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The Memory Thief
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.
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.
368 pages, Kindle Edition
First published October 1, 2019
330 people are currently reading
15639 people want to read
About the author
Lauren Mansy
2 books214 followersLauren lives in the Chicago area, where she's spent years working with youth, from young children to high schoolers. When she’s not writing, Lauren is usually with her family or exploring the city to find the best deep dish pizza. The Memory Thief, which was inspired by Lauren's own journey with her mother, is her first novel.
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 1,149 reviews
May 1, 2020
Well, this was disappointing as heck.
This book had potential. It had the makings of a fantastic magical world and an extremely interesting premise. In another world, perhaps in the hands of another writer, this book would have been great.
But alas, this book was not, in fact, great.
This book takes place in a world where memories can be stolen, bought, and sold. It follows a young thief tasked with stealing a map from someone's mind as she travels through this magical world. Essentially, it's an amazing premise that promised much and yet delivered little.
My first issue with this novel is that I found the writing to be a bit bland. Everything was simply presented for what it was. There was no magic behind it, and describing a magical world, should always sound a little magical. That said, I do not necessarily think that the writing was bad, per se.
What I do think was bad was the fact that everything happened a little too conveniently for the main character Etta. It took away the suspense of the story because you just know that someway, somehow Etta is going to conveniently see herself out of situations without too much effort. Convenience is honestly one of my least favorite things in a story.
This book also had the misfortune of being extremely rushed. This is the kind of world that we need to take our time to explore. Instead, we are bombarded with information right at the beginning and told to keep up.
It being rushed also meant that the book couldn't live to its full potential. I wanted to see just how far the memory stealing went. I wanted to see all of the long term and practical consequences that magic had on society. Imagine a world where people might randomly forget their own family members. They could easily forget vital information about themselves and the world. People could have everything about them erased and be given entirely new personalities. It would be so interesting to see that really explored.
Had this book been longer, had the author gone into all those small details in the background, this story could have been amazing.
So, in the end, I have to admit, I didn't really like this one much. I wanted to love it, but I also wanted more from this novel and I didn't get it.
**I received an advance copy of this book from the publisher in exchange for an honest review. All opinions are my own.**
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This book had potential. It had the makings of a fantastic magical world and an extremely interesting premise. In another world, perhaps in the hands of another writer, this book would have been great.
But alas, this book was not, in fact, great.
This book takes place in a world where memories can be stolen, bought, and sold. It follows a young thief tasked with stealing a map from someone's mind as she travels through this magical world. Essentially, it's an amazing premise that promised much and yet delivered little.
My first issue with this novel is that I found the writing to be a bit bland. Everything was simply presented for what it was. There was no magic behind it, and describing a magical world, should always sound a little magical. That said, I do not necessarily think that the writing was bad, per se.
What I do think was bad was the fact that everything happened a little too conveniently for the main character Etta. It took away the suspense of the story because you just know that someway, somehow Etta is going to conveniently see herself out of situations without too much effort. Convenience is honestly one of my least favorite things in a story.
This book also had the misfortune of being extremely rushed. This is the kind of world that we need to take our time to explore. Instead, we are bombarded with information right at the beginning and told to keep up.
It being rushed also meant that the book couldn't live to its full potential. I wanted to see just how far the memory stealing went. I wanted to see all of the long term and practical consequences that magic had on society. Imagine a world where people might randomly forget their own family members. They could easily forget vital information about themselves and the world. People could have everything about them erased and be given entirely new personalities. It would be so interesting to see that really explored.
Had this book been longer, had the author gone into all those small details in the background, this story could have been amazing.
So, in the end, I have to admit, I didn't really like this one much. I wanted to love it, but I also wanted more from this novel and I didn't get it.
**I received an advance copy of this book from the publisher in exchange for an honest review. All opinions are my own.**
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August 14, 2019
This book is an okay read. The whole idea of memories being the greatest priced possessions are interesting. I like that twist as Etta arrived at Aravid. It’s good and unexpected. The bit of banter between Reid and Etta makes me smile. This story focuses a lot on how guilty Etta feels about the mistakes she made 4 years ago. It’s a good reminder of how it’s hard for us to forgive and move on. I like the idea of a prison set up as a maze with traps. I also like the cover of this book!
This story is told in the first person point of view following Julietta (Etta), 17. Etta lives among the Ungifted even though she’s Gifted. People who are Gifted can read other people’s minds. Etta’s mother’s life is in danger. Four years ago Etta makes deals with the enemy by betraying her allies to save her mother and today she is forced to reach out to those whom she betrayed to save her mother again. In this world, memories are talents and experiences and they can be stolen, use as payment, sell off for expenses, or forcibly taken as a form of punishment. There are 4 different realms: Craewick, Kripen, Blare, and Aravid where each realm has a ruler but one ruler, Madame, wants to rule all realms and controls all groups. Then there’s the Shadows who protects the Ungifted. Etta is to go on a mission with Reid on behalf of the Shadows to rescue the Shadows’ leader because only him may be able to stop the upcoming war.
The Memory Thief is a good idea yet the story seems to lack excitement for me. The main character, Etta is a broken girl. She seems to have more loss than gains and it’s eating her up. This book has an attempt at having a slow burning romance where it grows from dislike to love but love seems to grow rather quickly. Etta is too trustworthy even when her trust brought troubles to her in the past. She readily believes Aravid’s leader’s words and drink that medicine from Felix without verifying if it’s real knowing the leader is a master manipulator. Though I would have loved to read how he manipulates people. I do like Etta’s other qualities like helping the helpless such as her mom, Ryder, and Penn. Readers learned of how evil the villain is through Etta’s memory but there’s hardly any actions to justify it. The ending got me confused because I was under the impression that Reid left the maze with Greer and Etta to fight in the war and then go to the asylum to rescue Etta’s mom but somehow Etta’s mom says Reid has been in the asylum for two days.
Pro: cover, easy to read, memory idea, maze, banter, very light romance
Con: lack excitement, main character too trustworthy, character being in two places at once
I rate it 3.5 stars!
***Disclaimer: Many thanks to Blink YA Books for the opportunity to read and review. Please be assured that my opinions are honest.
xoxo,
Jasmine at www.howusefulitis.wordpress.com for more details
This story is told in the first person point of view following Julietta (Etta), 17. Etta lives among the Ungifted even though she’s Gifted. People who are Gifted can read other people’s minds. Etta’s mother’s life is in danger. Four years ago Etta makes deals with the enemy by betraying her allies to save her mother and today she is forced to reach out to those whom she betrayed to save her mother again. In this world, memories are talents and experiences and they can be stolen, use as payment, sell off for expenses, or forcibly taken as a form of punishment. There are 4 different realms: Craewick, Kripen, Blare, and Aravid where each realm has a ruler but one ruler, Madame, wants to rule all realms and controls all groups. Then there’s the Shadows who protects the Ungifted. Etta is to go on a mission with Reid on behalf of the Shadows to rescue the Shadows’ leader because only him may be able to stop the upcoming war.
The Memory Thief is a good idea yet the story seems to lack excitement for me. The main character, Etta is a broken girl. She seems to have more loss than gains and it’s eating her up. This book has an attempt at having a slow burning romance where it grows from dislike to love but love seems to grow rather quickly. Etta is too trustworthy even when her trust brought troubles to her in the past. She readily believes Aravid’s leader’s words and drink that medicine from Felix without verifying if it’s real knowing the leader is a master manipulator. Though I would have loved to read how he manipulates people. I do like Etta’s other qualities like helping the helpless such as her mom, Ryder, and Penn. Readers learned of how evil the villain is through Etta’s memory but there’s hardly any actions to justify it. The ending got me confused because I was under the impression that Reid left the maze with Greer and Etta to fight in the war and then go to the asylum to rescue Etta’s mom but somehow Etta’s mom says Reid has been in the asylum for two days.
Pro: cover, easy to read, memory idea, maze, banter, very light romance
Con: lack excitement, main character too trustworthy, character being in two places at once
I rate it 3.5 stars!
