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thebookwormsfeast's review
5.0
Firstly, how gorgeous is that cover?
That was the trouble with stolen memories, you could never trust them once they were yours.
Oh this book! The synopsis on Goodreads compares to Joe Abercrombie, and I totally get it. Sarilla has Glokta's dedication and ruthlessness - I'd even say Ninefingers self-destruction. I'd definitely throw this book under grimdark, and I am here for it.
Sarilla is a memoria - identified by their white hair and black hands, memoria can see and steal peoples memories through touch. Falon is missing six months of his memories and is hoping that he can get these back by using Sarilla.
This book isn't the longest, so I really am not going to say too much about it - as it would be so easy to spoil. But I thoroughly enjoyed it, even when I wasn't - which makes no sense I know, but this really is a book about flawed characters making flawed decisions. I cannot wait to read the conclusion in the next book - already that small teaser at the back has me completely tantalised.
Thank you to Rachel for sending me a copy a free, this review is completely my own view.
That was the trouble with stolen memories, you could never trust them once they were yours.
Oh this book! The synopsis on Goodreads compares to Joe Abercrombie, and I totally get it. Sarilla has Glokta's dedication and ruthlessness - I'd even say Ninefingers self-destruction. I'd definitely throw this book under grimdark, and I am here for it.
Sarilla is a memoria - identified by their white hair and black hands, memoria can see and steal peoples memories through touch. Falon is missing six months of his memories and is hoping that he can get these back by using Sarilla.
This book isn't the longest, so I really am not going to say too much about it - as it would be so easy to spoil. But I thoroughly enjoyed it, even when I wasn't - which makes no sense I know, but this really is a book about flawed characters making flawed decisions. I cannot wait to read the conclusion in the next book - already that small teaser at the back has me completely tantalised.
Thank you to Rachel for sending me a copy a free, this review is completely my own view.
ws_bookclub's review against another edition
4.0
Thank you to the author for providing me with this book in exchange for my honest opinion. This will be available on May tenth.
It’s amazing how much is packed into this short book. I was sucked in from the start. So many things were done well!
Sarilla is a memoria, meaning she has the ability to steal memories with just a touch. In this way, she’s sort of stealing identities. A lot of who we are is based on our experiences , so it’s really a dangerous power to have. In the beginning, she and her brother (who is a jerk with a capital ‘j’) are running from the king, who has been using her as a weapon to keep his subjects in line. Honestly, though, the A to B of the book is the least important part.
A good chunk of this book centers simply on Sarilla’s coming to grips with who she is and what she can do. There’s a lot of guilt and regret, as well as fear of who she could become. It’s interesting to see themes of choice vs. nature discussed in such a way. Sarilla was fully-developed, and I enjoyed her inner thoughts more than the rest of the book, although I liked the book as a whole.
The second part of the book takes place from the perspective of Falon, a man whose memories were taken from him. Add to that the fact that there is a bit of a romantic history, and it’s a fascinating combination. He struggles with (justified) anger, which added a cool dynamic. His attitude was horrible a good chunk of the time, but it was completely understandable considering what he was dealing with.
The fantasy world itself wasn’t fully realized, but I think that was done deliberately, leaving the Reader to make inferences based on glimpses seen in stolen memories. It was a risky move, but it worked. I was hooked. I quickly became invested in both the characters, and the feel of the book. It didn’t shy away from the ugly parts of the world, instead bringing them to light in a way that was both jarring and powerful.
It’s amazing how much of a wallop this shorter book packed. If you’re looking for action, this book won’t fill that itch. But if you like a fantasy that makes you think, one that deals with subjects like grief, loss, and the choices we make, this one is for you.
https://wittyandsarcasticbookclub.home.blog/2020/02/04/last-memoria-by-rachel-emma-shaw/
It’s amazing how much is packed into this short book. I was sucked in from the start. So many things were done well!
