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3.01 AVERAGE
3.01 AVERAGE
Ik heb zo gehuild bij dit boek. De plottwist zag ik dit keer écht niet aankomen en wat een sterk verhaal! Het verhaal gaat over Etta, die weer moet leren vertrouwen en haar moeder moet redden. Etta is zo'n sterke vrouw, en samen met haar vrienden is ze nog sterker. Het verhaal is goed, volledig en prachtig afgerond. Ja, natuurlijk wil ik terug naar deze wereld, en Etta, maar het verhaal is wel af. De wereld wordt genoeg omschreven om je erin te verliezen en ook het verleden van Etta is een ding waarin je volledig kan meeleven. Weer zo'n mooie stand alone die mij aan het denken heeft gezet, en dus ook wel keihard aan het huilen.
2.5
I would have given a higher rating but it got so SLOW towards the end. I couldn't even manage the read the last handful of pages. I just skimmed to make sure I didn't miss any big twists (I didn't).
I would have given a higher rating but it got so SLOW towards the end. I couldn't even manage the read the last handful of pages. I just skimmed to make sure I didn't miss any big twists (I didn't).
This was a short book with a whole lot packed into it. A good, entertaining story.
The Memory Thief by Lauren Mansy had me hooked right from the start. The concept of exchanging memories, and all the pros and cons that come with that, is a (to me) completely new premise that made for an exciting adventure for Etta and her companions. Etta is a strong female character that shows the readers that anybody can be a hero, even if there are dark and horrible things in your past. She's had to make extremely difficult decisions regarding her family and friends, had to learn to live with the consequences of those decisions, but also realized the incredible things that can be accomplished by putting your trust in unlikely and unexpected people.
While I enjoyed the straightforward writing style for most of the book, I would've liked more descriptions of this world that we know nothing about. I also found both the meeting with a certain ruler and the final "battle" somewhat anticlimactic and simplified. I think this was a great debut novel overall though and Mansy shows a lot of potential for great books in the future.
While I enjoyed the straightforward writing style for most of the book, I would've liked more descriptions of this world that we know nothing about. I also found both the meeting with a certain ruler and the final "battle" somewhat anticlimactic and simplified. I think this was a great debut novel overall though and Mansy shows a lot of potential for great books in the future.
I received an eARC of this from Net Galley in return for an honest review.
This book was painful to read. I wanted to DNF it so badly but I stuck it out to see if it got any better. It didn’t. The writing isn’t horrible, but it uses a LOT of colloquial sayings that made it boring and unoriginal. It was also somewhat confusing, we would suddenly have flashbacks or see memories and the transition was so jarring it took me out of the novel. It was also annoying when the author would repeat the same exact memory later on in the book, seriously just give us a quick reminder of the memory if you want us to recall it, don’t give it word for word again!
This book also didn’t have much of a plot, well much of an exciting one. I suppose the main character walking around a lot constitutes as a plot right? And can I mention how everything was just handed to her?! She literally did nothing. They call her a hero because she took someone’s Gift as they died and it merged with her own to make her unreadable which her unreadability (sort of) saved the day, but it was mostly her dad’s sacrifice and her grandpa’s army. Yeah so this book wasn’t really that exciting. I was so confused at what was going on in the final fight, it wasn’t very well described because as I understand this mind fighting Sifters can just drop people with a look while most Gifted can just touch you and steal/take memories. So the final battle shouldn’t have been that bloody would it? Apparently not because somehow all the buildings were destroyed except one but we saw none of it because our amazing main character was knocked out.
I also had a problem with some of the descriptions. Example:
”Apart from a few gnarled, scruffy bushes, there’s nowhere to hide. There are steep sand dunes around us, behind which any number of Minders could be hiding.”
Ummm what? You literally just said there was nowhere to hide but then contradicted yourself by saying a whole army could hide and they wouldn’t know. I don’t know know how to picture this.
Yeah sooooo I kinda didn’t enjoy this book and I basically tortured myself by pushing through. Should’ve saved myself the time and DNF’d at 40%...