***Disclaimer: Many thanks to Blink YA Books for the opportunity to read and review. Please be assured that my opinions are honest.
xoxo,
Jasmine at www.howusefulitis.wordpress.com for more details
March 10, 2020
The concept and bones of this world and story are amazing; sadly they haven’t been given the space to transpire, breathe and sink in for the reader. I feel like there is a trilogy or at least 1000 page epic story here; and it’s been ruined by being chopped down or rushed into ~300 pages, one POV, and for a broad audience; instead of the darker feel I hoped for from the blurb.
Convenience
Unfortunately Lauren Mansy has made a critical error. One of my number one pet peeves in writing is convenience or too much luck. Our leading gal sure seems to know everyone in the realm and they are always super nice to her and helpful. Is there not one person (besides our clear bad guys) that lives in this land that isn't all for her?
What's worse is that I would expect in a world where memories are sold to the highest bidder (and lost to the original person forever) that you'd forget lots of people over the years because you sold all their memories or the memory of what their name is, where they are from, etc.
Timeline
If anyone has a timeline of the events during The Memory Thief I'd love to see it. To me as the reader I thought only a couple days passed by. Yet there are multiple comments made by our first person leading lady about how she felt someone had "changed so much" since she last saw them or something had evolved or grown which really confused me. I'd love to really know how much time actually passes from the beginning through each event to the end.
Rushed
There is so much that could have been explored here inside this unique construct of a world. But within ~300 pages and so much plot it's just not possible to do the story or characters justice. I wish this was a trilogy, with a broader arc, more opportunity to explore the memory situations created, and a lot more time for our characters to live, learn, and grow.
Overall
I just wanted a lot more from a book with such a great idea/concept (and beautiful cover). I know The Memory Thief is Mansy's debut novel and so I would consider reading another of her future books. I really hope that she takes the time (and her publisher allows her) to really explore her ideas and characters further. Mansy is young and so I have great hopes for her abilities to grow and become a solid addition to the YA fantasy (or adult fantasy) genre.
Please note: I received an eARC of this book from the publisher via NetGalley. This is an honest and unbiased review.
Convenience
Unfortunately Lauren Mansy has made a critical error. One of my number one pet peeves in writing is convenience or too much luck. Our leading gal sure seems to know everyone in the realm and they are always super nice to her and helpful. Is there not one person (besides our clear bad guys) that lives in this land that isn't all for her?
What's worse is that I would expect in a world where memories are sold to the highest bidder (and lost to the original person forever) that you'd forget lots of people over the years because you sold all their memories or the memory of what their name is, where they are from, etc.
Timeline
If anyone has a timeline of the events during The Memory Thief I'd love to see it. To me as the reader I thought only a couple days passed by. Yet there are multiple comments made by our first person leading lady about how she felt someone had "changed so much" since she last saw them or something had evolved or grown which really confused me. I'd love to really know how much time actually passes from the beginning through each event to the end.
Rushed
There is so much that could have been explored here inside this unique construct of a world. But within ~300 pages and so much plot it's just not possible to do the story or characters justice. I wish this was a trilogy, with a broader arc, more opportunity to explore the memory situations created, and a lot more time for our characters to live, learn, and grow.
Overall
I just wanted a lot more from a book with such a great idea/concept (and beautiful cover). I know The Memory Thief is Mansy's debut novel and so I would consider reading another of her future books. I really hope that she takes the time (and her publisher allows her) to really explore her ideas and characters further. Mansy is young and so I have great hopes for her abilities to grow and become a solid addition to the YA fantasy (or adult fantasy) genre.
Please note: I received an eARC of this book from the publisher via NetGalley. This is an honest and unbiased review.
March 2, 2024
I love the story idea, it has all the makings of a phenomenal story, but it was rushed; the character development, relationships, the journey, the adversity, etc. I felt like I didn’t get to know the characters for myself. It was also very preachy. I like gleaning truths about overcoming adversity through the story telling, not forcefully dished out at intervals. I love the characters but I wish I had more time to bond with them.
May 3, 2021
Blog review: https://trishadoeseverythingbutstudy2...
This book was bad.
I don't even want to write any more, but because this has been impacting my review writing for a lot of time now, I'm just going to up and write it.
Oh, where do I even start.
Etta cries. A lot. There is instalove. There is a stupid love interest. There is a stupid MC. There is an even stupider plot. The powers don't make sense. The memory thing has so many loopholes, most of which I do not even remember because it has been a month, and frankly o don't want to think about this book any more than is necessary.
The MC makes stupid decisions, then moves on to make even stupider decisions, and if it was earthly possible, she makes an even stupider decisions.
This book is filled with Etta's stupid decisions and incessant crying and illogical decisions, punctuated with irritating love declarations that come after 5 days of knowing the guy.
I just realised that you might be reading this thinking it'll be a coherent and logical review, and it doesn't pain me the slightest to tell you that that won't be happening, because this review will be anything but coherent, and I've made my peace with it.
Now, where was I?
Yes, the illogical decisions.
I tell you, if Etta could just wait and take well thought out decisions, half of the deaths in this could be avoided.
But nOoOoOo.
Honestly, the instalove in this was so instalove, that o felt like raising some of my ratings for other books that I read and rounded down my ratings for because I didn't enjoy the instalove.
5 days. FIVE f*cking days. That's all they've known each other for. And you lUrVe each other?!?!
The thing is, I waited so long to read this, with such high expectations, because telepathy/empathy like powers is like one of my favourite tropes. And adding memory shenanigans to the mix?!?! Sign me up! (But like not for this book because it was a freaking disaster).
We had such extremely forthcoming characters with nicely timed flashbacks(am I blatantly plagiarising my status updates without an ounce of regret at not remembering what all I had to write here? Hell yes I am.)
This book was just so convenient. Everything falls nicely into place, and that is not what books are supposed to be like. There needs to be unpredictability. There needs to be plot lines that don't fall in to place. There needs to be more to the book than conveniently timed flashbacks that explain exactly what's going on, without you having to put the slightest bit of thought into the book.
I almost dnfed this book so many times, but in the end I slaved through because it was short. So I thought just finish it.
That was a day of my life I'll never get back.
Anyway, I'd first rated this three stars, but upon further reflection, this does not deserve three stars. Thus the new two star rating. Also, this has made me feel that I need to update my ratings for a lot of books because my standards have obviously been too low for ratings, and way lower than my enjoyment levels.
I'm just stopping here because I don't even know what to say anymore. Good bye, and have a good day. I don't want to recommend this book, but if you enjoy a short storyline that doesn't require you to apply brainpower and that you just want to passively read to pass the time, and you don't mind incessant crying, then this is for you!!!
This book was bad.
I don't even want to write any more, but because this has been impacting my review writing for a lot of time now, I'm just going to up and write it.
Oh, where do I even start.
Etta cries. A lot. There is instalove. There is a stupid love interest. There is a stupid MC. There is an even stupider plot. The powers don't make sense. The memory thing has so many loopholes, most of which I do not even remember because it has been a month, and frankly o don't want to think about this book any more than is necessary.
The MC makes stupid decisions, then moves on to make even stupider decisions, and if it was earthly possible, she makes an even stupider decisions.
This book is filled with Etta's stupid decisions and incessant crying and illogical decisions, punctuated with irritating love declarations that come after 5 days of knowing the guy.
I just realised that you might be reading this thinking it'll be a coherent and logical review, and it doesn't pain me the slightest to tell you that that won't be happening, because this review will be anything but coherent, and I've made my peace with it.
Now, where was I?
Yes, the illogical decisions.
I tell you, if Etta could just wait and take well thought out decisions, half of the deaths in this could be avoided.
But nOoOoOo.
Honestly, the instalove in this was so instalove, that o felt like raising some of my ratings for other books that I read and rounded down my ratings for because I didn't enjoy the instalove.
5 days. FIVE f*cking days. That's all they've known each other for. And you lUrVe each other?!?!
The thing is, I waited so long to read this, with such high expectations, because telepathy/empathy like powers is like one of my favourite tropes. And adding memory shenanigans to the mix?!?! Sign me up! (But like not for this book because it was a freaking disaster).
We had such extremely forthcoming characters with nicely timed flashbacks(am I blatantly plagiarising my status updates without an ounce of regret at not remembering what all I had to write here? Hell yes I am.)
This book was just so convenient. Everything falls nicely into place, and that is not what books are supposed to be like. There needs to be unpredictability. There needs to be plot lines that don't fall in to place. There needs to be more to the book than conveniently timed flashbacks that explain exactly what's going on, without you having to put the slightest bit of thought into the book.
