Member Reviews
I loved the overall concept of this book, the world, the futuristic setting and the plot. I would have loved 30-40 extra pages in the middle of this to develop more of the high stakes plot line and to include more time with Colette and to let the romance evolve naturally. I think the age of the characters was a little too ambiguous, we are told Adelaide is 18/19 years old but this read like a YA novel. For the most part I loved this story, and look forward to reading more from Michelle Brown. Releases 8th October 2022, thank you to Lost Island Press for the e-arc!
I have decided that I do not wish to read and give feedback on this title, as I do not agree with some things the author has posted on social media.
Everyone is entitled to their opinions, but to write a book about a seemingly strong female character but then not agree that all women in real life deserve body autonomy, is disappointing. Again, the author can have her beliefs and opinions, and mine just don't align with her on this one. And I don't want to give support on something I don't align with.
Thank you, NetGalley and Lost Island Press, for providing me with a digital arc of this book in exchange for my honest review.
The Memory Jumper is a retelling of Rapunzel with a sci-fi Blade Runner-esque backdrop. Adelaide lives underground with her abusive caretaker Fawn who takes advantage of Adelaide’s gifts to make a profit.
The writing had a good flow to it, but I did not have as much excitement following the story because the characterizations fell a little flat. I will continue to look for other titles this author produces in the future!
This speculative novel, playing around with the rapunzel tale has some great ideas. The world and main setup are very intriguing and I really wanted to like it, but I found the execution a little lacking. The characters felt a little flat to me and there was not much of a sense of voice. The reasoning of the characters and their emotions just didn't quite add up right. I think the novel needed a little more work before publication.
This was a great science fiction novel. I had not read anything quite like it before, and this is always special to me
Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for access to this book in exchange for an honest review. I thought the premise of this book held a lot of promise. Unfortunately, the execution left much to be desired. The characters to me felt under-explored and one dimensional, even though there was room for nuance. The world building was great in concept but was not developed so as to make the futuristic world feel developed and thoughtfully planned out. The language used, although perhaps this has more to do with the character and her lack of experience of the world, felt overly simplistic at times. I do however think that this author has a lot of potential, and would be open to reading more from them in the future.
Thought the cover looked cool and figured I’d check it out. Then I read the summary and I was really interested. A person who could enter memories? I’m in. Book starts off pretty slow and doesn’t ever really feel action packed. For me the issue was an MC with cool powers but an underwhelming personality. The book spends a good deal of time watching as the MC, Adelaide, performs mundane tasks. She also doesn’t real have much of a want. Everyone else around her has wants but her not so much. So it’s side characters that move the book along instead of Adelaide. It feels like she’s dragged along for the ride. I kept waiting for the excitement but it never seems to come. It’s more of a slow paced book. This book wasn’t for me but I would still encourage others to check it out.
Thanks to NetGalley and the Publisher for the ARC.
I recieved this book as an arc and I‘m thankful that I got the opportunity to read this one before its release. It‘s a beautiful story with some fantasy, some romance and self-discovery. The story itself is good but lacks a little depth, it felt rushed at some points but overall it‘s still a good book. I enjoyed it, it was a quick and easy read and perfect for a palette cleanser.
I enjoyed this book and the theme. I always loved the fairy tale Rapunzel and this was a nice version of the tale. While the author did a wonderful job with the main characters plight and angst. There was something missing. I'm not sure if it was the relationship between the main character and their prison keeper or between the boy and main character. As you read there seems to be something missing. Overall, it was a very good story and my only complaint is that the author would of added more futuristic/scientific elements to the story.
This was just alright but from the title I expected a more exciting, fast-paced read. If you enjoy slow burners this will probably be more your thing. It seems age appropriate
From the title itself, Memory jumpers, you'll have an idea what it means. Special ability to jump into one's mind and alter it. Adelaide who lives hidden because of fear of what she can do, until she met Mason, a twist in the story enfolds.
The whole plot story is easy to follow, nothing extra ordinary. There were several points made throughout the chapters that author incorporated. Overall, an ok read for me.
Thank you Netgalley & Independent Book Publishers for the ARC.
3.4/5 stars
A modern Rapunzel retelling with a twist.
The story was intriguing and unique. It was an easy read for me with a Disney movie feel. Same old damsel in distress theme. The characters' backstories are not fully detailed. The world-building is underdeveloped.
The story follows Adelaide, an eighteen-year-old memory jumper, kept in an underground safe house due to her forbidden ability. Fawn, her guardian, sells Adelaide's talent to people who want to forget, create or preserve memories.
The memory jumping was the highlight of the story which I found appealing. As revelations unfold, I find the climax of the story underwhelming. The book has a lot of potentials and will surely appeal to younger audiences.
My thanks to the author, the publisher, and Netgalley for allowing me to read and review a copy of this book. All thoughts and opinions are my own.
This book was very kindly given to me via Net Galley. Thank you! It’s about a girl called Adelaide and she is a memory jumper. They are seen as a threat due to their skills, as they can change and erase memories of anyone. Therefore Adelaide is taken care of by her guardian and kept hidden from day to day society.
