OK I tried. I really did. This was a hot mess of a book. I was not a huge fan. Did I finish? Yes. Did I want to? Ehhhh probably not. Did I feel like I was witnessing a trainwreck? YES! You know those people who talk a million miles a minute? That was this book . I felt like there was just so much it wanted to say so it just went really fast. The pace was frantic. I wanted to tell the character to sit down and have a glass of wine to calm down. Caroline has lost her mind. It is as if we got to watch her crazy spiral downward. It was not pretty. I really tried. I wish I had liked it more. Why am I giving it 2 stars? Because I save 1 star reviews for DNF books. I did finish this book, and honestly it was quick. Possibly because I was skipping paragraphs, or possibly because it is a quick read.

Thank you to the publishers and NetGalley for the opportunity to read and review.

What can I say other than - I truly loved it and couldn't stop reading, even forgoing my much needed beauty sleep! The bags under my eyes are more like suitcases now thanks to this book 😂😂
If you are a fan of psychological thriller's than seriously, you need to read this

I just did not like this book. It had such promise, but I felt like I was suffering from a mental illness trying to make heads or tails out of the story. And, unfortunately, I read two books back-to-back about loss of memory. The first book held me on the edge of my seat, so that may have negatively impacted my opinion of The Memory Box.

I think the author has potential, but maybe with some guidance and a better editor, she can produce a book that will have the reader wanting to keep turning the page to get to the jaw dropping moment.

Thank you to NetGalley for an ARC in order for my honest review. I'm really sorry it is not more positive.

This one just wasn't for me. The pacing is way too slow for a thriller. Too much ... talk about things that don't matter. Too much description. The main character does stuff that just seems ... unbelievable. It's pretty disappointing because the premise really could have been done well. Thank you to Netgalley and the publisher for allowing me to read it.

I've always wondered where a writer gets their story ideas. This one seemed a no brainer. Google yourself and you'll find nothing exciting, nothing you don't already know. Or do you? An original story line only comes along so often, and I was lucky enough to find this book out of the millions of choices I had. WOW! Thinking she had nothing to find, the main character, Caroline Thompson, finds a whole life she doesn't remember. And then the story gets better. She must figure out if this is really her life. What she goes through and where the story takes her, insures you'll see this book made into a movie soon. You really need to read this book!

thanks for the chance to read this in exchange for an honest review. This book had me going and then I stopped and it was hard for me to pick the book back up. I liked it once I started reading it again. It was a book with a lot of twists and turns. I liked Caroline and at the same time I didn't like her. I liked the ending and it was all nicely tied up and all my questions that I had were answered. Thanks again!

I find this read difficult to review because I have such mixed feelings about it.

On one hand, I enjoyed the premise and enjoyed the wild ride through suburbia; complete with twists and turns.

On the other hand, the main character, the narration, the whole story felt like it was taking its kids ADHD medication. It was frenetic, frenzied and I would get anxiety just reading it! I don't know what it is exactly that gave it that quality but it made for an exhausting read!

I like to read because it relaxes me. It helps me unwind at the end of the day. And this book did the exact opposite. I just can't decide if that's an intentional and well-done plot device. Or an annoying and unneccessary flaw...

2.5 stars for me.

Thank you to NetGalley for the advanced copy in exchange for an honest review.

The Memory Box was definitely a heart racer for me. It was mostly the amount of tension engendered by the author. The main character is layered and complex, and drew me into he frantic panic early on. I found myself as confused and gaslit feeling as the heroine. The story itself moves well, some of the twists felt a little predictable, but I enjoyed the suspense. My sense of unreality was triggered early on when our heroine can google but is incapable of determining the date! If you're looking for a fast paced, blood pressure raising book, The Memory Box will do the trick.

I was looking forward to reading my first book from netgalley.com but unfortunately was greatly disappointed. The book straight away jumped into a crazy storyline that hurt my head to read. I did not like the main character and found myself thinking it was very far fetched and people wouldn't behave like that - very unrealistic it just wouldn't happen. The actual subject of the story was ok and if it was written completely differently and from a different perspective it could have been better. A poor 2 stars rating.

One day Caroline Thompson decides to do a google search on her own name. At first she is relieved to find only 3 hits, but when she searches under her maiden name, she uncovers some very confusing and disturbing facts. As Caroline tries to discern what has happened in her past, she must face some very unpleasant discoveries about herself and those closest to her.

I really enjoyed the whole premise of this and felt that the story had many layers to it as it progressed, which made it a definite page-turner. There were several twists and turns which were impossible to see coming. Caroline’s character was complex and intriguing. Overall, a fantastic read.

Many thanks to Netgalley, Kobo Writing Life and Eva Lesko Natiello for providing me with a complimentary e-copy ARC in exchange for an honest review.

This book, ugh, I wanted to like this book but I just couldn’t. The synopsis sounded interesting and that’s why I picked it to review. It was just mundane and dragged and sadly tested my patience. I ended up being bored.

I received this book "The Memory Box" from NetGalley and all opinions expressed are my own.
Very hard book to get into for me. The story just seemed to be all over the place. The idea of the story was good and that is why I wanted to read it. It was so descriptive, probably too much there. I didn't like the character Caroline at all. I liked the 2 girls - Lilly and Tessa - and that is probably why I kept reading at all. Definitely a weird ending.

Whatte powerful plot. A well-written, extremely addictive subject, that is bound to haunt you, even after putting the book down.