I almost dnfed this book so many times, but in the end I slaved through because it was short. So I thought just finish it.
That was a day of my life I'll never get back.
Anyway, I'd first rated this three stars, but upon further reflection, this does not deserve three stars. Thus the new two star rating. Also, this has made me feel that I need to update my ratings for a lot of books because my standards have obviously been too low for ratings, and way lower than my enjoyment levels.
I'm just stopping here because I don't even know what to say anymore. Good bye, and have a good day. I don't want to recommend this book, but if you enjoy a short storyline that doesn't require you to apply brainpower and that you just want to passively read to pass the time, and you don't mind incessant crying, then this is for you!!!
January 1, 2020
The Memory Thief by Lauren Mansy is a young adult fantasy story that is told in the first person. The idea behind the story is that memories are used like currency and can be transferred or stolen from one person to the next which really drew my interest but unfortunately my expectations weren’t met with how the story was done.
Etta is the main character who is one of the “gifted” in the story however she has been hiding her abilities. The gifted can transfer memories by simply touching someone and the ungifted could only receive memories. Etta’s mother is in danger so she makes a deal to help and ends up paired up with Reid.
There were several things that I found in here that kept me from loving this story. First, the world building is rather brief and tossed in and along with the character building could have really used a lot more depth. The romance also seemed rather rushed going from a dislike to totally in love in what felt like pages.
I also kind of felt that more could have been done with the idea of memories than the overall plot of one ruler wanting control of all the areas which made it feel like more of a cookie cutter plot like a lot of other young adult fantasies. In the end it just wasn’t my cup of tea leaving me at 2 1/2 stars.
I received an advance copy from the publisher via NetGalley.
For more reviews please visit https://carriesbookreviews.com/
Etta is the main character who is one of the “gifted” in the story however she has been hiding her abilities. The gifted can transfer memories by simply touching someone and the ungifted could only receive memories. Etta’s mother is in danger so she makes a deal to help and ends up paired up with Reid.
There were several things that I found in here that kept me from loving this story. First, the world building is rather brief and tossed in and along with the character building could have really used a lot more depth. The romance also seemed rather rushed going from a dislike to totally in love in what felt like pages.
I also kind of felt that more could have been done with the idea of memories than the overall plot of one ruler wanting control of all the areas which made it feel like more of a cookie cutter plot like a lot of other young adult fantasies. In the end it just wasn’t my cup of tea leaving me at 2 1/2 stars.
I received an advance copy from the publisher via NetGalley.
For more reviews please visit https://carriesbookreviews.com/
September 20, 2019
I have received this ARC from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.
The Memory Thief was an okay read. I was way more excited to dive into it before I actually did. Then, I definitely forgot about the book and ya know - diving into it. Luckily for me, I finally realized I was way behind on reading my ARCs. It happens but I'm slowly catching up on those bad boys.
Back to this book, in it you will meet Etta. I actually really liked her which was surprising. Instantly I was sucked into the whole memory auction. Sounded painful and it look pretty painful as well. Then there was the playful, and very enjoyable, banter between Reid and Etta. Their friendship gave me hope because they were each other's ride or dies basically.
Enter the romance, it was cute. I liked them together but didn't know how things were going to pan out once some secrets It wasn't even like their own secrets because Etta was pretty forthcoming about hers at one point in this book. No, it was EVERYONE's secret - this book had so many. Everyone was hiding the truth at one point which just kept giving me whiplash.
Whiplash that I enjoyed.
Overall, the ending was kind of meh and was expecting something a bit better. Still enjoyed it though.
The Memory Thief was an okay read. I was way more excited to dive into it before I actually did. Then, I definitely forgot about the book and ya know - diving into it. Luckily for me, I finally realized I was way behind on reading my ARCs. It happens but I'm slowly catching up on those bad boys.
Back to this book, in it you will meet Etta. I actually really liked her which was surprising. Instantly I was sucked into the whole memory auction. Sounded painful and it look pretty painful as well. Then there was the playful, and very enjoyable, banter between Reid and Etta. Their friendship gave me hope because they were each other's ride or dies basically.
Enter the romance, it was cute. I liked them together but didn't know how things were going to pan out once some secrets It wasn't even like their own secrets because Etta was pretty forthcoming about hers at one point in this book. No, it was EVERYONE's secret - this book had so many. Everyone was hiding the truth at one point which just kept giving me whiplash.
Whiplash that I enjoyed.
Overall, the ending was kind of meh and was expecting something a bit better. Still enjoyed it though.
September 26, 2019
I really didn't want to do this...but I had to DNF The Memory Thief. I got to about 38% and decided to finally just put the book down and move onto something else.
It isn't horrible by any means, and the writing is fairly good. But the author is trying to shove SO much information at the reader way too quickly, while going into confusing flashbacks, and it is just making my head hurt. There was about 10 names mentioned in the first chapter, which makes it hard to follow who is who since I have no idea...who those people are.
I had super high hopes for this one, because the premise is phenomenal. But the excessive information, and lengthy dialogue, and the eye-roll worthy insta-love is just too much for me to deal with.
It isn't horrible by any means, and the writing is fairly good. But the author is trying to shove SO much information at the reader way too quickly, while going into confusing flashbacks, and it is just making my head hurt. There was about 10 names mentioned in the first chapter, which makes it hard to follow who is who since I have no idea...who those people are.
I had super high hopes for this one, because the premise is phenomenal. But the excessive information, and lengthy dialogue, and the eye-roll worthy insta-love is just too much for me to deal with.
October 15, 2019
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.
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May 10, 2020Memories are gifts.
Four years ago Etta Lark made a decision that left her mother lying in the asylum. In Craewick, memories reign. When Madame, the power obsessed ruler, threatens to put her mother up for Auction, where her memories will be sold to the highest bidder before she's killed. Etta will do anything to save her, even if it means rejoining the Shadows, a rebel group she messily left behind.
Can she face her past so her future will last?
Trigger mental torture, illness of a parent, mention of drowning, mention of head injury, violence, and death.
Memories are miracles or mayhem. How much are you willing to pay for the keepsakes of your head and heart?
Snarky, skeptical Etta grappled with the weight of her guilt. Nothing mattered more to the prideful protector then defending those she loved. While I liked our kind-hearted badass, there were times that her instant trust left me baffled, moments that seemed so out of character for her.
Joining Etta on her quest to set her world a right came broody, loyal Reid. Much like the rest of the supporting cast, his character fell flat. Supposedly fiercely stubborn, two Gifted souls quickly slid from heated dislike to spilling their guts to the other. They made a good team, but their romance lacked depth.
Important as our memories, are the people we make them with. Gifted or Ungifted, I was excited to meet the people in Etta's world. However, with the exception of a girl she befriended/protected, Ryder, everyone that flitted into her past and present were left hollow shells. We never got to see past the bare-bones of their personalities's or relationships with Etta, which was so disappointing. As a side note, I'd read a book about Ryder. She interested me from the get-go.
The thoughts that echo in our minds either trap or free us. In a world where this was true mentally, emotionally, and monetarily, I was intrigued. Yet, after infodumping me into Craewick, the rushed plot created more fleeting thoughts then lasting impressions. Despite being flimsly structured, The Memory Thief fantastically shown the true power of memory, forgiving, and forgetting, but it barely scraped the surface of its potential. Although Lauren Mansy's debut was a bit confusing, it was fun.
I wish the Memory Thief would have been more memorable.
Four years ago Etta Lark made a decision that left her mother lying in the asylum. In Craewick, memories reign. When Madame, the power obsessed ruler, threatens to put her mother up for Auction, where her memories will be sold to the highest bidder before she's killed. Etta will do anything to save her, even if it means rejoining the Shadows, a rebel group she messily left behind.
Can she face her past so her future will last?
Trigger mental torture, illness of a parent, mention of drowning, mention of head injury, violence, and death.
Memories are miracles or mayhem. How much are you willing to pay for the keepsakes of your head and heart?
Snarky, skeptical Etta grappled with the weight of her guilt. Nothing mattered more to the prideful protector then defending those she loved. While I liked our kind-hearted badass, there were times that her instant trust left me baffled, moments that seemed so out of character for her.
