You may have to suspend belief when reading this book, but who doesn't love a good fairy tale? A good recipe for a fairy tale starts with "Once upon a time" and ends with "They lived happily ever after", but is that really always true?

Meg Shaffer's debut novel The Wishing Game was one of my 5⭐ reads for 2023 and once again she takes readers on a magical journey to a fantasy land. In an interview, the author once said that she "writes middle school books for adults" and this one feels even more like a YA novel then her first book.

Divided into sections called Storyteller Corners, with a few chapters within each section, the "Storyteller" provides an explanation for things that have happened or a preamble to things that are going to happen. This is the story about two boys, Jeremy and Rafe, who went missing in a West Virginia forest for six months when they were 15 years old. Once they return home, they drift apart, with only one of them holding the memory of what happened, until fifteen years later when a young woman seeks their help to find her missing sister.

This is a story about magic and miracles. It is about bravery, friendship, family, love, endurance, and devotion. But, it's also about fear, regret, loss, hatred, and acceptance. And, of course, a deadly competition thrown in for additional excitement.

For me, this story was not as captivating as The Wishing Game, but it still held my interest. I would recommend this to fans of fantasy or magical realism or anyone who is young at heart. I urge you to read this and decide for yourself where your heart lies.

My sincere thanks to NetGalley and Random House Publishing Group-Ballantine Books for the ARC of this novel in exchange for an honest review. All opinions expressed are my own.

I loved this book! Shaffers writing was so clever, imaginative, & heart warming. This fairy tale had me absorbed from the start, & I didn’t want it to end. Thanks to NetGalley for an advanced copy!

The book is an adult fairy tale, and I loved it. Jeremy and Rafe went missing 15 years ago and mysteriously reappeared after 6 months. During their absence, they inhabited a land of beauty and danger, remembered only by Jeremy. Now, after all these years, Jeremy wants Rafe to return to this mystical realm to search for a missing person.

This whimsical story takes the reader to unexpected and magical places. It is beautifully written with strong character development. I cherished every word.

Thank you to Ballantine Book and NetGalley for an early read in exchange for an honest review.

The following review was posted on Goodreads today (07/14/24). Thank you so much for this ARC I absolutely loved it.

This is an epic adventure story which I would have liked to gulp down in one sitting but I had to "adult" instead. It did still keep me up way past my bedtime a few nights.

The story about Jeremy, Rafe and Emilie takes you on an adventure with nods to Alice in Wonderland and Narnia. When our story opens, we are told Jeremy and Rafe once disappeared into a forest only to emerge 6 months later. Where they were was cloaked in secrecy for many years until Emilie needs their help finding her sister. The quest they go on to find her has a lot of unexpected twists and turns.

Where were they for those 6 months? What do they need to do to find Emilie's sister? Trust me, you'll want to find out.

I was pleasantly surprised by the LGBTQ representation in this book!!!

I am hopeful the author will write a sequel because I need to know what happens next.

This book was kindly provided to me by the publishers via Netgalley in exchange for an honest review.

“Inspired by C. S. Lewis’s The Chronicles of Narnia, this wild and wondrous novel is a fairy tale for grown-ups who still knock on the back of wardrobes…” With a book description like that, I was excited to read The Lost Story by Meg Shaffer. Don’t be fooled. Readers, this is nothing like Narnia. Clearly, Shaffer wants us to think about Narnia while reading her book, since her epigraph contains a quote from C.S. Lewis and she continues to mention Lewis, Narnia and Oxford multiple times throughout the story. However, the wholesomeness, world building, and character development of The Chronicles of Narnia are lacking in this book.. The characters, although adults, seem like teenagers with, as some reviewers stated, “cringy” dialogue. I also think that readers should have been made aware that the book has scenes containing child abuse and trauma, bullying and a m/m romance. I should have dnf’d around the halfway point, but kept hoping it would get better. Sadly, it did not. Thank you to NetGalley for this free eARC in exchange for an honest review.

