In the realms of The Memory Thief, memories are currency that can be traded for goods, services, skills, and experiences. A group of people–the Gifted–can steal and redistribute memories. Etta is secretly one of them, but she hasn’t used her Gifted abilities since she left the rebel Shadows following her mother’s accident two years ago. But when her mother is again in danger, Etta has no choice … no choice but to return to the underground group in order to complete her greatest heist and save her mother’s life. Etta faces startling attacks, unexpected romance, and above all, her own past as she uncovers a conspiracy that challenges everything she knew about herself and the world around her.
In a place where nothing is what it seems, can Etta ever become more than a memory thief?
“Readers, like Etta and her fellow citizens, will be challenged to contemplate the nature of truth … A welcome addition to the YA fantasy canon, The Memory Thief is a suspenseful page-turner, delightfully chock full of unexpected twists and turns.” – Shelf Awareness
The Memory Thief:
- Is perfect for fans of Leigh Bardugo and Victoria Aveyard
- Brings readers on an unforgettable journey during which Etta must learn–often the hard way–just what it will take to save her city and her mother
- Is a clean, coming of age YA fantasy, with unexpected romance by up-and-coming author Lauren Mansy
more
While impressive, the beginning has a very rough structure. The author plops the reader into the world without any world-building, and it is not always easy to follow. The Memory Thief is a fantasy novel where the characters have many gifts; however, following these gifts is hard. The author is not clear on the world works or on how the gifts work. It just comes across as very confusing for the reader who is trying to figure out who Etta is and what her place is in the world. It just is not clear construction-wise.
As the plot develops, the story explores the differences between the Gifted magic and their societal position versus the Ungifted. So, the author does go into detail with developing the world, but it takes a while. The focus of the opening chapters is establishing the villain and the tension between the villain and Etta.
Nevertheless, in the beginning, Etta is not a very compelling character. There is much internal struggle for her character as she struggles to reconcile her past mistakes. As a story focused on memory and the power of it, how they make us feel and influence our personalities and decisions. So she does become a compelling character, eventually, but the opening chapters do not make her appealing. Thankfully her dynamics with Reid offer up a lot of tension and character development, making her a more compelling character in the long run.
Ultimately The Memory Thief is an okay novel. It is something unique, highlighting the power of memory and how important memories are, but the first quarter of the story, both the structure of the storytelling and the characterization is lacking.
In a world where memories are currency, power, and weaponry, your past can be bought or stolen, and nightmares implanted.
Etta Lark is a gifted young woman who would do anything to save her mother, who is in a coma. She is her mother’s only hope, yet her intricate past and rare gift makes her the target of Madame, a power-hungry megalomaniac. She is ruggedly independent, removing herself as much as she can from the caste system of sorts that rules the realms. I admired her courage, and her devotion to her friends.
This story operates with multiple flashbacks, and a heavy backstory that helps the reader keep up, yet the whole time I was reading this book I kept thinking, “I would have read a whole book about that!” There is a lot going on in this book, especially for its length of just over 300 pages, which plenty of twists, reveals, secrets, and good world building. Multiple times while reading this book I wondered if it might have been better as a series, with more room to expand upon the world that they operated in, as well as fleshing out many of the intriguing characters and relationships, without relying so heavily on flashbacks. The main reasons I believe it would have been a great series, are because the notion of memories being used in this way, with the associated gifts is a pretty big premise, also there are many prominent characters who are alive only in memories, and Etta’s time in the Shadows sounds like it could have been a book in itself.
I wasn’t sure what to expect with this book, but in the end I really liked it. It is great for fans of Defy or Graceling but more clean in content, though the stakes are still high. As a result of this book’s shorter, single volume length I think that the punch of some of the more shocking reveals was lost, as I wasn’t as hungry for it, and in the end there were so many reveals that some challenges seemed in my mind too easily solved. I’m sorry if this all sounds so negative, but what I am really saying is that I liked it, and I wanted more!
Overall, very entertaining, with many surprising plot twists, and reveals. Hard to put down with a full cast of characters, though I did feel like many of the concepts were really good there just wasn’t enough time to expand on it and appreciate it all. Etta is determined and independent, a strong sympathetic character. An entertaining read, with intriguing fantasy concepts, filled with action and hard to put down.
I received a complimentary copy of this book. Opinions expressed in this review are completely my own.
The Memory Thief by Lauren Mansy is an intriguing, suspenseful, and unique fantasy story that had me flipping through the pages and gripping the edge of my seat.
The world building is my favorite thing about this novel and I found myself mesmerized by everything. The idea that memories can be shared, taken, or used as a form of punishiment and torture is interesting, but incredibly terrifying. I would never want to lose or give away any of my most treasured memories… actually all my memories. Just imagining myself living in that kind of world gives me the chills and has my heartbeat racing. Mansy has created such a disturbing, but unforgettable and exciting fantasy world. It’s unique, intricate, dark, and utterly fascinating.
I really like Mansy’s writing style and the overall storyline never falls flat. There’s always something happening and Mansy knows just how to keep you on your toes and surprise you in the most amazing ways. However, (and this is just something minor) the pacing is too fast at times and the story is a bit rushed towards the end. For a story as elaborate as this, I wouldn’t mind if it’s longer with a slower (but not too slow) pace, so I can fully explore this world and digest every single thing in this novel. There are just so many delightful and intriguing aspects in the storyline that I think this would have been even better if it’s longer, or a series.
