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sarah984's review against another edition
dark
hopeful
mysterious
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.5
This book is a sci-fi domestic thriller that takes place over the Christmas holiday. The characters are fun and the mystery keeps you guessing, but a few parts dragged a bit and the ultimate "reveal" was underwhelming. No one's doing "good for her" in the indie space like Faith Gardner, though, and overall I had fun.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Death of parent, Mental illness, Emotional abuse, Toxic relationship, and Suicide attempt
Moderate: Murder, Infidelity, Ableism, Addiction, Alcohol, Child abuse, Domestic abuse, Drug use, Grief, Self harm, and Suicide
Minor: Sexual content, Violence, Medical content, Eating disorder, Confinement, Fire/Fire injury, and Injury/Injury detail
outsmartyourshelf's review
dark
mysterious
sad
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
3.25
Julianna, Josiah, Jesse, & Jada all return to the family home for Christmas. Following their mother's death, the family grew apart & the last Christmas they were together two years ago, erupted into violence when Jesse attacked his father's companion bot, January. January has been repaired & her memory wiped, but when Julianna sees her flinch in Jesse's presence, she wonders if January remembers after all. It may not be all she remembers as all the Jagger children received an anonymous note before they arrived telling them that their mother was murdered.
I was looking forward to reading this one as the author's first book 'Amen Maxine' was excellent whilst novella 'Eve in Overdrive' was very good. I'm a bit meh on this one though. All the family are dysfunctional in some way & I didn't really like any of them. The most realistic friendship was the one between January & the-bot-next-door, June (Six) who is being mistreated by her owner. There's some elements which examines what it means to be human, how humans are viewed by the bots, & how they view their version of death (being recycled). For me, it just didn't have the impact that Amen Maxine had though.
I was looking forward to reading this one as the author's first book 'Amen Maxine' was excellent whilst novella 'Eve in Overdrive' was very good. I'm a bit meh on this one though. All the family are dysfunctional in some way & I didn't really like any of them. The most realistic friendship was the one between January & the-bot-next-door, June (Six) who is being mistreated by her owner. There's some elements which examines what it means to be human, how humans are viewed by the bots, & how they view their version of death (being recycled). For me, it just didn't have the impact that Amen Maxine had though.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Drug abuse, Suicide attempt, and Drug use
Moderate: Domestic abuse
achay91's review
mysterious
tense
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.5
Content Warnings
Graphic: Violence, Death of parent, and Death
Moderate: Toxic relationship, Suicidal thoughts, Infidelity, Suicide, and Suicide attempt
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