Hello, everyone! Today, I am reviewing The Lost Story by Meg Shaffer, which is a recent fantasy release inspired by The Chronicles of Narnia. I’m a huge fan of that series. So, I was instantly intrigued by the premise of this story about returning to a fairytale land in adulthood. Did I love it? Read on to find out! 🙂

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—just in case—from the author of The Wishing Game.

As boys, best friends Jeremy Cox and Rafe Howell went missing in a vast West Virginia state forest, only to mysteriously reappear six months later with no explanation for where they’d gone or how they’d survived.

Fifteen years after their miraculous homecoming, Rafe is a reclusive artist who still bears scars inside and out but has no memory of what happened during those months. Meanwhile, Jeremy has become a famed missing persons’ investigator. With his uncanny abilities, he is the one person who can help vet tech Emilie Wendell find her sister, who vanished in the very same forest as Rafe and Jeremy.

Jeremy alone knows the fantastical truth about the disappearances, for while the rest of the world was searching for them, the two missing boys were in a magical realm filled with impossible beauty and terrible danger. He believes it is there that they will find Emilie’s sister. However, Jeremy has kept Rafe in the dark since their return for his own inscrutable reasons. But the time for burying secrets comes to an end as the quest for Emilie’s sister begins. The former lost boys must confront their shared past, no matter how traumatic the memories.

Alongside the headstrong Emilie, Rafe and Jeremy must return to the enchanted world they called home for six months—for only then can they get back everything and everyone they’ve lost.

***Thank you to Ballantine Books for providing a copy of the book via NetGalley. My review contains my honest thoughts about my reading experience.***

I’m not quite sure what to say about The Lost Story. It was exactly what I expected while also surprising me in so many ways. The plot was engaging, and the whole thing felt very much like a fairytale. The story structure was unique, though, and I enjoyed all of the storyteller asides that were integrated throughout the text. The writing was easy to read with beautiful descriptions that never bogged down the forward momentum. Although, it did feel a bit choppy at times because of a lack of variety in the sentence structure.

The world-building was one of the weakest things about The Lost Story for me. So much of the first half of the story was centered around the mystery of what happened in the woods when the boys were young. Then the reader is hit with some heavy info dumping that explained many of the mysteries. The characters didn’t really do much exploring to discover answers because one of them just spilled all the secrets at the first opportunity. It just felt forced and kind of underwhelming. I did like how the author described both worlds, though. They felt authentic, beautiful, and magical. I just didn’t love how a lot of the information about the mechanics of it all was imparted.

I really adored the characters in The Lost Story. Rafe resonated the most with me. I wanted him to get his memories back so bad, and parts of his story made me super emotional. I loved getting to see his friendship with Jeremy rekindle, and the two of them had a very great dynamic. Emilie’s search for her sister was engaging, as well, especially in the beginning. I do think her storyline took a bit too much of a backseat in the latter half of the novel, though. Rafe and Jeremy coming to terms with their past took up all the oxygen. However, I didn’t mind it because I was moved by their story and their entire found family dynamic.

I loved how The Lost Story explored the power of a story, especially how they can be used for safety, healing, and finding oneself. Through the fairytale, each of the characters found something they had lost. However, I was not expecting the level of trauma in this story. Please be careful if you are sensitive to stories about dealing with the impacts of child abuse and abduction. The message is ultimately hopeful, but a lot of pain accompanies the healing, as well. So, just be mindful.

Overall, The Lost Story was a beautiful fairytale about the power of stories to heal and help find parts of oneself lost to the pain of the past. The characters were easy to love, and the plot was intriguing with a unique style of storytelling. The world-building wasn’t always the best, but I did enjoy my time in each of the settings despite the minor imperfections. Therefore, I do recommend The Lost Story to anyone who enjoys magical realism and stories about stories. My final rating is 3.75 out of 5 stars.

There you have it! My thoughts on The Lost Story by Meg Shaffer. Have you read this one? Let me know your thoughts down in the comments!