𝔹𝕠𝕠𝕜 ℝ𝕖𝕧𝕚𝕖𝕨 ⭐️⭐️⭐️

When I started, I was completely hooked about the adventure I thought I was about to head on. It wasn’t terrible, but I do feel it could have been so much more. A narnia like retelling, a narrator pulling the strings, and a gay romance as the best plot point? But it was missing so much. There was so much potential for me that fell short. The characters felt not very dimensional, the world didn’t really make sense, and often I felt like I didn’t even care to guess what was happening because I would lose interest trying to get to what really happened there. It really did drag on and although this type of book may not have been written for me it with the Narnia fantasy world it still fell short.

Thank you @NetGalley, the author, and the publisher for the chance to read this ARC!

I found myself captivated by the intricate weaving of narrative and emotion. The protagonist's journey through loss and discovery is beautifully portrayed, and Shaffer's lyrical prose draws you in from the very first page. I particularly appreciated the depth of the characters; they felt real and relatable, each grappling with their own struggles.
However, there were moments where the pacing lagged, especially in the middle sections, which made it a bit challenging to maintain my momentum. Despite this, the rich themes of resilience and the power of storytelling ultimately shine through, making it a rewarding read.
Overall, it is a poignant exploration of the human experience that left a lasting impression on me.

3.5 stars rounded up! I went into this book having seen a LOT of verrrrry mixed reviews, so I was a little nervous, but I LOVED The Wishing Game, so I was hopeful. This one is a magical realism about two boys who get lost in a Narnia-esque world and then try to get back to their lives in our world as adults. They are drawn back into the world of Shanandoah and then have to make a lot of decisions about their future. I liked the concept, but I felt like the execution was lacking. I didn’t really love the characters, and the writing almost felt like a middle-grade fantasy (not that there’s anything wrong with middle-grade fantasy, just not what I was looking for in an adult work). I also did not understand the point of the rat (IYKYK lol). The ending was very open-ended, and I can’t decide if I liked that or not; it felt like it could be a series, but I probably wouldn’t continue if it was. 🤷🏼‍♀️ This one just felt like a let-down after The Wishing Game. 😬
TW: child abuse, domestic abuse

Many thanks to NetGalley and Ballantine for the opportunity to read before pub day! ARC was provided by the publisher via Netgalley in exchange for an honest review. THE LOST STORY is out now!

The Lost Story was another excellent novel by Meg Shaffer. I liked the character exploration and the writing was propulsive. I would read more from this author.

I really liked the premise of this one, the characters and the writing. It felt really similar to The Wayward Children series by Seanan McGuire. I’m a big fan of portal fantasy, but this one didn’t work as well for me. The pacing throughout the whole book felt very one note with no real stakes. The ending also felt very rushed. I still enjoyed my reading experience and it was a quick read, but it was just ok.

I really liked this. It is definitely more magic than her first book. The descriptions were incredibly vivid and I could easily picture the complex and mystical world.

While I was a huge fan of Meg Shaffer's last book, The Wishing Game, this one was just a little too much into the fantasy genre for my tastes. It started out strong for me, once Jeremy, Rafe, and Emilie jump almost completely into a fantasy story, I just wasn't as invested. So take my review with a grain of salt because my average review is not because of the writing, but just because I like a little fantasy mixed in with realism, and this book was a little realism mixed with a ton of fantasy. It was romantic and sweet. My expectations were clearly off because I was thinking the story would have more magical realism like the author's previous book. Worth a read for anyone, but would probably be a big hit with someone who enjoys fantasy.

I haven’t had a chance to read The Wishing Game but have had it on my TBR for a while. That being said I wasn’t sure if I would enjoy the writing style of this author. I did end up really enjoying it. I’m not huge on fantasy but do have the nostalgia of the Chronicles of Narnia. I also really loved the romance in the book..

