mad_about_books's review
4.0
The relationship between a mother and daughter is always a complex combination of love and conflict. Just ask me, I have a daughter…. hence, daddy's girl, and mama's boy.
MEMORY LANE is a soft science fiction serial that feels like it is in both a contemporary and near future timeframe. Through some scientific machinations, a mother and daughter can physically share memories. Under the auspices of a study into this possibility, Cassie (the mom) and Alex (the daughter) undertake this transfer of memory from mother to daughter.
I found the story both more interesting than I expected yet somewhat lacking in substance. In length and language it seems to be directed to new adult readers. The premise is tantalizing, but the abrupt ending leaves something to be desired. If you're looking for a thought-provoking fast read, I'd say give this one a go.
MEMORY LANE is a soft science fiction serial that feels like it is in both a contemporary and near future timeframe. Through some scientific machinations, a mother and daughter can physically share memories. Under the auspices of a study into this possibility, Cassie (the mom) and Alex (the daughter) undertake this transfer of memory from mother to daughter.
I found the story both more interesting than I expected yet somewhat lacking in substance. In length and language it seems to be directed to new adult readers. The premise is tantalizing, but the abrupt ending leaves something to be desired. If you're looking for a thought-provoking fast read, I'd say give this one a go.
shelfreflectionofficial's review
4.0
This isn’t real. This isn’t real. Trust no one.
[3.5 rounded up to 4] This was a really good psychological thriller (I wouldn’t classify it as sci-fy except for some futuristic tech). Memory therapy- implanting memories from one person’s brain to another. What could wrong?
Alex and her mother take part in a study where Alex has memories from her mother implanted in her brain. But is she experiencing reality or delusion? Her mother claims certain aspects of her visions are incorrect. Is something sinister taking place? Are they being watched? Are people who they say they are? Who can they trust- can they even trust each other? Everyone has their secrets and now they’re on the run and Alex has to decipher what’s going on in her head before someone gets hurt.
So much potential here but it was a little too short. I read it in a day and I’m a mother of 4 under 4. I hated the ending (UNLESS there’s supposed to be a sequel). I’m disappointed that the author didn’t write more. She had so much to work with.
But the suspense and anticipation was definitely there. I thought I had it figured out and I did some of it because I was suspicious about everything the whole time but there are a few unexpected twists that were nice. I would read more from this author- as long as her other books have more resolution.
Side note: Could use a better cover; this one with the hand coming up from the water and the weird title font isn’t real appealing and doesn’t make a ton of sense to the story
**Received an ARC via NetGalley**
See more of my reviews at www.shelfreflection.com!
[3.5 rounded up to 4] This was a really good psychological thriller (I wouldn’t classify it as sci-fy except for some futuristic tech). Memory therapy- implanting memories from one person’s brain to another. What could wrong?
Alex and her mother take part in a study where Alex has memories from her mother implanted in her brain. But is she experiencing reality or delusion? Her mother claims certain aspects of her visions are incorrect. Is something sinister taking place? Are they being watched? Are people who they say they are? Who can they trust- can they even trust each other? Everyone has their secrets and now they’re on the run and Alex has to decipher what’s going on in her head before someone gets hurt.
So much potential here but it was a little too short. I read it in a day and I’m a mother of 4 under 4. I hated the ending (UNLESS there’s supposed to be a sequel).
Spoiler
Judith has some sort of operation going at the hospital where she was able to wipe Remi’s memory and Alex and Cassie are just like- We’ll help you remember! The End. What? Judith is on the run, no one can vouch that you didn’t shoot him, he doesn’t know he’s your father and lover respectively, Alex could still be charged with a different crime, Trina and Peyton are still under Judith’s tampering, and that’s just it? The end? Plus Alex talks about wanting to meet her dad and that maybe that would help her understand this ‘darker’ side to her but that storyline fizzles out. Also, Remi reveals that he knows how Judith messed with them saying it’s the generator, but then we are given no further explanation. If there is no sequel that’s the worst ending ever.But the suspense and anticipation was definitely there. I thought I had it figured out and I did some of it because I was suspicious about everything the whole time but there are a few unexpected twists that were nice. I would read more from this author- as long as her other books have more resolution.
Side note: Could use a better cover; this one with the hand coming up from the water and the weird title font isn’t real appealing and doesn’t make a ton of sense to the story
**Received an ARC via NetGalley**
See more of my reviews at www.shelfreflection.com!
melissadelongcox's review
2.0
*Thanks to Serial Box + NetGalley for the ARC!*
I'm bummed about this one. The premise was really good - very Black Mirror adjacent - what if you could transfer memories between people? In this case, between mother and daughter. But then things started to go awry. The story pacing was great, and the way you were getting a slow reveal of the memories was good, too. Towards the end, the pacing was too much, though - it felt like the book just stopped, several chapters too short with no real resolution. I don't know... it was fine.
