Esta's Reviews > The Lost Story

Note: There may be some very mild spoilers in this review so please tread carefully according to your spoiler threshold.

Whether it was chasing a talking rabbit down a rabbit hole into Wonderland, landing in Munchkinland and following a yellow brick road to the Emerald City, opening a wardrobe to step into Narnia with its talking lions and fauns, climbing up the Faraway Tree to ever-changing magical lands above the clouds, or being whisked away by a flying boy to Neverland with mermaids and eternal youth, I was always hooked by magic portal fantasy stories.

I think also what really got me was the leap from the mundane to the fantastical.

And it turns out I still apparently have a soft spot for these types of tales, judging by how much I enjoyed this book. It feels both familiar and refreshingly new, with:

• Found family,
• 🏳️‍🌈 Romance/A love story, and
• What seems like a possibly neurodivergent female main character, at least in my interpretation, based on her quirks and traits, though it's not explicitly stated.

Plus, it's sprinkled with enough Fleetwood Mac and Stevie Nicks references to make any fan swoon. (Disclaimer: Don't hate me, but they're not to my taste. But others might appreciate the references in this book more than I did.) You can listen to the music soundtrack compiled by the publisher for the book here.

Anyway, the story unfolds in a third-person narrative, alternating between the perspectives of FMC Emilie and once-estranged high school besties, MMCs Rafe and Jeremy. Together with Emilie’s antisocial pet fancy rat, Fritz, they form a motley crew on a quest for answers about Emilie’s vanished sister and Rafe’s missing memories of that time he disappeared for six months in a forest with Jeremy, which funnily enough, happens to be in the same place that Emilie’s sister went missing.

To be honest, the first 40% of this book felt like a bit of a slog. It was all foundational story set-up in the mundane real world, and I may have been a bit impatient for the magic to kick in. But no spoilers here—since it’s a portal fantasy, we know the MCs eventually step into another world. That’s where things really switched gears for me. I guess pan-dimensional red crows, cyclops owls, silver-skinned mermaids, unicorns and rainbow sand beaches in a kingdom that doesn’t take itself too seriously could have that effect.

If the above sounds a bit too whimsical, twee, or even like a psychedelic trip 🍄🌈🦄🦋 (and you’re not into psychedelic trips), then this might not be the book for you. However, it’s more than just a feast of vivid colours and cosy whimsy. At its core, it’s a tale of found family, deep friendships, enduring love, limitless possibility, healing, forgiveness and a heartfelt reminder that what’s lost can be found.

All things considered, this feel-good story left me both satisfied and charmed. Yet, don't be fooled, there is also profound depth and meaning. It’s a tale that balances heartwarming moments with serious and relevant themes. Be aware of the trigger warnings: Mention of prenatal substance abuse, domestic and family violence, mentions of depression, suicide, and mental illness, mention of the death of a parent/s, as well as an implied homophobic character. Spiders too.

This was my first Meg Shaffer/Tiffany Reisz experience, but won’t be my last! If you were enchanted by The House in The Cerulean Sea by T.J. Klune or any other portal fantasy story, there is a decent chance you will be delighted by The Lost Story too. Highly recommended!

My heartfelt thanks to NetGalley and Quercus Books | Arcadia for the arc in exchange for an honest review. This book has been published and is available to read now.

More on The Lost Story, here.

———

Scrubbing my brain clean after reading eyeball horrors and teenage slashers with a Narnia-inspired tale. My heartfelt thanks to Quercus Books | Arcadia for the arc in exchange for an honest review.