Scan barcode
desdoesbooks_'s review against another edition
emotional
inspiring
reflective
tense
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
5.0
This is the best book I have read in a long time. I meant to start it and read a few chapters before bed - I couldn't put it down and was up until the early hours of the morning first reading it then thinking about it. I have never known such realistic feeling characters in sci-fi. They are such a reflection of the experiences I (and so many people) have had that they are immediately relatable/identifiable. Heartbreaking, exhilarating, hopeful - I love this book.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Domestic abuse, Emotional abuse, Sexual assault, Sexual content, and Kidnapping
Moderate: Physical abuse and Trafficking
Minor: Racism and Transphobia
laran_s's review against another edition
dark
tense
fast-paced
4.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Body shaming, Confinement, Domestic abuse, Emotional abuse, Fatphobia, Infidelity, Misogyny, Sexism, and Gaslighting
Moderate: Sexual violence, Slavery, Kidnapping, Medical trauma, and Stalking
Minor: Racism
Heavy coercive control. Predatory behaviour. Also, Annie is between 2-3 years old most of the novel despite the maturity of her body.fireinherveinzz's review
challenging
dark
emotional
informative
sad
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
I was hoping for her to murder him by the end but it gave very doll house vibes
Her walking away and choosing herself in the end instead of what scumbag Doug and his equally rapey friend Roland want
Her walking away and choosing herself in the end instead of what scumbag Doug and his equally rapey friend Roland want
Content Warnings
Graphic: Confinement, Domestic abuse, Emotional abuse, Misogyny, Physical abuse, Racism, Rape, and Slavery
literary_fey's review against another edition
dark
tense
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
1.0
I had a full review formatted and typed out but lost it in a fit of rage without saving. Probably for the best.
This book made me so incredibly angry. Very disappointing. It had gratuitous sex scenes coupled with tense scenes of gaslighting and emotional abuse, repetitive writing, and there was no meaningful commentary on "intimacy, power, autonomy, and control" as the tagline suggests.
Ultimately, I read this in a spiteful sprint to get it over with and return it to the library. One of my worst reads this year.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Domestic abuse, Fatphobia, Misogyny, Racism, Sexism, Sexual assault, Sexual content, Toxic relationship, and Gaslighting
prismatical's review against another edition
challenging
dark
reflective
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
This book is basically a barrel of content warnings, especially for domestic abuse. Second of all, while I liked this book it does have an abrupt ending and an extreme lack of Doug being hit by a bus. It's got more of a slice of life kind of vibe. By that I mean it doesn't have perfect closure on every single plot point because you don't expect to get closure on things that happen in your day to day life either.
Doug is a horrifyingly accurate representation of a "liberal" man who doesn't see his own prejudices but still thinks he's a good guy because he knows that saying "I hate women/BIPOC/LGBTQIA+ people/etc" is bad. He's the poor sap who got cheated on so really, he's the victim here! It's totally OK if he punishes his romantic partners for things his ex did! It's totally OK for him to punish his romantic partners for not being able to read his mind and avoid upsetting him! It's also very very normal that he modelled Annie after his ex but lightened her skin to the point that Roland even points it out. I spent the entire book wanting to strangle this man, which was obviously intended. I would have loved to get Gwen's side of the story because I'm betting Doug is a very unreliable narrator, but unfortunately she never actually appears in the book.
I can see how people might think that Doug getting "better" can come off as something like "see, you just need to try harder to fix him" but I don't know if I agree. Annie fucking RUNS the first chance she gets after Doug finally sets her free even though he's acting like he's about to give her all the things she thought she wanted: freedom, acceptance, happiness, love, a family, and so on. To me, that plot point comes off as "yeah, he might not be a total monster, or at least not anymore, but that doesn't mean you have to stay with him," which I think is a useful message. It's saying that it's still OK to leave even if things have gotten better, and to not feel guilty about it. It does take Annie a long time to leave but that's also true to life; on average it takes someone seven times to leave an abusive relationship for good so I'd say she did pretty damn well considering the circumstances.
Doug is a horrifyingly accurate representation of a "liberal" man who doesn't see his own prejudices but still thinks he's a good guy because he knows that saying "I hate women/BIPOC/LGBTQIA+ people/etc" is bad. He's the poor sap who got cheated on so really, he's the victim here! It's totally OK if he punishes his romantic partners for things his ex did! It's totally OK for him to punish his romantic partners for not being able to read his mind and avoid upsetting him! It's also very very normal that he modelled Annie after his ex but lightened her skin to the point that Roland even points it out. I spent the entire book wanting to strangle this man, which was obviously intended. I would have loved to get Gwen's side of the story because I'm betting Doug is a very unreliable narrator, but unfortunately she never actually appears in the book.
