I was offered the opportunity to read The Memory Collectors by Kim Neville and happily dove in as it had been awhile since I immersed myself into a work of fiction and was intrigued by the description. What attracted me most about this book was the idea that inanimate objects possess memories that can be felt by people with "gifts" when held, Objects are energy after all, so why wouldn't one feel the energy attached?
In full disclosure, I have often found myself wandering flea markets browsing for treasures and picked up objects for viewing only to put them back down quickly as they felt "dark". I have not had visions of the memories like the characters in Neville's story but definitely felt whether something had good vibes or not. With jewelry, I have felt some level of either joy or sadness based on certain antique or vintage pieces I was wearing at the time.
I was easily able to connect with the characters in this story and looked forward to learning more of their pasts and how they came into their wild gifts (or are they actually burdens?). I appreciated how one character refers to these memories as stains while the other see memories as bright objects. I looked forward to seeing where the story would take them and what truths lie behind the complex relationships they lived and carried out. I found myself going back into this book to answer questions. Will childhood traumas be healed? Will relationships develop or fall apart?
This book returned to my mind often after reading it, especially when handling an object and wondering what emotions might be attached. There are stories everywhere outside of ones' own life and it can be fun to look for them. Many thanks to Netgalley and Atria Publishing for the opportunity to read and review this ARC. I thoroughly enjoyed it!

Thanks NetGalley for the early access to this book. Unfortunately, I had a hard time connecting to the characters and what was happening. I had high hopes from the initial reading of the description, but just couldn't find enough interest to keep me pulled into the story. The fun things about books is that they speak to everyone differently. I'm sure this book will find it's desired audience.

I was not able to finish this book because I just did not find the characters to be especially compelling. I am a huge fan of magical realism, but, this book just missed the mark for me.

I enjoyed this book way more than I thought I would, and I’m so glad that I read it!

Ev possesses the unique gift of feeling emotions people have left behind on objects—both the good and the bad. But at times it feels like more a burden to her, and because of this, she has led a somewhat closed-off life. When she crosses paths with Harriet, a woman who hoards items that are stained with emotions, she is reluctant to work with her. She has witnessed firsthand how objects with dark emotions can destroy lives. But can Ev and Harriet work together to control their gift and prevent the same devastating events from happening again?

This was a really creative story, and I loved getting to know these characters’ and digging into their pasts. Ev and Harriet were fantastic, and I loved how much they grew from the beginning of the story to the end. Wonderful read and I highly recommend it!

https://www.goodreads.com/review/show/3751176827

I received this book "The Memory Collectors" from NetGalley and all opinions expressed are my own. I find the idea of this book interesting but... I feel the book was just not for me. I had a hard time in the beginning with the characters and connecting to them. This was not a book that I looked forward to read each day, in fact it sort of dragged out for me until the end.

This was an incredibly interesting read. Most people can relate to the idea of objects that call up a specific feeling or emotion. Memory Collectors takes this to the next level, exploring a world where certain individuals can sense the connection with objects.

This book blends aspects of mystery, thriller, and romance into a unique and thought provoking read!

The Memory Collectors by Kim Neville is a book about betrayal, trauma, and healing. As an HSP (highly sensitive person) the premise of this book resonated with me so much. Our main characters, Ev and Harriet, can both sense the feelings and emotions left on everyday items from previous owners. Guilt, shame, happiness, lust, anger, love, you name it and they’ve felt it. Each character has used their gift in very different ways - Ev collects “stained” items to sell where Harriet finds “bright” items to collect - even in the way they name the objects shows how they feel towards them. Ev, due to childhood trauma, sees these items as dangerous where Harriet feels that they have life and should be preserved.
When their paths cross, tensions run high as neither can understand the other and the way they view the gifts they have and how each uses them. But together they grow, not quite what i’d call a friendship, but a fondness and understanding of one another as they come together to create a museum of objects curated to bring people joy.
While the book has notes of magical realism, it isn’t what (for me) drove the story. I was invested in both of these characters pasts and the paths they took to heal, and how these very different people could help one another along in the process. Neville’s writing was beautiful and well paced creating a well crafted novel.
A huge thank you to Netgalley and Atria Books for this arc!

