Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for providing me with an arc in exchange for this review.

Apologies for my delay, I’ve had a very hectic few months.

But this book wasn’t really for me unfortunately. Never got into it enough to really care and don’t remember a whole lot of it. Might give it another chance in the future though, we’ll see.

THIE WAS GREAT! so much more than I was expecting from the premise, I just couldn’t stop reading, A haunting book about trauma and healing in a fantastical setting. My main issue was with the pacing of it all and the fact the plot and magical element got a bit confusing and hard to grasp at times.

Def check tw for this one.

Thank you to Victory Editing, the author and NetGalley for this eARC in exchange for my honest opinion 🫶🏼

I enjoyed every minute of this! Plunged into a world where magic is outlawed, Faulke is a bit of a renegade in thrall to a cruel and abusive master. Chance gives her an opportunity for freedom and she seizes it. We follow her in her journey, both to free her world from a deceptive and cruel king and to seek her own emotional and mental recovery from a life of abuse.
It was so well written, the characters were superbly crafted and very traumatic topics were dealt with sensitively. Read this

This book is a masterpiece in every sense of the word. From its captivating plot to its beautifully crafted characters, every page drew me deeper into its world. The writing is eloquent, the pacing perfect, and the themes profound. It's rare to find a book that leaves such a lasting impression, but 'When We Walked in Memory' managed to do just that. I can't recommend it highly enough – a definite five-star read!

I was drawn in by the title and cover of this book and it turned out to be even better than I had hoped.

I really enjoyed that this story wasn't a traditional fantast with romance elements, the exploration of the trauma and experiences of the main characters was what really kept me gripped! It was such an emotionally exhausting read, in the best way. By no means is this an easy read, but well and truly worth it! Plus the fantasy aspects of the book link in well and create a beautifully written book about overcoming the struggles of trauma, the journey of healing, and learning to trust again.

The idea of being able to erase unwanted memories is a really cool power but I felt like maybe it wasn't executed the best in this book. I felt kind of confused the first half and was hoping for a little less info dump about the world. Felt more like telling rather than showing. Still an interesting read and one I recommend to fantasy lovers.

Came for the cover, stayed for the story because oh my lord was it good. If you're into the type of story that explores trauma and is about characters' journey to healing, then it's for you.

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for providing an e-ARC copy of this book, in exchange for this honest review.

4.5 ⭐
I'm not going to lie, it took me a LONG time to finish this book.
The story has its roots deeply embedded in the reality of severe trauma and those who suffer behind it.
PLEASE, I beg you, read the trigger warnings.

Healing from trauma is not pretty and it is not magical, it is hard and it is draining. This book takes us through that exact journey of pushing through your own tragic story and forming a new, safe one. Healing is the result of feeling safe, protected, and supported and that's exactly what we read about in this story between the characters.
A soul full of love can never be broken.

The intermingling of real life emotions with the incredible fantasy background the author paints was thoroughly enjoyable.

The beginning of this book has started off promising, but this will be a soft DNF for me. The trigger warning mentioned at the beginning of the book for animal cruelty has me a bit afraid, especially given the dark tone of the book and my knowledge that there's a dog companion. That's my only hard no trigger warning, and I think this is a book I need to stick by that with. I would definitely read more by this author, as the writing was good.

I will be recording a Tik-tok review of this novel that will go live within this week, it will also be posted on my Instagram. The reviews on Goodreads, Librarything, and Bookbub, are already live and Amazon and Barnes and Noble are submitted. Once reviews on Tik-tok, Instagram, Amazon, and Barnes and Noble are live I will add them here for review.

Very few books I have read are so deeply aware of trauma and it's long lasting impact on those who suffer from it. This book is a masterpiece in showing how we learn to grow beyond our trauma and grow into ourselves once we have reached a safe place with those who love us.

I deeply enjoyed this novel and Charlotte Kersten's writing is a pleasure to read. She writes in a manner that feels like prose but reads like fantasy. The descriptions of the day to day highlight both the beauty and underlying fear our main charter Frauke feels at any given moment. With the slow, careful, trust she builds with the cast of characters creating incredibly human feeling relationships.

Frauke has a magic that is illegal to use in the land she lives in, and is kept trapped and deeply abused due to it by those who are powerful enough to not care who they hurt. She has been through enough to be frozen and unfeeling to the world around her, that is until she sees a chance for escape and decides it is worth the risk at last. She soon finds herself helping Kaourintin, and using her magic in ways she did not know were possible.

This novel is a slow build, with a easy pace that will still keep you invested while feeling like life would without the distractions we have created in our modern world. The novel is rich in atmosphere and creates a world that it is easy to believe is real, from the small villages to the corrupt rich men in the large cities. Once the magic system starts being reveled slowly it is easy to keep track of how the system works, and believing that within the magic itself the tasks being completed are possible. The characters and the relationships they build are careful and very slow in building up top true trust and love. It creates a overall feeling of a slow paced world where the most important thing is to heal from the past, and then, to allow the small kernel of hope for a better future to grow.

