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mthobe27's review
4.0
Interesting concept around seeing life through other people’s eyes and how their memories could affect your life. A little slow in parts, and I wish certain story lines peaked sooner but well written and thought provoking story.
chasingholden's review
3.0
I wanted to love this book. The premise is incredible, like something out of a Black Mirror episode which is what made me want to read it in the first place. The writing was pretty decent but the book seemed to drag on anyway. There were several times I wanted to give up. There really is no one thing I can point out and say "heres where it went wrong" it just lacked the oomph to really grab my attention. Its a shame really, I feel there is so much untapped potential within the story. After all is said and done I'd rate this about a 3 or 3.5 star. Not terrible, but not for me either.
Thank you to netgalley and Meredith Westgate for providing an advance e-copy for my honest review.
Thank you to netgalley and Meredith Westgate for providing an advance e-copy for my honest review.
maddsienicole's review
challenging
dark
hopeful
mysterious
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
Content Warnings
Moderate: Drug abuse, Drug use, Body horror, Blood, Death, Addiction, and Misogyny
Minor: Confinement and Rape
gmd316's review against another edition
challenging
dark
emotional
mysterious
reflective
sad
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.75
Really interesting concept, felt that the meat of it was lacking slightly but I enjoyed it. Felt like there were a few loose ends that did not get tied up
geofroggatt's review
4.0
I was immediately drawn in by the beautiful cover and the interesting premise. Content warning for cancer, death of a parent, institutionalization, brief mention of gun violence, drug abuse and suicide. Lucien moves to Los Angeles to be with his grandmother as she undergoes an experimental memory treatment for Alzheimer’s using the new drug, Memoroxin. An emerging photographer, he’s running from the sudden death of his mother, a well-known abstract expressionist painter. Even far from New York, her legacy haunts Lucien. Sophie has just been cast as a lead in the upcoming performance of La Sylphide with the Los Angeles Ballet. She still waitresses during her off-hours at the Chateau Marmont, witnessing the recreational use of Mem pills among the Hollywood elite, people consuming memories not their own. One controlling, powerful regular’s obsession with Sophie spurs a series of events that threatens to unravel the life she has so carefully built. When Lucien and Sophie meet at The Center, founded by the ambitious yet conflicted Dr. Angelica Sloane as a way to treat patients who’ve abused Mem, they have no memory of how they got there, or why they feel so inexplicably drawn to one another. Is it attraction, or something they cannot remember from “before”? I loved the concept of this book, and I love stories that play with memories and false memories, so I happily queued this book up to read despite anticipating some of the plot points. I liked all of the character POVs, and felt like there wasn’t a weak character perspective out of all of them, even if I preferred one over the others. All the protagonists are fleshed out and given characterizations that make them differentiated from each other and gave each character their own voice. Seeing the different usages for the drug was interesting, including seeing how people would inevitably abuse it and become addicted to it. I love some of the conversations this novel has about city life, social and societal norms, and advancing technology and the ramifications that that has on humans and our world. The writing was effective and did a great job at illustrating the characters feelings and putting the reader in their shoes and experiences. The struggles of the characters’ interpersonal relationships were described in such a way that I felt like I could not only relate to it but made me feel like I’ve lived it through them. The constant jumping between timelines and memories somehow didn’t slow down the pacing of the story and it added to the atmosphere. It was done in such a way that it felt like I was taking the memory drug myself and seeing all these memories unraveling and painting a picture of all these interconnected characters. Under a lesser writer, this story format and premise would have easily fallen apart, but the author does a fantastic job at executing it all successfully. With a storyline like this, there was a lot of potential for easy cheesy plot twists that would have been very predictable, and I really admire that the author chose not to go down any of those roads with this story. I highly recommend this book for fans of Black Mirror and science fiction concepts. I’d love to see this movie adapted into an artsy independent movie by someone who read and loved this book. I enjoyed the ending and found it very fitting for all the characters in this world.
kfolezzz's review
3.0
a good premise, but the characters weren’t really developed and there was little research into how medicine is actually practiced
nidanoorkhan's review
dark
mysterious
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes