***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!

The Memory Thief follows Etta, in a magical world where memories can be used like currency. I don't read a ton of fantasy, but the premise of this book had me extremely intrigued. The book had great world building and a fun magic system, but that is where the fun ended. I felt like the writing was a bit boring and rushed. Everything seemed to happen to fast and easy for my liking. The forbidden romance was a little rushed and the character building was lacking. I think this book would have been amazing if it was longer and not YA,

I like the concept of the story. It was slow in the beginning yet it kinda picked up at some parts. I feel like I was given quite a few information in one shot. Don't get me wrong but there's a huge potential in this story.

In the city of Craewick memories are worth a lot. They can also be stolen by some. This was quite an interesting book. Started off a bit odd and slow, but really revved up after a while. A really ended up enjoying it!

A great read. I loved the story.A great read. I loved the story.A great read. I loved the story.A great read. I loved the story.A great read. I loved the story.A great read. I loved the story.A great read. I loved the story.A great read. I loved the story.A great read. I loved the story.A great read. I loved the story.A great read. I loved the story.A great read. I loved the story.A great read. I loved the story.A great read. I loved the story.A great read. I loved the story.A great read. I loved the story.A great read. I loved the story.

The idea behind this book was brilliant, but I found the execution to be a little lacking. Many points felt rushed and glossed over. Frankly, it either needed to be longer or pared down to spread over a series.

Sadly this book didn't excited me into reading it. I attempted to but only made it a few chapters in and dnf this book. While written well this book was just not for me.

DNF. Thank you NetGalley and Publisher for this early copy! I decided to not keep reading this one, it was not for me. Thanks!

2.5 stars.

The concept of this book is so interesting. The Memory Thief takes place in a world where memories can be bought, sold, and stolen from people. This is especially an issue in the city of Craewick, where the leader (Madame) punishes people by putting them up for auction, an act that causes immense pain before the person dies.

Etta is a 17-year-old trying to stay on the sidelines of all of the unrest in the city. Four years before the story began, she caused an accident that left her mother in a coma. Etta struck a deal with Madame to keep her mother safe in the city's asylum. After Etta receives a notice stating that her mother will be part of the next round at the auction, she realizes that she must team up with the organization she betrayed years ago to save her mother's life.

As I said, the concept of the book interested me. Unfortunately, the author completely rushed the story. So many things happened out of convenience when the author could have added more details. Although the stakes were high for the character, I didn't feel the same urgency that the characters did. I'm not sure if another 50 pages would have sufficed, but at least then I would have had more time to care what happened to the characters.

I loved this book! I could not put it down! As someone who enjoys YA, it had a little bit of everything I look for— fantasy, adventure, action, and love. The main character fights for those she loves and I found myself connecting with her throughout the story (and yes, maybe even shed a tear). I highly recommend if you enjoy YA and fantasy! I feel a little late to the party with the write up but I am glad I finally read it!!!

For a book that has such a high focus on memory I found this, unfortunately, very hard to remember.

I loved the premise of The Memory Thief. The idea that memories can be used not only as a bartering system but also as a form or reward or punishment was so intriguing to me. This magic system is what kept me reading - I wanted to know more. While memories kept me reading, though, what this book severely lacked and what ultimately made me lose interest was development. The characters came across as very bland and I had no connection to them at all. The same goes for the world building. It all felt very rushed to me, as though the author decided on the plot and added everything else in as a quick filler to get to the conclusion as fast as possible. It was unsatisfying.

I think The Memory Thief had a TON of potential to be a fantastic and immersive book but the lack of detail and development turned it into a missed opportunity.

Having a strong beginning and a good ending mean nothing if the journey is wasted.

I will continue to keep an eye on this author, I feel like I can see what she's capable of and I really hope to see her get there in the future.

Many thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for providing a copy of this book. All opinions are my own.

Unfortunately, I was not able to finish this book due to time constraints, although I hope to come back to it someday.