The Memory Collectors is the debut novel by author Kim Neville. I consider the genre of this story to be magical realism. Since I haven’t read much in this genre, it took me a little bit to get in to the story but once I did, I really enjoyed it. The book centers around 4 main characters. Two of which are sisters, Evelyn and Noemi, a man called Owen and an elderly lady named Harriet. While reading you learn that some of the characters have very special abilities. Some stronger than others but still they are all very unique people. It seems that they have the ability to feel emotions from inanimate objects. Because of this, I think Harriet became a hoarder of sorts. She just didn’t want to part with anything. I could relate to this in a sense because I too have a lot of stuff that I can’t seem to part with because of sentimental reasons. There’s actually a very good backstory about the sisters past that makes the book a very interesting read. If magical realism is a genre you enjoy, then you need to read this book! I know I found it to be very interesting and entertaining. I’d like to thank Atria Books and NetGalley for the arc to read and review. I’m giving this a 4 star rating.

Ever look at an object in your mom's china cabinet, or while setting up your Christmas tree that brings back a memory, a time when was special, a time when life was better. Objects can even conjure up bad memories, ones that make you fear and know that life sometimes for you had a darker side.

The ladies we met in this book, Ev and Harriet have the ability to hold any object and feel the emotions left by owners of the object. Ev is young, frightened of her amazing ability while Harriet, an older woman, hoards objects making her neighbors afraid of her turning the building into at the very least a fire trap. The ladies meet and form a bond believing they can help one another.

However, there are dark forces afoot and this force threatens them as they wonder if they can control the power that has come to them and others.

Definitely recommend for those who enjoy a fantasy type book wrapped in mystery.

Thanks you to Kim Neville, Atria Books, and Netgalley for a copy of this book due out march 30, 2021.

This was a very unique story and requires some imagination. Magic, suspense, and raw emotions, are only a few of the elements that the author weaves together. This was a very good debut and I look forward to reading more of the authors work.
Many thanks to Atria and to NetGalley for providing me with a galley in exchange for my honest opinion.

I loved the premise of this book but I just didn't connect with it enough to love it.

I find the whole idea of connecting to objects and past history being able to be felt through them so interesting. Sometimes you just get a feeling or feel a connection with an object. This book takes that feeling and puts it into a story.

I love books with magical realism and this one did not disappoint. Beautiful writing kept me turning the pages and feelings so many different feelings for Ev. I liked her so much and worried about her and cheered her on. This is a book that stays with you long after you finish.

Magical realism is my favorite genre and it’s not one I found a lot of books in either. I was very excited about this book. But magical realism can go one of two ways, the magic could be a good thing or a bad thing. In this story, the magic aspect is a rough one for the characters to deal with. I think the author really made you feel the emotions too.
Lots of emotions in this book too because the characters literally feel emotions on inanimate objects.

Ev is young and on her own. She barely gets by. She makes a little money selling objects at a flea market. She has a kind man in her life named Owen, he is neither a love interest or a family member. He just tries to protect her. Ev feels the emotional “stain” left on objects. It scares her because of what happened to the only other person she knew with her special talent.

Harriet also has this talent. She considers it a good thing. She tries to collect objects with “stains” or “brightness” as she sees it. But it’s not entirely good for her either. She is somewhat consumed by it. She’s overflowing with objects.

When Ev and Harriett meet, they recognize that they share this talent. They feel like they might be able to help each other. Ev has a lot of terrible hurt in her life that was caused by this skill, not by her, and she’s afraid to embrace it.

Ev’s younger sister Noemi arrives and throws everything into a tailspin. She doesn’t trust Ev’s version of what happened when they were kids.

I think the author created a magical realism story that really came to life. I felt like I could feel the hurt of the characters too. Sometimes that was a lot to take though. I’ll be honest and say that I am absolutely partial to a happy magical realism and there was a lot of sad here. It was heavy and I do feel like the ending came around suddenly. I didn’t care much for Noemi, I didn’t trust her and I felt bad about how she treated her sister.

There was closure at the end of the story but I wouldn’t be surprised if there were a sequel.

