Scars of Cereba Review (ARC)
Falon's mind is no longer his own. Sarilla put his memories back, but the man he was before his memories were stolen and the man he became after are clashing, fighting to control him. He also has Sarilla to contend with since she put her memories inside him too. His mind wars between loving and hating her. Having her memories transformed his eyes into pure black, striking fear into everyone he comes across. This includes Dranta's new queen who is holding him prisoner and plans to eradicate the issue of the memoria, including him in her mission. Falon must find a way to save himself, but to do so, he will have to sort through the mess in his head and get all three people to come together.
Keep in mind that everyone has their own opinion. This review is only my opinion, and you may have your own, different one. I would take into consideration what I say, but do not make a decision about the book solely based off of this review. Additionally, the author sent me this book as a free advanced reading copy; however, this did not influence my review. This is 100% my honest opinion. Let's begin:
I absolutely loved the concept of having Falon's mind split in three. It was very interesting to watch the three people war with each other in a way and to see how their relationship progressed or changed based off the specific circumstance. I also enjoyed this because we didn't get to see how Falon was before his memories were taken in the first book. Yes, the truth of his dealings with Sarilla was revealed, but we didn't get in his head and have the opportunity to really see who he was. I like that we did in this book and that we had a direct comparison of him before and after the memories. The internal struggle Falon as a whole experienced was written very well in addition to the struggles of all of his parts separately. Shaw is certainly skilled at writing internal conflict. I also liked the character development that all three went through separately and together.
However, one of the biggest issue I had with the book also stemmed from this. There was no indicator of who was controlling Falon at the moment prior to a chapter starting. You could figure it out during the chapter, but I did find it a bit confusing at times. I'm not sure if this was for stylistic purposes (i.e. Falon is confused at who he is and sometimes who is in control, so the readers get to experience what he is going through), but it was definitely something that took me out of the story sometimes since it switched around so much.
I thought the new Sarilla was extremely fascinating. I loved seeing what a memoria who doesn't know the effects of taking memories are would act. Sarilla was always so cautious with her ability in the first book, so watching Sari experiment with the ability was very interesting. This was perhaps my favorite part of the novel. I think the author did a great job at showing the extent of a memoria's powers and I really liked everything that Sari did (not as far as morals go, but it was entertaining and added something to the book).
As far as the other characters go, I do wish that we got to see more of Havric. I adored his character in the first book and was looking forward to seeing more of him. I was a little sad that he seemed to get put to the side. He was still in the story, but not as much as I would have liked. I did, however, like the new queen and how her relationship with Falon worked. Lucan was another intriguing new character. It was fun to see his past with Falon, and I would love to be able to see into Lucan's head because his personality was very interesting. Pharah was my favorite new character. I know I use the word interesting a lot, but I'm going to do it again: she was very interesting. Her past, job, and personality all added to the story in a nice way and she was a great addition to the story. I enjoyed seeing where her loyalties truly lied as well.
The plot was once again very cool and unique. It had me invested in the story the entire time. The darkness of the story truly sets it apart from other fantasy novels. Most fantasy has a dark aspect to it, but this one truly embodies the dark fantasy genre. It makes the story so much more captivating and real. I love that the author does not shy away from negative emotions and situations. It made me love the story more and truly showed who the characters were.
Overall, this was a strong ending to the duology. Luckily, I would not say that it has a case of second book syndrome. I did give it 4 stars because of the confusion and for sidelining Havric when I think he would have been a good character to have around more, but I did still really really enjoy the book. I definitely recommend giving this duology a try, especially if you like darker novels.
Thank you to the author, Rachel Emma Shaw, for giving me an advanced reading copy in exchange for this review! Make sure to go subscribe to her newsletter to get your copy of When Cereba Fell, a short story related to the Memoria duology!
Rating: 4/5 stars
Author: Rachel Emma Shaw
Genre: YA, Dark Fantasy, Thrillers
Series: Memoria Duology (Book 2)
Publication Date: May 10, 2021
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