A compelling read. Beautifully written, well-thought-out characters, and a developed setting. I truly enjoyed this one!

Ev, a young woman who can feel emotions inhabiting objects, lives in Vancouver and ekes out a living by selling objects that are especially "bright." Owen, an artist and fellow dumpster diver, helps Ev find her treasures without really knowing what he's helping with.

Her precarious existence is threatened with the appearance of Harriet, another who can sense the same energy as Ev.

Add in Ev's wild younger sister and a tragic backstory for nearly every character, and the story is beyond engrossing. I love character driven narratives and really enjoyed learning about each of them.

Very interesting concept that kept me reading until the end. It wasn't poorly written, but it was slower paced than I personally like and it was hard to keep going when I had other books around to get into.

A story about family, friendship, and energy - with a side of woo. A story about people who have special powers that allow them to feel the energy and emotions surrounding objects. This book was a little odd, but carried some intriguing mystery, threads of family and growing friendships, and personal growth. It was easy to read and generally enjoyable. More like 3.5 stars for me, rounded up to 4.

I really enjoyed this book and the basic premise behind the story. Sometimes we can all be so quick to throw things away and replace them with newer, shiner objects. But the memories and emotions that objects spark is so powerful and this book perfectly depicts how objects can make you feel and remember things from long ago.

Imagine being able to hold an object and feel the emotions left behind by its previous owner. That is what it is like for Ev and Harriet. Ev has always felt this ability was a curse. It could destroy lives. As a result, she prefers to live without many belongings around her, moves frequently, and when searching for items to sell at Vancouver's Chinatown market, she will only sell items that give off positive or neutral emotions, not wanting to out any more negativity out there than already exists. She knows all too well what that negativity can do and how much it can hurt. While Ev is still at the beginning of her life, Harriet is at the end. She too can feel the emotions of the objects she collects, but instead of letting go, she holds onto them. Her apartment is full, her neighbors getting sick from the overabundance of emotions leaking from Harriet's home.

When Harriet meets Ev, she knows the time has come to see her dream realized. Although reluctant, Ev agrees to help, desperate for money, and hoping Harriet might help her learn to control her ability better. The two women set out to create a museum of memory, one in which visitors will find their emotional wounds healed. When Ev's sister enters the picture, the fragile balance the two women have found begins to shift and they are all forced to face the past as old secrets come back to haunt them.

While not a fast-paced read, more the type of book a reader will want to take their time to read and savor, I did find it hard to put down once I got into it. Both Ev and Harriet are clearly in pain, lonely souls, trying to survive in a world that often overwhelms them. Ev has a lot of edges and given her past, it is understandable. She and her sister grew up in foster care and because of her gift, Ev does not like to get close to anyone. Harriet has her own secrets she's kept buried and at the same time is very needy. It makes the two women's relationship contentious at times. While I never fully connected with either Ev or Harriet, I still felt for and rooted for them. My favorite character of all was Owen. I liked him instantly and continued to throughout the novel. He and Ev had built a sort of friendship since they were both scavengers. He is also an artist and I love that Harriet took him in to help with her project. He seems to bring a balance between Ev and Harriet.

The Memory Collectors was not quite the book I expected it to be. The relationships between the characters play an important part, of course, but there is also mystery that I had not expected--at least not as it played out. Both Ev and Harriet need each other to help the other learn how to come to terms with and control their abilities. As Ev had learned as a child, the gift could be a dangerous thing.

I liked the concept behind Ev and Harriet's ability to sense emotion of objects. It plays nicely into Marie Kondo's notion of throwing out items that don't bring a person joy on the surface of it. I couldn't help but think of my mom's last visit when we were talking about downsizing and what my brother and I might like to have of hers. We talked about how those items that hold memories are the most valuable to us. And memories are closely wrapped in feeling. After finishing The Memory Collectors, I found myself holding certain items I picked up a little longer just to see if I could pick up any feelings from them.

