Cover Image: The Memory Thief

The Memory Thief

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Member Reviews

This book is set in an interesting world where memories can be traded or stolen. Cool premise. I had really high hopes for this book, but unfortunately it fell a little flat for me. When it comes down to it, I felt the story was rushed. I wish there had been more building between the characters and the tension going on in the world. It was also a little too...well...sappy. Too much happy family feelings which took away from the grittiness of the book.

I liked our cast of characters, but, again, I wish there had been more development of them. They felt a bit superficial and the relationships a bit rushed.

All this being said, I did enjoy the book overall. It wasn't a bad read, but it could have been a better read.

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Loved the premise of the book. Couldn't put it down hardly. I just felt like it was one big rush to the end though. As if the author had these ideas they just HAD to get out. Honestly, the story could've used some slowing so that the reader had time to digest the twists and turns and get to know the characters more.

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Cool idea for a story. I really enjoyed it, even though it's not my usual genre. Thanks for the opportunity to read it!

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The memory thief is an inspiring story of hardship, and the battle to recover from that. You follow the story of Jules aka Etta how she trapped her mother in a coma, gave her father up and killed 3 friends. I was unable to put this book down, every page inspired more ! The author does an incredible job of creating the picture for you so you feel like your right there alongside them. I loved the ending very happily ever after but it was perfect after the trail and tribulations everyone had to face. Would recommend to anyone !

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Sifters. Minders. Ghosts. Shadows. Hunters. Hollows. I really enjoyed this book. I LOVED the idea behind it. Memories being used as currency, bribery, ammunition and more... what a scary thought. I like that for the most part it has a good flow and it was easy to follow. I hit a few plot twists and couldn’t put it down! The twists were well done and didn’t leave me confused or over saturate the story with useless filler.

The only thing I didn’t like was the anti climactic ending. I liked HOW it ended but I felt the way we got there was rushed.

I received this book from @netgalley in exchange for my honest review.

I can honestly say that I can’t even begin to imagine having to use my memories and experiences as currency. Or have someone use a bad memory to hurt me mentally or emotionally. This to me is worse than physical pain.

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I received a netgalley copy in exchange for an honest review.

I personally was not able to connect with the writing style of this book. I felt it a bit juvenile and repetitive. I noticed on multiple occasions that certain things were repeated and it kind of annoyed me.

The story was fine. The pacing was good except the ending felt super rushed. The wrap up was too long and kind of unnecessary.

The characters also felt kind of flat. There wasn’t much character building through the story. At one point, Etta just learned something new about someone she should hate and then automatically accepted it and moved on. It didn’t quite seem realistic.

Overall I think it would be a good book for younger YA readers. The older ones I don’t think would connect the same way the younger readers might.

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I received an eARC of this from Net Galley in return for an honest review.

This book was painful to read. I wanted to DNF it so badly but I stuck it out to see if it got any better. It didn’t. The writing isn’t horrible, but it uses a LOT of colloquial sayings that made it boring and unoriginal. It was also somewhat confusing, we would suddenly have flashbacks or see memories and the transition was so jarring it took me out of the novel. It was also annoying when the author would repeat the same exact memory later on in the book, seriously just give us a quick reminder of the memory if you want us to recall it, don’t give it word for word again!

This book also didn’t have much of a plot, well much of an exciting one. I suppose the main character walking around a lot constitutes as a plot right? And can I mention how everything was just handed to her?! She literally did nothing. They call her a hero because she took someone’s Gift as they died and it merged with her own to make her unreadable which her unreadability (sort of) saved the day, but it was mostly her dad’s sacrifice and her grandpa’s army. Yeah so this book wasn’t really that exciting. I was so confused at what was going on in the final fight, it wasn’t very well described because as I understand this mind fighting Sifters can just drop people with a look while most Gifted can just touch you and steal/take memories. So the final battle shouldn’t have been that bloody would it? Apparently not because somehow all the buildings were destroyed except one but we saw none of it because our amazing main character was knocked out.

Yeah sooooo I kinda didn’t enjoy this book and I basically tortured myself by pushing through. Should’ve saved myself the time and DNF’d at 40%...

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"The Memory Thief" draws us into a world where memories can be bought or stolen giving their new owners different skills and abilities. The main character Etta receives a notice that her mother is up for auction and has to return to the Shadows to make a deal with her old crew and enemies.

This book drew me in with the memory auction and the desperate hunger. However, after the auction the book started to let me down and fall apart.

The biggest issue I had was the pacing. It becomes very clear where the plot needs to take us and for the first third of the book it does fine with things progressing at a steady rate. But once Etta reaches where she needs to go I felt that the pacing speeds up and doesn't make sense anymore. The romances did not make sense to me nor did the alliances. Once both of these happened the depth to the story and the characters was lost for me.

This book was average for me and I already have forgotten about it. Luckily I kept notes and I could follow them to remember exactly what happened in this book. I think the idea of this story was awesome but it just had pacing issues.


**thanks to the publishers and netgalley for providing an arc in exchange for a fair and honest review**

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I really liked the premise of this book. It is a very unique and interesting concept. It was however, a bit hard to read and follow at times by the fast paced flow of the book- I feel like if some aspects of the story were more developed with further information and scenes, it would really help the reader to be follow along and get lost in this world.

