Thank you to NetGalley and Gallery/Scout Press for providing me with an eARC of this book in exchange for an honest review.
The idea behind The Companions is an interesting idea. However the story itself did not flesh out as well. The author skipped around quite a bit between characters and the flow of the story was disjointed in my opinion. I was not able to completely finish the book as I just lost interest.

After a contagious virus hits California, humans are quarantined for years unable to go outside. For those that can afford it, Metis Corporation offers the companionship program as an option...a human consciousness that has been uploaded to a synthetic body, rented out to in order to provide interaction free of contagion. The companions are a command driven AI, created to carry out the orders of their handlers. Sixteen year old Lilac is a low-functioning first gen companion who is haunted by memories of her life before and the fate of her best friend Nikki. With the ability to defy commands, Lilac escapes a second death to track down the one person who can answer those questions...the person who murdered her.

The Companions is an interesting new sci-fi novel in which wealthy humans can lease out human interaction from those who have died. Unlike typical AI novels, companions are those who have chosen to upload their consciousness before they die and thus become the property of the Metis Corporation. In exchange for "an extension of life" they give up their free will and many of their memories in order to serve the living. Like many novels that explore this subject the reader is shown the complications that arise in world of human/AI interaction. I really loved the concept of this novel, there were some interesting characters, and there were several good plot points as the story unfolded. For me, the book started out really good and then felt like it became a bit disjointed towards the middle-end. There are several characters, and many change names/bodies throughout the story; which in itself can be a bit confusing; as well as the fact that the book takes place over several years. Overall I really enjoyed this novel and it touched on a lot of really interesting concepts…a great weekend read.

I received a complimentary copy of this book through Netgalley. Opinions expressed in this review are completely my own.
The concept of the book sounded really interesting, uploading your consciousness before you die to live on as a companion robot. But the story just lost me. I felt no connection to the characters and the way the story jumped from one character to another just left me confused.

Loved this book. Took me a while to finish but that’s due to school overall found it futuristic and fantastic! I loved how they turned robots into almost human and then the extinction of them but they found a way to survive and carry on! Excellent book !!

The Companions is a solid three stars for me. Premise-wise, it was incredibly promising. Unfortunately, a premise cannot be the only thing holding up a novel. The main complaint I have is that there is little to no world-building. With sci-fi/dystopian, world creation is essential -- the Hunger Games is a great example of how this is done. The Companions failed to do that; we have no notion of how this virus initially affects the population of California, the corporation responsible for the Companions is not a looming figure (a missed opportunity on the author's part as coporations make for a great antagonist). There were entirely too many characters, as well. Overall, the story lacked a sense of cohesion, despite its well-crafted prose.

Thank you to NetGalley and Gallery/Scout Press for providing me with an eARC of this book in exchange for an honest review.

I found the concept of companions interesting ; humans can upload their consciousness into a body/machine right after their death and become companions to other people, lent by a company called Metis.

BUT this felt like the outline of a novel instead of a fully-fledged one. I liked that there were multiple POVs, it reminded me of Station Eleven but none of the storylines were explored nearly enough, even the ending doesn't feel like one and that's a shame.

I enjoyed myself reading this book and will be looking forward to what Katie M. Flynn comes out with in the future but this one would have needed a lot more pages to be coherent.

I don’t read a lot of science fiction but when I do I enjoy it. I had my doubts about this book but was pleasantly surprised. Unlike some reviewers, I didn’t have much trouble following the characters, as many are interconnected. Others made comparisons to Never Let me Go. NLMG is one of my favorite stories, and there are some similarities, although I preferred NLMG. The Companions has a fascinating premise. In a diseased world, most are kept under quarantine, and those who are dying are given the opportunity to upload their consciousness into a machine and become “companions” to others in need of a friend or helper. Depending on cost, you can be a rolling can on wheels up to having full human features. It is also possible to be recycled, with or without your previous memories or container. The creep factor is strong in this one, and closer to the end, some horrifying data comes out about the origin and execution of the original “companions.” If I could improve it I would have less characters to minimize any confusion and would tighten up the plot. I never felt bored or wanting to give up while reading this book. Gave a lot of food for thought on being human and what it means to partake in this dimension. I would recommend it, and it was definitely worth reading to the end.
Thank you to netgalley and the publisher for an ARC in exchange for my honest opinion.

I liked the basic concept but... Normally I never complain about a story jumping around yet it really bothered me with this storyline.

Thank you NetGalley for this advanced reading copy. Full disclosure I am not a big Sci Fi fan but always willing to try new books. The story is set in a world where a terrible disease has befallen mankind. People stay locked in there homes under quarantine. If you can afford it, you don't have to die. Your consciousness can be uploaded into a robot. You become a Companion. Lucky ones gets full human realistic bodies and get to stay with their loved ones. Others a little better than tin cans. You can be sold out to people to use as they see fit. There were some interesting concepts in this book but it felt a little thin and predicable. The story meandered along through several characters viewpoints. I did not enjoy it, but if you enjoy a modern post apocalypse story this might be for you.