This debut novel pleasantly surprised me. I found it original and spell binding - full of family drama, emotional burdens, and extraordinary secrets. The premise that objects are imprinted with the emotions of their owners is thought provoking. In the novels magical realism, it intrigues one to experience the immense power of emotions. That objects have an emotion or vibe attached to them and that it shares its emotional history, be it bad or good, with the next owner - and that objects with bad histories can emotionally, mentally, and physically affect people is troubling and quite horrifying. We discover that past memories can be extremely destructive. It is emotionally intense and captivating. It is also haunting as it escalates us into mental darkness. The character development is excellent. You can feel the intensity of each character as they strive to persevere in their daily lives and stumble to rectify their tragic pasts. They are an eclectic bunch to be sure! Neville creates vivid scenes with fantastic narrative. She presents us with the strange mixture of darkness and whimsy. Kim Neville is an author to follow!

I found this book to be intensely original and loved the premise of memory collecting. I found the concept of items having an identity or feel of sorts to be so original and compelling. In this book, Evelyn is working on the streets with these types of items until she loses her job in an interaction with one of the customers. She happens to meet another woman named Harriet that has the same gift and wants to use this gift to build a place that people can go to enchant the senses and to find good feelings. There are so many different parallels in this book in Evelyn's past. She has an estranged and difficult relationship with her sister, has lost her parents to evil, and she cannot make sense of why Harriet is keeping secrets. I will definitely be recommending this book to others. I felt that it had a lot of depth and exhibited a lot of talent. I would like to read more from this author in the future Thanks for the ARC, NetGalley

I requested from NetGalley because this book was compared to The Scent Keeper.

This is a debut book about a woman that can feel emotions through things and sells those things with good feelings. She comes in contact with another woman like her that holds onto everything, even those with evil feelings. She holds so many that people around her are getting sick.

I really liked the style of the writing, but I think that I have read so many books like this one that I'm over stimulated. I would recommend this story to anyone that likes magical realism.

2.5 stars, rounded upward.

I was truly excited to read this book; perhaps too much so. It’s not a bad novel, but not the crowning wonder that I was expecting. My thanks go to Atria Books and Net Galley for the invitation to read and review.

Ev lives in poverty, sorting through trash in hope of finding treasures that she can improve upon and sell. As the story unfolds, we are momentarily off-balance, learning about Ev and the setting primarily through context. We learn early on that Ev has a traumatic past—with the particulars doled out in dribs and drabs to create suspense—and that she has an unusual gift, that of feeling the powerful emotions experienced by the item’s former owner. She wears gloves to prevent herself from becoming overwhelmed, particularly by the negative feelings some objects project.

Harriet is an elderly woman with similar gifts, and she’s in search of an heir. When she and Ev collide over contested objects, she wants to hire Ev. Ev resists at first, but is eventually drawn in after carefully negotiating her terms. An important side character is Ev’s long-lost sister, Noemi, who pops back into Ev’s life unexpectedly. Noemi’s role here is to reveal the past events that have scarred her elder sister, as well as to motivate Ev to be successful and build a better life.

At the outset, I am impressed by the writing, and it looks like the hype is deserved, because I am immediately engaged. But as the story moves forward, it becomes slower, then slooower, then slooooower…and I realize that this is one more fantasy novel in which the one original aspect, the “stains” that reveal the character of an object to people like Ev and Harriet, is just about all the author is going to give us. Everything else, from the revelations about the past, to the relationship between the sisters, to the dynamics between the elder and younger sensitive women, to the problem posed by another gifted but malign person, to uh, everything, is sort of lackluster and tedious. The character development is shallow and barely there. I never become comfortably acquainted with the world in which these women exist. It’s as if the author has trotted out this one device—I’m trying hard not to call it a gimmick—and then figures her job is done. There isn’t much else that I haven’t seen done much better by other writers. In the end, I tossed it on the DNF pile.

I read this story digitally, but I alternated it with the audio version, and am inclined to recommend the audio version slightly more to those that plan to read it. Initially I don’t like the way that the reader, Emily Woo Zeller, voices Noemi, using a chirpy, almost shrill voice, but after I have listened for a bit over an hour, I become accustomed to it and grow to regard the character with a fondness I don’t find for the other characters. Instead of perceiving her as shrill, I begin to think, “Oh, it’s okay; that’s just the way Noemi is.” Since I don’t fully believe any of the other characters, I have to give Zeller props for her performance.