Joining Etta on her quest to set her world a right came broody, loyal Reid. Much like the rest of the supporting cast, his character fell flat. Supposedly fiercely stubborn, two Gifted souls quickly slid from heated dislike to spilling their guts to the other. They made a good team, but their romance lacked depth.
Important as our memories, are the people we make them with. Gifted or Ungifted, I was excited to meet the people in Etta's world. However, with the exception of a girl she befriended/protected, Ryder, everyone that flitted into her past and present were left hollow shells. We never got to see past the bare-bones of their personalities's or relationships with Etta, which was so disappointing. As a side note, I'd read a book about Ryder. She interested me from the get-go.
The thoughts that echo in our minds either trap or free us. In a world where this was true mentally, emotionally, and monetarily, I was intrigued. Yet, after infodumping me into Craewick, the rushed plot created more fleeting thoughts then lasting impressions. Despite being flimsly structured, The Memory Thief fantastically shown the true power of memory, forgiving, and forgetting, but it barely scraped the surface of its potential. Although Lauren Mansy's debut was a bit confusing, it was fun.
I wish the Memory Thief would have been more memorable.
September 6, 2019
My thanks to NetGalley, the author, and the publisher for an e-ARC in exchange for an honest review.
What a beautiful cover! All the golden swirls set against the black really stick with the viewer as a visual representation of how memories can intertwine and color everything with light or darkness.
One positive for The Memory Thief is that for the characters remembering something is like reliving it. Each memory has an intrusive quality which makes perfect sense given the memory powers people have.
The plot line itself was good and entertaining but overall this book had a ton of issues.
The relationship between Etta and Reid was insta-love and insta-trust. It went from “I can’t trust this guy at all” to “I trust him with my life” in the space of two pages. At one point Etta literally thinks “three days ago this guy was nothing to me, but now he means everything.” Three days. If that’s not insta-love then nothing qualifies.
All emotions are rushed. Love. Trust. Grief. **potential spoiler** Etta’s mom basically shrugs when someone dies and says well at least I got to talk to them one last time. Like really? **end of potential spoiler**
Mansy cuts out character development for a “he was evil and now he’s not” solution that doesn’t fit. And the reason why he is suddenly not evil isn’t even a good or well-developed reason. And even worse it completely cuts the climax out. Imagine that characters are traveling to inevitable doom that they must fight against and defeat the bad guy to get through the terrible maze and … oh wait the bad guy is not that bad and the maze is pretty easy with a built-in guide. Awkward. But wait remember that big bad from the beginning of the book let’s go back to fighting that person. Flawless.
for the full review please visit https://www.literarydragonreviews.web...
What a beautiful cover! All the golden swirls set against the black really stick with the viewer as a visual representation of how memories can intertwine and color everything with light or darkness.
One positive for The Memory Thief is that for the characters remembering something is like reliving it. Each memory has an intrusive quality which makes perfect sense given the memory powers people have.
The plot line itself was good and entertaining but overall this book had a ton of issues.
The relationship between Etta and Reid was insta-love and insta-trust. It went from “I can’t trust this guy at all” to “I trust him with my life” in the space of two pages. At one point Etta literally thinks “three days ago this guy was nothing to me, but now he means everything.” Three days. If that’s not insta-love then nothing qualifies.
All emotions are rushed. Love. Trust. Grief. **potential spoiler** Etta’s mom basically shrugs when someone dies and says well at least I got to talk to them one last time. Like really? **end of potential spoiler**
Mansy cuts out character development for a “he was evil and now he’s not” solution that doesn’t fit. And the reason why he is suddenly not evil isn’t even a good or well-developed reason. And even worse it completely cuts the climax out. Imagine that characters are traveling to inevitable doom that they must fight against and defeat the bad guy to get through the terrible maze and … oh wait the bad guy is not that bad and the maze is pretty easy with a built-in guide. Awkward. But wait remember that big bad from the beginning of the book let’s go back to fighting that person. Flawless.
for the full review please visit https://www.literarydragonreviews.web...
March 25, 2023
So I quite enjoyed this book, and I don't understand why the goodreads overall rating is low.
Yes, the writing is not the most spectacular. But, the original plot and the ideas in this book are great! Not to mention this is the author's first book!
I think people (I am guilty of this too) need to stop reviewing books based on what they could have been and the 'potential' they had, and review them based on what they are.
There were a lot of just plain truth-filled quotes.
"Madame murders Shadows when given the chance, but there will be a difference between her and me, between her Minders and us. Don't ever forget that."
"Being brace doesn't mean you aren't afraid of anything. Just that the fear doesn't stop you from fighting for something you believe in."
There definitely was a bit of insta-love, but I think Etta's character arch made up for it...
I liked this book. :)
4 stars
Yes, the writing is not the most spectacular. But, the original plot and the ideas in this book are great! Not to mention this is the author's first book!
I think people (I am guilty of this too) need to stop reviewing books based on what they could have been and the 'potential' they had, and review them based on what they are.
There were a lot of just plain truth-filled quotes.
"Madame murders Shadows when given the chance, but there will be a difference between her and me, between her Minders and us. Don't ever forget that."
"Being brace doesn't mean you aren't afraid of anything. Just that the fear doesn't stop you from fighting for something you believe in."
There definitely was a bit of insta-love, but I think Etta's character arch made up for it...
I liked this book. :)
4 stars
May 15, 2019
This book started strong and then quickly collapsed under the weight of itself.
“The Memory Thief” draws us into a world where memories can be bought or stolen giving their new owners different skills and abilities without any care to the lifeless husks it leaves behind when Etta finds herself starting at her mother’s notice for auction and has to return to the Shadows and make a deal with her old crew and current enemies in order to ensure her family’s survival.
This book started off great instantly drawing me in with the memory auction and the desperate hunger the characters had to take happiness from those on the blocks and it set up a great threat once the trigger for Etta’s journey is revealed but after that the story starts to fall apart.
The biggest issue was pacing. It becomes very clear where the plot needs to take us and for the first third of the book it does fine with things progressing at a rate that makes sense however, once we reach our destination, everything speeds up so quickly it no longer felt natural. Everything from alliances, romances and the way the world was structured no longer made sense organically and our main players lost all depth as they had to act out scenes that were structurally on point, albeit predictable, but hollow leaving them sounding unnatural and like they needed some sort of cheesy music behind them which completely shattered the “book end” dynamic it set up.
Finally, I have to add that I learned more about how the kingdoms, which I didn’t realize it had, and the different titles granted to the characters at the very end of the book in the glossary type section that I did throughout the story so to anyone going into this for the first time this is the only book where I suggest skipping to the end just to get a quick rundown on how it works.
This wasn’t great and it will most likely end up blurring into other books in the genre which is sad because I feel like something really cool could have happened with this idea if it was allowed more time to breathe but I can’t rate it on what it could have been only what it is which is something I won’t remember.
**special thanks to the publishers and netgalley for providing an arc in exchange for a fair and honest review**
“The Memory Thief” draws us into a world where memories can be bought or stolen giving their new owners different skills and abilities without any care to the lifeless husks it leaves behind when Etta finds herself starting at her mother’s notice for auction and has to return to the Shadows and make a deal with her old crew and current enemies in order to ensure her family’s survival.
This book started off great instantly drawing me in with the memory auction and the desperate hunger the characters had to take happiness from those on the blocks and it set up a great threat once the trigger for Etta’s journey is revealed but after that the story starts to fall apart.
The biggest issue was pacing. It becomes very clear where the plot needs to take us and for the first third of the book it does fine with things progressing at a rate that makes sense however, once we reach our destination, everything speeds up so quickly it no longer felt natural. Everything from alliances, romances and the way the world was structured no longer made sense organically and our main players lost all depth as they had to act out scenes that were structurally on point, albeit predictable, but hollow leaving them sounding unnatural and like they needed some sort of cheesy music behind them which completely shattered the “book end” dynamic it set up.
Finally, I have to add that I learned more about how the kingdoms, which I didn’t realize it had, and the different titles granted to the characters at the very end of the book in the glossary type section that I did throughout the story so to anyone going into this for the first time this is the only book where I suggest skipping to the end just to get a quick rundown on how it works.
