This is what i assume the future will be like. i sadly do not have a smart fridge but after reading this and *if* they can tell me something is out of date, i'm off to the store, no cap.

This is the first time I've received an ARC for a novel that I just cannot finish. *I received an advance digital copy of Ask Me Anything last summer and got 14% through before having to move on to another book. This has sat on my virtual "currently reading" shelf for a year and I need to move it off. I just have no motivation to continue. It was an interesting idea but creeped me out so much (ha!) and I just couldn't get into it.

Brought to you by OBS reviewer Andra

Ask Me Anything by P.Z. Reizin is one of the funniest romance novels I have read in quite a while as well as thought-provoking – do “smart machines” control our lives, and if so – how? One can certainly relate to the disaster that is a single woman’s dating life. Seems that people are not honest on the most basic level – that of portraying oneself as they truly are. This would end so many disasters – like single individuals unknowingly dating (and investing their emotional energy on) married and unavailable persons. The story also hits upon other interesting topics such as the care and nurturing of people as they age (and along with that – diminished memory and capacity) as their lives are not over – just morphing into another stage.

And the story is funny (MANY chuckles emanated from this reader) …. don’t get me started… the dialogue that comes out of Daisy’s smart fridge freezer is just hilarious, for example:

“Frankly, what young woman wouldn’t want a team of smart machines manipulating events behind the scenes to her advantage?”

Fridge Freezer, along with a group of other “smart appliances” – namely TV, microwave, and the electric toothbrush (who is a “hoot”) use the Internet of Things to assist Daisy’s quest for a more fruitful love life (as opposed to the disaster she has had up to now as a result of her own endeavors – so Fridge Freezer thinks). I liked how Fridge Freezer essentially developed a conscious. Very sci-fi ‘ish as we know (or we think???) inanimate objects do not have feelings. But have scientific developments in recent years shown that empathy, etc. can be learned? So maybe our smart machines can learn through a bazillion repetitions to think with empathy. Fridge Freezer was extremely entertaining – with a wry sense of humor and even philosophical at times. After all the “smart” interventions by Fridge Freezer – will it survive or will the mother company deactivate the appliance?

The journey to find a perfect soul mate for Daisy was an entertaining one. Certainly, the mishaps that occurred are relatable, at least on some level to single gals everywhere. But in the end – does Daisy find true happiness as a result of the “smart appliances” intervention? Well – read the book and find out!

I also found the storyline of Daisy’s mom (Chloe) and how the appliances helped her cope with her dementia very entertaining. I think I would like a friendly “smart” voice helping me out, should I get in that situation in the future. Additionally, I enjoyed the outside “lives” of the smart appliances and how they interacted across locations all to assist Fridge Freezer in keeping Chloe safe.

In the final analysis – a fun, quirky romantic comedy with elements of the unreal (or is it?). If you are in the mood for a light, romantic read – then I suggest picking up Ask Me Anything by P.Z. Reizin.

This book is well written with an interesting premise but the execution was lacking. I really wanted to like this but was really bored and frustrated by the fact that the heroine was annoying and I liked her refrigerator more than her. Not the most successful romance but would probably appeal some readers since it is quite witty. This was a rare DNF for me. It seemed like the last 50% was improving but I just ran out of time for it.

Ask Me Anything is a quirky and techy read. Although I thought the premise was cool and savvy, it did take a while to get into the story. This was my first time reading P.Z. Reizin and I thought their writing style was unique with a cool take on artificial intelligence.

I feel like tech people will really enjoy this one. I am not that tech savvy but it was an interesting premise. A smart fridge being able to communicate with other smart devices in a house to help the main character, Daisy, with her personal life.


I give Ask Me Anything 3 stars. I didn't feel that interested in the story until about halfway through. I don't know if it was all the tech talk or the different perspectives. I think the plot was good but it just fell short. There were endearing moments and specific chapters that stood out to me and that was enjoyable to read. Overall, I feel like this book is for people interested in artificial intelligence and tech.

I think if I hadn't gotten this book as an ARC, I might not have stuck it out. The first quarter (or more) of the book was just truly annoying, slow, and dull. The chapters were interminably long, and that can be somewhat annoying. (I like to read till the end of a chapter before I go do something else and 1 hour and 21 minute long chapters make this nearly impossible!) Thank goodness this book only had nine!

Somewhere around the 40% mark, this book picked up, and things about artificial intelligence started to make more sense.

While it is a bit difficult to see how this is going to end up a romance, it does, and most satisfyingly.

All in all, I'm glad I stuck to it, and I would recommend this book to some of our more technologically inclined readers.

