an incredible romp through space. this book is somehow completely original but has so much nostalgia infused into its characters and story. i cant think of a single type of reader who wouldn't love this book!

I really enjoyed the concept, and it could have been great, but the world building and writing just wasn't there.
It felt almost pointless to actually read the dialogue because of how repetitive it was and how much it didn't add to the plot.
The world could have been fantastical, anything the author wanted. But even being set 400 some years in the future, it felt exactly the same as present day, just with spaceships and slightly fancier AI. Just based in our real world development, it felt like there was more in our past 10 years than in the books 400.

I really wanted to enjoy it, but I unfortunately just couldn't.

Perfectly fine idea but man was this a slog to read through. The author clearly had a political agenda they wanted to hit and it took away from the book as a whole.

This book is my favorite brand of ridiculous. Demeter is by far a top tier sentient AI in my personal opinion, with Steward as a close second. The way they are written is just a delightful blend of self-aware but limited by their

Also always love a book that leaves surprises out of the blurb. I don’t think I’ve ever been more delighted at allusions that I didn't see coming. Seriously, I can't stress just how much fun this book is.

This is a satisfying climb to into cozy fiction, where it's not emotionally positive at first and it's all about the journey getting there.

How to describe the absolute glee I felt when I started this book? Immediately I was reminded of Murderbot, but more unfiltered and loose. I clicked my heels together, giggling, and settled in for a good time. And then the human characters were introduced.

Well. Nothing stays beautiful forever. This book had a few chapters, at least.

I wondered, at first, what this book *could* have been had it solely focused on the POV of Demeter and other AI characters. What a shame, I thought, because THAT’S the book I want to read. But as I kept reading, I realized that the writing and development simply wasn’t strong enough, that even if it had only been AI POV, the story would still have failed me based on quality.

The writing is painfully repetitive. For example, this is the kind of dialogue you will find in every chapter:

“Did you hear what I just said?”
“No, I was busy ignoring you!”
“So you admit that you didn’t hear what I just said!”
“How could I hear you over all this ignoring I’m doing?”

and so on. (Please note that I made this dialogue up, but honestly it could have been in the book.) It’s not just the AI being repetitive, which at least makes sense, but the humans, too. It made the dialogue feel pointless and more like hitting a targeted word count than trying to tell a story.

I can’t believe I’m complaining about this but, well, there were too many monsters in these mainframes. Because the plot was so rushed, the amount of monsters was more goofy than funny. Nothing was ever really explored or explained, giving the book a super shallow feel. More than once a character will stumble into a plot hole and say, “How is this happening? It’s impossible! Oh well!” It’s almost worse that the plot hole was acknowledged.

For a story that takes place 400 years in the future, there’s a distinct lack of creative world building. It’s an identical society to ours, just with spaceships. Do we really think we’ll still be giving out Oscar awards in 400 years? Come on now.

So, so, so many important events happen off the page, both for plot and character development. There’s decades-long time jumps—these will interrupt a scene and when we come back, what ended up happening is info-dumped in a few sentences. Important character arcs happen off page as well, and then we’re just told that characters are different now because x, y, and z happened in the last ten years. Okay, well, that doesn’t make me feel like I watched this character grow. You just told me this character changed but didn’t actually show me anything.

And I guess if I’m being honest, the worst part for me is how quickly the humor grew stale. This book actually made me laugh out loud in the beginning, something that only a handful of books have ever managed to accomplish. Unfortunately, well before the halfway mark, I was tired of the same jokes.

I was looking for a smart, sharp sci-fi/fantasy. For a few chapters, I thought I’d found it, but I’ll have to move on and keep the search going.

Horror/sci-fi/fantasy/comedy mass-murder mystery quest? Okaaayyyy yes.

From the moment I started reading I was hooked. Nothing about this screams cozy but somehow it is? Bizarre, charming, emotional. In space.

If you're into something that’s a little bit dark, and little bit strange, and a whole lot of fun, Of Monsters and Mainframes needs to be added to your TBR immediately.

Thank you so much to Bindery for yet another amazing read. This book was a delight. I want to read it again. I want everyone to read it. I laughed, I cried, I felt all the feelings.

Thank you to Netgalley and Ezeekat Press for providing me with an e-arc of this book.
I had so much fun reading this book, I loved all the characters and how they developed throughout the novel. The blending of traditional sci-fi elements combined with new ideas was so much fun to explore as someone who doesn't read much sci-fi. I was not expecting to get so attached to these characters especially the AI ones (Steward ily).

Excellent read! I loved the diversity of cast and the relationships between them. I did have some issues with continuity and understanding who was saying what at times, but overall, it was an amazing book.

Thank you to NetGalley and Bindery Books for the DRC.

This book combines two things I love reading in fiction which is a retelling of a classic tale and sentient AI/machinery. Truly, this may be the most original take on the Dracula tale and was a great balance of fresh ideas alongside call outs to the classic story. The writing for all the characters was also incredibly strong and I found myself getting so invested rather quickly to everyone's fates. Overall, a great mashup of genres with delightful characters and strong writing.

What a delightfully weird and unique book! I adored this from start to finish and I was instantly hooked from the first page. Following Demeter's story was really emotional and lovely, the dynamic between her and the medical AI, as well as the other characters was so well-written. I absolutely loved all of the characters, especially Frankenstein and Agnus, and I had so much fun with this read!

