I fell in love with the bookish nostalgia Shaffer’s first book, The Wishing Game, brought me, so I was eager for her next one. If there’s something I love just as much as the books of my childhood, it would be fairy tales. I grew up obsessed with fairy tales, so discovering the groundwork for The Lost Story was laid with them made this book feel tailor made to me. This is a story grounded in both fairy tales and reality, one where the villain is a little complex and a little looming, where the romance is sweet but fraught, where one woman spends her life building the perfect world for herself and her lost sister. There’s something lovely about Shaffer’s writing, and it transported me straight into a new fairy tale, where even if things felt like a child’s whim and fantasy, it was still somehow endearing to an adult.

When they were boys, best friends Jeremy and Rafe went missing in a West Virginia forest for months after an ugly confrontation between Rafe and his father. Years later, they’re estranged, with only Jeremy remembering what happened to them when they were missing. Now he makes a living finding those who are lost, and it’s this uncanny skill of his that Emilie needs, because she’s looking for her lost half-sister who vanished in the same forest after she was kidnapped as a teen. So they set out to round up Rafe, the only one who can lead them to where Emilie’s sister is, a woman Jeremy says he and Rafe know, but won’t say how or why. But stepping into a magical world is not easy, not when secrets linger, and the past will come back roaring, casting a shadow in the only place where Jeremy and Rafe were happy.

The Lost Story reads like a fairy tale. It’s grounded in the ingredients that make up one, and Shaffer never lets the reader forget. It’s told in a charming, soft way, one that invites readers in, to poke their heads in and discover magic might just be around the corner. Of course, because this is grounded in childish fantasy with adults populating the world, it comes across as a little odd, but I found the writing so lovely and the story so wishful that I didn’t care while I was reading. Though, yes, it was strange to read about grown men and women gallivanting around a magical world created by a child.

But the central story is about Jeremy and Rafe. Brought back together thanks to Emilie’s mission to find her lost sister, even though they were separated when Emilie, the younger sister, was just a baby, they have a lot to deal with and confront. There are reasons why only Jeremy remembers and can’t breathe a word of it to Rafe, but it creates a divide between these two boys who were once so close they were practically inseparable. Watching them find their way back together through all the secrets was both beautiful and a little heartwrenching. Their pasts come to light for the reader, and the way they became so tangled and their adult lives a bit of a mess tugged at my heart. Not much is easy for them, but the love between them, whether both will admit it, is clear to see. I adored these two together. They go through so much with and for each other, with choices being made for them because of how much they love each other.

But it’s also a story of sisters. Emilie and Shannon never really knew each other, because Emilie was adopted away as a baby. Yet the memories Shannon had of the brief time she had a sister were etched in her, and she wanted more than anything to get her sister back. When Emilie’s adopted mother dies, all she has is her pet rat Fritz and the knowledge of a sister who was lost in a West Virginia forest, not knowing her sister has created an entire kingdom for them to live happily in. I really liked Emilie. She’s young, barely an adult, but doesn’t back down from anything. Her naivety sometimes shone through, but she’s devoted to those she cares about and she has a huge heart. I loved her rat, who was an absolute delight and a really fun detail to include. Shannon comes across as much older, even though she’s queen of a land full of fairy tale elements. It felt like it kept her young at heart, which stayed pure as gold. This reunion was heartwarming, but certainly not the main story as I felt Emilie was often forgotten and pushed to the side in favor of Jeremy and Rafe’s story. I never, though, got the feeling that Emilie minded.

The Lost Story is a delightful portal fantasy, where one can step from this world into a fantastical one created by a child’s wishes, dreams, and one very special pencil. I loved the story of how this world came to be, and I’d love to have my own magical pencil. This really played into the fantasies of my own childhood, where the stories and fantastical worlds I created in my mind could come to life. Oh, if only. I loved this book because I got to see this fantasy play out. It was a little weird to see a grown woman ruling a world that was clearly created by a child, but, if I had the chance to live forever in a world I created as a child, well, I’d be overjoyed and would never leave. It’s a bit black and white, with places that are good and magical and a place of shadows where one character’s past haunts.

