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melissaslibraryy's review against another edition
challenging
dark
emotional
hopeful
reflective
sad
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
4.75
This book was so good and, everything I expected and more. The complexity of AI bots intermingling in society and how they are not that far off from humanity as one might’ve thought, is a scary feeling to realize especially with how far AI is progressing in real life.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Cursing, Emotional abuse, Body shaming, Vomit, Sexual harassment, Confinement, Grief, Sexual violence, Fatphobia, Domestic abuse, Bullying, Gaslighting, Classism, Toxic friendship, Medical content, Abandonment, Misogyny, Infidelity, Panic attacks/disorders, and Toxic relationship
Moderate: Sexual content
m_a_j's review
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: Emotional abuse, Domestic abuse, Sexual content, and Gaslighting
Moderate: Body shaming, Misogyny, and Infidelity
Minor: Grief, Cancer, Death of parent, Child death, and Vomit
beckyremillard's review against another edition
challenging
dark
emotional
reflective
sad
tense
fast-paced
- 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
4.5
I don’t normally read science fiction but I could stop. This book was definitely thought provoking and intense.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Vomit, Emotional abuse, Sexual content, Misogyny, Sexual assault, Domestic abuse, Sexual violence, Physical abuse, Body shaming, Cancer, Confinement, Death, Gaslighting, Infidelity, and Toxic relationship
oddpilot97's review against another edition
challenging
dark
reflective
sad
tense
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? It's complicated
5.0
HOLYYYYY COW, this was good. And I’m not someone who says that lightly (I don’t hesitate to DNF and haven’t had a 5 star book in ages)
Lately I’ve been on a streak of reading books with amazing concepts, that I end up giving up on because it doesn’t deliver on that. This was almost the opposite. The plot line caught my eye, but I wondered if it was going to get either too one-note or too triggering. I don’t know where your mind goes when you think about someone who owns a sex robot, but mine automatically goes to a mega creep. Instead, the owner character had layers, and was more than just purely detestable.
The author added SO much nuance and complexity. I was eagerly wondering what the end result would be with every twist and turn. I was screaming for the protagonist to make the right choice the whole time, even as things got more and more complicated on which decision was truly best for her.
when I described some of the plot to my mom, she said “this isn’t just about robots is it?” she hit the nail right on the head. the story aptly draws a parallel to oppressive gender roles.
Annie’s owner treats her better than almost any other. even the techs at the company Who made her tell her she is lucky that he is her owner. But are you truly lucky if you are the most well treated slave?
Doug does horrible things —without a doubt. he modeled Annie after his ex girlfriend, a blatant crossing of boundaries. he is at times cruel, particularly when he locked her in the closet with her libido set at a 10. I hated him at so many points of the book. And at other times, I wondered if Annie did truly desire to be with him or if it was just programming. I was curious if there was any redemption possible for Doug.
P.S. what happened to Delta??? Justice for her.
There’s so much more I could say, and perhaps I will reflect on more of the themes and how they impacted me and return to update this at a later time.
TLDR: read it. It’s worth it.
Lately I’ve been on a streak of reading books with amazing concepts, that I end up giving up on because it doesn’t deliver on that. This was almost the opposite. The plot line caught my eye, but I wondered if it was going to get either too one-note or too triggering. I don’t know where your mind goes when you think about someone who owns a sex robot, but mine automatically goes to a mega creep. Instead, the owner character had layers, and was more than just purely detestable.
The author added SO much nuance and complexity. I was eagerly wondering what the end result would be with every twist and turn. I was screaming for the protagonist to make the right choice the whole time, even as things got more and more complicated on which decision was truly best for her.
when I described some of the plot to my mom, she said “this isn’t just about robots is it?” she hit the nail right on the head. the story aptly draws a parallel to oppressive gender roles.
Doug does horrible things —without a doubt. he modeled Annie after his ex girlfriend, a blatant crossing of boundaries. he is at times cruel, particularly when he locked her in the closet with her libido set at a 10. I hated him at so many points of the book. And at other times, I wondered if Annie did truly desire to be with him or if it was just programming. I was curious if there was any redemption possible for Doug.
P.S. what happened to Delta??? Justice for her.
There’s so much more I could say, and perhaps I will reflect on more of the themes and how they impacted me and return to update this at a later time.
