So I'm actually embarrassed to say how far I got before giving up on this one. It wasn't far. I received a eARC of this novel and was so excited because the synopsis sounded amazing. Remember that movie where time was a currency? I sort of pictured memories to be like that in this book. While a good idea the writing really let this book down. I'm usually drawn in from the first chapter of a book and I just wasn't here. I pushed through just to see if it would improve but the whole book just seemed..off. The reviews on Goodreads aren't looking too well either with an average rating of about 3.33. I do hope it finds its people though, I am just not one of them.

Thank you NetGalley for giving me the opportunity to read an advance copy of The Memory Thief.

The story follows a girl name Julietta who is known as the memory thief. In her world people trade memories to purchase things or to learn new skills. There are two different ways to retrieve someones memory, by touch and by sight. It depends on your gift which way works for you. Her country is divided up into 4 different realms. The ruler of her realm is cruel and auctions memories of criminals off like a sport. Jules must over come her past and side with people she betrayed to take down the cruel ruler and save her mother. I enjoyed the book, it was a quick read. The writing style was okay. I did notice a couple of word choice errors and spelling which is typical with an advance reader copy. I wish there was more world building. You are thrown into her world without really understanding what is going on and how every thing comes about. Overall, I would recommend this book, however I don't plan on rereading it in the future.

Unfortunately The Memory Thief is going to be DNF for me. I really expected to Iike it more but I mostly just feel confused. I'm having such a hard time getting into it, and investing myself in the characters I've been introduced to so far. The format of the ARC is also very off-putting and makes it difficult to read. A lot of the paragraphs are run ons and it just doesn't flow well as is. Thanks for the opportunity to read it.

Wow, wow, wow. This book sucked me in from the very beginning and the stakes are so high that I couldn't put it down. Mansy created a world very different from our own but one that is easy to jump into and understand. It's easy to fall in love with the characters and understand why they are doing what they are doing. I thoroughly enjoyed this read and cannot wait for everyone else to read it.

I was a bit apprehensive about this book when it started out giving me too many cookie cutter dystopia vibes but I quickly learned this book was not at all a generic dystopia. It ended up being more of a historical fantasy book with romance, grief, family dynamics, political events, adventure, and deep friendship connections.

Etta was a great main character who consistently battled her inner conflicts having to do with her past and self-worth while also dealing with the external conflicts Madame placed on her. The Memory Thief is a great book that manages to pack a lot of character and plot development into a standalone book without being overwhelming or too fast-paced. The secondary characters were all a lot of fun and I love Reid with all my heart. There were some plot twists thrown in that definitely took me for surprise and made the plot even juicier.

What a great novel, especially for a debut author!

This I felt like had a potential to be so much better than what it is. I think that there just could have been more and was somewhat stereotypical and predictable.
Thank you to the publisher and to Netgalley for allowing me to read this novel in exchange for an honest review.

Can't give a review for this book beacuse the copy I recieved was messed up. I was excited to read the book and love the cover. Will just have to check it out when its published.

The overall readability of this book is good--I finished it quickly, it kept my attention. The cover is gorgeous. The idea behind it is new and interesting.

However, it just wasn't executed well enough to be the book it deserved to be.

I was a little lost in the beginning, intrigued by the middle, and just sort of meh by the end.

The whole premise of the memory thing--being Gifted or Ungifted--didn't really make sense to me. As the book went on, I kind of wrapped my head around it, but I don't think I had a solid enough grasp on it and the world Mansy created to really appreciate it.

While it's written in present tense, first person, Julietta is constantly recounting things that happened previously, whether in the past four years or earlier that morning. It overshadows what's happening then and there and really put me off. I can appreciate when looking into the past is helpful towards the story, especially one like this that deals with memories, but it was so constant it didn't work for me.

Julietta and Reid's connection was a little predictable and happened a little too quickly for my liking, but I liked them together for the most part.

I will say that there were a few twists in the middle of the book that I didn't expect and I think that's really what kept me reading. But, the pacing was too quick and everything happened too easily for my liking.

Overall, it was an interesting concept, but didn't pull enough punches to really get me to like it.