A fairy tale has a villain, at least Disney told me so, and this one certainly has one. This villain, though, isn’t introduced right away, but saved for closer to the end. It sometimes felt a little like an after thought, but it fit well with how the story played out, though I wish it had been a little more evident much earlier on. I liked that it did take up a good chunk of the story, but it’s also easy to guess once all the pieces are fit together. Part of me wishes the villain had been introduced earlier, but The Lost Story isn’t really a fairy tale, but a love story in the guise of a fairy tale. It did sometimes make too much of this story feel like fluff, but it’s delightfully fun fluff.

I had a fantastic time reading The Lost Story, and I never wanted it to end. I love the hope that the reader is left with at the end, and the idea that the magic isn’t out of reach forever. I loved that it allowed me to live out my childhood fantasies. Jeremy and Rafe were wonderful and I loved their story, but, for me, this was much more about getting to see that child’s world come to life. There’s adventure in these pages, and a love story, and a story of sisters, and a story of banishing the ghosts of one’s past, but, for me, the real treasure was the discovery that maybe, just maybe, another world exists somewhere out there and it’s not too late to find it. Inspired by The Chronicles of Narnia, the description mentions this is for those who still knock on the backs of wardrobes to see if Narnia might open up to them, and I find that’s all I needed to fall in love with this book, because I’m still looking for these portals.

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for a review copy. All opinions expressed are my own.

This was a really lovely, whimsical, fun book, and I enjoyed every bit of it. While the book doesn't shy from the hard conversations, it didn't get dark to the point where it was never un-enjoyable. Honestly reading this was a blast from the start and the only minor quibble I have is that it went on for a smidge too long.

Huge Thank you to Random House for the ARC.

Wonderful happy story! Such a joy to read a book that will bring so much love to your heart that you will be lighter for it. Meg Shaffer's writing is beautiful and heart warming in a world today that seems like Ghost Town. I loved this story to Shanandoah and back, and I look forward to returning for Rafe and Jeremy's wedding someday.

"The Lost Story" was a wonderful love letter to the classic fairy tales of our youth. While the most obvious reference was to Narnia, you couldn't help but get hints of Wonderland or Oz as well. Don't think it was just about the only magic was the mystical kingdom though! The relationships between the characters brought its own magic to the book. However, within the frame of these fairy tales, there was heavier subjects addressed including missing children, kidnapping, abuse, and homophobia so I suggest readers be prepared.

I give this a 3/5 stars because while it was an enjoyable, I felt that too many of the possible plot twists were too heavily leaned into, taking away any shock factor they could have provided. I understand this was in part to lead into character development, but would have liked it to been more shocking and less predictable. However, I can say I got misty-eyed at the end and do definitely see myself reading a sequel should one come out. This seems to be a standalone for now, with loose ends tied up nicely, but the author also left enough room for the adventure to continue, and I hope they do!

I ABSOLUTELY LOVED THIS BOOK SO MUCH!!!!!!

Incredible story, amazing writing and beautifully done characters that I fell in love with throughout this book! I didn’t want this one to end and the entire time I was reading it I could picture what was going on and now want this book to become a movie ASAP! Meg Shaffer you have outdone yourself on this one and I want you to continue the story on these characters, they are just fabulous and thank you for gifting this beautiful work to all of us!

The Lost Story is out right now….run don’t walk to your bookstore and get this book right now! I need to talk about all the things with fellow readers!! Thank you NetGalley, Meg Shaffer and Random House for the ARC of this book!

I absolutely loved Meg Shaffer's debut last year, The Wishing Game, and I had very high hopes that The Lost Story would provide the same heartfelt and emotional reading experience. It absolutely did!

