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mastersal's review against another edition
4.5
Continuing Read-along Adventures with Mom - March Edition
So Mom picked this one instead of [b:My Lovely Wife|39796904|My Lovely Wife|Samantha Downing|https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1530546018l/39796904._SY75_.jpg|57859656] making this our March book … which turned out to be a happy confluence of circumstances. I haven’t read this author before or knew what this book was about so I was very pleasantly surprised.
This is a domestic thriller with a SFF hook (think [b:The One|57845885|The One|John Marrs|https://s.gr-assets.com/assets/nophoto/book/50x75-a91bf249278a81aabab721ef782c4a74.png|52114608], which was another book I loved). The hook worked for me and elevated the book which I thought was going to be a more run-of-the-mill amnesia thriller. The blurb frankly should have mentioned this a little clearly to be honest as I can see this premise annoying people who are expecting a more straightforward domestic thriller.
I will say for all the SFF readers that this is a SFF twist / sprinkling on the bones of a domestic thriller. The guts of the book are still a thriller-mystery and not sci-fi per se. I’ve seen some reviewers call this a sci-fi book and for me this is a bit of a stretch in terms of focus.
Spoiler The titular wife is basically an android who has the memories of the wife. However, the book doesn’t spend a lot of time exploring the concept of whether the AI is alive or its place in society. This does make an appearance but it’s more fleeting than a central theme. I would have expected a lot more of this in a pure sci-fi book.
There is the SFF hook, an austic son, a missing wife. It got a bit overstuffed near the end but still lots of fun. Spoiler We did start exploring the nature of consciousness of the AI wife but we were in the second half to autism and its treatment. I think it was all meant to be a commentary of differences in how our brains work but that doesn't make us less worthy of love. Or some such thing. It wasn’t the clearest as we spent too much time with the husband and the AI wife and not enough with the austic son. And this is what I mean about this being a domestic thriller - if we ignored the thriller premise of the missing wife we could have explored the family tropes more.
The book did a great job in setting up creepy vibes throughout the book. Spoiler Real Abby’s art projects were a clear indictment of misogyny but it progressively became clear. All of it was really creepy and made me uncomfortable. I thought the author did a great job in subtly highlighting this.
I am going with a solid 4 stars - I really enjoyed the book and some of its thematic focus. However, the ending was a little pat and the author probably tried to do a little to much in a fairly short book. Spoiler The last 50-60 pages saw a shift in focus from consciousness and personhood to autism which came out of left field for me. The autism plotline was a little too obviously evil and wrapped too quickly. It also left the sci-fi exploration about the nature of consciousness to the wayside.
AI Abby has a little too many convenient leaps of intuition to explain what Real Abby was thinking. There is some sci-fi explanation on open ended programming but nothing rang true to me - this is where the amnesia thriller took over the sci-fi premise.
I will say that the last few chapters were a shocker which jolted me from a smug complacency. Because of that I am giving this 4.5 stars. A little over stuffed but a very enjoyable read.
I did listen to this on audio which was a good choice - the narrators did a great job.
So Mom picked this one instead of [b:My Lovely Wife|39796904|My Lovely Wife|Samantha Downing|https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1530546018l/39796904._SY75_.jpg|57859656] making this our March book … which turned out to be a happy confluence of circumstances. I haven’t read this author before or knew what this book was about so I was very pleasantly surprised.
This is a domestic thriller with a SFF hook (think [b:The One|57845885|The One|John Marrs|https://s.gr-assets.com/assets/nophoto/book/50x75-a91bf249278a81aabab721ef782c4a74.png|52114608], which was another book I loved). The hook worked for me and elevated the book which I thought was going to be a more run-of-the-mill amnesia thriller. The blurb frankly should have mentioned this a little clearly to be honest as I can see this premise annoying people who are expecting a more straightforward domestic thriller.
I will say for all the SFF readers that this is a SFF twist / sprinkling on the bones of a domestic thriller. The guts of the book are still a thriller-mystery and not sci-fi per se. I’ve seen some reviewers call this a sci-fi book and for me this is a bit of a stretch in terms of focus.
