Just meh.

I was really intrigued about the idea of combining androids and reality television, i.e. The Bachelor, but it really just was too long of a book. This could have easily been cut down by 50-75 pages and have conveyed the overall story just as well.

I see what the author was trying to do in terms of commentary on bodily autonomy and violence against women against the backdrop of artificial intelligence and synthetic humans but it missed the mark a bit. There was just too much of the previous timeline, where we see the events of the reality television show, and they didn't play that much into the current timeline. Those parts could have easily been cut down and the current timeline would have been just as easy to follow and just as impactful. This is, at its core, a domestic thriller and while there were some good twists (especially with Bob) a lot of the twists and turns were also incredibly easy to see coming and nothing new and unique. In the end though, like it has been famously said "he had it coming" and I'm just delighted that Captain got to enjoy such hearty dinners for the short period that he had them.

What a great premise and a total page-turner! This one had me hooked from page one and didn't let up. I don't watch The Bachelor, but I suspect fans of the show will gobble this one up!

Reading this was like watching a Black Mirror episode--a twisty and engaging thriller with splashes of sci-fi and romance. I'm also a total sucker for any sort of thriller involving a reality TV show or game show, gah just so good. The characters and setting were well-realized and the twisting plot was so compelling. I just had to know what was going to happen next or how things were going to resolve. I absolutely loved this, it was so fast-paced and this is definitely a top read for me this year

Synopsis: Made For You begins with the past, and the awakening of and introduction to Julia, a Synth (synthetic person) who was created entirely for “Proposal” star Josh LaSala (exactly like the show The Bachelor). Josh is hot, athletic, charming, and a little troubled (which we only find out after the show ends). Julia looks, acts, and has feelings just like a real woman. She eats, drinks, sleeps, feels pain, and can even have children. Julia’s sole purpose is to love Josh and to be his perfect match.
Present-day, Julia is trying to figure out what has happened to Josh, who is now missing. While trying to find out what happened to Josh, she also must deal with vandals, neighbors who hate Synths, and small-town cops who are hell-bent on pinning Josh’s disappearance on her.

I really enjoyed reading this very original and fast-paced thriller with equally engaging dual timelines (a reality show competition & the couples’ life after the show). The plot twists were well placed. The characters were all well-written. It is a blend of genres including sci-fi (watered down), thriller, murder mystery, and romance. I enjoyed the reality show aspect, which I haven’t read in a book before. For me, it has Black Mirror/Her meets Bachelor Nation vibes. The main character, though a Synth, felt real and relatable. I could totally see this being made into a movie or TV series. The story was clever and fun, and the ending was satisfying. The author did a great job of creating suspense and feelings of unease at times. I would definitely read more from this author, and highly recommend others to read this book.

Made for You by Jenna Satterthwaite tells the story of Julia Walden who is a Synth who is competing on ´The Proposal´, a bachelor like game where women are competing for the heart of Josh LaSala. The book is told in two timelines the Past and Present, we see Julia´s journey on ´The Proposal´ and then we have the Present where Julia and Josh are married and Josh has gone missing and Julia is trying to find out what has happened to her husband.

The dual timeline adds depth to the story and even by chapter 2 us knowing she did win the competition, I still loved reading about her experience on a kind of bachelor reality tv show. Overall, I found the book to be fast paced and I truly enjoyed the story and the characters. I thought ´The Proposal´ chapters were so on point with reality tv and the fast love we see most of the times during these love competition shows and as a reality tv show watcher this for me was so fun to read.

I am a bit torn on the plot twists some I truly did enjoy others not so much, that is what prevented the book to be a true 5 star read for me.

This book for me was a 4.5, I have rounded up as there are no half stars here and this book was closer to 5 than to a 4.

Thank you NetGalley and Harlequin Trade Publishing, the above review is of my own thoughts on this ARC.

Goodness gracious!
Great balls of fire!
This new read by Jenna Satterthwaite really rattled my brain. The blurb promised 'The Bachelor' + 'Black Mirror' + Barbie. Check! I would add that this new release also brought to mind The Jolvix Episodes by Faith Gardner. There are two timelines: Then and Now. The clock starts ticking on Then when Julia is brought to life as a Synth by Andy -- made to win Josh's heart on "The Proposal" (exactly like "The Bachelor" series we know and love to hate). The Now timeline begins almost a year later with a missing Josh. Julia (now a wife and mother to AnnaLeigh) is determined to find him before she is arrested.

While this may sound like a read of little consequence, I would disagree. Satterthwaite has included some probing Discussion Questions. The book covers topics like prejudice, domestic abuse, family dysfunction, the lack of reality in Reality TV, being human vs. superhuman, and the boundaries of bots. Would definitely make for a lively book group discussion.

The cover really attracted me to this read and I am so glad I added it in to my June reading. A big thank you to Harlequin and NetGalley for a DRC in exchange for an honest review.

