This book is not just about magic, it is magic! It is a beautiful fairytale about love. Romantic love, family love, friendship love. Meg Shaffer has a gift for writing characters you’ll care about in both real and whimsical settings. I was hooked from start to finish. Highly recommend this book to anyone who needs to escape into a magical world and feel the warmth and love of human connection. 5 out of 5 bright stars.

I really enjoyed Meg's last book so I was so excited to see she was releasing a new book. I am not a Narnia reader/fan so some of the magic goes over my head but it was still whimsical and enjoyable. It doesn't top the last book for me, but I loved the coziness and hope Meg continues to write in this style and genre, because it definitely fits a niche that is lacking in adult books currently.

This was an absolutely enchanting story. As someone who reads primarily fantasy novels, this fairy tale set in reality was so charming and the perfect change of pace. Inspired by The Chronicles of Narnia, The Lost Story appeals to adults who still hold out hope of magic and dream of dragons and unicorns.

Not only was this was fairy tale, but it was a tale of two lovers finding love and paving a path forward through fairy tales and reality.

I also adored the storytellers corner and got so excited when I found one tucked between chapters. Highly recommend this book!

Thank you to Random House Publishing and NetGalley who provided me with a copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.

I really loved this book! I felt an immediate attachment to and investment in the main characters. I loved the whimsical fairytale world of Shanandoah but I also like that it dealt with difficult topics such as abusive parents, homophobia, loss of a parent, and more.
I will strongly recommend this book to others and I hope that maybe there will be more to this world someday!
Thank you to NetGalley, Meg Shaffer, and the publisher for the opportunity to read and review this ARC.

Meg Shaffer has done it again. Another magical realism/fantasy book that had me sucked in from the first pages! Her easy-to-read writing style kept me hooked from the beginning. I really enjoyed the characters and plotline of the story. The integration was seamless and just so interesting. I don't want to give too much away (how can you really describe the book without giving away all the elements?) but this is one you cannot miss.

The Lost Story by Meg Shaffer
Publishing date - July 16th 2024
Rating (4/5) ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

Thank you NetGalley and Random House Publishing - Ballantine Books for this e-ARC. The Lost Story is a fairy tale about the power of love, the magic in books, and the gift of forgiveness. Strong Narnia vibes (the series is even references it in the book). Overall a fun read! If you loved The Wishing Game by this author , I think you will enjoy this one too!

Two friends went missing together as children, but they were found a few months later totally fine with no recollection of what happened. Now after much time has passed they both have taken different roles in the community. A girl has gone missing in the same forest where the two boys previously went missing which will lead them back to the fantasy world that previously captured them! This is very different from what i typically read, and I enjoyed a break from the norm. Thank you to NetGalley and Random House Publishing, Ballantine Books for a copy of this book for an honest review.

“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 make out of ink and paper, not flesh and blood? Yes, books are magic. Maybe even the strongest magic there is.”

Oh, this was so magical. Truly such a fun read that made me feel like a kid again. It had that feeling of when I first read Narnia - this kind of awe-inspiring story that made me want to daydream and write more, ya know?

My only complaint was the dialogue. I actually thought the characters were quite funny, but sometimes it felt very surface level compared to how deep (and sometimes dark) the topics, or events around them, were… and it felt like the characters felt comfortable almost instantly with each other which took away from the validity from it. But then I remind myself that this is literally a fairytale LOL and it’s not supposed to be that serious? Even though I could have easily gobbled this up if it was longer and written in more depth.

Thank you sooo much NetGalley for the ARC, it’s books like this that make me feel so blessed!

Having read The Wishing Game I was very excited for the opportunity to read Meg Shaffer’s newest book. It did NOT disappoint. I loved it even more than her first book. Brought back wonderful memories of all those fantasy/fairy tale books I loved as a kid. With all the stresses that come with adulthood, it was great to escape into this story!

The Lost Story
This book was very creative and different. The cover and the blur got my attention. I love fantasy and books with a magical element, so I was very excited to read this book. The thing that initially sucked me in was that the author got her inspiration from C.S Lewis. Unfortunately, apart from a few mentions of CS Lewis and children being lost in a magical world that is where the similarities end. Usually I read books pretty quickly, but this book took me a while to finish. It did not keep my attention I felt like I had to finish this book not that I wanted to finish it. I did enjoy the mixture of real life and a magical world but I did not fall in love with any of the characters (other than the unicorns) & I did thoroughly enjoyed the storyteller chapters in between the story and that particular character. I would recommend this, but I did not love it as much as I thought I would.

Thank you, NetGallery, the author and the publisher for an e-ARC in exchange for an honest review

2.5 stars || I wanted to love this book. i love the idea of stories like The Chronicles of Narnia.
This fell flat. It felt like reading someone’s memories more than learning about and experiencing the world. There was no discovery - it just was.
I was taken out of the story every time there’s a “Storyteller Corner”. It felt unnecessary and a prime example of the author telling you what to think vs showing you.
The buildup of the story falls flat. It goes for this grand story but the climax ends in a single chapter and then the book drags on.
The plot got lost in this book and I’m still not sure which direction it was supposed to go in - missing sister to lost lovers to broken fatherly relationship but it gets jumbled and none feel well fleshed out.
The only true comparison to Chronicles of Narnia is a portal to a “magical world” with unicorns. That’s it. Nothing else. The world building was mediocre at best and lacked anything to make me attached to this fantasy realm. Don’t compare something to a great piece of literature unless you know it’s going to be another epic - this was not.

This took me back to being a kid and feeling absolutely lost in wonder at the fantasy worlds of Narnia and Harry Potter. It was sweet and had that element of childhood magic that can be so hard to capture. The bond between the characters felt so pure from start to finish. The interjection of the storyteller was such a fun aspect to the story. I'm really hoping this isn't a stand-alone story - I'm already excited for the sequel.

