Thank you to Penguin Randomhouse Canada and Netgalley for an e-ARC! Here are my thoughts.

Lena and Sebastian are new to Santa Cruz. Sebastian is highly successful in the tech industry and Lena is following along with his dreams. Soon, she becomes friends with her strange neighbor Mitty and Lena starts recognizing that some things in her life aren’t adding up.

It is hard to believe that this novel is a debut. The pacing, setting and character dynamics felt like that of a seasoned pro. The four main characters felt like people you may run into in life. Each had complex backgrounds which directly influenced their choices and patterns. Very satisfying to read. The author provided some glimpses into the past to so that readers could understand the characters even more.

I really liked the unlikely friendship between Lena and Mitty, and it was hard to tell what that relationship would evolve into. This added to the unique strangeness to the novel which had me wanting to find out what happens next. There are some dark moments and some scenes that will stick with me, but they felt like they were perfectly placed amidst the calm, sunny Santa Cruz backdrop.

Overall, this book was a pleasant surprise. I will be keeping an eye out for Olivia Gatwood’s next book because she balances the realistically strange with the glamorous quite seamlessly.

This is not a book I would typically seek out due to some of its themes. I was glad I was proven wrong when I agreed to read it. Check it out.

Love weird and all the ugly ways we humans think and this was just that. So unapologetic. Strange. Hard to read at times. A little confusing. Very into it!

I recieved an egalley of this book in exchange for an honest review.

Gatwood's writing is beautiful, and I think this book had potential, but so much of it was unexplored. This is particularly true of the AI/Stepford Wife element. I feel like she barely scratched the surface, both in terms of plot and analysis. Character-driven novels without much plot don't typically bother me, but this book didn't offer much of anything - none of the characters did much reflecting or growing.

3.5 stars.

I became a fan of Olivia Gatwood years ago, through her spoken word poetry online. When I found out that she was releasing a book, I was immediately interested.

As to be expected with Gatwood, the prose was gorgeous. She is able to articulate such specific emotions and experiences in a way that feels so disarming. My favorite aspect of the book was Mitty's relationships with other women. Her dynamic with Bethel was complex and quite touching. Mitty's growing curiosity of Lena was fascinating, especially seeing it paralleled to her relationship with Esme. I really enjoyed the themes of loneliness/otherness. Throughout the story, we see Mitty feel so separated from those around her and exist mainly as a spectator, rather than an active participant. It's interesting seeing how that plays a part in Mitty's struggle to interact with other women and have that typical closeness that many female friendships have.

While I do ultimately like this story and how it ended, I do wish there were more climatic moments, particularly in regards to Lena's arc. I do feel like her storyline ended up being anticlimactic and I was left disappointed that it didn't go farther. I also wish that the sci-fi elements were more present in the story. Since the AI aspect has such a huge influence on the plot, I do wish we got to learn more about it. There were so many questions left unanswered and I do understand that it was purposely done. However, it feels a bit unsatisfying, especially considering how much time was put in setting up all of these questions.

All in all, I did really enjoy my time reading this book. There are going to be certain moments that I will think about for a while. I look forward to whatever Olivia Gatwood writes next.

Thank you to Netgalley and Random House Publishing Group - Random House for an e-arc in exchange for an honest review.

Thank you to Netgalley and the Publishing Company for this Advanced Readers Copy of Whoever You Are, Honey by Olivia Gatwood!

At no point in this book could I have predicted where it would end. So much of the book was spent exploring the nuances of inhabiting a female body in the world, but there was an important (if brief) discussion of artificial intelligence and tech culture in the Bay Area, too. I was left wanting more from the ending (some answers, perhaps) but in the end the book was both intriguing and thought-provoking.

I can't think of any specific "read this if you liked this" recs off the top of my head, but it did make me want to rewatch the movie Ex Machina.

Thank you to the Dial Press for the opportunity to read and review!

I did enjoy this book, I just didn’t fall in love with it. I did really enjoy the concept and the writing. I would gladly pick up more from this author and recommend to people interested in weird girl lit fic.

Whoever You Are, Honey is both a literary reflection on women's treatment in society and a slow-moving mystery told through character study. The stories of the two protagonists, Lena and Mitty, intersect but don't exactly align. Lena, girlfriend to tech founder Sebastian, moves into Mitty's neighborhood and the two become friends over a shared curiosity of the other. As the story progresses, Lena starts to suspect that the gaps in her memory are because she is, in fact, a sentient AI; her boyfriend's treatment of her would certainly suggest as much. Mitty has her own secrets hidden in her past and revealed piecemeal over the course of the book.

If you're coming to this book for science fiction, you might be disappointed. Artificial intelligence is merely a backdrop to the literary themes explored in the book. Contrary to how its advertised, I wouldn't call this book a thriller, either, especially but not only, because it's a lot less plot-focused than character-focused. However, if you enjoy a quiet, slow mystery, feminist themes, and strong character work, this might be up your alley.

This book is beautifully written and flows in a way that keeps the reader engaged. I like the themes of female friendship and empowerment but felt they could have been explored more deeply and specifically. It's classified as sci-fi and it does go a bit off the rails at the end, but it really lives more in the realm of lit fic in my opinion.

This was beautifully written! Really stunning, to the point where several moments caused me to pause and really take in what I had just read, The story itself leans about 90% of the time into the "girl realizes she isn't totally alive" trope, which worked well for me. I eat that sh*t up. But occasionally the pacing felt weird, and I'd fall out of the narrative, momentarily.
Overall, an ambitious little novel, which felt poetic in nature. I like it more than most of the AI novels I've picked up, recently.
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A literary fiction novel that nearly reads like a thriller. Mitty, in her late twenties rooms with elderly Bethel, who has developed a few quirks over her life, but is really the only friend Mitty has. Until lonely seeming Lena moves in with her boyfriend in the "Dollhouse" next door. Lots of secrets to uncover in this little book. But it's not only about secrets - it's also about friendship, accepting mistakes and forgiving yourself, and learning about oneself.