If you are a read who enjoys cozy fantasy, but wants to read something that will touch on trauma and darker realities we seen in our real world, you will enjoy this read. I would recommend it for those who enjoy the following:

- Found Family
- Trauma Processing
- Deeply described magic systems
- Atmospheric worlds
- Slow building relationships
- Fantasy from an unexpected POV
- Stories of Survival and Community

Please do check the trigger warning on this novel as it has quite a few points that could cause issues.

I received and ARC of this book at no cost/for free, I am leaving this review voluntarily and all thoughts and opinions are wholly my own and unbiased.

A big thank you to NetGalley And Victory Editing for sending over an eARC of this novel. At the heart of this story is the experience of trauma and healing, and it is clearly something the author is knowledgeable and passionate about.

The world-building is dense and front loaded; it reminded me of Dune where you have to just throw yourself in and eventually the words might start to click. This can be daunting and off-putting for some. I feel as though this may be improved on with the use of a glossary and pronunciation guide. Sometimes fighting over the terms distracted me from enjoying how well-written the rest of it was.

The plot tends to meander at times, seemingly without great purpose, but the strength of the story is definitely in the characters. Overall this was an enjoyable and emotional read; the author handles difficult topics with care and empathy and I cared about the characters all the way through.

A big thanks to NetGally and Victory Editing for providing an eARC in exchange for an honest review.

This is a book about healing, and if you're not in the right mindset, just wait until a little later.

When We Walked in Memory by Charloltte Kersten is a fantasy novel set in a world where certain magics are illegal. Frauke’s illegal magic gives her the ability to manipulate people’s memories, a power that has kept her trapped in service to a ruthless man since she was a child. When disaster hits unexpectedly, she seizes the sudden opportunity to escape and vows to never look back, never use her magic for ill purposes again, and learn to live in an entirely new way. As she strikes out on her own, Frauke soon finds herself allied with Kaourintin, a fugitive royal guard who fled the palace upon realizing that his life was in danger. Frauke is determined to help Kaourintin remain safe and free while he does the same for her. For both of their sakes, she must unravel their king’s mysterious schemes by delving into the vast, strange realm of memory. The realm is full of forgotten knowledge, lost wonders and solitary ghosts, each with their own story of loss, and Frauke will contend with them all in her search for the truth. As their fledgling friendship blossoms into something more, Frauke and Kaourintin will have to learn to stand together and confront the cruelty they have endured, the enemies who still pursue them, and the ancient dangers they have unearthed.​

The story is beautiful, the characters are endearing. I would definitely take a long gander at the trigger warning before even touching this book. But do know this, it will be worth it. Even if some of the worldbuilding gets tangled and confusing at times.

Thank you to NetGalley, Victory Editing, and Charlotte Kersten for the ARC in exchange for an honest review.

To start, I really appreciated the content warnings up front and on the author’s website.

Chapter 1 was an information overload with a lot of new names, places, and concepts/worldbuilding. It would have been helpful to have a world map illustration & character list at the beginning. Additionally it would have been helpful to have a character pronunciation guide - I’ve just been referring to Kaourintin as “K” in my head for fear of butchering it!!

I started my own character list while reading the first few chapters to try and keep them all straight (but tbh I’m not even sure it is accurate):

Frauke - main character, apprentice, Walker of Maelissen
Master Goulven Dosser - the apprentice’s master, sometimes referred to by his first name and sometimes as Master Dosser, this was confusing at first. I thought He was a walker of Helias but then it said he channeled to Maudez so I was unclear at first
Sezney - Walker of Maudez
Eozenou Renan - king
Ado - ghost dog, searcher, the best boy!!
Tilat - mentioned but not explained at the beginning, former Walker of Maudez
Agnia - mentioned but not explained at the beginning, I believe one of the former Walkers of Houarve
Urloes- mentioned but not explained at the beginning, later learn he is the walkers of Helias
Argantael - kings daughter
Kaourintin ar moal - former guard
Matilin - mentioned but not explained, I believe they are a Walkers of Houarve
Dahud Grall - human healer
Nol/Nolwen - human healer apprentice

There are even more characters after this but I stopped listing them once I hit more than 10. Chapter 16 in particular mentioned a lot of names that brought some more confusion and a rite/magic system that were also confusing to me.

Initially it was hard to get invested in the overall plot of the book when just trying to get my bearings on who the characters are in the first handful of chapters but then started feeling like I was in a good groove.

I especially enjoyed the scenes with Ado and honestly was almost brought to tears of happiness in chapter 15 (no spoilers!)

The main characters healing journey was well written and pulled on my heartstrings, I liked that they helped each other out and started finding hobbies/choices/happiness together.

