What would you do if your memories were stolen? Falon is fighting to get his back. He even plans on using a memory thief called Sarilla to help him. But memori are tricky creatures. Will he get what he wants or will he end up regretting not letting the past stay forgotten?Sarilla has learnt one thing from stealing memories. Everybody lies. There’s nothing she hates more. Memory stealing robs … stealing robs people of their lives as surely as killing them, but since Sarilla is one of the few left who can do this, she’s highly prized by the king, who makes her take them from his people to keep them in line. All Sarilla wants is to escape to where nobody knows what she is or what she can do, but her plans go awry when she runs into Falon, who intends to use Sarilla to help him whether she wants to or not.
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Rating:
Everybody Lies, Cheats and Steals!
This was such a great surprise that I was completely blown away. So much happened in this book and not one bit was predictable and everything in it was completely different from everything I have ever read before. I liked that it followed a kind of standard fantasy format of a journey that the main characters were on where they were not all necessarily friends but they had to fight together and they became the people the each other needed to rely on to survive.
Another thing I liked about this was the recurring theme of “everybody lies, cheats, and steals”. The main character and heroine, Sarilla, says that over and over. Sarilla is a Memoria, or at least a half breed and she was born at the palace. The King, Renford, has been using her and he family as his father did before him to root out traitors because Memoria’s can take people’s memories by touching them and tell the king what is in the memories. He uses that to find traitors and execute them.
Most people, including Sarilla think that makes them monsters. The King considers Sarilla his pet and both loves her and hates her. He has made her hate herself as well. The book begins with Sarilla and her brother on the run after escaping the palace and are on their way to meet their father and younger sister in a town called Arvendon, after her mother has died from taking too many memories and going crazy. However, Sarilla and her brother Rysen get separated and Rysen is caught by the King and his men. So Sarilla heads toward Arvendon to try to free him.
Sarilla meets up with three men traveling to the palace who know who she is and take her hostage. Sarilla is not happy about this because she knows two of the men. One is Falon, a man she was in love with who had some of his memories taken from him and knows who she is, but does not remember her. Another is his best friend Cedral, and the third is a new friend of theirs from Arvendon named Havrick.
They think she is a monster but take her with because she is the King’s favorite pet and they know they will be able to bargain with the King for her. As usual with any fantasy adventure there are many perils along the way as well as things they find out about each other and themselves. The biggest thing I liked was who really is the monster in the story. There are so many. Everybody thinks it is Sarilla and the Memoria, which it is in a way. She even thinks she is a monster.
The Memoria people definitely are, but they sort of have a reason to be. The King is definitely one of the worst, but then he is trying to defend his people as well. The traitors are as well, but they are trying to get the King to stop focusing on his own people and start defending them against the real threat. And there are others as well. In the end there is a romance and a love story that as all the feels, and made me cry like a baby a few times. I actually loved it so much more than I thought I would. Kudos to Rachel Emma Shaw!
I voluntarily read and reviewed an advanced copy of this book. All thoughts and opinions are my own.
Being part memoria allows Sarilla to steal memories with a single touch. But it also means she is a tool for the king to use against accused traitors. Forced to steal memories from the King’s enemies, Sarilla’s mind is full of memories that do not belong to her. And it’s becoming harder to grasp reality. When she runs away with her brother, she is forced to choose between the habits she’s fallen into and a life of freedom. But freedom is daunting and not easily won.
Last Memoria did not turn out to be anything like I expected. Sarilla’s character threw me because she isn’t the strong female lead I have grown used to. Was it frustrating at times? Yes, I wanted to yell at Sarilla’s choices, but Rachel Emma Shaw did a fantastic job portraying a girl emotionally attached to her abuser. Sarilla was filled with so much self-loathing that she was drowning throughout this book. Many choices she made because she believed they were her only option. Sarilla’s predicament fed the darker fantasy tones I was hoping to see, even if her character was not the most likable.
But Sarilla isn’t the only character point of view we experience. Halfway through the novel, perspectives switch to Falon. In the first half of the book, readers see through Sarilla’s eyes what the people think of memoria. In the second half of the book, you are allowed to experience firsthand how memoria are viewed. Though it doesn’t sound like it should be all too different, the resentment and prejudice against the memoria are so severe. And you’ll see the misconceptions and general lack of understanding surrounding what they can and cannot do. You begin to understand Sarilla’s self-hatred and how she has become accustomed to calling herself a monster.
I do wish more time had been spent with Sarilla’s family. Whether by her having flashbacks or more time spent with her brother. Given the large impact her family and their history have on the overall story, they should have had more page time to connect with readers. But where the family relationships fell short, Rachel Emma Shaw made sure the tension between Sarilla and Falon was on point. Toss in a six-month memory gap where Falon has no idea how he should feel and you have a wonderful mix of confusion and desire.