This book was painful to read. I wanted to DNF it so badly but I stuck it out to see if it got any better. It didn’t. The writing isn’t horrible, but it uses a LOT of colloquial sayings that made it boring and unoriginal. It was also somewhat confusing, we would suddenly have flashbacks or see memories and the transition was so jarring it took me out of the novel. It was also annoying when the author would repeat the same exact memory later on in the book, seriously just give us a quick reminder of the memory if you want us to recall it, don’t give it word for word again!
This book also didn’t have much of a plot, well much of an exciting one. I suppose the main character walking around a lot constitutes as a plot right? And can I mention how everything was just handed to her?! She literally did nothing. They call her a hero because she took someone’s Gift as they died and it merged with her own to make her unreadable which her unreadability (sort of) saved the day, but it was mostly her dad’s sacrifice and her grandpa’s army. Yeah so this book wasn’t really that exciting. I was so confused at what was going on in the final fight, it wasn’t very well described because as I understand this mind fighting Sifters can just drop people with a look while most Gifted can just touch you and steal/take memories. So the final battle shouldn’t have been that bloody would it? Apparently not because somehow all the buildings were destroyed except one but we saw none of it because our amazing main character was knocked out.
I also had a problem with some of the descriptions. Example:
”Apart from a few gnarled, scruffy bushes, there’s nowhere to hide. There are steep sand dunes around us, behind which any number of Minders could be hiding.”
Ummm what? You literally just said there was nowhere to hide but then contradicted yourself by saying a whole army could hide and they wouldn’t know. I don’t know know how to picture this.
Yeah sooooo I kinda didn’t enjoy this book and I basically tortured myself by pushing through. Should’ve saved myself the time and DNF’d at 40%...
I wasn't a big fan of this book overall. I thought that the plot moved too fast, especially for a fantasy book, so some of the plot twist and magical elements were rushed or not explained all the way. Like the whole romance was so rushed and I didn't like it at all, and I feel like the relationship between Etta, Pen, Joss, and Caden could have been explored a lot more.
Overall, the relationships were kind of iffy. Etta instantly trust and loved Porter and Felix after her arrival in Araivd even though he has been her enemy for as long as she has known, and I thought Ryder was going to be a bigger element but they just kind of sent her off to Blare but still treated her like a major character making her officially Etta's sister at the end, which didn't really feel right to me.
I think this book would have worked better if it had slowed down and been two books. Book one could have been everything up to them getting to Aravid, and then book two could be Etta and Reid further developing their relationship and then taking down Madame and getting to know Felix and Porter better, and going to the maze and the battle. I think this could have been a better use of the characters and their development. Also, the plot twist wasn't really twisting because they happen all of the time. Greer was her dad and then she was the one who had killed Pen who was Reid's brother, and then Porter was Etta's grandfather and then Madame was the one who killed her own father and then Greer sacrificed himself to save Etta and her mom. It was just not as exciting because everything came in quick succession, so you didn't have time to be shocked before the next thing came.
Overall, the relationships were kind of iffy. Etta instantly trust and loved Porter and Felix after her arrival in Araivd even though he has been her enemy for as long as she has known, and I thought Ryder was going to be a bigger element but they just kind of sent her off to Blare but still treated her like a major character making her officially Etta's sister at the end, which didn't really feel right to me.
I think this book would have worked better if it had slowed down and been two books. Book one could have been everything up to them getting to Aravid, and then book two could be Etta and Reid further developing their relationship and then taking down Madame and getting to know Felix and Porter better, and going to the maze and the battle. I think this could have been a better use of the characters and their development. Also, the plot twist wasn't really twisting because they happen all of the time. Greer was her dad and then she was the one who had killed Pen who was Reid's brother, and then Porter was Etta's grandfather and then Madame was the one who killed her own father and then Greer sacrificed himself to save Etta and her mom. It was just not as exciting because everything came in quick succession, so you didn't have time to be shocked before the next thing came.
This had so much potential, but it was extremely rushed and wrapped up all too neatly. The main character didn’t really seem to struggle or evolve throughout the book.
Perhaps it’s better read than listened to. The audio book is very well enunciated, but robotic, especially during dialogue.