tale with an endearing queer romance, and the description intrigues you, it may be worth giving a try. It's a quick read so why not go for it? It may just hit the mark for you.

This book started off as a mystery and turned into a fantasy. About 60% mark I lost a bit of interest but then it picked up again at the end. It was a good read and it did reference the clock island books, which was a nice nod to the wishing game. But it was a fun adventure that I got to go on and highly recommend. I don’t want to give too much detail without spoiling the magic of the book it was nice to read modern fairytale

I'll probably be in the minority of reviewers here who found this book just okay. I thought it started out very strong, setting up the boys mysteriously lost in the woods of West Virginia, the apparent tension that exists between them upon their return, and Emilie with her missing sister, but once they got to Shanandoah, it went downhill fast. What started as a grounded, moody story suddenly became a derivative whimsical fantasy geared towards middle-grade readers. I don't know if the intention here was to be more inclusive of a younger audience, but it feels to me like this would likely split the audience, appealing to neither demographic. I sort of felt similarly about The Wishing Game, but at least the world in that book is far more developed and it feels more intentional, whereas this feels like an early draft where parts are roughly sketched in. That being said, I think readers who enjoyed the tone and style of Wishing Game will enjoy this follow up. I, however, would be much more interested in reading a contemporary, non-fantasy piece of Shaffer's writing, which I imagine would be a dark, twisty thriller.

First, let me start by saying that The Wishing Game was one of my favorite books of 2023. That book was like a balm to my readerly soul. I was excited to see that Meg Shaffer has a new book coming out this summer, but I also felt some apprehension. What if this ended up being a sophomore slump?

Well, fellow readers, I am here to say that we are in good hands with Meg Shaffer. Although this wasn't a slam dunk for me the way that The Wishing Game was, I still give it a strong 4 stars (and I may bump that up to 4.5 stars after letting it sit with me for a while).

Let's start with the 2 things that keep me from giving it the full 5 stars. First, the beginning to me dragged. The first 30% of the book was difficult for me to get through. Now, having finished the book, I understand a little better what she was doing here. If you think of this as a "classic" adventure/fantasy story...this is the part where the quest has to assemble and the participants have to get their weapons. Once the trio of Rafe, Jeremy, and Emilie actually enter the forest the book really picks up and I read the back half of the book in one sitting. My other minor quibble is that we don't get the ending tied up with a neat bow. We are fairly certain that everybody is going to get their happily ever after, but man, do I wish we had gotten an Epilogue told from the event hinted at in the final letter.

With those 2 items out of the way, let me talk about what really worked for me in this book. First, Shanandoah is a beautiful creation. The details the author adds are just lovely. It's Narnia-ish and also reminded me some of Neverland in Peter Pan. Second, the characters are just lovely and the banter is refreshingly modern even when they are in Shanandaoh. Lastly, I feel like I need to assure everyone that the animal companion makes it completely unscathed to the end of the book.

Who would I hand this book to? Well, lost of people! If you read the Narnia books as a child, or loved The Princess Bride, or if you more recently read and loved Stephen King's book Fairy Tale, I think this book might be a hit for you. What Shaffer has done with both of her books is write stories that are like love letters to readers and books. They have familiar elements, but she does something fresh and interesting.

A BIG thank you to the publisher for granting me an ARC in exchange for my own honest review!

Another whimsical novel by Meg Shaffer!? Sign me up.

I’ve recently been into fairy tales/retellings, and this one sounded right up my alley. This book was magical, intriguing, and most importantly, nostalgic. This book felt almost like a cozy bedtime story.

There were all of the key elements of fairy tales — good vs. evil, magical creatures, an animal sidekick, and characters that you will find yourself rooting for from start to finish. Emilie, Jeremy, and Rafe are a trio like no other!

While this book had a lot of “make-believe” aspects, there was a decent amount of heavy topics that were mentioned in this book. DM if you want a heads up before diving in!

If you are looking for a book that will take you on an adventure, mark your calendars! This book will be hitting the shelves this summer.

I was excited about reading this book because I enjoyed The Wishing Game, but after reading some early reviews, I have decided this book is not for me and I will not be reading it. I will give it a neutral review for that reason.

This book was absolutely outstanding. I was so happy to be able to read this. As a lover of "The Lion, The Witch, and The Wardrobe" and stories like it, I was not disappointed in the slightest. I was skeptical if this book would live up to the high expectations I had, but it did that and more. I quickly became invested in the characters and what their outcomes would be. The tie in of the mysterious storyteller was incredibly fun as well. I would absolutely recommend this book over and over again.