A heart-pounding journey of good vs evil, The Memory Thief follows Etta, a young girl desperate to save her comatose mother's memories from being sold. With an original plot and unforgettable characters, this novel starts off with a bang that sadly starts to drag towards the middle. However, I would definitely recommend this novel for anyone interested in an original ya plot.

A special thank you to Netgalley for providing me with a free advanced copy of this book in exchange for my honest opinion.

Fascinating and innovative concept, and a really strong cast of characters. I can definitely see how Lauren Mansy will be an author to watch as she gets more experience under her belt. Plot line did feel somewhat rushed and inorganic at times, and I think this world/ story was definitely more suited to being a series than a standalone, but nevertheless the read was a quick and enjoyable one.

The Memory Thief by Lauren Mansy:

“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.”

“We must live for something higher than ourselves.”
★★☆☆☆

To be honest this book seemed with a lot of potential, the story began strong, but sadly started to fade as the story continued. Even when the plot was super original for me it sins felt like something new.
The main character is feeling guilty during the whole story and that made it irritating. She was always feeling terrible with herself and had the cliche guy that told her that she was amazing, etc, etc. and she kept feeling guilt and attached to her past mistakes.
The plot in general was really flat, even when it had action scenes it didn’t made it interesting of hooked to it. The author wanted to create suspense at the end of every chapter but still with the flat plot they didn’t wowed me.
There were twists in the story but they felt unnecessary in the way they were written. In my opinion the book had a lot of potential but the voice wasn’t the correct one, making the book feel heavy and slow.
To be honest I didn’t liked the book, not because of the story but the details that should be there and weren’t or they were but didn’t added anything to the plot. The characters felt annoying after a while.

There isn't a possible universe in which I would publish a review of this discordant, messy, obfuscating, pointless book. I've written bad reviews where people could see them, but there is nothing I could say about this that wouldn't seem like satire. There were no redeeming qualities. 10,000 monkeys at 10,000 typewriters would be more enjoyable.

I received this book from Net galley in exchange for a honest and fair review.

So this was such a unique plot and I absolutely love the idea of memories serving as currency. I found Etta to be very interesting. She is willing to go against Madame and crawl back to the very people she betrayed to help he mother. This was a great character in a wonderful fantasy world.

Oh. my. word. This book is incredible. I'm definitely getting a physical copy of this.

I don't really know where to start... except that it was amazing and one of my favorite books ever? The cover is eye-catching and definitely intrigues me. The characters were so well developed. The plot absolutely twisted my mind and then threw it on a carousel ride. xD I never would have thought that it'd turn out the way it did, but Mansy definitely pulled it off. The writing style is beautiful; it's charming during the quiet moments and then fast-paced and makes me catch my breath during the harrowing plot-twisty parts.

Anyway, that's my review. The Memory Thief threw me so off-guard with its genius plot and brilliant characters that I have no idea how to review it. xD Definitely read this gem of a book. 5 stars.

I received a complimentary copy of this book from the publisher. All thoughts are my own and a positive review was not required.

In the Memory Thief, seventeen year old Etta Lark lives in a world where memory rules. There are the Gifted who can take memories, the Ungifted who can receive memories but cannot take from others, and Sifters who can take memories just by looking at you. Memories are basically currency to be traded, auctioned off, and used to destroy people. The story opens with an auction. There are when "criminals" have their memories auctioned off and then are killed. When Etta's mother is set for the auction block she jumps into action to save her mom and rid Craewick from the evil Madame and her Minders (Memory Thieves).

I was super hyped when I received an e-arc of this book. The cover is beautiful and the premise sounded amazing. However, it fell flat for me. It started off great but snuffed out by the middle. I think what ultimately did it was how nothing is really explained and everything is rushed. There is hardly any world building. It is a character driven novel which would be fine if the characters had depth.

There are two things that sticks out glaringly in my humble opinion that I just cannot wrap my head around.

1. When Etta and Reid reach Aravid to steal the map from Porter. Porter is said to be this master manipulator. He can give you memories that you think is reality when they are not. However, our heroine comes to trust him and the big plot twist soooo easily. I don't know I am not really buying it.