You follow Adelaide’s story and learn more about how she is treated and if there is any possibility of finding a way out of her situation, creating a new life that holds potential for her to find more happiness.
I liked this book and found the writing to be easy to read. I was intrigued with the storyline of her being a memory jumper, but I found myself not connecting fully with the characters. When I delve deeper, I think it’s my frustration with how Adelaide doesn’t know any different and isn’t searching for more and her guardian not treating her as nicely as she deserves. So that could say something more about me, rather than the characters, as I’m wanting to see her inertia creating her to rebel fearlessly throughout and seeing that tension building from the start of the book. Therefore, I can see why Adelaide’s character is written the way it is, as she doesn’t know any different. When you’ve built trust with someone who’s taken care of you throughout your childhood, it can take time to see whether their actions have been sincere or not.
Thanks to NetGalley for a copy of this ARC.
I want to start by saying wow-za. I went into this book totally unaware; just picked it out of a small selection available to me. I don't have a huge social media draw so that often limits my ARC choices. This was available and sounded intriguing. And the cover drew me in. I haven't had good luck with ARCs, but this was amazing. I went through this book in a week (while I was working 70 hrs).
I'm very glad I did not read the reviews prior. The average is 3.65 (on Goodreads) at the time I am writing this. And overall - very underrated. Halfway through the book I sneaked a peak at the reviews - -was entirely surprised at how low they are. Also, I did not make the Rapunzel connection until it was pointed out. And while there are many similarities...this book is so vastly different it does not seem like a retelling/reinvention. The ending is different, the side characters change, and the author creates a unique world. With a unique feature/power of memory jumping...I sort of want more memory jumpers. I want another book - a sequel, a spinoff. Amanda Michelle Brown - give me more - another book with more information about this world.
The book summary is good; if it gave you more info, it would give away some of what draws you into the book. If you're on the fence try it - just grab it. If you're a teacher, this would be a great middle grade read.
As a side - I generally dislike retelling or reinventions of fairytales (ie: Disney's Twisted Tale retellings that seem to be very popular). So if you love the Twisted Tales this may or may not be your cup of tea. But if you love unique worlds with unique magic - you'll down this easily and quickly for a read.
The concept was fascinating, I revelled in the fact that it seemed like a Tangled retelling (Disney fan, always)
The ‘memory jumper’ concept (although initially kind of cliché for me) grew on me as Adelaide’s journey progressed. Her life in hiding really managed to hit deep as it reminded me of my dark time during the lockdown in 2020 so I was invested in that part of the story
However, despite this great sense of camaraderie I had with Adelaide, I had difficulty relating with the rest of the characters. I think this book would be great for preteens considering the pacing and themes
I think this book just didn’t ’click’ with me as much as I hoped for upon receiving an arc - however I do have to say Fawn’s character truly depicted an abuser so well. For that alone I would recommend this book despite the other characters being one dimensional
I liked the concept of memory jumping and the fairy tale elements more than I liked the execution. Usually I’m a sucker for fairy tale remixes but this one didn’t quite hook me the way I wanted it to. Overall a decent first effort and I’m not sad I read it and I will likely give any other books this author writes a chance because there were lots of cool ideas in here.
This book was unexpected and so incredible. The characters felt so real and visceral, the dual perspective was a surprise but a very great one!
This was a book that I started yesterday and I actually couldn’t put down till i finished, the only reason I wont go full 5 stars was that I felt that the ending was a bit rushed, but then again maybe that was a way how the violence was going about in the end, but I did like how it come together for the ending…
This takes an approach to the rampuzel fairy tale, you have Adelaide, who is locked in a kind of bunker house with no means of getting out alone, and you have the “evil witch” fawn, who will make Adelaide do anything for money, and while is Adelaide work that supports their way of living she doesn’t get one thanks from fawn…. Actually after the Johnny deep vs Amber heard lawsuit, and watching the whole trial, I guess I was comparing many of the situations on this book to the audio files from the trial… yeah Domestic violence is not OK, and this book shows us how easy it is for the victim not realize that they truly are the victims and keep protecting the aggressor, and if you wish to know better what I am talking about I would suggest for you to get this book as soon as it hits the shelf's because you’ll read it as fast as you drink a cold glass of juice in a very hot summer day.
Thank you NetGalley for the free ARC and this is my honest opinion.
Loved this, the concept of being able to memory jump is fascinating. The characters are developed and each is individual. I would like to see a follow on to follow addys journey into freedom. I liked the balance of the story and it was an easy to read story. I like the authors style of writing and found it unique. Overall i read in 2 days and could not find anything i did not like, the story,the plot the characters were all a hit for me. Thankyou.
A twist of a retelling of rapunzel is what hooked me. The whole synopsis was really intriguing! I will say it fell a little flat for me. No characters made me fall in love or keep a caring interest in them they were flat, even the main. The writing, while it makes sense with the story could have been done better. Overall it was a nice story but nothing incredible.