**Disclaimer: I was given a free e-ARC in exchange for an honest review from the author**
Title Last Memoria
Author Rachel Emma Shaw
Description from Amazon
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 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.
Release Date May 10, 2020
Initial Thoughts
Thank you to the author, Rachel Emma Shaw, for providing me a copy of Last Memoria. This book was not on my radar yet but I’m honestly surprised I missed it. It sounded like it was right up my alley. I was really excited when I was contacted about this review opportunity.
Some Things I Liked
- World building. The setting and magic in this world are very unique and I really loved that. I thought the explanations for the memory magic were well explained and I liked that it all felt well rounded.
- Morally grey characters. I absolutely loved that both Sarilla and Falon had mysterious motivations and neither was wholly good. Havric was but he’s my fave and I’m obsessed with his mother. She seems like a treasure. But, more about that later. I loved that the main characters made several morally questionable choices.
- Dark themes. This book is definitely dark and I liked that. Sarilla is almost an anti-hero in that regard and I don’t read enough books like that.
One Thing I Wasn’t Crazy About
- While I liked that the book was split into two parts, I didn’t like that the first part was third person narration and the second was first person. I prefer consistency in that aspect. I think my gripe is that I would have liked the first part of the story to have been written from Sarilla’s POV in first person narration.
Series Value
I really loved the world building in this series. I can’t wait to read the next book and I think there is tons of potential for side stories and spin offs. For example, I’d love to hear from Havric’s POV or read about what he got up to when he separated from the group.
I will definitely be continuing with this series.
Final Thoughts
I enjoyed this book. The concepts are unique. The characters are dark and definitely on the morally grey spectrum and I really loved that.
⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
Recommendations for Further Reading
- The Memory Thief by Lauren Mansey – if you enjoyed the memory stealing aspects of Last Memoria, check out this standalone by Lauren Mansey.
- Incendiary by Zoraida Córdova – again, if you enjoyed the memory stealing elements as well as the characterization of the main character as a “monster”, try this new series by Zoraida Córdova.
- Scars of Cereba by Rachel Emma Shaw – fear not friends, if you enjoyed this book, there is going to be a sequel! I will definitely be reading it.
Books Over Everything 