I had fun. Excited to see what else this series has in store

I love the dystopian world crafted here. It's scarily plausible: a corporate-based society where everyone's worth is judged based on their productivity.
Our protagonists are a teen girl who collects happy memories to transfer to other people (so they don't have to take time off themselves), and a teen boy who is a police enforcer. She steps outside the law, he's tasked with hunting her down, and they collide in a romance.
This book also has a delightfully diverse cast, and many cute moments that keep the tone on the fun and light side.

What I didn't love about this book was the romance itself. Our heroine spends much of the book in a state of amnesia. Her love interest spends much of the book lying to her and manipulating her, fully taking advantage of this situation. I really can't root for a romance when the basis for it is a mixture of insta-love and lying.

Thanks to Netgalley and Joy Revolution for a copy of this book. All opinions are my own.

I'm both disappointed by how easily everyone communicated after the premise; AND I'm disappointed by how much of the drama was only based on miscommunication.

Was it ever not going to be 5 stars

I really like the way this quartet ends.

I like that Sanderson experiments and takes chances in his novellas. I don't think this one completely worked.

It does not contain JudeCardan. I think this was a perfect decision, really giving the new protagonists time to take the stage. It's pretty unfair how many of the negative reviews are just complaining about this.

I read the 2023 revised edition.

This story follows Khat, a black market relics dealer and historian. He is recruited to help find some relics that have the potential to change the magical landscape, if the legends have any truth to them.

This is a fine fantasy book. That's my main takeaway.
The worldbuilding is fine, interesting but not blowing me away. The plot is fine, entertaining without ever surprising me. The characters are fine, well crafted but never really reaching into compelling.

The setting and pacing of this book will appeal to fans of The Fifth Season. There is a similar feeling of historical and looming apocalypse in the setting. The pacing is thoughtful without being too slow, with fight scenes interspersed.

Thanks to Netgalley and Tordotcom for a copy of this book to review. All opinions are my own.