Reviews with content warning for Xenophobia - The Cybernetic Tea Shop

This was a cute, fast read. I'm glad to find books with ace characters. Sal and Clara are good for each other and are solidly personalized to the reader very early on in the story. Sal's registration is an interesting plot device. I like how she is humanized without losing sight of her true physical and internal nature. Her being able to be both person and robot adds a necessary and insightful depth to the story.

I just wish there was more. I prefer longer books with richer world building, but for the size of the novel, the world building was rich enough. I hope there will be more books published in this universe!

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jayisreading's review against another edition

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hopeful lighthearted fast-paced

4.0

There was a particular gentleness to this novella that made for a rather cosy read. It was nice to find a story that centered wlw and asexual characters, and despite the shortness of the book, they were relatively well developed. I felt there was something left to be desired, especially when it came to the plot and worldbuilding, but that would require fleshing this book out into a novel.

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tinyjude's review against another edition

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emotional hopeful lighthearted reflective fast-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Character
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? Yes

5.0

A cozy, adorable and emotional read for a rainy afternoon. I loved the take on AI and the characters, as well as the atmosphere they created in this novella. Instead of being worried about how to become human, Sal's story is concerned and centered around love, grief and growth, especially in terms of agency, which I think is fantastic. I felt like it was the perfect length to fell in love with the characters and the world, fell angry at the problems encountered and just enjoy an asexual sapphic science fiction story that leaves you warm and fuzzy

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totallyshelfaware's review against another edition

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emotional hopeful medium-paced

4.0

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smartie_chan's review against another edition

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emotional inspiring fast-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Character
Strong character development? It's complicated
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.0

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kalira's review against another edition

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challenging emotional hopeful sad medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Character
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

5.0

Absolutely beautifully done, with a wonderful braid of feelings and complexities and personalities. The retro-future setting wound up feeling almost perfectly timeless, even with the focus from time to time on Clara's job - and, of course, on Sal's very existence.

Sal and Clara were so very engaging, both of them in different ways and in the ways they interacted, emotionally and logically. The coming together and the growth were so very well portrayed and the difficulties they faced made me want them to overcome them - and together - while throwing up enough things that might be in the realm of couldn't change to make me sorrowfully wonder if they would.

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misterwisp's review against another edition

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emotional hopeful inspiring reflective relaxing sad 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? It's complicated

5.0

This is a lovely cozy bit of science fiction that left me with the same vibe as the Becky Chambers "Wayfarers" series. So if those books are something you liked, this has a high chance of being good for you as well. It's quietly efficient at establishing the characters and world, and draws you in.
As the description states the story has the trope of the humanity in artificial beings, and I really like how it was done. Sal's inner turmoil felt real and relatable in a way hard to describe. I felt connected with it enough to keep and reread it at some point which was unexpected. If you can get behind relaxed books about life and people and where are we all going, what does it all mean etc this is probably a great one to check out.
The action is primarily interpersonal and if that isn't your thing this novella could seem quite slow. I will say, it's short enough that if you wanted to try a different type of read I think this could be a good starting point.
It left me wanting to read more by the author.

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shaipanda's review against another edition

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emotional reflective 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? It's complicated

4.5

This book was so sweet 🥺 the ace rep especially meant a lot to me and I just generally loved Sal and Clara’s story - it was just a small and sweet story that I really enjoyed and meant a lot - made a surprisingly big impact on me considering how short it is like damn

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