Kit Vincent

CW: death of family pet (off page), suicide attempt, physical & mental cruelty

3.5 stars rounded up. The sweet love story between two A.I. servants is so full of angst and violence that I could barely bring myself to keep turning the pages. How many horrible things can happen to Eke, the tender-hearted droid who practices stunts he's seen in Buster Keaton movies, illuminates his closet with pretend stars, and considers potted flowers his friends? Even after he makes a strong (literally) show more connection to Kyp, the hits just keep on coming. Yet the version of the future that Vincent creates is easily credible, with obvious parallels to current horrifying injustices faced by queers, POC and undocumented immigrants. The dramatic HEA is a bit mystifying, but at least Eke's Job-like struggles are finally over and he finds the hard-fought freedom he deserves.

I would definitely read other books by Kit Vincent, but I would have to be in a certain headspace that could tolerate a lot of ugliness. Given the hellscape that is 2023, it might be a while before that happens. show less

Big thanks to NetGalley and the publishers for this DRC.

TW: domestic violence, substance use, animal abuse and murder, eating disorder, self harm, xenophobia, racism, gun violence

Eke is a humanoid AI owned by an oblivious wealthy family in Massachusetts. The absent father and substance addicted mother have raised a toxic and neglected son, Carson, who finds joy in hurting others. Eke, who is programmed to obey without question is a frequent and easy target for his misdirected rage. Things show more begin to change a little bit with the arrival of Kyp, a brand new luxury AI who can do all kinds of things Eke would love to do. When Carson’s rage accelerates Eke and Kyp find themselves running for their lives.
I liked the idea of this story and I found the characters of Eke and Kyp to be decent. Carson’s unchecked rage was uncomfortable and I had to put the book down for a while before I could continue. I found the relationship between Eke and Kyp to be a bit under-developed. It worked on a level of ‘we are both going through this trauma together’ but it could have used a bit more of them communicating and less doing chores and experiencing violence in the house.
One thing of interest, I keep going back and forth as to whether I think this book is queernorm/queer. Kyp and Eke both use he/him pronouns and they kiss. So on that level they could be identified as queer. But there isn’t any mention of anyone else being queer at all. There are no other queer characters and we don’t get any commentary on the state of queerness in this world.
Not my favorite, but an interesting attempt! show less

I really enjoyed this. I wasn't sure where it was going at first, it is definitely a slow build to the connection between the main characters. Once they got there... the action picked up and the plot worked its magic.

I would love to have a bit more detail about Dacian. He was an intriguing character and I would have enjoyed a bit more of his background. He's a very solid character though and I thought he was great.

Jonathan was so easy to love. What a life he had. From the moment he first show more appeared on page, I wanted him to succeed at whatever he wanted.

Great story, lovely mystery, action... and a realistic romance :) show less

Pretty sure the brother murdered her dog and I’m not sticking around to find out for sure.