Thank you Blackstone Publishing for providing this book for review consideration via NetGalley. All opinions are my own.

The Memory Ward is guided by a fascinating, curious premise - what is real? What isn’t? Who can you trust? Psychologically disturbing at times, it will send you down a rabbit hole of conspiracy theories that will keep you up at night.

I had mixed feelings on it, personally. Some parts had me on the edge of my seat while others felt like they dragged on. It took me a while to get through it, and it definitely picked up in the second half, but it just kind of misses the mark for me. Regardless, a unique story that will appeal to those with a taste for sci-fi, fantasy, and maybe even dystopian tales.

LOVE IT , so happy to listen to this book, I love Wally! Isn't he so sweet to his Dad!? Don't we all wish to be so care for in our old age? But scary, and WEIRD. Great!! It's so funny to be wondering what is going on here? Just keep the gory gross stuff, I can do without that. Thanks so very much to have better audiobook selection also.

4.0 stars - Thank you to NetGalley and the publishers for an ARC audiobook of 'The Memory Ward'. What a mind-bending book, definitely unlike anything else that I've ever read. I've never watched 'Russian Doll' but after reading the synopsis, I wondered if I was going to get vibes of 'The Silent Patient' ... while it had small elements of 'The Silent Patient', I found it much more similar to the TV Show 'WandaVision'. The constant questioning of what was real and what was imagined was such a wild ride! I enjoyed finding out the reasons behind what was going no - that part fascinated me, although I did find it highly unethical. I'm also not 100% sure I fully grasped the last chapter, but still enjoyed the book nonetheless!

The audiobook bounced back and forth in quality, which was weird. The story itself was predictable, yet still entertaining, and the reveal was super shocking, as it picked up in intensity and graphic content for said reveal.

The Truman Show meets Black Mirror in this mind-boggling story where nothing is quite as it seems.

Hank is an average guy living a pretty average life in quaint Bethlehem, Nevada. He's a mail carrier with a wife, a home, and friendly neighbors. Life couldn't get much better. That is until the day Hank discovers the mail he's delivering is nothing but blank pieces of paper disguised as letters. He begins picking up on other details he's overlooked, and another community member reaches out, carefully sharing their concerns about this idyllic town they're both living in.

What's discovered is a rollercoaster of information, making it difficult to piece together the truth from the lies, the reality versus the perspective. And just when you think you have it figured out, you realize how very wrong you are.

This is the exact kind of psychological thriller I become immersed in. The story pulled me in from page one and I was desperate to find out what was going on in Bethlehem and with Hank. Is it a simulation? Is Hank mentally unwell? Is it an experiment? The story plays out in such a way that you consider each as possible at various times throughout the story. It was gripping and held my attention effortlessly throughout the book. The narration (sped up, of course) was fantastic as I always appreciate when different narrators are used for different characters.

As much as I was engaged in the story, I was a bit disappointed in the conclusion. But only because I was hoping everything would become clear after the hours spent trying to piece together the truth. Overall, I really enjoyed this story and will be checking out other novels written by Jon Bassoff!

4.5 Stars.

Thanks to NetGalley and Blackstone Publishing for providing me with a copy of this audiobook!

The Memory Ward by Jon Bassoff feels like a softer version of a mind-f*ck. I say that because part of me knows that what I just read could happen—and probably has happened.

I will admit, it dragged a little at times, but I understand why the author wanted us to experience the mundane, everyday life of Wally.

At first, I thought this was a sadistic version of The Truman Show, but it turned out to be something far worse. I wanted a book that would make me cringe, shake my head, leave me saying “WTF just happened,” and most of all, I wanted something that would shake me to my core.

Well... I got it.

This book was a strange, wild ride for me. It made me want to find more sci fi thrillers, a genre I was not familiar with prior. Thank you, NetGalley! Must say 1 star knocked off for the ending. It left me wanting a bit more.

If you love a good unreliable character and don’t need endings tidied up, I’d recommend this book. I really enjoyed it! It was unique and left me pondering what is real.

Thank you NetGalley for the audiobook to review!

Thank you for the advanced audiobook copy.

This book kept my attention at the beginning, and I was invested for most of the book on learning what is going on. But the ending left me, wondering what in the world is happening or just happened. I was so confused and kind of felt like I wasted my time with the whole entire book. I’m really conflicted with the rating on this book. Like I said I enjoy the first half to 3/4 of it. But the ending just irritated me.

The Memory Ward by Jon Bassoff is a psychological thriller. It's a dark and atmospheric thriller. What a story full of twists and turns! I really enjoyed it.
Thank you NetGalley and the publisher for providing me with an ARC copy.

