This book was a bit difficult to digest at times - not because it was poorly constructed or poorly written, but because it is incredibly beautiful and ambitious. I still think about it.

I love the concept of traveling back in time for one hour. This story kept me engaged, and I love how it drew the characters together and forward. The concept is interesting, the story is engaging, and the ending is fantastic!

"We think all we are is what we see on the surface. But there's always more."


What a wonderfully scintillating and moving tale of memory, trauma, grief and second chances set within a speculative world of time travel!

The way Dete Meserve cleverly wound these four narratives together was nothing short of brilliant as well as incredibly touching. Told in multiple POVs focusing on the past AND future, each person's unique situation was gripping. Complex situations, events and behaviors made for even more complicated emotions and I could empathize with each person. Despite being told they can't change their future by their actions in the past, when they end up stranded past the hour time limit, each of them attempts to alter the future anyway. Are they stuck in the past? Will they succeed in changing certain outcomes for their futures? The suspense was palpable as I flipped through the pages desperate to know the answers!

I highly recommend the audiobook as each performance was fantastic. A full cast of narrators each brought to life their respective characters with authenticity and the perfect amount of emotion whether it was sorrow, joy, longing, or hope!

THE MEMORY COLLECTORS is compelling, poignant, thought provoking and utterly MEMORABLE. If you love genuine characters, a multi layered plot with increasing intensity combined with heart and a feel good conclusion, then by all means DO NOT MISS this emotional suspense ride!
____

Narrators: Andrew Eiden, Erin Bennett, Hillary Huber, Michael Crouch
____

Thank you Dete Meserve and Spotify Audiobooks for my free copies. All opinions are my own.

If you’ve ever been hesitant to read a time-travel book, this is the one to pick up! It is fantastic!

Aeon Expeditions is a company that offers people the opportunity to jump back in time, but only for one hour, asking, “What would you do if you could spend one hour in your past?”

Four strangers take the jump and find themselves back in time to the same day, a pivotal moment that devastated all of their lives. While they were told their actions couldn’t alter their situations, and the jump only lasts sixty minutes, something goes wrong, and they are stranded in the past for days.

I loved how all these characters’ lives were intertwined, connected, and how it all came together. Granted, it was a bit heartbreaking at times, but the author’s expert storytelling skills made it so engaging, suspenseful, and emotional that half the time I forgot we were discussing time travel. Although a speculative thriller, it was the human element that made this one a standout for me.

This is thought-provoking and thrilling, and the ending is so satisfying, with themes of forgiveness, redemption, and second chances.

🎧 The audiobook was fantastic! Narrated by Andrew Eiden, Erin Bennett, Hillary Huber, and Michael Crouch, I felt immersed in the characters' time-traveling journey. I highly recommend the audiobook experience for this stellar book.

Thank you to @tlcbooktours and @spotify for the gifted audiobook via # NetGalley.

While I’ll quibble on the designation of SciFi, I’ll be accepting zero other criticism regarding this book.

The characters were flawed and meaty and nuanced.
The premise was fascinating and heartbreaking and weirdly REAL.
The convergence of all the storylines was satisfying and touching and good for the soul.

I loved the multiple POVs.
I loved the friendships forged in both necessity and adversity.
I loved the multiple redemption arcs.
I LOVED THIS BOOK.

Four people travel back in time to a few days before a tragic event that ties them together.

What I loved:
- these characters! They were all at different places in their lives but I was able to relate to each of them.
- an intriguing plot that was different from anything I've ever read before
- an ending that I didn't guess but it made so much sense and was exactly how it should have been and was better than what I was hoping would happen.
- fast moving plot that never lagged and kept me interested
- a setting that was easy to picture and worked for a summer reading experience

What didn't work for me -
- nothing!

Thank you to NetGalley and the publishers for an audio copy of this book in exchange for an honest review. I loved the way this story made you think about your past, if you would change anything, and whether or not fate might be in control of everything anyway. I found some of the ending to read a little bit preachy, but still enjoyed how the characters ended up with intertwined plotlines. I will be recommending this to people who are looking for a time travel book that makes them ponder their own lives. 4 out of 5 stars!

