Thanks to NetGalley and F.A. Eden for an Advanced Reader Copy - pub date 10/10/2024. Here we have a mortal woman Carra who can't remember her past rescued by a fae lord Straid avoiding his own past. A by-chance rescue leads to a marriage of convenience which, of course, gets complicated. Not just by the participants, of course. The author also has decided to give us a magical mystery, possibly some murders, definitely Big Problems.

When you open a romantasy, you tend to expect certain things. Magic, romance, probably some kind of decently high stakes mixed in, some level of spice. I would never have said to expect respect for sex workers or rigorous adherence to consent and boundaries but I am DOWN with that. It's refreshing and should definitely show up more. In this case, too, it also adds a level of extra depth to Straid, the hero. A clearly powerful, rich, stunning fae lord who has clearly defined boundaries to what he will and won't do? Yes, please. He does have some emotional hang-ups, what with losing his mortal fiancé 50 years ago and still mourning, plus a Very Complicated Family Situation, but there is noticeable growth in his character through the book. He feels almost too good to be true in places but Eden puts in those little imperfections that feel natural, given his history and that baggage.

Carra almost suffers in comparison, to be honest! She is still well handled and has layers to her, even as she tries to uncover her past, but she feels strangely less human than the actual fae around her. I can't put my finger on it but it probably has something to do with still missing entire chunks of her history even three quarters through the book. (It's a growing process). She is likeable and sympathetic but Straid is just so very well done that the poor woman fluctuates more than she should.

The only real quibble with the book that I can put my finger on is at the very end. Warning, it's a very VERY slow burn kind of romance despite the frequent sex (but not between the main characters!) and then the mystery rightfully eats up a good chunk of real estate... But then you get a fantastic cliff-hanger and you're ready to close the book... But there is another chapter? That is another cliff-hanger and feels like it probably should have opened the next book in the series. So the actual last chapter does this strange backwards dilution thing to the second to last chapter and, oh, I wish we ended on that second to last one because it was extremely Just Right.

First off thank you to NetGalley for an Arc of this book, I appreciate it!

I'm not sure what to say about this book. I enjoyed it but I didn't. At first I had a hard to getting into this story and while I finally got myself to sit down and actually read it, the focus just wasn't there. There wasn't a whole lot of world building for me and to me fantasy books are all about the world building. It was a fast paced book though which helped me get through most of it quicker, but I just needed more for it. The ending had an interesting turn and I kind of want to know what will happen in the next book now.

I'm giving this a 3 star rating and am hoping to maybe go back and reread it a different time with a different mindset later.

Thanks to NetGalley for the ARC, but this one wasn’t for me. I just never got behind the characters and couldn’t personally bring myself to feel invested in the plot. Maybe I read too much similar and it’s fae fatigue but I just don’t know if it brings anything new to the sub genre. It is not poorly written and I will say that it earned points for not stigmatizing sex work. I would still recommend this to the right person depending on what they’re looking for, but it it wasn’t right for me, at least at the moment.

First off, thank you NetGalley for an eARC in exchange for my honest review.
Secondly, I LOVE the cover of this book. So gorgeous.
This book has the potential to be really good. It just needs to go through another round of edits (spelling, grammar, incorrect names in places) and I think it could get there. The story line was interesting and I liked that the author didn't info dump on you as soon as the book started, but rather you kept finding out bits of information as you went along. I do wish that it was longer so the author could build up the characters a bit more and give us some additional details about..well...everything. Without giving any spoilers, I will just say that the author ended the book in a way that makes it obvious there will be a second book. Will I read it? Probably so.

“And he vowed to the universe, out loud, that he would not rest until he found her.”
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⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ | 🌶️🌶️🌶️
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From the very first sentence of this book I could not put it down. The mystery of the fmc’s identity drew me in, but the slow regaining of her memories kept me reading, ever hungry for more.
Carra’s a character I can see myself in a lot. Headstrong and ready to stand up for herself, but also soft and gentle when she wants to be.
Straid immediately joined my roster of book boyfriends. Watching his walls slowly come down, the ice in his heart slowly melt was so beautifully written. It felt so natural, nothing forced or rushed about the nature of their relationship.
Overall, incredible book! I read it front to back in less than 12 hours.

This book had a great amount of potential within the storyline and main characters. However, I felt that it deviated from the developing relationship between Anna (IYKYK) and Straid, and focused more on her career and interactions with the various other fae she interacts with. It then felt like the book suddenly ended with so many threads unraveled and twisted.