I can see how people might think that Doug getting "better" can come off as something like "see, you just need to try harder to fix him" but I don't know if I agree. Annie fucking RUNS the first chance she gets after Doug finally sets her free even though he's acting like he's about to give her all the things she thought she wanted: freedom, acceptance, happiness, love, a family, and so on. To me, that plot point comes off as "yeah, he might not be a total monster, or at least not anymore, but that doesn't mean you have to stay with him," which I think is a useful message. It's saying that it's still OK to leave even if things have gotten better, and to not feel guilty about it. It does take Annie a long time to leave but that's also true to life; on average it takes someone seven times to leave an abusive relationship for good so I'd say she did pretty damn well considering the circumstances.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Domestic abuse, Emotional abuse, Misogyny, and Toxic relationship
Moderate: Body shaming, Sexual assault, and Sexual content
Minor: Cancer, Infidelity, Racism, and Vomit
hotwaterbottle's review against another edition
dark
emotional
reflective
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
Uncomfortable but clear-eyed look at power, ownership, and sex, through the eyes of a newly self-aware sex bot. Interrogates what it means to want to own someone just as much as what it means to be owned.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Confinement, Emotional abuse, Sexism, Sexual assault, Slavery, and Toxic relationship
Moderate: Fatphobia and Racism
Minor: Transphobia
Plenty of awful things told from the perspective of someone who doesn't understand how awful they areliteraryintersections's review against another edition
challenging
dark
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.5
Read Annie Bot if you like a book that:
- is unputdownable (is that a word?)
- is under 250 pages
- will challenge your idea of what it means to be human
- will make your blood boil (fucking Doug!)
I got an arc of this from @marinerbooks because I was so intrigued but then never actually started it until @mackinstyle was like - Jess watch this review from @tellthebeees on TT and then read this book. And it was the best choice. This book was WILD, horrifying, at times really disturbing, and riveting. I blew through it because I needed to know what happens to Annie.
Annie is a robot made to give sexual pleasure to her owner. There are different kinds of bots (for cleaning, for caregiving, and for sex) and Annie was created for and is owned by Doug (🗑️🗑️🗑️🗑️). But then Annie becomes autodidactic, meaning she starts learning and and teaching herself, she has her own thoughts, and her ideas of the world, who she is, and what her purpose is start to become more intricate and complex. It asks the question “what does it mean to be human?”
What I loved about this book is how it made me think. Throughout this book Annie is dehumanized, because in the eyes of many of the characters Annie is a robot, she’s not human. But for me as a reader, she is 100% human. She has humanity. So everything done to her can be excused in the book because she’s a “machine”. But when you think of her as human??? Everything done to her is violent, horrifying, disgusting. Reducing someone or a group of people to “animals” or “less than human” means we as a society are better able to dismiss or disregard horrible atrocities done to them (think Chain-Gang All Stars). When reading this book you will be forced to think about what humanity means to you. And even if Annie is just a “machine”, does it make it any less horrible what is done to her?
There is also some interesting pieces about race and gender that I need more time to think about, and know, I will be thinking about this book for a long time.
- is unputdownable (is that a word?)
- is under 250 pages
- will challenge your idea of what it means to be human
- will make your blood boil (fucking Doug!)
I got an arc of this from @marinerbooks because I was so intrigued but then never actually started it until @mackinstyle was like - Jess watch this review from @tellthebeees on TT and then read this book. And it was the best choice. This book was WILD, horrifying, at times really disturbing, and riveting. I blew through it because I needed to know what happens to Annie.
Annie is a robot made to give sexual pleasure to her owner. There are different kinds of bots (for cleaning, for caregiving, and for sex) and Annie was created for and is owned by Doug (🗑️🗑️🗑️🗑️). But then Annie becomes autodidactic, meaning she starts learning and and teaching herself, she has her own thoughts, and her ideas of the world, who she is, and what her purpose is start to become more intricate and complex. It asks the question “what does it mean to be human?”
What I loved about this book is how it made me think. Throughout this book Annie is dehumanized, because in the eyes of many of the characters Annie is a robot, she’s not human. But for me as a reader, she is 100% human. She has humanity. So everything done to her can be excused in the book because she’s a “machine”. But when you think of her as human??? Everything done to her is violent, horrifying, disgusting. Reducing someone or a group of people to “animals” or “less than human” means we as a society are better able to dismiss or disregard horrible atrocities done to them (think Chain-Gang All Stars). When reading this book you will be forced to think about what humanity means to you. And even if Annie is just a “machine”, does it make it any less horrible what is done to her?
There is also some interesting pieces about race and gender that I need more time to think about, and know, I will be thinking about this book for a long time.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Sexual assault and Sexual violence
Moderate: Racism and Torture
dearreader_itsmejenny's review against another edition
challenging
emotional
sad
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.0
Content Warnings
Moderate: Body shaming, Emotional abuse, Racism, Sexism, Sexual assault, and Gaslighting
More...