This book is magic! It is a warm, comfortable, and unique story. You can feel that the author put her heart and soul into this book.

I loved this world. It is whimsical, adorable, and was so well written that I could picture "The Lost Realm" clearly.

Pipa is a relatable character: clumsy, sweet, and a bit chaotic. She is accompanied by her faithful companion Soot, who is an adorable and funny little dragon. Some books have a companion so they can tick it off as a trope, without giving the creature a purpose or a personality beyond being cute. But Soot is an amazing companion who is so fleshed out as a character that I can picture him perfectly, flying around looking for snacks and chasing after the paper cranes.

There is so much life in this story. All her friends have interesting backstories and unique personalities. I even felt a connection to the characters we only get to meet for a short time. Like Pipa, you immediately feel for their journey and hope for a happy ending to their story. Pipa meeting and getting to know Andrew felt like a small part of this story. I would have loved some more of that, but I did feel their genuine connection. I would have loved more of this story, period.

Pipa's journey to the human world felt like Giselle's from the movie Enchanted. I really enjoyed watching her discover the human world, but was happy that the biggest part of the story remains in the Lost Realm. The story was interesting, it held my attention, and it stayed exciting until the very end.

I was happy to read that there will be a next book that takes place in this magical place, and I will definitely be following this author to know when I get to return to this world.

custodian of the lost - 5 stars
this book was a such a warm, cozy little hug of a read. I absolutely loved it!

the whole concept of lost and forgotten objects holding onto pieces of our emotions and memories was so original and honestly made me look. at the random things around my home a little differently. there's something really lovely about the idea that the things we lose can still carry a little piece of us.

I really enjoyed the world building too. I loved the contrast between the colourful, cozy world of the FMC and the human world, and how everyday places like cafes and offices became part of the story. it all had this really nostalgic, almost magical feeling that completely pulled me in.

but the characters were definitely one of my favourite parts. the found family friendships were EVERYTHING. there was so much warmth, humour, love and genuine care between them, and I loved seeing how they supported each other. pipa and soot were definitely favourites of mine!

and the romance... I really enjoyed the gentle slow burn, although I definitely needed more of MMC! I'm hoping we get much more of him the next book.

overall, this was such a charming, imaginative and feel good fantasy. it had magic, friendship, found family, romance and that cozy feeling that makes you want to curl up somewhere and keep reading.

I stumbled across Custodian of the Lost while browsing NetGalley and thought it sounded exactly like my particular brand of whimsy. By 12%, I had already gone looking for a physical copy because I knew I wanted this book on my shelf. When I couldn't find one yet, I preordered the finished Kindle edition instead.

I absolutely loved this book!

The Lost Realm is home to things that have been misplaced, forgotten, abandoned, unfinished or simply lost along the way, and it is one of the most delightfully ridiculous and ridiculously detailed fantasy worlds I've encountered in a long time. There are departments, forms, rules, guilds, cafés, schedules, portals, buildings that may or may not stay where you left them and an enormous amount of bureaucracy. There is also a tiny talking dragon named Soot, which is obviously very vital information!

The Lost Realm is whimsical and wonderfully strange, with opinionated objects, bizarre rules and absurd things treated as completely ordinary. But as ridiculous as it can be, there is a logic underneath all of it. Nothing felt like it existed simply because "well, magic." This world has rules and history and mundane everyday details. It feels lived in. I finished the book wanting to know about every department, every neighborhood, every strange occupation and all the things happening in the corners of the Realm that had nothing to do with this particular story.

But underneath all of that wonderful nonsense is a wonderful message.

At its core, this is a story about what it means to be lost. Something being forgotten doesn't necessarily mean it is no longer needed. Finding where something came from isn't necessarily the same as finding where it belongs. Some things need to be returned. Some need to be rediscovered. Some find new purposes and new homes. And sometimes what has really been lost isn't an object at all, but inspiration, courage, connection or a piece of yourself you didn't realize was missing.

Pipa and the rest of the characters made all of that matter. This book made me laugh, made me angry and made me tear up more than once for wide variety of reasons. For a story containing so much delightful nonsense, it has an astonishing amount of heart.

I received an advance copy of a book by an author I'd never read before, and before I'd even gotten very far into it, I was already trying to buy a copy for myself. By the end, I didn't want to leave the Lost Realm at all.

Thankfully, it looks like I won't have to leave it forever. I will very happily be waiting for the next book and, should a physical edition ever appear, for a copy of this one to live permanently on my shelf.

A wonderful cozy romance with wonderful whimsical world building, I could not put this book down and really did not want to leave The Lost Realm. This was such a fun story for me and I adored the characters and the found family.

This book is truly magical!

Have you ever wondered what happened to the sock you lost, the hobby you abandoned or the heartfelt letter you never sent? They all end up in the Realm of the Lost, waiting to be cataloged. Pipa is doing just that at the Department of Lost Objects , until one night she makes a grave mistake. She has seven days to travel to the human world, retrieve the wrongly sent objects and make her way back or be lost in the Void forever…

The Realm of the Lost is one of the most magical places I ever had the pleasure of reading about. With streets made from dreams, doors that have personalities and donuts that taste like forgotten happy memories, everything seemed possible. It’s wonderfully silly with so many details that really brought this world to life.
Seeing the human world through Pipa’s eyes really showed how different yet similar the two worlds are.