TLDR: read it. It’s worth it.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Confinement, Sexual content, and Emotional abuse
Moderate: Gaslighting, Eating disorder, Body shaming, Infidelity, Misogyny, Fatphobia, and Sexual assault
Minor: Vomit, Alcohol, and Body horror
lauren_shilling's review
emotional
hopeful
reflective
fast-paced
- 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
3.25
This book was good, but it wasn't a new favorite or anything. It was a very fast read, and I did enjoy it, but it wasn't groundbreaking to me. It had a great idea that invites a lot of questions and commentary on individuals and the control women have over their own bodies, and I did enjoy how the book made me think, but it didn't invite any new ideas into my life. I like when a book like this makes me think about an aspect I may not have considered before, makes me reflect on myself or the people around me, or gives me a perspective I haven't really thought about before. While this book did provide an interesting perspective of a robot, it didn't do so in a way that made me consider something new or reconsider something familiar. It presented ideas I had already thought about, and didn't really give me anything new to think about. I did really enjoy the main character. Annie was a great protagonist, and I did like that she isn't perfect 100% of the time, despite how hard she tries to be. She's still learning, and she's very sheltered too, so some things that seem easy and obvious to many people aren't to her. I thought that was handled and portrayed really well in the book, and I loved watching her journey. I also thought that Doug was an interesting character. He gave a very nuanced look at the men that are present in so many women's lives and how even someone who isn't pure evil can still be very bad for you. Doug is not the epitome of an evil man, but that doesn't take away from the fact that he is not good for her, he is still oftentimes controlling, he is still abusive in a lot of ways, and that he does inhibit her growth. He's a great character to explore through Annie's eyes. Again, I did like this book a lot, it just wasn't a new favorite and it is a bit forgettable. I would still recommend it to anyone thinking about trying it, as it does have a lot of interesting points and ideas.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Sexual content, Emotional abuse, and Domestic abuse
Moderate: Confinement, Body shaming, and Sexual assault
Minor: Death of parent, Vomit, and Cancer
frances_frances's review
challenging
emotional
reflective
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.5
It was with some reluctance that I started this book. The premise felt overdone and I was wary of another story where the relationship between an infantilized dependent and a more powerful person goes unexamined and normalizes/romanticizes such power imbalances (think the movies Splash and Overboard). Refreshingly, Annie Bot wasn't like that at all. The entire book is interrogating power dynamics, autonomy, and personhood. Annie isn't childlike. It's true that she isn't familiar with human culture, but she isn't depicted as naive or helpless, just learning. There were many difficult scenes that were often understated or subtly creepy/tense. It felt realistic and conveyed the insidious nature of intimate abuse. A great book club pick
My favorite passage from page 229:
She has to laugh at herself. She does not know the most basic guidelines for a life. Despite Doug's constant guiding and correcting, she knows nothing of value. He taught her to yawn and stretch. He trained her to clean right. He locked her in the closet with her libido jacked up to ten. He loved her enough to want to raise a family with her. He expected her to lie about herself forever.
My favorite passage from page 229:
She has to laugh at herself. She does not know the most basic guidelines for a life. Despite Doug's constant guiding and correcting, she knows nothing of value. He taught her to yawn and stretch. He trained her to clean right. He locked her in the closet with her libido jacked up to ten. He loved her enough to want to raise a family with her. He expected her to lie about herself forever.
And then he set her free so she could love him?
Content Warnings
Graphic: Sexual content
Moderate: Sexual assault, Misogyny, Toxic relationship, Confinement, Domestic abuse, Emotional abuse, Gaslighting, Infidelity, and Body shaming
Minor: Eating disorder and Vomit
beehives's review
- Strong character development? Yes
4.0
The book is an interesting meditation on the nature of humanity in an age of technology. Ultimately I feel it didn't push this boundary enough - there's a multitude of existing critical fiction and non-fiction that explores questions about post-humanism from far more radical (and, IMO, interesting) perspectives; this book felt more like a cis-het white woman's look at the ways tech might change or reflect human relationships and identity. That criticism aside, the characters are vibrant and endearing (Delta!!!), the narration from Annie's POV is very engaging, and the book is both easy to read and relatively thought-provoking. I liked the ending in particular - it's clearly foreshadowed but still feels satisfying and appropriate if a bit rushed.
One other slightly annoying aspect of the book was the constant name-dropping of various authors. Why? What was the point? To show this author is well-read? It might have been more poignant to focus on contrasting just two authors or genres as Annie explores a world outside Doug's control (e.g., Western novels exemplifying white male colonization vs. Ursula K. LeGuin's decolonial sci-fi or Margaret Atwood's feminist rage/grief dystopia). I'm glad Annie - and the author - has read Casey McQuiston, but why does that matter? In what way does YA romance affect her world view? The book never goes deep enough to ask these questions or force the reader to consider them, which is a shame since the answers would make the central story that much more impactful.
More (better) book recs in the same vein: Does it Count If Your First Time Is With an Android? (comic); All Systems Red / Murderbot Diaries series by Martha Wells; A Psalm for the Wild-Built by Becky Chambers; A Closed and Common Orbit also by Becky Chambers; Ancillary Justice / Imperial Radch series by Ann Leckie; Dirty Computer by Janelle Monae (music album/short stories); Autonomous by Annalee Newitz; A Cyborg Manifesto by Donna Haraway (nonfiction, take it from here in your desired direction of analysis).
