Amanda

Someone on Twitter called Murderbot “Janet from the Good Place, but with guns in their arms,” which is how I pictured them throughout this entirely delightful novella.

A little slow-starting for me (though maybe that was that I started it, and then had to return it to the library and wait for it to be available again). Once it picked up, though - the first Damaya chapter, for me - I was hooked. I can't wait for the next two to be available, and I definitely want to read more N.K. Jemisin! If you're reading the ebook, be aware there's a glossary in the back and it's definitely helpful, though I was able to figure out most things from context.

(Bookriot Read Harder 2016 Challenge: #7 Read a dystopian or post-apocalyptic novel, and #16 Read the first book in a series by a person of color)

I really liked this – I've read the whole series before, but I started a reread and now feel compelled to finish it. Two things about the end (and therefore spoilers): 1) I really like that Tally was gonna go with Zane over David, because I get tired of the first boy in a YA book being the main character's One Twoo Love. 2) It was really unfair of Maddy to blame Tally for Zane's brain damage. Like, if the pills had to be taken together, maybe you should PUT THAT IN THE DIRECTIONS. Even a pretty could understand that.

Wish this had been about Alice, not Quentin.

I am very much here for plus-size representation in romance, less so when the internal monologue for the MMC can't seem to describe the heroine without calling her “round” or “plump,” even things like her arm. I also never got a sense that these two had any real chemistry - the story goes from him needing a “minder” (this man is almost 40 years old, somehow in Spoiler Alert I'd thought he was in his 20s) and constantly teasing/mocking her to them supposedly being in love? Please show your work.He's ridiculously protective of her and it's described as him speaking to her angrily when she doesn't defend herself after someone's treated her badly, and dude, yikes. It's not up to you how someone else handles a situation, especially one they've been in more often than you have. If you don't like that they're in that situation, maybe be angry with the person who put them there. Honestly, while there are backstory reasons for it, it didn't make it any more fun to read, and also, being upset with a person you're in a relationship with for how other people react to them is kind of potentially abusive, pal. Even if you say it's because you love them so much. Also, especially in the beginning of the book, Alex really says some mean things to Lauren (calling her a shrew/harpy/bird-woman), and even if it's teasing or displaced anger at his bosses, it's still not great.So basically, I don't understand why anyone would like Alex, and the book doesn't show me enough of that development from enemies-ish to friends to lovers to make it believable. Lauren's POV thoughts about Alex are mostly about how hot he is, which sure, but that doesn't seem like a recipe for lasting love with this 39-year-old man who still thinks using a short woman as an armrest is funny. I was really looking forward to this book because from the glimpses of these two in [b:Spoiler Alert 50496918 Spoiler Alert (Spoiler Alert, #1) Olivia Dade https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1584239588l/50496918.SY75.jpg 75471187], this seemed like a bantering/fun relationship where they each gave as good as they got and were having fun. None of that chemistry made it into this book, which is really disappointing.