Rating: 5 stars
The Memory Collectors was a captivating read with a steady, fast-paced rhythm that kept me engaged from start to finish. The story builds beautifully, allowing you to truly connect with the characters as their individual journeys unfold—only to reveal they’re all tied to a shared, haunting event in their past.

Like many of us would hope for, the characters are given the chance to relive a single hour of their lives, with the hope of reliving their story, and thanks to serendipity maybe rewitring it? But as the narrative unfolds, you're left wondering: was their return to the past a second chance—or simply part of a fate that was always written? The story masterfully balances emotional depth with a thought-provoking twist on destiny and memory.

Engaging and immersive. A recommended purchase in all formats where more literary bent spec fic is popular.

Thank you Spotify and TLC booktours for the review copy. This fast-paced, emotionally layered sci-fi novel had me hooked from the very beginning. Following four individuals as they return to a single, life-altering moment in their past, the story weaves together themes of grief, forgiveness, and lost love with just the right touch of mystery. The character development is strong throughout, and I had no trouble keeping track of each voice and backstory—especially in the audiobook, which shines with a varied and compelling cast. A satisfying, thought-provoking listen that blends heart and high-concept storytelling in equal measure.

Thank you to Net Galley and the publisher for an ARC for an Honest review
The memory collectors was an interesting look at time travel, grief and regret. The characters didn't resonate with me, and I didn't particularly enjoy the narrator. I felt like I kept losing track of whose point of view we were in due to the lack of change in voices etc. I enjoyed the e-book better once it came out.

Four people travel back in time to relive one hour of their lives–a grieving mother, an thrill-seeking amputee, a guy who was ghosted by a girl, and a woman who made a terrible mistake that wrecked her life. It soon becomes clear these four people may be strangers, but their lives and past regrets and wonderings are interconnected. I enjoyed this book overall and liked how the storylines began to overlap. Even though the time travel company claims they cannot change the past with their one-hour visit, I wondered throughout the book if they could get around that barrier, particularly after their stays lasted much longer than the advertised hour. I liked how the author chose four people whose lives took a turn that resulted in different types of regret--regret over traumatic injury, regret over lost love, regret over personal error, and regret related to grief.

I'm not usually a huge fan of books with a lot of characters introduced in the beginning and then trying to figure out where their lives intersect and how they all know each other; however, Dete Meserve does a really good job packing meaning into the lives of the characters and showing the reader that we may not know everything we think we know about the people we interact with and how they fit into our stories. The Memory Collectors are four individuals who travel back to the same night in their lives when everything went wrong for them. Over the course of their self-discovery, they realize that although they cannot change the past, they can change their perspectives on it, which influences how they live the future.

The Memory Collectors is a beautifully crafted novel that offers a fresh perspective on the interplay between emotions and the physical world. Neville's storytelling invites readers to reflect on the memories we attach to objects and the healing power of confronting our past. This book is recommended for those who appreciate introspective narratives with a touch of the supernatural.

I can’t believe I hesitated to read this book! For some inexplicable reason, I thought it might not be my cup of tea, but boy, was I mistaken! Not only was this book tailor-made for me, but I’d wager it’s perfect for anyone I know. I can’t stop thinking about it!

In "The Memory Collectors," four strangers find themselves time-traveling to a pivotal moment in their pasts in a beach town in Ventura, California. Each is seeking closure: Elizabeth wants to reconnect with her deceased son, Andy hopes to find his lost first love, Logan longs to reclaim his adventurous spirit after an accident, and Brooke seeks relief from guilt over a mistake. They use a time travel invention called Aeon Expeditions, which promises to let them relive an hour from their past without altering the future. However, when their scheduled hour extends unexpectedly, they become trapped and uncover dark secrets from that fateful night, revealing that someone else with harmful intentions was also present.

Imagine if you could turn back time and alter the course of your life. Sounds tempting, right? But let’s be real, doing so would unleash a chaotic chain reaction of unforeseen consequences. Instead, what if you could view your challenging situations through a fresh lens and grant yourself a second chance? Would you take it?

