On the one hand, I loved the emphasis on family and love, and not just romantic love. Parents, grandparents, friends, adopted siblings, bio siblings, and significant others all play large roles as far as relationships go. I liked the romance, understated but very sweet and realistic in "betrayals" but without going overboard in reactions to them. Nicely done.

On the other, I had a hard time following some of the characters and most of the world building as it pertained to the plot. 100 pages in and we were still getting info dumps, paragraphs on paragraphs of new information. The beginning of the book already has several pages of info about the world, the different classes/groups of people and the locations. It's a bit overwhelming and felt like it was way more convoluted than the actual content seemed to require.

Overall though, it was an okay read and I would definitely be curious to read more from Mansy in the future.

While I feel like this book had the elements that make a YA fantasy intriguing–political and social commentary, high stakes, and romance– this fell a bit flat for me. While I’m technically still in the age range for Young Adult, I do feel like I would have enjoyed it more at age thirteen or fourteen. If you or a young relative is getting into young adult fantasy, I’d say go for it! As an almost-eighteen-year-old who has read her fair share of fantasy books, however, I’ll pass.

Books often do well when they take such a fascinating concept that this one has and weave together a really cool magical world. That being said, I do believe that this book has more potential to it! It was not the greatest book I have read, but it was not the worst. It is interesting because, for fantasy, this book did not have a lot of language or adjectives, or descriptions that could have really added to the vision of the book. It made it a bit boring, but the concept alone is what can keep the reader reading.

This was a great concept that I would have really enjoyed if the execution were a bit better. Unfortunately it was confusing and there was a lot to take in. I think maybe this could have been better served as a duology with some of the world building spread out a bit and more detailed.

THE MEMORY THIEF is an engrossing YA fantasy that will keep you turning pages late into the night. Etta lives in a world where memories can be bartered. Certain people, called Gifted, have the ability to take memories and gift them to someone else. In this way, you can lose painful memories, gain new skills through memories of training, gain happy memories, etc. The world is divided into four main realms, each controlled by a Sifter, a special type of Gifted that is the most powerful and effective at removing memories and giving to someone else through sight alone (whereas most Gifted need to use touch). Variants of Gifted result in various other abilities related to moving memories around.

Ungifted people also live throughout the realms in menial tasks and are often exploited by the Gifted. The realms take Gifted people from poor families to add to their armies of Minders. The Shadows are a group leading a rebellion against the realms- particularly Craewick, which is ruled by the cruel Madame. Etta bartered with the Madame years ago to have her mother (now in a coma) taken care of in the Asylum, which is filled with people whose minds have been damaged due to memory transactions. Etta paid a big price to have her mother taken care of there and is hopeful that she will awake. She also has the Gift, but she is marked as Ungifted at her request in part of her bargain with the Madame.

Now, the Madame is threatening her mother, and Etta must turn to the group she had betrayed- the Shadows- to try to save her. As she embarks on a journey, this fast-paced book takes a lot of unexpected twists and turns to a highly satisfying ending.

What I loved: The premise is so unique, and the world building was really well done. While we don't get to explore all the realms, they were easy to imagine, and it was interesting to see the ethics/possibilities for such a society in which memories can be bartered. The implications and discussions about this raise a lot of interesting questions that can be considered even after reaching the end of the book (for instance, if our memories define us, what happens when others possess them? also about exploitation of poverty and the value of holding good and bad memories).

In terms of the characters, I loved the main characters (particularly Etta, Reid, and Ryder) and the presentation of people as not always good vs. bad. The romance was very well built, and we get a lot of character development as they connect and grow as individuals and a couple. I was fully on-board with them as a couple (no insta-love there).

What left me wanting more: I only wish the book was longer, as I would love to continue to explore this world and characters more! However, while it does move fast, it is not rushed.

Final verdict: A thought-provoking and unique YA fantasy, THE MEMORY THIEF is a engrossing and lovely story. Twists and turns keep the reader guessing as they follow Etta on her physical and mental journey. Highly recommend for people who like fantasy/dystopian books like MATCHED, THE SELECTION, BEWARE THE NIGHT, or UNDER THE NEVER SKY.

The Memory Thief by Lauren Mansy
3.5 Stars
The memory Thief follows Etta in her world memories are sold to people who want to live through what that said memory is. When the leader of her city, Madame threatens to put her mother memories up for auction. Etta will do whatever she needs to save her mother. Even if she needs to join the rebel group. Etta needs to prove her allegiance to the rebel group she needs to steal a map of the Maze that is a prison.

-I really loved the idea of this book. Memories kinda work like money and where that can be stolen, bought, and sold. How people can relive through memories. I wish there was a lot more on this topic, like how it came about or more of the dark side of it.
-The writing style is very simple, with no over-the-top flowery writing.
-One thing I didn't care for was everything felt too planned out. The characters had everything handed to them in a way. Everything just worked out. I also felt that we didn't get to spend enough time in some places we bounced around a lot.
-I loved the last chunk of this book the most, the 'twist' and how everything played out was good.
-There are 4 different realms Craewick (where this book is set), Kripen, Blare, and Aravid I would read other books set in these realms because I would like to know more background info of this world.
-How memories play in this book for me and me wanting to know more about that is why there is a .5 added to this book. Other than that is a sold book, simple writing, good well wrapped up ending.
If you are looking for ex-rebel, memories that are used as power, family, and easy-to-read writing; you could enjoy this.