One other slightly annoying aspect of the book was the constant name-dropping of various authors. Why? What was the point? To show this author is well-read? It might have been more poignant to focus on contrasting just two authors or genres as Annie explores a world outside Doug's control (e.g., Western novels exemplifying white male colonization vs. Ursula K. LeGuin's decolonial sci-fi or Margaret Atwood's feminist rage/grief dystopia). I'm glad Annie - and the author - has read Casey McQuiston, but why does that matter? In what way does YA romance affect her world view? The book never goes deep enough to ask these questions or force the reader to consider them, which is a shame since the answers would make the central story that much more impactful.
More (better) book recs in the same vein: Does it Count If Your First Time Is With an Android? (comic); All Systems Red / Murderbot Diaries series by Martha Wells; A Psalm for the Wild-Built by Becky Chambers; A Closed and Common Orbit also by Becky Chambers; Ancillary Justice / Imperial Radch series by Ann Leckie; Dirty Computer by Janelle Monae (music album/short stories); Autonomous by Annalee Newitz; A Cyborg Manifesto by Donna Haraway (nonfiction, take it from here in your desired direction of analysis).
Content Warnings
Graphic: Confinement, Abandonment, and Body shaming
Moderate: Fatphobia, Sexual content, Toxic relationship, and Vomit
Minor: Cancer and Physical abuse
knitdyeread's review against another edition
challenging
dark
sad
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
3.5
Content Warnings
Graphic: Toxic relationship, Abandonment, Sexual violence, Emotional abuse, Sexism, and Confinement
Moderate: Vomit
gabs_parr's review
adventurous
challenging
dark
emotional
reflective
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
Annie is an autodidactic robot who was created to be the perfect girlfriend for Doug, her human owner. She’s always learning and getting smarter and more “human”. Doug initially loves that she’s not perfect and wants her to be like a real woman and to challenge him, but the smarter she gets, the more complicated their relationship grows.
It’s kind of like Stepford Wives in the sense of perfect robot wives, but with more emphasis on power dynamics/control, autonomy, intimacy and what we actually want from relationships, romantic and platonic. This book is less a critique on the patriarchy, which was pretty much the main theme of SW, and instead it dives more into observations of what it means to be human and live the human experience.
I’ve only just finished and I already know that I’m going to be thinking about this book for months to come. The relationships were just so dynamic and complex. Every character was various shades of morally gray depending on the scene we were in. No one was ever purely “good” or “evil”. There is no true good or bad guy. There are just complex emotions and relationships and deep rooted questions about autonomy, love, sex, and power.
Annie’s inner relationship with herself is just as compelling as her relationship with Doug and both relationships will keep you guessing as to what her next move will be. I know I will certainly be thinking about her final choices for months to come (and Doug’s too, they both grew enormously and changed into almost unrecognizable characters by the end of this book).
It’s kind of like Stepford Wives in the sense of perfect robot wives, but with more emphasis on power dynamics/control, autonomy, intimacy and what we actually want from relationships, romantic and platonic. This book is less a critique on the patriarchy, which was pretty much the main theme of SW, and instead it dives more into observations of what it means to be human and live the human experience.
I’ve only just finished and I already know that I’m going to be thinking about this book for months to come. The relationships were just so dynamic and complex. Every character was various shades of morally gray depending on the scene we were in. No one was ever purely “good” or “evil”. There is no true good or bad guy. There are just complex emotions and relationships and deep rooted questions about autonomy, love, sex, and power.
Annie’s inner relationship with herself is just as compelling as her relationship with Doug and both relationships will keep you guessing as to what her next move will be. I know I will certainly be thinking about her final choices for months to come (and Doug’s too, they both grew enormously and changed into almost unrecognizable characters by the end of this book).
Content Warnings
Graphic: Slavery, Toxic relationship, Domestic abuse, Confinement, Emotional abuse, and Infidelity
Moderate: Body shaming, Fatphobia, and Misogyny
Minor: Sexual content, Vomit, Sexual harassment, Alcohol, and Death of parent
bri_14's review against another edition
emotional
mysterious
reflective
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
Doug was/is absolutely insufferable! He’s a manipulative, abusive partner who is too insecure and self serving to be the husband or father he dreams of. Sierra Grier did such a great job displaying control and how it builds overtime. Not many start out with giving bruises and locking you away for 7 weeks . But it was cool seeing it processed by Annie. Seeing her grapple with her humanity and autonomy was probably the most humane parts of her bc those are things grown women still aim to learn. Also loved seeing her leave Doug as soon as she has agency bc she didn’t love him, only gave him whatever he needed to feel pleased! . Makes you question how many of us are ignorant to our little freedoms.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Eating disorder, Excrement, and Vomit
Moderate: Domestic abuse, Emotional abuse, and Body shaming