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3.01 AVERAGE
3.01 AVERAGE
** I was provided an electronic ARC of this book from the publisher through NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.**
Lauren Mansy's novel, The Memory Thief, follows a teenaged girl, Julietta, in a world where memories are used as currency. Memories can be traded, stolen, sold, and more. The Gifted have varying types of abilities regarding the manipulation of memories, where the Ungifted have no such talents. Julietta, who is Gifted, has been given a date by the cruel ruler of Craewick, Madame, who will be auctioning Julietta's mother's memories. The auction will kill Julietta's mother. To save her mother, Julietta seeks assistance of the guild of thieves, The Shadows, that she once betrayed. Of course, a quest results and a whole mess begins.
I was very much intrigued with the world that Mansy built for this novel. I liked the set up of the four Realms, and the "power" system of the Gifted seemed to be very well-developed with lots of room for variation. I even liked the concepts of memories being traded, stolen, etc. and found the application to be something fresh and welcome.
I did have some struggles with the writing style of this novel. I understand the importance of memories to the content of the novel, but the constant insertion of memory information in flashback form created a disjointed narrative. I felt that with as much development went into the world, the power systems, and the ideas of the plot, relatively limited development went into the characters beyond surface level. As a reader who can overlook weak or commonplace plot points in favor of a well developed character, my reading experience for this book was very much detached and very surface-level rather than being drawn in.
I also found that each of the twists that were introduced were somewhat transparent, made things easier for the characters, and sometimes just confusing and unnecessary choices. I definitely thought the romantic interest was completely unnecessary and thought the book would have been better served by excluding it entirely.
Overall, while I enjoyed the world and power system, the novel fell solidly into "just okay" for me because of the aforementioned things. While I'm not upset at the novel in the slightest, I don't know that I will continue with the series that seems to be hinted to come.
Lauren Mansy's novel, The Memory Thief, follows a teenaged girl, Julietta, in a world where memories are used as currency. Memories can be traded, stolen, sold, and more. The Gifted have varying types of abilities regarding the manipulation of memories, where the Ungifted have no such talents. Julietta, who is Gifted, has been given a date by the cruel ruler of Craewick, Madame, who will be auctioning Julietta's mother's memories. The auction will kill Julietta's mother. To save her mother, Julietta seeks assistance of the guild of thieves, The Shadows, that she once betrayed. Of course, a quest results and a whole mess begins.
I was very much intrigued with the world that Mansy built for this novel. I liked the set up of the four Realms, and the "power" system of the Gifted seemed to be very well-developed with lots of room for variation. I even liked the concepts of memories being traded, stolen, etc. and found the application to be something fresh and welcome.
I did have some struggles with the writing style of this novel. I understand the importance of memories to the content of the novel, but the constant insertion of memory information in flashback form created a disjointed narrative. I felt that with as much development went into the world, the power systems, and the ideas of the plot, relatively limited development went into the characters beyond surface level. As a reader who can overlook weak or commonplace plot points in favor of a well developed character, my reading experience for this book was very much detached and very surface-level rather than being drawn in.
I also found that each of the twists that were introduced were somewhat transparent, made things easier for the characters, and sometimes just confusing and unnecessary choices. I definitely thought the romantic interest was completely unnecessary and thought the book would have been better served by excluding it entirely.
Overall, while I enjoyed the world and power system, the novel fell solidly into "just okay" for me because of the aforementioned things. While I'm not upset at the novel in the slightest, I don't know that I will continue with the series that seems to be hinted to come.
2.5 stars.
The concept of this book is so interesting. The Memory Thief takes place in a world where memories can be bought, sold, and stolen from people. This is especially an issue in the city of Craewick, where the leader (Madame) punishes people by putting them up for auction, an act that causes immense pain before the person dies.
Etta is a 17-year-old trying to stay on the sidelines of all of the unrest in the city. Four years before the story began, she caused an accident that left her mother in a coma. Etta struck a deal with Madame to keep her mother safe in the city's asylum. After Etta receives a notice stating that her mother will be part of the next round at the auction, she realizes that she must team up with the organization she betrayed years ago to save her mother's life.
As I said, the concept of the book interested me. Unfortunately, the author completely rushed the story. So many things happened out of convenience when the author could have added more details. Although the stakes were high for the character, I didn't feel the same urgency that the characters did. I'm not sure if another 50 pages would have sufficed, but at least then I would have had more time to care what happened to the characters.