Just do yourself a favor - pick this book up and escape into the magical world that Shaffer creates. I went into this book not really knowing what it was about - and as someone who does not typically read and enjoy fantasy, I am glad I went in unaware. Because this book was a treat. Two men are forced to return to the magic and scary land where they disappeared as young boys, all to help a woman find her sister who has been missing for years. The story is about friendship, love and family. It touches on dreams and wishes in a fairytale made for grownups. The descriptions of perfection, the characters, their interactions and personalities are wonderfully developed. I honestly was hooked from page one, which says a lot from someone who usually puts fantasy books in the DNF pile!

Thank you netgalley for my advanced reader copy

The Lost Story was a beautiful fairytale-esc journey, full of magical realism and hidden worlds. It was easy to get lost in the story and I was drawn into the mystery of it right from the beginning.

While there was a small sprinkling of romance, it all stayed rather innocent and PG. However, don’t let that fool you into thinking this is a light and easy read. This is an adult book and it hits hard. It explores some heavy themes – please check the trigger warnings before picking this up. The ending was a little vague, but I really didn’t mind that as it leaves room for a sequel.

A big thank you to Megan Whalen, Random House Publishing Group – Ballantine, and NetGalley for the advance copy. All thoughts and opinions are my own.

A story of whimsy, mystery and the search for family, this story is sure to delight fans of fantasy!

⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️/5

I just finished reading "The Lost Story" by Meg Shaffer, and it was a delightful escape into a world where fantasy meets reality. Shaffer’s writing is engaging, and her characters are well-crafted, each bringing their own unique charm to the story.

The plot is compelling, with enough twists to keep you hooked, though it occasionally felt a bit predictable. The exploration of themes like love, loss, and the transformative power of storytelling was beautifully done and added emotional depth to the narrative.

While there were moments where the pacing slowed, overall, it was a heartwarming read that left me feeling satisfied. If you enjoy books that blend fantasy with emotional realism, "The Lost Story" is definitely worth picking up. A solid 4/5 stars! 📚✨

Best friends Jeremy Cox and Rafe Howell went missing during a school field trip to Red Crow State Forest. When they mysteriously reappear six months later, exhausted and dehydrated, but even healthier than when they were last seen, authorities are puzzled. Both boys claim they have no memory of what happened during those six months. Fast forward fifteen years: Rafe is a reclusive artist who still bears the scars from that time, and Jeremy has become a missing persons’ investigator. When he gets a request from vet tech Emilie Wendell to find her sister, who vanished in the very same forest as Rafe and Jeremy, he knows he is the only one who can help her. Jeremy does remember what happened in that forest, but was sworn to secrecy, so he has kept the truth from Rafe all of these years. So Jeremy go to Rafe and makes a plea for his help in finding the girl, and in return he will tell him everything that happened all those years ago. Rafe finally agrees, and Jeremy, Rafe and Emilie set off for the enchanted world they lived in all those years ago.

Who doesn't love a good fairy tale? And what is better than a fairy tale written specifically for a grown-up that still gives you that feeling of being a kid again? In a world filled with a queen, a prince, a princess, a knight, danger at every corner, a castle, unicorns, mermaids, red crows, sword fighting, archery, and so much more, what is not to love? This book will draw you in and take you on a magical tale that will keep you captivated and leave you wanting more. I would definitely love to see a sequel to this! If you love fantasy fiction, fairytales, or just really good stories, then this is the perfect book for you. I highly recommend it!

As a fan of The Wishing Game I was really excited to read this even if I haven’t read The Chronicles of Narnia.

It was definitely a different format for me, but I enjoyed the fairy tale approach and having a storyteller/narrator. This was more of a romance than I expected it to be. Not sure why except maybe because the synopsis felt more like a suspense book than a romance story, but it’s definitely a romance.