The second I saw this cover…🔥🔥🔥 I knew I wanted to read it!! 😍 Guess what?? It definitely delivered!! Thank you soo much to @htp_hive @_mira_books_ for this gorgeous gifted copy!!! 🥰🥰 Pub date is July 2nd!! 🥳🥳

What a wild ride this was!! 😳One of the most orginal and entertaining debuts I have read in a long time. 😍

Her name is Julia. She has a 150 million… yes million followers on Instagram. 👏 She is the winner of The Proposal. 🥂 The same exact experience as The Bachelor… just a different name. 😉 So you are sitting here wondering to yourself… why is this book so special??? 🤔 Well that would be because Julia… is a Synth… Umm a WHAT?? 🤷‍♀️A synthetic person… and she was made ESPECIALLY for Josh… aka… the bachelor. 😳

Okay so you might be thinking.. whoa this is just too far out there. I beg to differ. I adored Julia… and she was SO real. She had feelings… she must eat and sleep 😴… and she can in fact have children. 😳

Josh may be hotter 🔥 than my coffee ☕️ but he has… some baggage 🧳… some issues… some secrets 🤫..and THEN… he goes missing..😏

This just got wilder as the book went on and I was here for it. 😏Wait until you hit those twists. 😳😮🤯

What a fantastic debut!! So original… intriguing… and I totally enjoyed it!! I can’t wait to read whatever @jenna.satterthwaite.author comes out with next!! 😍

This sci-fi aficionado started this novel with Philip Dick's "We Can Build You" in mind as some elements in the blurb made me think about it.
Don't do it because they're very different and there's superficial similitude.
there's an android (AI/Bot: call her as you like it), Julia, developed to attract and make a man, Josh, fall for her.
There's a supposed HEA but nothing is what it seems and Julia becomes the target of a sherif as murder suspect and of AI haters, sort of luddite even if they do not shy of using technology.
Is Julia a person or a highly specialized AI? This is the central question of this mix of dystopia&thriller and this is the main connection with Dick as it's the main question of novel like "Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep?"
I appreciated how the author was able to develop a novel that kept me reading but also made me think. A novel that deals with one of classic tropes of Dick and made her own.
Julia is fleshed out and relatable character even if you don't know if she's a human being or a sequence of line of codes.
The story is well developed and I appreciated it even if I found the final part a bit confusing.
An interesting debut, I look forward to reading other books by this author.
Many thanks to MIRA for this ARC, all opinions are mine

Julia was made for Josh
Literally
She’s a synth, beautiful and programmed to suit him exactly. Created to compete with human women for his heart on reality dating show, The Proposal.

The third synthetic woman made in America, she’s so real the lines lines between human and machine have been blurred in ways never thought possible. Eats, sleeps, feels, and is even capable of pregnancy.

The story timeline is split between ‘then’ - her beginnings and the show - and ‘now’ where her husband is missing and - thanks to a very ‘anti-bot’ sheriff - she’s the prime suspect

A heads up to make sure to check your CW (domestic abuse/violence being a major one)

I’m so glad the cover (see slide 2) grabbed me enough to pick this one up - Even though it was right before release date, a couple days of reading in my cozy spot(s) and I was finished!

A big theme, outside of the murder mystery itself, is what makes someone human. Especially in Julia’s case, that line seems to move wildly based on what’s convenient for the people around her. There’s so many questions to work through -
Does she have agency? Any rights at all? Or is a synth simply a piece of property than can be repossessed?
Would it even be physically possible for her to commit the crimes she suspected of? (and if so should she stand trial or be shut down?)

Relatively early on I figured out some of the who and how, but I was missing a few big details - the full motive, and there’s a character twist that I won’t spoil. This had so many more layers than I expected, and the wrap up is a wild ride!

Thank you to NetGalley and Harlequin Trade Publishing for the arc

This is a twisty suspense with a unique plot, as the main character is a Synth (bot). I enjoyed getting to know the main character and understanding how she was built and coded. The ending was surprising and I never would have guessed the truth.

I loved this intense and suspenseful read! Julia was such a fascinating and complex character. The twists were really shocking. There were no slow parts and I really enjoyed the sci-fi elements.

Interesting Read!

This story has an interesting blend of romance, sci-fi, and a touch of a thriller. The main part of the story falls around a finding love type reality show, but one that was literally made for you. It is definitely entertaining and makes you pause at the possibilities on one of the paths humans may choose to branch into more heavily in the future. Thank you to NetGalley and Harlequin Trade Publishing for the advance copy!

I went into Made For You hoping for a fun entertaining read and was happily surprised when it ended up being feminist too!

