Reviews tagging 'Gaslighting'

Annie Bot by Sierra Greer

50 reviews

mybestfriendisabook's review against another edition

mysterious reflective tense medium-paced

5.0

hooked by the intro, ended up buying at a bookstore and finished during that day of traveling! loved it

interesting meditation on AI sex dolls. tense and thrilling. funny, eerie, and dystopian but also realistic and unsurprising in today’s world. 
enjoyed the 🥵 scenes. 
similar vibes to Poor Things (disclaimer: i only watched the film)

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Sexual content, Emotional abuse, Toxic relationship, and Misogyny

Moderate: Body shaming and Gaslighting

vaekay's review against another edition

adventurous dark hopeful mysterious 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

4.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Emotional abuse, Toxic relationship, Torture, Domestic abuse, Injury/Injury detail, Sexual content, Confinement, Alcohol, Gaslighting, Infidelity, Kidnapping, Misogyny, Cursing, Physical abuse, Sexual violence, and Abandonment

Moderate: Body shaming, Suicidal thoughts, Cancer, and Terminal illness

Minor: Pregnancy, Death, Death of parent, and Transphobia

hazel_oat's review against another edition

challenging emotional reflective sad slow-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

3.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Toxic relationship, Confinement, Sexual violence, and Sexual content

Moderate: Misogyny, Gaslighting, and Body shaming

Minor: Transphobia

mamawantsbooks's review against another edition

dark sad tense fast-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? N/A
• Strong character development? It's complicated
• Loveable characters? No
• Diverse cast of characters? N/A
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

I’m not sure what the goal of this book was but I felt gaslit by the last bit and 100% unsure what I was supposed to feel. It’s like Barbie meets AI sex dolls and that in itself sounds more interesting than the actual book.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Slavery, Misogyny, Gaslighting, Sexism, Domestic abuse, Forced institutionalization, Infidelity, Sexual assault, Body shaming, Confinement, Toxic relationship, Sexual content, and Sexual violence

tfarfan's review against another edition

dark emotional inspiring sad 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

4.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Domestic abuse, Gaslighting, Infidelity, Misogyny, Sexual content, Toxic relationship, and Emotional abuse

lochnessvhs's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional hopeful reflective tense 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? It's complicated

5.0

as soon as I closed the cover on Annie Bot I exclaimed outloud, to no one, "holy fucking shit!"

that's the best review I can give you.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Misogyny, Slavery, Gaslighting, Sexual assault, Emotional abuse, Confinement, and Sexism

adhesivedolphin's review against another edition

emotional reflective 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 loved this book! Annie was immediately such an interesting and powerful lead. This book is full of trigger warnings for DV and connected issues of consent. It really explores the concept of abusive relationships in a setting where Annie literally has to obey him. It's an amazing expression of how sci-fi can be used to tell stories about life today. Beware the TW and stay safe!

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Emotional abuse, Misogyny, Sexual content, Sexual assault, Sexual violence, Gaslighting, Domestic abuse, Infidelity, Toxic relationship, and Slavery

Moderate: Abandonment, Body shaming, Classism, Confinement, and Panic attacks/disorders

thatswhatshanread's review against another edition

challenging informative reflective tense medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? It's complicated
• Loveable characters? No
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

3.5

It’s hard to describe how I feel about this novel. It was truly fascinating reading from the POV of a sentient, humanoid robot. It was absolutely maddening to read about said robot’s human owner, Doug, a trashcan of a man, but totally someone you know irl. Which is what made it so infuriating!! How men like Doug reduce women to serving their needs and desires. How women are all but taught (programmed, as it were) to please their male counterparts. It certainly sparked a lot of great contemplation, however theoretical, about ownership in the age of AI and increasing technological advances. I guess the point can be made that this book exists to possibly skew the path that the future holds for certain AI developments, but it may also exist to show how inevitable the future will be as it is in the book.

Was this story original? Yes. Was it empowering, hopeful feminist literature? Not really. While the ending did offer some payoff, a lot of the book frustrated me. Which, again, is maybe the point! So many thoughts about this book. Sierra Greer definitely debuted with an interesting one, that’s for sure. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Bullying, Confinement, Infidelity, Misogyny, Cursing, Sexual content, Sexual harassment, Toxic relationship, Domestic abuse, Emotional abuse, Body shaming, Alcohol, Torture, Abandonment, and Gaslighting

Moderate: Physical abuse and Grief

rbz39's review against another edition

dark emotional reflective tense fast-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

4.25

Sometimes you just read a book that messes you up for fun!
Horrifying but also fascinating and liberating. A fast-paced ride about free will and the relationship between androids and humans (which I hope doesn’t happen in my lifetime because good god this was traumatizing). The conversation about robots was exactly the kinda stuff I find interesting and I thought the end was very cathartic after the stress I went through reading. Annie is a magnetic narrator with a unique point of view and style. Really enjoyed this (although enjoy feels wrong given the content) and I can’t wait to see what the author does next. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Misogyny, Domestic abuse, and Sexual content

Moderate: Gaslighting, Body shaming, and Confinement

Minor: Death of parent

ravenousrose's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional reflective medium-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

5.0

A raw, unapologetic reflection on the many facets of humanity. It left me feeling contemplative - turned inside out with conflicting emotions.

Would I recommend it? Absolutely.

Would I myself dive in again? Only if I were prepared to once more disassemble my perspective on humanity and myself.

Good luck to us all.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Emotional abuse, Gaslighting, Bullying, Domestic abuse, Physical abuse, Infidelity, Sexual assault, Body shaming, and Sexism

Minor: Cancer and Death of parent

it’s important to note that one of the human characters does not think of the main AI character as “alive” or “real” and therefore doesn’t treat her with the kind of decency often afforded to a human. This can be quite upsetting but if you can power through it’s worth the read.