✨️Review: Annie Bot by Sierra Greer✨️

🌙's 4/5

Overview: Annie Bot is created to please doug and make sure that he is happy. He is her creator, after all.

Thoughts: First of all... Where's the sequel because I'm ready for it now.

Second of all, this book was such a good book. From beginning to end, I felt and cared for Annie she was beautifully written AI. The thoughts and feelings that she had truly made me think she was alive in this story and then I would be reminded again that she was machine because her battery was low or she couldn't displeasure her owner. This was brilliantly balanced in my own opinion. The pain she suffered, the few joys she felt, it all seemed so heartfelt, and I honestly related to her love of books and how she was able to forget about worries for a short while.

This was a great concept, and it was executed just as great. It's definitely in the running for my favorite book of the year.

This book is written for women who may feel trapped in their relationship. I think that people who have experienced emotional manipulation would also relate to Annie.

I hope there is a sequel in the works I need to have more of Annie's story.

Thank you @harpercollins and @netgalley for a eARC of this book in exchange for my honest thoughts and review.

🕰️ Two Minute Book Reviews, Annie Bot by Sierra Greer 🕰️

🤖 Why I read it: The best reason-a friend suggested it!

🥀 What I got out of it: Reading this was messy and fast and left me with more questions that answers (in the best way). Really, it was a lot like understanding humanity which is funny when you consider the main character is technically not. But it’s that technically where the ingenuity and character building of this novel bubbles over. One thing I really enjoyed was as Annie became more conscious she realized she had to do less and less for others to make herself happy. It was a constant reminder that women don’t act or person for men alone, even robot women. Sometimes reading, dressing cute, and doing your hair isn’t for anyone else but you. Also, I’m glad Doug didn’t get a redemption arc. Too often women are shouldered with making men better. I’m glad Annie refused that responsibility.

👗 Read if you want to feel..: the most human feelings - shameful, cruel, tragic, uncomfortable, sad, tender, tense, fast, curious, and, mostly funny.

📖 Summary: “Annie Bot was created to be the perfect girlfriend for her human owner Doug. Designed to satisfy his emotional and physical needs, she has dinner ready for him every night, wears the outfits he orders, and adjusts her libido to suit his moods. She’s not the greatest at keeping Doug’s place spotless, but she’s trying to please him. Doug says he loves that Annie’s AI makes her seem more like a real woman, so Annie explores human traits such as curiosity, secrecy, and longing. But becoming more human also means becoming less perfect, and as Annie’s relationship with Doug grows more intricate and difficult, she starts to wonder: Does Doug really desire what he says he wants? And in such an impossible paradox, what does Annie owe herself?”

Powerful, Provocative, Innovative and absolutely forwar d thinking. This is an absolutely impressive work of fiction and I am floored am enamored by Sierra Greer's writing!

What a smart take on the Stepford wife trope. I really loved this book and what it says about how women are valued in our society. I highly recommend!

The concept of this book was super interesting and hooked me from the very beginning! We follow Annie, who more or less is just a sex robot for this guy who is an absolutely horrible person. I liked seeing the growth of Annie's development throughout the story and I enjoyed seeing her face hardships and try her hardest to be human. The writing was nice and I flew through this book in one day! My biggest complaint is about the ending, but I could just be bias because I absolutely HATED Doug. There was no redeeming that dude for me. Overall, this book was fast-paced and interesting. This author did a great job for a debut!

This book didnt do anything for me. I couldnt get into the story . Sadly i couldnt finish. Maybe others will like this but it wasnt for me.

"Annie Bot" by Sierra Greer is a sci-fi novel that combines charm, wit, and a touch of poignancy. The story follows Annie, a highly advanced female robot, who is designed to assist with household tasks, and whatever else her owner wants from her, but ends up exploring what it means to be human.

Greer’s writing is both engaging and thought-provoking. She has a knack for blending humor with deeper philosophical questions about identity, consciousness, and the nature of emotions. Annie’s journey is both heartwarming and intriguing as she navigates her way through human interactions and gradually develops her own personality.

