The Memory Thief

I wasn't a big fan of this book overall. I thought that the plot moved too fast, especially for a fantasy book, so some of the plot twist and magical elements were rushed or not explained all the way. Like the whole romance was so rushed and I didn't like it at all, and I feel like the relationship between Etta, Pen, Joss, and Caden could have been explored a lot more.

Overall, the relationships were kind of iffy. Etta instantly trust and loved Porter and Felix after her arrival in Araivd even though he has been her enemy for as long as she has known, and I thought Ryder was going to be a bigger element but they just kind of sent her off to Blare but still treated her like a major character making her officially Etta's sister at the end, which didn't really feel right to me.

I think this book would have worked better if it had slowed down and been two books. Book one could have been everything up to them getting to Aravid, and then book two could be Etta and Reid further developing their relationship and then taking down Madame and getting to know Felix and Porter better, and going to the maze and the battle. I think this could have been a better use of the characters and their development. Also, the plot twist wasn't really twisting because they happen all of the time. Greer was her dad and then she was the one who had killed Pen who was Reid's brother, and then Porter was Etta's grandfather and then Madame was the one who killed her own father and then Greer sacrificed himself to save Etta and her mom. It was just not as exciting because everything came in quick succession, so you didn't have time to be shocked before the next thing came.

It's a 3.5 for me. It has so much potential and I really loved the concepts around the gifts, the world building and the relationships in the book.

But the pace really prevented me from enjoying it. I caught myself many times thinking “wait, how did she get there?”, “how long has passed?” Or “how far were they?”.
Do note that I listened to the audiobook, and this pace issue might be due to that specific production.

However, I think a bit more time to rest on new scenes, characters and environments, or to let the relationships blossom more organically would have made this book a stunner!