Memories, Lies, and Other Binds

Memories, Lies, and Other Binds is a quirky and engaging speculative fantasy by Katy Foraker. Released 4th Oct 2022, it's 328 pages and is available in hardcover, paperback, and ebook formats. It's worth noting that the ebook format has a handy interactive table of contents as well as interactive links and references throughout. I've really become enamored of ebooks with interactive formats. For Kindle Unlimited subscribers, this book is currently included in the KU subscription library to borrow and read for free.

This is a moderately clever and nearly romance-free UF fantasy/paranormal story set in academia with a 200(+/-) year old protagonist learning to take charge of her own life and solve the mystery of her accidental apparent immortality. She's got a severely dysfunction relationship with her vampire brother Theo, and the book fundamentally revolves around the mysterious murders of witches and other supernaturals, with brother Theo the prime suspect. 

The plot is relatively linear, and I wasn't always closely engaged with the characters who were often venial, weak, or unambiguously nasty. MC Zoey's often a bit of a doormat, especially considering that she's lived for more than 2 centuries at this point. The denouement and resolution are self contained in this volume and it works well as a standalone, however, the ending hints very broadly at more stories in the RIDER universe in future. There are some content warnings including child abuse, and physical/psychological violence and non-consent (mind invasion and pain).

Three and a half stars. It's a good read and will appeal to fans of Seanan McGuire, Carrie Vaughn, and T. Kingfisher (Ursula Vernon). 

Disclosure: I received an ARC at no cost from the author/publisher for review purposes.