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3.01 AVERAGE
3.01 AVERAGE
**Disclaimer, I recieved and e-ARC of this book in exchange for an honest review.**
Title The Memory Thief
Author Lauren Mansey
Description from Amazon
In the city of Craewick, memories reign. The power-obsessed ruler of the city, Madame, has cultivated a society in which memories are currency, citizens are divided by ability, and Gifted individuals can take memories from others through touch as they please.
Seventeen-year-old Etta Lark is desperate to live outside of the corrupt culture, but grapples with the guilt of an accident that has left her mother bedridden in the city’s asylum. When Madame threatens to put her mother up for auction, a Craewick practice in which a “criminal’s” memories are sold to the highest bidder before being killed, Etta will do whatever it takes to save her. Even if it means rejoining the Shadows, the rebel group she swore off in the wake of the accident years earlier.
To prove her allegiance to the Shadows and rescue her mother, Etta must steal a memorized map of the Maze, a formidable prison created by the bloodthirsty ruler of a neighboring Realm. So she sets out on a journey in which she faces startling attacks, unexpected romance, and, above all, her own past in order to set things right in her world.
Initial Thoughts
Full disclosure, fictional asylums terrify me. I’ve never read a book where something bad doens’t happen in the asylum. I was extremely hesitant to apply for this book on NetGalley because of that. However, I conquered my fear beacuase of the absolutely captivating description of the world building in this book. That dust jacket sold me.
Favorite Character(s)
Porter and Felix – they had the best banter. I’d read their stories any day. I don’t want to give away any spoilers but, I was spoiled by these two characters.
One Thing I Wasn’t Sure About
The neatness. Everything was very neat and tidy from the writing perspective. Normally, I love when things tie up, but it almost felt too easy. I’d hope that future stories would elaborate on this and maybe untie some of the tied up ends in order to create a little more drama.
Series Value
I’m not sure if this is a stand alone novel or the beginning of a series. I was very satisfied with the ending, but it left enough loose ends and unanswered questions that I could easily see this developing into more. The political atmosphere is somewhat uncertain by the end, so there are many opportunities for the characters we know to travel, or to introduce us to new characters in other areas. Similarly, the concept of buying and selling memories could lead to all kinds of plots in future installments. I think this story has tons of series potential.
Final Thoughts
Overall, I liked this story a lot. I see a lot of future value in a series set in this world and I think the characters were well written. The plot twists were mostly unexpected and I really appreciate that. All in all, I would definitely recommend this book.
⭐ ⭐ ⭐ ⭐
Recommendations for Further Reading
Smoke and Key by Kelsey Sutton – both of these stories gave me similar vibes. Smoke and Key is the story of a girl trying to recover her memories, as they are the key to saving her. Like Etta in The Memory Thief, Key needs to harness the power of memories and use gifts that only she possesses.
To Best the Boys by Mary Weber – this is another great story of a strong female main character conquering a maze.
Four Dead Queens by Astrid Scholte – this is another amazing story of a semi-futuristic/dystopian world where memories are traded/collected. Both have amazing strong female leads.
Title The Memory Thief
Author Lauren Mansey
Description from Amazon
In the city of Craewick, memories reign. The power-obsessed ruler of the city, Madame, has cultivated a society in which memories are currency, citizens are divided by ability, and Gifted individuals can take memories from others through touch as they please.
Seventeen-year-old Etta Lark is desperate to live outside of the corrupt culture, but grapples with the guilt of an accident that has left her mother bedridden in the city’s asylum. When Madame threatens to put her mother up for auction, a Craewick practice in which a “criminal’s” memories are sold to the highest bidder before being killed, Etta will do whatever it takes to save her. Even if it means rejoining the Shadows, the rebel group she swore off in the wake of the accident years earlier.
To prove her allegiance to the Shadows and rescue her mother, Etta must steal a memorized map of the Maze, a formidable prison created by the bloodthirsty ruler of a neighboring Realm. So she sets out on a journey in which she faces startling attacks, unexpected romance, and, above all, her own past in order to set things right in her world.
Initial Thoughts
Full disclosure, fictional asylums terrify me. I’ve never read a book where something bad doens’t happen in the asylum. I was extremely hesitant to apply for this book on NetGalley because of that. However, I conquered my fear beacuase of the absolutely captivating description of the world building in this book. That dust jacket sold me.
Favorite Character(s)
Porter and Felix – they had the best banter. I’d read their stories any day. I don’t want to give away any spoilers but, I was spoiled by these two characters.
One Thing I Wasn’t Sure About
The neatness. Everything was very neat and tidy from the writing perspective. Normally, I love when things tie up, but it almost felt too easy. I’d hope that future stories would elaborate on this and maybe untie some of the tied up ends in order to create a little more drama.