Thank you @netgalley and @randomhouse for this ARC!! 🥰
Immediately, I get The Chronicles of Narnia vibes mixed with The Neverending Story. This story was an automatic attention grabber for me. An adult version of the chronicles of Narnia? YES. The characters in this book are quirky, loveable and at times a bit cheesy. BUT, this author deploys a writing mechanism that I absolutely love and that is: breaking the fourth wall. Every other chapter or so is a punch through the wall straight to the reader and I am HERE for it!!

“𝘞𝘦’𝘳𝘦 𝘢 𝘥𝘳𝘦𝘢𝘮 𝘢𝘯 𝘢𝘯𝘤𝘪𝘦𝘯𝘵 𝘨𝘰𝘥 𝘪𝘴 𝘥𝘳𝘦𝘢𝘮𝘪𝘯𝘨, 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘢𝘯𝘺 𝘮𝘪𝘯𝘶𝘵𝘦 𝘯𝘰𝘸…𝘩𝘦 𝘸𝘪𝘭𝘭 𝘸𝘢𝘬𝘦.”

I loved this book and I NEED another!! I actually did not see the ending coming!! I did catch myself wondering at one point “why is this part even in the book” and then it made so much more sense later on! I recommend this book to those classic fantasy lovers. Those who love unicorns, castles, princesses and princes, moral stories, etc.

“𝙔𝙚𝙨 𝙗𝙤𝙤𝙠𝙨 𝙖𝙧𝙚 𝙢𝙖𝙜𝙞𝙘. 𝙈𝙖𝙮𝙗𝙚 𝙚𝙫𝙚𝙣 𝙩𝙝𝙚 𝙨𝙩𝙧𝙤𝙣𝙜𝙚𝙨𝙩 𝙢𝙖𝙜𝙞𝙘 𝙩𝙝𝙚𝙧𝙚 𝙞𝙨.”

Blurb: Best friends Jeremy and Rafe went missing in a vast state forest, only to mysteriously reappear six months later with no explanation for where they’d gone.
Fifteen years after their homecoming, Rafe has no memory of what happened during those months. Jeremy has become a famed missing persons’ investigator. With his uncanny abilities, he is the one person who can help Emilie Wendell find her sister, who vanished in the same forest as Rafe and Jeremy.
Jeremy alone knows while the rest of the world was searching for them, the two missing boys were in a magical realm. 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.
Alongside the headstrong Emilie, Rafe and Jeremy must return to the enchanted world they called home for six months.
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ʏᴏᴜʟʟ ʟɪᴋᴇ ᴛʜɪꜱ ɪꜰ ʏᴏᴜ ʟɪᴋᴇ:
•LGBTQ+
•magic
•classic fantasy
•found family

I loved The Wishing Game so I was excited to read this new title from Meg Shaffer. The story was reminiscent of a trip to.p Narnia but there was certainly a moral distinction between the two. The love story of Rafe and Jeremy did not add to the narrative, instead I found myself distracted. The imagery and the feeling of wonder were excellent and finding the way home and to forgiveness are lessons we all can learn. It did feel like it was setting us up for book two and I was more excited for a book two from Clock Island.

I LOVED The Wishing Game but this one fell short for me. I wasn't prepared for quite so much fantasy, and probably would have avoided it had I known. It's a little hard to follow and I wasn't keen on the love story angle, which felt a bit forced.

My first read by this author and I loved it! The books description had me apprehensive. Name dropping such huge titles seems a bold move, but I figured I would give it a shot and I’m so glad I did. This book tugs right at your heart strings while providing nostalgia and magic with each page. Not a genre I typically stick so but would definitely recommend this one to a friend as an easy magical little read.

The premise of this book was super promising to me, as I love a good retelling and I could really feel the intention behind this book as being inspired by Narnia. However, in the same vein, I feel like this aspect was what brought the rating of the book down for me.

All of the characters in this book are adults, yet they (and the setting) is written in a way where I couldn’t stop picturing them as, like, 11-12 year olds. The bulk of the story feels very juvenile which didn’t mesh very well with the aspects of missing people and trauma.

I liked the overall writing style, however I feel like the straddling of the line of Narniaesque children’s story and fairytale-for-grownups didn’t quite work. The flaws that I would have accepted in a children’s book (magical beings that just exist, events occurring just because they move the plot along, etc) were much harder to see past because this book wasn’t supposed to be meant for children.

Yet at the same time, I felt like themes such as loss and trauma could have been expanded on much more, as well as the plot being more complex, to really make this book more adult.

One aspect of the book that I did really like was the storyteller chapters (although they did happen a bit too frequently for my liking at the end, as they became a tool used to explain away time jumps and lack of plot description) because I felt that it was very unique.