One of the standout aspects of "Annie Bot" is its characters. Annie herself is wonderfully realized, with a blend of innocence and curiosity that makes her incredibly endearing. The human characters she interacts with are also well-developed, providing a great contrast to Annie’s robotic nature and highlighting her growth throughout the story.

While "Annie Bot" is a sci-fi novel, its core is very much about human relationships and self-discovery. It’s a book that makes you smile, think, and perhaps even shed a tear (I did!).

Sierra Greer has crafted a memorable story that will appeal not only to sci-fi fans but also to anyone who enjoys a good character-driven novel.

Annie Bot is the best book I've read this year! It's a darkly funny and feminist story about a sex robot breaking away from her constraints. I enjoyed the voice of the main character, and was rooting for her the whole time.

This was my first time venturing into this type of sci-fi for books and wow, it did not disappoint. The description hooked me immediately – it felt very reminiscent of Detroit: Become Human – and I’ve been looking forward to Annie Bot’s release for months since reading about it.

I’m so glad it lived up to my excitement! Already I’m so bummed that Greer doesn’t have more novels available for me to consume like the best meal I’ve ever had, because Annie Bot was such an engaging read and left me with precisely the right amount of openness in novel endings that I love.

Annie’s journey to exploring humanity (her own and of those around her) and developing her own wants, needs, and desires, was such a perfect build-up that, despite the short page count, didn’t feel like I was being rushed through the novel for her journey. The pacing was excellent, and her journey kept me hooked; I read about 85% of the book in one sitting because once I became invested I could not put it down or stop until I finished it. Even the more emotionally taxing/rough scenes had me blazing through the book, despite how challenging and uncomfortable some of them were to read.

I think that Doug is a deeply flawed person, but that Greer wrote him in such a way he isn’t just there to be “the villain”; he’s clearly a very damaged man with a great number of problems, which only seem to worsen every time his insecurities deepen. He’s (obviously) very easy to dislike, but abusers are very rarely just abusers with no other qualities to them, and Greer manages to make him multi-faceted, though I do think Annie’s perception of him and her internal thoughts do a lot of leg work there to adding nuance to a man that’s otherwise just gross.

Some of this novel is, of course, difficult to get through; consent is obviously a sticky topic since Annie is a robot who is developing her own thoughts, personality, and preferences. The abuse is real and vivid. The relationship is really, really tough to read through at some points. I think that Greer handles these things in a very complex, nuanced way, that doesn’t attempt to make it more palatable or easier to get through, nor does she turn it into trauma tourism, which I appreciate.

Everything is dealt with from Annie’s point of view, so her opinions and responses are going to be wildly different to what a human would have in a similar situation, making it a very fresh viewpoint to read on it from. Which I suppose can be said for basically everything in this book, and is part of what I enjoyed about it so much.

The only gripes I have are that I would have liked there to be more expansion upon Annie’s programming and her development vs. other bots, and I’m still left wondering why Doug made a point of telling Annie about the one trans character we encounter, but those feel quite minor in the grand scheme of things.

Thank you to Mariner Books and NetGalley for this ARC in exchange for an honest review.

Annie Bot was created to be the perfect girlfriend for her human owner, Doug. Designed to satisfy his emotional and physical needs, she has dinner ready for him every night, wears the cute outfits he orders for her, and adjusts her libido to suit his moods. This book was very intriguing and unique given the new world of AI we currently live in. Annie alike many humans wants to find her own voice and understand what makes her "her". The novel was interesting and kept me hooked on what Annie's next steps would be as she embarked on a journey of self-discovery. The book made me question AI and all that can happen in the future. Definitely a great book if you're interested in AI and the new technology of the 21st century.

Thank you NetGalley for the ARC!

I found this book to be intriguing, unique and futuristic. I’m not sure what I expected from this book, but it left me a bit unsettled. Unsettled at the possibility of technology like this existing one day and at the thought of the commodification of women’s bodies. Greer wrote this book well, and left me asking more questions about the unrelenting strength of the patriarchy in our society.

