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Shrouded Sister Cassandra Fortin is a wannabe rebel hidden beneath midnight blue dress robes.
By day, she toils at the Temple, pulling the human memories craved by her Fae overlords. By night, she hunts through those same memories for treasures to steal, buying freedom for the mortal colonies’ least fortunate families.
When her fellow Sisters begin disappearing, the officer assigned to the case is the one individual who could expose her secret criminal history.
Good thing Cassandra stole his memory when he apprehended her during her most recent philanthropic robbery.
Officer Tristan Saros has always had a soft spot for mortals and a healthy skepticism towards authority. Especially his own. Now the irreverent, flirtatious Fae warrior has finally found the perfect distraction from immortal boredom - his intriguing new partner. Too bad about her pesky chastity vow. And why does she seem so familiar?
As Tristan and Cassandra team up to find her missing Sisters, their reluctant alliance transforms into a passionate, yet forbidden attraction. And during the investigation, they uncover a conspiracy that threatens to dismantle the five-centuries-long peace between their two species.
In order to save the Sisters and keep their world from the brink of war, Tristan will need to decide if his loyalties reside with Fae or humans. And Cassandra will be forced to choose between her safe, gilded cage or an uncertain, pitiless freedom outside the Temple walls.
And if Tristan ever recalls Cassandra’s crime? Well, that might just be the most dangerous outcome of all.
MY THOUGHTS
I never thought I’d read a fantasy novel featuring a nun, but here we are. The Memory Puller introduces readers to Cassandra, a shrouded sister with the ability to extract unwanted memories—whether by request or, for the lower class, in exchange for a few drachas to make ends meet. What most don’t know is that in her spare time, Cassandra plays a Robin Hood-like role, stealing from the rich to give to the poor.
In her latest heist, she steals a necklace from Thaleen’s most affluent mortal family but gets caught by a fae Vestian Guard. This seemingly simple theft spirals into a larger plot involving missing shrouded sisters and deep-rooted corruption, threatening the fragile relationships between fae and mortals.
The Memory Puller is a light, fun fantasy that doesn’t take itself too seriously. The world-building is interesting and easy to follow, with both mortals and fae inhabiting the city of Thaleen. The fae are divided into three groups: Wingriders (who can fly), Beastrunners (essentially shifters), and Deathstalkers (a.k.a. vampires). These are your basic fantasy supernaturals, just with new names.
I liked Cassandra for the most part. Despite being a nun and having led a mostly sheltered life, she never lets that stop her from following her heart, even if it means breaking or bending a few rules. Then there's Tristan, the fae Vestian Guard who quickly becomes interested in her. However, their relationship feels very "instalove"—both characters seem obsessed with each other from the start, which made it hard for me to connect with their romance. Tristan himself is a bit of a mixed bag; he alternates between being a comedian and coming across as slightly stalker-ish. There are maybe one or two scenes where he’s serious.
Both Cassandra and Tristan have best friends who are always by their side, and I suspect the next book will focus on them, given how things ended. However, I didn’t have strong feelings about the secondary characters—they felt more like background extras. I didn’t particularly like or dislike them.
Overall, The Memory Puller was a quick and easy read. I enjoyed it in the moment, but looking back, it was good, just not particularly memorable.
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