This book will tug at your heartstrings! I’ll admit, the cover didn’t initially grab me, but the content. Absolutely captivating! Do yourself a favor and dive into this mind-blowing journey—it’s like stepping into an entirely new dream world! I was fortunate enough to experience the audiobook, and the narrators were phenomenal. I was hooked, eagerly anticipating how everything would unfold!

This heartfelt fantasy is sprinkled with just the right amount of mystery and suspense. There’s so much to love about it! The characters are relatable, the writing is exquisite, and the resolution is satisfying. I genuinely believe we all need this book in our lives to help us see things from a different perspective. Sometimes, no matter how hard we try, the outcome is simply beyond our control. So, be kind to yourself and others. Life can be tough enough without piling on extra emotional baggage!

This might just be one of the best books I’ve read this year! I won’t spoil any details, but I want to convey how deeply it resonated with me. I hope that when you find yourself at a crossroads, someone hands you this book to help shift your perspective. WOW! Absolutely amazing!

Thank you, Spotify Audiobooks and Crooked Lane Books, for the digital ARC copy. I am leaving this review voluntarily.

This book was a really interesting concept and actually pretty good execution! There was sometimes a little bit too much explanation, but I thought the way the plot came together was really well done. A little heavy handed in the messaging maybe.

It's very hard for me to love a time-traveling book, yet I loved this one. The author did a great job with the jumps where different characters can go back to deal with a major event that changed their lives forever. It makes it more interesting that by reading each POV, we learn that the incident was the same. All characters are connected, and one of them is the family of the creator of this "time machine.""
The resolution for this book was very satisfying because, in a way, it defied the rules. An anomaly allowed for it.
Great thriller. I will continue to recommend it. Made me feel for each character in each situation.

I have mixed feelings about this one. The premise was interesting, but I never really connected with any of the characters. I liked the way the mystery of what really happened on the night of August 25th unfolded, but still felt like something was missing. The pace was fairly steady with a few stutters along the way. Having multiple narrators for the audio version definitely helped keep me engaged with the story, and they all did a good job of voicing all the different characters.

A new company has developed the technology to send you back in time somewhere in your life for an hour. You can’t choose the exact time, but the company guarantees that nothing you do will change anything—when you get back time is reset. The main reason people apply is because of some kind of loss, which is true for each of the four strangers who travel to the past and find themselves stuck there—on the day all their lives were changed forever.

The full cast audiobook for The Memory Collectors was perfection! Hillary Huber voices Elizabeth, a mother longing for one more hour with her son after his death in an accident she still doesn’t understand, and you can hear the longing in her performance in the first chapter of the book. Michael Crouch (one of my favorite narrators!) voices Andy, a writer who is desperate to find out why his first love vanished after a whirlwind romance. Fan favorite Andrew Eiden perfectly portrays the frustration of Logan who craves the rush of surfing and mountain climbing after a misstep landed him in a wheelchair. And Erin Bennett rounds out the cast beautifully as Brooke who is looking for an hour of relief from the guilt of an unforgivable mistake.

I was gripped by this tale almost immediately and couldn’t stop listening. I had to know how the characters were connected and how everything would turn out. The audiobook’s amazing production only added to my desire to not put the book down. I’d definitely recommend listening to this one.

Ultimately this is a novel about hope, grief, and the unexpected nature of second chances. The Memory Collectors didn’t end the way I thought it would and it definitely left me with a lot to think about.

Four strangers travel to the past only to realize they are stuck on the day their lives changed forever. Even though they know they cannot change the past, can their experiences change their future?

I was not sure what to expect, but was surprised by how much I liked this. The book is a thought provoking book that asks what would happen if we were able to travel to the past to relive a moment, but not effectually change the future, but change how we viewed the past instead. The author did a great job at weaving together the stories of four people, Logan, Andy, Brooke and Elizabeth’s pasts into a single eventful night, making the book feel both expansive and concise. I appreciated how the author left you with something to think about, yep wrapped up all the endings. The audio on this is a full cast that enhances the experience! Highly recommend this one!