Speculative fiction straight out of the twilight zone and black mirror combining element from The Truman show (initially) and then later Stepford wives. The whole book gave me a sort of dejavu vibe. Have I read or seen something similar before?
The setting seems to mirror a 1950/60s time period, however I believe that was all smoke and mirrors and the real setting is actually present day or near future.
The book is split into different parts each part told by a different character all of which live in Bethlam, Nevada and idyllic picture perfect town where the residents are definitely not what they seem.
I listened to this on audio which provided a different voice for each character, which is always welcomed but I do have to say the voice of the main character Wally was really really off putting. Whether intentional or not (i actually think the former) this characters voice sounded meek and unintelligent often with a slight stutter. I understand voice acting and to a certain degree matched the character but wasn't needed it could have been portrayed differently and it really put me off the book a lot of the time. The rest of the narrators where excellent.
Without giving too much away I have to add that the pace of the book was very slow and repetitive (although the repetition makes sense) however there isn't much happening. A LOT of gaslighting (again makes sense) but incredibly frustrating because the pace is so slow and we as the reader are already 10 steps ahead and waiting for the book to catch up. It's not that we realised the twist (can we call it a twist) for me at least it was all very obvious what was going on we just needed to get there. Most of the action is presented to us in the last third of the book where pace picks up but in an effort to be 'original or clever' the author fell into the trap of adding drama and detail for the sake of shock value which was unnecessary.
The ending? Well I think it can be taken both way and again was trying to be 'clever' and was not well executed. Sometimes sticking to the plan is the best way.
An unfortunate execution to what could have been an excellent premise.

Thank you to Blackstone Publishing who provided me with an audiocopy of this book via NetGalley. All opinions are my own.

I wanted to like this book so bad….and I really got hooked in the very first few chapters and then it went down hill fast. It was very repetitive with the same story told from different people but still was all the same. Overall the story concept was very much like a Twilight Zone episode that went on for way too long. The concept was there but the execution for me was lacking. The ending made me annoyed.

This one was very reminiscent of The Twilight Zone! I love a “what’s real and what isn’t real” book and I was intrigued from the beginning. The story was creepy and atmospheric, with a constant unsettling vibe. I think I just needed…more. A bigger twist, more twists, something. The pacing was slow throughout the whole book and never really quite picked up. I also feel like the narrator was a little off-putting and not in a good way. Overall it wasn’t bad but it wasn’t great either. Thank you to Netgalley and Blackstone Publishing for my gifted copy!

I am going to give this a three because I just couldn’t get into it. It felt like this was a plot I’ve read a dozen times. The narrator did a great job!

This was definitely a different book. It seemed to cross multiple genres. It made for an interesting listen. Wasn’t one of my favorites but was still not too bad.

Was this horror or sci-fi or just a psychological thriller? You tell me!

I liked the way this started out. Very intriguing. We have the whole "what’s real, what’s imagined?" theme throughout. Later, it definitely felt like the Truman Show. There are moments where it feels like things are intentionally unclear, but at times it crosses the line into frustratingly ambiguous. I did start to get bored about 3/4 of the way through. Didn't like the ending, it was too gory and unnecessary.

Memory Ward has that creepy, unsettling vibe you’d expect from a Stephen King novel—just without all the gore. It pulls you into a strange, dreamlike world where you’re never quite sure what’s real, which makes for a pretty tense and eerie read.

That said, the story can be a bit too vague at times. Some parts feel like they’re leading somewhere but never really pay off, and the characters, while interesting, don’t always feel fully fleshed out. It’s definitely more of a slow-burn psychological horror, so if you like your stories straightforward and neatly wrapped up, this one might not be for you.

Overall, it’s a decent read with a cool, unsettling atmosphere, but it left me wishing for a little more clarity and depth.

*3.5 rounded up*
This book was quite enjoyable! Let's get the negatives out of the way first. There were 2 reasons why I almost rounded down to 3 stars instead of up to 4:

1. I hated the narration. The narrator made most characters sound like a robot with unrealistic breaks in their speech - it seemed like small pauses after almost every word. It was AWFUL!
2. The ending was confusing. It doesn't have to be wrapped up perfectly, but I really had no clue what had just happened. You think you have all the answers, then, not in a good way, you end with "wait, what?"

Okay, onto the good...
I loved the Black Mirror vibe of this story & trying to figure out what was going on. Given the title, you have a pretty good starting point & it's not completely a mystery, but there's still plenty you don't know. It would make a great movie! I also thought the characters were very well done & the pacing was spot on. I really wish I would've had a physical copy of the book. I think I would've enjoyed it so much more without the narration. I'll be keeping an eye out for more by this author!

Since I read the premise of this one I knew I wanted to read it. While this book wasn’t exactly what I thought it’d be, it also still was in some ways.

The Memory Ward by Jon Bassoff is a one-sitting type of read. By the end of chapter one you are all in and by chapter four you have to finish reading to see where the plot going.

While this was a fun read I found the pacing a little too slow, but it still kept me entertained. It felt reading a book version of Pleasant Ville and The Truman Show with a hit of We’ve Come to Welcome You.

This would make an excellent limited series! I think it’d work well, maybe better than reading it.

Quick fun read that begs you to find out what is going on. The writing is intriguing with eerie vibes and the main character pushes the plot along. I liked the sci-fi angle of the book.

The audio was also well done. I listened while following along.

Def a thought-provoking read that begs discussion! If given the option I think I’d have what’s in the book (no spoilers) done to me.

4-5 hr read

Thank you NetGally for the audiobook ARC, but sadly I was not engaged, and while I wanted to like this book,, I did not finish it.