🎧Audiobook Review🎧

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Thank you to Netgalley for approving me for an ARC of this book and to my fellow buddy reader @wendyreadsbooks for the chat along the way.

🥰Community
😢Emotional
💌Messages
📚Estrangement

Who doesn't love a book about books and this one was perfection! From the complex family relationships to the heart-warming community, this book had me crying on more than one occasion.

⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐

This is an emotional read about mother/ daughter relationships. Ella tells the story of returning home to help her mom after she fell and broke bones in both hands while Sally gives the backstory from the past to explain the events leading up to their estrangement.
I loved how they worked out their differences through their love of books. The idea of building a special library for someone you love was such an inspiration to me. It was so touching how Sally picked each book for Ella to help her through the rough times in life. It made me want to go read or reread each of the books mentioned in the story. It was charming to watch Ella start to reflect on her life and figure out what was most important to her and start healing broken relationships. I loved how supportive her husband Charlie was and thought it was sweet that he would read the books along with Sally and Ella so they could discuss them when they called each other. All the characters are marvelous, but I think Charlie was my favorite because not many husbands would do that. What a great way to connect with your spouse! I loved the ending with Ella presenting her mom with “The Library of Your Life”. What a great way to show someone you love them. It also brought the story full circle. If you are looking for a feel-good read this is a great book to read!

Thank you to NetGalley and Avon Books UK for the ARC in exchange for my honest review!

Heartwarming, life affirming a story about a library built one book every year, a relationship between mother and daughter that needs to be rebuilding.
Sweet, moving
Recommended.
Many thanks to the publisher for this ARC, all opinions are mine

This combination of family relationships love for books, and nice moments kept me awake while going through the pages. I enjoyed reading this heartwarming novel.

Thank you NetGalley and Avon Books for this eCopy to review

What a fantastic feel good book The Memory Library is and such a beautiful concept. Every year for her daughter Ella's birthday her mother buys her a book and writes a message why that particular book was chosen. Sadly Ella fled to Australia years ago and has never seen most of the books. Forced to return home to look after her mother, Ella and Sally have a chance to reconnect and work through their problems. A beautiful story about how misconceptions can snowball into huge problems but with a little hard work you can forgive in the end

I had never heard of Kate Storey, but I was sent the blurb and loved the premise so thought I would try it, and I’m so glad I did. A wonderfully written insight into family life, and how misunderstandings can fester if unresolved.
Sally started a library for her daughter when she was a little girl. Each year on her birthday she added another book, with an insight as to why she chose that particular book on the inside. Unfortunately her daughter Ella fled to Australia many years before after a bad argument, so hasn’t seen the majority of the books. When Sally has a bad fall, Ella is forced to come back to look after her for a while – which she is very much dreading. However sometimes things are not always as they seem, and sometimes a second chance is just what you need.

A rich, poignant book, with very believable and relatable characters. I absolutely loved it – and can’t wait to start a memory library for my Grandchildren. 😀

I loved the cover of this E-Book. Set in multiple time periods over 34 years. Mostly in London in the present time.
Ella lives in Australia and needs to travel to London to help her mother who has had an accident.

For 21 years Ella has lived in Australia and barely takes time to slow down and enjoy her life. In London, Ella’s mother Sally has missed having a close relationship with her daughter Ella and granddaughter.

Sally loves reading and when Ella was a child Sally bought a book every year and wrote a note in each book for Ella.

I loved the description of books and how they were used to aid in Sally’s memory of when she had a better relationship with Ella.

This was about books, reading, family relationships and grief.

Thank you NetGalley and publisher for a chance to read this E-Book.

Thank you so much to Netgalley for the opportunity to read this in exchange for an honest review!

I adored the plot of this. I thought it was wonderful that Sally spent so much of each year finding the perfect book to add to Ella’s shelf despite hardly having a relationship with her daughter in so long. I loved Sally so much and immediately knew Ella’s version of her mother was misguided. Ella drove me a bit crazy because I just wanted to yell at her “you have been angry with the wrong person!” I love how her husband was very quick to call her out. But she did begin to understand and mend her relationship with her mother. When the books were destroyed, I was upset! My heart was so broken for both. I would recommend this and I enjoyed the story and the character development.

A complex but heartwarming story about the relationship between mother and daughter. A story about forgiving, old love and seeing yourself with new eyes i really liked the characters , especially the mother, but at some times she felt like a victim of circumstances. I liked the daughter, but she made some choises , i could slap her for.
The community , i would really liked to have been a part of it. This book makes you think. I highly recommend it.
Thank you to netgalley for letting me read this e arc in exchange for an honest opinion

I had high expectations of this - a book about a library ticks all the boxes - and when in the first few pages, I find that Ella has the same birthday as me 11/7 - well let’s say it was fate.
This is a beautiful story. Sally and Ella have so many conversations to have - misunderstandings and secrets kept have meant they have both missed out on so much.
Seeing Ella re appreciate her home town and the community that has supported Sally is wonderful and gave her the chance to re-evaluate what was important.
The idea of the inscriptions in the books given each year is a beautiful one, and the thought gone into each and every one just perfect.
This is a story of love and forgiveness and I felt every emotion whilst reading.

