Reviewed by PizzyGirl
TITLES:
The Persistence of Memory: Book 1
Forget Me Not: Book 2
Life is Awesome: Book 3
SERIES: Mnevermind Trilogy
AUTHOR: Jordan Castillo Price
NARRATOR: Seth Clayton
PUBLISHER: JCP Books
LENGTH:
The Persistence of Memory: 5 hours, 41 minutes
Forget Me Not: 6 hours, 16 minutes
Life is Awesome: 6 hours. 52 minutes
RELEASE DATE:
The Persistence of Memory: November 9, 2016
Forget Me Not: March 6, 2017
Life is Awesome: February 14, 2018
BLURB:
The Persistence of Memory:
Every day, Daniel Schroeder breaks his father’s heart.
The two of them have always been close, which makes it all the more difficult to break the daily news: the last five years were nothing like Big Dan remembers.
They’re both professionals in the memory field–they even run their own memory palace. So shouldn’t they be able to figure out a way to overwrite the persistent false memory that’s wreaking havoc on both of their lives? Daniel thought he was holding it together, but the situation is sliding out of control. Now even his own equipment has turned against him, reminding him he hasn’t had a date in ages by taunting him with flashes of an elusive man in black that only he can see.
The Elijah character makes no sense. Not only does he claim to be straight–which has never piqued Daniel’s interest–but he’s appearing in manufactured memories in which he’s never been programmed. Is it some quirk of the circuitry, or is Daniel’s desire to connect with someone clouding his own memory?
Forget Me Not
No two people are exactly alike, but Elijah Crowe is very, very different. Elijah is on the autism spectrum, so the tasks of day-to-day life most people breeze through are a challenge for him. His career suffered because he never got the hang of schmoozing, and now he wastes his talents teaching classes at the mall. His social circle is limited to his ex, his therapist, and a structured inclusion group at the Rec Center. The one bright spot in his life is the memory science of Mnemography.
Although he loves nothing better than devouring the latest research and tinkering with all the specialized equipment, he never clicked with any other experts in the field until he met Daniel Schroeder. Daniel runs a memory palace – he even writes his own mnems – and that shared interest alone would make him fascinating. But Daniel and Elijah met under unusual circumstances, where the statement, “I like you, and I think you like me,” held some surprising nuances.
Now Elijah suspects he’s gay, but the few prominent people in his life are less than supportive. Some are downright hostile. Elijah might not be neurotypical, but he’s plenty smart. Surely he can figure out some way to make people accept him for who he is.
Life is Awesome
Daniel Schroeder wants nothing more than to repair his father’s broken memories, but it’s been a long time since he’s thought of himself as a memorysmith. Even though convincing Big Dan of their current reality is the most painful task Daniel faces every morning, somehow life manages to prevent him from finding a cure. He needs to keep their family business running. And he needs to moonlight at a competitor’s shop to keep all his employees paid. Or maybe he’s just trying to keep himself from exacerbating the situation.
A year ago, Daniel would have presumed he was clever enough to memorysmith his way out of their predicament, but nowadays he’s not so cavalier. Playing with people’s memories shouldn’t be taken lightly, and things can always get worse. Even with the help of some of the best minds in the business, Daniel still isn’t sure how to navigate his way out of the persistent false memory that’s crippled his life. Is new programming the answer? Better gear? More money? Or is time the only thing that can heal Big Dan’s memories…if they can even be fixed at all.
What Daniel needs most is some breathing room, and Elijah Crowe is eager to provide it. Since he’s smitten with Daniel, Elijah is determined to prove himself – and he’s more than qualified to clear Daniel’s schedule by taking over some duties at Adventuretech. With the support of his new boyfriend, possibilities begin to open up for Daniel, hints of things he hasn’t even realized he’d stopped hoping for: the contentment of a harmonious family, the fulfillment of his creative expression, and a chance for a relationship with a man he loves.
STORY REVIEW:
NOTE: This is a true trilogy with this book being a part of the whole. If you are looking for a complete story or even one that ends in a good place, I suggest reading this trilogy as a whole. Which is how this review is structured. Reviewing each book individually doesn’t work for me because individually, each book has issues. But when taken as a whole, this series is trilogy is cohesive and really interesting. So I apologize to anyone who wants individual reviews, because I just don’t know how to review this trilogy that way.
I LOVED this trilogy. Oh, there were bits and pieces along that way that I didn’t care for, and each book individually didn’t work for me. But when viewed together and listening to these one right after the other, this story built into something that was a fantastic listening experience.
The concept of memory smithing and “getting away” for a while in a fake memory fascinating. Not only the thought of the “time away” itself but all the implications that come with it. It’s not some black and white thing, it takes care and consideration. As each book moved forward and this world was revealed, it really made me think about things. Would I participate in something like that? Should it even be something possible? The risks are huge and to carelessly toss this out into the world to make money, is definitely something to worry over and think about.
I liked the characters as well. Especially Big Dan and Elijah. In the first book, I was very unsure of Daniel and Elijah was very much a mystery to me. But as the trilogy moved forward, I overcame my reticence and fell in love with these men and their struggles. I really loved Elijah’s brain and how the author treated him as a person and not some autism awareness teaching aide. He was a person fully formed with his own agendas and needs. It was so great to see him basically leading this show. And Big Dan’s easy acceptance of Elijah warmed my heart.
The storyline of Big Dan’s persistent memory was a great way to tie all aspects of the trilogy together. It was introduced in the first book and carried forward as the mail plot-like focus until the end. It gave this trilogy forward motion and allowed Elijah and Daniel to work together. Which in turn gave both men room to grow as people and as a couple.
I do feel like the romance was not as tied up as I would have like it. I loved the journey. Seeing Daniel learn Elijah which in turn forced Daniel to learn himself. And to see Elijah blossom as he was able to be useful and loved. It was really great. But the ending felt unfinished. For books one and two that was expected, but I wanted more after the trilogy was complete. Maybe it’s just me, so you should read them yourself to determine the outcome.
I chose to review this as a whole because each book in incomplete by itself. You really need all three to get the full picture, the complete plot, and see these men really grow into themselves. I did like that each book was from a different POV, it gave me a chance to be in Daniel’s head as well as Elijah’s without too much head hopping. I personally liked book 2 the best as it was from Elijah’s POV and he fascinated me the most.
This is my first experience with JCP’s writing and I can clearly see why she is a fan favorite. Please pick these up and give them a try.
NARRATION REVIEW:
I enjoyed this narration. I felt like Seth Clayton really brought out the plot and the characters very well. I did however, struggle with his reading of Daniel as so arrogant and almost unfeeling at times. But overall, this narration was well done and I enjoyed listening to these books come alive.
RATING: 
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