*ARC supplied by the publisher and author.

This one was... weird. Not necessarily bad weird, but definitely on the odder end of things. Ask Me Anything by P.Z Reizin is a little bit sci-fi and a little bit contemporary romance, and yes, the overlap is strange. But good strange. Or at least, neutral strange. Definitely not bad strange.

Daisy Parsloe is not great at dating the right men — in fact, right now she’s definitely dating the wrong one and everyone can see it but her. Her dating history is a catastrophe, her mom is getting less and less comprehensible by the day, and her job is barely hanging on by a thread. And yet, she’s a great person who by all accounts should have a totally wonderful life. Or at least, that’s what her “smart” fridge-freezer thinks. (Yes, you read that right.) So when he (?) gets together with all of Daisy’s other smart appliances — including her electronic toothbrush but not her laptop — they decide to intervene in her dating life to find her just the right man to turn her life around. But it’s really not as simple as they think.

Look, I’m still not totally sure if I liked this one or not but I definitely couldn’t put it down and it was so weird that I had to know what happened next. Also, it made me want to put a piece of tape over every camera and audio source on every possible piece of smart technology I own, so it’s got paranoia going for it I guess.

So, if new-age smart tech and lovable characters are your thing, Ask Me Anything might be for you.

I had to put this book down. Though very creative, it was hard to follow. The appliances just seemed crazy to me.

I DNFed this early on because it was too weird for me. I know the blurb mentioned the MC getting help from her electronic appliances, but I didn't realize that meant we would read the appliances POV. This was not for me.

On Instagram:
ARC Review: 3.5⭐ Out June 2, 2020
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This British romance turned techonological commentary is a super fun read. Narrated in part by our main character, Daisy, and in part by her smart-refrigerator, the story answers what happens when the technology we depend on every day rises to meet not only our practical needs, but also our emotional ones. Daisy's dating life is in trouble, and her mother is in the early stages of Dementia. So, the fridge steps into the Internet of Things and rallies the troops to help.
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At times both thoughtful and funny, AMA was an easy read and a bit more than your basic romance. Things that didn't work for me: sometimes the humor was a bit forced, and it had a moment in the middle that dragged. Daisy is a bit of a Mary Sue with little description, and there was one comment about her being a "womanly woman" (meaning curvy), that I didn't care for. Antoni is a cookie cutter gbf, but so minor that it didn't bother me- the friend group is clearly a nod to Bridget Jones.
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You might like this if you liked: Smart House (film), Bridget Jones (book)
TW: Dementia

On Goodreads:
Star rating is 3.5 rounded up! Thanks Grand Central Publishing for the ARC in exchange for an honest review. In short:
Pro: concept!!! So cool - what happens when our "smart" technology (think Alexa on steroids) takes an interest in our personal life (ok been done) but NOT for nefarious purposes! (refreshing!)
Con: The story dragged a bit in the middle
Pro: The cast of characters were interesting and likeable, and I was rooting for Daisy along with her refrigerator
Con: Daisy ended up being a bit one-note
Pro: Funny!
Con: Punny
Pro: Made me think - this was more than just a romance. It makes you really think about the way that we interact and depend on technology in our daily lives, for better or worse.

All in all, I really enjoyed reading this and it was nice to have something more light-hearted. One thing I wish the author had done (but maybe I've been spoiled with books like Illuminae) is incorporate different forms of text more (e.g. emails, text messages, forum boards, etc.) which I believe would have served the content and elevated the book a bit.

TW: Dementia

I couldn’t get into this book and put it down after a few pages. The talking refrigerator threw me off and I thought Daisy was a bit odd. I put the book down because I lost interest. Just wasn’t the book for me.

Ask me Anything was really...not what I was expecting. It wasn't bad by any means, just not the story/narration I was expecting it to be. Definitely interesting but perhaps not for me.

This book was hilarious but insightful in unexpected ways. The writing was fast-paced but took time to focus on some thought-provoking points on what love and romance look like in the modern world.

This book initially sounded very intriguing but as I kept reading I found myself not getting pulled in by the writing at all. Also, I think I was looking for a different kind of romance story than I got out of this book and although it's uniqueness might appeal to others, it just wasn't for me.

Ask Me Anything by [Reizin, P.Z.]

So Happiness for Humans is one of my all-time favorites, which means I was really looking forward to this, and it was okay . . . but just okay.



Review copy provided by publisher.

An absolute DELIGHT of a novel. Completely unique and astoundingly original, I adored every moment of this book. I will be recommending it to as many people as I can!