Meg Shaffer has brilliantly written an adult Fairytale, the emphasis being on adult. Her way with words is exceptional. My issue is that for me there was no whimsy, certainly no C.S. Lewis status vibes as it was a sad story about trauma and choices that I can't identify with. I very quickly identified the 'villain' and what I felt was the intention of the author to eventually make me, the reader, happy - just didn't. It left me troubled, and that is not a book I could recommend.

I received a complimentary copy of this book from the publisher via NetGalley. The opinions expressed in this review are entirely my own.

The Lost Story is a magical modern day fairytale of family and love. Jeremy, Rafe, and Emilie were wonderfully written characters and I particularly liked their interactions early on. The story starts in the real world and eventually moves to Shanandoah a beautifully magical world of royalty, unicorns, and lost boys. The overall story is kept light and conflicts are quickly dealt with, although there are several. In true fairytale style, we get a happy ending and possibly another book set in the same magical world. This was a nice read, and I recommend for fairytale lovers.

Thank you NetGalley and Ballantine Books for the gifted copy.

To start off I want to say thank you to netgalley for providing me with this arc.

I want to start by saying i enjoyed this book but it was hard for me to stay interested. It was very ya hardly any romance. I will say it has fantastic world building and a great story line.

The characters were very loveable esp emilie, she was my favorite. I loved the idea that one girl (missing sister) built an entire world from her imagination and it all came to life during her trauma.

Rafe and Jeremy are the spotlight characters and that's where the romance lies. Secrets and a past that has been hidden but soon to be uncovered.

I will say there is a lot of story revolving around different trauma and that played a part of me trying to stay involved as it brought up a lot from my past.

Overall it was a good read and if your looking to dive into another world full of imagination then I would recommend!

Meg Shaffer is my new favorite author. She captures the feeling that you got reading Harry Potter or Narnia as a child and I wish she had a backlist for me to read. This book was even better than the Wishing Game in my opinion, which I also gave 5 stars. The world Meg created is whimsical, the characters loveable, and the story full of adventure and heart. No notes. New favorite.

I was lucky enough to get an ARC and I feel like I won the book lottery. It would have been hard to wait until August to read this book. The Lost Story is a Chronicles of Narnia, Wizard of Oz type mashup. There are references to both. It’s also a brilliant follow-up to The Wishing Game. Meg Shaffer once again created a magical world in which I didn’t want to leave. This may by the easiest ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ review I give all year.

I thoroughly enjoyed this book. The world building was perfect and I love how everything tied together.

It was written in a way that you believe this could be happening. Like I want to go to West Virginia and look for the red crow! It was such beautiful writing!!

This story left me hoping for a full series because it cannot be done! I need more!!!

The Lost Story by Meg Shaffer is a fun and intriguing book.
It starts off by telling you the rules of fairy tales, and then jumps into a great yarn about some young people who were lost once upon a time.
The characters were really good, and there were some unusual relationships as well.
"Lost" is really a play on words, as there is a story that is lost, and there are people that are lost,
There are also memories that are lost.
This was a really good book and not too terribly heavy.
It kept me up late to finish it, so that's a mark of a good story to me.

Thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for an ARC in exchange for my honest feedback.

I loved this reimagining of Narnia and was hooked from the first to last page.

WOW!! I absolutely loved this book! The story was beautiful. I fell in love with the main characters of this book and the relationships created throughout the story. I read to escape into a world where anything is possible, and this book did exactly what I want to achieve every time I read. Thank you Meg Shaffer for introducing me to The Lost Story.

I received this book as an ARC read in exchange for an honest review. Thank you to NetGalley, the author, and the publisher.

Thank you to the publisher for the advanced copy of one of my most anticipated reads of 2024!

When I read The Wishing Game last year I didn’t think any book could create the same magic and wonder of that book. Meg Shaffer did it again with The Lost Story. It felt like a grown up Chronicles of Narnia but with wonderfully unexpected LGBT romance.

I love any book with magic/fantasy aspects, found family, familial issues and great dialogue.

I loved everything about this novel and can’t wait to buy and re-read the final edition!

Jeremy and Rafe are lost for six months in the Red Crow Forest of West Virginia. Their disappearance baffles the community as they seem to be stronger and healthier than when they went missing. Where they were residing during the time they were lost remains a secret as no one would believe their story anyway.

Fast forward fifteen years, Jeremy has been working to find lost women and girls when he is contacted by Emilie. She wants to find her missing sister. The mission unites the trio on a journey to a magical land filled with great joys and great pain.

I absolutely devoured this story! After reading The Wishing Game, I was so excited to receive an ARC for The Lost Story. I already know that this will be one of my top reads of the year! The Lost Story was fast-paced and thrilling. I loved the nod to The Chronicles of Narnia. There was a definite Princess Bride feel to the story as well. I thoroughly enjoyed the whimsy, humor, character development, and fantastical events of this tale. The storyteller interjections were also a favorite of mine.

Thank you to NetGalley, Random House Publishing Group, and the author for an ARC of this title in exchange for my honest review.