This wasn’t great and it will most likely end up blurring into other books in the genre which is sad because I feel like something really cool could have happened with this idea if it was allowed more time to breathe but I can’t rate it on what it could have been only what it is which is something I won’t remember.
**special thanks to the publishers and netgalley for providing an arc in exchange for a fair and honest review**
September 25, 2019
“Memory Thief” was a lot better than I had originally expected considering the not-so-great reviews from previous readers. What I initially drew me in this Young Adult Fantasy novel was the unique concept on how memories are stolen and the lead heroine Etta journey to join forces with the Shadows, who run the black-market of memories in the Mines which is a hidden underground city thus them being known as the best thieves in the Four Realms. It was refreshing and I immensely enjoyed that portion of the book but what I wasn’t a big fan of was the ending, lead heroine herself and the instant love, instant bond, instant everything romance with Reid the author created. The heroine was a broken emotional mess that was too trustworthy and she opened up far too quickly with Reid in the midst of the story which created an unnecessary romance that would have been better without in my opinion. And lastly the ending. What the hell was that. It was rushed, lackluster at best and to be honest sloppy as hell. Needless to say, "Memory Thief" was somewhat sorta kinda decent read with flaws that depending on the reader could be hard to ignore.
September 20, 2019
I was given an ARC from Harper Collins in exchange for an honest review.
The Memory Thief, in theory, sounded like something I would have loved. I know I don’t read too many fantasies but if it has an interesting plotline, I’m all in to read it. However, this one was just disappointing because the execution was done poorly.
I think this had more to do with how the formatting of the ARC was but basically, readers be warned about the confusing terminology and world building of this story. Lauren did a mediocre job at creating characters as the story started unfolding. What are Ghosts? What are Seekers? What is what? I don’t know and chances are that unless you have the definition page with you as you read along or if you just have an exceptional memory, you probably wouldn’t know who is who too. It’s also confusing in terms that there are slight and minor differences to characters and their abilities so most of the time you’re confused. Next, the story itself felt like a whole backstory. We don’t get the juicy bits of our main character being a Shadow and diving into that world where she stole memories to give back to the rightful owners. We just get the aftermath which is confusing and leaves us with no emotional attachment at all.
Finally, the romance between two characters happened too quickly. For someone who betrayed your whole group and only coming back for help, they sure got over the awkward patch very easily…
Would I recommend this? Ugh, it was all too muddled and confusing for me. I would say pass.
The Memory Thief, in theory, sounded like something I would have loved. I know I don’t read too many fantasies but if it has an interesting plotline, I’m all in to read it. However, this one was just disappointing because the execution was done poorly.
I think this had more to do with how the formatting of the ARC was but basically, readers be warned about the confusing terminology and world building of this story. Lauren did a mediocre job at creating characters as the story started unfolding. What are Ghosts? What are Seekers? What is what? I don’t know and chances are that unless you have the definition page with you as you read along or if you just have an exceptional memory, you probably wouldn’t know who is who too. It’s also confusing in terms that there are slight and minor differences to characters and their abilities so most of the time you’re confused. Next, the story itself felt like a whole backstory. We don’t get the juicy bits of our main character being a Shadow and diving into that world where she stole memories to give back to the rightful owners. We just get the aftermath which is confusing and leaves us with no emotional attachment at all.
Finally, the romance between two characters happened too quickly. For someone who betrayed your whole group and only coming back for help, they sure got over the awkward patch very easily…
Would I recommend this? Ugh, it was all too muddled and confusing for me. I would say pass.
August 21, 2021
Kinda disappointed. This book had the potential to be something great. The concept was interesting but the story itself just seemed really rushed and not fleshed out as much if could have been.
January 19, 2020
I try to express only my most honest opinion in a spoiler free way. If you feel anything in my review is a spoiler and is not already hidden in spoiler brackets please let me know. Thank you.
I liked this one. It was a little slow starting for me, and while it never really picked up, it did get more interesting as the book went along.
I think the majority of the plot and the whole memory aspect of the story fell a little flat for me. What really kept me reading was the characters and the relationships between. Not just the romance, which was sweet but a little dull, but all the relationship between them. The good ones and the bad ones.
The memories of her friends that she flashes back to are hard to keep up with. Even now I don't remember the names of like three out of four of them.
I loved Reid though. He was such a sweet, loving and trusting man. Especially after everything he knew about Etta. He never gave up on her or her character.
I'm glad I read this. It was an easier read than I was anticipating and while I don't think that I'll dwell on it for long. It will probably stick with me for awhile.
I liked this one. It was a little slow starting for me, and while it never really picked up, it did get more interesting as the book went along.
I think the majority of the plot and the whole memory aspect of the story fell a little flat for me. What really kept me reading was the characters and the relationships between. Not just the romance, which was sweet but a little dull, but all the relationship between them. The good ones and the bad ones.
The memories of her friends that she flashes back to are hard to keep up with. Even now I don't remember the names of like three out of four of them.
I loved Reid though. He was such a sweet, loving and trusting man. Especially after everything he knew about Etta. He never gave up on her or her character.
I'm glad I read this. It was an easier read than I was anticipating and while I don't think that I'll dwell on it for long. It will probably stick with me for awhile.
How I choose my rating:
1* Hated it. Had to force myself to finish it.
2** Didn't really like it. Didn't hate it but not sure why I finished it other then for some closure.
3*** I liked it. I had some issues with it, but as a whole it was good. I probably won't reread again ever, but there is a chance I might finish the series. (If part of one) But if not it's not a huge loss.
4**** I really liked this book. Maybe not a work of genius, but highly entertaining. I might reread this again, and I will finish the series. (If part of one) I would recommend to those I know hold interest in this books content.
5***** I loved this book. I found little to no issues with it at all. I will definitely be rereading this and probably more than once. I will finish the series and reread it multiple times. (If part of one) I will recommend this book to EVERYONE!!!!
May 18, 2019
It's rare to feel that a book is going to amazing right from the start. I usually have hopes but my negative mind knows how easily a novel can disappoint just a few chapters. But The Memory Thief was one I just knew was going to be perfect without a doubt right off the bat.
Mansy has weaved a tale of a gritty, dark world filled with desperate people and even more desperate plans. Our mc is probably one of the most flawed leads I've encountered in awhile, but she still won my heart with the love and fire she carried in her heart for her mother. Honestly, that part was probably the most refreshing. So many stories are about the girl who gets the crown and the guy ... parental love was so enjoyable to see.
Of course I won't spoil the ending, but it so quotable and huggable ... and long. Yeah, I am so weary of stories that drag you right up till the last second and end with "oh and they lived *insert mood* the end." Mansy took her time to bring her people and her message full circle.
Look forward to more from this author.
I received an ARC of this book in exchange for my honest opinion.
Mansy has weaved a tale of a gritty, dark world filled with desperate people and even more desperate plans. Our mc is probably one of the most flawed leads I've encountered in awhile, but she still won my heart with the love and fire she carried in her heart for her mother. Honestly, that part was probably the most refreshing. So many stories are about the girl who gets the crown and the guy ... parental love was so enjoyable to see.
Of course I won't spoil the ending, but it so quotable and huggable ... and long. Yeah, I am so weary of stories that drag you right up till the last second and end with "oh and they lived *insert mood* the end." Mansy took her time to bring her people and her message full circle.
Look forward to more from this author.
I received an ARC of this book in exchange for my honest opinion.
April 28, 2020
I love it when I close a book after reading the last sentence and just hold it or a moment, reliving all the feelings and vivid images from the story's journey for a few seconds. The Memory Thief was one of those books; full of heart and one I'll remember. The plot was riveting and unique and the characters deep. It had me laughing and smiling. I tucked it into a space on my shelf that holds all my favorite books. :) <3
October 9, 2019
You can also read my review here: https://devouringbooks2017.wordpress....
Review: 2 Stars
I really thought that I was going to love this book even after seeing several negative reviews. The idea of memories as currency was absolutely fascinating to me and the cover was so eye catching that I was excited to have a copy. While I think the bare bones of the plot were great, the execution was not. I had so many issues with this novel and honestly I think that it's a shame that it wasn't great because I felt like the plot had so much potential, but this book fell short of what it could have been,
The characters felt incredibly flat for me, Their emotions didn't feel real to me. The characters could be hard to keep track of even though there were only a few of them and the plot felt jumpy at times. The conflict between the villain and the protagonist made very little sense to me as well. The whole thing just felt so rushed. Things were brought up in the book like the reader should know what was going on, but in reality it was the first time we were hearing of it. There were so many plot holes and I had so many questions about how the memory thieving actually worked. Memories seemed to work completely different in this book than in real life, but these differences aren't acknowledged at all.
