The premise of the book is unique and a definite selling-point. The author succeeds in weaving the “Now” and “Then” scenes so that vital information is trickled in, while also withholding details to keep us guessing. There are some large themes encountered here. Unfortunately, I was disappointed by how these themes took a backseat to the plot instead of being explored beyond surface-level. There are times the pacing dragged, especially in the beginning, but there are multiple twists and turns you will not see coming. Not a quick read, but would definitely recommend for lighter thriller readers or readers new to the genre.

Julia is the third Synth-human ever created. A fully synthetic humanoid run by AI and tech mimicking the human experience. To create buzz and acceptance around a Synth-future, Julia is booted up day one of a Bachelor-esque show. She's got a leg up on the other girls by being created to mesh with the Bachelor's personality but being a "bot" is still a far cry from being accepted. ... Interspersed with the Bachelor love story, Julia is in present day with her husband missing and she is the number one suspect.


This was an amazing exploration of a very possible near-future of synthetic-biology and AI - what is 'real,' who has power, what is it to be human?

"Less fuckbots and better vaccines, please! We’re in a pandemic and THIS is what science is doing?? What a joke. Welcome to America Julia where the 1% is making robot sex toys while the 99% are on food stamps. It’s great here!!" - Made for You.

This reminded me of Annie Bot but wasn’t nearly as good. This was so chaotic and disappointing. The writing was …. Something else, and even though this had so much potential I feel like it just seriously missed the mark. So many other AI focused books have been released recently that did this type of story better. Very surface level analysis of humans vs bots.

Thank you to the publisher for this ARC.

This was a good story, definitely different from what I have read in the past. It kept your interest the entire time as you learned more about the characters and how they were all connected. The story of the Synths in this book are very intriguing for sure, especially in the world we live in right now with AI becoming a thing….for sure makes you think how that could evolve in the future.

The premise of this book sounded very interesting. An AI psychological thriller based around a reality television show? Uh...yes please! I love the reality tv trope and I love psychological thrillers but sprinkling in the sci-fi component is not something I read often so I was ready to give it a whirl.

The storyline was captivating enough. Julia is a Synth whose purpose was created to fall in love with Josh on a reality tv show "The Proposal" (emulated after The Bachelor). Once she is the chosen one at the end, they begin a life together. Unfortunately, a life away from the cameras is different than one in front of it. Josh has disappeared and the local Sherrif, a synth-hater, has Julia identifed as the prime suspect.

The book is told in a "now and then" fashion from Julia's POV. While the story is unique, the flow is not an evenflow. It is a slow burn and introduces a lot of characters. The ending picked up in pace but honestly, I was just so confused at times and wondered if I had missed parts and the signficance of some characters. For me, overall, this was just okay. Didn't love it, didn't hate it and appreciated the unique storyline.

This was one twisty story. Well written and filled with suspense, you'll find yourself reading this the entire day. I can't wait to read more books by this author.

Many thanks for my gifted copy.

I thought this book was rather frivolous at first but it rapidly became a philosophical discussion on spousal violence, how it is perceived and what you have do to protect yourself and your children. The author is very thoughtful with her points on hatred, violence and AI Robotics. Definitely something to think about.

This was one of my most anticipated reads of the year. As soon as I read the premise, I couldn't wait to get my hands on it. I will be reading whatever Jenna writes (including her tweets and substack).

Thank you NetGalley, HTP/Mira and The Hive for the gifted eARC.

⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️💫 (4.5 stars rounded up)

Apparently I’m in my AI era, having just read Anniebot recently and now this. This was a really solid debut novel!

Sci-Fi and AI meet the bachelor meets murder mystery/thriller? A wild mashup of genres that worked really perfectly together.

We alternate timelines between Then and Now. Then — we see Julia, who is the world’s third synthetic human (Synth) and Josh, the bachelor, fall in love reality TV show style. Now — Josh is dead and Julia is now a single mother and the main suspect and she needs to do what she can to clear her name.

