It is a relatable story in a way that the majority of us have fantasized of a plot in our own life where we go back at time in our past to that one event that changed us or affected our life irrevocably. While this might be a story about time travel, it is more so a story about grief, guilt, survival, fate, and overall love. We follow the lives of interconnected people while they are finding themselves in the past thing to change the future.

*thanks to the netgalley for the copy of the book, all opinions are my own

The Memory Collectors by Dete Meserve is a beautifully written, emotional story that asks: If you could go back and relive one random hour of your past, would you? Four strangers—Elizabeth, Andy, Logan, and Brooke—jump at the chance, each hoping to revisit a moment before their lives were turned upside down. But when they get stuck in the past, they’re forced to confront their pain, their choices, and how their lives are unexpectedly connected.

This book pulled me in right away. The characters’ stories—full of grief, love, and regret—felt raw and real, and I couldn’t help but root for each of them. The pacing picks up fast, and before I knew it, I couldn’t put it down. At just 300 pages, it’s a quick read, but it still manages to pack a huge emotional punch.

If you’ve ever wondered “what if,” this story will stick with you long after you finish. I loved it and highly recommend it.

Thanks to Crooked Lane Books and NetGalley for the ARC.

Elizabeth aches for one more precious hour with her son who died in a senseless accident. Andy is desperate to find his first love who vanished after a whirlwind romance. Logan craves the rush of surfing and mountain climbing, yearning to reclaim the freedom he lost after a misstep landed him in a wheelchair. Brooke is looking for an hour of relief from the guilt of an unforgivable mistake.

Enter Aeon Expeditions, the groundbreaking time travel invention of Mark Saunders—which allows some lucky clients the chance to spend an hour in their past. Even though Aeon’s technology ensures time travel can’t alter the future, all four clients, including Mark’s ex-wife Elizabeth, yearn to revisit the hour that changed their lives forever.

But when their “hour” extends beyond sixty minutes, they find themselves stranded in the past. As their paths intertwine unexpectedly, they unearth shocking secrets hidden in the shadows of their shared history: All their lives were shattered the same night on a secluded highway by the beach. As they delve into the hidden truths of that pivotal hour, a startling revelation emerges. They were not alone.

Wow. This book is one of my favorites of the year. That's high praise when I read 200+ books a year! This was thought-provoking and entertaining. The premise for the story is fascinating, the author pulled it off with flying colors, and the writing itself is stellar! 5⭐

Thanks to Netgalley and the publisher for the advanced copy. This is my honest opinion of the book.

If given the chance, would you go back in time? Think hard…
Aeon Expeditions have developed the technology to send selected people back into their past. No guarantee what day you’ll land on, but for 60 minutes you’re back in time before being extracted back to the present. And anything you do in the past stays in the past. Interesting proposition…yes?

Four individuals are chosen for their journey. Frightened of the unknown but excited to relive a moment in their past. A time that existed before tragedy consumed them.

So what happens if, after 60 minutes, they aren’t brought back to the present?
Can they continue to live in the past? Would they want to? Would you?

Absolutely unputdownable!

I loved the sci-fi element. Easy to follow along and though I’m somewhat a novice at reading these mind-benders I had no issue here. The character development was strong and I had no problem following each of their past lives.
There were a multitude of emotions playing out as well. Forgiveness, grief and lost loves to name a few.

One of my favorite reads of the year! Hope it will be yours too!

Thank you to NetGalley and Crooked Lane Books

Not my usual kind of book tbh but I was surprised at how much I enjoyed it. Told from a 4 person perspective I was engrossed in the story and raced to the end to find out what happened. A true gem of a book and one not to be missed.

First, I would like to thank Crooked Lane Books publishing, Dete Meserve, and NetGalley for allowing me to preview this title before its May 20, 2025 publication date.

I was surprised at how much I enjoyed this book and looked forward to reading it. I will say that I knew this was going to be good when the first chapter made me tear up. This story is about 4 people that travel back in time (well, their conscience does) where they can relive 1 hour of their life, but they don't know when they are being sent. Each chapter is told from the viewpoint of one of the four, and that was quite confusing at first, trying to keep their stories straight. They became clear fairly quickly so that was not a huge hangup.