3.5 stars

The Lost Story by Meg Shaffer is a whimsical, quirky, and daring story following a pair of unexpected “boys” and too good for this world girl. Not only does this book have a great mixture of magical worlds and unique stories, Schaffer also does a really great job of including heavy -real- topics that shape these characters into people you feel like you’ve known forever. If you’ve read The Wishing Game you will also love The Lost Story. It has so many amazing elements weaved into it, even though it’s inspired by The Chronicles of Narnia, Shaffer has put her own twist on it and really made it her own. You really fall in love with all her characters and are rooting for their found family the whole time. The Lost Story includes so many loving relationships, romantic, familial, and full unconditional admiration and respect for a world that’s like no other. I really enjoyed this story and I was so lucky to be able to recieve an ARC for this book. I can’t wait for others to read and fall in love with Shanandoah the way I did.

#TheLostStory:⁣
⁣
Thanks for the free book @prhaudio @randomhouse #RandomHousePartner #PRHAudioPartner ⁣
⁣
“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.”⁣
⁣
You know, I did not want to read The Lost Story because I loved The Wishing Game so much. I had the highest of hopes and didn’t want to be disappointed. I really didn’t. So I just played the prologue, which had me shocked into the next chapter. Then, we had a storyteller giving us the play by play? Then, RAFE WAS THERE?! Next thing I knew, it was way past my bedtime and I was a child sneaking in a few pages before my parents could catch me.⁣
⁣
The feelings I have for Meg Shaffer’s writing is unreal. I am instantly entranced and transported back to the younger years of reading. She makes you fall back in love with reading with stories like this one. A unicorn, magical portal, lost girls, a magical pencil (😭), and a love story?! I really can’t put into words my love for this book. ⁣
⁣
Audio was phenomenal. Jorjeana Marie really kept the innocence of this book and I think it’s fate they were picked for this audio. Honestly thought at certain parts there were multiple narrators, but no, just Jorjeana doing their thing.⁣
⁣
Hands down, best book of 2024. Meg Shaffer, I will read anything you write. Thankful this book will be out in the world in 2 days on the 16th.

Five stars! Book hangover for days! Two new fictional characters I am in love with. Me, wanting a follow-up to the pet rat in this story. I want to know more about a rat. This book has done THINGS to my SOUL.

I will preface this by saying I don’t typically read fantasy. But this is a fantasy world that references Gilmore Girls.

Meg Shaffer created a well thought out, complex, wonderful world full of characters I love - including a rat. The world was so immersive - I could taste the berries, see the unicorns, and I, too, now want a mermaid to tell me a secret.

Shaffer didn’t just delve into a fantastical world, though. She also tackled suicide, abuse, and LGBTQIA.

This book deserves all the praise it’s been receiving, and then some.

I’m now off to devour anything written by this author.

This is a lovely little glimpse into magical realism, with Meg Shaffer’s newest release THE LOST STORY. Thank you @ballantinebooks for my early and finished copy!

This novel gives all kinds of Chronicles of Narnia and Lost Boys vibes. Between Rafe’s tragic upbringing and Jeremy’s British background, they are ripe for an adventure, again. Rafe and Jeremy were “lost” in the Red Crow forest in West Virginia as teens, and life has come full circle, in its own way.

Enter Emily and her search for a lost sister she never knew she had, Skya, and you have an adorable recipe for a magical read. Throw in a fancy rat named Fritz and you’re sold!

After reading the summary for this book, I was so excited to start it; however, I quickly realized it just wasn’t for me. I think it’s overly ambitious to fit such a large story into less than 350 pages, when it could easily work as a duology instead. The Lost Story tried to be a mystery/romance/fantasy/fairytale all at once, with so many plot lines it was impossible to flesh any one of them out as well as it deserved. What could’ve been a truly magical and fantastic adventure into another world was snuffed out by how many pages every other plot took up. In the end, the first half of the book felt like a completely different story than the second half.

I had a difficult time with the characters, world-building, and the writing in general. I especially struggled with the dialogue– very few conversations between characters felt natural. I never thought I’d ever hear myself say “there aren’t enough transition words,” but here we are. There’s also a storyteller that pops up every now and then to essentially “tell” us about things happening, instead of us being “shown,” and to fast forward through parts of the story that would otherwise be uninteresting. Again, just another thing that indicated this should’ve been more than a standalone. I couldn’t even fully enjoy the queer rep due to my lack of connection with any of the characters.