Thank you NetGalley for the ARC

This book was a fun, whimsical and feel-good read that explored many more mature themes as well. Jeremy and Rafe went missing in the woods and returned after six months. One of them had no memory and the other refused to talk about it. Fifteen years later Emilie seeks out Jeremy, who is now a prolific missing persons investigator, for help finding her sister, who was lost in the same woods many years ago.

I enjoyed the characters quite a bit, and I was happy that they didn't really follow any of the stereotypical roles that characters in these types of stories tend to fall into, despite having a knight, prince and princess.
The love story was very sweet and heartwarming, and I was definitely rooting for those two from the beginning.

Their interactions and banter were great.
The fictional world of Shanandoah was a bit lackluster for me, and while we did get the backstory of how Shanandoah came to be, I would've liked more insight into the world itself, the people there, their culture, and things like that. It seemed very surface-level and shallow. The story started off pretty slow and didn't really pick up until about halfway through. Also, the conflicts that happened were far too easily resolved and didn't have much emotional impact.

Overall, The Lost Story was a fun read! I do think it was a bit too shallow to be compared with the Chronicles of Narnia, b the series it was apparently inspired by, but I did enjoy my time reading it quite a bit and will recommend it to others.

Synopsis: Two young boys disappear and eventually are found. This story follows their lives afterwards and the fairytale life they led while missing.

Thoughts: I had such high hopes. I adored Meg Shaffers debut novel “The Wishing Game”, but this one fell short. There were a lot of great and promoting started but felt as they fell through the cracks. I had a hard time connecting to the characters and the third-person chapters were confusing. This book took me way too long to finish and I really had to force myself to push through. I haven’t given up hopes on Meg Shaffer, I look forward to what she puts out next, but this just didn’t do much for me.

Thank you to Meg Shaffer, Random House Publishing Group and NetGalley for the advanced copy!

The Lost Story was a wonderfully written novel with familiar elements like the Chronicles of Narnia or Alice in Wonderland. Told from two points of view, this dark enchanting tale had me hooked from the beginning. Emilie is searching for a sister she never met. She reaches out to Jeremy who has a knack for finding lost people and even things. Having disappeared in the same woods as Emilie's sister when he was a child. At first it seems like a clear mystery, but soon things twist and turn into almost some kind of psychedelic dream. The truth is learned about Jeremy and his friend, Rafe's disappearance. The images Shaffer creates are vivid and laid out in such a way that I was fully immersed. The Lost Story is charming with even a romance, while covering harder themes such as grief, loss, abuse and more. This is definitely going to be a reread for me and certainly one I will recommend.

The Lost Story by Meg Shaffer is most likely going to make my top 10 list of 2024, and it is just the type of heartwarming magical read that makes me light up. The synopsis states it was inspired by The Chronicles of Narnia and I can definitely see that. I hadn't read the synopsis before reading but that is the vibe I got while reading through and through, and it made me desperately want to do a reread. Jeremy, Rafe, and Emilie were some of the most loveable MCs I have ever met, and so many of the secondary characters were as well.

The audiobook would have been incredible with a full cast, but I loved Jorjeana Marie's narration just the same. Her voice was very pleasant and easy to listen to, and she made the story come alive. Some of my favorite parts were the storyteller sections which are an unknown narrator until the end, and I loved the fairy tale quality they provided. Shaffer's writing is vivid and enchanting, and I could have stayed in the world of Shenandoah forever. There is also a lovely queer romance that made my heart happy, but we couldn't get to the end without some pain and suffering as well. I am now an instant fan of this author, and I can't wait to get a copy to add to my shelves. 💝

It’s not often I want to slow a book down but THE LOST STORY by @meg_shaffer is one of those books. It is magical and whimsical and a book I craved to read. Unicorns, mermaids, magical lands that you dreamt of as a kid. It was like if Lisa Frank and Chronicles of Narnia had a baby.

