Eve Freeman

Honestly, I did not like the beginning of this book. I found the concept grating against my belief system in a world too similar to reality to suspend disbelief, and I felt myself feeling sorry for almost all of the characters. I got to about 40% and almost stopped, considering giving it 2-3 stars/DNF. But I stepped back from it, read a few other books, and came back, deciding that I should give it a final shot, because Zevin hasn't let me down yet. It finally gripped me about 50% in, and I started crying at around 70-75%, and couldn't stop till I finished it. I haven't cried like that in a good long time. Thanks for making me feel, Gabrielle Zevin.

I didn't get into this book as much as I expected–my book club was raving about it. I think the second half I had finally gotten used to the prose and style of language from Circe's point of view in the book, and I was able to push through to the end in a couple of evenings after that. It was an interesting retelling. I'll probably try Achilles as well, which came recommended from my daughter.

I read a quick description and thought, “huh, sounds like something I'd be into”, but then I spent a couple of weeks debating starting the book because the title Murderbot was a little off-putting. What was I about to get into? Turns out it is a lovely story from the point of view of a human/bot construct called a SecUnit (for security unit), and it gave itself the name Murderbot for reasons I won't divulge in this review. SecUnits don't usually have free will, controlled by a governor system, but have a certain amount of independence within the framework of protecting their charge. In this case, Murderbot is free from the governor system, and has a lot more feelings and thoughts about its existence than one might expect, while it tries to stay under the radar from the Company that owns it. There was some action, but it was mostly not action. And a very quick read. I'm ready to read the rest of the series!

This series checks a lot of boxes for me. Lesbian relationship: check. Strong female lead: check. Fantasy setting: check. Reads like a cozy YA fantasy. I'd recommend people to read this book first (before Legends and Lattes), except for the Epilogue. Then, read Legends and Lattes, and come back to read the Epilogue from this book. I feel like this book strengthens the character development for Viv, and gives us a much better picture of her origin story. I'm kind of hoping he'll write more intermediate novels to give us Viv's full backstory!