All in all, I felt that this book was promising but just wasn’t able to create a clear enough identity for itself.

Such a magical read. I loved the mystery aspect as well. I love this author and will highly recommend this to my friends.

This book was very nostalgic to childhood adventures I’d read. While this author is getting so much attention, after book two the stories she tells aren’t for me. That said, I think MANY are going to appreciate this book! I couldn’t connect unfortunately. Happy reading!

“Books are magic. Maybe even the strongest magic there is.” This book is truly a fairytale for grownups! I love “the storyteller corner” sections. I also love how the author writes in such a way that you feel like she’s talking directly to you. It’s a predictable read but I didn’t mind that. I enjoyed getting lost in the fairytale. Thank you NetGalley and Random House Publishing Group for sending me this book for review consideration. All opinions are my own.

Meg Shaffer's "The Lost Story" promises a journey akin to C. S. Lewis’s beloved Chronicles of Narnia, but unfortunately falls short of its mark. The premise, reminiscent of childhood adventures and mysterious disappearances, holds initial intrigue, but ultimately the plot fails to deliver on its potential.

The story follows best friends Jeremy Cox and Rafe Howell, who vanished into a West Virginia forest as boys, only to return months later with no memory of their experiences. Now, fifteen years later, Jeremy, a renowned missing persons’ investigator, holds the key to unlocking the truth behind their disappearance. Alongside vet tech Emilie Wendell, they embark on a quest to find Emilie’s missing sister, leading them back to the enchanted world where Jeremy and Rafe spent those lost months.

While the novel starts with promise, the plot begins to unravel as it progresses. The narrative relies heavily on exposition rather than immersive storytelling, leaving much to be desired in terms of character development and depth. The main characters lack dimension, and the anticipated moments of revelation or climax never materialize.

One notable aspect that detracts from the story's flow is the inclusion of vignettes by an unknown “Storyteller,” which feel distracting and unnecessary. These interruptions disrupt the narrative momentum and fail to add significant value to the overall plot.

Despite the author's imaginative world-building and writing ability, "The Lost Story" ultimately fails to captivate. While it may hold nostalgic appeal for readers drawn to references like Ale 81, the execution falls short of the lofty expectations set by its comparison to classic works like The Chronicles of Narnia.

In conclusion, "The Lost Story" begins with promise but ultimately disappoints with its lackluster plot and underdeveloped characters. While Shaffer demonstrates potential as a writer, this particular novel fails to live up to its premise, leaving readers longing for a more fulfilling experience.

Overall, I would not recommend "The Lost Story" for readers seeking a truly immersive and engaging fantasy tale.

What a beautiful, powerful book. It's a fairy tale for grown-ups and also so much more. This is a book I wanted to get lost in for hours. Such a gorgeous, wonderful read.

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for this eARC!

Admittedly I wasn’t sold on this book from the start. It may have just been getting situated into a new story, but I struggled to like Emilie at first. After a few chapters, however, I quickly fell into the flow of the story and it was hard to put down!

I went in with little to no expectations other than the blurb on NetGalley, and I walked away having really enjoyed this book. It definitely has Narnia vibes and another reviewer called it Stranger Things with a more fantasy than sci-fi twist, which I completely agree with.

A thoroughly enjoyable fairy tale! I especially love the small chapters explaining fairy tales to the reader. Shaffer seems like she really gets the need for feel good fiction!

Thanks to Netgalley and to the publisher for providing me an advanced digital copy of this book. This review was voluntary, and all opinions are my own.

This was a fun, enjoyable book, but I was left wanting a little more from it. I really loved Shaffer's The Wishing Game, and this book promised to be even more up my alley - but somehow this book, although a fantasy, delivered less magic. The Wishing Game was so moving and emotional, and I got a lot less of that in this book.

I will say the strongest part of the book for me is the times when we see Rafe and Jeremy and Emilie all together, and it's sad that we got relatively little of it. Their banter was excellent and I felt the book really shined there. We did get plenty of Jeremy and Rafe time, and I thought their dialogue was so well-written; they really did feel like childhood best friends and partners in crime. The storyteller interludes were fun, but I probably could have done without them. They felt a little YA to me.

If you, like me, were a kid who knocked on the back of wardrobes, just in case, you probably will enjoy this book. The literary references were wonderful, and I loved all the callbacks to some of my favorite childhood stories. However, some authors have the ability to really evoke a sense of magic in the way they describe the setting, and this book didn't really give me that.

Overall, it was a fun read, but not one of my favorites. The premise of the book had so much promise, and I just wish that either the character development or the plot or the setting had been stronger; I think that could have made the book truly spectacular.