I'm grateful to the publisher and NetGalley for granting me the opportunity to read an advanced copy of this captivating book. From the first page to the last, I was thoroughly engrossed in the story, unable to put it down. The characters were well-developed, the plot was gripping, and the writing was superb. Overall, I immensely enjoyed this book and highly recommend it to fellow readers. Thank you to the publisher and NetGalley for this wonderful reading experience.

I recently had the pleasure of delving into this book, and I am beyond impressed with the mesmerizing world that the author has crafted. From start to finish, the intricate plot weaves a tapestry of suspense, emotion, and unexpected twists that kept me eagerly turning the pages.

One of the standout features of this book is undoubtedly its characters. Each one is meticulously developed, breathing life into the narrative with their unique personalities, motivations, and flaws. The protagonists are not just names on paper; they are relatable, complex individuals with whom readers can form a genuine connection. The antagonist, too, is not a mere foil but a multi-dimensional force that adds depth to the story. The author's ability to create such well-rounded characters is a testament to their storytelling prowess.

The plot unfolds seamlessly, drawing the reader into a richly layered narrative that expertly balances tension, drama, and moments of poignant reflection. The pacing is impeccable, maintaining a perfect rhythm that keeps the reader engaged without sacrificing the depth of the story. The author skillfully navigates through various plot arcs, interweaving them with finesse to create a cohesive and satisfying whole.

What sets this book apart is its ability to tackle profound themes while maintaining an accessible and engaging narrative. The book seamlessly combines suspense and emotional depth, making it a truly immersive experience. The author's prose is both elegant and evocative, painting vivid imagery that lingers in the reader's mind long after the final page is turned.

As I reached the conclusion, I found myself yearning for more from this talented author. Their ability to craft a gripping plot and bring characters to life is truly commendable. I eagerly anticipate future works and would wholeheartedly recommend this book to any reader who appreciates a masterfully told tale. If you're searching for a book that seamlessly blends captivating characters with a compelling plot, this is a shining example. I can't wait to explore more literary worlds crafted by this exceptional storyteller.

Interesting idea, of a world grief is forbidden, but it left me wanted more. I wanted revolution. The story seemed to drag, and the ending fell flat for me.

I love being given the opportunity to update our school library which is a unique space for both senior students and staff to access high quality literature. This is definitely a must-buy. It kept me absolutely gripped from cover to cover and is exactly the kind of read that just flies off the shelves. It has exactly the right combination of credible characters and a compelling plot thatI just could not put down. This is a great read that I couldn't stop thinking about and its twists and turns made for a hugely satisfying read. I'm definitely going to order a copy and think it will immediately become a popular addition to our fiction shelves. 10/10 would absolutely recommend.

*Thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for granting me access to an early copy of this book*

Status: DNF

The writing in this was stale. Not bad, but very vanilla. That added with the fact that it was immediately apparent it was a very run of the mill dystopia combined with a bland lead, I decided to move onto other potentially better things rather than spend more time with something I knew I wasn't enjoying.

This was an interesting premise. As someone who experiences MH problems and works with MH Services i was excited to read this. Parts were gripping and intriguing - a real 1984 dystopian feel.

Some parts were difficult to follow and I got a little bored, but it's something that i think I will go over again at a slower pace to really delve into it.

Overall not a bad story, the pacing felt a bit off at times but the premise was good and it maintained it's early tone the entire way through I look forward to seeing what the author writes in future

I enjoyed what I read of this, but it was archived before I got to finish it… I will be purchasing this so I can find out how it ends!

AHHHHH! I am so thankful to Titan Books, Laura Kat Young, and Netgalley for sending me both a physical and digital copy of The Collector before this baby hit shelves. I'm a slut for horror books and this one absolutely slayed my expectations.

