Four strangers time travel to the past and find themselves stuck on the day all their lives were changed in this stunning speculative mystery from award-winning film and television producer Dete Meserve, perfect for fans of Before the Coffee Gets Cold, Wrong Place Wrong Time and The Paradox Hotel.

What would you do if you could spend an hour in your past? Four strangers in the beach town of Ventura, California are about to find out.

Elizabeth aches for one more precious hour with her son who died in a senseless accident. Andy is desperate to find his first love who vanished after a whirlwind romance. Logan craves the rush of surfing and mountain climbing, yearning to reclaim the freedom he lost after a misstep landed him in a wheelchair. Brooke is looking for an hour of relief from the guilt of an unforgivable mistake.

Enter Aeon Expeditions, the groundbreaking time travel invention of Mark Saunders—which allows some lucky clients  the chance to spend an hour in their past. Even though Aeon’s technology ensures time travel can’t alter the future, all four clients, including Mark’s ex-wife Elizabeth, yearn to revisit the hour that changed their lives forever.

But when their “hour” extends beyond sixty minutes, they find themselves stranded in the past. As their paths intertwine unexpectedly, they unearth shocking secrets hidden in the shadows of their shared All their lives were shattered the same night on a secluded highway by the beach. As they delve into the hidden truths of that pivotal hour, a startling revelation emerges. They were not alone. Someone else was present, harboring deadly intentions.

The Memory Collectors is a heart-wrenching, genre-bending novel brimming with hope, grief and second chances.

Can I just say that in my opinion, V.E. Schwab just doesn’t miss? She knows how to create characters that feel like real people and then wreck your emotions in the best possible way. Her writing is rich without being showy. Emotional without tipping into melodrama. And with this book, she blends gothic horror with queer identity, rage, love, and survival in a way that is shocking and beautiful. It has an “Interview With the Vampire” vibe and I loved it.

This one’s told through the lives of three women, each from a different century, but all connected in a way that isn’t shocking on the surface, but leads to an explosive final act. Each of these women—María, Charlotte, and Alice—is dealing with her own set of circumstances, but Schwab pulls them together in a way that’s as surprising as it is satisfying. I kept wondering how on earth these timelines were going to connect. I mean, we’ve got 1530s Spain, 1800s London, and present-day Boston. It felt like three separate stories… until it didn’t.

Let’s start with María. Ahe’s a beautiful, clever girl with no real agency. She’s over her boring life and the expectations her family, her husband and in-laws, and society have placed on her. She gets tangled up with a stranger who offers escape, but at a cost. Schwab leans into the lush, historical setting and gives us a character who refuses to be anyone’s pawn. Then there’s Charlotte. She’s tender and deeply romantic, but not naïve. I felt so much for her as she navigated what it meant to love another woman in a time when that could ruin your life. And finally, we have Alice, who’s dealing with modern expectations, identity, and some serious rage bubbling just beneath the surface. Her voice is the most contemporary, and it’s raw in a way that hits hard. She’s trying to find herself, but she’s also just trying to survive.

Each timeline is distinct, but they all share an undercurrent of longing and fury. These women aren’t soft. They’ve been told to be quiet, to be obedient, to be grateful, and they’re done with it. They want more, and they find it, but the “more” isn’t always easy. Schwab writes them with compassion, but she doesn’t shy away from the darker aspects of their stories. There’s violence here. Blood. Betrayal. But it never feels gratuitous. Every brutal moment serves a purpose. And by the time the stories start to intertwine, things really take off.

That said, I’m not going to pretend this was a perfect read for me. The middle dragged a bit. There were points where I felt like the story was meandering a bit too much, especially in Maria’s sections. It wasn’t enough to make me put the book down, but I definitely noticed the pacing dip. I think with a little trimming, this could have been a solid five-star read. As it stands, it’s a very strong 4.5.

Also, can we talk about how perfect this would be as a limited series? It’s got the sprawling, gothic backdrops. The intimate emotional moments. The kind of eerie tension that builds slowly and makes your skin crawl in the best way. Honestly, HBO, Netflix or Hulu, if you’re listening: make this happen.

If you’re someone who needs a fast-paced book to stay engaged, this book may not be for you. But if you like stories that are moody, layered, and a little bit messy—stories that leave you with lots to think about after the last page—you’ll want to add this one to your list. Just be warned: the final chapter is a banger and it was worth the long ride. I did not see that coming. I had to sit there for a minute, staring at the page like, “Wait. Did that just happen?” It did. And I loved it.

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