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lmm0's review against another edition
challenging
dark
reflective
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
3.0
Annie Bot, created to be Doug's perfect girlfriend, starts questioning her identity as she evolves. Programmed to meet Doug's needs, her increasing humanity challenges their relationship's authenticity. Annie must now navigate her own desires and rights, questioning her role and seeking autonomy beyond her initial programming. Her journey raises ethical questions about AI's autonomy and its role in relationships.
***
I don't even know where to go with this one. Didn't love it, didn't hate it, just feel immense indifference. Listened on audio, and I did enjoy the narration done by [author:Jennifer Jill Araya|17992788] - I think it was on the shorter side, maybe 8 hours or so? With that said, it felt longer than that - but not to the point where it bothered me, or I felt like there were things that were totally irrelevant or unnecessary to the story. None of the characters were particularly likable either, which definitely adds to the lower star rating. I will say, I totally thought the ending was going to go in a different direction - and after reading some of the other 3 star reviews, I am glad to see I'm not the only one with the same thought. Honestly, I would have liked it a lot better if it ended the way I wanted it to go.
***
I don't even know where to go with this one. Didn't love it, didn't hate it, just feel immense indifference. Listened on audio, and I did enjoy the narration done by [author:Jennifer Jill Araya|17992788] - I think it was on the shorter side, maybe 8 hours or so? With that said, it felt longer than that - but not to the point where it bothered me, or I felt like there were things that were totally irrelevant or unnecessary to the story. None of the characters were particularly likable either, which definitely adds to the lower star rating. I will say, I totally thought the ending was going to go in a different direction - and after reading some of the other 3 star reviews, I am glad to see I'm not the only one with the same thought. Honestly, I would have liked it a lot better if it ended the way I wanted it to go.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Domestic abuse and Emotional abuse
Moderate: Cancer, Child death, Death, Death of parent, and War
m_a_j's review against another edition
dark
emotional
reflective
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Domestic abuse, Emotional abuse, Sexual content, and Gaslighting
Moderate: Body shaming, Infidelity, and Misogyny
Minor: Cancer, Child death, Vomit, Grief, and Death of parent
vigil's review against another edition
3.75
I think this book is really thoughtfully written, and I will definitely be reading more from this author. one of my favorite themes is intimacy, power / control and i think the thesis of this book is asking if it's possible to be truly intimate with someone who has control over you. definitely more of a literary than a sci-fi novel, so i would approach it with that in mind. what you get in the blurb is all the scifi there is. i think enjoyment of the novel really hinges upon keeping that in mind. don't expect in depth details about robotic programming, because that's not what the book is about.
this is such and uncomfortable read, and i wished death on doug every single page i'd say. he completely sucks in a very real almost banal way, and the constant refrain ofhow good a boyfriend / owner he was (used interchangeably.) paralleled how that is often said of abusive men irl.
i'm not giving it 5 stars because of the improper pacing of the novel, especially in regards to the ending. i enjoyed it on a technicality, because i do think it rings as emotionally resonant for annie and the novel, but it happens far too quickly.i did immediately notice the dynamic with cody, and how it immediately contrasts with doug, but they needed more page time to make her going to him at the end to feel believable. i can definitely see that as an ending, but the last they spoke he didn't recognize her as a human or a friend. and if she wanted to lean into that or not, either way it needed more work. all together, i think this book needed arounf 50-75 more pages to round it out a bit more.
and poor delta :( it was an effective narrative choice, but it's still depressing.
this is such and uncomfortable read, and i wished death on doug every single page i'd say. he completely sucks in a very real almost banal way, and the constant refrain of
i'm not giving it 5 stars because of the improper pacing of the novel, especially in regards to the ending. i enjoyed it on a technicality, because i do think it rings as emotionally resonant for annie and the novel, but it happens far too quickly.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Body shaming, Confinement, Cursing, Domestic abuse, Emotional abuse, Misogyny, Sexual content, Toxic relationship, Vomit, and Abandonment
Minor: Cancer, Child death, Death, and Death of parent
toofondofbooks_'s review against another edition
dark
emotional
tense
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.5
This was a short one but it felt like it held a lot of weight. Not that it was terribly emotional in nature, but it felt emotional for me. Everything about the dynamic between Annie and her owner / "boyfriend" Doug made me feel really ill and I suppose that was the point. I also think you were supposed to empathize with him at points, but I really didn't. The feelings I felt just made my chest ache and I think that's the mark of excellent storytelling.
I also just really enjoyed that this was accessible sci-fi. the world is not overly complicated, and in fact very similar to our current world, but with human like robots you can buy if you're ridiculously rich. it wasn't hard to buy or to follow and I appreciated that a lot because a lot of what makes me not a sci-fi person is that I feel it can feel inaccessible to me as a genre.
The only thing missing for me is that it felt like there was a lot of time skips in the book and telling me what went on during the time period instead of showing me and I generally don't love when authors tell me things instead of showing me them. All in all though, great read.
I also just really enjoyed that this was accessible sci-fi. the world is not overly complicated, and in fact very similar to our current world, but with human like robots you can buy if you're ridiculously rich. it wasn't hard to buy or to follow and I appreciated that a lot because a lot of what makes me not a sci-fi person is that I feel it can feel inaccessible to me as a genre.
The only thing missing for me is that it felt like there was a lot of time skips in the book and telling me what went on during the time period instead of showing me and I generally don't love when authors tell me things instead of showing me them. All in all though, great read.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Body shaming, Confinement, Domestic abuse, Fatphobia, Infidelity, Misogyny, Rape, Sexual content, Slavery, Vomit, Trafficking, and Gaslighting
Moderate: Cancer and Death
Minor: Child death, Suicidal thoughts, and Death of parent
katebrownreads's review against another edition
4.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Confinement, Domestic abuse, Emotional abuse, and Sexual assault
Moderate: Sexual content
Minor: Cancer and Child death