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Well, well, well...It’s the happiest, fairy tale-iest dystopian fantasy that you ever did see!

Seriously, it’s Disney dystopia.

There’s plenty of mayhem along the way, and a few sad moments to remind you What We’re Fighting For in this particular realm, but I do believe this is the least bleak book I’ve encountered in the genre.

And I can’t decide if that makes it schmaltzy or refreshing.

The basic concept regarding the theft and repurposing of the memories of others is actually pretty clever, and I have to admit it was nice not to have to feel as distressed as one normally does when reading dystopia.

The book reads quickly and harbors some traditional fantasy elements which, as someone who isn’t all that fond of pure dystopia, I found pleasing.

Thought the characters are largely common stock types and in many cases feel too good to be true, you’ll like them anyway, and the plot moves well enough and has decent enough twists that it’s still enjoyable even if the wins seem to come a bit too easily for our heroes.

A light, easy read for those who prefer their dystopia with a hearty helping of Happily Ever After.

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This novel had a very unusual premise. It was very fast-paced. However, it was hard to understand. The world-building was not elaborated on. I really liked Etta. I liked how she is very caring especially towards orphans. The romance seemed very instant and felt added on rather than being woven in. Still, I recommend this for fans of Amy Tintara, Marie Lu, and Richelle Mead. Full review to come!

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For half of the book I thought this book was really boring and maybe confusing. The second half was a lot better but it doesn't help push the boringness of the first half up.

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I received an ARC of this book from Netgalley.

I loved the premise of the book and really wanted to love the book...but it didn't work for me. The relationships were too rushed and perfect. The conflicts were too easily overcome, and I never got emotionally attached to the characters.

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I requested this book because I was really intrigued by the premise, memories being used in so many different ways, very unique! I found Etta to be a very likable character along with some of the other secondary characters. The plot builds up in an interesting way, but there's a lot of character introduction, terminology, and flashbacks that it makes it a little confusing to follow, it almost breaks the flow of the book for me.

There's lots of build up and action to the climax and when we finally get to that moment, it's over and done in like 2 pages and then the book ends with a nice bow and happy ending. It was a bit of a let down. This is a stand alone book so it didn't leave much room for a ton of expansion but there could have been a little bit more.

ARC provided by the publisher via Netgalley in exchange for an honest review.

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The Memory Thief was so interesting because I don’t think I’ve read anything quite like it before. This novel submerges the reader in a landscape so imaginative and detailed that the information of the world building/plot never feels forced, and is never difficult to understand or picture in one's mind. A wonderful debut!

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The Memory Thief is a fascinating blend of fantasy dystopian fiction. I really wanted to love it as so many parts of it were really fantastic. The protagonist is a lovingly crafted character with equal parts guts, compassion, strength and guilt. The idea of four different realms, each with their different strengths, and the greedy ruler who wants to have them all is a classic foundation for a great story. Add in a little bit of love, a little bit of betrayal and an element of surprise and you should have the makings of a great book.

I did enjoy the storyline and the characters. The story was fast-paced without being overwhelming, cute without being kitschy and generally a good read. The main character was well-developed although the supporting cast was less so. I struggled with the number of different minor characters, quickly explained details and somewhat sudden jumps in time and place. It felt like a lot was alluded to at the beginning of the book that I was supposed to remember later in the book without reminders. While I did enjoy The Memory Thief, I think it could have been longer, allowing time to develop those minor details in more depth; this is a book that could really have benefited from alternating present time chapters with chapters that more deeply delved in to the past aka the memories, of the Memory Thief herself.

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Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for sending me a digital copy of this book. I was not overly impressed by this book. The writing is unimaginative with simple word choice. The plot is not very original and didn’t hold my attention. It had interesting moments but overall this book does not stand out in the wave of YA fantasy.

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Thank you Netgalley and Blink for sending me a digital arc of this wonderful novel.

Its been a while since I have read a book so good that I could not think of anything else. My "One more chapter' turned into 'reading the whole book in one sitting'. The Memory Thief is a captivating and fast paced novel filled with action and excitement. This book gave me everything I did not know I needed and kept me on edge the whole time. The world and the magic system is very fascinating and lush. I especially loved the authors detailed descriptions of the cities and the maze. Even the characters are so well written and developed that I could not help but fall in love with them. Reid's soft, sweet, witty and sensitive personality was like a breath of fresh air. With her skillful and impeccable writing style, the author succeeded to make a deep impact on me.I felt so many emotions right from the first page of the book - I smiled and cried with the characters, feared for their lives when they were in danger, grieved for their lost ones. While I loved every bit of this book, the ending felt a little anticlimactic to me but I am not complaining much about that.

Lastly, I loved Lauren Mansy's writing style. This was an outstanding debut novel and I can't wait to read more of her future works.

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The book was very enjoyable! I feel like the characters were interesting, as well as the premise of the story (very unique!). I did feel like the story-telling was rushed at some times and could have been fleshed out more and spanned more than just this book, but it was a good read! I would recommend.

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The Memory Thief had a good plot to begin with, and the intro to the book drew me in right away. It didn't completely keep my attention the whole time, which is what was frustrating. The author wrote a fine story, but didn't keep my attention the whole way through. The characters were good, just not a lot of depth, but overall it was a nice read, just not a favorite.

Thanks to Netgalley for the ARC!

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