I received an ARC from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review. (Though this is part of my current backlog of books).
The concept of this book is so interesting. The Memory Thief takes place in a world where memories can be bought, sold, and stolen from people. This is especially an issue in the city of Craewick, where the leader (Madame) punishes people by putting them up for auction, an act that causes immense pain before the person dies.
Etta is a 17-year-old trying to stay on the sidelines of all of the unrest in the city. Four years before the story began, she caused an accident that left her mother in a coma. Etta struck a deal with Madame to keep her mother safe in the city's asylum. After Etta receives a notice stating that her mother will be part of the next round at the auction, she realizes that she must team up with the organization she betrayed years ago to save her mother's life.
As I said, the concept of the book interested me. Unfortunately, the author completely rushed the story. So many things happened out of convenience when the author could have added more details. Although the stakes were high for the character, I didn't feel the same urgency that the characters did. I'm not sure if another 50 pages would have sufficed, but at least then I would have had more time to care what happened to the characters.
I received an ARC from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review. (Though this is part of my current backlog of books).
3.5/5
Memories are the currency of Craewick, a city ruled by the malevolent Madame. Its citizens have been divided with the Gifted taking and/or replacing memories from whomever they please with a touch. Etta Lark is desperate to escape the city and its ways, but an awful accident leaves her mother crippled in an asylum and Etta carrying the guilt. When the Madame decides to put Etta’s mother up for auction, the process of stripping one of their memories and selling them, Etta is desperate to find a way to save her, even If it means rejoining the Shadows—the rebel group she left after a disastrous job.
I really liked Etta’s character. She was tough, but had a lot of secrets and invisible scars. There were times I felt a bit lost because she’d feel guilty about something, but I wouldn’t understand why at that point. Her devotion to saving her mother was rife with emotions and I absolutely loved it. As Etta travels away from the city, she ends up uncovering many secrets about her family and finding more than she could ever dream of.
The romance in this was really sweet. I didn’t know if there would be any, but Etta’s friendship to love was really adorable. The world building was well done, but I feel like I want more. I wanted to know how each different Gifted power worked. While we get a taste, I felt like there could’ve been more. Besides memories being currency, it really seemed like this world revolved around secrets. Everyone had secrets!! It was so fun to see them all come to light.
For such a short book, this sure packed a punch. So much happened in only about 350 pages, I was really impressed. I’m definitely excited to see what Mansy will do next.
Memories are the currency of Craewick, a city ruled by the malevolent Madame. Its citizens have been divided with the Gifted taking and/or replacing memories from whomever they please with a touch. Etta Lark is desperate to escape the city and its ways, but an awful accident leaves her mother crippled in an asylum and Etta carrying the guilt. When the Madame decides to put Etta’s mother up for auction, the process of stripping one of their memories and selling them, Etta is desperate to find a way to save her, even If it means rejoining the Shadows—the rebel group she left after a disastrous job.
I really liked Etta’s character. She was tough, but had a lot of secrets and invisible scars. There were times I felt a bit lost because she’d feel guilty about something, but I wouldn’t understand why at that point. Her devotion to saving her mother was rife with emotions and I absolutely loved it. As Etta travels away from the city, she ends up uncovering many secrets about her family and finding more than she could ever dream of.
The romance in this was really sweet. I didn’t know if there would be any, but Etta’s friendship to love was really adorable. The world building was well done, but I feel like I want more. I wanted to know how each different Gifted power worked. While we get a taste, I felt like there could’ve been more. Besides memories being currency, it really seemed like this world revolved around secrets. Everyone had secrets!! It was so fun to see them all come to light.
For such a short book, this sure packed a punch. So much happened in only about 350 pages, I was really impressed. I’m definitely excited to see what Mansy will do next.
This was a really fun book to read! I was first drawn to it after seeing the cover on NetGalley – and the cover is gorgeous LOOK AT IT! – but I enjoyed the story even more. I love when fantasy stories can tell a really good tale of redemption and this book did just that.
Since this is a fantasy, let’s start with the story world. I was fascinated by it! The fact that memories can be given and taken, even used for currency, was a very interesting idea, but I also liked that there were distinct consequences. For example, the rich could afford to buy as many happy memories as they wanted, but having too many memories in their brain could basically overload a person and make them lose their actual identity. That’s really scary! I also thought it was cool that you could learn a talent that way by basically absorbing someone’s skill. It makes sense by the rules of this magic system – a lot of skills, whether artistic or fighting – are based on muscle memory. If you steal the muscle memory, you can do the thing.
