The Memory Thief had a ridiculously strong start. I was immediately pulled in by the world and the roles magic plays. We have a female MC who is hiding as an Ungifted, a tyrannical ruler who wants to gain more power, and a secret society of rebels who plan to overthrow this ruler. I mean, I'm such a sucker for these kinds of books. And the way memories and gifts intertwine in the magic the Gifted hold? Sign me tf up.

So why did I give this 3 stars?

Even though it had a strong start that had me invested from the first few pages, I found myself not liking the book more and more as I kept reading. The beginning is basically everything I wanted it to be. It had great character introductions, interesting rule-making, a magic system that was unique, and a very cohesive plot that had a clear end-goal. The middle is definitely what made this book suffer. We added in a ton of more characters who play significant roles in the story, yet we either know too much or too little about them. Sometimes characters descriptions would be repeated over and over where you're like "OK WE GET IT", and other times you question why a character does a certain thing. There's never really a balance. We also added in a romance that i never truly bought, and by the end I was left extremely unsatisfied with its overall development.

I didn't get invested again until the climax of the book. I was all-in once again when I reached the 75% mark. Then....things took a turn for the worse again. At around 90% it just...collapses on itself and makes a very abrupt ending we never see. We have to have it explained to us. It also has this sort of recap feel to it when you watch a TV sitcom episode, where everyone gathers around and takes turns to talk. It just didn't sit with me and just left me overall annoyed. We didn't get to see any of these great things, and the explanations just felt very rushed.

Overall, this book has a strong start, a weak middle, and a very so-so end. I'd probably proceed with caution and highly recommend picking this up at your local library.

ARC provided to me by the publisher in exchange for an honest review. All thoughts and opinions are my own.

Book: The Memory Thief
Author: Lauren Mansy
Rating: 4 Out of 5 Stars


I would like to thank Netgalley and the publisher, Blink, for providing me with an ARC.

So, both the book and the author are very new to me. I thought the summary sounded very cool and that’s what lead me to give this title a try. I was amazed at how just complex the world and the characters were. The book itself is a mixture of science fiction and fantasy-though I would call it more of a fantasy than anything. The book its isn’t very long, but I loved just how much Lauren managed to weave into it.

The concept of the book itself is very interesting. The characters live in this world where people are either Gifted or Ungifted. The Gifted have powers that allow them to take memories and the Ungifted don’t. This leads to one of my favourite things in fantasy and science fiction: the divide between classes and the power struggle that follows. I love seeing characters stand up against injustice and how they truly do want to change the world they live in. I love seeing this play out and The Memory Thief did not let me down. Plus, it always helps when the main character isn’t doing it to better themselves, but for the sake of someone they care about.

The first half of the book has such a punch that I flew right through it. Like others have pointed out, I did feel that the second half kind of lost this punch. I don’t know what it was, but it just didn’t seem as strong to me. It was almost as if the editors made Lauren cut some stuff out that really shouldn’t have been. There were a lot of twists and turns as well as flashbacks. I know a lot of people don’t like the flashbacks, but I enjoyed them. I always like it whenever we get something that adds an overall touch and charm to the story. However, I would have liked more of an explanation as to what the significance of them were.

The characters were also well written. I personally would have liked to have seem Madame a bit more developed. I always do enjoy me a well-developed and complex villain. The other characters were fine. As you kept on reading, though, you could tell just how complex they actually were. Again, this is where the flashbacks helped. The backstories that came from the flashbacks allowed us to see just truly how complex everything was.

Overall, not a bad book. I’m giving it a four star because, like I said, I did feel like the second half was rather on the weaker side.

The Memory Thief comes out October 1, 2019.

Youtube Book Preview: https://youtu.be/7e1Sbs6AzM0

I love the concept of this book. Using memories to trade, to celebrate, or even to punish, is so intriguing to me. The main character Etta Lark is strong, smart, and self sufficient. She takes no nonsense from anyone, all the while living in a dangerous world under a terrible ruler. That being said, I had a few issues with the pacing. I felt like the “plot twists” were thrust upon the reader, but were not flushed out enough. The characters didn’t have enough time to develop their relationships and get them to where they ended up being. For example, I felt the relationship between Etta and Reid was just going through the motions -- there was the instant attraction, the “coupling”, the fight, etc, with no true evolution. I did love the relationship between Etta and Ryder, and I wish she had been in the book more.

I was given an advanced reader's copy via NetGalley. All thoughts and opinions are my own.