Series Value
I’m not sure if this is a stand alone novel or the beginning of a series. I was very satisfied with the ending, but it left enough loose ends and unanswered questions that I could easily see this developing into more. The political atmosphere is somewhat uncertain by the end, so there are many opportunities for the characters we know to travel, or to introduce us to new characters in other areas. Similarly, the concept of buying and selling memories could lead to all kinds of plots in future installments. I think this story has tons of series potential.
Final Thoughts
Overall, I liked this story a lot. I see a lot of future value in a series set in this world and I think the characters were well written. The plot twists were mostly unexpected and I really appreciate that. All in all, I would definitely recommend this book.
⭐ ⭐ ⭐ ⭐
Recommendations for Further Reading
Smoke and Key by Kelsey Sutton – both of these stories gave me similar vibes. Smoke and Key is the story of a girl trying to recover her memories, as they are the key to saving her. Like Etta in The Memory Thief, Key needs to harness the power of memories and use gifts that only she possesses.
To Best the Boys by Mary Weber – this is another great story of a strong female main character conquering a maze.
Four Dead Queens by Astrid Scholte – this is another amazing story of a semi-futuristic/dystopian world where memories are traded/collected. Both have amazing strong female leads.
While I did enjoy this book - the magic and the world itself is what kept me reading - the cliches were on every single wall of every single page. This is a heavy-handed YA novel, definitely made for the younger crowd, but I was moved along by the lore and the magic and the history within the world itself, not so much its characters. I wish there had been more character growth and development, but it was a quick read. I wouldn't not recommend this to a middle-grade or young high school-grade kid, but I would probably also recommend they read something else.
I'm so sorry to part ways like this. You seemed like such a great book, such an interesting concept. And you've got such a pretty cover. But when I found myself making excuses to avoid reading you, even as I approached the halfway point, I knew that this wasn't meant to last.
- my breakup letter to this book, DNF around 48%
I really did want to enjoy this book. The concept of memories as currency is fascinating, and I loved the way the author brought up ideas like people collecting experiences just to bargain them away for money. It's horrifying, but so incredibly interesting. And as I saw in interviews regarding the book, the author based a lot of Etta's struggles with her mother's health around her personal experience with her own mother's illness. I love when stories have meaningful personal connections woven into them, and that aspect of this book was quite nicely done.
The problem was in the execution. The beginning was a massive info-dump that had me constantly flipping back and forth to double-check what different terms and groups of people meant. The whole thing became a bit of a jumble for me, and maybe that was just a result of me reading it at night when tired...but I don't typically have that experience with other books, so I'm inclined to think it was just an issue with the writing and pacing. But the final nail in the coffin, the reason I ended up giving up on this book about halfway through, was the cringe-worthy insta-love that emerged out of nowhere. I just couldn't justify sticking with it any longer--I was deliberately avoiding reading because I didn't want to get into this book, which in turn put me behind on all the other ARCs I have to review (not to mention all the new fall releases I want to check out!).
Maybe someday I'll give this one another go, and maybe I won't resent it by then. But for now, I think it's in both of our best interests to simply leave while we still can.
Thank you to BLINK for providing me with an eARC of this book via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.
- my breakup letter to this book, DNF around 48%
I really did want to enjoy this book. The concept of memories as currency is fascinating, and I loved the way the author brought up ideas like people collecting experiences just to bargain them away for money. It's horrifying, but so incredibly interesting. And as I saw in interviews regarding the book, the author based a lot of Etta's struggles with her mother's health around her personal experience with her own mother's illness. I love when stories have meaningful personal connections woven into them, and that aspect of this book was quite nicely done.
The problem was in the execution. The beginning was a massive info-dump that had me constantly flipping back and forth to double-check what different terms and groups of people meant. The whole thing became a bit of a jumble for me, and maybe that was just a result of me reading it at night when tired...but I don't typically have that experience with other books, so I'm inclined to think it was just an issue with the writing and pacing. But the final nail in the coffin, the reason I ended up giving up on this book about halfway through, was the cringe-worthy insta-love that emerged out of nowhere. I just couldn't justify sticking with it any longer--I was deliberately avoiding reading because I didn't want to get into this book, which in turn put me behind on all the other ARCs I have to review (not to mention all the new fall releases I want to check out!).
Maybe someday I'll give this one another go, and maybe I won't resent it by then. But for now, I think it's in both of our best interests to simply leave while we still can.
Thank you to BLINK for providing me with an eARC of this book via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.