Sarilla is a memoria, meaning she has the ability to steal memories with just a touch. In this way, she’s sort of stealing identities. A lot of who we are is based on our experiences , so it’s really a dangerous power to have. In the beginning, she and her brother (who is a jerk with a capital ‘j’) are running from the king, who has been using her as a weapon to keep his subjects in line. Honestly, though, the A to B of the book is the least important part.
A good chunk of this book centers simply on Sarilla’s coming to grips with who she is and what she can do. There’s a lot of guilt and regret, as well as fear of who she could become. It’s interesting to see themes of choice vs. nature discussed in such a way. Sarilla was fully-developed, and I enjoyed her inner thoughts more than the rest of the book, although I liked the book as a whole.
The second part of the book takes place from the perspective of Falon, a man whose memories were taken from him. Add to that the fact that there is a bit of a romantic history, and it’s a fascinating combination. He struggles with (justified) anger, which added a cool dynamic. His attitude was horrible a good chunk of the time, but it was completely understandable considering what he was dealing with.
The fantasy world itself wasn’t fully realized, but I think that was done deliberately, leaving the Reader to make inferences based on glimpses seen in stolen memories. It was a risky move, but it worked. I was hooked. I quickly became invested in both the characters, and the feel of the book. It didn’t shy away from the ugly parts of the world, instead bringing them to light in a way that was both jarring and powerful.
It’s amazing how much of a wallop this shorter book packed. If you’re looking for action, this book won’t fill that itch. But if you like a fantasy that makes you think, one that deals with subjects like grief, loss, and the choices we make, this one is for you.
https://wittyandsarcasticbookclub.home.blog/2020/02/04/last-memoria-by-rachel-emma-shaw/
lookmairead's review against another edition
4.0
My 1st ARC! My thanks to the author, Rachel Emma Shaw for the copy.
Overall: I feel many may recognize this plot/ formula quickly once they start reading. That being said- it hooks you. The story loops/twists have you guessing/questioning throughout. This magical world has so much potential to get even crazier (so I’m excited to see Book 2 is in the works).
Wish list for book 2:
- Zero use of the word “monster”.
- I love Havric. I oddly wouldn’t mind hearing his POV.
- I want to see more ridiculous benefits of getting the memories.
Pandemic Distraction: B+ 3.75/5
Overall: I feel many may recognize this plot/ formula quickly once they start reading. That being said- it hooks you. The story loops/twists have you guessing/questioning throughout. This magical world has so much potential to get even crazier (so I’m excited to see Book 2 is in the works).
Wish list for book 2:
- Zero use of the word “monster”.
- I love Havric. I oddly wouldn’t mind hearing his POV.
- I want to see more ridiculous benefits of getting the memories.
Pandemic Distraction: B+ 3.75/5
tabatha_shipley's review against another edition
5.0
What I Did Like:
-Dual POV storyline. I’ve seen that done a lot. I haven’t often seen it done like this and I LOVED the way it shaped this story.
-The messages and themes in this one are HUGE. Really the entire book could be driven by the question if you had a chance to cut one thing from your memory, would you? Big messages, big lessons.
-Characters. They’re both so much deeper than they seem on the surface and I loved diving into their backgrounds. This book has MORALITY QUESTIONS, which is one of my favorite things to see in YA books. Can you be a good person if you have done bad things?
Who Should Read This One:
-Fantasy readers. The world created here by memory reading is wonderful. It’s a great dive into a fantasy world that has been well conceptualized.
-Science Fiction fans who like books that go just outside the realm of plausible into something that forces them to THINK.
-Readers who like BIG emotions packed into their characters.
My Rating: 5 Stars. This will appeal to a wide range of readers. Highly recommended!
For Full Review (including what I didn’t like): https://youtu.be/e27XHLzNjdg
-Dual POV storyline. I’ve seen that done a lot. I haven’t often seen it done like this and I LOVED the way it shaped this story.