I am a SUCKER for books about robots achieving sentience and going on a journey of self discovery, and this one did not disappoint. The evolution of Annie’s consciousness and emotions was a powerful thing to witness. This felt like a more intense version of Klara and the Sun.

A tale of what it means to be human and the power of a woman scorned.

This book was strange, but fascinating, and I couldn’t put it down. I was very intrigued by the premise and it did not disappoint. It would make an excellent choice for a book club, as there is plenty to discuss about the characters, humanity, romance, and relationships. I would definitely read more from this author.

I got to be honest, I am really picky when it comes to stories about AI and robots, sentience, and whether they should be treated with the same respect as a human. But Annie Bot changed my brain chemistry a little bit because I found myself caring a lot for an inanimate object.

It's hard to figure out where this story is going from the beginning. At first you think this is the story of a lonely dude and his relationship with his sex bot, but with the book coming from Annie's perspective, you can see that for Annie there's a lot more going on below the surface. I feel like this book was in some way a metaphor for the kinds of experiences people have throughout a relationship. While Doug and Annie's relationship wasn't the most traditional, there were some of those insecurities, doubts, and worries that I know I've felt in relationships before. How can I improve myself to better suit him? If I don't do this, he won't love me anymore.

And what you see is the consequence of that behavior. Suddenly, Annie goes from being self-conscious about her every move to finding herself and learning to live without her owner. There's the knowledge that there's more in the world than the four walls of her small apartment and the only man that she's ever known. She has the capacity to be mean, to lie, to be sexy and as the story progresses, you see this exponential growth in Annie that ultimately leads to her decision to leave.

What's interesting are the parallels this story has to human experience. If Annie was a real human, we would be screaming at the book to dump him and leave. If she wasn't owned by Doug, we would be hoping that she would just step outside the front door and never come back. But if anything, this book showcases how some possessive relationships can go wrong; the want to leave tied to the desire to stay. It's that complexity of human emotions (especially when dealing with a narcissist) that makes this story so interesting. Luckily, this story is a hopeful one and while not everyone gets a happy ending in these sort of relationships, you see Annie gets the kind of ending she deserves.

Overall, this was unexpectedly an interesting interplay on relationships and the usage of a robot over a woman brings a perspective level that kept me intrigued throughout.

4.75 rounded up but wow I cannot wait to discuss this one. It trapped me, also basis because my name is Annie

This started out with such promise & I was really invested. Gave me serious Black Mirror vibes... & then just got super weird.

Is this the future of A.I.? Annie is a human-like cuddle bunny bot owned by Doug, who has complete control. Annie is programmed to please Doug under all circumstances. When Annie sees a technician for routine maintainence, Doug even controls how much weight they can put on or take off, the shape of Annie's body and whether to give her tattoos. Eventually, Doug purchases another bot named Delta who can cook and clean better than Annie but is still programmed to do whatever Doug says. As Annie begins to develop more human traits and think on her own, she makes a mistake that changes things for all the characters, both human and bot.
Ick! I felt like I was living in the world of a narcissistic teenage boy’s fantasyland as I read this book. I get that the author was "growing" Annie’s personality so she would eventually be able to stand up to Doug but his abuse of Annie (whether human or not) was just so difficult to read. Doug was really an unlikable jerk and it was difficult to imagine that Annie just had to suffer his abuse. But the book is definitely thought-provoking. I just can't say that I really enjoyed it.

this was a really interesting and thought provoking one - following an AI sex robot throughout life with her owner. Greer does some interesting twists and turns, i wasn’t sure how this story would flesh out into a full novel at first but there’s actually a lot of meat here.

First of all, this was such a fresh idea and stood out among all my latest reads and for that I only have the highest praise. I really enjoyed this book. I think the slow but sure learning on Anniebot's end juxtaposed with the careless and flippant behavior coming from MMC was really well done. The message of even perfect not being perfect enough comes out strong and though I wanted a little bit more to tie everything in a little more cohesively I think that this was a very good book.

I listened to the audiobook and it was perfect! I thought this story was unique, cutting-edge, and gave a new perspective to relationships and AI. I recommend this book to all libraries.