Rachel Emma Shaw

Love, lies and memory thieves. There's nothing Sarilla hates more than stealing memories, but the king forces her to, just so he can keep his subjects in line. She wants to escape to where nobody knows what she is or what she can do, but her plans go awry when she runs into someone she would much rather forget. Falon has a six-month void in his memories that he's desperate to restore. He doesn't know why they were taken or what they contained, nor why the man he loves is acting so cagily about what happened during that time. He hopes to use Sarilla to get back what was stolen from him and isn't interested in why she's so desperate to escape. She will help him get back what he's lost, whether she wants to or not. Join Sarilla and Falon in this twisted tale about how sometimes good intentions aren't enough to keep the darkness at bay.

Last Memoria

Paige Green

Disclaimer: I received this e-arc from the author. Thanks! All opinions are my own.

Book: Last Memoria

Author: Rachel Emma Snow

Book Series: Memoria Duology 

Rating: 3.5/5

Publication Date: May 10, 2020

Genre: YA Fantasy

Recommended Age: 15+ (memory loss, stealing memories, slight violence, some romance,… did I say memory loss?)

Publisher: Indie Published

Pages: 253

Amazon Link

Synopsis: Sarilla has learnt one thing from stealing memories. Everybody lies.

There's nothing Sarilla hates more than stealing memories, but the king forces her to take them to keep his subjects in line. She wants to escape to where nobody knows what she is or what she can do, but her plans go awry when she runs into Falon.

Falon has a six month void in his memories that he's desperate to restore. He doesn't know why they were taken or what they contained, nor why the man he loves is acting so cagily about what happened during that time. He hopes to use Sarilla to get back his stolen memories and doesn't care what she wants or why she's desperate to escape. She will help him get them back, whether she wants to or not.

Review: Overall, this was a good book. The plot is interesting and the book forces you to think constantly throughout the book. The book had okay character development, I felt it was too rushed though and didn’t give the character enough to realistically make the change. Overall, I really thought the book was intriguing.

However, I did have some issues with this book. I feel like it didn’t have any worldbuilding. There was a lot of room to expand on this world and I felt like it wasn’t taken advantage of. The pace was also incredibly fast and it felt like it was running a race.

Verdict: It’s a good story, but needs to be polished a bit more.

Belle Ellrich

*I WAS PROVIDED WITH AN e-COPY FOR THE PURPOSES OF A TOUR. THIS DOESN'T AFFECT MY OPINION*

It is currently 1 AM as I'm writing this review, and y'all, the lack of sleep I'm currently experiencing is WORTH IT. I just finished this book, and I'm mixed with so many emotions and too little words to express those emotions.

Shaw is a writer I didn't realize how badly I was missing out on. Her writing style is entirely captivating and alluring in a way you don't too often see in most books. I was completely and totally entranced from start to finish, and I can say that with total confidence; especially since I just spent the last three and a half hours binging this book.

While this book is currently categorized under thriller, I think I'd actually have to disagree. This book isn't so much thriller as it is just a fantastic dark fantasy. Dark fantasy is a tricky genre because it covers so much and expands over a lot of similar themes to thriller and horror. And while I could understand why someone might think this book is a bit of a thriller, it's all due to its dark fantasy roots! So, that's one thing I would change about it.

Now, something I was uncertain of throughout the book was the outcome. This doesn't happen too often to me, but when it does, I can't help but let out a bit of gleeful whine. We need more books like these! It's out of desperation, at this point, that I'm begging for.

Something that was very obvious while reading was the level of talent and knowledge Shaw has in world-building and character development. Both categories, in my opinion, were on par with that of a highly experienced author with twenty-something books out. That was how amazing they were, Shaw deserves to be recognized for it!

One thing that could've used a bit more work though was definitely the pacing. There were a few parts here and there that I felt were way too quick for the speed the book needed to be at, and it kind of threw me for a loop.

All in all, I'm very disappointed that there isn't a physical copy available for purchase because I would buy it out of stock on Amazon if there was. This book was amazing, and I'm so glad that there will be a continuation of it. For that, I rate it 4.75 stars. Rachel, I'm telling you now, you have me wrapped around your finger! Don't break my heart, please. <3

Ashlee

I thoroughly enjoyed Last Memoria! High praise for this one. I’m absolutely looking forward to the next book. I feel like it’s a fantastic start to this duology. 
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It follows a Memoria named Sarilla who has been forced by the crown to take people’s memories. Whether to make them forget, for information, for punishment – she’s been made to do it and she wants out. The more memories she takes, the closer to madness she falls and the more she’s burdened by the guilt of what she’s done.⁣⁣
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In her travels she comes across Falon, a man from her past whose memories have been taken. He doesn’t remember Sarilla but realizes she is a Memoria and seeks her help in regaining what he’s lost. He doesn’t understand why the man he loves has been acting strangely and knows it must be tied to those lost memories. He’ll do whatever it takes to get those pieces of his life back.⁣⁣
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But Sarilla has secrets of her own and just wants to be free from the king’s hold. ⁣⁣
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I loved the mystery of this story, as well as the unique magic system around the Memoria. There is also a fascinating mythology to go with it and the romance is ... tantalizing, to say the least! 😉 It definitely had me on the EDGE of my seat multiple times and the action just kept going and going. If you like stories with characters forced on a journey together, slow burn romance, fantasy worlds with mysteries to solve, bisexual characters, broodiness and angst ... this is one for you. ⁣⁣
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It’s also available in audio format on Spotify! I read and listened to the audio of this one and highly recommend both formats!⁣⁣ Thank you to the author for sending me a ebook version to read, I promptly went out and bought the paperback after I finished it!

Last Memoria

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