I'm bummed about this one. The premise was really good - very Black Mirror adjacent - what if you could transfer memories between people? In this case, between mother and daughter. But then things started to go awry. The story pacing was great, and the way you were getting a slow reveal of the memories was good, too. Towards the end, the pacing was too much, though - it felt like the book just stopped, several chapters too short with no real resolution. I don't know... it was fine.
mommasaystoread's review
3.0
Memory Lane has an intriguing premise, and I found myself really enjoying the read almost immediately. There is the futuristic tech that would fall under science fiction, but other than that, I would say this one is more a psychological thriller. There are many twists and turns - enough to keep the pages turning all the way through. Right up to the end, and that's where I had problems. I would call it a cliffhanger, which it is technically, but it kind of feels like an open ending, maybe even speculative. It feels a bit abrupt to me, and maybe it's my need to have things tied up in a neat little bow, but this ending just didn't work for me. There were way too many loose ends along with a couple of threads that felt like they just fizzled out and were left to dangle. So, what I ended up with was a really good story with a really disappointing end. I did like the rest of the book enough that I'd definitely check out a sequel if there is one, sp there's that.
andredababy's review
5.0
OMG!!! This was so much more than I expected. Like I just expected a mother and a daughter going on a road trip and it being all happy with a few twists, but nothing too severe. When I tell you this had so many unexpected twists and I loved them. It's been so long since I've read a book where I couldn't even guess what was gonna happen next. Really glad I was able to get my hands on the ARC thanks to netgalley.
emmreadsbooks's review
2.0
I had high hopes for this book given the comparisons to Inception and Recursion. However I felt that the book was too short to build the appropriate tension and instead relied on constant gaslighting of the main character as an attempt to create a sense of unreliability in the mother. It seemed like towards the end there was such pressure to tie everything up neatly that I left the book with a sour taste in my mouth. Overall just disappointing unfortunately.
*Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for providing me with an ARC in exchange of an honest review*
*Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for providing me with an ARC in exchange of an honest review*
librarypatronus's review
4.0
3.5 stars...This was fast-paced, which usually I love in a thriller, but it was almost too abrupt at the end. There wasn’t a page count listed, but it was very short. I read it in one sitting, less than 2 hours, and was kept enthralled the entire time. When I put it down though, I had a moment of “wait, what?” about the ending.
This follows a young woman and her not-very-motherly Mom, who she always thinks of as Cassie, as they try to share memories and find out what’s real and what isn’t. I loved how right off the bat you just knew something wasn’t going quite right, I don’t tend to like when thrillers pack all the thrilling bits at the end. The end wrapped up a bit too neatly, and just didn’t make sense to me. I know we suspend some disbelief to believe they can share memories, but how it all tied together was a little much. Overall, I found it a very enjoyable reading experience and would definitely recommend picking it up.
This follows a young woman and her not-very-motherly Mom, who she always thinks of as Cassie, as they try to share memories and find out what’s real and what isn’t. I loved how right off the bat you just knew something wasn’t going quite right, I don’t tend to like when thrillers pack all the thrilling bits at the end. The end wrapped up a bit too neatly, and just didn’t make sense to me. I know we suspend some disbelief to believe they can share memories, but how it all tied together was a little much. Overall, I found it a very enjoyable reading experience and would definitely recommend picking it up.
ndgrad98's review
2.0
Memory Lane aimed straight but missed the mark.
This fast-paced read will have you guessing what’s real or not and what really happened to Alex’s mother and father all those years ago. However, other than the main character Alex, the characters are flat and the ending rushed to an unfinished close.
Alex and her mom Cassie agree to participate in a scientific study where some of Cassie’s memories are transplanted into Alex’s mind in hopes she will be able to recall them as if they were her own. Cassie has spent 20 years as an off and on addict with mental illness. Alex has tried to make something of herself by going to college and finding a good job while she cares for her mother. The only reason she agrees to the experiment is that Cassie refuses to tell her anything about her father and why she left him 20 yrs prior. Alex hopes she can learn more about him from cassie’s memories. Instead, Alex recalls memories that Cassie says aren’t real, including one of a body on a table and one of Cassie being drowned.
This is another book that was issued as a serial, so it has “season x episode y” at the start of every chapter. I really wish authors would take this out when publishing as a full book because it's distracting and irrelevant to a full-length book. The book did not feel long at all, making me think the plot could have been filled in more in a few places or a bit more added to the ending.
Overall I think the idea has promise but the authors just didn’t pull it off. If you like sci-fi type thrillers you would like this one. It’s written like it’s the future but really set in modern-day times. I’m not quite sure when it publishes as the ARC states 1/13/21 but Amazon states 12/21/21.