-The messages and themes in this one are HUGE. Really the entire book could be driven by the question if you had a chance to cut one thing from your memory, would you? Big messages, big lessons.
-Characters. They’re both so much deeper than they seem on the surface and I loved diving into their backgrounds. This book has MORALITY QUESTIONS, which is one of my favorite things to see in YA books. Can you be a good person if you have done bad things?
Who Should Read This One:
-Fantasy readers. The world created here by memory reading is wonderful. It’s a great dive into a fantasy world that has been well conceptualized.
-Science Fiction fans who like books that go just outside the realm of plausible into something that forces them to THINK.
-Readers who like BIG emotions packed into their characters.
My Rating: 5 Stars. This will appeal to a wide range of readers. Highly recommended!
For Full Review (including what I didn’t like): https://youtu.be/e27XHLzNjdg
geethr75's review
5.0
Oh my god!! I finished this book in one sitting, not even breaking for food. This is just so good! The story is enthralling, the characters so believable and real, and the twist in the end was something I'd never even expected. This was entertaining and heart-breaking and so so beautifully written. A truly amazing read. Just read it!!
queenterribletimy's review
3.0
I've read Last Memoria for SPFBO 6, in which it's a finalist. This review was originally published on Queen's Book Asylum along with the reviews of the rest of the team. Our collective rating is 6.5/10. My personal rating is 6.5 which amounts to 3.5*
It’s been a week since I’ve finished reading Last Memoria, but I still have no idea how I feel about it. On one hand, it was a super fast read, but on the other, I’m not quite sure if I liked anything about it. If that makes any sense. It sure does not for me, but whatever. I might figure it out by the time I finish writing up this review.
So we have this kinda bleak world where the kingdom is plagued by something called the blackvine, stealing people’s life. Created by a race called memoria in answer to an attack on them some time ago. Some of the nobles are rioting against the king who doesn’t want to do anything about it, but at the same time keeping his “pets” around to use for his own ends. His nieces and nephew are descendants or the memoria, having some of their powers such as keeping memories away from others, or giving them others’. With them on his side, looking inside one’s head is not much of a problem. It also comes handy when your nobility tries to assassinate you from time to time.
Sarilla, the king’s favorite “pet” tastes freedom for the first time and though torn between her old life and the possibility of a new one, she can’t quite shake off her identity. The first part of the books tells her story – well, part of it, anyway – in third person. In the second part we switch to Falon’s first person narrative. Which is an interesting choice at first glance, but it’ll make sense at the end. Falon is the bastard son of a high ranking Lord, who is in search of his lost memories along with his two friends. When their path crosses with Sarilla just outside of Arvendon where Sarilla is headed, that’s when Last Memoria gets really interesting.
The writing itself is pretty engaging and Shaw deals with questions such as self-identity, prejudices, and how much memories can define us. Actions have consequences, the characters are neither black nor white, but they probably fall into the darker shades of gray. Then again, it’s a question of your POV. I think my biggest issues with Last Memoria were that I couldn’t make myself like or even care about any of the characters. And that for a long time I couldn’t see where to book was going or what the point of almost anything was. I think it also lacked some worldbuilding and honestly, the ending was somewhat underwhelming. Last Memoria also had one of my pet peeves where characters wander up and down for a long period of time and seemingly nothing happens – which would be fine if I enjoyed spending time with the characters, but I really didn’t all that much. And I usually prefer character-driven books. I only wish Havric got more spotlight, he was the only character whom I actually liked from the beginning.
Last Memoria is a dark novel about hard choices, about coming in terms with our own identity, about betrayal, about consequences to one’s actions. About love and hate and everything in between. Whether the characters will have a happy ending is yet to be seen, though I think it will all depend on whether they come to terms with their own demons.
It’s been a week since I’ve finished reading Last Memoria, but I still have no idea how I feel about it. On one hand, it was a super fast read, but on the other, I’m not quite sure if I liked anything about it. If that makes any sense. It sure does not for me, but whatever. I might figure it out by the time I finish writing up this review.