This was a wonderful book about Ella, who is in her early forties and living the life of a hardworking lawyer and mother of one in Sydney, Australia. Her husband works part time and runs the household in something of a traditional role reversal, but one which makes Ella feel resentful.
On a busy morning as Ella is preparing to dash off to work, a phone call comes through from her mother's neighbour back in London. Her mother Sally has had a fall and broken bones in both of her hands. Ella has to make a choice, manage the problem from a distance, or return home to England to assist her mother from who she has been essentially estranged for more than twenty years.
This book is about love, family and community. For me it came at the right time and gave me great pause for thought and reflection. On top of all of this it is also a celebration of reading and books! Something very, very close to my heart.
I am happy to recommend this wonderful book, have tissues handy. Thank you Netgalley and Avon Books UK for the opportunity to read this digital ARC.

A lovely story that draws you in from the first pages, sometimes sad and emotional but a great mother and daughter story that definitely pulls at your heartstrings and shows how relationships can evolve

This book made me cry.
Ella and her mother were close at one time but as Ella got older they drifted apart, and after her father dies Ella moves halfway across the world and has minimal contact with her mother. Now they’re back together through necessity and Ella finds that some issues she had with her mother were misconceptions. Ella also re-evaluates her own life in the process.
This was a very moving story. My mother lived with me the last few years of her life and I could really relate to seeing your parent in a different light than when you’re a child. It was good to see Ella’s journey from the beginning of the book to the end. I thought the ending was perfect. It was the one I was hoping for. I liked the different characters also. There was a wide variety of character types.
As I said, I cried. That was near the end. I couldn’t help it. It was a pretty emotional scene.
I recommend this to anyone who enjoys a good family story. There’s also a lot about books and community.
I received this book as a free ARC and am leaving this review voluntarily.

The Memory Library has a beautiful cover, but an even more beautiful story. A story of estrangement, love and the redemption of forgivness.

Sally and her daughter Ella have been estranged for years. Ella having disappeared to Australia and never coming back. Sally has a fall that requires her to have a companion to assist her and Ella dutifully comes back to take care of her mother. Ella finds out that her mother has purchased a book for her every year on her birthday. Learning that her mother never turned her back on her and that forgivness can come even after years apart was a wonderful story to read. As someone who had a difficult relationship with my own mother, I really felt the reality of letting disagreements fester to the point that one is not sure that they can be resolved.

This was a lovely read.

Thanks to Netgalley, Avon books UK and the author for the chance to read and review this book.

What a great debut book which kept the pages turning. Lovely title and certainly not what I thought the book was about when I first saw it.

The Memory Library  by Kate Storey is an engaging and moving read.

It's about a mother who has waited in faith and hope for a long time. It is about her daughter who returns to England to dutifully care for her mother, somewhat reluctantly.

What follows is an eye opening journey for Ella as she rediscovers her roots and her mother's life back here in England. As things take place her heart begins to open and her head begins to question all that she has so long believed.

I loved Sally, Ella's mother, and all the people she has come in contact with over the years. Such a  great community. Sally was a teacher and she has a great love of books. A love she has shared in the past with Ella and others.

It's best to not know too much about the book, but know you'll meet some wonderful characters, some great books and if you are like me, you'll close this book with tears in your eyes and a feeling that all is right with the world.

What a lovely, lovely book.

Sally and her daughter Ella have been estranged for years; but when Sally has a fall and breaks the wrist of one hand and the fingers of another, she needs Ella to come back from Australia to help. Over the weeks, they gradually learn to see each other's point of view.

Sally in particular is a lovely character (I found Ella a bit judgemental at first). Nice diverse cast; fabulous bookish background; lovely community; and one character who really deserved a proper comeuppance (that's possibly the crime writer in me talking). Touches on some serious subjects but it was done in a really gentle way.

Really enjoyed this and it left me feeling bright and happy - definitely one to read if you're having a tough day. Solid five stars.

Enjoyed this book. It was cute.

Ella has to go back home to take care of her mother who has fallen. They used to be the best of friends but when Ella's dad passed away they had a falling out and haven't had a good relationship in years. Ella is annoyed that she has to take care of her mother. But by the end of the story Ella realizes she has made quite a few mistakes and her mother is actually a wonderful person whom she's lucky to have.

Great book. Great concept. Mother/daughter relationships are always quite complicated and this one is no exception. However it fell a little flat.

Thank you to the publisher, Avon Books UK and Netgalley for an advanced copy of this book.

A hug in a book sort of read.
Happy, sad in places & moving.
I wish someone would build me a library full of books with meanings!

This is a great book that will tug on your heart strings. Sally has been building a library for her daughter, Ella, for 40 plus years. She keeps adding to it, even though her estranged daughter has been living in Australia for the past 22 years. Due to unforeseen circumstances, Ella comes back to London to look after her mother.
I enjoyed the interactions between Sally and her all her friends. The relationship between mother and daughter is wonderfully written. Not always great, but real. I loved how Sally’s whole community came together when Ella needed them.
This book is beautifully written about motherhood, community and a love of books. I highly recommend it to anybody.