Thank you to #NetGalley and Serial Box for providing me an #ARC of #MemoryLane to review.
This fast-paced read will have you guessing what’s real or not and what really happened to Alex’s mother and father all those years ago. However, other than the main character Alex, the characters are flat and the ending rushed to an unfinished close.
Alex and her mom Cassie agree to participate in a scientific study where some of Cassie’s memories are transplanted into Alex’s mind in hopes she will be able to recall them as if they were her own. Cassie has spent 20 years as an off and on addict with mental illness. Alex has tried to make something of herself by going to college and finding a good job while she cares for her mother. The only reason she agrees to the experiment is that Cassie refuses to tell her anything about her father and why she left him 20 yrs prior. Alex hopes she can learn more about him from cassie’s memories. Instead, Alex recalls memories that Cassie says aren’t real, including one of a body on a table and one of Cassie being drowned.
This is another book that was issued as a serial, so it has “season x episode y” at the start of every chapter. I really wish authors would take this out when publishing as a full book because it's distracting and irrelevant to a full-length book. The book did not feel long at all, making me think the plot could have been filled in more in a few places or a bit more added to the ending.
Overall I think the idea has promise but the authors just didn’t pull it off. If you like sci-fi type thrillers you would like this one. It’s written like it’s the future but really set in modern-day times. I’m not quite sure when it publishes as the ARC states 1/13/21 but Amazon states 12/21/21.
Thank you to #NetGalley and Serial Box for providing me an #ARC of #MemoryLane to review.
mbladams's review
3.0
This story was originally published on serialbox.com, which makes sense. It reads like a podcast or serial fiction than a cohesive book. It is a good story, but doesn't feel as robust as a novel.
Memory Lane explores the relationships we have with our mothers, and how memories can fool us into believing things that aren't true. Alex and her mother Cassie have a strained relationship. When Cassie invites Alex to participate in a research study with her, Alex goes along with it, partially for the money and partially because she wants to repair their relationship. When they get to the research facility, Alex finds out that the study involves implanting Cassie's memories in Alex's brain, then going on a road trip with Cassie to activate these memories.
Alex decides to participate, even though she has misgivings about the study. When their road trip begins, Alex realizes that the memories she is experiencing are different than what her mother remembers. Which memories are true, and why are they different?
The premise of this book is better than its execution; it feels forced at times, and some things don't ring true toward the end of the book. You will question why certain decisions were made. The book would have been improved by more flashbacks, or descriptions of past events that led to what is happening in the present.
Thanks to Netgalley for an advance copy of this book!
Memory Lane explores the relationships we have with our mothers, and how memories can fool us into believing things that aren't true. Alex and her mother Cassie have a strained relationship. When Cassie invites Alex to participate in a research study with her, Alex goes along with it, partially for the money and partially because she wants to repair their relationship. When they get to the research facility, Alex finds out that the study involves implanting Cassie's memories in Alex's brain, then going on a road trip with Cassie to activate these memories.
Alex decides to participate, even though she has misgivings about the study. When their road trip begins, Alex realizes that the memories she is experiencing are different than what her mother remembers. Which memories are true, and why are they different?
The premise of this book is better than its execution; it feels forced at times, and some things don't ring true toward the end of the book. You will question why certain decisions were made. The book would have been improved by more flashbacks, or descriptions of past events that led to what is happening in the present.
Thanks to Netgalley for an advance copy of this book!
rudo_tsaritsar's review
3.0
Alex and Cassie are a mother daughter duo that have never gotten along. Alex has had to take care of her mother while trying to learn more of her past and who her father is. When an experimental memory transfer has the potential to bring the two closer, Alex reluctantly accepts.
I enjoyed the premise of the book but it soon lost me. Alex starts having memories of her mother that Cassie claimed never happened. As Alex’s hallucinations keep happening, the distance between them grows. Although this was a short read, it was somewhat fast. The ending was kind of unexpected but I still wanted more. More from the story and more from Alex and Cassie. I didn’t feel invested in them as characters in a good way or bad way. I’d be interested in reading this as a full novel, to see what would be added.
Thank you to Netgalley and Serial Box for a copy of the book in exchange for a review!
I enjoyed the premise of the book but it soon lost me. Alex starts having memories of her mother that Cassie claimed never happened. As Alex’s hallucinations keep happening, the distance between them grows. Although this was a short read, it was somewhat fast. The ending was kind of unexpected but I still wanted more. More from the story and more from Alex and Cassie. I didn’t feel invested in them as characters in a good way or bad way. I’d be interested in reading this as a full novel, to see what would be added.
Thank you to Netgalley and Serial Box for a copy of the book in exchange for a review!