I put it down around the 200 page mark (because real life got in the way) and honestly had trouble picking it back up again. The beginning was a struggle, the middle was great, then I started getting lost in the plot again, but then the end gained momentum so it was a bit of a roller coaster for me!

Overall I enjoyed the book and if there were less side characters or an overload of info dumped at the beginning this might be closer to a 4 but considering my confusion for most of it I’m giving it a 3 that’s leaning closer to a 2.

I was able to read an ARC of this book and thoroughly enjoyed it!

Starting with the characters, Frauke and Kaourintin were both torture souls in their own ways. This was the first book I’ve read where the characters were both reserved and self-deprecating, but given the plot, it worked and made the most sense. Frauke is an FMC that I will carry with me forever.

As for the plot aspect, there were brief moments of confusion. It took me a second to get into what was happening and the world that was being built, but it was all very unique and creative. The magic system was just a tad confusing, but after reading more I was able to slip into it better. I loved the somber atmosphere that managed to linger the entire way through until the end. The romance was, to me, very delicately weaved into the plot. It didn’t feel quick or slow…it just happened. It felt realistic since they met as strangers and managed to endure the plot of the book together. There were moment that I found incredibly sweet and times I wanted to cry.

Overall, a great read with a beautiful cover. I’m so glad i was able to read and review it!

3.5 stars rounded up to 4.

The focus of the story is on two traumatized people whose fates get unexpectedly intertwined and who help each other grow and heal, all while on a mission to save themselves by basically toppling the near-immortal tyrant. Healing is a long and winding road, so the way both Frauke and Kaourintin go through it, distrusting themselves and people around them and experiencing setbacks here and there, seems completely believable and handled with great gentleness. Some of those scenes were pretty powerful. I liked the four-realm magic system as well, and the soul cycle logic behind it.

The main reason why I don’t feel I can give this book more stars is the pacing. On the one hand, I would say that speeding up the main characters’ emotional journey so that they can get on with the tyrant toppling wouldn’t be the right thing to do. But if a tyrant is after you maybe there should be a bit more urgency to what you are doing to avoid being killed..? And while the discussions and realizations are important, they seemed to take significantly more page space than actions, which created this feeling of uneven pacing for me. Also I just couldn’t get on board with how it worked out with Pever: when we meet him on page, it’s basically only Frauke’s hunch that he’s a bad guy that we have to rely on, so his despicable actions that happened much later didn’t seem that well set up.

If I were to sum this up, I’d say this book was like one long therapy session - in both a good way and a bad way - so if that’s what you’re looking for, it’s the book for you.

Thank you Netgalley for ARC.

At the beginning of the book, it's a lot to take in with all the information being piled on and after some time you get acquainted with it but I still felt lost sometimes throughout the book. I would have liked to see some sort of guide at the beginning of the book explaining the different types of magic people can have.

Overall I liked the book and the journey of Frauke and Kaourintin and how they heal from their trauma. The ghost dog was just the goodest boy ever and such an amazing addition.

I highly suggest that you take into account TW before reading because some of the stuff happening is quite heavy but the author handles it in a really good way.

I would like to thank NetGalley, Victory Editing and Charlotte Kersten for honoring me with the ARC.

Although the story gripped me fast, it also lost me fast. The fascinating magic ability to walk through memories wasnt enough to save it for me. I found some characters somewhat undeveloped (I would have liked to know more) and also the pacing ruined it for me. Kudos for the ghost dog though.

I really liked this book. The characters were well fleshed out and their healing journey was truly beautiful to read about. The world building was really interesting, and the magic system intriguing, but I often found myself confused with what was going on exactly. The plot wasn’t always too clear. But overall a great read! Would highly recommend to anyone that enjoys character driven stories.

I enjoy the story, characters and the magic system overall. The main character’s ability to walk through memories is really cool. The beginning was a bit hard to follow because of all the information but once Frauke and Kaourintin meet the story picks up.

The dialogue was a bit awkward at times. The characters go through a lot physically, mentally and emotionally , specially Frauke. But I liked the way she faced her problems on and was able to grow and overcome them. Ado was such a nice character, always a plus to have an animal companion.

There are certain sensitive subjects that are part of the story, so please read the CW. I appreciate that they were mentioned before the story started.

Thank you to NetGalley, Victory Editing and Charlotte Kersten for the ARC.

although i have some mixed feelings with how the pacing goes and it did ruin my enjoyment a bit, the characters - frauke, kaourintin, ado (frauke's ghost-dog best friend), and the side characters - were pretty great.

my adoration for our dear fmc, frauke, did not change from the first moment we were introduced up until the very last page. she have come so far, being able to see her healing journey was everything. she deserves the world :( also, the love between frauke and kaourintin was genuinely so sweet to read about i will fling myself off a building.

(this book deals with heavy topics. content warnings have been provided at the start of the book as well as on the author's website!)

a big thank you to charlotte kersten and the team, i am honoured to have received an arc