I just reviewed The Memory Thief by Lauren Mansy. #TheMemoryThief #NetGalley
I absolutely loved this book. The characters are so great. I totally had a dream about something so similar to this plot a couple years ago. It was great seeing it as a book.

First, I was "okay, this is a cool concept", and slowly I became very invested. I love a story that keeps me on my toes and The Memory Thief didn't disappoint. I never saw a twist coming.

While the pacing was a bit uneven and the relationship needed more flushing out for me, the storytelling made up for it.

I received this copy of The Memory Thief from Blink through Netgalley.

This book has a fascinating premise and a likable, determined lead.

My main issue is that there are a raft of very fortunate coincidences that seemed to happen because the book needed an ending.

The Memory Thief is a dark and riveting young adult fantasy filled with plenty of twists and turns throughout the pages.

In The Memory Thief, society is driven by the trade and distribution of memories. The reader follows our protagonist, Julietta, as she navigates the upper echelons of kingdom politics on the verge of impending war, while trying to save her mother from an upcoming 'auction' - in which a person's memories are auctioned off to the highest bidder, killing them in the process.

The Memory Thief has no shortage of surprises in store along the way. This is mostly owing to the fact that memories can be taken from ones mind or tampered with by the 'Gifted' (those with the ability to read and steal memories) which leads to many characters having incomplete or missing recollections of important events. Even without adding in the extra element of unreliable narration, the author manages to create a tight knot of connecting threads between many the of the main characters that we meet in the story, with varying levels of success.

While I found The Memory Thief to be a fast-paced, gripping read, I'm not sure that all of the character motivation was truly believable. Some characters did entire turnarounds in their thinking and actions so quickly that you may get whiplash from the sequence of events. Unfortunately, many of these changes aren't sufficiently explained other than a flash of a memory in a short paragraph that entire character arcs and relationships hinge on. In light of these shaky character moments, I don't feel as though I ever got a great grip on several of the main characters because I kept waiting for the other shoe to drop and more information to be revealed about them (which never really came). Some of the 'big' relationship reveals seemed forced and after several big reveals the shock factor kind of wore off and became a little much. Also, explanations for the entire magic system and the 'variants' of the basic Gifts could have been more clearly portrayed to the reader for less confusion during some of the biggest climaxes of the story.

Overall, The Memory Thief is a fast paced read and a few well crafted reveals that will be sure to satisfy lovers of young adult fantasy with dark elements.

The Memory Thief promises a fantastical, unique premise, however, the lack of world-building and the choppy beginning provided a rough start. Despite this, the story follows a dark plot with interesting themes. The characters were flat at times, but these flaws can be fixed. The Memory Thief has great potential and I look forward to seeing it on the shelves.

Well-written YA dark fantasy. Very dark.

Trigger warning: Parental loss, especially for those mourning their mothers.

The Memory Thief’s premise is original and incredible but however hard I tried to get into the story it didn’t work out for me. It seems to be going in too many directions with too many characters and too many concepts to digest in too short a time. I’m sorry to admit I gave up trying after 60%. But I’m even more sorry because I wanted to read what the premise promised…

I received this ARC in exchange for my honest review. I loved this book! It kept me fully engaged the whole way through. Cant wait to see what the next one brings

This book had such a different plot and i was excited to get to read it. It was really good and was not slow and boring at all! I really enjoyed it.

I found this book to breathtaking! The author created such a unique and exciting world! I loved following Etta’s journey! I would definitely recommend this book.

I voluntarily read and reviewed an advanced copy of this book. All thoughts and opinions are my own

I really liked this book and couldn't put it down! The story flowed well and was never boring.
It kept me guessing and I loved the characters.

5/5 stars!

I was granted an ARC from Netgalley so thank you!!
This book hits between a 3 and 4 star review for me again.
Some of the things I liked about it was that it was easy and quick to read (I read the entire thing on a long drive back home) and the main character wasn’t too annoying or anything bad, but I did like the premise of the story being about giving and taking memories. It’s an interesting concept and thoroughly explored in this novel, both the pros and cons of being able to do so. You can give bad memories away, you can learn new talents as if you’ve studied for years, you can see places you’ll never get to go, but your memories can be stolen, horrible memories forced upon you, until nothing of yourself remains. I really enjoyed reading about a world like that. It also ended on a happier note which is something I prefer.
However a lot of things fell into place a little too easily at times, and one of the major conflicts was resolved instantaneously, which I thought was just too easy. I liked the characters but didn’t feel too strongly about any of them.