The world could have been cool, but the world building was extremely brief. I am glad that they touched on the economics of what it would be like as having memories as currency, especially for the poor, but there were way too many aspects of this world that were left unexplored. The writing just wasn't very good. Everything was told to you and nothing was shown. There were numerous times when the author should have used dialogue, but instead explained what was said between two characters in summary form. While I think that maybe if this book was longer it could have achieved more depth, at the same time I wonder if it just should have undergone more editing than it did.
Obviously I had a myriad of issues with this novel even though I really wanted to love it. I thought that the ideas behind the book were really cool and while this book had so much potential I just don't think that it came anywhere near reaching it. It should have been a powerful and interesting fantasy, but instead it was dull and easily forgettable.
Review: 2 Stars
I really thought that I was going to love this book even after seeing several negative reviews. The idea of memories as currency was absolutely fascinating to me and the cover was so eye catching that I was excited to have a copy. While I think the bare bones of the plot were great, the execution was not. I had so many issues with this novel and honestly I think that it's a shame that it wasn't great because I felt like the plot had so much potential, but this book fell short of what it could have been,
The characters felt incredibly flat for me, Their emotions didn't feel real to me. The characters could be hard to keep track of even though there were only a few of them and the plot felt jumpy at times. The conflict between the villain and the protagonist made very little sense to me as well. The whole thing just felt so rushed. Things were brought up in the book like the reader should know what was going on, but in reality it was the first time we were hearing of it. There were so many plot holes and I had so many questions about how the memory thieving actually worked. Memories seemed to work completely different in this book than in real life, but these differences aren't acknowledged at all.
The world could have been cool, but the world building was extremely brief. I am glad that they touched on the economics of what it would be like as having memories as currency, especially for the poor, but there were way too many aspects of this world that were left unexplored. The writing just wasn't very good. Everything was told to you and nothing was shown. There were numerous times when the author should have used dialogue, but instead explained what was said between two characters in summary form. While I think that maybe if this book was longer it could have achieved more depth, at the same time I wonder if it just should have undergone more editing than it did.
Obviously I had a myriad of issues with this novel even though I really wanted to love it. I thought that the ideas behind the book were really cool and while this book had so much potential I just don't think that it came anywhere near reaching it. It should have been a powerful and interesting fantasy, but instead it was dull and easily forgettable.
October 2, 2022
Super creative. Would maybe revisit for the sake that the world and powers were unique and I didn't pick up on them well the first time through. Listened to the audio book and lost track. It was pretty violent imho for a YA, especially one that felt like a younger target audience. 🤷♀️
July 18, 2022
It could have been a great story I think but I didn’t love the writing. I think this could have been made into 2 or 3 books and added better detail to make it come alive. Definitely needed more drafts and editing.
June 25, 2019
The full review + more can be found at The Book Bratz
Thank you Blink for sending me a copy of THE MEMORY THIEF in the mail in exchange for an honest review!
Hi. Hello. I am a sucker for pretty covers. The cover The Memory Thief isn't just pretty, it's stunning. Now imagine my excitement when I learned that it was a stand-alone fantasy and saw that it finally had a summary. Needless to say that I was pretty excited when I received The Memory Thief to review.
Etta lives in a corrupt society where memories and talents can be bought or sold. The Memory Thief opens in the auction where "criminal's" memories are sold by Madame before they are killed. After a tragic accident to landed Etta's mother in the asylum and left Etta struggling with guilt, Madame threatens to send her mother to auction and Etta knows she will do anything to save her. Etta re-joins the Shadows, a rebel group that cost Etta everything four years earlier, but it's the only way to save her mother from her impending doom. To swear her loyalty to the Shadows Etta must memorize a map of the maze created by the cruel neighboring realm's leader. Only Etta isn't a lone, she is joined by Reid who is a desperate search for his brother who is trapped in the very maze that Etta has to break into.
The Memory Thief is fast paced and didn't stop for one second. From page one you are transported to a gritty and corrupt society and through the realms on Etta's journey. I ended up finishing The Memory Thief in only a few hours (I was suppose to go to bed but I kept saying, "One more chapter" and then I was suddenly done with the book. #noregrets) The plot was unique and intriguing and kept me with the nagging feeling of wanting to know what was going to happen next. By last one hundred pages I was flying through the pages because I was desperate to know how Etta's story was going to end and if evil was going to be put to rest.
I really enjoyed the both Etta's and Reid's characters. Especially together. Their banter and arguments made me laugh and go back to reread the things they said. Though I did find their relationship to develop rather quickly I did enjoy the romance aspect. I enjoyed it because it showed how both characters are flawed and that they both have things they need to heal from and that they are going to help each other through it. Love isn't always rainbows and unicorns and both Etta and Reid have things that they are going to spend time needing to recover from.
The Memory Thief was inspired by Lauren Mansy's own journey when her mother was diagnosed with a heart condition and it was uncertain that she would survive surgery or would have many of her memories when she woke up. My own mother was diagnosed with a heart condition the summer I graduated high school and has been through countless tests and surgeries. Each time I had the same worries, was she going to survive? Was she going to forget the life she had? Having read this about Laruen Mansy and where her inspiration came from gave me an even bigger appreciation for a story I had already loved.
Overall I really enjoyed The Memory Thief and I can't wait to see what Lauren Mansy has in store for her readers next. This book is perfect for people who are looking for a quick unique fantasy novel that is also a stand alone!
Thank you Blink for sending me a copy of THE MEMORY THIEF in the mail in exchange for an honest review!
Hi. Hello. I am a sucker for pretty covers. The cover The Memory Thief isn't just pretty, it's stunning. Now imagine my excitement when I learned that it was a stand-alone fantasy and saw that it finally had a summary. Needless to say that I was pretty excited when I received The Memory Thief to review.
Etta lives in a corrupt society where memories and talents can be bought or sold. The Memory Thief opens in the auction where "criminal's" memories are sold by Madame before they are killed. After a tragic accident to landed Etta's mother in the asylum and left Etta struggling with guilt, Madame threatens to send her mother to auction and Etta knows she will do anything to save her. Etta re-joins the Shadows, a rebel group that cost Etta everything four years earlier, but it's the only way to save her mother from her impending doom. To swear her loyalty to the Shadows Etta must memorize a map of the maze created by the cruel neighboring realm's leader. Only Etta isn't a lone, she is joined by Reid who is a desperate search for his brother who is trapped in the very maze that Etta has to break into.
The Memory Thief is fast paced and didn't stop for one second. From page one you are transported to a gritty and corrupt society and through the realms on Etta's journey. I ended up finishing The Memory Thief in only a few hours (I was suppose to go to bed but I kept saying, "One more chapter" and then I was suddenly done with the book. #noregrets) The plot was unique and intriguing and kept me with the nagging feeling of wanting to know what was going to happen next. By last one hundred pages I was flying through the pages because I was desperate to know how Etta's story was going to end and if evil was going to be put to rest.
I really enjoyed the both Etta's and Reid's characters. Especially together. Their banter and arguments made me laugh and go back to reread the things they said. Though I did find their relationship to develop rather quickly I did enjoy the romance aspect. I enjoyed it because it showed how both characters are flawed and that they both have things they need to heal from and that they are going to help each other through it. Love isn't always rainbows and unicorns and both Etta and Reid have things that they are going to spend time needing to recover from.
The Memory Thief was inspired by Lauren Mansy's own journey when her mother was diagnosed with a heart condition and it was uncertain that she would survive surgery or would have many of her memories when she woke up. My own mother was diagnosed with a heart condition the summer I graduated high school and has been through countless tests and surgeries. Each time I had the same worries, was she going to survive? Was she going to forget the life she had? Having read this about Laruen Mansy and where her inspiration came from gave me an even bigger appreciation for a story I had already loved.
