The Lost Story - Meg Shaffer - ★★★★.¼

AUTHOR: Meg Shaffer

GENRE: Portal Fantasy

PUBLICATION DATE: July 16, 2024

RATING: 4.25 stars.

In a Nutshell: A portal fantasy loosely inspired by The Chronicles of Narnia. Interesting characters, clever plot. A nice mix of light and dark situations. The last quarter was a slight drag, but I mostly enjoyed this.

Plot Preview:

When they were fifteen, best friends Jeremy and Rafe went missing in a vast state forest in West Virginia. They mysteriously returned six months later, with no clue about what happened in the interim.

Fifteen years later, the friends are estranged. Rafe is a recluse, using his art to handle the trauma that he doesn’t remember. Jeremy is a famous missing person’s investigator.

When Emilie approaches Jeremy to locate her sister, who had gone missing two decades earlier in the same state forest, Jeremy realises that he needs to reunite with Rafe and return to the location that changed their lives. It is time for the secret of the Lost Boys to come out, no matter how painful the memories.

The story comes to us in the third person perspective of various key characters.

I had enjoyed <a href="https://roshreviews.blogspot.com/2023/05/the-wishing-game-meg-shaffer.html">

this author’s debut novel, ‘The Wishing Game’</a>, last year. So I had almost danced with excitement the day my request for this book was granted. Though the two books offer disparate plots and themes, my reading experience was almost the same.

This novel is loosely inspired by ‘The Chronicles of Narnia’. The Narnia connection is somewhat thin, though a resemblance can be seen in a few character arcs and situations. Don’t expect a retelling; it’s not one and hasn’t been advertised as one.

Bookish Yays:

🔮 One of the best prologues I've ever read. Set 15 years before the main story and a perfect foundation to the main plot, exactly as prologues should be

🔮 The main trio of Emilie, Jeremy and Rafe. Loved their camaraderie, their almost ceaseless banter, their loyalty to the causes they have chosen, and their choices. Awesome characters for such a storyline.

(On an aside, I wonder if the author read the “Emily Wilde” series and decided to use a combination of the names of the two lead characters – Emily and Wendell – to create this adorable composite titled ‘Emilie Wendell’!)

🔮 There are several other secondary characters who, good or bad, leave a strong mark on the story. It was a great mix of human and ‘other’ characters.

🔮 A separate yay for Fritz! Though not in a speaking role, Fritz is very important to the story and is adorable. I’ll leave you to read the book to discover who Fritz is.

🔮 The plot has a larger-than-life feel to it, like a dramatic play we are watching on stage. It feels over the top in a positive way (almost like exaggerated stage acting that is still mesmerising.) I enjoyed the complex story with its myriad subplots.

🔮 The main plot is interrupted by interludes coming from an omniscient writer named “The Storyteller.’ I loved these sections! They have a perfect anecdotal feel. By breaking the fourth wall and speaking to us readers directly, these chapters made me feel more involved in the action. It was almost like listening to a live storytelling performance.

🔮 The story takes some time to get going – the initial 40% is just a build-up to the main adventure. But the content was so gripping and the characters so enjoyable that I didn’t mind the wait. Though slower in pace, the writing keeps things magical even in the real world.

🔮 I am never one to praise the appearance of romance in a non-romance genre, so when you see me listing it as a yay, know that I am very impressed at the way it went. (and not at all as I had assumed.) in fact, it wasn’t romance, but a love story, which might sound the same but is very different.

🔮 As a portal fantasy, the books fares wonderfully. Some of the fantastical content is bonkers and will require suspension of disbelief, but you shouldn’t apply logic to this genre anyway. I went with the flow and enjoyed myself thoroughly.; (It helps that I am not a Narnia superfan.)

🔮 The worldbuilding is good enough, with some of the magical elements getting more attention than others. The non-magical world - the mountains and scenes of West Virginia - is also beautifully described. It was very easy to visualise both the worlds.

🔮 The first three quarters of the book were fascinating in terms of characters and plot. However, the final quarter, though mesmerising in some ways, also included an unexpected twist. Thankfully, the twist is justified by the plot quite well. (Unlike in Shaffer’s debut novel, which also had a surprise twist at the end but which didn’t fit the need of the plot at all.)

🔮 The ending is more HFN than HEA, but it is perfect for the story as it doesn’t force in a neat tie-up of the pending threads, but allows us enough info to guess where things might lead next. I would be thrilled if this book gets a sequel in continuity. (The Chronicles of Narnia did have seven books, so who knows! 😉)

🔮 The author’s note – adorable!

Bookish Mixed Bags:

💫 Unlike Shaffer’s debut novel and despite the light-hearted banter, this book gets quite dark, not just in terms of the fantasy elements but also in some triggering content (which was well handled without being voyeuristic.) I did enjoy this mix to a great extent, but I wish it had been somewhat balanced. Most of the darkness is restricted to the second half.

💫 The characters, especially the male ones, read younger than their calendar ages. Then again, the earlier novel also was similarly twee in its main characters and situations, so I was better prepared for it this time around.

Bookish Nays:

💣 The final few chapters feel somewhat sluggish, almost as if the author didn’t want the novel to end. I wish these had been tightened as they brought down my overall satisfaction level.

💣 The spelling of ‘Shanandoah’ was a teeny bit annoying. The reason for why it was not ‘Shenandoah’ is clear in the plot, but why was it not ‘Shannondoah’? [You’ll understand this bullet point better if you have read the book.]

All in all, this was a mostly entertaining novel, though a bit too sugary-sweet at times. I enjoyed almost the entire ride, and had the final quarter got its act together better, this would have rated even higher for me.

If you are a fan of ‘The Wishing Game’, it is better that you not compare the two books. The first novel was a bit too cosy, while this contains much more darkness, grief and trauma. There are plenty of easy moments also, but it isn’t as overly saccharine.

Definitely recommended to those who enjoy portal fantasies, loveable characters, whimsical storylines, and a found-family trope. If you are someone who wants instant action and a fast-moving storytelling, keep some patience at the start, because the journey is worth it. In this world of instant gratification, such books help us remember that all good things come to those who wait.

Do check out the triggers online – there are quite a few.

My thanks to Random House Publishing Group – Ballantine for providing the DRC of “The Lost Story” via NetGalley. This review is voluntary and contains my honest opinion about the book.