During their childhood, Jeremy Cox and Rafe Howell vanished in a vast West Virginia forest, only to reappear mysteriously six months later, leaving behind unanswered questions. Now, fifteen years later, Rafe, scarred both mentally and physically, has no memory of their time away, while Jeremy has become a renowned missing persons' investigator. When vet tech Emilie Wendell seeks Jeremy's help in finding her missing sister, who disappeared in the same forest, he reveals the fantastical truth about their disappearance and believes they must return to the magical realm to find Emilie's sister. However, Jeremy has kept Rafe in the dark for reasons unknown, but as they embark on the quest together, buried secrets resurface, and they must confront their traumatic past to reclaim what they've lost.

I didn’t love the book, it was just meh to me mostly because of the writing style. It was very YA and I wasn’t expecting that. I felt like the story had so much potential as it is a good idea and would be SO interesting but it just feel so flat for me.

I was blown away by this book. Its like a grown up version of every fantasy book you read as a kid and wished you could have been a part of. Meg Shaffer really brought the West Virginia vibes alive with her thoughtful prose and attention to detail. I relished how all her characters found peace among the trials, traumas, and triumphs. Go buy a copy now!

Thank you to Random House Publishing Group - Ballantine | Ballantine Books and NetGalley for providing an eARC for an honest review.

I admit that the descriptive blurb made me wary of this fantasy novel, but in the end it was a fun and satisfying read that I'm please to recommend to anyone who wants a book about true love, loyalty, swords, baby unicorns, healing trauma, swordfights, mysterious and horrible killers who get their comeuppance, ghosts, moms and sons, re-found sisters and sisterhood, castles with all the mod cons, happy queerness, mysteries, and the willing suspension of disbelief. What begins as a dark thriller-like novel soon gives way to one about persistence and cuteness, which opens doors into a magic world with both cuteness and sorrow, in which our cute characters have mighty adventures. Really: baby unicorns. It's a happy story.

This book... I don't even know what to say without giving away the story. The Lost Story is a fairy tale about the power of love, the magic in books, and the gift of forgiveness. I wanted to read this book in one sitting but forced myself to take breaks so I could enjoy it longer and put off that inevitable feeling of grief when you finish a book that has grabbed your heart. Five beautiful, falling stars.

Strong Narnia vibes (the series is even referenced in the book), but an adult fairytale is one of my favorite genres. Emilie never got to know her sister - now her adopted mom is dead, and her sister disappeared years ago, presumed murdered. Emilie enlists the help of Jeremy and Rafe, two boys who went missing for a time in the same area as her sister, before popping back into civilization looking no worse for wear. She quickly gets more than she bargained for, as Jeremy starts to reveal a fantastical tale of a secret land hidden within a local forest, where her sister is not only alive, but IN CHARGE. Rafe has no memory of their time there, but agrees to go back with them to understand what happened when they got lost in the woods many years ago.

This is a beautifully written story about love - the love of friends, blood family, and romantic love, as well as repressed trauma and the stories we tell ourselves to sleep at night. A powerful climax where childhood fears are conquered and Rafe comes into his full power as an adult was emotional to read. This book could have been twice as long and I still would have loved it. I'd love to read more of this world.

n general, I’m not a fan of most fantasy writing. I loved the author’s previous book, The Wishing Game, so I jumped at reading this one as well. It earned the same 4 stars! It made me realize that I do enjoy fantasy in the vein of Narnia, The Neverending Story, Legend…those fantasies of my childhood that were more magical battles of good vs evil and less weird fairy names and dragons.
There’s not a lot of description that can be given that wouldn’t spoil the magic of finding out about Shanandoah, but I did enjoy this book. Maybe this is what all of us expect to find when we’re out playing in the woods-those magical secret lands that are hiding behind giant trees.
Thanks to Meg Shaffer, Ballantine/Random House and NetGalley for the ARC.

I don't really want to give this a synopsis because I went into it blindly seeing it marketed as "Adult Narnia" and I am so glad that's all I knew! The author does mention she was inspired by Narnia and Lord of the Flies. It felt unexpectedly different than any fantasy I've read recently and I loved it!! Love a good standalone!! It felt whimsical and enchanting and made me re-believe in fairytales and second chances. It's a story of exploration, finding yourself, inner healing, and dreaming big, dreaming new stories. Whew all the feels!

This book, like all, had some imperfections, but the vibes were PERFECT!!! It's a story where your childhood fantasies and adult life collides, juxtaposing this childlike imaginative feeling with darker more adult themes. It's a portal fantasy, which felt very much like art imitating reality as it was pure escapism every time I opened this book. Well done to the author for all her hard work on this. It does not go unnoticed. I could see the writing techniques and thought went into this book.

I might be biased, (ok how could anyone not be), but I loved portal fantasies growing up and I loved the Storyteller in the book who played upon breaking the fourth wall. But I love screwball comedy/comedy of manners and it felt that way at times.

Really sweet romance between Rafe and Jeremy, and I do love the sisters' relationship as well. Lots of excellent lines in this book and MAYBE we will get a spin-off?!?!?!

I know I read that the author has made significant changes for final print since this ARC version, so I am excited to read the newest one.

Thank you to NetGalley, Meg Shaffer, and Random House Publishing group for an ARC in exchange for an honest review.

Fantasy isn’t normally my genre so I don’t think my review is as reliable as someone who enjoys reading fantasy. The characters were well developed and I wanted to know how the story ended. I thought the story was a bit too long and the dynamic between the characters in the fantasy world kind of grated on my nerves. Overall, I did enjoy the book and thought the writing was good. Thank you to NetGalley and Ballantine books for the advanced copy in exchange for my honest review.
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