There was great character development, all the characters are flawed but also likable. As a reader, I wanted to know their story and follow. The plot moved along quite nicely and I do not recall a lag in action or storyline that was not necessary. I find that authors rarely "stick the landing" but I found the ending relatable, yet not overly perfect (which made it all the more relatable).

Overall, I very much enjoyed this book and would more certainly recommend it.

You had me at Time Travel. I love this genre. Unlike some books, thougj, this one doesn't try to explain the technology, it just works.
This allows the story to move quickly amongst 4 time travelers. As the stories -told from 4 different perspectives- intersect, the story becomes something very relatable today.
I can't wait for everyone to read this book. Thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for the ARC.

Unfortunately the formatting did not work on my ereader and I was unable to access this book and dive into it. I

Will look out for this in paperback at the book store and get it once it's been finalized and I can fully enjoy it. Neat concept and the writing style is intriguing too.

Thank you for allowing me a sample of this! It has such a cool cover too.

I'm a sucker for time travel stories and I couldn't let this one go without reading it. I was expecting a little bit of a convoluted sci-fi story, but that it's not. It's actually a very touching story, or should I say stories, of 4 characters who travel back in time to spend 1 hour in the past but end up spending more than that. No spoilers, but I loved the characters and how their stories were interconnected. I got emotional in so many instances and I could simultaneously not wait to finish the book and not want to finish it as I knew I'd have a book hangover. There was no doubt in my mind even 30% of the way through that I would give this one 5 stars and I wasn't wrong by the end. I loved the pacing, not highly and unnecessarily descriptive, but to the point. The writing style is right up my alley. It reads as literary fiction with sprinkles of mystery, romance and Sci fi. I highly recommend this one. I wish I could have read this in one sitting - believe me, I tried but life got in the way and I had to settle with 2 sittings, but less than 24 hours.

Thank you NetGalley, Dete Meserve, Crooked Lane Books for this ARC in exchange for my honest review

What would you do if you were able to visit a moment from your past for just one hour? This is the question at the heart of The Memory Collectors by Dete Meserve, and at the core of the fictional time-traveling company Aeon Expeditions. At first glance, the book is a series of microfiction chapters, delivering maximally intense episode with each protagonist as they approach this question. Characters revisit lost loves, deceased family members, and victorious moments from their early adulthood. In these trips to the past, each savors small details in their memories, the way the light comes through the window, the way their spouse looked at them, the feeling of fresh outdoor air hitting their lungs. But -- as the trip progresses for each character, something strange happens. When their limited hour is up, the extraction process does not boomerang them back to the present. As each of their memories progress, timelines and details begin to blur. How do all of these characters' stories overlap? Why, and for how long, will they be collectively trapped in their past?

As I began to notice the overlapping details I got increasingly invested in the book to the point where I could not put The Memory Collectors down and read it in a single straight marathon session. From early on I started drawing a character map to keep track of all the little ways that the characters overlapped with each other and that helped me in the early quarter of the book where there were a lot of characters and a lot of different story lines. I don't read a lot of speculative fiction but this felt like it took place just a teensy bit in the future and most of the details were realistic enough that it read real! I was invested in the outcome through and through. There was a lot of reflection on savoring small details, living in the moment, and also the way our lives intersect and connect with others in our community (often unknowingly and in only fleeting moments). As I am reading this at the end of the calendar year, these reflections really resonated with me.

In a few places, there were some narrative inconsistencies that made this tricky to follow and at other times I felt the narrative could be repetitive as characters re-lived their memories and reflected on the differences in their past and present. They did disrupt the flow while I was reading, though did not take away from my overall enjoyment of the story. I would recommend this book to other readers and fans of The Midnight Library by Matt Haig, The Invisible Life of Addie LaRue by Victoria E Schwab, and The Butterfly Effect (the film).

Thank you to Crooked Lane Books, NetGalley, and Dete Meserve for an advanced e-copy of the book in exchange for an honest review.

I received this DRC from NetGalley.

