Evolved

I think this is the first time I have ever been embarrassed about reading a book. The idea that a man orders a custom-made android, specifically designed to share his interests and to respond to his touch and that's considered romantic....? Even if somewhere along the line the android evolves into a sentient/sapient being, Shaun never has any choice about his relationship with Lloyd, nor is there any way for him to choose a different life. No consent = not a love story. I just can't get past that.

And don't get me started about the fact that Shaun's throat is literally a FleshJack....just ick! Not to mention Lloyd's favorite book in the world is Moby Dick? Ugh, could you have chosen anything more pretentious and dull? And yeah, of course Shaun loves to discuss it with you, Lloyd - you literally had him created to like everything you like.

I guess N.R. Walker was trying something different, but if this had been my first book of hers, it definitely would have also been my last. Shudder. I write very few 1-star reviews, and I don't think I have ever written one for an author whose work I otherwise enjoyed, but I felt extremely uncomfortable about this book and had to put my thoughts on record.

The future

No one knows what our future will be like but robotics keep advancing. Parts of this story reminded me of I Robot (I've only seen the movie). Despite a couple of errors, this was an excellent read and I couldn't get enough of it. I am an emotional reader and I ugly cried despite suspecting the outcome. In spite of racing to the end, I didn't want it to. I so loved this story.