I was hooked from the start with this one. The pacing was really even, and was slow enough to keep the suspense building but fast enough to keep me engaged. I was really invested in Julia, her story, and her innocence. Josh 😒… that’s all I’ll say about that to avoid any spoilers. The side characters were not deeply explored but provided just enough to make you interested in them and have them add to the story in just the right way. And the very end made me smirk 😏. I would definitely check out this authors future work!

A ton of different plot lines that just didn’t connect, I DNFed this one. I really wanted to enjoy this but man this was rough to read

This wasn’t overly sciencey which I appreciated. I was intrigued by the concept of essentially a AI falling in love and becoming pregnant. There also were past flashbacks of how Julia and Josh met on a reality tv show like The Bachelor.

This was very slow, and I wanted the pace to pick up. At times I was more into the past chapters over the present because I wanted the story to move along. This was an interesting concept, and I had this on my list of anticipated reads, but I felt this was all over the place, and I expected a different plot reveal. Overall, this was just okay to me, I think I had different expectations.

ℝ𝕒𝕥𝕚𝕟𝕘: ⭐️⭐️⭐️ | 𝔽𝕠𝕣𝕞𝕒𝕥: 𝐸-𝐵𝑜𝑜𝓀

ℝ𝕖𝕧𝕚𝕖𝕨: 𝟐.𝟓 ⭐️ 𝐓𝐡𝐢𝐬 𝐛𝐨𝐨𝐤 𝐰𝐚𝐬 𝐩𝐫𝐞𝐭𝐭𝐲 𝐟𝐫𝐞𝐚𝐤𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐰𝐞𝐢𝐫𝐝 𝐭𝐨 𝐛𝐞 𝐡𝐨𝐧𝐞𝐬𝐭, 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐈’𝐦 𝐬𝐭𝐢𝐥𝐥 𝐧𝐨𝐭 𝐬𝐮𝐫𝐞 𝐢𝐟 𝐢𝐭 𝐰𝐚𝐬 𝐠𝐨𝐨𝐝 𝐰𝐞𝐢𝐫𝐝 𝐨𝐫 𝐣𝐮𝐬𝐭 𝐰𝐞𝐢𝐫𝐝 𝐰𝐞𝐢𝐫𝐝. 𝐓𝐡𝐞 𝐭𝐰𝐢𝐬𝐭𝐬 𝐰𝐞𝐫𝐞 𝐭𝐰𝐢𝐬𝐭𝐲 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐩𝐥𝐨𝐭 𝐰𝐚𝐬 𝐮𝐧𝐢𝐪𝐮𝐞, 𝐛𝐮𝐭 𝐢𝐭 𝐰𝐚𝐬 𝐨𝐧𝐞 𝐨𝐟 𝐭𝐡𝐨𝐬𝐞 𝐛𝐨𝐨𝐤𝐬 𝐰𝐡𝐞𝐫𝐞 𝐭𝐡𝐞𝐫𝐞’𝐬 𝐬𝐨 𝐦𝐚𝐧𝐲 𝐫𝐚𝐧𝐝𝐨𝐦 𝐞𝐱𝐭𝐫𝐚 𝐜𝐡𝐚𝐫𝐚𝐜𝐭𝐞𝐫𝐬 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐦𝐢𝐧𝐨𝐫 𝐩𝐥𝐨𝐭 𝐩𝐨𝐢𝐧𝐭𝐬 𝐭𝐡𝐚𝐭 𝐭𝐡𝐞𝐬𝐞 𝐭𝐡𝐢𝐧𝐠𝐬 𝐝𝐢𝐬𝐭𝐫𝐚𝐜𝐭𝐞𝐝 𝐟𝐫𝐨𝐦 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐦𝐚𝐢𝐧 𝐩𝐥𝐨𝐭.