This one was a quick read for me. Even though some things seemed a bit too convenient, I was definitely intrigued as to where it was going and the truth behind it all. I did expect there to be maybe a little more of a conspiracy behind it, a little more deliberacy, but that was fine, and all the questions were answered in the end. Well, except that I have questions about Kate and Sam, but I guess that wasn't as important.

It wasn't a complex read, even with the differing viewpoints. The characters were easy to distinguish from one another, so I appreciated that. It wasn't super speculative, other than the characters getting to relive the past, so it was more about the mystery and also about learning the lessons of not taking things for granted and the importance of not being blinded by your emotions.

Truly one of the most unique ideas I've ever seen explored in a novel. The concept is fascinating - being able to relive a short time in your life, but change nothing. Only to see it through current eyes and possibly come back changed yourself, despite no events changing. The stories of each character were extremely well done. I kept wanting to rush back to the book each time I had to put it down.

Highly recommend.

This is a really good story, very believable and very fast paced. Aeon Technologies has perfected time travel, for a fee they will send you back in time where you can spend an hour doing whatever you want. Whatever you do will not change current events, so if you decide to go back and knock off Hitler, it won't change history. Of course, millions of people want to have the chance to go back and right a wrong, visit a person that has passed, or just hang around marveling that they are in the past. Four people, Elizabeth (son passed), Logan (paraplegic), Brooke (made a grave mistake) and Andy (ghosted by a woman he loved), are chosen to be sent back, and they all successfully arrive. Logan, who now has the use of his legs, immediately climbs a mountain, Andy takes steps to 'accidentally' run into his true love, Elizabeth sees her son alive and well and Brooke takes steps to ensure her mistake doesn't happen. The story is told from each person's POV, which makes the pace quick, they all find out that instead of being there for just an hour, there had been a malfunction and and they end up in the past for several days. All of them are also tied to an incident that had happened. The ending was very good and I really enjoyed this story and would highly recommend. Thanks to #Netgalley and #Crooked Lane Books for the ARC.

Thank you Netgalley and the publisher for this ARC.
This was a great read, it's a Time Travel book and to keep it spoiler free, 4 people travel to past and without knowing it their lives are interlinked. The characters, the story are all well written, I reached the end wanting more!
4 stars

I love the use of time travel to explore universal themes of grief, loss, and forgiveness. I can't wait for this to come out and for everyone to enjoy it as much as I did.

Blending heartfelt emotion with speculative intrigue, this novel explores grief and forgiveness through an engaging mystery. While some elements feel overly sentimental, its thought-provoking premise keeps the story captivating.

I cannot say I love this book enough! It was absolutely amazing how it covered grief, loss, forgiveness, and the uncertainty that comes with the 'what ifs'.
I cannot wait to recommend this book to others and to read more books by Dete Meserve!

**Thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for an advance copy in exchange for a fair and honest review**

If you could travel back in time to revisit one hour of your life, would you? Even if it cost a crazy amount of money? Even if you couldn't control where you'd go?

For Elizabeth, Andy, Logan and Brooke, thre is no other answer than "Yes". They all have their own reasons for wanting to go back in time and, for them, it's worth every sacrifice.

The story cleverly reveals more about each character as we realise that, although they are strangers, they are all connected by one event. And they are stuck in the past for more than their expected hour...

I requested this book thinking it would be more of a sc-fi title but I was pleasantly surprised by way that the story unfolded and we slowly learn more about what actually happened in their collective past. Lots of interesting questions posed about forgiveness and healing and a very uplifting read overall.

I love time-travel!
I cannot stop thinking about the journey that four people take as they "Jump" back a few years ago.
The characters in these pages do not know each other and yet, each feels they want to step back in time to understand and revisit those they loved and miss.
These people have something in common- they all were involved in a life altering night that will not be forgotten.
Can things be undone? Can each one find the answers they so desperately seek?

If you like time travel, suspense, friendship, fear and hope, this wonderful book is a must for you.
It is terrific!

Thank you to @NetGalley and @Crooked Lane Books for this ARC and allowing me to read and provide my own review.

An enjoyable speculative mystery thriller. In the near future four strangers travel back in time to experience a significant hour in their history. I liked the characters as individuals and how their stories intersect. Fast paced, engaging and thought orovoking.