The Collector is set in The Village, somewhere in a future England, where those in power have decided that extended sadness/grief are counter productive to an effective society and so have taken steps to 'mitigate' against it. Dev Singh works for the Bureau and collects the memories of those who are deemed to be 'struck'. Slowly however, we (and he) realise that he himself may be one of those he sees himself as helping. There are some intriguing ideas in here about societal norms, how uncomfortable sadness makes others. The editing could be pacier but I look forward to Kat Young's next book. (Copy received via netgalley in return for an honest review)

I enjoyed some things about The Collector, but the book ultimately failed for me. I enjoyed the opening when we learn that Dev works for the Bureau and collects a single memory from someone who is depressed and considered stuck before they have their memories wiped and reset. This intrigued me. Unfortunately, the overall book went downhill after this. I love dystopian fiction, but the author makes no real attempt to world build, and I got no sense of the dystopian world and the reason for the constant resetting. This seemed to be the only purpose of the Bureau and it got very dull after a while. There are hints that Dev is going to discover something life-altering, but this never happens. This book fell too short for me.

Going into this book, I really wanted to enjoy it - I'm always on the lookout for new dystopian fiction, particularly with a horror angle, and its similarities to Nineteen Eighty-Four also piqued my interest. As we follow Lt. Dev Singh, a Collector who records a single memory from struck (depressed) people before they are reset and their memories wiped, I did enjoy his character and his introspection. For all the disappoint I ultimately felt upon finishing the book, I did enjoy Dev as a character, and it is no mean feat for a writer to develop in a thorough and convincing manner. The writing was mostly fine, sometimes I felt it leaned too much into being overly mechanical, painstakingly describing a character's actions to an unnecessary degree and destroying tension, but my main criticism lies within the setting and plot. I don't think that a dystopian world needs to be described thoroughly, but the extreme focus on resetting and the Bureau often made me confused - is their whole society built around resetting? Why? Are people getting overly depressed due to climate change? Or from an oppressive government? Apart from the Bureau's paranoia around depression, living standards appear to be fairly good, so this didn't make much sense to me. Again, I think it's fine to have a certain world and want to tell a story within that world without explaining its history, governance, and so forth, but the entire structure of the plot seemed to imply that Dev was going to discover something critical that the Bureau was hiding, which ultimately did not happen. Maybe the book was aiming for atmosphere over plot, but the atmosphere it created was fairly bland, so I don't think this was achieved. The ending was abrupt and, I felt, a little contrived. None of the strange observations ended up being explained, apart from the implication that Dev has become struck and then reset multiple times, but I'm afraid that this book ended up feeling like a massive, confusing waste of time.

Fan-bloody-tastic!! Thank you for approving this book for me. The world building was all wrong which made it 100% right. It was implausible but scary because we could so easily find ourselves in a nightmare of our own making. Loved it.

An invitingly fresh take on dystopian horror!

This was quite a wild ride. We follow a character in a world that is determined to erase any and all sadness from the human mind, without relaying the true consequences of this programme.

I was hooked from strart to finish. This book discusses some heavy topics, including grief and I found myself immersed in this eerie world. The story and message itself is thought-provoking: what if we could remove human sadness, in turn removing human emotions? This question is answered through intriguing writing and characters that jumped off the page. I was immersed in this world from start to finish and would highly recommend it!

3.5 - I loveee a good dystopia where you're just thrown in and piece together what's going on as you go. This started out really strong in that regard, and it has a lot of very Black Mirror-y things to say about memory and grief. However, the pacing got really slow in the middle and never quite recovered.

I would read more from this author!

This book actually made me think of 1984 and similar dystopian worlds where people are enclosed with rules so oppressing that even them don’t see it. Dev our main character is a collector, he collects “mandatory” donations for the clock tower, if people start grieving, feel sad etc, and someone denounces them, they’ll in return being processed their feelings erased, a bit like a clean slate… if you stop feeling, will you keep being the same person? Yeah that is something I thought a lot about while reading this book.