**Posting to blog on May 29, 2019**

Thank you to Blink and NetGalley for giving me the opportunity to read this eARC.

The premise of this story is really interesting. Memories are used as currency and the world created around this idea is fascinating. Taking memories sounds a bit scary to me, just because I wonder how someone would stay themself with other memories in their head. Also it feels like cheating. If you want to learn a skill, steal a memory and now you are an expert in it. It shows how the Gifted has the upper hand in this world.

Etta Lark is hiding from her past. Her best friends are dead and her mother is in an asylum. Etta made a deal with Madame, the ruler of Craewick, that would help her hide from the Shadows, a group she betrayed to help save her mother. But Madame changes the rules on her and Etta has to go back to the people she hurt to help her mom again.

This was a fast read. I devoured all the information about the Gift, Ungifted, and Minders. The world of the Shadows is really intriguing and probably my favorite part of the book. Some of the story is told through memories, since Etta has taken a few. There is insta-love but I think it works because it is a standalone book. Etta and her love interest do get to know each other on their quest. I’m so used to reading trilogies with love stories drawn out that seeing insta-love in a book that isn’t purely a romance novel is sometimes hard to get used to. It works in this story but I wasn’t that invested in the romance though.

When Etta and Reid get to the end of their journey, Etta’s past is revealed in a twist and it seemed so convenient. Etta accepts this reveal so easily. From there on, the story wraps up and everything works out in the end. Which is great, but my interest was dwindling by then. The time span of this story happens in one week, so the ending felt rushed.

Overall, this was an interesting book, with a potential to be amazing because I really enjoyed the underworld of the Shadows. Everything else though fell flat for me.

#TheMemoryThief has a lot to offer in a short fast read. I really found the plot unique and the idea of the stealing of memories, trading them, using them as currency a wonderful idea. Etta, the main character, is a sincere and easy to like. The cover is what drew me into reading the synopsis. It is lovely. The book has a lot packed into it and at times does make it a little harder to follow you need to be paying attention there is a lot of detail, The author includes a glossary in the book to help the reader.
Thank you to Blink and NetGalley for the E-Arc copy of #TheMemoryThief.

I picked up The Memory Thief because the cover was pretty and the premise was interesting. I think the biggest flaw in the story is that it starts out rather intense and promises several big challenges. Due to plot twists, most of those challenges end up being nothing at all, so the feel of the last half of the book is very different from what was set up in the first half. That being said, I really enjoyed the book. I found Etta's character journey to be believable, the ensemble cast was engaging and appealing, and the story itself was interesting, even when it didn't necessarily keep all the promises I felt like it had made. Overall, this is probably a 3.5 star read for me.

I received a complimentary copy of this book from NetGalley. All thoughts in this review are my own.

Imagine a world where you can trade your memories with others, but once you trade them they are gone! You could learn a new skill just by taking the memory from someone else. The gifted can do this without you even realizing it or you can request it in trade for one of your own memories..
Madame is the ruler of the land and hold an auction quite often in which she sells
off the memories of those who have disobeyed laws or are of no use to her then she kills them. Think about the worst thing you have gone through and having to live through that pain again. That is what Madame puts her prisoners through. She fills them with painful memories that she has received from others, forcing them to relive that anguish until it kills them.
Etta has a unique gift where she can share the memories that she has without losing them and no one can steal her memories. She is caught in a situation where she must decide if she is going to go back to the shadows, who she betrayed or try and find another way to save her mother who is up for Auction. Ry, her best friend makes her decision for her when she, without Etta’s knowledge goes to the shadows for help, not knowing Etta’s past with them. Now Etta must beg forgiveness and pledge her life to those she once betrayed.
The book could have used more description in some areas and less in others. I found that sometimes it jumped ahead and I had to read it again to follow. The concept was great but the delivery could have been better. Thank you netgalley for the ARC

An enjoyable and fast paced read. I liked the main character quite a bit. There was a bit of confusion as to how the memory transfer thing worked, but it wasn’t something that detracted from my enjoyment. The romance developed pretty quickly, I might have liked to see a bit more development. But at least they were talking to each other about important stuff and not just kissing :) I felt like they were really trying to trust each other.

There were a lot of terms used in this book, but the glossary helped most of the time. I do feel like the message was a bit hammered in, but it was a good message so again, it didn’t detract from my overall enjoyment.

I received a copy of this via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.