So we have this kinda bleak world where the kingdom is plagued by something called the blackvine, stealing people’s life. Created by a race called memoria in answer to an attack on them some time ago. Some of the nobles are rioting against the king who doesn’t want to do anything about it, but at the same time keeping his “pets” around to use for his own ends. His nieces and nephew are descendants or the memoria, having some of their powers such as keeping memories away from others, or giving them others’. With them on his side, looking inside one’s head is not much of a problem. It also comes handy when your nobility tries to assassinate you from time to time.
Sarilla, the king’s favorite “pet” tastes freedom for the first time and though torn between her old life and the possibility of a new one, she can’t quite shake off her identity. The first part of the books tells her story – well, part of it, anyway – in third person. In the second part we switch to Falon’s first person narrative. Which is an interesting choice at first glance, but it’ll make sense at the end. Falon is the bastard son of a high ranking Lord, who is in search of his lost memories along with his two friends. When their path crosses with Sarilla just outside of Arvendon where Sarilla is headed, that’s when Last Memoria gets really interesting.
The writing itself is pretty engaging and Shaw deals with questions such as self-identity, prejudices, and how much memories can define us. Actions have consequences, the characters are neither black nor white, but they probably fall into the darker shades of gray. Then again, it’s a question of your POV. I think my biggest issues with Last Memoria were that I couldn’t make myself like or even care about any of the characters. And that for a long time I couldn’t see where to book was going or what the point of almost anything was. I think it also lacked some worldbuilding and honestly, the ending was somewhat underwhelming. Last Memoria also had one of my pet peeves where characters wander up and down for a long period of time and seemingly nothing happens – which would be fine if I enjoyed spending time with the characters, but I really didn’t all that much. And I usually prefer character-driven books. I only wish Havric got more spotlight, he was the only character whom I actually liked from the beginning.
Last Memoria is a dark novel about hard choices, about coming in terms with our own identity, about betrayal, about consequences to one’s actions. About love and hate and everything in between. Whether the characters will have a happy ending is yet to be seen, though I think it will all depend on whether they come to terms with their own demons.
popthebutterfly's review
3.0
Disclaimer: I received this e-arc from the author. Thanks! All opinions are my own.
Book: Last Memoria
Author: Rachel Emma Snow
Book Series: Memoria Duology
Rating: 3.5/5
Publication Date: May 10, 2020
Genre: YA Fantasy
Recommended Age: 15+ (memory loss, stealing memories, slight violence, some romance,… did I say memory loss?)
Publisher: Indie Published
Pages: 253
Amazon Link
Synopsis: Sarilla has learnt one thing from stealing memories. Everybody lies.
There's nothing Sarilla hates more than stealing memories, but the king forces her to take them to keep his subjects in line. She wants to escape to where nobody knows what she is or what she can do, but her plans go awry when she runs into Falon.
Falon has a six month void in his memories that he's desperate to restore. He doesn't know why they were taken or what they contained, nor why the man he loves is acting so cagily about what happened during that time. He hopes to use Sarilla to get back his stolen memories and doesn't care what she wants or why she's desperate to escape. She will help him get them back, whether she wants to or not.
Review: Overall, this was a good book. The plot is interesting and the book forces you to think constantly throughout the book. The book had okay character development, I felt it was too rushed though and didn’t give the character enough to realistically make the change. Overall, I really thought the book was intriguing.
However, I did have some issues with this book. I feel like it didn’t have any worldbuilding. There was a lot of room to expand on this world and I felt like it wasn’t taken advantage of. The pace was also incredibly fast and it felt like it was running a race.
Verdict: It’s a good story, but needs to be polished a bit more.
Book: Last Memoria
Author: Rachel Emma Snow
Book Series: Memoria Duology
Rating: 3.5/5
Publication Date: May 10, 2020
Genre: YA Fantasy
Recommended Age: 15+ (memory loss, stealing memories, slight violence, some romance,… did I say memory loss?)