I could see what the author wanted to do with this story and I know I could’ve loved it if it’d been executed differently, but The Lost Story just wasn’t my cup of tea.

After reading Meg Shaffer’s “The Wishing Game,” I was ecstatic to read this one! Shaffer has a way of writing that makes you feel like you are part of the story. Very similar to the feeling children’s books gives you, but that does not mean her writing is at all juvenile.

Her writing is complex, imaginative, and laced with details and plot lines you could never imagine! She is a writing genius!!!

This story was such a fun read from start to finish! Going into it I was a little hesitant on the plot because thriller and fantasy together are not always my favorite, but this plot was crafted so wonderfully. The story felt full of life and did not miss a beat. The world that is created in this story is like nothing else. I was truly wrapped up in it the entire time I was reading!

So thankful I got to read this book early because I don’t know what my life was like before reading this book!

Fifteen years ago Jeremy Cox and Rafe Howell disappeared into the forest near their small town in West Virginia. Six months later they returned. Jeremy had developed a gift for finding lost people and Rafe had scars but no memory of his lost time. Fifteen years later, when they are approached by a young woman named Emilie to find her lost sister, they venture back into the mysterious woods to find her. This begins a fantasy adventure in a fairy tale world.

I wanted to read The Lost Story because of the comparisons to the Narnia books, which I love. I also heard this book described as an adult fairy tale.

This was an interesting and unusual book. It did indeed have an adult fairy tale quality. The author's voice was fresh and a bit flip; it reminded me of a young adult book tone.

I really liked Jeremy and Rafe and pulled for them through the dangers they encountered. The descriptions and setting were wonderful, with passages like:

“One night . . . about a month after we came here, Skya showed us that some of the trees in the Sweet Spring Forest had stairways carved inside them. Enormous spiral staircases, and you could go five hundred feet or more up the interior of the tree and then walk out onto the branches.”

“And we did that?”

“We did. By ourselves. She said the heights made her too dizzy, but we wanted to try it. Then we got up there and sat on the branch. As soon as it was dark enough, the firemoths came out.”

“Firemoths?”

“They’re massive,”Jeremy said. “Wings as wide as your hands.”He held up both hands side by side, fingers spread to show the moths’wingspan. “And they flash orange, so when they all come at night, it’s like Halloween up there.” (eBook location 3977)

I enjoyed this read, and recommend The Lost Story for anyone who enjoys fantasy books with another world and a fairy tale setting.

From the same author of last year’s The Wishing Game, now comes Narnia-inspired The Lost Story

Disclaimer: I do not typically read fantasy, so this review is coming from someone who is not usually immersed in this genre. I say this because, for those who love fantasy, I could see how this may disappoint. Moreover, it felt on the verge of YA for me, which I also don’t typically read.

I did really enjoy this book though. I loved the premise, and was immediately hooked. The characters were quirky and relatable, which I love. I didn’t expect the romance portion, but it wasn’t a bad addition. Despite my enjoyment, I did feel the second half was rushed, and there was more “telling” than showing (mainly from the “storyteller” I think). I also wish there was more development of Emilie and Skya’s relationship, as it felt a bit forced and superficial. But overall, a cute story that I read in one day.

My rating was my gut reaction immediately after finishing the book, and not a reflection of its literary standing. But I have really enjoyed both of this author’s books thus far.

Thank you Random House Ballantine and NetGalley for the ARC in exchange for an honest review.

Thank you NetGalley for the ARC. I was drawn into this book, very Narnia-esq. Meg Schaffer was great about ending chapters with cliff hangers. I loved the relationship between Jeremy, Rafe and Skya. I want to know more about their time together, a prequel. I found the story unique and the way Schaffer ended the book, sounds like there could be a book 2. I recommend this book to people into magical realism, very entertaining.