The king's magnificent palace was built in a matter of weeks. No one saw the builders, no villagers are allowed beyond the gilded gate, and only one servant has ever left. The haunted look in her eyes as she was recaptured by the palace guards is something Josie, daughter of the village doctor, has never forgotten.
For Josie, the palace is a mystery that grows more intriguing after she meets the captain of the guards, a man known only as Hammer, as mysterious and captivating as the palace itself. Whispers of magic fuel Josie's desire to uncover the truth, but an ordinary girl like her can only dream of ever being invited inside.
When the king decides to take a wife from among the eligible daughters of the noble families, the palace gates are finally thrown open and the kingdom's elite pour in. In a court where old rivalries and new jealousies collide, the king's favorite is poisoned and the doctor is summoned. As her father's assistant, Josie finally sees inside the lavish walls, but she soon learns the palace won't surrender its secrets easily, for not a single resident, from the lowest servant to the king himself, has a memory from before the palace existed.
In the search for the truth, Josie is drawn deeper into danger, and the answers she seeks might shake the very foundations of the kingdom.
Goodreads Rating: 4.01 stars with over 2,400 ratings
Genre Listing: Fantasy, Magic, Mystery, Fiction
Goodreads Challenge: 3/50
2021 Reading Challenge: #2 Read a book under 400 pages (Find the full challenge here)
Book Review:
Hi, Readers. This post will probably be another short post as I'm still in a brace from spraining my wrist, and I have some homework to do for my communications class. (Someone remind me it was a good decision to go back for my Masters, please?)
Anyway, let's talk about The Palace of Lost Memories by C.J. Archer. I had a lot of high hopes for this book. I absolutely loved the premise of having a palace full of staff who have no memories and there be some mystery surrounding them. I also already love one of C.J. Archer's other series- Glass and Steele.
The Palace of Lost Memories, unfortunately, fell flat of my expectations. The premise was good, and the story was entertaining enough, but I just didn't love it. I felt like the characters lacked personality. Every now and then, there'd be some glimpses of humor and wit, but most of the characters blended together. The guards all seemed relatively similar, and I feel like one randomly gained an irregular speech pattern towards the end. I admit, he could have had that the entire time, but he was an unremarkable character that I could be wrong. No one really stood out, even Josie.
I liked the mystery and trying to figure out who the poisoner was and why. I wanted to know why they didn't have their memories, and I was hoping they would have been restored. I realize that since it's a series, that was never going to be the case (sorry, spoiler.) They did, however, uncover some secrets at least.
Overall, I liked it but didn't love it, and I didn't feel compelled to jump right into book two. I'm not saying I won't read it, but it's not on my priority list at this moment. For now, I'll entertain myself with the sixth Outlander book.
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