𝑴𝒂𝒅𝒆 𝒇𝒐𝒓 𝒀𝒐𝒖 𝐟𝐨𝐥𝐥𝐨𝐰𝐬 𝐉𝐮𝐥𝐢𝐚 𝐖𝐚𝐥𝐝𝐞𝐧, 𝐚 “𝐒𝐲𝐧𝐭𝐡” (𝐨𝐫 𝐬𝐲𝐧𝐭𝐡𝐞𝐭𝐢𝐜 𝐰𝐨𝐦𝐚𝐧—𝐛𝐚𝐬𝐢𝐜𝐚𝐥𝐥𝐲 𝐚 𝐫𝐨𝐛𝐨𝐭 𝐦𝐚𝐝𝐞 𝐭𝐨 𝐥𝐨𝐨𝐤 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐨𝐩𝐞𝐫𝐚𝐭𝐞 𝐥𝐢𝐤𝐞 𝐚 𝐡𝐮𝐦𝐚𝐧) 𝐰𝐡𝐨 𝐠𝐨𝐞𝐬 𝐨𝐧 𝐚 𝐫𝐞𝐚𝐥𝐢𝐭𝐲 𝐓𝐕 𝐬𝐡𝐨𝐰 𝐜𝐚𝐥𝐥𝐞𝐝 𝐓𝐡𝐞 𝐏𝐫𝐨𝐩𝐨𝐬𝐚𝐥 (𝐛𝐚𝐬𝐢𝐜𝐚𝐥𝐥𝐲 𝐣𝐮𝐬𝐭 𝐓𝐡𝐞 𝐁𝐚𝐜𝐡𝐞𝐥𝐨𝐫). 𝐒𝐡𝐞 𝐰𝐚𝐬 𝐜𝐫𝐞𝐚𝐭𝐞𝐝 𝐬𝐩𝐞𝐜𝐢𝐟𝐢𝐜𝐚𝐥𝐥𝐲 𝐭𝐨 𝐜𝐨𝐦𝐩𝐞𝐭𝐞 𝐨𝐧 𝐭𝐡𝐢𝐬 𝐬𝐡𝐨𝐰 𝐭𝐨 𝐰𝐢𝐧 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐡𝐞𝐚𝐫𝐭 𝐨𝐟 𝐉𝐨𝐬𝐡 𝐋𝐚𝐒𝐚𝐥𝐚. 𝐈𝐭 𝐚𝐥𝐭𝐞𝐫𝐧𝐚𝐭𝐞𝐬 𝐛𝐞𝐭𝐰𝐞𝐞𝐧 𝐩𝐚𝐬𝐭 (𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐬𝐡𝐨𝐰) 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐩𝐫𝐞𝐬𝐞𝐧𝐭 (𝐟𝐚𝐬𝐭 𝐟𝐨𝐫𝐰𝐚𝐫𝐝 𝟏𝟓 𝐦𝐨𝐧𝐭𝐡𝐬 𝐰𝐡𝐞𝐫𝐞 𝐉𝐮𝐥𝐢𝐚 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐉𝐨𝐬𝐡 𝐚𝐫𝐞 𝐦𝐚𝐫𝐫𝐢𝐞𝐝 𝐰𝐢𝐭𝐡 𝐚 𝐛𝐚𝐛𝐲). 𝐉𝐮𝐥𝐢𝐚’𝐬 𝐬𝐞𝐞𝐦𝐢𝐧𝐠𝐥𝐲-𝐩𝐞𝐫𝐟𝐞𝐜𝐭 𝐰𝐨𝐫𝐥𝐝 𝐟𝐥𝐢𝐩𝐬 𝐮𝐩𝐬𝐢𝐝𝐞 𝐝𝐨𝐰𝐧 𝐰𝐡𝐞𝐧 𝐉𝐨𝐬𝐡 𝐠𝐨𝐞𝐬 𝐦𝐢𝐬𝐬𝐢𝐧𝐠.