Now let’s talk about our protagonist – Etta. Also known as Julietta, also known as Jules. Etta is a fighter. She’s a survivor. But she’s also done some pretty bad things and has a lot of guilt surrounding it, especially around her mother. There is also a lot of things in her past that she doesn’t know or understand (which is understandable in a society where memories can be taken) and it was really cool to discover all these things with Etta. I also really loved Ryder, the street urchin who Etta has taken in and has been looking after. I do have a soft spot for street urchins and Ryder is just so adorable.
This was a very unpredictable story, which I always appreciate. The people you expect to be on Etta’s side aren’t always in her corner, and some people who you expect to be enemies are actually allies. Except for Madame. She is evil. No redeeming qualities whatsoever. It’s scary because she seems to constantly have the upper hand. Plus, she has an incredibly powerful gift that they have to figure out how to counteract. It makes for a very tense final showdown.
Since this is a fantasy, let’s start with the story world. I was fascinated by it! The fact that memories can be given and taken, even used for currency, was a very interesting idea, but I also liked that there were distinct consequences. For example, the rich could afford to buy as many happy memories as they wanted, but having too many memories in their brain could basically overload a person and make them lose their actual identity. That’s really scary! I also thought it was cool that you could learn a talent that way by basically absorbing someone’s skill. It makes sense by the rules of this magic system – a lot of skills, whether artistic or fighting – are based on muscle memory. If you steal the muscle memory, you can do the thing.
Now let’s talk about our protagonist – Etta. Also known as Julietta, also known as Jules. Etta is a fighter. She’s a survivor. But she’s also done some pretty bad things and has a lot of guilt surrounding it, especially around her mother. There is also a lot of things in her past that she doesn’t know or understand (which is understandable in a society where memories can be taken) and it was really cool to discover all these things with Etta. I also really loved Ryder, the street urchin who Etta has taken in and has been looking after. I do have a soft spot for street urchins and Ryder is just so adorable.
This was a very unpredictable story, which I always appreciate. The people you expect to be on Etta’s side aren’t always in her corner, and some people who you expect to be enemies are actually allies. Except for Madame. She is evil. No redeeming qualities whatsoever. It’s scary because she seems to constantly have the upper hand. Plus, she has an incredibly powerful gift that they have to figure out how to counteract. It makes for a very tense final showdown.
Definitely hesitant to start this one, what with my grandmother grappling with dementia, but since trying to skirt around the topic resulted in being blindsided by the last two books I read containing dying grandmothers (one who also had dementia), I figured maybe I'm better off diving straight into a story knowing that it deals with lost memories. It turned out I didn't feel much of anything...
Read my full review at The Wolf's Den
Overall, in case I haven't repeated myself enough, this was a rushed story. As much as I look forward to stand-alones to break up the multi-book epics, I still expect them to make good on their promises, and The Memory Thief just dropped the ball on too much to end up satisfying. I'd recommend it for the fascinating magic system, with all its complexities, and the main characters' stories were fine, though (again) abrupt. There are a few good points about redemption, changing your heart, and empathy even in war, but there's not much else to cling to here. Unless you plan on trying a hand at fanfiction for this world, I don't think you'll remember this one in the long run.
Read my full review at The Wolf's Den
Overall, in case I haven't repeated myself enough, this was a rushed story. As much as I look forward to stand-alones to break up the multi-book epics, I still expect them to make good on their promises, and The Memory Thief just dropped the ball on too much to end up satisfying. I'd recommend it for the fascinating magic system, with all its complexities, and the main characters' stories were fine, though (again) abrupt. There are a few good points about redemption, changing your heart, and empathy even in war, but there's not much else to cling to here. Unless you plan on trying a hand at fanfiction for this world, I don't think you'll remember this one in the long run.
I think this book would have been better off being longer at times and shorter at other times.
To explain: we got a lot of information about this world very quickly and it made it hard to follow. Whose decision was it to separate the countries(?) the way they were, where did the ability to have gifts come from, how often did this auction happen and how long had it been going on? And then in the other countries: this places seems just the same as the other one, why are they different places? Who decided to put Sifters in charge when they were clearly the most dangerous ones? Etc etc. I wanted more information and I wanted it to make sense. The climax of the story itself was incredibly rushed and I felt like I was cheated out of a proper villain-goes-down scene.