Wow wow wow! I don’t have words to express how much I love this book. In the beginning, I had a somewhat tough time getting into the narrative at first, but after 50 pages I was hooked. The way Shaffer builds the story and emerges the reader into the fantasy world is brilliant. All three main characters are relatable and developed in such a way that makes you root for them no matter what. The love story that develops (I live for the gays btw) is so deeply rooted in trust and friendship that I cried when this book was over. I truly want for a second book, but I hope that the storyline isn’t ruined or taken too far that it becomes “meh”. I would recommend this book to everyone who loves fantasy and wants to escape from our crappy world.

Fav book of 2024 so far, hands down. I didn't want to put it down and also didn't want it to end. Beautiful, magical, wonderful. Jeremy, Rafe, and Emilie are souch memorable characters. I so hope for more stories with these great characters.

There better be a "Lost Story 2" because I don't want to imagine what happened after this book, I want to read if about 250~350 pages!


I chose this book because the description caught my eye, it says "Chronicles of Narnia for adults" AND YES THAT'S EXACTLY IT. This book is just like a nice cup of tea, it's so cozy. I just couldn't put it down. It gave me all the feels from when I first read the Chronicles of Narnia.

In short; After the death of her adoptive mother, Emilie decides to search for her biological sister, so she goes after the best in finding missing girls, Jeremy! But Jeremy already knows her sister, he was lost in the woods with him when Rafe and Jeremy went missing for 6 months 15 years ago. Since they came back Rafe and Jeremy haven't talked at all. Now the three of them set out to get lost in the woods again and go back to the magic kingdom the boys were for 6 months.

This is a fairy tale and we have a narrator to interrupt the story and reminds us of that!

There's romance, friendship, magical birds, lost sisters, and family in the best and worst ways.

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

Thank you for the opportunity to read this book. While it wasn’t my “cup of tea” I can understand the appeal it has had for some readers. Reads more like a young YA book than something geared toward adults.

Although "The Lost Story" by Meg Shaffer may not have resonated with me as much as I had hoped, I can appreciate the author's dedication to storytelling and the depth of emotion portrayed throughout the narrative.

With both a realistic and fantasy back drop, the novel follows the intertwined lives of its inhabitants as they navigate love, loss, and the complexities of human relationships. Rafe, Jeremy and Emilie were each interesting, well developed characters, but I just wanted more. I felt detached from their storylines.

The novel fell short of my expectations in certain aspects. The pacing, at times, felt uneven, with certain plotlines dragging on while others felt rushed. Additionally, I found myself struggling to fully invest in the central romance.

While the story was unique, and would be a wonderful fit for some readers, it wasn't my cup of tea. I appreciate Shaffer's consistently imaginative ideas.

I loved The Wishing Game so much ( my favorite read of 2023) that I was a tad nervous about picking up The Lost Story.

I withheld too high an expectation, but needless to say this exceeded it anyway. Another truly magical story, which retained the element of the power of reading and storytelling that I adored so much from Shaffer’s Debut.

This one had more of a “literal” magic than the first with inspirations from Chronicles of Narnia. The characters were so fantastic, even down to Fritz the rat!

I imagine this will make my top 5 yet again for 2024!

The Lost Story is a fantasy novel about two teens who go lost in West Virginia and appear months later without an explanation of where they were or how they survived. The story contains a bit of mystery, romance, and magic. The book has a nostalgic feeling with there being a magical place where children are safe and can have adventures away from trauma in the real world. The found family and friendships were very heartwarming. The theme of you are the writer of your own story was done well with a fantasy twist. It was also fun that there was a Clock Island reference! Thank you Netgalley and Random House Publishing for the ARC to review!

After reading The Wishing Game and enjoying it I knew I HAD to read this one. Thank you to Netgalley and Random House for the ARC.

Two boys go missing in the woods and come out 6 months later seemingly unharmed and in good condition with no explanation of what happened. 15 years later they come back together to help a young woman find her lost sister, in the same woods they disappeared from.

I'd hate to give too much away in this review so I'll try my best to keep it vague but informative. This is a fantasy book, reminiscent of Narnia, yet unique in it's world and characters. I find Shaffer's writing so imaginative and intriguing although sometimes it feels like it's intended for a younger audience, it can lean juvenile at points with the character interactions.
The story starts a little slow with us not actually getting into the magical world until about halfway through but oh my gosh once we do, I LOVED it. It was fun and whimsical and still had deep, emotional moments as well. I think this novel was a little deeper than The Wishing Game which was all very feel good and surface level(IMO).
I enjoyed the writing style with the breaks from "storyteller" that added additional info and some comedic relief.
I'm curious with the ending if we may see these characters again or if it's just an ambiguous ending to let our imagination wander.

This was a book that made me long to visit a place that doesn't exist and stay there forever.

What an adventure! I want a new genre created for adult fairy tales. The Lost Story sucked me in with a unique plot woven with fantastical imagery and lovable characters.

Fifteen years ago, Jeremy and Rafe disappeared in the West Virginia wilderness for six months. No one knew where they were or how they survived. Now they’re on a new adventure to help Emilie find her long lost sister in those same woods.

The creativity and ingenuity that went into this story just amazed me. I want more - I want to know more about every character and what comes next. I loved the beauty as well as the grief and loss captured in this tale. The gay, bisexual, and asexual representation added another level to an already excellent novel. Can’t wait to read more from Meg Shaffer!