A review by mandikaye
Conjured by Sarah Beth Durst

2.0

I am saddened that so many of the books I’ve read lately have been rated 3 or less.

This one was particularly frustrating for me. The main character lost her memories and had no idea who she was, where she was from, or what she was supposed to even look like (her face was surgically altered when she entered the witness protection program).

As a reader, I was as clueless as Eve was. Except more so. Because she knew where she was and why. She at least knew the reasons she had been told (off-page) for the things that were happening to her. I had no such luxury. I was thrown into the middle of a story with a main character prone to memory loss.

It was maddening.

I nearly put the book down many times out of sheer frustration.

I believe it was probably written that way on purpose to help the reader feel the same confusion Eve felt, but it was too confusing and unenjoyable.

It was impossible to know which characters were trustworthy and which were not. And to be honest – it still wasn’t entirely clear right up until the end.

The big reveal surprised me, but I didn’t like it. It was horrifying to me. And then the way she was treated after the reveal – by those who were protecting her – it just horrified me.

Overall, I simply didn’t like the book. It was confusing and frustrating and gave me bad feels.