Last Memoria deals with heavy-hitting themes in a dark fantasy world. This is no light-hearted beach read. While it does not tip into grimdark, it certainly treads the line with the extent of cruelty shown against the memoria. A definite pick if you are searching for an interesting magic system and conflicted characters.
Sarilla has the power to take memories, and is branded a monster because of it even though she is the king’s caged pet. Falon wants nothing more than to reclaim the 6 months worth of memories that were stolen from him. When fate throws them back together one night on a lake, they end up on a journey across the kingdom, one seeking to destroy and one seeking answers.
The Characters: So Much Fun
Oh my goodness, I loved the characters and the ways they interacted! And I really felt for Sarilla. Reading her hurt my heart. I understood why people painted her as a monster and why she wore that mantle, but it still hurt my heart. She was born to be used and had a twisted sense of self, and I couldn’t help but feel sympathy for her throughout the entire book. Everything always seemed to go from bad to worse for her and she could never catch a break.
My favorite part of the characters was the way Sarilla and the three men she encountered and ended up traveling with interacted. Falon and his two friends Cedral and Havric believe Sarilla and those like her to be monsters, especially as they have the power to take memories and they created the blackvines that wander the world stealing memories and lives. The loathing they have for her colored the way they interacted with and treated her. Some of it broke my heart, but some of it was really fun, especially since Sarilla also has a sharp tongue and a great deal of wit. As much as I just wanted the guys to accept her, I also wanted the antagonistic behaviors to continue because they really added tension and levity.
The characters were so unique and consistent, and it really helped make their interactions feel natural and fun. I loved getting to see them all from different perspectives through the way they treated each other and in different memories of them. It was interesting to see them both desperate to regain memories and to keep them hidden.
The Setting: Different, Yet Familiar
I liked the world. It was different enough to be interesting, but standard enough to be familiar and comforting. I adored that the city of Arvendon was built up and loved that the buildings were connected by bridges. I wish more of the story had been centered there, but there were other, equally interesting places to visit. Like the Deadwood where blackvines would emerge and twist their way around hapless travelers, stealing their memories and leaving them as shells.
The most interesting part of this world was the memori. A unique race of people, they are incredibly gifted in the way of memory. Not only are they able to commit to memory just about their entire lives, but they can take and give them with just a touch. Their society was fascinating and showcased how interconnected a people can be and how reliant they are on each generation to keep their memories and traditions alive. It also feeds into the fear of being forgotten, which is painful and scary.
The Plot: A Thought-Provoking Story About the Power of Memories
This was quite an interesting and thought-provoking story. It really highlighted how important memories are and how they shape a person. They’re fragile; easily lost and easily twisted. I can’t imagine what it must be like to suddenly lose memories, so can certainly understand why the memori are feared.
The only thing that bothered me about the way the story was presented was that it was separated into two parts and each part was narrated by a different character. I understood why it was done that way, but I was a little annoyed that I spent about half of Part 2 confused about who the narrator was. I got so used to one character telling the story and then suddenly had to switch to another and I guess it was a little hard for my brain to catch up and maintain the switch. But, honestly, I don’t think it could have been done any other way.
I must say that I enjoyed Part 1 much more than Part 2, mostly because it tugged at my heartstrings and I really felt for Sarilla. She was painted as both a victim and a monster, as something worthy of pity and someone to be feared. I think the first half really evoked some strong emotions in me while the second half felt more like an adventure. I was left wanting for more from Sarilla, but, as it was told from a different character’s perspective, it was fascinating to read about how memories change a person and how they not only view the world but themselves.
This story moved at such a good pace. I felt like it stalled in just the right places and didn’t provide any unnecessary information or fillers. I wasn’t entirely sure of where the story was going the entire time, but it all unfolded so naturally that I didn’t even realize I wasn’t sure what this book was supposed to be about. It was just so much fun to be swept along with the characters into a story that felt like it was being told by real people.
I love that there’s so much depth to this story. It’s more than just the effects of true memory loss and how it affects a person’s life. It’s also how memories can affect other people and the lengths people will go to protect each other and give them second chances. I think it also, in an odd way, highlights the importance of accurate communication. Each person sees events in their own ways, colored by their own emotions and knowledge. To see that play out in how memories that were passed around helped each of them understand each other better was utterly fascinating.
Overall: A Very Intriguing Read
This was such a fascinating novel. I loved the idea of how memories impact a person’s life and found the memori to be quite interesting. The characters were interesting separately, but so much more fun when thrown together. It was hard to tell whether this was more plot-driven or character-driven as the characters were strong with equally strong motivations, but there were places where it felt like things were done or decided to make the story move a certain way. Then again, it also felt entirely in character. So, a great balance between the two. Coupled with an interesting world, Last Memoria becomes an intriguing and thought-provoking novel that I think will stay with me for a long time.
Thank you to the author, Rachel Emma Shaw, for a free e-copy. All opinions expressed are my own.