Spoiler The titular wife is basically an android who has the memories of the wife. However, the book doesn’t spend a lot of time exploring the concept of whether the AI is alive or its place in society. This does make an appearance but it’s more fleeting than a central theme. I would have expected a lot more of this in a pure sci-fi book.
There is the SFF hook, an austic son, a missing wife. It got a bit overstuffed near the end but still lots of fun. Spoiler We did start exploring the nature of consciousness of the AI wife but we were in the second half to autism and its treatment. I think it was all meant to be a commentary of differences in how our brains work but that doesn't make us less worthy of love. Or some such thing. It wasn’t the clearest as we spent too much time with the husband and the AI wife and not enough with the austic son. And this is what I mean about this being a domestic thriller - if we ignored the thriller premise of the missing wife we could have explored the family tropes more.
The book did a great job in setting up creepy vibes throughout the book. Spoiler Real Abby’s art projects were a clear indictment of misogyny but it progressively became clear. All of it was really creepy and made me uncomfortable. I thought the author did a great job in subtly highlighting this.
I am going with a solid 4 stars - I really enjoyed the book and some of its thematic focus. However, the ending was a little pat and the author probably tried to do a little to much in a fairly short book. Spoiler The last 50-60 pages saw a shift in focus from consciousness and personhood to autism which came out of left field for me. The autism plotline was a little too obviously evil and wrapped too quickly. It also left the sci-fi exploration about the nature of consciousness to the wayside.
AI Abby has a little too many convenient leaps of intuition to explain what Real Abby was thinking. There is some sci-fi explanation on open ended programming but nothing rang true to me - this is where the amnesia thriller took over the sci-fi premise.
I will say that the last few chapters were a shocker which jolted me from a smug complacency. Because of that I am giving this 4.5 stars. A little over stuffed but a very enjoyable read.
I did listen to this on audio which was a good choice - the narrators did a great job.
tina_h101's review against another edition
dark
emotional
mysterious
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.5
celiapowell's review against another edition
3.0
I was expecting this to be a straight thriller, and was pleasantly surprised by the speculative elements () - it was a very engaging fun novel. One note - part of this story is in relation to ABA treatment/therapy for autistic children, and initially it is not clear whether it is being viewed uncritically or not. There are several characters who express views about autistic children being "fixed", and while they are shown to be in the wrong, some parts are difficult to read.
Spoiler
robot wiiiiiifejoyousone17's review against another edition
5.0
The ending was a shock and surprise for me. Didn't see it coming, loved it! I think this was one of THE best books I have read this year!
amightylittleread's review against another edition
dark
informative
mysterious
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
befsk's review against another edition
3.0
Well, after the most interesting start to a book that I remember reading for a while (occasional second person chapters, and the main character is a robot), this book soon became kinda dull and predictable. I struggled to motivate myself to read it. The sci-fi aspect was cool but it soon turned into a run of the mill thriller.
I liked Danny a lot, and was unsurprised to read in the acknowledgments that the author knew autism first hand with her own son. I feel like Danny's autism is a plot point that will stick with me more than the robot protagonist will.
I received this ARC from Netgalley.
I liked Danny a lot, and was unsurprised to read in the acknowledgments that the author knew autism first hand with her own son. I feel like Danny's autism is a plot point that will stick with me more than the robot protagonist will.
I received this ARC from Netgalley.
emilyjayne01's review against another edition
medium-paced
- 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? It's complicated
Very weird book - nothing like the blurb.
nypeapod's review against another edition
5.0
At first, I was not sure if I would like a book about AI cobots, but the novel grabs you after after a few pages. It does raise interesting questions about the misuse of technology. A well-written book. Surprise ending.
lilysnape's review against another edition
4.0
4/5. I actually found myself enjoying this strange combination of sci-fi and thriller. Even with its faults, it still comes together as a strong, cohesive narrative.