Publisher: Indie Published
Pages: 253
Amazon Link
Synopsis: Sarilla has learnt one thing from stealing memories. Everybody lies.
There's nothing Sarilla hates more than stealing memories, but the king forces her to take them to keep his subjects in line. She wants to escape to where nobody knows what she is or what she can do, but her plans go awry when she runs into Falon.
Falon has a six month void in his memories that he's desperate to restore. He doesn't know why they were taken or what they contained, nor why the man he loves is acting so cagily about what happened during that time. He hopes to use Sarilla to get back his stolen memories and doesn't care what she wants or why she's desperate to escape. She will help him get them back, whether she wants to or not.
Review: Overall, this was a good book. The plot is interesting and the book forces you to think constantly throughout the book. The book had okay character development, I felt it was too rushed though and didn’t give the character enough to realistically make the change. Overall, I really thought the book was intriguing.
However, I did have some issues with this book. I feel like it didn’t have any worldbuilding. There was a lot of room to expand on this world and I felt like it wasn’t taken advantage of. The pace was also incredibly fast and it felt like it was running a race.
Verdict: It’s a good story, but needs to be polished a bit more.
clearlye's review
3.0
Last Memoria throws you right into the middle of the story and the action which I really enjoyed. The premise of a memory thief and the way memories, their loss and importance to a sense of self are explored is very interesting. Part way through the book had a sudden perspective shift which really threw me. I had to push through to keep reading as it was just not as enjoyable for me. This is also around the time where character's decisions started feeling shaky as well and their characterisations just don't feel as solid. I'm glad I pushed through because there is a pay off with the strands of the plot pulled together which make also those questionable don't feel quite right characterisations all fall into place to make sense.
bookishlykenia's review
5.0
I love books that hold my interest from start to finish. No inbetween or the beginning was slow then it picked up. Nope this was fast paced and it kept me guessing the whole way through. Even at the end it had me guessing what would happen next.
I tend to read at night, this always ends with me going to bed at two In the morning. But with this one, I could not put it down. I had to find out every ounce of information to see who was lying and to whom. Because everybody lies.
You will come to find out, this is my favorite line from the book. Everybody lies. The plot was done well, I think, a girl who can steal memories. She hates who she is and feels she is not redeemable. She’s in love with a man who wants to be excepted just like she does. Their relationship hit heard because they had secrets and as confused as they were, there was love there. Fight me if you want but there was love and I am game!
This book had me in tears, which means it was memorable. Seriously, if I cried, the story will always have a spot in my heart. I’m not kidding!! And I cried hard, I love books where emotions run raw and your able to imagine those feelings and manifest them onto yourself.
Wow this reviews is totally at the rush of my thumbs (typing this on my phone) and completely different mood from my review on my blog. So if y’all are interested link is in my BIO! You check out my full review on there! So excited for book 2! I’m ready for my heart to bleed some more.
I tend to read at night, this always ends with me going to bed at two In the morning. But with this one, I could not put it down. I had to find out every ounce of information to see who was lying and to whom. Because everybody lies.
You will come to find out, this is my favorite line from the book. Everybody lies. The plot was done well, I think, a girl who can steal memories. She hates who she is and feels she is not redeemable. She’s in love with a man who wants to be excepted just like she does. Their relationship hit heard because they had secrets and as confused as they were, there was love there. Fight me if you want but there was love and I am game!
This book had me in tears, which means it was memorable. Seriously, if I cried, the story will always have a spot in my heart. I’m not kidding!! And I cried hard, I love books where emotions run raw and your able to imagine those feelings and manifest them onto yourself.
Wow this reviews is totally at the rush of my thumbs (typing this on my phone) and completely different mood from my review on my blog. So if y’all are interested link is in my BIO! You check out my full review on there! So excited for book 2! I’m ready for my heart to bleed some more.