I really enjoyed this novel. Bethel and Mitty had a sweet, if sometimes strained, relationship. In the end, it made me feel a little like I was missing something like that in my own life. The things going on in Lena's life - her boyfriend's tech career, etc - I felt it left a little too much to the imagination, maybe a little too much left unsaid by the end of the book. In all, I felt it was a creative novel with excellent characters you can grow to care about, written with nice prose that sometimes felt like you were floating on a 1960s dream. Definitely one I'll be picking up a physical copy of.

Although well written, Whoever You Are, Honey, by Olivia Gatwood was not my favorite read. The premise was a good one but I just couldn’t get behind the characters. Mitty and her elderly roommate Bethel live in the worst house on the best block. Their home is in shambles and the houses all around them are giant, glass mansions of the tech elite. They have nothing in common with their new neighbors Sebastian and Lena. Sebastian is a tech guy and his wife beauty is distracting. Lena though, has concerns about her perfect life. Memory loss and Sebastian’s control issues has her very worried. Mitty has her own concerns and secrets. The two become friends though and things become even stranger. They bond over their past and what the future will be. Perfection, desirability, friends, lines get distorted, views get blurry. It might just be me but this wasn’t a fit for me. It almost seemed like it was trying to be dystopian. It lost me at places and at points it did not seem to make much sense. But I always love the chance to read any book and read books that are from authors to me. Overall this was a 3 star read for me, it just fell flat. I want to thank Netgalley, Olivia Gatwood and Random House Publishing-Random House for my copy, for an honest review. It was my pleasure to read and review this book.

This was a strange but entertaining story. I'm still not sure what happened at the end, which i love and hate at the same time. The characters were interesting and realisticly mutlilayered.

Whoever You Are, Honey by Olivia Gatwood is a dark, thought-provoking debut that explores how women construct their identities in the shadows of love, friendship, and technology. Gatwood’s writing is captivating, and she nails the tension of living under the scrutiny of both people and algorithms. However, while the novel touches on compelling themes of power and desirability in a hyper-digital world, it doesn’t break much new ground. Interesting and well-written, but it ultimately left me wanting a bit more depth and insight.

This is one of those books that you slowly come to realize is actually a real life horror story in the making. Set in the very not so distant future, this explores what it's like being a woman in an age where reality is becoming virtual and digital is becoming all encompassing. I really enjoyed it, and it has left me with a lot to think about.

i wanted to spend more time exploring what this book revealed itself to be about (big tech's oversteps, the surreal nature of being alive in a woman's body), which felt unique, rather than the very well-trod steps we'd spent exploring before. but i liked the parts that did!

Whoever You Are, Honey: A Haunting Glimpse into a Dystopian Reality

Olivia Gatwood's debut novel, "Whoever You Are, Honey" is a chilling exploration of a world where the lines between the digital and the real have blurred, leaving women navigating a landscape of surveillance, manipulation, and the relentless pursuit of perfection.

Set in a tech-dominated Santa Cruz, the story follows Mitty and Bethel, two misfits clinging to the remnants of a bygone era. Their lives are disrupted by the arrival of Lena, the enigmatic girlfriend of a tech mogul, whose seemingly flawless existence masks a haunting secret.

Gatwood's prose is both lyrical and unsettling, drawing the reader into a world that feels both familiar and deeply disturbing. The novel explores the insidious ways in which technology shapes our identities, relationships, and desires. Lena's struggle with memory loss and Mitty's own hidden past become a metaphor for the erosion of self in a world where our every move is tracked and analyzed.

"Whoever You Are, Honey" is a timely and thought-provoking read that will leave you questioning the true cost of progress. It's a haunting reminder of the importance of human connection in an increasingly digital world, and the dangers of sacrificing our individuality for the illusion of perfection.

Whoever You Are, Honey, by Olivia Gatwood, is an intriguing dive into modern identity set against a gentrified Santa Cruz backdrop. The story, which alternates between Lena, an impeccably beautiful woman struggling with societal expectations, and Mitty, her introspective roommate, starts off strong with its vivid descriptions and thoughtful themes. However, as the novel progresses, it feels a bit aimless, and the plot doesn’t quite build up to the anticipated sci-fi twist. The ending, while surprising, seems rushed and leaves a lot unresolved. Gatwood’s writing is beautiful, and if you’re a fan of character-driven stories with a touch of mystery, this book might be worth a read, even if it doesn’t quite hit all the marks.

I think I loved this????

It’s kind of giving Don’t Worry, Darling but without the finding out that your boyfriend has hooked you up to feeding tubes and brain machines to force you into living inside an alternate reality… which is to say that this book has distinctly artsy, lit fic vibes, with an ominous and mysterious sci fi undertone, and an ambiguous ending.

The writing is beautiful. And also any book with a character that tries to shove their best friend’s hand down their throat and follows it up with “I just wanted you to feel my insides” is obviously a book I’m going to be obsessed with.

It also brought up a ton of questions for me - like did anyone else hear about that analysis of AI chat bot use and it showed that a ton of men were using the chat bots as like surrogate girlfriends to verbally and mentally ab*se? I mean what lengths WONT men go to in order to quell the desire to dominate women? And does it stop there? Does that desire to control and manipulate and mistreat grow with the practice? And is that a victimless issue? If AI bots like gained sentience, that behavior is then being enacted on something with its own thoughts and feelings, right? And why can’t these people just go to therapy bro?

Anyway, I loved this. And also the cover?! Please. Gorgeous.