The concept of this book was very interesting but I felt the writing style wasn’t really for me. By that, I mean the pacing was a bit rushed. I liked the characters and their development but if this book was a series, the story line would have been so much more engaging. Despite that, I truly think the magic system was unique and I liked the author’s take on it.

Thank you Netgalley and the publisher for the gifted copy, all thoughts are my own

I loved the premise of this book, the idea if memories as currency sounded really interesting.

As much as I wanted to love this book I found the execution to be off. A lot of parts came off confusing as it switched between time lines a lot.

2.5 stars

Another book that was slated for a 2020 release that got moved up or had a wrong date and messed up my TBR schedule. Minus 5000 points.

Mansy’s The Memory Thief promises some new things to readers in exchange for their time. For the most part, she delivers. For the least part, she doesn’t deliver well enough.

Primarily, The Memory Thief is touted as YA, but could be considered a bit more juvenile than YA. The problem with some of the criticism of this is that YA is a broad genre, and its age range is from 12-18. That’s a large gap of maturity level progression for one genre. I would put this in the 13-14 year range, 12 for more mature readers (by mature I mean ability to read more complex texts, not ready for exposure to coarse language and inappropriate sexual references).

I suspect the disagreement is there because YA is a popular genre with grown people, usually over the age of 22-25, and the writing in the genre has become more targeted toward the purchasing base, which is really a New Adult age range. A book that is considered too juvenile because it does not contain content that shouldn’t be in books for those under 18 anyway is really only a plea for making the same story into an adult novel, which I understand. Many of the YA novels and concepts are like kids shoes. They’re much cooler but don’t come in adult sizes. Which is horse crap. Adult shoes can have holographic rainbows on them and still be worn in professional environments. Or they should be.

This book is well done in terms of interesting conceptual framework. It’s an overdone meta-story of oppressor vs. oppressed, where the oppressed has a “chosen one” with a special ability that is hidden and there’s a super secret about this “chosen one’s” parentage or power origin, etc. It also has the enemies-to-lovers cliché, which I don’t mind so much but I know other readers absolutely hate. But, these tropes come with some interesting story gimmicks (special, new quirks of the supernatural or magical that are original or derivative in some way that has not been done before), which I have not read in a book so far, that promise to make the gimmick PART of the story and not just something the character can do that has nothing to do with the plot.

The main character is also not extremely annoying, which is a plus, and the inner conflict she demonstrates feels completely human and relatable, not petty and first-world selfish. I do agree with some that the pacing could be improved significantly. For my part, I feel the world was complex enough to make it either a larger tome or a duology, which would have eliminated the incredibly short denouement that fell flat to me. Otherwise, I loved it and heartily approve.

My thanks to NetGalley for the ARC, for which I give my own opinion.

It was okay. I found the pacing odd and whenever I put it down I wasn’t enthused to pick it back up. I think I built it up in my mind since I read the synopsis a while before receiving it. May go back and try again

The Memory Thief was so much better than I anticipated! Fantasy is hit-or-miss for me; if I have a difficult time understanding the world/story, I probably won't like it... I'm so glad that I didn't have any difficulty with this book.

I found the characters to be intriguing and have depth. I felt bad for Etta and her guilt for things in the past. It was nice to see the redemption in the book and how everything happened for a reason.

All in all, The Memory Thief was a really good read!

*Disclosure of Material Connection: I received one or more of the products or services mentioned above for free in the hope that I would mention/review it on my blog. I was not required to give a positive review, only my honest opinion - which I've done. All thoughts and opinions expressed are my own and I only recommend products or services I use personally and believe will be good for my readers. I am disclosing this in accordance with the Federal Trade Commission's 16 CFR, Part 255: "Guides Concerning the Use of Endorsements and Testimonials in Advertising.*

I really thought that I was going to love this book. The idea of memories as currency was absolutely fascinating to me, and the cover was so eye catching. While I think the bare bones of the plot were great, the execution was not. I had so many issues with this novel and honestly I think that it's a shame that it wasn't great because I felt like the plot had so much potential, but this book fell short of what it could have been