𝐈 𝐥𝐢𝐤𝐞𝐝 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐜𝐫𝐞𝐚𝐭𝐢𝐯𝐢𝐭𝐲 𝐭𝐡𝐚𝐭 𝐰𝐞𝐧𝐭 𝐢𝐧𝐭𝐨 𝐭𝐡𝐢𝐬 𝐬𝐭𝐨𝐫𝐲, 𝐛𝐮𝐭 𝐟𝐞𝐥𝐭 𝐨𝐯𝐞𝐫𝐰𝐡𝐞𝐥𝐦𝐞𝐝 𝐛𝐲 𝐡𝐨𝐰 𝐦𝐮𝐜𝐡 𝐢𝐭 𝐬𝐞𝐞𝐦𝐞𝐝 𝐭𝐨 𝐭𝐫𝐲 𝐭𝐨 𝐛𝐞 𝐝𝐢𝐟𝐟𝐞𝐫𝐞𝐧𝐭.

𝒯𝒽𝒶𝓃𝓀 𝓎𝑜𝓊 𝓉𝑜 𝒥𝑒𝓃𝓃𝒶 𝒮𝒶𝓉𝓉𝑒𝓇𝓉𝒽𝓌𝒶𝒾𝓉𝑒, 𝐻𝒶𝓇𝓁𝑒𝓆𝓊𝒾𝓃 𝒯𝓇𝒶𝒹𝑒 𝒫𝓊𝒷𝓁𝒾𝓈𝒽𝒾𝓃𝑔, & 𝒩𝑒𝓉𝒢𝒶𝓁𝓁𝑒𝓎 𝒻𝑜𝓇 𝓉𝒽𝑒 𝒜𝑅𝒞! 𝒜𝓁𝓁 𝑜𝓅𝒾𝓃𝒾𝑜𝓃𝓈 𝒶𝓇𝑒 𝓂𝓎 𝑜𝓌𝓃.

This was a solid thriller-with a twist! Julia ia a "synth"-a synthetic woman-created to win the heart of the latest bachelor on a reality TV show. The story is told in alternating time periods: the "then" time as Julie starts on the show and starts to fall in love with handsome, sweet Josh. And the "now" time, where Julia is faced with tragedy after her now husband Josh is missing. Where did he go? Is Julia to blame? Who would want to hurt her beloved husband? So many twists and turns, I just knew I was missing information and I was. Satisfying ending.

Thanks to MIRA and NetGalley for the opportunity to read this ARC in exchange for my honest opinion.

I thoroughly enjoyed this sci-fi with a slight romance twist. I am a huge fan of The Bachelor so anytime I see a book that features a dating reality show, I gravitate towards it. This was such a fun and fresh take on the dating show trope in that our main character (and contestant on The Proposal) is a "Synth" or synthetic human.

I thought the dual timeline was a great way of allowing the reader to figure out the story. The "then" storyline is 18 months or so ago when Julia is on The Proposal trying to win the heart of the lead, Josh, and the "now" story line is present day, Julia is married to Josh, and he has gone missing.

The twist at the end wasn't at all what I was expecting, and I love when a book does that to me! The only reason I'm not giving this title 5 stars is because at times the pace seemed a bit slow, but that won't stop me from recommending this book!

This was such a weird book, but I was totally into it.

"Made For You" by Jenna Satterthwaite is a fascinating and unique read. The novel follows Julia, an android known as a synth, created to compete in a Bachelor-style reality show called "The Proposal." Synths are rare in this world, and people either find them intriguing or view them as abominations. Julia was designed to fit the preferences of the show's bachelor, Josh, giving her an edge over the other contestants. As expected, she becomes the frontrunner and eventually wins Josh's heart. They get married, have a child, and everything seems perfect—until Josh goes missing, and Julia becomes the prime suspect.

Jenna Satterthwaite crafted a unique premise with "Made For You," and the story delivers on all fronts. Despite Julia being a synth, she is incredibly relatable as a human, and I empathized with her throughout her journey. The mystery surrounding Josh's disappearance kept me on edge, and the twists were both surprising and satisfying.

One of the things I loved most about this book is that it felt fresh and original. I rarely come across a story that doesn't feel like a rehash of something I've read before. Satterthwaite's ability to blend elements of romance, mystery, and science fiction is commendable, and I will definitely be on the lookout for more of her work in the future.

