Adult fairy tale for today, this is my first book by this author, this is just the beginning of what her writing is capable of to the next generation what it means to love and forgive. We will be talking about her books for years to come and how she moved us to see through or blinders on each other.

Jeremy and Rafe are best friends who do everything together but then suddenly they go missing in the vest woods of West Virgina. Then reappear six months later with no explanation of what happened or how they survived. Fifteen years later Jermery becomes a famous missing persons investigator and Rafe is reclusive artist with no memory of what happened during time they were missing. But then a girl named Emilie comes to Jeremy to ask that he help her find her sister that disappeared in the same woods the boys were missing. Jeremy knows in order to find her sister he will need Rafe help. But their homecoming is not a happy one, and Jermery pushes him to help because all will be revealed what happen to them that six months. Suddenly the are in a magical world which is both dangerous and beautiful, they most save the sister of this world and also find who they really were in magical world.

Thank you to NetGalley and Ballantine Books for copy of this story for my honest review.

The Lost Story!!
I fell in love with Meg Shaffer's writing because of her ability to create something magical and fun for adults. letting go of all expectations of what adult fiction should be and letting it become what it could be. It is such a pleasure to read a book that feels like falling deeper and deeper into your imagination, where all of the most improbable prospects become real.

Meg Schaffer's ability to write love letters to books within the books themselves is astounding!!! Alongside the headstrong Emilie, Rafe, and Jeremy must return to the enchanted world they called home for six months—for only then can they get back everything and everyone they’ve lost.

Thanks to the publisher & Netgalley for the complimentary ARC!!

I enjoyed my time with The Lost Story and was surprised at the intensity. There were times when it felt geared towards a younger audience. I keep going back and forth between 3.5 and 4 stars. I’ll probably round up to 4 stars, but think it’s more of a 3.5.

I want to start with the writing and world-building. I think this is where this book suffers the most. I got lost because it began with one mystery and jumped into another. We then get the boys 15 years later, and things are in disarray, and someone is asking for help to find their sister. We were missing so much information and then given to us quickly. It just felt a bit disjointed and “info-dumpy.” I’m honestly still a bit confused about the actual world. There’s a lot of conversations about Narnia and so on. I felt like it was a bit of a copy throughout some of the elements. It reminds me of the Wayward children’s books too.

One of my favorite things about this book is Rafe. Oh my gosh! He is why I’ve rated this book so high. I adored him and felt so bad for him. He doesn’t remember the time when he was “lost.” Throughout the book, he starts to remember more and more. I figured out what had happened pretty early on, and it was so stressful. His relationship with Jeremy was so sweet! I thought that Emilie was a great addition. I loved how she was sassy because it helped in more intense moments.

My second favorite thing about this book was the storyteller. After a chapter or a few chapters, we have the storyteller. They give us little tidbits or extra information. I loved that voice because it helped break up some dark moments.

Overall, I enjoyed this book! There were times I laughed and cried. It was such a quick read, and that can be because of the writing style. I did think the world-building was lacking, but it didn’t take from the friendships. The relationships are what stand out and where the real magic is.

Thank you to Ballantine Books and Netgalley for an e-arc. All thoughts and opinions are my own.

Teenage best friends Rafe and Jeremy went missing in a West Virginia state forest and then suddenly reappear six months later with no explanation of where they were and how they survived. After this traumatic event, the boys drifted apart. Fifteen years later, Rafe is a reclusive artist who lives in the woods and has no memory of what happened in the forest when they were kids. Jeremy is a famous missing persons' investigator. Emilie catches up to Jeremy and asks his help in finding her sister, who vanished in the same forest as Jeremy and Rafe. Jeremy needs Rafe's help to find Emilie's sister but they have to confront their shared past before they can move forward and find out the truth about where Emilie's sister has been.

You can definitely see the Chronicles of Narnia inspiration in this book. This was a very cozy fairy tale/magical realism/portal fantasy with fun characters and interesting world building. There were definitely some darker themes but I thought they were handled pretty well. Overall, this was a fun and easy read. I would definitely pick up other books from this author.

Perfection. A love letter to West Virginia, fairy tales, magic, storytellers, friendship, love, being brave, and Stevie Nicks. A book hasn't made me cry in a long time, but this one did.

Thank you to Random House and Netgalley for an advanced copy in exchange for an honest review.

This book is for those of us who spent our childhood wandering the woods seeking magic doors to other worlds and when the streetlights came on, holed up in our room and discovering those magic doors in every book we could devour. The Lost Story is an homage to those books we read to both lose ourselves in and also to find ourselves.