This book started great, but went downhill fast for me. I was intrigued by the premise and the first few chapters were ok. I found myself skimming a lot. I just stopped caring about which conciousnesses were put in their third, fourth, etc. body and even the mystery of how the original character was betrayed which lead to her death was no longer appealing. I read one third of the book and then couldn't convince myself to keep reading. It was too confusing. I would like to thank Netgalley, the publisher and the author for providing me with an advance reader copy in exchange for my honest and unbiased opinion of this book.
#TheCompanions #NetGalley

I was really drawn to this book as I love dystopian fiction, and the idea that in death you can be uploaded as a "companion" robot is intriguing in itself! What I liked about the novel was not only did it force me to think outside the box, but it also forced me to do a complete paradigm shift to understand the storyline. What was difficult was there were so many narrators that I got lost trying to remember who was related to whom and how did they all fit together. Perhaps it's just my pea brain speaking but while I enjoyed the plot overall, I had trouble focussing on each individual character.

3 for neutral. I tried on a couple occasions to read this book, but I just could not get into it. I was really excited to get it, but it just didn’t click for me, could be my mood, so will update if able to read it at a later date.

The novel has a great premise, but I couldn’t get past the writing style and its somewhat robotic tone. The mix of storytelling and general plot was confusing at times and I found it difficult to keep up with what was going on. It made it hard to really connect with the characters and to get invested in their actions. Thank you for the chance to review.

In ‘The Companions’ Katie Flynn creates a world where one can own or rent a companion’ , a cyborg type creature who comes complete with a backstory. In one of the more creepy aspects of the book those memories are stolen from humans who are dying. Imagine the confusion when you die and then wake up to find yourself the brain of a robot. That’s what happens to a central character who was bought to be a companion to a teenage girl. She suddenly finds herself to be almost a toy, a toy that’s put up in the closet when her owner tires of her for the day. Of course as we’ve seen before anytime humans dub themselves to be masters of all there’s always a catch. Did they really think they could put a human’s essence into a machine and all would work out well?

The Companions is a well written study as to what makes us truly human. I reckons this book.

This was such an interesting book. I loved the idea of human consciousness being uploading for future companionship--it made me think about The Perfect Wife, which I recently just finished and found compelling as well as thought provoking.

The writing is smooth and the story well-paced, though if you're like me and jump around in with your books, you might find it tricky to navigate back into, given the number of narratives. But overall, a good read, and I'd recommend checking it out if you like sci-fi.

Thank you to Gallery and NetGalley for providing this copy for review.

The concept and writing of this book are impeccable. I found, however, that the sum of its parts didn't add up to a whole lot for me. By the time I finished the book I was wondering what the overall message was other than the description of a turbulent time period and the story of some of the people/companions that went through it. It didn't really manage to pull all of the events in the book together at the end to illustrate any over arching message. The world-building was very interesting though.

The Companions had such potential,but the execution fell short. The writing fell short with to many characters and to much skipping around.

Like many others, I was immediately drawn to this book due to the comparisons between it and Station Eleven and Never Let Me Go. Those are two of my all-time favorite novels, and I feel like the bar was set incredibly high because of that.

A lot of the reviews I am seeing for this title are focusing on the number of character narratives we get. I personally disagree that is it too many. For a book of this scope, I feel that the number of character perspectives we get is really refreshing. I felt that they were different enough to separate and track their different story lines. My problem with The Companions is that unfortunately it felt unfinished to me. We ultimately have something around a 15-year-time span in this novel, and based on the size I was expecting maybe one year. The plot, characters, story lines, and development is all so interesting that I think this could have been a book three or four times this size and it still would have been enjoyable to read. I wanted more about Lilac and Cam, I wanted to know about Cam post-everything; I wanted so much more of Gabe's narrative; I wanted to know about Dahlia, Nikki, Red, Jakob, honestly every single character we met.

My only real complaint is that I wanted more, other than that, I had a lot of fun with this one. I am excited to see what else Katie M. Flynn might write.

This book starts with such an interesting idea - that human consciousness could be uploaded into a robot like companion - but then losses a little focus along the way. I think there were just one or two too many characters who narrate and the passage of time is a little difficult to follow at times as well. Great concept with just an ok execution, but it will for sure get you thinking.

Thank you to the publisher for providing an ARC through Net Galley in exchange for an honest review.

Thanks to Net Galley and the publisher for an advance copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.
Great story with strong female characters. Fascinating take on a dystopian future after a man made virus wipes out a good chunk of the population, another group of scientists find a way to keep loved ones near by downloading minds to a hard drove and then uploading into a new synthetic body. The original premise of a teenager “Lilac” being murdered and getting revenge resolves itself early in the book, much of the rest of the book explores what is love and what makes us human. Is it our minds, our bodies, or is it knowing that life is short, and finite- making each choice critical and precious?
Once the some things go wrong, there is a recall, and all “companions” must be terminated. The second half of the book is Part ‘Blade Runner’ and part ex - Machina, the artificial “Skins” fight for survival. As each of the characters interact and make choices on how to live their lives real or artificial, in the end every choice has consequences, and love and forgiveness is all that matters.