3.75 Stars
One Liner: Effective in some ways.
Jenny is living at an elder care center and has just celebrated her 100th birthday. As her favorite caretaker Candice takes out an old wooden box from the drawers, Jenny feels the memories rushing in. She knows there’s something she needs to do, and that involves traveling to Italy.
Being a child of delicate health, it took persistence and grit for Jenny to outlive many others. She hopes for an additional couple of months to lay the past to rest. Jenny asks Candice to accompany her to Italy. It’s for physical support as well as to help Candice see the truth of her relationship with a douche bag manipulative jerk of a boyfriend Beau (eww!).
How will the trip to a place full of past events and memories help both women come to terms with their lives? Can Jenny find her peace? Can Candice force herself to see the truth she so desperately wants to ignore?
The Memory Box has a dual time is as smooth as butter. The story weaves in and out between the 1940s and 2019. The first-person narration by Jenny and the third-person narrative to show Candice’s life seamlessly blend across the chapters.
Can’t tell you how many times I wanted to shake Candice to make her see what everyone around her saw. There were enough red flags to supply for a global red-themed party, and still have some left to spare.
The book starts slow and picks up a little pace as the story moves ahead. The focus isn’t much on the setting but rather the thoughts of the characters. Jenny feels real with her strengths, flaws, and uncertainties. Candice, well, there are girls like her. I think the author drove her point straight in about toxic relationships using Candice and Beau.
The actual story takes place after 65-70% of the book. Things crucial to the book enter the picture and bring the threads together. I guessed all the twists except for one, and I must admit I’m not fully convinced about it. It works more as a plot device, IMO. Also, a couple of things were a tad too convenient. I do like happy endings, so I’m not complaining as such.
While Jenny’s arc was pretty much stable, Candice’s arc seemed confusing in the second half. I was pretty much fed up with her by then, or it would’ve annoyed me more. That girl could do with some solid dumping of sense into her brain.
The reason the book still has it rounded off to 4 stars is the portrayal of toxic love and gaslighting in relationships. It irked me to no end to see Candice make excuses and deny the truth, and that I would say is the biggest achievement. That part is very realistic.
To sum up, The Memory Box is not a must-read historical, but it has some valuable relationship lessons that can start a discussion.
Thank you, NetGalley, Mobius Books, and Headline Review, for the ARC in exchange for an honest review. All opinions expressed are my own.

What a beautiful, heartwarming read!
Very intriguing storyline!
The Memory Box drew me in slowly and wouldn’t let me go!
Told in a duel timeline of the 1940’s and 2019, The Memory Box is a very emotional read.
Jenny is the main character and what a character she is…..at age 100 she decides she needs to go back to Italy to revisit her past. I have to say for a 100 year old woman, Jenny certainly was in good health and shape!
All the characters were very well developed and engaging in their own special ways.
Lots of twists and turns I never saw coming.
Lovely historical fiction book…
I am looking forward to reading more books written by author Kathryn Hughes.
Many thanks to NetGalley, the publisher and author for the opportunity to read this book for my honest opinion. All opinions expressed are my own.

Is this a re-issued book? It sure seems like I've read it before - the plot, the characters, the "surprise" at the end. It all seems too familiar not to have been written before.

It's a dual timeline - Jenny is turning 100 and decides to go back to Italy for the 75 anniversary of "the incident". and current day Candice is working her way through beauty school while working at the retirement home where Jenny lives. They strike up a friendship and Jenny asks Candice to travel to Italy with her. Candice says yes, and is avoiding her horribly abusive boyfriend, who turns out to be a liar as well.

Like I mentioned earlier, it's almost like I've ready this story before - I knew what was going to happen, including Beau's trip to Italy, etc. It just wasn't very intriguing.

Thank you to NetGalley, the author and publisher for a temporary, digital ARC in return for my review.

Jennifer (Jenny) Tanner has just celebrated her 100th birthday. Despite her physical limitations due to childhood polio coupled with her advanced age, her mind is clear and her memory is sharp. She is determined to travel from her care home in England to attend a commemoration in the small Italian town of Cinque Alberi. To accomplish her goal, she enlists the help of Candice, a young caretaker with aspirations of becoming a beautician with her own salon.

The story is told primarily from Jenny’s perspective and tracks her life from age 18 to the present (2019). The backdrop of World War II provides the impetus behind many of the events in her life. She and her much younger brother are sent by their widowed mother to the countryside of Wales to ensure their safety as the Germans bomb London. Here Jenny must make a life-altering choice between the love of her life and her commitment to her family. Over the course of the war, Jenny is challenged by a myriad of losses and regrets. Now she feels compelled to put unfinished business to rest by confronting her past acts before it is too late. The story moves seamlessly back and forth between the war years and Jenny’s current preparations and subsequent trip. Throughout the story Jenny reveals the significance of keepsakes from her life that she has stored in a beautifully hand-crafted, wooden box.

Simultaneously a second love story is explored through the relationship between Candice and her boyfriend, Beau. While this thread is a bit clichéd – the immature, controlling man-child whose needs and art dominate the relationship and the innocent, insecure, heart-of-gold woman who loves him – it is an integral part of the story. It was gratifying to observe Candice coming out of denial and gaining a sense of her self-worth with Jenny’s support.

I enjoyed the character development of Jenny and Candice. The sweet relationship between a centenarian and a twenty-something young woman rang true. While the pace occasionally slowed, the conclusion provided several plot twists that I never saw coming, which made the book all the more enjoyable. I strongly recommend this book for those who enjoy historical fiction with a WWII theme.

My thanks to the author, the publisher, and NetGalley for the privilege of reviewing this book. The opinions expressed in this review are completely my own.

This review is being posted immediately to my GoodReads account and Amazon.

Omg what a tear jerker This definitely pulled at my heart strings solid 10 stars in my book. What a beautiful Storyline

I normally enjoy historical fiction with dual timelines. But between the obnoxious characters and slow story line, this book failed to hold my interest. Thanks to author Kathryn Hughes, Mobius Books, and NetGalley for providing a copy of this book for an honest review.