Book Review - The Museum of Forgotten Memories by Anstey Harris

The Museum of Forgotten Memories by Anstey Harris
My rating: 3 of 5 stars

Synopsis:  Cate thought she’d met her match in Simon at university—until she laid eyes on his best friend, Richard. Cate and Richard felt an immediate and undeniable spark, but Richard also felt the weight of the world more deeply than most. As the three matured, he receded further and further into darkness until he disappeared altogether.

Now, four years after Richard’s passing, Cate is let go from her teaching job and can’t pay the rent on the London flat she shares with her and Richard’s son, Leo. She packs the two of them up and ventures to Richard’s grandfather’s old Victorian museum in the small town of Crouch-on-Sea, where the dusty staff quarters await her. Despite growing pains and a grouchy caretaker, Cate falls in love with the quirky taxidermy exhibits and sprawling grounds and makes it her mission to revive them. When the museum is faced with closure because of a lack of visitors, Cate stages a grand reopening, but threats from both inside and outside the museum derail her plans and send her spiraling into self-doubt.

 

My Thoughts: Firstly I really don't like the cover for this even though I can see why it was chosen of course but still... I didn't actually see myself getting into a story about a museum of stuffed animals as it seemed a bit bizarre to me but found this to be such a moving story about family and their secrets and the toll it takes on the members. The characters seemed very real to me but I just never got a good feel for Cate. It wasn't so much a thing of not liking her really but just wasn't able to connect on her level but I absolutely adored Leo! Now that was one perfectly written character and in my opinion the glue of the story! He was just sensational and breathed new life into everything.

I gave three stars because of the cover choice and Cates annoyance but also because I felt something was lacking and like a few things could have been examined or explained a bit more.

View all my reviews