The insta-love was bothersome. Sometimes it works! But in this novel it felt like Etta hated him and then very suddenly with absolutely no warning she loved him. I think his reaction to her reveal was childish yet accurate and was disappointed in how quickly he got over it.
I found Etta's personality all over the place; sometime she was likable and other times she was annoying and immature. She was 17 and had been on her own/taking care of an orphan for years, she should have been more mature.
The basic idea of the novel (memories as currency) is definitely intriguing but ultimately the execution of it left a lot to be desired.
Thanks to NetGalley and Blink for providing me with a copy in exchange for an honest review.
To explain: we got a lot of information about this world very quickly and it made it hard to follow. Whose decision was it to separate the countries(?) the way they were, where did the ability to have gifts come from, how often did this auction happen and how long had it been going on? And then in the other countries: this places seems just the same as the other one, why are they different places? Who decided to put Sifters in charge when they were clearly the most dangerous ones? Etc etc. I wanted more information and I wanted it to make sense. The climax of the story itself was incredibly rushed and I felt like I was cheated out of a proper villain-goes-down scene.
The insta-love was bothersome. Sometimes it works! But in this novel it felt like Etta hated him and then very suddenly with absolutely no warning she loved him. I think his reaction to her reveal was childish yet accurate and was disappointed in how quickly he got over it.
I found Etta's personality all over the place; sometime she was likable and other times she was annoying and immature. She was 17 and had been on her own/taking care of an orphan for years, she should have been more mature.
The basic idea of the novel (memories as currency) is definitely intriguing but ultimately the execution of it left a lot to be desired.
Thanks to NetGalley and Blink for providing me with a copy in exchange for an honest review.
Thank you to the publisher and NetGalley for this review copy of The Memory Thief by Lauren Mansy.
First off let me say the cover is beautiful. It gives this fantasy novel a timeless feel and they did a beautiful job.
I also thought the memory part was a very unique magic building concept and there was a lot of effort put in there. I wish there was more world building and scenery explanation. This area felt weak and made the plot feel like it was lacking texture. I also felt during most of the book like I “missed something” and wondered if I was reading a sequel. It made it difficult to connect to the characters and invest in Etta’s journey. There was also a lack of chemistry and connection between all of the characters.
I give this one three stars just based on cover, magic building and the dialogue/sentence structure.
First off let me say the cover is beautiful. It gives this fantasy novel a timeless feel and they did a beautiful job.
I also thought the memory part was a very unique magic building concept and there was a lot of effort put in there. I wish there was more world building and scenery explanation. This area felt weak and made the plot feel like it was lacking texture. I also felt during most of the book like I “missed something” and wondered if I was reading a sequel. It made it difficult to connect to the characters and invest in Etta’s journey. There was also a lack of chemistry and connection between all of the characters.
I give this one three stars just based on cover, magic building and the dialogue/sentence structure.
2.5 stars?
review to come. writing just felt very juvenile to me yet also confusing to follow
review to come. writing just felt very juvenile to me yet also confusing to follow
I really loved the idea of this book. It kept my interest enough to finish the book. I really didn’t have any deep connections with any of the characters. I really think this book should have gone much darker considering this is about a girl who steals people’s memories. Great concept but really kind of fell flat for me unfortunately. The insta love was also kind of annoying. I’m not against insta love in books but not in this one.
I had high hopes for this book. I really did. I’m constantly looking for new, fresh ideas in my fantasy novels and I felt like she had such an interesting take on the genre.
It just fell flat. With the grand, sweeping plot and the promise that this world had (in conception), the book could have easily been twice as long. And I think it would’ve been better longer, as the entire thing felt a little rushed. The pace made it difficult to really connect with any characters or their relationships with each other, so any loss or trials just didn’t resonate with me as a reader. So... boo.
I do think that the author’s writing style held a lot of promise, I think that once she has a couple more books under her belt and finds her sweet spot in terms of length and voice, she could put out something really excellent.
Unfortunately, this wasn’t it. But it was oooookay.
It just fell flat. With the grand, sweeping plot and the promise that this world had (in conception), the book could have easily been twice as long. And I think it would’ve been better longer, as the entire thing felt a little rushed. The pace made it difficult to really connect with any characters or their relationships with each other, so any loss or trials just didn’t resonate with me as a reader. So... boo.
I do think that the author’s writing style held a lot of promise, I think that once she has a couple more books under her belt and finds her sweet spot in terms of length and voice, she could put out something really excellent.
Unfortunately, this wasn’t it. But it was oooookay.