Meg Shaffer delivers another fabulous tale. Teenagers Jeremy and Rafe disappear and mysteriously reappear 6 months later. Once remembers where they have been, one does not. Fifteen years later, they come together again to face the past and create a new future.

Thank you NetGalley for allowing me to read this book in exchange for an honest review. ✨
All books are magic. Some, though, are more magical than others. From the first page, I was sucked into the book. It's magical, eerie, and you're curious to know what's going to happen. This story will give you hope. Hope that maybe magic does exist somewhere outside of books. Hope that one day you'll come across the wardrobe that leads to Narnia and everything magical inside.
Not only is this book magical, it's finding family, finding where you belong, and refinding love.

When I read the description of this book, I had high hopes for it. Alas, those hopes were dashed upon non-magical rocks. This book compares itself to Narnia, but that comparison is short-lived and only valid in that some kids get transported to another world.

I will say it started off very strong. Two boys who have been lost in a West Virginia state park emerge from the woods after six months without the ability to explain their whereabouts. Rafe becomes a recluse, while the other has a unique gift of finding lost people. Jeremy becomes somewhat of a celebrity as a tracker.

I didn’t care for either of these characters, but I really like Emilie, who wants to find her long-lost sister. She seeks out Jeremy’s help, and that’s where the story really begins. It is also where my interest waned. This adult fairy tale just got silly after that.

The author has chosen to insert vignettes by an unknown “Storyteller.” I found these distracting and unnecessary. They actually took me out of the story – a story that I wasn’t enjoying very much anyway. I’ll give her points for her imagination and her writing ability. But I probably won’t read her work anymore.

Thank you to NetGalley and Random House Publishing for the ARC.

Thank you NetGalley for an advance copy of this book by an author I enjoy! This is another magical, fantasy like story with real life difficult elements built in. It tells the story of 2 boys who got lost in the woods years ago, Rafe and Jeremy. They mysteriously return..stronger and with no memory of what happened. Jeremy uses the experience to help others, and he is then recruited to return to the same woods to find a long missing girl. I loved how the author made the woods this like Narnia type place of magic but also scary and uncertain. I loved not knowing what did happen in those woods? There are also narrator chapters that I thought added alot to the story. This author clearly has a vivid imagination and it's fun to read her books!

Book Review- The Lost Story by Meg Shaffer

5/5 ✨

I REALLY loved the Wishing Game so I was holding onto some trepidation going into this story because how could she write something cuter, more whimsical and all around magical than that?

Welp, @meg_shaffer did it. She DID IT.

I have told probably ten people in the last week in real life that I can’t wait for them to read this book. I want to experience it again for the first time.

It is magic. Pure magic. Pure love and sacrifice and devious bad guys and wonderful animals and just..feels like you wake up in a story world and you don’t want to leave.

I read some dark, gritty books. Meg Shaffer has become my favorite palette cleaner for a magical little feel good story where I just wanna be devoured by a book. Freaking incredible. Can’t get enough of these characters!
When July comes get your hands on this book!

Thank you @netgalley and @meg_shaffer and the publisher for the thrill of getting to inhale this book. Love it!

This was a whimsical modern fantasy with lots of magical fairy tale vibes. If you are a fan of books where ordinary people stumble into magical worlds (think The Chronicles of Narnia) or you ever wished it would happen to you, this book is for you.
This books explores themes of grief, love, discovering yourself, finding where you belong and so much more while blending the dark, hard parts of real life with the colorful whimsy of a fantasy world.
I really enjoyed the way the author blended the characters’ stories and the past and present. I was invested in the story could empathize with the characters because their emotions and thoughts were so well depicted.
My one major issue with this book was that I wish Emilie would’ve had a personality trait that wasn’t just “liked Fleetwood Mac”. It started to feel so over the top by the end and just got on my nerves.

Thank you to NetGalley and Random House Publishing for the ARC!!

Meg Shaffer has done it again! Out of the 200+ books I read in 2023, The Wishing Game was a top 5 book for me and The Lost Story is sure to be the same for 2024. This story felt like a love letter to the fantasy books I read as a kid; it sucked me in from page one and didn’t let go until the very end. I actually kept putting the book down because I didn’t want it to end, I just wanted to stay in this world with these characters. I absolutely adored Rafe and Jeremy and the timelessness of their love, and without any spoilers, I really enjoyed Skya and Emilie’s relationship. I can’t recommend The Lost Story highly enough, especially if you grew up reading fantasy books as a kid, like The Chronicles of Narnia.

This book is simply fantastic. You will notice that these two boys become part of your friends group because they seem so real.