If you loved The Wishing Game, I think you’ll love this too. Or if you are looking for an adult fairy tale, pick this one up.

I was drawn to this book by the beautiful cover and the storyline of missing folks in the mountains of Appalachia. If anything sounded like a book I would like, it was all of the above.

Well, The Lost Story started with the threads of a mystery, two teen boys found in the woods who had been lost for months, and then jumping forward in time to one now having the uncanny ability to find missing people. Somewhere along the way, it evolves into this magical, mystical love story that I wasn't expecting. Something similar to Narnia meets the House in the Cerulean Sea?

I don't read a lot of fantasy or romantasy, mystery is more of my jam. But I loved so many of the phrases and the elements that were tied together here. It was a beautiful story about surviving, loving, and family.

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for the opportunity to read The Lost Story in exchange for an honest review.

Utterly charming.

A modern, and slightly more mature, take on Chronicles of Narnia. I really like the asides from the Storyteller. There is room for another installment in this universe - if the author chooses to keep writing about this universe, I would read it.

Target audience: mid teens? This is a tough one to think about since there are some mature themes that I wouldn't necessarily want younger kids to read about. The main characters are older than I thought they acted. I still appreciated the character development and the story as a whole.

Thank you for the advanced copy of The Lost Story. Fantasy readers will definitely enjoy this story. I loved the plot and the unique structure of the storytelling. The Storyteller's Corner was such a fun part of the book. I loved that it paid homage to a lot of stories that I read as a child.

Meg Shaffer is great at coming up with concepts for her fantasy novels that somehow don’t feel entirely fantastical. Jeremy and Rafe disappeared in the forest for six months when they were kids only to reappear healthier than ever with no information about what had happened to them. In the present, Jeremy finds missing people as his profession and is not in contact with Rafe. That is, until Emilie comes to Jeremy asking for help finding her sister and Jeremy knows it’s time for them to venture back to the forest as a group.

This book was inspired by The Chronicles of Narnia and it definitely has the charm of a fairy tale. It was so comforting to get lost in this kind of world as an adult. Seeing inside the imagination of someone else was such a treat. That said, it was also imbued with a seriousness from the things that each character had dealt with in their life. The relationships of each of the three main characters with their families were nuanced and helped me to understand their motivations. There were definitely some heavy themes that made the urge to escape to the fantastical all the more understandable.

The magical world was whimsical and fun and I liked Rafe and Jeremy, but Emilie and another main character fell pretty flat for me and much of the second half of the book felt rushed. Overall an enjoyable read.

In The Lost Story by Meg Shaffer, two best friends Jeremy Cox and Rafe Howell go missing in a state forest. Return home 6 months later with no details as to where they had been. The story continues with the aftermath of the boys disappearance. 15 years after they went missing they are brought together to find a missing women, sister to Emilie. Embarking on a new journey of unknown consequences, can also mean revealing some well kept secrets.

This story had fairy tale vibes from the very beginning with a mystery element. This story is about friendship and human connection with a magic twist. I was frustrated in the beginning of this story and being told some components instead of feeling them. There were moments that had me kicking and screaming as well as the ‘awe so sweet’ moments. I felt like the pace met the style of the storytelling. I found this to be unique and with some elements I have not seen done before. Overall a 4.5 star for me, while there was a magic spark this one had something missing.

I can’t wait to see what Meg Shaffer does next.

I am very confused. I am not sure what happened between this book and the last one by this author. There seems to be a little discourse between the two. I loved her last book so much and had high expectations for this one. In my opinion, I felt like it fell very flat for me. I wasn't a huge fan of the character development and wish there was more in that aspect. This was marketed as Narnia in terms of the romance and the magical elements, and I felt like the magic was a little confusing. Overal, it was a fine read, it just wasn't for me. I know a lot of people love it though.

This was such an interesting story that had Narnia vibes. I loved the found family themes that were sprinkled throughout. The last quarter of the book was a little slow.