The Lost Story is inspired by the C.S. Lewis classic The Chronicles of Narnia and had all the elements of a modern fairytale. I think readers should go in a bit blindly to the story as I did because that's how the magic really happens. I loved the characters and their incredible banter, I loved the journey of self-discovery and evolution that they all went on, and I loved the beautifully descriptive writing style of Meg Shaffer. I was completely absorbed into the magical world she created from the beginning. This was just a really wonderful reading experience and I can't wait for more from Meg Shaffer.

Thank you to Random House Publishing - Ballentine for the advanced digital copy via Netgalley!

A really great adventure/quest story. The characters and their adulthood post-childhood-Narnia-portal situation were fascinating, and there's a fantastic romance in there, too. Every so often there are narrator-speaking-directly-to-you chapters, which I found kind of took me out of the story more than anything, but by the end of the book I even liked those, and found they were worked in very well. I'm going to read it again!

The Lost Story by Meg Shaffer is a stunning novel that I was fully immersed in from start to finish. Inspired by Narnia, this book follows the two boys who were lost in the woods 15 years ago and a girl who is searching for her sister in those same woods. I loved the character dynamic in this book between Jeremy, Rafe, and Emilie. They each have such interesting relationships together and I love them all. I had so much excitement and anticipation reading this book leading up to and during the character's journey to find Emilie's sister. The writing had me hooked from start to finish. I loved how the world was described and to see it through each character's eyes. This book had me laughing, crying, and on the edge of my seat. I absolutely loved it and will pick up anything this author publishes in the future!
Thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for the ARC in exchange for a review!

And here I thought The Wishing Game was her best! The Lost Story by Meg Shaffer was such a spectacular story.
This was a phenomenal reimagining of The Chronicles of Narnia!
An engaging whimsical fantasy read that captivated me and held me hostage till the very end!

Thank You NetGalley and Ballantine Books for your generosity and gifting me a copy of this amazing eARC!

This book is described as a fairy tale for grown-ups, inspired by C.S. Lewis’ Narnia series. I adore that series and the premise for this one is so intriguing. Rafe and Jeremy are best friends who go missing in the West Virginia forest. Rafe remembers nothing of their time there and Jeremy won’t tell him what happened. After many years apart, they reunite to help find someone else who is lost. They return to the forest on a magical journey.

Highlights |
*Stevie Nicks
*Castles
*Magical creatures
*Fairy tales
*Mix of fantasy and reality
*Buried secrets

Rating | 3.75/5 stars

I thought ‘Storyteller Corner’ was a fun addition to the book! This will likely seem strange coming from me, someone who doesn’t often read fantasy, but I wanted to feel more magic. It just seemed too perfunctory for my taste. It is easy to read and one that I think many will enjoy.

Thanks to NetGalley and Random House Publishing for this early electronic copy in exchange for an honest review.

CW | Contains mostly mild language, a bit of strong profanity, homophobia and kissing between two men.

As a fan of Shaffer’s The Wishing Game, I was very excited to read this book. It is a whimsical story that brings back memories of reading The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe when I was in middle school.

This book is a fairy tale for adults with elements inspired by The Chronicles of Narnia. Two boys, Jeremy and Rafe, go missing in a forest for six months and then suddenly turn up in better condition than when they disappeared. Fifteen years later they team up with the Emilie to find her sister who went missing in those same woods. Jeremy knows the truth, though. The girl is not missing; she is in the same fantastical realm where the boys spent their six “missing” months. The three of them embark on a fairy tale adventure to reunite the sisters and get back Rafe’s memories of those months he was “lost.”

I wish I loved this book. I wanted to love it so badly, and I was loving it in the beginning. However, the second half of the book when they travel to the fantasy realm is too rushed and reads too much like a YA book for my liking. The world building is minimal, and the fantasy elements feel a bit forced. I think the change in tone from the first to second half of the book is just too jarring for me. It didn't feel magical like I expected it to.

If you’re a fan of fairy tale settings and shorter fantastical adventures, I’d recommend giving this one a try. If you want your fantasy world more fleshed out, you might want to skip this one.