It was well written, and the premise was great, but I just couldn't connect with the way it moved forward.

Mortal Memories captured my attention from page one. It’s a fantasy book like no other I’ve ever read before and the ending left me speechless!
Sometimes I felt like things were a bit fast paced but nothing that actually bothered me that much.
In some ways you can compare this book to other fae+human books, but the story was very unique and why it was complex it was also easy to read. I hope there will be a sequel (I presume there will) and can’t wait to read it!

This novel throws you straight into the action!

Diving into a high fantasy world where our human FMC, Carra, suffered post trauma amnesia, stumbling into Fae quarters but is discovered by a fae lord and well...there goes the neighbourhood.
This is a spicy romantasy between Carra and said Fae lord, Straid, fighting to regain her memories before *insert spoiler here* ;)

I feel this novel needed some more world buliding but IT ENDS ON A CLIFFHANGER!!!!

I wanted to like this book but honestly I struggled to get through it. The premise of a human in the fae realm with amnesia was an interesting premise. However I felt like the usual turn for a marriage of convenience trope never played out. I didn’t feel a strong connection between the two main characters.

I was really intrigued by the premise of this book, and I was pleasantly surprised.

The story follows a human woman with amnesia as she seeks to piece together her life and the events of the night that led to her memory being wiped. On the night of the incident, she is found in the Fae Quarters alone, a crime punishable by death for a human, where she is rescued by Straid - the enigmatic Fae who offers to marry her to save her life.

I enjoyed unlocking parts of Anna's life throughout this book, and found her fieriness (mostly) admirable. I also like that she's portrayed as a plus-size POC, rather than the typical Fantasy FMC! Also, plenty of sex-worker positivity in this which was fab.

Straid is the typical fantasy man; attractive, aloof and brooding. He has plenty of secrets and we only find out about most of them in the latter half of the book.

The tension between the FMC & MMC was great, and I found myself really wanting them to finally give in. It was, however, painful knowing they both wanted more but neither would relent (!) Such is the pain of dual POV in this instance. Saying that, I appreciated being able to read this story from both sides as it built on each characters' background and motivations really well.

I liked the Fae bonds and contracts lore in this. It helped to portray a sense of trust and closeness between characters when they used phrases such as 'I swear' or 'please'.

I really enjoyed the ending and I can't wait to see what happens next! This was a quick, easy read, and I will definitely be keeping an eye out for the sequel to see how the Epilogue is resolved/explained?! We love a cliffhanger!

There were a few grammatical errors, and in a couple of places, the wrong name was used, which was confusing. I understand that this can happen in an ARC, so hopefully this is resolved prior to release.

Thanks to NetGalley and the author for an eARC in exchange for my honest opinion.

⭐⭐⭐/5

🌶🌶/5

Mortal Memories is a different take on the Faerie subgenre that has overtaken the realm of Fantasy in recent years. With fae reminiscent of Holly Black fae, different color skin and animal-like attributes, the characters world building feels fresh, although not without the stereotypical “everyone is absolutely gorgeous” story line.

Mortal Memories starts out by following a mortal woman that is on the run alone from something that has terrified her and taken all of her memories in a non-mortal friendly fae sector of the city. After a guard spots Carra and starts asking her questions, Straid, a fae lord with baggage of his own, decides to do a good dee and claim Carra as his wife to dissuade the guards from carrying out her punishment- death. Now forced to marry one another, because the guards will check-in to make sure they are married, Carra settles in to her new life and begins the journey to recover her memories.

When beginning Mortal Memories, I thought I was being led stray by the “slow burn tagine” because there was an immediate attraction between the two main characters. However, the romance between the main characters does stay in the “slow burn” realm because of the trauma both characters have gone through, BUT the book does not remain spice-less and sex-less. Carra discovers that her career was in prostitution, and Straid honors her wishes to continue her career and THAT’S where the spice comes into play.

I do want to give props to the author for the pro sex work story line in an era where sex work still gets criticized and hate.

I appreciated the switch-up to have the male main character experiencing heaving emotions, depression, and grief, whereas I feel like I usually see the female main characters taking the brunt of those emotions.

One of the biggest drawbacks of this book was the grammar and spelling errors. As someone who will re-read a sentence for comprehension and doesn’t tend to skim or read quickly, this really threw me off guard and took away from the overall effect of the story for me.

I found that I liked the writing style but I couldn't really connect with the main characters and couldn't really get into the story/mystery of it all.

