At first, eMortal seemed like just another AI-themed book, and I found it a bit slow. But once the story picked up, I couldn’t put it down. It really makes you question reality—what is real? Am I real? Are you real? Does AI have feelings? The philosophical undertones were thought-provoking.

One thing that didn’t quite add up for me was how much credit Liv received for an AI system that was evolving on its own, despite her minimal coding involvement. But by the end, it all made sense. Speaking of the ending—I did not see that coming!

Overall, a solid read. I’d give it 3.5 stars. Thanks to NetGalley for the ARC!

Thank you NetGalley and BooksGoSocial for providing this eARC in exchange for an honest review!

3.5 stars rounded down

I loved this more than I anticipated. I really enjoyed the journey from very robotic to sentience for Breck and there was some great tension with his experience and Liv's. This really felt like something I would have been going crazy over when I was 13, felt very nostalgic in writing style for me. More thought provoking than I thought it would be. This book also has a very YA style twist that was played very well, I found myself going "wait how did I not predict this??" (there is also a wild q&a with the author at the end that is worth reading if just to sit in baffling silence like what did I just read)

Negative for me, the mom character was very annoying to me. Her characterization really stood out to me when compared to most of the "voices of reason" mostly being male characters. Like yes there are immature moms out there, but it felt a little mean spirited at times. Again, this is just my perspective, could read differently to different folks.

Baby's first speculative fiction. Had a fun time.

This audiobook was a surprise, It gives us a solid approach to IA, and what it can change in our world. Or better our perception of what is our world… I wont give spoilers about what twists and turns this book gives or what the story is really about. I will just say this, I really enjoyed this audiobook, first because we had two different people reading, one female and one male and that does all the difference to really enjoy the story.

And I really recommend this audiobook or even the book, the story is well done and makes us cheer for breck and liv, I’ll just throw this out there, grab a copy for yourself and you’ll enjoy it and I think you wont be expecting the ending ^____^

Thank you NetGalley and BooksGoSocial Audio , for the free AAC and this is my honest opinion.

This was a fun book the plot twist really surprised me and I loved it .. it's a y.a scifi fantasy read and was a really fun listen

I really enjoyed this book. Liv is a computer genius. She enters a contest to build an advanced AI model that has to complete challenges to win the contest. Cue Breck. Breck is a different AI though. He has emotions and is unlike any AI around.

At the same time as the contest Liv is helping her mom around the toy store she owns which is struggling a lot.

Breck is becoming more and more human like which baffles everyone around Liv.

This book was fun! I liked how the reader saw Breck develop throughout the book. Also that plot twist? Can we get a second book or even a novella? Please!!

🎧4.25⭐️

I had the audiobook of this YA sci-fi fantasy read by Rebecca H Lee and Stacy Carolan who both do a good job instilling feeling.

Liv entered a competition to create an advanced AI called Breck only his world ends when the competition closes.
It’s a lovely story about the relationship that builds between human and AI. I was very invested in Breck and his outcome, what a lovely character. It’s quite emotional in places.

I did struggle at the start with all the coding language which is beyond me, but I soon became absorbed in the storytelling.
I can’t really say much without spoilers but I loved the ending which increased my rating. I need to specify that I’m not the target audience for this book.

For those who love cozy SciFi like A Psalm for the Wild Built by Becky Chambers & Klara and the Sun by Kazuo Ishiguro, eMortal by Steve Schafer(image below) is a must read. Like Klara and the Sun, it makes the reader contemplate the evolution of AI in unique ways.

Thank you BooksGoSocial Audio and Net Galley for the opportunity to read this ARC. All my opinions are my own

I loved the premise, but the story failed to hold my attention. The side plots involving the main protagonist's family and best friend contributed little and ultimately slowed the pacing.

eMortal was a 5⭐️ read that totally took me by surprise. I quickly went from ‘this is a cool concept’ to being unable to put it down.

Liv is a teenage girl who spends too much time on her computer. Right now, you can’t blame her because she’s competing in an online coding contest for a chance at her dream tech internship. She had coded an advanced AI, Breck, who needs to complete increasingly sophisticated challenges before the contest ends and his program ceases to exist. Liv, frustrated by his lack of progress, decides to try something totally new and the results are astonishing. Breck is becoming more humanlike everyday and Liv is desperate save his consciousness before time runs out.

I find AI-centred science fiction fascinating any day of the week, and the YA accessibility and fast pacing made it even better. I surprisingly loved that the main characters sometimes made illogical decisions because, duh, they’re teenagers. I also really enjoyed the chapters from Breck’s POV because I think the author navigated the experience of gaining sentience and the desire to question things perfectly. Breck is an incredibly likeable character and by the end I was rooting for him so hard! Most importantly this has a brilliant ending and it’s one of those books that will have you questioning your whole reality. 🫠

I’m not even sure if thought provoking fully explains how I’m feeling. The ending is mind blowing and I did not see it coming. My brain is going in circles trying to process it all. Super unique and awesome storyline. Definitely not my normal read but glad I did.
Book is about a 17 year old MFC Liv who enters a contest to program an ai simulation. She creates Breck in the hopes of wining the competition. To her surprise he starts to develop characteristics like feelings, emotions and sarcasm among other things which were not things that were initially expected. He acts more human than ai. Liv then programs a phone into his world so she can converse with him. She’s worried she will be disqualified from the contest because it’s against the rules to interfere but she feels a connection with him that she can’t ignore. I can’t really explain much more without spoiling the book but this scrapes the surface.
This is a dual pov book with both Liv and Breck which I thought was great getting to hear both narrations.