I really enjoyed When We Walked in Memory, and if I was going off just vibes, it would be five stars easily. This book wrung Robin Hobb levels of inarticulate sobbing from me, which is really saying something.

Not that this book is all doom and gloom, because it definitely isn't. This is, ultimately, a story about healing, and the ups and downs that come with that. I found Frauke's journey to be extremely compelling, and I found myself cheering for her triumphs and lamenting her failures and setbacks. She's one of those characters that is simultaneously extremely kind and also unable to see her own kindness, something that I will always be a complete sucker for.

I also really enjoyed the magic system at play, and I thought it was extremely unique and creative. Frauke's memory-altering powers are extremely intriguing, and the way the magic tied into the unique conception of the afterlife in this world was both fascinating and thematically weighty. It also led to some of my favorite parts of the book, as the different ghosts that Frauke interacts with all feel like interesting and unique characters, and it's interesting (but sometimes very emotional!) to get little peaks into their lives. The ending for this felt like it might be a standalone, but if Kersten ever revisits this world, I will be extremely eager to read it.

Also worth mentioning is that this book handles some extremely heavy topics, and whilst it is light on the details of the specific traumas Frauke and Kaourintin have endured, it is much more explicit in its depiction of the impact it has upon their lives and the journey they take to healing. This is 100% a positive, and Kersten's expertise really shines through in creating a nuanced and ultimately hopeful portrayal of survival, but it is by no means an easy read. This is definitely something I would recommend splitting into chunks as opposed to reading all at once.

Where the book fell down a little was, perhaps, the plot, which all felt a little too easily resolved. Whilst, after spending time with the characters and growing to care for them so much, I don't think I could have handled anything more intense, it still felt a little bit like something that was just there to bookend that end. But to be honest, I didn't really mind that too much - this is definitely one of those books where the 'how we got there' and the character work is far more engaging and powerful than just how it ended. I enjoyed the middle and getting to see the two leads grow and heal so much that honestly, it really didn't matter too much that it didn't quite stick the landing.

If you enjoy gentle, character driven stories and magic systems that are more concerned with being thematically interesting than laying down rules, I think you'll enjoy this one a lot.

Unfortunately I was not a fan of this one… I felt confused throughout most of the book. Too many characters with not enough depth or description. Magic system was hard to follow.
Review on my GoodReads

I truly wish I could give this book more stars, but I can’t.
The confusion I felt throughout the entire book made me frustrated.

In the beginning there was so much happening, lots of characters and barely no description about them. The FMC Frauke annoyed me in a way it made it even harder to read.

The lack of worldbuilding made me even more confused, and the magic system honestly didn’t make a lot of sense.

I’d rather see that the book was longer, with more details, than how it is right now.
I felt like there was so much happening all at once, but since it’s such a short novel it was rushed in every sense.

I have to say that I appreciated the content warnings in the beginning of the book, it was needed.
TW such as pregnancy due to SA, abortion, murder and human trafficking are some of the few.

I’d like to thank NetGalley, Victory Editing and the author Charlotte Kersten for giving me the opportunity to read this ARC.