Level 2 (Memory Chronicles, #1)

by Lenore Appelhans

[inlibrisveritas]

Level 2 takes two things that don’t normally appear together and smashes them together in a rather unique and interesting way. The afterlife in Level 2 is not some glorious and peaceful place, it is instead filled with technology and underlying motives.I personally thought the idea of having different ‘levels’ for the afterlife to be kind of cool, seeing as it’s not something I’ve seen done quite this way. It’s very cool to see an old idea – seeing your life replayed – given a new and shiny form. It did border on ‘too religious’ and ‘just right’ a few times but I guess that’s also to be expected. There are also the Morati, angels, who I really wish had been fleshed out and given more page time. They seem really interesting and the bit of history we get on them is really promising, but the potential doesn’t quite come through.

Felicia is a resident of Level 2, where she spends a very large amount of time watching memories of her life or more specifically memories with Neil. I really liked that we got to know her bit by bit as her memories replayed and revealed things about her life on Earth. Neil is the love of her mortal life and he’s honestly a bit too perfect, however given that we only see him in the memories Felicia chooses I suppose he would be. I just wish I had more to go on with him as a character. Julian is our mysterious ‘bad boy’ of the story and the one we get to see more of. He’s charming and determined, but there were times when I honestly did not understand his personality. He definitely knows how to go over the top at times. I did enjoy seeing his role in everything slowly unfold as well.

The let down is the ending, which I obviously can’t tell you too much about. The last section of the book felt rushed and I wanted there to be more details on the ‘how’ and the ‘why’, because even though I finished the book knowing Felicia I still wanted to know more about Level 2 and those in it.

Overall it’s a decent start to a series with promise. I’m definitely going to look into the sequel when it becomes available because I really want to see if Neil and the Morati are fleshed out and I also want to see just what happens now that things have been shaken up in Level 2.