A wonderful, intense, imaginative (dystopian? fantasy?) novel!

I enjoyed this story a great deal! It was fascinating and unique with its world of gifted and ungifted memory thieves and sellers and the fight to free a world from the tyranny of an evil, power hungry, monstress of a ruler.

I really liked that there were several different factions in the storyworld, but would have liked to see the individual places explored more. Also, the startling revelations, sweet romance, deep sacrifice, and tragic (but also wonderful) ending conspired together and built up one marvelous story.

Definitely recommended!

Thank you so much for allowing me to read and review your titles.
I do appreciate it and continue to review books that I get the chance to read.
Thanks again!

This book was enjoyable. I really loved the premise of memories being a commodity that are bought and sold and used as payment fir other things. It’s a super interesting world. I didn’t like that we didn’t get more time to explore this new world more. The book felt rushed. Everything was happening at a breakneck speed and we didn’t really get a chance to live in the world. I wish the author would have taken a little more time and more pages with this book.

Definitely not what I was expecting and honestly not the most compelling writing. Lots of info dumping and telling instead of showing. Not very engaging and felt lazy at times. There were some moments that shone through and showed what Mansy is truly capable of when she's got good editing.

DNF 42% I was sitting here listening to the audio and the characters just had a life or death moment and it occurred to me that I did not really care whether they survived or not. That sounds awful but hear me out. I feel like I don’t know anything about Julietta other than that her mom is in a coma in an asylum (why an asylum and not a hospital?) I’m not sure how old she is but she’s rescued Rider and lives alone so I assume she is whatever age this society deems an adult. The Shadows are like a secret rebellion that she has history with. The leader is stuck in a maze that is like a prison. The acting leader wants to kill her but is instead using her to rescue the real leader because she has the ability not to be read by minders. The whole magic mind reading part of this is blurry to me and I think that might be part of the reason why I’m not into the story. Plus the dialogue felt forced to me but that could be because I didn’t connect to any of the characters so I don’t understand why they are saying the things that they are saying. This book was a good idea but it didn’t resonate with me.

i was really excited for this book, but i found myself not wanting to read it. it was hard to follow and the world building was confusing

Thank you for the e-ARC of this book. This was a DNF for me. I could not get into the plot at all which I am really bummed about because I was so optimistic.

I like the Memory Thief is a standalone story, but I do think that it suffered from muddy worldbuilding and a romantic interest that felt rushed. It felt very YA in not the best of ways.

Thanks for the eARC! This book grabbed my attention from the very beginning. The prose was a bit predictable at times but overall it was an enjoyable experience.

In a perfect world, this book would have been one of my favorites. It has everything I like. An intriguing concept, an interesting world, captivating characters. But for some reason, it fell short for me. I found myself confused for a good part of the story trying to figure out what was a memory and what was supposed to be happening in real-time. Granted the book is called The Memory Thief, but I just had a hard time following along. I want to rate it as a 3.5 star read because I really liked the concept, but I am sad to not rate it higher because it is a great idea for a storyline. 3.5 stars. Thank you, NetGalley for the eARC.

While I'm a fan of and always looking for more standalone young adult fantasy, THE MEMORY THIEF suffered from a very common problem with these sorts of books. It had such an intriguing premise, but was ultimately marred in execution by both a rushed romantic plotline and a lack of world-building.

***I was provided with a copy of this ARC in exchange for an honest review and all thoughts or expressions are my own!***

I wantttted to really like this book. I read 59% of it but just had to stop. There was an information dump at every turn, topped with flack backs/POV changes. In short it was a tedious read and would not wish it upon anyone. I hope the rest of the work put forth from the author results in success. Thanks again.

I love the concept of The Memory Thief, but I think for it to really fulfill all of its potential, it would need to be a longer book, with lots more world-building. I also think that maybe it would have been better without the romance. I know that sentiment is sacrilegious in a YA Fantasy, but I really wanted more backstory and detail than I did a "love you instantly" addition. The book isn't bad, I just thought it could have been better.
2.5 stars

*I received a review copy of this book in exchange for my honest opinion.
Thank you to Blink Books and Netgalley.*

The Memory Thief is a short and sweet YA fantasy read!

I'm torn because, on the one hand, I really loved that this was a standalone fantasy story that I could read in one afternoon. Everything got right to the point and there was a clear goal/arc that was attainable in that short amount of time. Every now and then I would mix up a character or two, and of course, the insta-love was predictable. But the author managed to fit in so much; every other chapter it felt like another shoe was dropping and there was another twist or discovery! So for what it was I really enjoyed it!

On the other hand, I absolutely loved the concept of memories as currencies and the various abilities that people had, and the thought of this being a fully fleshed out adult fantasy series is so tempting! The story felt so unique and the author did manage to put so much into so few pages; but thinking of what could be done with more time and more books, amazing!

I think readers should keep in mind that this is a standalone YA fantasy and go in with the expectations of it being fast-paced and covering a lot of ground, and just roll with it!