All the characters had so much personality but Soot, the dangerously adorable dragon absolutely stole my heart. He loves to give unwanted advice but is deeply loyal.
Soot, Lottie, Penelope and all the other characters had such a deep bond despite their differences. I’m always a sucker for a found family and their friendship was everything!

Pipa loves her friends but she unlike them she doesn’t know her origin story. She has so many questions about her past, where she came from and why she ended up in the Realm of lost objects. Her journey to uncovering her past was my favourite part of the book.

Overall this is a well rounded cozy fantasy. It has a whimsical, imaginative world with wonderful characters and a fun adventure but it also touches more serious topics such as loss and what it means to belong.
I’m excited to see how this series will continue!

If you ever felt lost or unsure about your own place in the world, this is the book for you!.

Thank you to Ariana G., Lost Crane Press & NetGalley for this eARC in exchange for an honest review.

What a lovely story that was! 🥹

This book absolutely had me in a chokehold. Usually for an ARC, I keep notes on my phone to remind me what I wanted to include in my review, but this book… I was SO engrossed in it I didn’t even think about it. I literally read the entire thing in a day.

Firstly, the writing of this book was so good. Honestly, I cannot believe that this is the author’s debut novel. It was so engaging and easy to follow and just generally very well written.

I thought the storyline itself and the world building was absolutely insane. I absolutely loved the idea of all the Realmers existing because they had been imagined by a human; I thought this was such a complex and clever idea, and it worked really well. I think that ‘realms of lost things’ as a general concept is quite commonly done, but because of how the world-building was done within this book, it felt like a completely fresh and unique concept. The depth of the world-building for a cosy fantasy was honestly just next level without it being too overcomplicated and difficult to understand and ultimately just worked and flowed really well.

My final note is a pure shoutout for Soot. I absolutely obsessed with him and want a soot in my life 😂

If your heart is looking for a sprinkle of magic, join Pipa and her dragon, Soot, on a heartwarming, whimsical adventure filled with wonder, unexpected discoveries, and inspiration that awakens the quiet magic in the corners of your heart you didn’t know had fallen asleep.

Thank you, Ariana, for this beautiful tale.

If you're a fan of Big Fish, Christopher Robin, Harold & the Purple Crayon THIS BOOK IS FOR YOU. I started this book thinking it’d be a cute fantasy adventure—but on a deeper level, it shook the dust off my infrastructure. Ariana paid so much attention to nostalgic details and whimsical undertones, bringing a little magic to the everyday things I’ve inadvertently taken for granted as I’ve grown. She reminded me not to lose the magic found in the world.

Also - I’ve never quite related to a character as much as when Pipa said, 'ham tastes like disappointment.' I agree. I will always think of Pipa and chuckle when ham is in my vicinity.

𝙄𝙛 𝙮𝙤𝙪 𝙡𝙤𝙫𝙚:
Missing identity
YA Fantasy
Found Family
Cozy Fantasy

Some books are just a warm, cozy hug, and this is absolutely one of them. But don't let the whimsy fool you: there's a surprising amount of heart tucked into this story.

The premise alone is delightful. A whole realm dedicated to everything we've ever lost, forgotten, abandoned, or left unfinished? I love that. And the author takes that concept and runs with it, creating a world that is wonderfully imaginative, ridiculously detailed, and full of the sort of little oddities that make you wish you could actually visit. I especially loved the idea that lost things can carry pieces of the memories and emotions attached to them. It made me look at the random things scattered around my own house a little differently. (Although I'm still not sure I need to know where all my missing socks have ended up.)

Pipa is an absolute sweetheart of a protagonist. She's clumsy, a little chaotic, and wonderfully relatable. Her journey is equal parts adventure and self-discovery, and I found myself genuinely invested in figuring out where she came from and where she belongs.

And then there's Soot. Listen, I am a sucker for a good animal companion, but a tiny talking dragon who has his own personality, opinions, and priorities (particularly when snacks are involved)? Sign me up. He's not just an adorable accessory to the story; he's an actual character, and I loved him.

The found family aspect was another highlight. The friendships feel genuine, the supporting characters have their own stories and personalities, and there's a lovely sense of connection running throughout the book. There's also a sweet, gentle romance that I enjoyed, although I definitely wouldn't have complained about getting a little more Andrew!

What I particularly appreciated was how the story balances all that cozy, whimsical goodness with some surprisingly meaningful themes. Loss, belonging, identity, rediscovery, and the idea that sometimes what we're missing isn't actually a thing at all. There's a lovely reminder here about holding onto a little bit of magic and wonder, even as we get older and the everyday world starts to feel a little less extraordinary.

I finished this book wanting more. More of the Lost Realm, more of these characters, more adventures, and honestly, more Soot. Fortunately, it sounds like we haven't seen the last of this world!

If you're looking for a cozy fantasy with imaginative worldbuilding, found family, a little romance, and a whole lot of heart, this one is absolutely worth picking up.

This was such a great read. It was whimsical and full of heart and healing at the same time. I liked that the romance wasn't the main focus and that it was centered around found family and finding joy. Soot was a standout character for me. Kind of made me think of my tiny black cat, but as a tiny dragon.