The book did a wonderful job blending elements of fantasy with a setting primarily in West Virginia.😉 It revolves around Emilie, a vet tech adrift after her mother's death, who discovers she has a long-lost sister and sets out to find her. This quest leads her to enlist the help of Jeremy, a renowned missing persons investigator, and Rafe, a reclusive artist who share a mysterious past involving a disappearance in Red Crow forest. The story unfolds through Emilie's perspective initially, though it shifts to delve into Jeremy's and Rafe's complex histories and their fractured friendship. Their journey intertwines Emilie's search with deeper personal and magical elements typical of fairy tales, though subdued without extravagant enchantments like godmothers or pixie dust.

Thank you Netgalley and Random House Publishing Group for providing me with an e-arc of The Lost Story. The adult version of the Lion the Witch and the Wardrobe. I liked that the fantasy aspects were not intense in this book that it was more reality based than anything with a hint of magic intertwined. I am honestly curious based on the ending if another book will be added in this series? No I am not going to give away the ending whatsoever, you have to read it to find out and I highly recommend that you do. This book was just as good as Meg Shaffer's first book The Wishing Game. I love that she takes tales we loved reading as kids and turns the plot into her own. The Lost Story starts with Rafe and Jeremy, who got lost in the woods but ultimately were found. Emilie knows she has a sister who was also lost in the same woods that Rafe and Jeremy were so she elicits the help of Jeremy to find her sister. Jeremy though can't do anything without Rafe, although Rafe has no clue why, he doesn't remember a thing about when the boys were missing all those years ago. A fantasy, action, romance all in one, this book was excellent!

A beautiful, fantastical fairytale for grownups! I loved this. My usual genre of choice is mystery/thriller. I love stepping into a book filled with fantasy and magic every now and then. This was a great choice!

This was such a fun read, based off The Chronicles of Narnia. I love magical books that are set half in the real world and half in a magical world. The banter between the main characters, the love story that develops and the description of the other world made this such a well written story. I highly recommend adding this to your list!

This book is filled with fantastical elements so if you like that sort of thing you may enjoy it, if not you may not. Although the love story between the two boys is sweet, it loses something because much of it takes place in the past and you never really see them getting together. There are a lot of good found family vibes in the book as well as actual family vibes both good and bad.

Oh, gosh, Meg Shaffer has done it again.

Seriously….how do I sign up to be friends with Emilie, Jeremy, and Rafe?

In Shaffer’s new novel, inspired by The Chronicles of Narnia, this trio embarks on an adventure for the ages. As teenagers, Jeremy and Rafe were lost in the wilds of a West Virginia forest for 6 months. Miraculously, they returned safe and sound…but without an explanation for how they had survived alone for so long in an unforgiving environment.

Years later, Emile tracks down Jeremy, who has become famous for his ability to locate missing women and bring them back to safety. She begs for his help in finding her long-lost sister, who went missing in the same woods five years before him and Rafe. He agrees to help and enlists Rafe, whom he hasn’t seen in 15 years. What secrets has Jeremy been hiding about the 6 months they spent missing? What allowed the boys to stay missing for so long, and what led to their decision to return? Emilie is desperate to find her sister, and so she willingly follows Jeremy and Rafe on this mysterious adventure, not entirely sure what they’ll find.

It’s magical, it’s mysterious. It’s full of wit, friendship, and BIG, big heart. You won’t regret reading this for a second.

WOW!! All the stars for this impressive, creative, unputdownable sophomore novel from the author of The wishing game! A modern fairy tale with nods to The Lion, the witch and the wardrobe by C.S. Lewis and perfect for fans of Guy Gavriel Kay's The Fionavar Tapestry series. It's really hard to top a stellar debut but Meg Shaffer has certainly done it with The lost story!

I loved the mix of modern and fantasy, the parallel world, the bonds of sisterhood, friendship and queer love plus the complicated, messy family dynamics of an emotionally and physically abusive, homophobic parent. There was also excellent disability rep in the form of a Schizophrenic parent who committed suicide.