At its core, The Lost Story is really a love story - love between sisters, love between friends, love between children and their parents. The main characters may have felt lost or even truly been lost at one point in time, but through magic, find each other and themselves. I absolutely fell in love with Rafe and Jeremy and their friendship. The characters were exceptionally well written and jumped off the page for me. Although I felt the beginning was a little bit slow for me to get into, it soon ramped up and I was simply unable to put this one down. The ending was completely satisfactory, even though I feel like Meg Shaffer might have left a small door open, perhaps in the hollow of a tree in the middle of a forest for a sequel or even a few short stories set in the same universe. If she writes it, I will most certainly read it.

For fans of The Chronicles of Narnia, The Neverending Story, and The Wayward Children series, and TJ Klune please do not miss out on this one. It will give you back all the childhood feels and leave your heart feeling warm and fuzzy.

As a fan of both The Wishing Game and now the Lost Story, any future works by Meg Shaffer are definitely going to the top of my TBR.

Thank you to NetGalley, Meg Shaffer, and Ballantine for an advanced reader's copy in exchange for an honest review.

Started out as a truly captivating story. Felt kind of obsessed w the first half of this book, but surprisingly noticed myself losing interest when the three heroes got back to Shanandoah. I think this book could have really benefited from dual timelines. I would’ve liked to see the boys’ first experience in the woods, rather than have Jeremy tell everything to us in the present. By the end of the book, there was far too much telling not enough showing. I did like that it felt like bits of all of our favorite stories and will continue if there does wind up being a next installment.

This was such a beautiful book. I loved the camaraderie between the main characters, the fantastical aspects. I did not want to stop reading.

Two friends walk out of the forest after being lost for several months, healthy but one remembers nothing and the other shares nothing. They return to the forest fifteen years later to answer questions and find a girl who was lost in the forest years before their initial disappearance.

Though there are heavy themes such as child abuse and death sprinkled throughout the story, it is rather lighthearted. It felt like reading an early YA book but with adult characters who had adult problems. That being said, I wish that it had been more. More saturated with description, more deep in the emotional experiences, more gravity to the stakes. It was a good book but it could have been a great one.

“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.”

Rafe and Jeremy went missing when they were young only to show up six months later with no answers for the authorities or their families about how they survived the West Virginian forest. Years later Rafe is living alone with no memory of what happened during that time and Jeremy has become famous for his uncanny ability to find missing people, which is why Emilie knows he's the one who can help her find her sister. Jeremy remembers every magical moment of his time missing in a magical and dangerous realm, and believes that is where Emilie's sister will be found, but in order to get back there he will need Rafe's help.

This was cute and whimsical and like her last book Shaffer brought the magic to life on the page. I absolutely love the idea of a child's story coming to life in a way to protect from a bad situation and adored the friendships that were so very real feeling in this story. There is no doubt when reading this book that the worlds and the magic are real because it draws you in so deeply you can't help but believe that there is a bit of magic out there waiting to be found.

The Lost Story is a beautiful fairy tale for most ages which will not only tug at your heart and bring tears to your eyes, but also will have you falling in love with the most wonderful, strong, funny characters as they attempt to go to battle for each other against some very unlikeable enemies.

Where to begin...Jeremy Cox and Rafe Howell disappeared in a West Virginia forest as teenagers. After many massive searches and attempts to find the lost boys, hope was lost. No clues were ever discovered. As mysteriously as they disappeared, six months later Jeremy and Rafe walk back out of the woods to the shock of the not only their parents, but the whole town. Rafe does not remember anything about his time in the forest, and Jeremy chooses to keep it that way.

Now, years later, the boys are men and have gone their separate ways. Rafe lives alone in a cabin and loves art, still with no memory of what occurred all those years ago. Jeremy is now a missing person's advocate who seems to have a gift for finding lost or missing people.

One day, a girl named Emilie Wendell walks up to Jeremy and begins pleading with him to find her sister Shannon, a sister up until recently she didn't know she had, who seems to have disappeared into the same forest as Jeremy and Rafe. A teenager, she for all accounts was a budding writer. She had been abducted. Her abductor had been found dead, but Shannon was gone.

Jeremy and a reluctant Rafe agree to take Emilie's case and thus begins a magical, fantastical journey as the three begin their quest to find Emilie's sister in the forest in which they too had disappeared. What happens to them all is for the most part, pure joy, and love and excitement. Yes, there are those who hate them and want them dead, but there are also those who want to make amends and protect them.

