I really wanted to love Mortal Memories. The premise is so interesting, the characters are intriguing, and the trauma situation seemed like it would pay off. However, the actual execution wasn't as fun.

Thank you NetGalley for providing me this book in exchange for an honest review. As always, all thoughts are my own and they are in no way influenced by early access to this title.

This book had an intriguing premise and a haunting atmosphere, but it didn’t completely work for me. From the start, there’s a strong sense of unease that pulls you in, and the writing does a great job of setting the tone. However, the world building didn't do anything to me personally, I struggled to immerse myself in the book and imagine it; also, there were a few plot inconsistencies. I did somewhat enjoy Carra and Straid's relationship, the dialogue was good and interesting enough, but something about the execution left me feeling a little disconnected.

While the book has some great moments and a good start, I found the pacing uneven. Some sections dragged, while others felt rushed, making it difficult for me to fully invest in the story. I also struggled to connect with Carra or any other characters on an emotional level. I can see this book appealing to some readers, however, I wouldn't personally recommend it.

Mortal Memories by F. A. Eden is an intriguing novel with a compelling premise, but I found myself struggling to fully connect with the story. While the writing is engaging and the world-building detailed, the characters' motives were often unclear, making it difficult to understand their decisions and emotional journeys.

The female main character's (FMC) job plays a significant role in the novel, but the emphasis on it and its various purposes felt overwhelming at times. Instead of enriching the plot, it seemed to overshadow other key elements, leaving less room for character development and emotional depth. As a result, the pacing felt uneven, and the main storyline lost some of its impact.
In the beginning, I was hooked on the story. Marriage of convenience if done well is one of my favorite tropes. Sadly, it didn't work for me. There are elements of the story that I liked, such as the human and fae world, the relationships, and mythology. I struggled to connect to anything in the book. It happens rarely that I remain aloof when reading. Personally, it lacked emotional depth for me. Although, the pace picked up towards the end and ended with an interesting twist; the journey to get there just didn't match my expectations.
Readers who enjoy intricate world-building and career-driven narratives may find it more engaging, but for me, the story did not resonate for story or characters' perspective.

3.5/5 Stars – Rounded up to 4/5.

Mortal Memories by F.A. Eden is a slow burn, romantasy novel that takes the marriage of convenience trope for a spin. I was immediately immersed in the story from the beginning, and really liked Carra and Striad. But as the story progressed, I wasn’t truly feeling the stakes the plot set up found that there were points that tended to drag on for a bit longer than I wanted. I powered through because I wanted to see how the relationship between Carra and Striad would play out and did find the ending was satisfactory for the story that was told.

Mortal Memories is a slow burn, marriage of convenience, fantasy romance, following the perspectives of Carra and Striad. I was excited for this book, it has some of my favorite tropes, plus magic and Fae. Introduction was very attention grabbing, but as I got more into the story and other things came to light, the less I became invested in the main characters' romance and development. The plot still had me interested enough to continue until about halfway and then it really tapered off for me.

Unfortunately I did not enjoy this one. There was next to no worldbuilding, the characters felt one dimensional, the mystery was meh. There was no depth to any of it

I loved this book. I was so good. the twist and turns kept me on the edge of my seat. I look forward to reading more from this author

I really loved “Mortal Memories”. Beautiful writing and captivating story line. I read through it quickly and I can’t wait for the next book! I especially loved the ending and the details related to the Royal Family. Such a unique and fun read!

2.5 stars

Mortal Memories is a slow burn, marriage of convenience, fantasy romance, following the perspectives of Carra and Striad. I was excited for this book, it has some of my favorite tropes, plus magic and Fae. Introduction was very attention grabbing, but as I got more into the story and other things came to light, the less I became invested in the main characters' romance and development. The plot still had me interested enough to continue until about halfway and then it really tapered off for me. I ended up not liking Striad that much, he was very cold and did not warm up all that much and Carra was not around much for a solid relationship to develop between them as well as other obstacles she keeps introducing.This is not a book that I would recommend.
I received an ebook, via Netgalley. This review is my own honest opinion.

A slow burn fae romance that keeps you on your toes as you go on a journey to discover why memories were lost and how nothing is as it appears

This book was fine but nothing ground-breaking. I enjoyed it well enough, but I probably won’t go out of my way to recommend it.

Very interesting premise! The idea of losing your memory and turning up in a place you should not be is interesting.
The writing style was easy and fast pace, though there were some misspellings. I enjoyed the book very much and am curious about how the story will continue.

Thanks to NetGalley, I was able to read this book before it releases on October 10th, 2024. The ending was so good, but it took me a while to enjoy this book. The ending was a twist I’ve never read in any book before. Truly creative and a cliffhanger for something very crazy and shocking.

I enjoyed the growing relationship between Carra and Straid. They started to have real connections, and I liked the normalcy they grew together. There’s not much world building, but I liked diving in to Straid’s family and his history. Honestly, Straid often felt like more of the main character, as I became much more attached to him and his experiences. He was gentle, committed, and kind—but also had secrets and histories that started to reveal themselves with shocking truths.

