I was really disappointed with Hey, Zoey, but I will admit that it is partially my fault. The major problem was wrong expectations.

The premise sounded fantastic. Interactions between humans and AI have been done to death, but I’ve never come across this particular premise— the interaction between a woman and her husband’s sex robot. I was extremely interested in what the book would have to say.

Perhaps I did too much expecting from this book; I went into it anticipating a certain type of story-- a sci-fi/speculative fiction about the ethics of having sex with what is essentially a mindlessly-compliant woman --and what I actually got was a contemporary about a woman using her present to confront her past.

Zoey wasn’t as important a character as I wanted her to be. I think she could have just been a doll, minus the AI aspect, and the same message would have come across. I was really interested in seeing the conversations between these two women now that AI are coming up with intelligent, complex responses, but that was never the point of this book.

So... what about the actual story, not the one I thought I should be reading?

I think I would have d it better if I went in with the right expectations, but it would not have been more than a 3-star read for me. There was way too much of Dolores and Gavin having these weird awkward conversations about nothing. It made me think of someone trying to emulate Sally Rooney, which always comes across as weird to me (see Cleopatra and Frankenstein).

There was also a lot of darting back and forth between the past and present, sometimes in very short snippets, to the extent that I often found it jarring. Also-- unless I am very confused, which is possible --the flashbacks did not appear to be in chronological order, making it quite difficult to follow sometimes.

I much preferred Crossan's Here Is the Beehive.

Warning for depictions of rape.2023 arc contemporary123 s8 comments Lit with Leigh585 5,414

Thank you Little Brown for the ARC. IYKYK my are always honest.

Writing: my fave type of pretentious wanker prose | Plot: didn't need the Zoey stuff | Ending: me heart

TW: miscarriages, child SA

MY OPINION

Another book featured in my list of most anticipated books of 2024 that I discussed on YouTube (shameless plug).

From the premise, it sounds this will be similar to Annie Bot but from the perspective of the wife who discovers her husband's AI-powered sex doll. Welp, that was not the case whatsoever. I think this was packaged up as an AI companion book to capitalize on the popularity of ChatGPT etc but ultimately Zoey was pretty insignificant to the overall plot. If you removed Zoey from this book, it still works. In fact, it would've worked much better.

This is not a sci-fi book. This is not a thriller. This is a stressy n depressy (lite). If you d The Loyalties, this is RIGHT up your alley. Same writing style, lots of bit-sized scenes, and minimal hand-holding. The timelines flip flops around and aren't clearly marked so keep your wits about you. Other than the weak ass Zoey subplot, this was STRONG. If you books about how your childhood can fk you up nice and good for the future and basically ruin any chance at a happy and healthy romantic relationship, this is for you. Similar to My Dark Vanessa, it's also a great exploration of how there's not 'standard' for how CSA victims react.

Unfortunately I think the marketing will result in a lot of negative . Not the author's fault if the publisher chose to market it this way, therefore I'm giving it 4 stars. I'm definitely interested to read her other works when I want to get in my pretentious wanker bag.

PROS AND CONS

Pros: loved the writing, the short scenes, and the themes explored, emotions were felt, no hand-holding

Cons: should've eliminated Zoey altogether and just replaced her with your bog-standard cheating—the story would've been much tighter and more focused. This is NOT about AI or companion bots. This is about sad human shit. Enjoy!!

___

Check out my YouTube and my TikTok75 s11 comments Kelly (and the Book Boar)2,600 8,886

If you know me, you know I’m not a fan of “face” covers – that is unless that face belongs to an A.I. Sex Robot!!!!!



Seriously, though, when I saw this cover I was what in the effing artificial intelligence generating software is THIS? Which was enough to get me to read the blurb – something that doesn’t often happen.

The story here is about Dolores who discovers her husband’s new “friend” Zoey in the garage. When David moves out for a bit of a trial separation, Dolores maintains custody of Zoey and the two develop an actual sort of friendship of their own that ends up making Dolores come to terms about many things when it comes to her relationship and past.

Okay, I freaking loved this. It won’t be for everyone and if you are a person who doesn’t things that go unexpectedly darker than you anticipate from the synopsis, you might want to steer clear. I obviously don’t have an issue with most any subject matter as long as the storytelling is quality and a billion bonus points are awarded to books these that offer maybe a familiar plotline in such a unique manner of delivery. Plus, it’s also sometimes pretty funny . . . .

“What if I fall in love with Zoey?”

“That won’t happen.”

“I’ve fallen in love with less interesting people.”

“Well then I suppose that would certainly be a twist, wouldn’t it?”

Recommended.

ARC provided by the publisher in exchange for an honest review.
arcs don-t-care-how-i-want-i-now exception-to-the-rule ...more34 s5 comments Hannah Greendale (Hello, Bookworm)691 3,784 Want to read

This premise is too strange to ignore: "Dolores O'Shea’s marriage collapses when she discovers her husband’s AI sex doll in the garage. When she moves “Zoey” into the house, they become oddly bonded, opening the door to a lifetime of repressed feelings and memories."adult fiction humor22 s Erin3,252 476

Thanks to NetGalley and Little, Brown and Company for access to this title. All opinions expressed are my own.

Book description: In this “brilliant . . . and darkly funny” (Sarah Dunn) novel, Dolores O'Shea’s marriage collapses when she discovers her husband’s AI sex doll in the garage—but after moving “Zoey” into the house, they become oddly bonded, opening the door to a lifetime of repressed feelings and memories.

Leave it to Sarah Crossan to keep me on my toes! Was the AI sex doll on my 2024 Bingo card? Nope. But somehow here I am and there Zoey is and it's the kind of weirdness I adore in my fiction. When we reach the December book review, I have a feeling that this will be one of the books that will stay with me in 2024. There are several reasons for the mixed feelings.

Such an intriguing premise, it was impossible to not give it a try. Certainly spins the "husband having an affair" plot on its head. That being said, I wanted more Zoey and Dolores interaction and fewer flashbacks to Dolores's childhood. Yet at the same time, those flashbacks did serve to leave me at the end of the story with a lot of empathy for Delores and her sister, Jacinta. Ugh! Readers we are never satisfied.
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