I will not say much about their journey, as I don't want to spoil the wonderous discoveries, funny situations and of course the danger they are in. What I will tell you is at the end of the story; I had tears in my eyes.

The Lost Story is a lovely, wonderous, imaginative tale with extremely lovable, quirky characters but is also filled with heart and soul. I am truly glad I was able to find this lost story! And hopefully it will go on for a long time!

Thank you #NetGalley #BallentineBooks #MegShaffer #TheLostStory for the advanced copy.

Chronicles of Narnia but make it gay? Yes please!

I found this to be very escapist-- it really draws you in and lets you forget where you are while you're reading. The two main leads pulled at my heartstrings, and I also found this to be very much an ode to books, which I will always love.

This whimsical adult fairytale has lost children, a magical land, family trauma, friendship - it really transported me into the magical books of my childhood. I love when characters become family, and I loved the fantasy world. There are certainly serious issues addressed in this book - it is, after all, for adults. (It may be good to check out the trigger warnings online.) But what I mostly remember about it is the sense of magic and wonder. If you enjoy portal fantasy, whimsey, found family, and a sweet story, I'd recommend this book.

I really enjoyed getting lost in this book. The magic in it was so comforting, the story sweet. A perfect book to read as an adult to bring back so much nostalgia.

I received an ARC of this book from Netgalley and Random House Publishing - Ballantine in exchange for an honest review.

What if there were follow-up stories about what happens to the children lost to magical worlds who return and have to grow into adulthood in the "real world?" This book explores just that.

Jeremy and Rafe were best friends and freshmen in high school when they disapperared in the forest for six months, returning with no explanation of what happened. Fast forward fifteen years, Jeremy makes a living finding missing girls and hasn't spoken to Rafe since he left the hospital after their return. He can't tell Rafe that while Rafe has no memory of where they were and what they did, Jeremy remembers everything. When Emily contacts Jeremy for help finding her sister who disappeared in the same forest he did but years earlier, Jeremy realizes it's time to go back to Rafe and return to the forest.

A magical story of a hidden world, created by a girl who wanted to escape her real life, and welcomed others like her.

The inspiration for this book was The Chronicles of Narnia. Sadly, I’ve never read that book, but I was still able to enjoy this book. It was wonderful and magical!

📣 a fantasy where two besties are reunited, the forest isn’t what it seems, & pretty much anything is possible

Thanks to the publisher & Netgalley for the complimentary ARC. All opinions provided are my own.

📖 what are your weekend plans? We’re fall festival-ing today & I’m freaking excited about it! Can’t wait to go explore a pumpkin patch!

Meg Shaffer’s The Lost Story didn’t go where I thought it would. It pretty much surprised me from the beginning on, & in the end left me with memories of a story that was lovely, unexpected, & all about love.

Jeremy & Rafe were the Lost Boys of West Virginia. Besties who have been separated for over a decade, they’re brought back together when Emilie asks Jeremy to find her sister. Jeremy leads the other two on a trip to a magical kingdom, where secrets are revealed & Rafe is confronted with the things he’s forgotten.

That summary is totally surface-level, & the actual story is hard to describe & much richer. There’s a romance in this story, & also a a web of friendship & connection that can cross different planes.

I think I wanted something more—this one’s a bit understated—but overall, TLS is an intriguing & striking book & I loved the West Virginia setting.

4.5 ⭐️. Out now!

CWs: abuse, violence, homophobia.

[ID: Jess holds the ebook in front of the ruins of a house.]

I found myself getting lost in the characters and really invested in the plot. However, towards the end of the book, I found myself uninterested in it all. I really enjoyed this author’s writing style from her previous book. These fairy tales were so interesting to me but this one wasn’t.

A Narnia-like tale for grown-ups, heavily influenced by Lord of the Flies, set in wild and wonderful West Virginia, plus elements of cozy fantasy—what a package!

I absolutely loved this! It was sweet, beautifully written, and the setting was fantastic. It was very reminiscent of Narnia and Peter Pan with the lost boys aspect.

The Lost Story is a fantasy adventure story set in the woods of West Virginia and could easily be read by all ages. Meg Shaffer does a wonderful job of building this world and bringing these characters to life. In the end,it seemed like there might be more to come. If so, I'm very much looking forward to reading it!

I received a complimentary copy of this book. Opinions expressed in this review are my own.