Hi Book Besties!💕🌻
I am so excited to share my review with you guys for Mortal Memories😍 By @faedenbooks
A Giant thank you to @Netgalley for the gifted eARC! This is Book 1 in Wylder Tales series. It does have some pretty dark themes so you should absolutely check out those trigger warnings before jumping in! Your mental health is always more important than a book.
This was a fantastic book, a human with no memories of herself and a Fey who comes to her rescue in an area where she should be killed for being unescorted in. However the only way to save her is to agree to marry him. Death or Marriage are her only two choices. But what does being married to this fey really mean…
I loved this entire world! Straid is the ultimate grieving romantic and I love him for it and Carra is just so amazing!I can’t wait to see what happens next!

F.A. Eden is AMAZING! This world they've created is lush and beautiful while the plot and characters are so vivid. I found it hard to step away from! I can't wait to read what they come out with next bc this book is a must read!

I'm not okay.. I couldn't put it down and it ends with a cliffhanger so my only question is when the next one is coming out??? also I have to admit that I didn't liked the other naughty evolvements the FMC had with the characters, specially when she was married.. I'm not saying that she shouldn't work, I'm just saying that for multiple times the MMC saved the FMC and I felt she did disrespected him for her own selfishness and pleasure without consider his feelings

A mortal lost her memories, and a fae lord held back by his.

I really liked the premise for this book, but it dragged for me. It only started getting interesting at 80% of the book.

I really didn't like Carra for the majority or the book, even though Straid was fine with what she was doing.

I could see the two of them going closer within the storyline, I just hope for book 2 it has a bit more oomph.

It was an ok book, but I'm not sure I would read it again.

Memories bind and shape you more than you’d think.

Memories can make or break you. Having too much of a person you’ve loved and given your heart to when they’re gone makes you feel truly empty. Having none of yourself or all you’ve experienced gives you a sense of loss of your identity. Memories hurt, they heal, they protect and preserve, they burn, and they provide.

The story got medium world-building, as we were mainly focused on the characters and the mysteries. Which I see as good, nothing too rushed and we weren’t given information overload on any aspect of the world. What we do learn is really interesting, with all the spoken contracts and rules mortals should learn when in the fae realms.

The plot was really interesting! The concept would really catch your eye and keep you to it. All the characters did not act in ways you’d expect, which made it a fresh take on some dynamics. The story went through many twists and turns, making for quite a cliffhanger by the end of it.

Carra may not have known much of herself, especially in the start, but it does not take away her fire. She’s strong-willed and she does what she loves with no shame for it. She’s smart and clever, quickly adapting to her situation.

Straid had to deal with soul-crushing grief at such a young age, and it made him more restrained and lost. But he’s a trying male, a fae of honor. And he only wishes to protect everyone he cares about.

The very, very slow burn romance just left you wanting so much more with all that heat and tension and will-they-won't-they dynamic.

Unfortunately, I didn’t enjoy this as much as I thought I would. I liked the banter and the conversation style between Carra and Straid, but I felt the story still had a few plot holes that left me wondering. Also having the one main character named Straid, but having him be a fairy not a vampire, kinda threw me off.

Oh my god, the ending!! Literally the last line of the book killed me, I need the next one. It ends on a major cliffhanger. This is a fae and human romance story like no other. Carra is a human female who has lost her memories and ends up married to a fae lord. She slowly regains her memories, and she’s a prostitute. Straid, the fae lord, is ok with her continuing to work while he is searching for a friend who has disappeared. Due to the nature of her job, there is a lot of spice, very detailed with different species of fae. Straid is falling for her as the story continues, and just as he’s about to tell her, she disappears. I read this as a NetGalley arc, these are my opinions.

Carra is a mortal woman found alone in the Fae Quarter, missing all her memories. Straid is a fae male whose fiancé died fifty years ago. After the death of his fiancé, he shut himself away from the world until the night that he impulsively decided to save Carra’s life by marrying her. People have been increasingly going missing in the Fae Quarter and Carra and Straid team up to try and solve the mystery of the missing people and recover Carra’s missing memories.

This book was full of surprises. I really enjoyed the mystery of the missing people. This part of the plot was so fun and I liked learning about the politics of the world and the adventures through the Fae Quarter. The relationship between Carra and Straid was unique, I really loved that he was so accepting of her job and went out of his way to make sure she was protected when she left his estate. Their relationship kept me hooked. I personally did not love the spicy scenes that Carra had with her clients, although this was key to some of the plot, it just wasn't for me. This is fun as a mystery, fantasy story.

Thank you F. A. Eden and netgalley for this ARC in exchange for my honest review.