The Lost Story is about two boys, Jeremy and Rafe, who disappeared into the forest as teens, and Rafe has no recollection of what happened while they were gone. Years later, Rafe is a bit of a recluse. Jeremy has found success in finding those who are lost, and Emilie asks him to find her long lost sister.

Jeremy’s seen her sister before. He recognizes her from the forest. With Rafe’s help, they go back in one more time to a magical hidden kingdom in which Emilie’s sister, Skya, is queen.

If you read The Wishing Game, this story had a similar whimsy and lighthearted feel, despite the abuse and trauma some of that characters experienced in childhood. It unexpectedly also had an LGBTQ+ love story, which was a bonus. It was a quick read and a decently fun adventure.

However, I wish the character motivation was stronger. Skya didn’t seem to have much of a goal, and Emilie and Jeremy’s external goals felt the same as their internal wants and desires. I wasn’t totally sure where the plot was going, and the villains were unexpected. There wasn’t always much at stake, but I was willing to overlook that because Rafe and Jeremy are super cute.

This book is a read in one sitting book. I very literally only stopped for lunch. It is a fairy tale in the very best way. There are heroes and villians and magic, but the individual characters shine through. It doesn't drag out worldbuilding with every detail described. The book let's you know the broad strokes and fills in when needed. Queen Skya has a backstory that is not exploited, but explains her land. Rafe and Jeremy have a second chance once they meet Emilie. No spoilers, this is a really happy book with some very sad things in the characters past. This is the first book I have read by the author, but I am looking forward to reading more.

Oh, where do I even begin to express my love for The Lost Story by Meg Shaffer? This book swept me off my feet and plunged me headfirst into a whirlwind of emotions and wonder that I never wanted to end. From the moment I cracked open the cover, I was utterly captivated.

Let's start with the characters - Emilie, Jeremy, and Rafe. They're more than just characters in a book; they're like old friends I've known for years. Their struggles, their growth, their jokes - everything about them felt so authentic and relatable. And when they reunited to embark on this incredible journey to find Emilie's sister Shannon, it felt like I was right there with them, cheering them on every step of the way.

But it's not just the characters that stole my heart; it's the world Meg Shaffer has created. Shanandoah is a place of magic and mystery, brought to life with breathtaking detail and vivid imagery. I could practically feel the cool breeze on my skin and smell the earthy scent of the forest as I followed the characters through its enchanting landscapes.

And then there's the relationships - the bonds between Rafe and Jeremy, the sisters finding their way back to each other, and the enigmatic Storyteller who weaves it all together with his magic pencil. It's a symphony of love, friendship, and adventure that tugs at your heartstrings and leaves you longing for more.

Honestly, I could go on and on about how much I adore The Lost Story. It's a book that manages to tackle heavy topics with grace and sensitivity while still whisking you away to a world of enchantment and excitement. It's a true masterpiece, and one that I'll be recommending to everyone I know for years to come.

Thanks to Net Galley for the ARC!

I loved Shaffer’s first novel, The Wishing Game and was so excited to read her second! This story was filled with chosen family and LGBTQ+ representation. Although her trademark grown up fairy tale energy was alive and well throughout this story, i just didn’t love it and I’m not sure why!

First off, with apologies to author Meg Shaffer, this book cannot be reviewed without comparisons to the masters of the fantasy/adult fairy tale genre: JRR Tolkien, CS Lewis, Lewis Carroll, LF Baum, and more recently Stephen King. Shaffer holds her own in this esteemed cadre with her recent offering The Lost Story.

It’s a story of boys lost and found, love lost and found, queens, princesses, art, truth, good and evil. Shaffer manages to wrap these concepts into a riveting tale that takes place in “West, -by God- Virginia!”.

The story starts when two boys, who have been missing and assumed dead, suddenly appear along a hiking path. Rafe and Jeremy go their separate ways for 15 years. Rafe a sullen artist and Jeremy, an investigator who is able to locate missing girls. They are reunited when Jeremy is enticed by Emilie who implores him to help locate her missing sister.

Thus the three begin a journey that takes them to places some had forgotten and others cannot imagine except in their deepest dreams.

I’m sure that generations from now young and old alike will have shelved this book along with their other classics of the genre. Kudos Meg Shaffer, you’ve given us another winner.

Thank you to NetGalley and Random House - Ballantine for an eARC

Another book I did not see coming!! A very solid even four stars and definitely an addicting read.

This book wasn’t on my radar but when I saw it available to request, and the fact that it draws inspiration from The Chronicles of Narnia, I was intrigued. But I still wasn’t expecting to like this as much I did!