This book is for sale now; get it free or cheap if you’re interested, but don’t shell out the full jacket price unless your pockets are deep ones.

While I received a free copy of this e-book from the publisher (via netgalley) all opinions remain my own.

This book was beautiful. Each item that we touch is infused with our memories. In this story Ev can feel the emotions that people leave on objects. She destroys the dangerous ones and sells the harmless ones in a street market.

Then there is Harriet. Harriet has an apartment FULL of what she calls her treasures. She has so much crammed in to her apartment that the emotions of these objects are making the neighbors sick.

When the two meet, Harriet knows that Ev is the only one who can help her make something of her collection.

In my opinion, this book provides a different insight to hoarding behavior. I can see why someone might want to hold on to something that is worthless to the rest of the world, because it holds a COLOR of memory in it. Maybe they are the only ones who can see it, and this makes them want to hold on to things.

This book beautifully brings together Harriet and Ev and makes for the most incredible story. I think this one will become a permanent part of my collection.

An enchanting debut about 2 women that are haunted by secrets but are bound by a shared gift and the power that gift holds over their lives

The Memory Collectors surprised me. Initially slow to start, I thought this book was a quaint story of a woman who can feel the emotion in objects and the quirky bag lady turned witchy mentor with the same gift. While this dynamic is definitely present, The Memory Collectors is a much more nuanced and deeply woven story than I anticipated. This book displays so much of the human experience and of human emotion, and the dynamic between the three main women and their ways of coping with trauma is utterly fascinating. Darker and more haunting than I expected, this book will sit in my brain for a long while. Also had the pleasure of getting to hear from Kim Neville herself when she graciously attended our book club meeting and I am eager to read whatever she writes next!

CWs: death of a parent, murder, obsession/possession, childhood trauma, blood, toxic family dynamics

The Memory Collectors Author, Kim Neville
Pub date: March 16, 2021
Eve deeply fees the emotions that people leave behind on objects. This gift passed on from her father, she believes is a curse, one that must be controlled as “the stains” that others leave behind have the potential to create positive emotions just as easily as the negative emotions, which can cause physical harm. The harmless objects she sells in order to survive and because of this intense ability, she is unable to touch or interact with many. Ev’s family was destroyed because of a stain that was left behind in an object and she is constantly trying to prevent history from repeating itself, as well as how to control her unwanted ability. The inconsistent and unpredictable relationship that she has with her sister Naomi is based on trauma and secrets and adds an interesting and suspenseful role in Neville’s story.
Ev meets a few people along her path of discovery: Owen, a kind, compassionate man who cares and looks out for Ev, and Harriet with whom she surprisingly shares her gift. Harriet hoards thousands of these treasures that carry stains, so much so, that it’s making her neighbors sick. Once Harriet discovers that Ev also has the same ability as she does, if not stronger, Harriet asks Ev for help to build a museum of objects that can heal the emotional wounds that many people unconsciously carry.
But can they help and teach each other how to cope with the negative stains that so many objects hold? And can they overcome their past trauma and secrets that haunt their souls? Can they learn how to trust and forgive themselves in order to heal?
Neville’s uniquely written debut novel was so beautifully and magically written that I found myself able to feel the emotions of these strong characters. Her descriptive writing was thought provoking, suspenseful, and unforgettable. A story about memories- how they help and how they heal us- empathy and forgiveness.
I wonder if there maybe a sequel... if there is, I can't wait!
Thank you @netgalley and @atriabooks @simonandschuster for the e-ARC of this book in exchange for my honest review. I loved it so much, I bought myself a copy!

Thanks to Netgalley and atria for an electronic ARC of this title.
I was intrigued by the description of this book, even though i am not generally a fan of magical realism. I love the idea that people can leave behind some of themselves on objects, and we who are left can then pick up on those feelings. The plot was a little slow and there were some heavy parts, but overall a good, unusual tale.

This is a wonderful debut fiction and a intriguing read that kept me engaged until the last page. Thank you to the publisher and to Net Galley for the opportunity.

