Sunday, December 1, 2024

12.1.2024 - The Memory Library

The Memory Library by Kate  Storey 

Many thanks to NetGalley, Avon, Harper Audio/Harper 360 for gifting me an audio ARC of this wonderful debut book by Kate Storey, beautifully narrated by the team of Jilly Bond and Imogen Wilde.  All opinions expressed in this review are my own - 5 stars!

For decades, Sally has been building a library.  Each year, on her daughter, Ella's, birthday, she adds a new book to her shelves with a handwritten note.  But Ella knows nothing about the library.  After a heated exchange with her mother 22 years ago, she fled to Australia and never looked back.  Now married and with a daughter of her own, Ella is forced to come back to London to care for her mother.  

I absolutely loved this novel - it's relatable, hopeful, full of community support and second chances.  Parenting is not always easy, and this highlights how miscommunication can cause irreparable harm.  Sally was a beacon of right choices though, never pushing her daughter but instead protecting her and her choices and keeping doors open.  Ella was so focused on her work in Australia that she lost sight of the important people in her life until she was forced onto a different path and perspective.  I loved her lines, "If I was queen of the world..."  Plus, if you love books and books about books, this one will be right up your alley.  The audiobook narration was perfect and I enjoyed both voices of these main characters (as well as the others).  


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