The main character Julia, is a synthetic human AKA a synth/ new kind of realistic robot made specifically to compete with human women on a show like The Bachelor--aptly called The Proposal. The story flips between her time on the show and present day after Julia has won herself the proposal and is married and now a mom. In the present day timeline Julia is learning that real life isn't as perfect as TV. Her marriage is struggling, she's living in rural Indiana and the neighbors don't seem to like that she's a robot raising a human child. Then her husband goes missing and even though synths have been programmed to not be able to harm humans the local cops are dead set on accusing Julia of murder.

There were plenty of twists and I was hooked. The end surprised me even though I can look back now and see how the story had breadcrumbs leading up to it.

Definitely would recommend this to fans of The Echo Wife, Annie Bot and Patricia Wants to Cuddle!!

Made For You is a delightful read for fans of sci-fi and mystery/thrillers. It’s the perfect mashup. A synthetic woman named Julia was created specifically to compete on a show similar to The Bachelor. She was designed to be the perfect partner for Josh the main contestant of the show. She was indeed made for him. After winning the show and starting a family, Julia finds herself as the center of her husband’s murder investigation. Despite the fact that robots cannot harm humans, she is still the prime suspect. Without the ability to defend herself, Julia must search for clues about her husband’s murder to clear her name. This story is well timed and well written. It had me from the start. Very clever. I give it five stars!

A clever and emotional novel about Julia, a synth, who falls in love with her husband Josh- and then he disappears. This dual time line tale takes you from Julia's beginning, when she awakened to find herself on a reality show, and then forward as she looks for answers. This poses, ,and in some cases answers, interesting questions about AI and what makes us real. Julia struggles with the perception of others and of herself and becomes a sympathetic character you'd like to meet. And the mystery is good. Thanks to Netgalley for the ARC. Don't miss Satterhwaite's comments on Goodreads about her sister Heidi.

Dual timeline, keeps you guessing the whole time!
That last 25% really makes the book!
Can a made( Synthetic)woman really love?

It’s the age of artificial intelligence, bots and synths, and while I’m not quite ready for it, the uptick in books dealing with these topics have brought on a slew of things to think about. This book was no exception.

Julia Walden is a synthetic woman designed to compete on The Proposal, a Bachelor-type show, where she competes for the heart of Josh LaSala. When word gets out that she’s a synth, her casting becomes controversial, but not for Josh. He ultimately proposes and they drive off into the sunset.

We’re reunited with the couple fifteen months later when they’re now married and raising their baby in small-town Indiana. A far cry from domestic bliss, Julia and Josh receive taunting messages spray painted on their home and a host of hate mail. Just when it couldn’t get any worse, Josh disappears and Julia becomes the prime suspect.

Told via dual timelines, this book raised a lot of questions for me. Do synths have rights? If she has autonomous thoughts, is she truly a person? It left me feeling a little freaked for our future to say the least.

Perfect for fans of reality TV shows, murder mysteries and AI, this book will have you turning pages to see how it all ends. It was a fun and twisty ride, but be warned, it may not be far off in our future.

Thank you to Jenna Satterthwaite, Harlequin Trade Publishing and NetGalley for an advance copy of the book for an honest review.

Anticipation had me on edge for this gem, with the cover art being a siren call since February! So, you can imagine my delight when I got an eARC. Jenna Satterthwaite's debut novel, "Made for You" is set to hit the shelves on July 2, 2024. It's a must-have addition to your bookshelf. (I know I'll be buying the paperback!)

The core idea? Absolutely riveting (if you enjoyed the movie 'I, Robot' then you'll enjoy this novel). A Synth named Julia, tailor-made for the bachelor on the reality show "The Proposal." We're led on a journey through dual timelines (THEN and NOW), following Julia from her creation to her life post-show. Both timelines weave an intricate tapestry that pulls you deeper into the narrative. The plot is scheming a surprise that'll hold you captive. And when the curtain falls - prepare for your jaw to drop.

Satterthwaite masterfully spins a web of suspense and unease as key characters in Julia's life come into play - like Bob, the peeping tom next-door neighbor, an unidentified woman harboring animosity towards Synth, and a narrow-minded small-town sheriff.

In the light of our technological advancements, the premise of this book doesn't seem far off from reality. It is a thrilling, contemplative, and beautifully penned read.

Thank you to Harlequin Trade Publishing/MIRA, Jenna Satterthwaite, & Netgalley for an eARC of this book. All opinions are honest and my own.

This had a slower start and a slower burn build, but really took off towards the end for a satisfying conculsion.
I loved this twist on romance, dating, etc.

This was so good and I look forward to more from Satterthwaite!

It’s The Bachelor, but add mystery/sci-fi/thriller to it. This was great and I so wish I read this for a book club because the follow-up conversations would be fantastic. I can’t believe it’s a debut novel! I’ll definitely be reading Jenna’s future books — I enjoyed the writing and my head was spinning 😵‍💫 from all the twists and turns. I still don’t know how I feel about everything that happened but I’m glad my heart can finally stop pounding.