Annie Bot

        

Title: Annie Bot

Author: Sierra Greer

Publisher: Mariner Books, March 19, 2024

Pages: 238

Genre: Science Fiction

Annie Bot was created to be the perfect girlfriend for her human owner Doug. Designed to satisfy his emotional and physical needs, she has dinner ready for him every night, wears the pert outfits he orders for her, and adjusts her libido to suit his moods. True, she’s not the greatest at keeping Doug’s place spotless, but she’s trying to please him. She’s trying hard.

She’s learning, too.

Doug says he loves that Annie’s AI makes her seem more like a real woman, so Annie explores human traits such as curiosity, secrecy, and longing. But becoming more human also means becoming less perfect, and as Annie’s relationship with Doug grows more intricate and difficult, she starts to wonder: Does Doug really desire what he says he wants? And in such an impossible paradox, what does Annie owe herself?

Whoa. What a ride. This was a book club choice for me, and I am so glad that I had some built-in discussion for this one. I feel like it is pretty necessary. 

Let me first say that I love Annie. AI scares the hell out of me, but she is an amazing AI. And the company that created her thinks so too. And they think it's all because of Doug and the way he treats her. And for the most part, they're right. Until they're not. 

Like most relationships, once other people get involved, things get complicated. Mostly because Doug's ego is massive and massively fragile. When you only have input from one source, of course you can be perfect for them. But when they are insistent that they want you to be your own person who makes their own choices, that feels like a direct contradiction to being the perfect woman for Doug. 

I loved how much this question came up. And I found it so interesting that my book club was so split on our feelings for Doug. That was definitely the part where we had the most variability of opinions. Whether Doug deserved his ending or not. I'd be very interested to know what you think about it all. 

One think I know for sure is that Annie Bot definitely deserves the ending she finds!!! <3

Ratings

Stars: 5/5

Spice: 2/5