2. The anticlimactic end that all basically happens off page.

I would still recommend the book but for the younger side of the teen age range. The writing was very simplistic and the plot overly convenient.

Thank you to Netgalley and Blink Press for providing me with an e-arc of this book in exchange for an honest review.

<i>arc provided by netgalley in exchange for an honest review<\i>

DNF at 13%

I usually would give a book up until 30-50% but I just couldn’t keep going. The writing just isn’t it for me and I constantly found my mind wandering or skim reading and I wasn’t enjoying what I was reading.

The writing isn’t for me. It felt choppy and confusing and I never knew what was going on or what anything meant or who anyone was. It felt all over the place.

I might give this another shot some other time but for now, I need to put this down.

The Memory Thief by Lauren Mansy is a book I was excited to get my hands on as it has an interesting premise that I hadn’t really read before.

Etta Lark lives in a world where memories can be stolen and sold to the highest bidder. Due to an accident that has left her mother bedridden in the city’s asylum, Etta has very few choices available to her and when her situation takes a turn and her mother is put up for auction, she will do whatever it will take to save her. That means she needs to turn to the Shadows, the rebel group she used to work for.

I thought Etta was a solid character. She grows a lot through this story and learns so much about herself along the way. When she is tasked to steal the memory of a map of a prison created by a neighboring realm, Etta is partnered with a boy, Reid, who has his own motives for going with her. As Etta shares more about her past with Reid, his motivation for going with her becomes clear to Etta and she has to tell him something she doesn’t want to admit.

I thought the first half of this book was well done but as the story kept going, it lost me. The romance wasn’t my favorite as it felt like insta-love and everything felt rushed. Everything that happens as they enter the neighboring realm seems to just fall into place and a lot of it seemed too convenient.

Overall, this book was just okay for me. There were parts that I enjoyed and others that I didn’t. I thought Etta was well-developed but didn’t love a lot of the other characters in the story. In the end, I thought this was well written but the story itself lacked a little something. I’ll be watching for what Mansy writes next as the premise of this book was promising.

This book pulled me immediately. It does starts with a lot of names and places thrown at you all at once, making it a little hard to follow at first. BUT it also starts with mysterious secrets from the main character Etta which drug me into Craewick immediately!

The Memory Thief is about Etta and Ryder. Etta does everything she can to take care of her mother who is in the mysterious asylum. Ryder is a spunky orphan she takes care of off the street. In Craewick everything is ran by Madame. Who seems terrible enough to be a rival of Umbridge from Harry Potter.

In Craewick people buy goods with happy memories. People specialize in manner or cliff jumping to sell the talent or thrill. Gifted individuals have the ability to read minds and steal memories from the ungifted. When Etta’s mom gets into trouble she does everything she can to save her. Including betraying the people she loves.

I don’t want to include any spoilers, so go read this book!

Full review will be updated on here and posted on CelticsLibrary.com by 9/3/2019.

I liked the idea of this book about sharing memories and being able to give or take them away. With anything that people like, it soon becomes a power struggle. People always want more and want to have the most of certain things. Memories are currency in this world where we get glimpses of what it looks like, but not in any great detail. I wish there had been more world building but there was a good amount of character growth and development. There could have been more explanation about the gifts, but overall it was good. I enjoyed the flashbacks (memories) happening throughout which really drives home how important memories are. You do not know the value of what you have until it is gone.

A world where memories can be sold as currency, and stolen just as easily.

Etta Lark made sacrifices to get her mother into an asylum where the city's cruel ruler "Madame" promised her safety. Going back on her word, Madame has now decided to sell Etta's mother at auction, selling all her memories to the highest bidder- a painful death. To save her mother Etta must join forces with those she betrayed.

The memory thief had a great premise that I have never seen in a book before.
Often times so many themes and plots are regurgitated over and over again, that it is so fresh and exciting to get a new idea.
I liked how incredibly flawed the characters were without being sappy.
There was one part in particular I thought for sure I knew what would happen... and the author went in a completely different direction, which I really liked.
This book kept me on my toes.