I really did enjoy the world of this dystopian story, but I did feel that the eternal return theory (is not a thing but something I felt about the story) could have been more explored, and that being said, I also felt the ending was rushed and left me with a dissatisfied after taste… still it was a solid 4 stars read to me, and will be a book that I will recommend for people to dive in.

Thank you NetGalley and Titan Books, for the free ARC and this is my honest opinion.

A solid dystopian look at the political discourse around mental health and wellness. An interesting and uncomfortable read for anyone who's ever been asked 'Are you thinking of harming yourself or others?'

Young's writing style and world-building felt more YA than Orwellian. But the concept did leave me thinking about our current approaches to wellness. This is an easy read with pretty dark themes. I found it captivating in its first half and wished it had gotten a little more weird in its second. I could have done with less torture and more information about the world Young had created. The characters all seemed to have interesting links with one another and I would have liked to know more!

Regardless, I enjoyed The Collector. It's a good, dystopian book. But I was surprised this wasn't classed as young adult. If you like YA sci-fi then this should be right up your street.

Thankyou Netgalley for the ARC.

The Collector by Laura Kat Young

4 ⭐️

Grief is horrendous. It is a necessary part of human life but that doesn’t make it easy to deal with. You often find yourself wishing you didn’t have to go through it. But could you live in a world where grief is forbidden? One where you are not allowed to be anything other than the prescribed levels of happy?

Dev works for the Bureau as a Collector. He is tasked with collecting one memory from people before their grief and associated memories are wiped from them. As a book it is an interesting premise and one which made me keep reading. I found myself wanting to know the twist or where this book was going.

The first 85/90% of this book keeps you guessing and would have scored the book a higher rating but the rushed ending that left me with more questions than answers (and not in a good way) knocked this to a 4 out of 5.

Having suffered a number of losses over the last handful of years grief is just a part of my life now. This book definitely gave me food for thought on the notion of erasing the grief and what that ultimately means for your memories as a whole and what that can do to a person. How the author deals with mental health, grief and associated themes is well done and makes you realise that human emotions are fairly universal.

It’s a great book and is released on 12th September. I just wish that ending was a bit less rushed.

Thank you to NetGalley and Titan Books for the ARC and the chance to read this book.

You can see why the world in the Collector would be so enticing, a world without bad feelings, without sadness, without misery, without despair, and the Bureau, determined to enforce this world, to prevent its society from feeling even a speck otherwise. Dev works as a Collector for the Bureau, where he harvests peoples' memories before they are Reset (because they've been sad, of course—that's the extent to which the Bureau goes to make sure their happy society stays happy).

Until he starts to feel sad himself and draws the attention of the higher-ups in the Bureau.

It's almost frighteningly eerie, this world that Young describes, a world that seems so enticing, but the dystopian nature of this society comes out in full force. Young describes emotion so beautiful, the rawness of sadness in all its forms, the different, subtle, and obvious ways that people feel those emotions. Dev is an interesting protagonist, and I loved watching the plot unfold through his eyes. His relationship with Shay is particularly engaging, and even where she isn't on the page, you feel her absence. I really enjoyed this book, and I can't wait to see the reactions when it comes out!

Laura Kat Young's 'The Collector' invites us to step into a world where happiness isn't just encouraged; it's enforced. In this captivating story, we find ourselves in a society that thrives on conformity, with the Bureau keeping a watchful eye on everyone.
Dev, the main character and only POV is navigating this complex world as a Collector. One of many positions in the Bureau . He excels in his role at, but the toll on his mental health is evident. Young's storytelling paints a vivid picture of this society, immersing us in Dev's struggles to perform his job, all while trying to stay happy and collected himself.
'The Collector' is a thought-provoking exploration of a society that places an extreme emphasis on happiness. While it's a quick read, it's bound to keep you engaged. I'd like to thank NetGalley and Titan Books for providing me the opportunity to delve into this intriguing world. If you're looking for a mysterious thriller that prompts reflection on the cost of conformity, 'The Collector' is a must-read.