I highly recommend "Made For You" to anyone who enjoys a good mystery with a twist. The concept of a synthetic human protagonist is intriguing, and Satterthwaite's execution of the idea is top-notch. You don't need to be a hardcore sci-fi fan to enjoy this weird, wonderful ride!

Thank you to NetGalley and Harlequin Trade Publishing for this advanced reader's copy in exchange for a thoughtful and honest review.

Phenomenal work! Completely addictive. Highly recommend and will be purchasing for my libraries. Can't wait to read what comes next!

Thank you to Netgalley and the publisher for the eARC of this book!
This was one of the most inventive mystery/thrillers that I have read in awhile. Julia is a Synth,sort of like a sentient, extremely human-like robot, made specifically to attract Josh on the reality show “The Proposal”.
There are all different tastes fulfilled in this book. It is set up in a “then” and ”now” format. You get peaks into the past of how Julia and Josh's Reality show “The Proposal” went down. Then, the current timeline where Josh goes missing and Julia is trying to solve it. You also get a teensy bit of sci-fi, because of Julia being a Synth. Not everyone is keen on the idea of the technology and you see what this new science has brought socially.
This book was so much fun to read. I was drawn into how they met and fell in love on the reality show and also finding out what happened to Josh.
The end was so shocking and twisty! Loved it and expected none of it.

Made For You was so unexpected - and an absolute power house of a debut novel. A synthetic woman - made for the bachelor of a dating show, wins the hearts of the bachelor and the world on tv. But reality, off the show, proves very different as she settles into life as a wife and mother. When her husband goes missing and is presumed dead, she’s the number one suspect and must prove she’s innocent.

This book does a beautiful job of balancing the present, missing person case with the past, reality tv show. It perfectly unpacks Julia’s story - and as a reader, made me question what in fact makes us human. I absolutely adored Julia - she is an incredibly deep character for someone who was only created and turned on in a short period of time. And the full cast of characters - from the show and present day, has an incredible range of backstory and personality.

The plot unravels at the perfect pace, with the perfect flash back balance. There is just enough speed to the case that you’re on your toes, but there is also enough suspense and deception to not fully show you everything until the very end. I had to reread the last few chapters because I felt like I missed so much leading up to it - which was so fun!

Overall, this book is so unique and truly a masterpiece. I was surprised this was a debut because of how perfectly it comes together in the end. I can’t wait to read what comes next from this author.

Made for You by Jenna Satterwaite is an exceptional thriller that combines a page-turning mystery with tough social topics and a compelling, masterfully developed main character. The fast-paced plot kept me on the edge of my seat, eagerly turning the pages.  As usual, I can't go into too much detail since I would never want to give away any spoilers or hint at this novel's incredible twists and turns. But do know it has them, and my jaw is still on the floor over a few.

However, I can tell you that I loved how the serious topics covered in this story feel so authentic, with all the levels of gray that come with being human, feeling love, and experiencing empathy. It is simply masterful. These sensitive topics are artfully woven into a fast-paced thriller plot that kept me on the edge of my seat. 

Note: It's important to note that this novel delves into very dark and sensitive topics. If abuse in relationships is a trigger for you, I would advise against reading this book.

Whether you’ve watched The Bachelor personally or not, its pervasiveness in our culture makes it easy to picture the scene laid out in Jenna Satterthwaite’s Made for You. Well, almost. There’s one catch: one of the bachelorettes is a “synth” or synthetic human.

Julia Walden is more complex than a robot, and she’s been made to be the perfect match for the eligible bachelor, Josh, on the newest season of The Proposal, a fictional reality series modeled after what we all know as The Bachelor.

She can think and feel and, quite frankly, is probably more human than some of the people around her.

It all sounds like a pretty wild sci-fi premise, but what follows is a story that has something for everyone, is deeply thought-provoking, and pays off in spades. It’s a romance on one hand and a murder mystery-thriller on the other.

It’s also told from the point of view of a glorified robot. And it’s fantastic.

Full review available at Eulalie Magazine: https://eulaliemagazine.com/2024/07/made-for-you-is-a-sci-fi-mystery-thriller-that-challenges-what-it-means-to-be-human-book-review/