This book had strong Stranger Things vibes but with more whimsical rather than gothic fantasy elements. In the best way possible. I mean I was truly obsessed with the writing and the flow of the story since the very first chapter. The only thing that didn’t push this to a full five stars was that there were a few parts in the book where the description felt to go on too long and my interest would waver.

I have to say all the characters in this had my whole heart. Jeremy, Rafe, and Emilie were so complex as protagonists and the dynamics between them were so well written and fleshed out. I loved them so much!!
Jeremy and Rafe as two best friends who go through a traumatic experience together, and then being reunited through Emilie, where they reconcile their memories and discover everything that truly happened in that traumatic time period — SO GOOD. Like, so much to love there, I was so emotional.

Of course, the whole world in the forest was so unprecedented to me when I started reading this, but it was such a treat to read. My HEART with Emilie and Skya, I just loved the whole thing so much. The bond over years between Skya, Jeremy and Rafe was so heartwarming, and seeing Emilie build her own with all three was just so beautiful to witness.

The plot itself was very compelling; the truth behind the kids going missing was such a good way to go about that beginning, and the journey with Rafe gradually remembering things, and them finding the forest kingdom, as well as the decisions they made with respect to it — so so much to love.

I loved everything here, and it was just tied up so well with that ending too. Really, really good. The Lost Story was one of those underdog books for me that will go down as a book that’s a definite recommend for sure.

The overall concept and whimsical nature of the book was exciting and I anticipated a fantastic read. Sadly about halfway through the magic faded for me.
The main characters are supposed to be 30(s), but they don’t act that way and can be annoyingly dense. As a lover of good literature, the references are fun. The storytelling was very fast paced (too fast) and a lot of the plot was predictable. I liked it enough to finish it, but do not have the need to revisit it.

As high school boys, best friends Jeremy and Rafe vanish in a West Virginia state park and are missing for six months, until they mysteriously reappear with no explanation of how they survived.

15 years later Jeremy is a famous missing persons investigator with an uncanny ability to find lost girls and Rafe is a reclusive artist, bearing scars from their time away but no memories of it. Jeremy remembers though and has kept it from Rafe to keep him safe.

When Emilie comes to Jeremy to to try and find her long lost sister, it kicks off a journey to a hidden magical realm where Rafe and Jeremy first disappeared.

"For you can always walk away from magic, but if you turn your back on it, it may never offer you another chance."

I thoroughly enjoyed this book. The Lost Story has influence from The Chronicles of Narnia, but with pieces that reminded me of Fairy Tale from Stephen King and a magic all it's own. I'm not surprised as I also enjoyed The Wishing Game from Meg Shaffer (there's a small nod to the Clock Island series in this story). Grown ups can have fairy tales too.

Thank you to Random House Publishing Group - Ballentine for an egalley on NetGalley.

One of my favorite book series I’ve read is Lev Grossman’s Magician series. While reading this, the same energy, whimsy, and heart poured from the pages. What happens when two high school boys are lost in a forest and mysteriously appeared again much later unharmed? When they reunite again to help find a girl’s half sister, the magic they tap into starts an adventure full of heart, and is so addicting.

Meg Shaffer has a way of creating magical worlds that are a fabulous combination of reality and a little magic, starting with The Wishing Game and continuing that magic through The Lost Story. Described last he "Narnia for adults", it truly was a little escape from reality that had a bit of humor, love, and loss mixed in.

I found myself interested in the story right from the beginning. A bit of mystery combined with the hope for adventure, I really found myself wanting to read more. The characters were lovable as well - each had their own past, quirks, and skills they brought to the team. While a lot of the adventure was fun to read, there was also depth to the story that added an emotional component mixed in with the humor and adventure. I really like the world building as a concept, the descriptions of each small place within the world were very good and I could picture myself in them. I found it hard to visualize the world as a whole so the travel within it got a bit confusing, but that does not detract from the story in any way.

Overall I enjoyed the story, characters, and the escape, and I hope to read more from this author in the future!

Thank you to NetGalley and Random House - Ballantine for an eARC in exchange for an honest review!

Absolutely in love with Meg Shaffer’s writing. I grew up watching Narnia as a kid, and what drew me to this book was the comparison to Narnia. I loved the world. I love the mystery behind it. I loved Rafe and Jeremy’s relationship and how they were able to grow together and work through their past trauma together. Would highly recommend this book

I enjoyed this fantasy story. I felt transported. The characters, love story and reminiscing about Narnia hooked me. I look forward to the authors next story.