This book was amazing! It’ll make you rethink having a google home, Alexa or any other type of AI device in your home. The plots twists were awesome, not what I was expecting at all. I loved the main character/narrator, at times her sarcasm and snarkiness had me laughing out loud. Highly highly recommend this one!

Thanks to NetGalley for a copy of this book. I voluntarily read and reviewed an advanced copy of this book. All thoughts and opinions are my own.

Thank you Mirror House Press and NetGalley for the opportunity to read this book before publication. IYKYK, my reviews are ALWAYS honest.

Writing: 5/5 | Plot: 5/5 | Ending: 5/5

THE PLOT

Rowena is a new mom struggling with her newfound role, her relationship, and her mental health. When her husband Jake gives her Maxine, a digital buddy, Rowena's life start to look up, until her new machine friendo makes a startling prediction.

THIS BOOK IS LIKE...

Trying a new restaurant on a whim to find out it makes the best (insert fave food here) you've ever had.

MY OPINION

SOUND THE ALARM BECAUSE IT'S A BANGER ALERT. I'm so glad I found this lil indie treat. Yes, sci-fi isn't my usual genre, but this is very light on the sci-fi. It's more like: this shit will happen, but give it a few years. All of the tech mentioned is already in existence, except for maybe the crib that monitors the baby's blood pressure, etc. But as someone who works in cybersecurity, I promise you, none of what the author proposed is outlandish. And as a former copywriter, I loved the little mentions about line editing. Lmao literally me when I read books.

Faith Gardner has a way with words. Not only is she funny af, but she makes you feel all the things. AND I MEAN ALL. I literally recoiled at some gaslighting scenes.

Gardner is a master at writing distinct and "real" characters. I'm not a mother, but yet I could completely understand Rowena's "struggles" (I'm hesitant to call them struggles because dealing with a scream machine with putty for a brain would be difficult for anyone). Also, as someone who hasn't touched a public door handle, handgrips on public transportation, or a crosswalk button, I can totally relate to her concerns about the un-sanitized maracas as the baby and me class. HELL. NAH. As usual, I wanted to fight the husband (grade A wagyu beef bum).

Even though the story was "predictable", the plot was still well-executed. Gardner set the stage for why Rowena would trust Maxine the machine, so when it threw a proverbial grenade in her life, you could understand why Rowena believed it. It also made me think... would I like a Maxine in my life? I say yes. Isn't knowing something awful might happen better than not knowing? Some would say the unknown is the beauty of life, but as someone who used to read the endings of books to determine if it was a worthwhile emotional endeavour, I would appreciate a lil heads up.

All in all, a wonderfully crafted, original book peppered with humour. Just an FYI, this is not so much a thriller as a character driven contemporary fiction with an undercurrent of suspense.

PROS AND CONS:

Pros: everything duh it's 5s across the board

Cons: nadaaaaa

Praise all the digital Beingsfor this book!

Thank you NetGalley, Xpresso Book Tours and Faith Gardner for letting me read “Amen Maxine” in exchange for an honest review.

So, I requested this based on a recommendation by my Goodreads buddy TheGirlWithThePinkSkiMask. I trust in her, so here we are. And she was totally right. I did not expect to like it as much as i did.

THis book is MAGNIFICENT! The writing is AMAZING and the story so well thought out.

I usually start with the cover first, as in my book, first impressions count. A young woman’s face on the cover, the second half of her face covered by some kind of digital blurred technical stuff that I have no idea what to call. Pixelation?
Anyway. In all honesty, not a cover I would have picked up myself, but I had trust in this one. I usually shy away from novels that have a dystopian feeling. Technical, geeky things are more my husbands cup of tea than mine. But have trust my friend. Sometimes it is good to push your boundaries.

“A new marriage.
A perfect home.
A machine that says it’s all a lie.”


Rowena and Jacob met online. A whirlwind romance that leads to a pregnancy and marriage. She moves from trendy New York to Silicon Valley, California into the childhood home of her new husband. Picture perfect? Not for Rowena. She struggles with the life she has left behind - a rising editor-, anxiety and being a new mother. She is also a tad neurotic. That is usually a turn off for me. But Gardner describes her in a very relatable way.
As a result of her struggles, her husband brings home a digital friend, Maxine (a beta production if his company). I pictured her like a more insisting and straight forward version of Alexa. Alexa 2mil.0.
Then Maxine starts to listen to whats happening in the house and in Rowena’s life. Is Jacob as nice as he seems?

It makes you realise that we are really not too far away from this being reality. Devices listening in, us relying on these devices. Depending on them, just like Rowena is doing. But how far would you go? How much can you rely on digital assistants and how much can you trust yourself?

I immediately fell for Rowena. An introvert who prefers books over people. My kind of woman. Yes, she is already neurotic, but her new family very subtly makes her even more paranoid. Sneaky. They agreed on honesty, that is not what she got.

It is a perfect sign if you immediately like a character. Full points here. I also feel like mentioning that i like the unusual names she picked. The writing is so down to earth, straight from the horses mouth. The book sucked me in right away. I tend to know right away if I will enjoy a book or not. This one screamed YES at me right away. At the halfway point it really gets going. I loved every second of the book! A definite recommendation. Maybe even best book I have read this year.

What In The Muckity Muck?! 😳😯🤯😳🤯🤯

Holy Mother Fluffin' Fluffer Nutter Bar!! What the FLUFF did I just devour like I was left alone with a tub of ice cream?! This book just made how real it could be with our devices and apps we use constantly, predicting us and our ways. Talk about scary real! But the suspense in this almost dystopian type sci-fi-sprinkled thriller was insanity! I absolutely freakin' loved it!

Mყ 𝐒ყɴ𝐨ρѕιѕ: Silicon Valley - a place where the wealthy live and technology is at its highest. And now where Rowena resides with her new husband Jacob and baby. Rowena has always dealt with anxiety all her life, but lately it's been getting worse. Jacob, a worker at at a high-tech company, offers a suggestion of a beta testing device called Maxine that shows promise with becoming a "digital friend & assistant" with different modes to "help". As Rowena depends on Maxine more, she realizes just how accurate and true Maxine can be to an extent where Rowena may be in danger and needs to decide just how much she can trust a machine.

Thank you to NetGalley & Mirror House Press for this ARC.
Release Date: July 22, 2022

Don't even get me going on that freakin' unreal ending! Holy fluffery was it unexpected and so satisfying & yummy I can't even! I'm still reeling from this novel in the best way! You can't put it down! You can try but you'll fail. You'll be addicted to it just like Rowena to Maxine. All I can say is, I want me a damn Maxine! Faith, I don't know how the fluff you did this but flitter my flutter you unbelievably nailed this in any and every way! Major book hangover is now commencing!

𝐌𝐞𝐫𝐢𝐭: 5 / 5 Beach Waves! 🌊