Having said that, the plot is still engaging, really surprising, and so entertaining. There’s plenty of awesome and exciting parts that had me on edge. There’s even a few moments that made my heart ache and scenes that made me teary. I enjoyed the suspense, the action, and all the unexpected twist and turns. The romance is okay… I’m not super into it, but I still enjoyed having a little love story. The ending is alright. It could have been more epic, but it does wrap up the story well enough that even though I want to change a few things, I’m quite satisfied with it.
The characters are complex and interesting. I admire Etta in a lot of ways even though I couldn’t completely connect with her. She’s betrayed her friends, made mistakes, and hurt people who trusted her. She’s far from perfect, but she’s has her own strengths and acknowledges the wrongs she’s done. I enjoyed seeing her change, learn from her past, and forgive herself. I also like that she’s fierce and protective of Ryder. I adore Reid. He’s selfless, brave, caring and sweet. He fights for what he believes in and is dedicated to doing what is good. I also really like Ryder. I think she’s fearless, determined, and a wonderful person. Porter, Felix, and Greer are all pretty amazing and I wish there’s more scenes with them. I love the bond some of the characters have with each other and their willingness to do whatever it takes to save the people they love.
Undeniably unique and thrilling, The Memory Thief by Lauren Mansy is a wonderful debut novel that will keep you glued to the pages. The world building is superb, the characters are interesting, the romance is quite adorable, and the action, suspense, and twists are awesome. I also love how Mansy emphasizes the importance of family, loyalty, courage, sacrifice, forgiveness, love, hope, and staying true to who you are. All in all, I had a really great time reading this book. Mansy is definitely an author to watch out for and I can’t wait to see what she comes up with next.
I received a finished copy of this book the publisher, Blink, in exchange for a fair and honest review and for participating in a blog tour hosted by The Fantastic Flying Book Club. All thoughts and opinions are my own.
The Memory Thief is a standalone fantasy novel that revolves around a society based on memory transfer, where Gifted individuals have the ability to steal memories by touch or by sight. The titular memory thief is the Gifted Etta Lark, who has a tumultuous past filled with guilt and a determination to wake her mother from her coma. Her mother rests in the city asylum, kept as a bargaining chip by the power-crazed ruler of the city, Madame. When Madame plots to kill her mother, Etta must warn back the trust of old allies, the rebel group the Shadows, to help save her.
The highlight of this book was definitely the plot twists that just kept hitting me, over and over. Whenever I thought I had everything figured out or all the characters had nothing left to hide, the author hit me with something else. It was such good fun seeing how everything came together, and to be constantly on my toes was a great feeling. I would expect this kind of twisty plotting from a several-book series, so the fact that it was incorporated into a standalone without feeling ridiculous was impressive.
The idea of a society revolving around memories is interesting; using memories not only as a supernatural ability but also as currency and a means of political sabotage fleshed out the world and I really felt like the author thought a lot about the real-life consequences of such an incredible power. It was done in an original way and there was a lot of world-building packed into a small space. There were a few downsides to this: the constant revolving door of memory removal and transfer led to flashback after flashback after flashback, which often felt sudden or shoehorned in. They’re important parts of the novel, but the continuous delving into the past when the adventure is in the present was frustrating. With the society so centered on memory-based power, there were also a million titles relating to various positions and powers that gifted people could have, often with only slight variation. In a relatively short standalone novel, this kind of extravagant naming system felt cluttered and confusing.
Sometimes the language was a little underdeveloped or simple; it felt in places that I was reading a middle grade book or a children’s chapter book rather than a YA book for teenagers. Madame, the villain, is relatively one-dimensional, as is Etta’s love interest. On the other hand, Etta herself was so layered and a great narrator, and an ally of hers plays a touching, paternal role that felt so real and moving. The author does seem to have the skill to create complex characters, but just didn’t apply them to half of the important characters. I look forward to what else the author has in store in the future, when perhaps she is able to more effectively combine her great ideas with a writing style that has evolved and developed beyond her debut.
Much thanks to Netgalley and the publisher for providing me a digital ARC of this book.
Thank you to the publisher for an advanced copy. All opinions expressed are my own.
The Memory Thief
By: Lauren Mansy
*REVIEW*
I expected to like The Memory Thief much more than I actually did. The premise is unique. Imagine buying and selling memories! Do you have memories you would gladly sell? In the world of the story, some characters are Gifted, essentially meaning they can touch(or, rarely, look at) someone and steal their memories. The heroine, Etta, is Gifted but hiding this fact, from all but a few, for the sake of her mother’s life. Now, with her mother in danger once again, Etta must make a perilous journey to retrieve something. Her Gifted abilities will be needed on this journey. It’s an intriguing storyline that didn’t deliver. There are moments of interest with action and drama, but there are also too long stretches of boring material. The story as a whole did not maintain it’s magical little something to make me want to keep reading. I forced myself through half of it because I’m not a quitter. The ending was anticlimatic, and overall, it’s mediocre at best. I think this story will be best for a young adult audience interested in fantasy fiction and magic. It’s got the goods for those readers but not for me.
Genre: YA Fantasy
My rating: 5 stars
Language: Clean!
Age Range: 13+
Content: Very mild action scenes/death scenes. A few kisses.
Favorite Character: Etta + Reid
Favorite quote: “Sunsets are ten times prettier after a storm. They’re proof that good can come out of something really bad.” – Penn
Conclusion: This book has been amazing! It was interesting twist that you can give and take away someone’s memory. The story was fascinating and I love how it talks about forgiveness and how good can come from evil. I highly recommend this book!
*I received an ARC from Netgalley for my honest review. These opinions are my own.*
I have received an arc of this book by Netgalley and the publisher.
The Memory thief, takes us into a world where memories can be bought or stolen and can be used by the new owner. It was an intersting world building but I was a bit confused most of the time.