I enjoyed this story but I think it’s good to know in advance that it’s heavy rather than light. There’s nothing wrong with that but it’s good to know what type of story to expect.

I got to read an early ebook edition from NetGalley, thanks!

A novel about a serious empath, Ev has the extraordinary ability to feel people’s emotional states through their objects. The space that these charged objects occupy feel dangerous to Ev, who wants to get rid of the most emotionally charged items. The rest she sells at a market. But her abilities are tested when she meets Harriet, a hoarder of all things. Can their connection make room for a curated museum of objects that helps people heal? This is an original and emotional read with tinges of magical realism. It’s about memory and representations of memory and the ways in which we all use “things” as surrogates for our own memories and emotions. Thank you so Atria Books and Netgalley for the advanced review copy.

Start at 5:
+1 beautiful cover and premise
+1 characterization of Evelyn
+1 overall plot
-1 the ending
-1 characterization of Harriet

I absolutely loved the cover of this book which made me look at the premise. Magical fantasy books are not always my go-to kind of read but I am starting to enjoy these now. Evelyn is the more likeable of the main characters in my opinion than Harrier. Evelyn can feel the emotions in objects and it can be an overwhelming gift. Harriet is pretty much a hoarder of objects because she cannot part with pieces she finds, buys, or collects. Ev and Harriet meet by chance and plan to build a museum together for these precious objects.....

I enjoyed this book overall but some of the execution/storyline was not top notch for me and the ending was confusing, which is not good. Nothing was really resolved. I still do recommend this and would read another book by Kim Neville in the future. A great debut novel.

Thanks to Netgalley, Kim Neville and Atria Books for an ARC in exchange for an honest review.

Available: 3/16/21

I loved this book until about 80% of the way through. It started to fall apart at the end, with no clear resolution or conflict that I could understand. The main characters, Evelyn and Harriet needed more time together and Harriet needed to be fleshed out more midway through bc although a lot of time was spent with her it didn't really articulate why she was so haunted or how the objects made her existence. That doesn't mean I won't look back on this book fondly, because overall I did enjoy it. I actually wanted it to be longer! Or a series. Maybe that would help with the abrupt ending.

I know this is a serious niche, but I LOVE books about people who can feel energy or emotion from inanimate objects. Can you believe they are a bit hard to to find? :) But that's exactly what this book is about and I am so pleased to have read it.

In this book the author includes the highs and very lows of this gift. The book has some quite dark subject matter and it is conveyed with such beautiful heartache I think you would be hard pressed to not feel it yourself. And the ending. I just loved it. I could see Harriet's final scene like it was happening in front of me and I will think of her as I come across lost treasures. But maybe most appealing to me was the story of strangers becoming family. That is one of my favorite tropes.

If you like magical realism and stories with deep emotion you will most likely enjoy this book as much as I did.

This book seemed to have a little bit of magic, some dark family secrets with nearly every character, and a lot of unexpected twists and turns. I really enjoyed getting to know Ev and her family's story. Ev realizes she is not alone in her ability to feel the emotions of objects when she and a friend come upon Harriett who has hoarded such objects. This story is about these two unique women, their abilities, and a project that brings them together. Weaved throughout are stories of love, friendship, family, heartache, and more!

The premise of this book sounded really interesting. I found it a bit confusing, the characters not very likeable.
It just didn’t grab my attention. I’m sure they’re some who will enjoy this book
Thanks to the publisher and Netgalley for the early copy

This debut novel is beautiful and has a lot going for it! Part magical mystery, part human emotions. Evelyn or Ev can sense things from inanimate objects, including books. Ev was such a great character, she had a lot of depth grew so much throughout this story.
While at first this seems like this would be a wonderful skill, we soon found out that it is not necessarily the case. Not all emotions are sweet and light, many are dark and troublesome. Which is very true because life isn't always sweet and light and everyone leaves items behind in different settings.
Ev soon meets Harriet, another collector, a memory keeper, who tries to help Evelyn with her knowledge.. The friendships formed and then broken along the way made this all the more interesting. I felt that the second half of the book was a bit rushed but I still liked it and it was a really interesting read.

Thank you to NetGalley and the Publisher for this ARC!