I feel like this book had such potential, it just didn’t go into enough detail about anything. The maze and shadows could’ve been so cool but honestly it was very boring
I wanted to like this book more than I did. It was a really interesting concept but I felt like they too often relied on a short “memory” flashback to fill a gap in the story. It suffered from the YA need to be short and action packed, I think 100 more pages of exposition would have strengthened the story. It also could have served to replace the glossary stuck at the front which turned me off right away. It took me about 100 pages to get back into it. It’s an ok read but just missed the mark for me.
I devoured this book having only read a few pages friday and the rest today (sunday). It was fast paced, hooked you from the start. The ending was just beautiful and full of deeper meanings throughout. I could relate to quite a bit of this book. As i was midway i thought to myself was this book worth it (i was getting threw it so quick) and as the ending came together it truly was. A beautiful book, one i would read again.
adventurous
emotional
hopeful
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Complicated
3.5 stars. I enjoyed this book! It had an interesting concept and compelling characters. There were several times where the pacing seemed a bit rushed and I thought parts of the story could have been deepened and lengthened. The story and characters caught my heart and sparked my imagination (which is what I look for in my books!) though I wish the story had a bit more space to breathe. I could have seen this being a duology or even a trilogy. However, I did like the book and I even teared up a bit! I will be reading more of Lauren’s work! :)
“Once those memories are gone, scattered among the highest bidders, it’ll be as if my mother never existed.”
Seventeen year old Etta lives in the city Craewick, where there is a cruel power hungry ruler named Madame. Here, memories are currency. Etta wants no part of this world but cannot leave her mother behind who was placed in the city’s asylum because of an accident that has left her bedridden. Etta is forced to take action when she receives a notice that her mother is being put up for auction, a Craewick practice in which a "criminal's" memories are sold to the highest bidder before being killed. To save her mother’s life she sets out on a journey in which she faces startling attacks, unexpected romance, and, above all, her own past in order to set things right in her world.
I wanted to love this book so bad but it’s a 3.5 for me. The synopsis captivated me and the concept of memories being used as currency was so unique and really piqued my interest.
The first half of the book is great! The author does an excellent job at world building, almost to where you felt like you were right there standing next to Etta! There was a lot of anticipation of the crazy things Etta would have to go through and even the start of a slow burn romance.
However, I did get confused a few times. I think certain aspects needed to be explained more thoroughly to easier follow the story line. I later learned there was a glossary in the back of the book that would have helped tremendously. I now know that the glossary has been moved to the front of the book for the final print books, so this may prevent confusion for future readers.
Then the second half of the book lost all its momentum, while simultaneously rushing through the reframing story. These much anticipated events and struggles were resolved too quickly and easily, making the story too unbelievable. The one slow burn romance turned into love WAY before it should have. I don’t even remember the final battle because it was barely touched upon, and I still really don’t understand what happened.
This book had SO MUCH potential and I truly feel as if the author could have fulfilled it - and that maybe someone had her take chunks out...That’s what it feels like....Big chunks are missing. This book needed to be much longer to explain the backstory more and give the characters more depth.
Thank you to netgalley & Blink for the copy in exchange for the honest review! The Memory Thief publishes on October 1, 2019!
Seventeen year old Etta lives in the city Craewick, where there is a cruel power hungry ruler named Madame. Here, memories are currency. Etta wants no part of this world but cannot leave her mother behind who was placed in the city’s asylum because of an accident that has left her bedridden. Etta is forced to take action when she receives a notice that her mother is being put up for auction, a Craewick practice in which a "criminal's" memories are sold to the highest bidder before being killed. To save her mother’s life she sets out on a journey in which she faces startling attacks, unexpected romance, and, above all, her own past in order to set things right in her world.
I wanted to love this book so bad but it’s a 3.5 for me. The synopsis captivated me and the concept of memories being used as currency was so unique and really piqued my interest.
The first half of the book is great! The author does an excellent job at world building, almost to where you felt like you were right there standing next to Etta! There was a lot of anticipation of the crazy things Etta would have to go through and even the start of a slow burn romance.
However, I did get confused a few times. I think certain aspects needed to be explained more thoroughly to easier follow the story line. I later learned there was a glossary in the back of the book that would have helped tremendously. I now know that the glossary has been moved to the front of the book for the final print books, so this may prevent confusion for future readers.
Then the second half of the book lost all its momentum, while simultaneously rushing through the reframing story. These much anticipated events and struggles were resolved too quickly and easily, making the story too unbelievable. The one slow burn romance turned into love WAY before it should have. I don’t even remember the final battle because it was barely touched upon, and I still really don’t understand what happened.
This book had SO MUCH potential and I truly feel as if the author could have fulfilled it - and that maybe someone had her take chunks out...That’s what it feels like....Big chunks are missing. This book needed to be much longer to explain the backstory more and give the characters more depth.
Thank you to netgalley & Blink for the copy in exchange for the honest review! The Memory Thief publishes on October 1, 2019!