Other parts I loved about this book included the chapter asides by the omniscient mysterious 'storyteller,' and the epic quest nature of the book where the characters are forced to make terribly hard decisions about life and love.

Amazing on audio narrated by Jorjeana Marie and HIGHLY recommended! Many thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for an early digital copy and @prhaudio for a complimentary ALC in exchange for my honest review!!

DON'T.MISS.THIS!!!!

The Lost Story by Meg Shaffer ⭐️⭐️⭐️

I wanted to love this one so badly, but it never clicked for me. I never bought into the characters or their relationships, it felt more “telling” than “showing”, and there was a YA feel that I didn’t enjoy.

While it wasn’t for me, I so enjoyed the positive West Virginia representation. Shaffer’s descriptions of West Virginia captured the beauty and magic of the state. And yes, saying “West, By God, Virginia” is a real thing.

I also enjoyed the land she created; I wish we would’ve spent more time there. I could’ve done with more descriptions of everything and how things came to be. Give me more backstory and more details.

Fans of found families, make-believe, magical places, and fairytales will enjoy this one.

Thank you to @NetGalley and @randomhouse for the ARC copy of “The Lost Story” by @meg_shaffer


Rating: ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
Genre: Fantasy, Romance
LGBTQ+ representation, found family
Release date: July 16th

Meg, you’ve done it again! The Lost Story effortlessly transported me into the fantasy world of Shanandoah, a world that feels like “Neverending Story” “Peter Pan” and “Narnia” all wrapped up into one book. Pretty quickly, I knew this was going to be another 5 star read from Meg. I really enjoyed The Wishing Game and had very high hopes for this new release too.

The Lost Story begins with two best friends, Jeremy and Rafe who have been missing from home for months. Until one day, they’re found on a hiking trail in the Red Crow forest, looking stronger than ever and not as if they’ve been missing in the woods for months. Flashforward to 15 years later, we come across Emilie who is searching for her long lost half sister who has been missing from the Red Crow area for 10+ years. With the help from Jeremy and Rafe, she’s able to locate her sister and uncover the magical history behind the hidden land Shanandoah.

As an avid fantasy reader, The Lost Story is the perfect happy medium. It’s easy to follow, funny, thrilling, and of course leaves you wanting to read more.




Review links:

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Goodreads: <a href="https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/199927030-the-lost-story" style="float: left; padding-right: 20px"><img border="0" alt="The Lost Story" src="https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1699644888l/199927030._SX98_.jpg" /></a><a href="https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/199927030-the-lost-story">The Lost Story</a> by <a href="https://www.goodreads.com/author/show/22371885.Meg_Shaffer">Meg Shaffer</a><br/>
My rating: <a href="https://www.goodreads.com/review/show/6260686887">5 of 5 stars</a><br /><br />
LGBTQ+ representation, found family <br />Release date: July 16th <br /><br />Meg, you’ve done it again! The Lost Story effortlessly transported me into the fantasy world of Shanandoah, a world that feels like “Neverending Story” “Peter Pan” and “Narnia” all wrapped up into one book. Pretty quickly, I knew this was going to be another 5 star read from Meg. I really enjoyed The Wishing Game and had very high hopes for this new release too. <br /><br />The Lost Story begins with two best friends, Jeremy and Rafe who have been missing from home for months. Until one day, they’re found on a hiking trail in the Red Crow forest, looking stronger than ever and not as if they’ve been missing in the woods for months. Flashforward to 15 years later, we come across Emilie who is searching for her long lost half sister who has been missing from the Red Crow area for 10+ years. With the help from Jeremy and Rafe, she’s able to locate her sister and uncover the magical history behind the hidden land Shanandoah. <br /><br />As an avid fantasy reader, The Lost Story is the perfect happy medium. It’s easy to follow, funny, thrilling, and of course leaves you wanting to read more. <br />
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