Although there was a good amount of development for Straid, and I felt like we understood him well, I did not feel the same about Carra. She is basically just a human prostitute who lost her memory. One night she doesn’t even know who she is—The next, her “work” is so important to her and she immediately wants to start working despite having no memories… It didn’t make sense that she would so readily hop back into her job when she remembers nothing… I wasn’t super on board with her being a prostitute, although it did end up helping her to sort of spy and get information. There were a few chapters or pages I fully skipped over since they got pretty spicy. PSA all of the spice was just her being a prostitute, not with her husband. Because of the prostitution and it being a big part of the story, it pulled my rating down from 3 stars to 2...

As this book is still being finalized, there were many typos throughout. There is also a lot of dialogue that doesn’t say who is speaking, and it can get a bit confusing on who is talking. This book was pretty short, and I felt like there could have been more background development—either about Carra or the world they live in—but overall it had a decent flow and an exciting ending. I’m curious to see how this will be adapted, and think it could create for a very thrilling series (especially after the amazing cliffhanger).

I thought this was very good and I will have to add this to the shop shelves. Thank you for the chance for us to review.

This book had such an interesting premise but the execution wasn't done well (in my personal opinion). First of all, I was very intrigued by the amnesia trauma that the fmc deals with but the mystery element felt weak throughout the book. Just like that the worldbuilding was very lackluster. I really couldn't imagine the fantasy world in which this book was set. Plus I just didn't feel like there was a whole lot of depth throughout. The beginning of the novel immediately hooks you but soon after the first scene it just drags (on & on). For me this book was just pretty messy overall (plot inconsistensies, ect.).

I did relatively enjoy the way the author built the relationship between Carra and Straid. It was somewhat a highlight of the book. The dialogue wasn't too bad between the characters either. Besides these two things there wasn't a whole lot that I really enjoyed or that stuck out/with me.

I also was not aware before I started this book that it was the first in a series. I probably wouldn’t have picked it up because I'd thought that this book was a standalone. It does leave on a pretty intriguing cliffhanger but I don't neccessarily think I'll pick up the next ones in this series due to my rating on this one.

Uh okay well that was something. It wasn’t a bad read there was definitely some interesting points. The storyline was cool, I really enjoyed the mystery behind the missing people as well as her memories. Wasn’t a huge fan of her profession I think it’s bordering on the cheating trope but I can also see the argument that it isn’t. Just kind of felt off to me I would’ve loved to have seen more of the actual mcs together than everyone else. They had really good chemistry and it just kind of got lost amongst everything else when it would’ve made for some great steamy moments. So in terms of spice it’s about a 2.5/5 but between the mmc and fmc it’s like a 0/5 unfortunately. Overall, it’s not a bad read and I would love to see how the next book progresses because it does leave off on a cliffhanger and so that creates this desire to read the next book. It’s 3.5/5 for me, I’d probably wait to recommend it till I get a feel of book 2 to know how worth it it is.

Karen is offered a choice when she's discovered within the Fae quarter, marry her saviour or run for her life. She chooses to marry as she has no memories from before that night in the hope that she can rediscover who she is and why she was in the quarter.
I found this an enjoyable book though it did seem a little bit on the short side. I do want to read the next one in the series and hope that the development of the story gives more enjoyment.

MORTAL MEMORIES is perhaps the biggest letdown of a book I've received from NetGalley in some time now. The plot felt non-existent, and I'm so confused .... where were Eden's editors? How did someone let them publish this dumpster fire of a book???

One thing I love is a good fantasy I love a book that can make me forget what's going on in the world and go into an imaginative world where the impossible happens and you meet characters and creatures you would never meet for real and this book had ot all

Firstly thank you to Netgalley and the publishers for providing me with an e-Arc in exchange for an honest review.

Mortal memories follows the story of Carra , a human woman who finds herself lost in the fae world with no memories and who is about to be arrested when she is rescued by Striad a fae who offers to marry her to avoid the repercussions of being found alone in the Bone quarters to which she agrees.

The premise of this book was really interesting and the idea had alot of potential however the book itself didn't resonate with me at all.
Firstly the book begins straight into an action scene which is fine except there was no world building , the reader is just told that the FMC is a human in the "Bone Quarters" which is not allowed , as to what the bone quarters is , what constitutes the fae world , how is it different from the human world - the reader is never told.

The main characters themselves were really not likeable and low key creepy. The main FMC has no memories at all but then discovers she's a prostitute and that becomes her personality for the duration of the book. She's so adamant that she wants to continue working and her supposed husband is totally okay with it and that leads to some really creepy, questionable scenes that I had to skip reading. It didn't even add anything to the book.

The plot is also almost non-existent , the reader is made aware that some people are missing and then progress is only made towards the concluding chapters.

I really don't like giving 1 star ratings , in fact I don't think I have ever given one but this was not an enjoyable read. Also I think that more trigger warnings should be added to the book especially about the FMC's profession and the content of the scenes just so that potential readers are aware especially for a book marketed as YA.