Last Memoria

4.5 stars. This book is a slow burn and the memory tectonics is confusing at times but the pay off is great. A wonderful exploration of memory and identity and how it shapes us. You follow two perspectives, Sarilla and Falon. Sarilla is a Memoria, someone who can steal memories from people. She's on the run from her king who wants to use her powers to be tyrannical to his subjects. Sarilla runs into Falon and two of his friends, Cedral and Havric, while on the run. What Falon doesn't know is that Sarilla has previously stolen his memories.

I really enjoyed this book, and how it kept you guessing the entire time and the memory stuff in play made it hard to trust whatever was happening in the scene to be a totally accurate read of the situation- you were always aware that the person was missing information. I also enjoyed how whenever a memory was added or removed from someone, how that person would change. I think it was a tad overexaggerated (for instance, if someone removed the memories I had of my wife, and then told me she was my wife, I highly doubt I would act cold and distant and rude to her because I would have the knowledge that I did share a life with her so I therefore must care about her. The characters in this book tend to characterize anybody they don't remember as “nobody to me” and I don't find that realistic). But as a commentary on the human condition and how our memories define us, it worked.

The main thing that prevented this book from being a full five stars was a very lackluster villain. The king is just being evil because...reasons. And every time he has dialogue, he's just cartoonishly bad for....reasons. I never understood his motivations or character and considering his actions set the entire story in certain directions, I really felt that loss. But otherwise, this book was well done.