This was SO MUCH FUN!

This is a fantastic mashup of sci-fi, horror, and quirky humor that seamlessly worked well for this unhinged and energetically chaotic story of fighting the ultimate villain: Dracula.

What I loved most was how alive the characters felt. The friendships between these misfits warmed my heart. And the romance was event sweet, if a little unexpected. I also really enjoyed the pacing of the story as it kept me fully engaged and ready for the next scenes.

If you enjoy genre mashups that don’t take themselves too seriously, this is a must-read. I’m already hoping for a sequel.

When I read the blurb for this book, it was so unhinged I knew immediately that I wanted to read it. Despite it being polar opposite of my normal genres of book, I absolutely devoured it. There were several times when I literally laughed out loud and yelled passages up the stairs to my unsuspecting husband. I like the short, punchy chapters- it gives the feeling of being propelled through the story (and dare I say...space?). The variety of perspectives and the completely bonkers characters are so fun. The monsters have enough dimension to make them interesting without going into too much detail. It's immersive and fast-paced and ridiculous in all the best ways. This will be a really fun summer read when it's published!

Where do I even begin with this book? It was absolutely wonderful. I was hooked instantly and feeling emotional for AI characters before I even got halfway through the book. I found the main characters so lovable, and honestly, I related to them way more than I thought I would. Barbara Truelove did a great job tying characters who by all accounts should not feel and see things the way we humans do, to our similar experiences. The relationship between the two main AIs was a beautiful slow burn to what I consider an amazing representation of an ace-spec relationship. The main "human"/monster's of the story were wonderfully developed and this book takes it's time letting you get to know the events leading up to everything so that you see how it all ties in together. I love how many different types of monsters got included in this story, and seeing the web form between them all. Of Monsters and Mainframes is my favorite read of 2025 so far, and I am already pre-ordering my physical copies (yes, I said copies, plural, so I can give them to my family/friends).

ARC curtest of NetGalley

A menagerie of multifaceted mythological monsters team up with the sweetest sentient spaceship and a medical ai with a manipulation module. Primary objective? Kill Dracula, of course! I was so attached to this motley crew that putting down the book had a 99.99% chance of failure; error 404: bookmark not found. Is March too early to declare this as my book of the year 2025? Of Monsters and Mainframes surpasses stellar at faster-than-light speed... we've gone interstellar, folks!

Thank you to Netgalley and Bindery Books for providing me with an ARC in exchange for an honest review :)

Thank you ezeekat press and netgalley for an eARC of this book


There is just something about anxious robots/ai that are so lovable and Demeter is 100% lovable they make me want to cry. The author also found a way to make a ship fighting monsters high stakes and intense even tho the ship is very limited in what it can actualy do. Most sode charavters were also great, would recommend if you like the murderbot diaries and found family

This book is super fun, but it does have some plot holes. I don’t think that the fish people were totally explained. The romance toward the end isn’t introduced/scaffolded well. Overall, this is a fun indie book with some good ideas.

This book is what happens when Alien and Dracula have a wild, queer love child that was raised on vintage sci-fi horror and existential questions about AI ethics. And I loved every second of it. It’s equal parts pulpy fun and surprisingly emotional—Truelove manages to weave a story that questions what it means to be a “monster” while delivering a ride that’s part horror, part sci-fi, part revenge story, and all heart. Read this if you love Murderbot Diaries, chaotic found families, and the idea of a spaceship going full John Wick on an immortal bloodsucker.

This was such a fun read! I really loved the writing style - it was a breath of fresh air. So quirky, fast paced and funny, it really made me just fly through this book. We have a rag-tag team of characters, complete with some paranormal/supernatural elements that made this story very unique. I absolutely adored Demeter and Steward. They were written so perfectly and their chapters were always my favorites. The only thing I didn’t love is that this read almost as a collection of short stories rather than a novel. It seemed a little disconnected in some places, and I didn’t feel the ending had the impact that it should have. However, I had so much fun reading it that this isn’t even a major complaint. Very enjoyable read, I will absolutely pick up more books from this author in the future.

The Monster Mash meets Murderbot in this hilarious yet touching tale of a ship AI set on seeking revenge against Dracula. Demeter, a passenger ship, is deemed a "Ghost Ship" after an attack from Dracula results in its passengers dying (multiple times). Aided by a quirky band of familiar monsters (among them a mummy, a werewolf, and the medbay AI who frequently talks back to Demeter) the ship hunts down Dracula and tries to restore its status as a well-regarded passenger ship. This thrilling mashup of comedy, horror, and space opera will have you laughing and on the edge of your seat!

“They're all dead. Everybody's dead, Dave.”-Red Dwarf
AI Economy Class Interstellar Passenger Liner aka Demeter has run into the issue that all her passengers are not moving, her files have been deleted, and she has been asleep. Her efficiency keeps falling and a message is popping up telling her that something is very wrong. Demeter comes to the terrible realization that all the passengers aboard her vessel…are dead. This is only the beginning and will not be her last encounter with the supernatural. This was a magnificent novel and you need to read it!

#ThxNetGalley #BarbaraTruelove #OfMonstersandMainframes