Overall I really enjoyed The Memory Thief and I can't wait to see what Lauren Mansy has in store for her readers next. This book is perfect for people who are looking for a quick unique fantasy novel that is also a stand alone!
October 14, 2019
The premise of this book sounded promising, however, its execution and the plot left much desired. I was interested during the first 50 pages but then my attention began to dwindle so that by the end, I didn't care so much on what was going on.
The Memory Thief takes place in a fantastical world in a society in which memories are the currency that can be given (or stolen) by the Gifted (people who can transfer memories) in order to keep the Ungifted (people with no abilities) in order. The worldbuilding and concept of memory stealing could've been very well developed but it gets overshadowed by insta-love and slow pacing that its potential gets wasted. The plot starts out fast but then drastically slows down after the 100-page mark so when the climax rolls around, it isn't very exciting.
Most of the characters fell flat here and weren't very compelling to read about. Etta was not a very relatable or interesting character. I couldn't connect with her and she felt juvenile and ridiculously naive for the Chosen One trope. The villain wasn't much better and so two-dimensional. Their motives are never fully discussed or embellished upon- they did bad things because they were bad.
Overall, not a terrible YA book (it carries a lot of worldbuilding potential) but was an OK read.
*Thank you to NetGalley and Blink publishers for providing a free ARC
The Memory Thief takes place in a fantastical world in a society in which memories are the currency that can be given (or stolen) by the Gifted (people who can transfer memories) in order to keep the Ungifted (people with no abilities) in order. The worldbuilding and concept of memory stealing could've been very well developed but it gets overshadowed by insta-love and slow pacing that its potential gets wasted. The plot starts out fast but then drastically slows down after the 100-page mark so when the climax rolls around, it isn't very exciting.
Most of the characters fell flat here and weren't very compelling to read about. Etta was not a very relatable or interesting character. I couldn't connect with her and she felt juvenile and ridiculously naive for the Chosen One trope. The villain wasn't much better and so two-dimensional. Their motives are never fully discussed or embellished upon- they did bad things because they were bad.
Overall, not a terrible YA book (it carries a lot of worldbuilding potential) but was an OK read.
*Thank you to NetGalley and Blink publishers for providing a free ARC
June 25, 2021
Typically, when I see a book has poor reviews, I give it the benefit of the doubt. That’s what I did in this case, as The Memory Thief has been on my backlist for ages and I wanted to give the audiobook a chance.
Thank goodness this is a short book, because I would have DNF’d it if it were longer. Nothing of consequence happens. Honestly, I am not even sure I could accurately describe *what* happens.
The world building isn’t even really there. There are people who have the power to take and access memories, and memories are used like currency or as punishment, but I have no idea why or how beyond that. Every character in this is bland, even the villains.
The timeline of events was so rushed and confusing. For much of the book I couldn’t figure out if I was seeing flashbacks or if the character was glimpsing memories with their power or if the timeline was linear, or honestly what was even going on. Everything is rushed and convenient and there is never really a moment in which the author allows the story to simply breathe and play out naturally. It felt like they forced the plot along just to get to the end.
Honestly, the whole memory thief idea was interesting but pretty much nothing is done with it. It’s a start, for a foundation, but I’ve read better stories with the same idea.
Thank goodness this is a short book, because I would have DNF’d it if it were longer. Nothing of consequence happens. Honestly, I am not even sure I could accurately describe *what* happens.
The world building isn’t even really there. There are people who have the power to take and access memories, and memories are used like currency or as punishment, but I have no idea why or how beyond that. Every character in this is bland, even the villains.
The timeline of events was so rushed and confusing. For much of the book I couldn’t figure out if I was seeing flashbacks or if the character was glimpsing memories with their power or if the timeline was linear, or honestly what was even going on. Everything is rushed and convenient and there is never really a moment in which the author allows the story to simply breathe and play out naturally. It felt like they forced the plot along just to get to the end.
Honestly, the whole memory thief idea was interesting but pretty much nothing is done with it. It’s a start, for a foundation, but I’ve read better stories with the same idea.
August 18, 2019
Here’s the thing about this book...
It has a good start, and the premise is pretty unique and incredible. BUT it fell short in so many ways.
First, there was a LOT of backstory that got glossed over quickly. This book should’ve been twice as long.
Second, the backstory was often glossed over in the laziest way: with WAY too much dialogue.
Third, there is NO depth to these characters or their relationships to each other. A bad guy isn’t a bad guy anymore and we are never given much on why he ever was or why he isn’t anymore. The main character remembers all these old friends who are dead, but the lack of depth in the backstory makes those friends mean nothing to the reader. And the antagonist was given literally NO character development.
I wanted to like this but I was very disappointed.
It has a good start, and the premise is pretty unique and incredible. BUT it fell short in so many ways.
First, there was a LOT of backstory that got glossed over quickly. This book should’ve been twice as long.
Second, the backstory was often glossed over in the laziest way: with WAY too much dialogue.
Third, there is NO depth to these characters or their relationships to each other. A bad guy isn’t a bad guy anymore and we are never given much on why he ever was or why he isn’t anymore. The main character remembers all these old friends who are dead, but the lack of depth in the backstory makes those friends mean nothing to the reader. And the antagonist was given literally NO character development.
I wanted to like this but I was very disappointed.
November 6, 2019
Well... this ride was unexpected.
I was SO happy when I was approved for this ARC, but had such a hard time jumping into the story... more than once I thought about DNFing it, but I kept reading until a major plot twist that left me no choice but to go on. I liked the book, but it felt more like an okay-read than a loved-loved-read for me, maybe because I wasn't entirely at ease with the memory-thieving concept (I know, I know, it's in the book title...). But I came to understand a lot in the second part of the book. Finally, the ending is too long and too beautiful, I felt annoyed by it.
Many thanks to Blink Publishing for the complimentary copy of this book. Opinions expressed in this review are completely my own.
I was SO happy when I was approved for this ARC, but had such a hard time jumping into the story... more than once I thought about DNFing it, but I kept reading until a major plot twist that left me no choice but to go on. I liked the book, but it felt more like an okay-read than a loved-loved-read for me, maybe because I wasn't entirely at ease with the memory-thieving concept (I know, I know, it's in the book title...). But I came to understand a lot in the second part of the book. Finally, the ending is too long and too beautiful, I felt annoyed by it.
Many thanks to Blink Publishing for the complimentary copy of this book. Opinions expressed in this review are completely my own.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
September 3, 2019
I really wanted to love this one. Especially with the author being from Chicago and that this story was based on things with her mom. But sadly this one fell flat for me. I'll try to figure out what it was while writing this.
First, the pacing is really good. But, I actually wanted it to be slower. I feel like there was a lot of information that could have been added. It was hard at times to understand what was going on because things went back and forth in time. I had a harder time connecting to the characters, too. I wasn't a big fan of Etta, which makes me sad. She is a strong, determined female protagonist, but I struggled with her quite a bit.
There were a couple characters I loved. First was Ryder. She's a young orphan who pushed her way into Etta's life. She was spunky and brave. The other was Reid. Etta is forced by Bray to go with Reid to find the directions to the maze. Along the way, we got to see how sweet Reid was. Even during tough times. He forgave easily and loved his family so much.
I liked the concept of this book. The gifted can transfer memories from one mind to another by touching them. This was supposed to be a special gift, but as many do, people want more and more power. They can take the memories of how to fight from a trained soldier and then do it. Madame was a perfect example of power corrupting. The ungifted can receive memories, but can't transfer them. The ungifted are basically victims of Madame and the others who wanted power. They stole memories and sometimes gave false memories back. This was interesting because while reading, I wasn't sure if the person was remembering things how they were or how they were told. Sifters are very powerful gifted. They can transfer memories without touching anyone. This comes in handy when they are being attacked. They can steal memories fast enough to kill someone without having any of the damage that regular gifted would have. They can also protect their minds from others.
The Shadows stood out to me, but I felt like there wasn't enough from them. They take in orphans and others to protect them. They also run a black market of memories and fight. Ghosts are terrifying. They give horrible memories and are used as a type of soldier in a sense to make people suffer. Hunters take memories from animals and become somewhat animal themselves.
Overall, I liked the story, but there were a lot of things that just seemed sloppy or not thoroughly thought out. It's possible there could be changes since I read a pretty early arc. I gave this book 3 stars.