This is the story of Ev who has a empathetic sixth sense of sensing and knowing the past of objects. Every object she touches she knows its history and its secrets. This proves difficult for her and her family as many objects have evil attached to them. She makes a living by selling objects at a Chinatown market.

Harriet is a hoarder who has thousands of items in her house and the objects are soon making her neighbors sick as the emotions and their evil are seeping through the walls.. Harriet meets Ev and ask for her help with her hoarding objects. Soon they are both on a dark path and the evil inside the objects is not just making them ill but may destroy both of them.

Brilliantly written with great charcters and intrigue to keep you reading into the night. I cannot wait for this author's next book ! Very well done to the author.

Evelyn is a young woman with a mysterious ability--when she handles an object, she can feel the emotions that previous possessors of the object had when using it. For example, she can feel contentment and love in a wooden spoon, or joy in a kite, or destruction in a pair of scissors. When she holds the object, she sees the memories of what happened to it. She has an extreme sensitivity, but she recognizes that most people are unaware that they themselves are also responding to the emotions radiating from the object.

She feels that objects that spark strong emotions, especially negative emotions, should be destroyed. When the story opens, she's surviving by selling a few of the more harmless or positive items she finds (in dumpsters, alleyways, garage sales) at the Chinatown Night Market in Vancouver.

We soon begin to learn Ev's back story. Her father also had this ability, and initially ran an antique shop filled with items that sparked love or happiness. However, he ended up letting objects control him rather than the other way around. Ev and her younger sister, Noemi, were raised in foster care, and now their relationship is fraught.

Then there's Harriet, who seems to know more about Ev than she's saying. Harriet is a hoarder; she senses that objects hold memories, but lacks the depth of Ev's sensitivity. Her apartment is crammed so full of her "treasures" that the emotions seeping out through the walls are making her neighbors sick. She tries to convince Ev to help her set up a museum of positivity, a place that people would come and sense only joy, love, and peace. Ev isn't sure she trusts Harriet though, and she's skeptical of the plan. Then Noemi turns up again, and Ev needs to concentrate on her sister and her issues.

The Memory Collectors is magical realism, and it pulls you into its spell. Ev is a worrier, still trying to take care of Noemi, unsure whom she can really trust. Noemi is a free spirit trying to find her way. Harriet comes to care about the girls, but she is a hoarder at heart and loves her treasures more. An enjoyable read with a good story.

This is one of those book that I wanted to love. The premise sounds intriguing to me. I tried to get in to this story. I believe this is a case that it is all me and not the book so I am not giving this book a rating because I feel that would be unfair to the author and other readers. I occasionally enjoy fantasy works but this was one that I just couldn't wrap my mind around.

I received an ARC of this book. All thoughts & opinions are my own.

Thank you to Netgalley & Kim Neville for my copy of The Memory Collectors, for an honest review. What if objects had feeling and you could feel those feelings? Seems like it might be cool but for Ev, this ability is completely overwhelming. She has to beware of certain items for fear they will bring her down. She sells, some of these items, with little to know feelings to make a meager living. One person with this ability is strange but when Ev meets Harriet, their worlds collide and items have to go. Harriet has become a hoarder. Her way of keeping the items at bay. Now though, the house she hides them in, is an eyesore and the neighbors have had it. With each other’s help they work to get rid of some of the items. They both are crippled by them though. They have a helper, who can take over when need be but he isn’t a miracle worker. This story is so well written. I loved the development of each woman. Their characters are so interesting. Their interactions together are excellent and the when Ev’s sister comes, things really become interesting. I really enjoyed reading this story. It is such a different type of story and the author had me guessing at every corner. The twists and turns were perfectly placed. I loved being surprised by the characters and their part in the stories. This was a four star read for me. I am so glad I got to read this story. Even now I keep thinking about it. I have recommended it to everyone. I have shared this on my Instagram page & reviewed it on multiple sites.

I appreciated that this was a muli-pov story. I found the overall story to be much more interesting seen through both characters’ eyes. The pacing could be slow at times, but overall I thought this was a beautiful debut. I can't wait to see what else this author comes out with!