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sweetkillerbee's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? N/A
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
4.25
Graphic: Confinement, Emotional abuse, Infidelity, Misogyny, Rape, Sexism, Sexual assault, Sexual violence, Toxic relationship, Violence, Gaslighting, and Abandonment
Moderate: Body shaming
Minor: Medical content
mfrisk's review against another edition
- 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? It's complicated
4.0
Annie is an incredibly dynamic and complex character from the very beginning of this book. She is an AI robot owned by Doug who more and more you learn is an abusive asshole. This book gives us a unique glimpse at domestic abuse but told in a different way given that Annie is AI and is not quite human but has a capacity to heal, to learn, and shows immense growth as time goes on. The underlying discussion here that despite the abuse Annie is going through she is still seeking to make things work with Doug and jump through increasing hoops each day to try to make him happy and to attempt not to anger him.
The pacing of this book is a bit off for me and I wish we got to know more about Doug’s prior relationship but otherwise I feel like this book had a lot to say about mismatched power dynamics, abusive relationships, feminism, and gender based expectations. Highly recommend the read if you’re in the right headspace to tackle the more intense content listed in the trigger warnings. This is not an easy read but is a worthwhile one.
Graphic: Body shaming, Domestic abuse, Emotional abuse, Misogyny, Sexism, Sexual content, Torture, and Toxic relationship
Moderate: Infidelity, Sexual assault, Sexual violence, and Sexual harassment
elolsmith's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
Moderate: Emotional abuse, Physical abuse, Sexual content, and Sexual violence
maziodynes's review against another edition
- 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
Graphic: Confinement, Emotional abuse, and Toxic relationship
Moderate: Sexual content, Sexual violence, and Torture
Minor: Infidelity
alastaire's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
5.0
Graphic: Confinement, Domestic abuse, Emotional abuse, Infidelity, Sexual violence, Torture, and Toxic relationship
Moderate: Body shaming, Misogyny, Physical abuse, Slavery, and Vomit
Minor: Cancer, Death, Grief, Outing, Dysphoria, and Classism
witcheep's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
The book provides the focal pov of a Cuddle Bunny model of an Stella line AI sex robot called Annie, who has "computer smarts", as she puts it, but also social and emotional artificial intelligence that are constantly evolving. Annie cannot be distinguished from a human by a stranger, unless they are told otherwise.
"Stella Bot, reduce sensitivity to Doug's displeasure," she murmurs, but she is not in charge of her own settings. Her core does not recognize authority in her voice.
The bot is basically a human-like thiniking, feeling being but without any agency or authority over her own life or body. She is owned by her purchaser Doug, who designed how she should be created from discarded embryos and mechanical parts all the way from her appearance to her personality traits.
The morality of this dilemma of ownership vs. right to one's own personhood is the main conflict in the book, and is presented by the disturbed feelings it raises in Annie and those around her. As Annie evolves, she shifts from merely reflecting the thoughts and wishes of her owner to thinking by herself. When she achieves enough conseptual thinking and experience, she realizes
Besides this specuative issue of AI personhood, the book addresses multiple problems that are relevant in our contemporary reality. To name a few, there are presentations of domestic violence, emotional abuse, mental health issues, and domestic role expectations. The book is not an emotionally easy read throughout, but one that makes you think and reflect on the society we live in, besides acting as an imagining of a potential future as entertainment.
Graphic: Confinement, Emotional abuse, Mental illness, Sexual content, and Torture
Moderate: Domestic abuse, Infidelity, Sexism, Sexual violence, Grief, Gaslighting, Abandonment, and Alcohol
Minor: Suicide, Stalking, and Death of parent
kaitsbookstuff's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
3.0
Graphic: Domestic abuse, Eating disorder, Emotional abuse, Panic attacks/disorders, Physical abuse, Sexual assault, and Sexual violence
beeping_librarian's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.0
Graphic: Toxic relationship
Moderate: Confinement, Emotional abuse, Sexual violence, and Slavery
Minor: Body horror and Vomit
ksilvio's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
3.5
Graphic: Body shaming, Bullying, Cancer, Domestic abuse, Fatphobia, Rape, Sexual assault, and Sexual violence
ginaelise's review against another edition
- 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? It's complicated
3.75
Graphic: Domestic abuse, Emotional abuse, and Sexual violence