The Memory Box was the first book I read after coming out of a year long reading slump. It was disturbing, twisty and it was the perfect book to get me out of that slump.
Caroline Thompson finds herself Googling her own name one afternoon and it leads her down a twisty spiral of trying to figure out what happened to her twin sister, the one she swears was still alive not too long ago, but now is supposedly dead and has been for years. Then she finds out that she, Caroline, survived a botch abortion and can't have kids. That's can't be right since she has two daughters that she loves and adores. Now it's up to Caroline to dive into her memories and figure out what happened, what she has lost and why, but will she likes the answers she receives?
The Memory Box kept me on the edge of my seat the entire time I was reading it. With so many twists and turns, it's hard not to lose yourself in the book. I was impressed that this had been the author's debut book, because the writing is wonderful. I also see that that Natiello hasn't published a book since which is disappointing. The Memory Box is dark and compelling, well-written and poignant and is compelling enough that it leaves readers hanging in.

The Memory Box by Eva Lesko Natiello is about a middle-aged housewife named Caroline Thompson.  She's a former journalist who is now a busy wife to husband, Andy, and stay-at-home mom to twin elementary-age daughters, Lily and Tessa in suburbia. She's obsessed about being a good mother and homemaker and her calendar rules the day.

....And so this story begins.......

Have you ever Googled your own name? Come on, confess, of course you have.  The Memory Box becomes a psychological thriller that plays with your mind from the very first page to the last. I found myself saying "are you kidding me, seriously?" on a few different pages.

Caroline is caught up in the social mix of the other mothers in suburbia. One of the moms starts Googling to get the dirt on some of the others in their group.  The whole idea gets Caroline wondering, so she Googles herself and only finds three harmless entries. She's a little bummed and figures she's just boring or something. Then she realizes that no one in town really knows her from before she was married, so she tries again using her maiden name and she finds information to blows her away. 

As she's scrolling down the page of articles that include her name, oddly she comes across the obituary of her twin sister, JD, posted six years ago.  Caroline is astonished because she had no idea her sister died, despite their being very close in the past. Caroline continues to read through the Google articles, she is met with a bag full of confusion and secrets that she was never prepared to see.

She realizes that she can't trust her own recollection of past events either. She returns to the psychologist she had gone to before her move to suburbia where she learns some facts that just can’t be true. She hears her own mother saying that she had an active imagination and that she could convince herself of anything.

Caroline is desperate to figure out the secrets in her own subdued memories and it causes her to become more unstable. To be honest, I was becoming exhausted empathizing with Caaroline's panic and distress, and her increasingly chaotic personal life.  The book was like a train wreck - I couldn't help but to keep turning pages to see what would happen next.

Caroline was not someone I would ever care to know or become friends with. There’s a big twist at the end of this story, which is sort of what readers are expecting all along. Readers won’t exactly know how it’s all going to work out in this story, but knowing there's a twist coming it keeps us reading to the end. I can't believe this is a first book, but since it is true, I can't wait to read more of Ms. Natiello's books!

A 3.5 star rating I rounded up.

Have you ever googled yourself? What about your significant other? Ever wonder if there are skeletons in the closet being hidden from you? How much do you trust the life stories being told to you?

This is the crux of The Memory Box. You have one part brilliant plot line, one part absolutely crazy, want to make you pull your hair out main character and one part ending you will not see coming no matter how much you guess to mix together for a book with a love/hate relationship. This book is insane, maddening, intense, and scary how true this could be in real life. I loved the storyline. It truly was brilliant. That's the love part. The main character made me want to throw the book out the window several times. I wanted to scream at her, shake some sense in her, even slap the crazy out of her. That's the hate part. If you can hold on until the last 20% of the book, it will be worth it and all make sense. That's the love part again. When an author can shock me and surprise me with ending, I give due credit (which is why I rounded up my rating). My worry is that it took the author a little too long to get to the surprise ending (which is a knock out of the park ending!). At times I wanted to give up on the book, but I'm glad I didn't. Caroline will drive you mad, she will make you think you are going crazy reading how crazy she is. But I promise it all gets wrapped up nicely with a bow by the end.

My thanks to Eva Lesko Natiello, the publisher and Netgalley for a copy of the book in exchange for an honest review.

Unfortunately I really tried to get into the book but I just couldn't ! The main character Caroline was annoying and unlikable which is normally not a reason to dislike a book if the story line keeps you interested but nothing about this book did I enjoy. I hate giving bad reviews but I couldn't find anything I liked about this book.

Really enjoyed The Memory Box. Had several twists and turns right up to the final chapter. Never figured out the ending. A real page turner.

I would love to be able to say that I loved The Memory Box in whole but I just can't.

I very much liked the first 90% of the book. It had me on the edge of my seat and I could not for the life of my figure out the twist and the 'why?'s. It was so intriguing and I found myself thinking about it even while I was not reading.

Why did I not give it 4 or 5 stars? Part 2. The last 10%. I was not a fan at all of the outcome. I felt like I was still left with questions and, while I didn't see that part coming, I felt like it really did not do the first 90% justice at all and I was ultimately left frustrated and unsatisfied. My opinion, as a reader, is that had that 10% been taken in a different direction, it would have been a major game changer and the whole of the book would have been outstanding!

I have seen plenty of great reviews for this book so I can only say that this is my honest opinion and perhaps it was just not for me.

Thank you to Netgalley, Eva Lesko Natiello and Fine Line Publishing for an opportunity to read and review The Memory Box

Thank you #NetGalley for a copy of #TheMemoryBox!

Wow!!! I don’t know what else to say about this book. Reading this made me feel like I was in the mind of a crazy person but I loved it. Part 1 is all about Caroline who decided to google herself and finds articles about herself and her past that she remembers nothing about. Part 2??? Total shocker! I have to admit I did not see this ending coming at all and I’m usually pretty good about guessing how books are going to end. Highly recommend this! Great debut novel!