Thank you to the publisher and Edelweiss for my review copy.
First, the pacing is really good. But, I actually wanted it to be slower. I feel like there was a lot of information that could have been added. It was hard at times to understand what was going on because things went back and forth in time. I had a harder time connecting to the characters, too. I wasn't a big fan of Etta, which makes me sad. She is a strong, determined female protagonist, but I struggled with her quite a bit.
There were a couple characters I loved. First was Ryder. She's a young orphan who pushed her way into Etta's life. She was spunky and brave. The other was Reid. Etta is forced by Bray to go with Reid to find the directions to the maze. Along the way, we got to see how sweet Reid was. Even during tough times. He forgave easily and loved his family so much.
I liked the concept of this book. The gifted can transfer memories from one mind to another by touching them. This was supposed to be a special gift, but as many do, people want more and more power. They can take the memories of how to fight from a trained soldier and then do it. Madame was a perfect example of power corrupting. The ungifted can receive memories, but can't transfer them. The ungifted are basically victims of Madame and the others who wanted power. They stole memories and sometimes gave false memories back. This was interesting because while reading, I wasn't sure if the person was remembering things how they were or how they were told. Sifters are very powerful gifted. They can transfer memories without touching anyone. This comes in handy when they are being attacked. They can steal memories fast enough to kill someone without having any of the damage that regular gifted would have. They can also protect their minds from others.
The Shadows stood out to me, but I felt like there wasn't enough from them. They take in orphans and others to protect them. They also run a black market of memories and fight. Ghosts are terrifying. They give horrible memories and are used as a type of soldier in a sense to make people suffer. Hunters take memories from animals and become somewhat animal themselves.
Overall, I liked the story, but there were a lot of things that just seemed sloppy or not thoroughly thought out. It's possible there could be changes since I read a pretty early arc. I gave this book 3 stars.
Thank you to the publisher and Edelweiss for my review copy.
May 31, 2020
Honestly, disappointing. When I hear memory I go "OOOOOOHHH BRAIN this is going to be good", but, alas, I'm an idiot. Here's the rundown:
Magic System - lazy, underdeveloped: everyone who was "gifted" (meaning they could give and take memories) could just access all the different types of memories with no limitations (except that when the gifted take memories it gives the people who have had the memory taken a headache... but it's mentioned maybe once and doesn't affect the main players of this book in any way whatsoever). If the author had put just a little bit more effort in she could have made the world more interesting by making it so "this type of person can only give/take procedural memories" and this "person can only give/take explicit memory". But nope. Everyone can just do everything. It doesn't even make them a little bit tired.
Characters - well I'll just give you their description and you tell me what you think:
Female lead - strong (but kind), fearless, has a special talent that no one else has, weapon of choice = bow and
arrow, sharp tongue, has a little-sister type figure that she would do anything to protect, absent parents, tragic backstory, is naturally adept in combat with (literally) no effort
Male Lead - love interest (duh), smoking hot, tragic backstory, brooding, has a soft-spot for MC, that's it
Villain - is only evil for the sake of being evil (no motivation except POWERRRRRR), is impossible to defeat... except for when MC does they are defeated within five seconds
Other Characters - who?
Writing style: that try-hard in class (you know what I'm talking about): it just seemed like Lauren Mansy was trying way to hard to come up with quotable lines and fit in with the big-wigs of YA (THG, Divergent, Shadowhunters, etc.).
Who would enjoy this: maybe 12-13 year olds who want an easy introduction to YA where it's all romance and action written in a voice that they'd want to identify with (hey I remember wanting to become Katniss so no shade children we've all been there). There is no real theme here except the bad guys always lose (which isn't true in the real world AHEM).
2 I didn't hate it but I most certainly wasn't anywhere near liking it.
Magic System - lazy, underdeveloped: everyone who was "gifted" (meaning they could give and take memories) could just access all the different types of memories with no limitations (except that when the gifted take memories it gives the people who have had the memory taken a headache... but it's mentioned maybe once and doesn't affect the main players of this book in any way whatsoever). If the author had put just a little bit more effort in she could have made the world more interesting by making it so "this type of person can only give/take procedural memories" and this "person can only give/take explicit memory". But nope. Everyone can just do everything. It doesn't even make them a little bit tired.
Characters - well I'll just give you their description and you tell me what you think:
Female lead - strong (but kind), fearless, has a special talent that no one else has, weapon of choice = bow and
arrow, sharp tongue, has a little-sister type figure that she would do anything to protect, absent parents, tragic backstory, is naturally adept in combat with (literally) no effort
Male Lead - love interest (duh), smoking hot, tragic backstory, brooding, has a soft-spot for MC, that's it
Villain - is only evil for the sake of being evil (no motivation except POWERRRRRR), is impossible to defeat... except for when MC does they are defeated within five seconds
Other Characters - who?
Writing style: that try-hard in class (you know what I'm talking about): it just seemed like Lauren Mansy was trying way to hard to come up with quotable lines and fit in with the big-wigs of YA (THG, Divergent, Shadowhunters, etc.).
Who would enjoy this: maybe 12-13 year olds who want an easy introduction to YA where it's all romance and action written in a voice that they'd want to identify with (hey I remember wanting to become Katniss so no shade children we've all been there). There is no real theme here except the bad guys always lose (which isn't true in the real world AHEM).
2 I didn't hate it but I most certainly wasn't anywhere near liking it.
September 22, 2019
*3.5 Stars*
*Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for giving me an ARC of this book in exchange for an honest review*
I truly enjoyed this book! It kept me entertained and I enjoyed the concept very much. The idea that memories are basically currency and some people have the ability to steal memories, give memories, etc., was really cool to me. The characters were very likable (except Madame of course, I want to throat punch her.) and I think the author did a great job of character backstories and developement. Man, the plot twists in this book were crazy. I did not see any of the twists coming and I thought they were fantastic. It actually is super hard for books to keep me entertained and I get bored in about 85% of the books I read. This one kept me entertained the entire time. I'm not sure if it's because the book is shorter than most and the author had to make things go quicker, but all I know is that I don't remember being bored one time.
Etta is a fiesty little thing and I'm just drawn to that lol. She has a dark past which... I'm also drawn to for some reason. At first, I didn't really want to like her but she grew on me over time. She has personality and emotion and I think she matured wonderfully as a character. She used the pain of her past to actually help her love again and cherish her family, and that's really beautiful to me.
Reid. Man, I tried to not like him too lol. Of course, he fell in love with Etta over a whopping expanse of four days. If you know me, you know I don't like "insta love", but I didn't mind this romance as much. It was actually very sweet. Reid himself is super mature and loving. He also has a really cool power and was an awesome warrior. In the end, there really wasn't anything to dislike about him.
This story was really cool and to me, really unique. To me, it seemed like the author left a possibility for a book 2? I definitely wouldn't mind reading more from this universe!
*Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for giving me an ARC of this book in exchange for an honest review*
I truly enjoyed this book! It kept me entertained and I enjoyed the concept very much. The idea that memories are basically currency and some people have the ability to steal memories, give memories, etc., was really cool to me. The characters were very likable (except Madame of course, I want to throat punch her.) and I think the author did a great job of character backstories and developement. Man, the plot twists in this book were crazy. I did not see any of the twists coming and I thought they were fantastic. It actually is super hard for books to keep me entertained and I get bored in about 85% of the books I read. This one kept me entertained the entire time. I'm not sure if it's because the book is shorter than most and the author had to make things go quicker, but all I know is that I don't remember being bored one time.
Etta is a fiesty little thing and I'm just drawn to that lol. She has a dark past which... I'm also drawn to for some reason. At first, I didn't really want to like her but she grew on me over time. She has personality and emotion and I think she matured wonderfully as a character. She used the pain of her past to actually help her love again and cherish her family, and that's really beautiful to me.
Reid. Man, I tried to not like him too lol. Of course, he fell in love with Etta over a whopping expanse of four days. If you know me, you know I don't like "insta love", but I didn't mind this romance as much. It was actually very sweet. Reid himself is super mature and loving. He also has a really cool power and was an awesome warrior. In the end, there really wasn't anything to dislike about him.
This story was really cool and to me, really unique. To me, it seemed like the author left a possibility for a book 2? I definitely wouldn't mind reading more from this universe!
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