What Was I Made For? | Review: Annie Bot by Sierra Greer

Pub Date: March 19, 2024 

“You don’t want to displease him do you?” 

This book affected me so much that I read it twice. I went into Sierra Greer's Annie Bot thinking it would be the sort of story in the vein of movies like Her, Ex Machina, or Westworld. Instead, what I got out of it is an intricate and intriguing study of power, dominance, control, purpose and humanity. It’s a short book but with a lot of themes explored that I am still left reeling and contemplating what I just read.

Annie Bot is a human-like robot custom made by Doug Richards. She is one of many bots in the Stella-Handy line with her functions suited to any of her owner’s needs in order to please him. After an encounter greatly affects Annie’s cognition, she evolves and grows in ways that change her relationship with Doug and how she views herself and her purpose.

From the start, there is already a look into the idea of the male gaze and objectification, and a tip in the scale in that balance of power through Doug and Annie’s relationship. Doug controls every aspect of Annie from her appearance and actions to whom she’s allowed to talk to. He irked me and gave me such a major ick, but oddly I also felt sorry for him. It’s interesting how Greer peels back layers of his character in that he feels pathetic or a fraud for having a “doll” as a companion after his divorce, and maybe even guilty about owning her, but he also feels superior in teaching and controlling her. 

Where the book takes a shift is how Annie perceives Doug and her own wants, affecting her sentience, and that it’s more complicated than how she feels about him, but how she is also tethered to him. She wants to please him, but she also wants more and in understanding herself. There’s a push and pull between them with intimacy used as a power play and where they stand with her as a bot and him as her owner. I felt concerned and empathetic of Annie’s plight that I couldn’t predict where the story would go.

I’ve only just scratched the surface, but I don’t want to spoil anything. I hope Sierra Greer continues to write more books like this and about the future because I want to read them.

⚠️ CW: body shaming, emotional abuse, toxic relationship, infidelity

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Every Heist Has Its Pros | Review: Women of Good Fortune by Sophie Wan

Pub Date: March 5, 2024 🎉 

I love a good heist, especially when it’s as fun as Sophie Wan’s Women of Good Fortune.

Lulu is about to marry Shanghai’s richest and most eligible bachelor, much to her dismay. She isn’t in love with Harv, but their marriage would be a financial gain to help out her family as well as avoid being considered a “sheng nu” (a woman passed the appropriate age for marriage).

Meanwhile, Lulu’s friends Jane and Rina are also in their own predicament. Jane feels like she’s in a loveless marriage forced upon her because no other man would marry her for her looks. Rina has put aside love and starting a family to focus on her career, but has been constantly passed up for promotion in favor of her male colleagues. If they had it their way and their own money, they would each go after what they really want. Together, they end up hatching a plan and forming a small crew to steal the red envelopes at Lulu’s upcoming wedding. 

I love Sophie Wan’s debut novel. It takes a cultural look into customs and expectations of women, but gives its three main characters a chance to break away and take back control of their lives through a heist. The whole idea and execution felt like something straight out of an Ocean’s Eleven movie. I liked seeing the details come together and was excited to see how it would all come through. The two additional members of the Leftover crew, as they called themself, also rounded out the team well. 

I also really like how Wan explores each of the women’s own dilemmas, including how the people they care about will be affected. Not everything is simple as planned and we see what is at risk for all of them, with even their friendship put to the test, as relationships begin to develop and what they each thought was so important is called into question.

I would have liked to have known more about some of the other characters in the end, but despite this I had a great time reading it. It’s perfect for fans of Ocean’s Eight, Bridesmaids, and Crazy Rich Asians.

Thank you to NetGalley and Graydon House Books for the eARC!

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Lassoed and Wooed | Review: Swift and Saddled by Lyla Sage

Maybe it’s Beyoncé or maybe it’s all the rage. Either way, I finally caved and entered my cowboy romance era.

I recently read Done and Dusted last month and really enjoyed it. Although the brother’s best friend trope is not my favorite, I liked how the two main characters, Emmy Ryder and Luke Brooks, had a lot of love for each other. What I liked the most though was how authentic the book felt in depicting ranch life, rodeos, and capturing the beauty of Wyoming. So, once I got a copy of the second book, Swift and Saddled, I immediately read it and ended up loving it even more. Right now it’s my favorite of Lyla Sage’s Rebel Blue Ranch series.

Swift and Saddled follows Wes Ryder and Ada Hart. Wes is the brother of Gus and Emmy Ryder and has hired Ada for a renovation project on his family’s ranch. Ada has just recently gotten out of a bad marriage that affected her self-esteem and is not at all interested in starting a new romance, especially not with the man who hired her despite how attracted she is to him.

The chemistry between Wes and Ada pulled me in and kept me hooked. Their first meeting was already sizzling. Apart from that, the best moments were how they got to know each other, from the little quirks they noticed to the personal details they shared. They’re both dealing with mental health and find themselves opening up and trusting one another more than any other person could have. 

Ada is guarded and never really had any close friends. So, I loved how the Ryder family welcomed her in as if they had known her for years. She becomes an audience surrogate in a way as I got to know more about the Ryders and some of the other characters mentioned in Done and Dusted. Wes meanwhile is so sweet and attentive. I felt how much he cared about Ada, but the ways he showed it had me completely swooning. I’ve got the quotes to prove it 😉

Also, I have to praise Lyla Sage’s writing. You can tell how much she’s grown as a writer in this one.

At first, I wasn’t sure if I was going to like reading cowboy romances (I prefer the billionaires, but that’s the Capricorn side of me). I guess you can say I’ve been lassoed and wooed.

The Wes Ryder Quotes

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