This was a great horror read for the current times. For AI being quite scary as it is, this boosted that fear tenfold. Quirky, unique characters and short chapters made for a perfect edge-of-your-seat read to keep you up at night. Being a short read, this was still full of character development, a great plot, and an even better twist. This was highly enjoyable, and I give it four stars.

Thank you, Netgalley and Penguin Group Putnam, for this ARC.

Just the type of creepy spooky book I was in the mood for!! Loved and hated every second of this tale. Technology/Robots/AI has always been a big thing that in a horror setting is so scary to me. I devoured this book in one day and I thought I knew exactly where it was going. I was wrong SO wrong the biggest twist ever happened. The chapters are mostly short which I find makes it feel like your flying through it! The characters feel a bit off but that also just adds to the vibes of the story. I highly recommend this one and deff will be recommending this in fall/October!

This is not my normal kind of book so my opinion may not be the norm, but for me, this book was incredibly creepy with all the AI around us now. It was a quick read but that did not impact the punch it gave. Bottom line, the book William, gave me the willies!

Thanks to Netgalley for the review copy! This story was too scary LOL because it feels like it could actually happen. The author did a great job depicting the panic and fear and anxiety that haunts a person from the inside, too.

This slim(ish) book punches way above its weight class. With dashes of suspense, horror, and science fiction, this book touches on nascent fears regarding AI and its future uses. The pace of the book was quick and the characters fairly well-developed. Given that it touches many genres, it should appeal to many readers. Overall, a fun concept and a quick read that I would be sure to recommend.

Do we not have movies like Terminator for a reason?! It seems in both fiction and real life, humans are meant to repeat history for the worst.

Lily and her husband Henry are engineers with a baby on the way. Henry suffers from severe agoraphobia and it seems the two are drifting apart. Partially due to an extensive side project Henry has been working on, and his inability to leave the home. But everything changes when Lily invites her former colleagues for a brunch and Henry unveils the true hidden project he’s been keeping in the attic: W1ll1AM

Short and to the point, easy to follow, engaging and fear provoking. I thoroughly enjoyed this AI nightmare.

Thank you to NetGalley, the author and publisher for the eARC

4 ⭐️

Thanks to NetGalley for my ARC
2.5 ⭐️

William had so much potential. The synopsis sounded really cool. Unfortunately I was disappointed. The relationship between Henry and Lily was very irritating to me. It was difficult to care about anything happening to them because they were so unlikable. I'm not a person that needs happy or nice characters. I just want them to be interesting. They were bland and cold. I also thought that there was too much happening too quickly. It felt messy. I appreciated a couple of things that happened in the end, but I was underwhelmed.

OK. This book is one of the most disturbing things I have read in my life. If you want pulse pounding, edge of your seat entertainment, this is for you. At first I was rolling my eyes a bit. it is an AI book that gives a look at what could happen in a future world where AI is the norm for most things.

This was well thought out, and extremely easy to envision. I literally could barely put this book down last night. My heart was pumping so loud trying to figure out what was happening and what would happen next.

The twist at the end is chef's kiss and I legitimately did not see it coming! Well done. I highly recommend!

Thriller,mystery,sci-fi, horror, and robots. What more could you ask for in a book? "William" is a fast paced book that keeps you on your toes. I really loved the short chapters and multiple povs. The ending of this book you never see coming. This book has elements from a ton of genres that should appeal to a wide range of readers. Great job.

William was a total surprise! I opted to read it because it sounded like a quick read I could sink my teeth into, and I was pleasantly surprised. Of course, you know that when a robot and AI is concerned, something bad has to happen. I appreciated the cadence of the story - you think it's just a relationship gone wrong, that this traumatic thing happened and that, naturally, someone isn't going to make it until the end - but when the twist hit, I was surprised. When I thought the story was going to zig, it zagged! I could have slammed this read out in one session, but it was great to read over a few days. I honestly wish it was longer and the 'ending' of the story was a little fleshed out so we could find out what happened to Lily - but overall, a great read!

Thank you so much to NetGalley and the publisher, I loved this book so much and I highly recommend. It’s a 4/5 stars for me! It was very suspenseful and had me pleasantly surprised.

4.5-5⭐️

OH. MY. GOD. I had pretty high expectations coming into this book but they were honestly blown right out of the water! It did not disappoint.

This book was addicting and impossible to put down. I binge read it in half a day. The chapters are short, easy to read, and transition well into each other.

As someone who works with AI software in my career every day, my mind has wandered once or twice (ok more than that), pondering what will happen when AI inevitably becomes smarter than its creators some day. This book took it further than just intelligence, though, which is something I have not previously considered. The AI robots in this book had their own feelings, ideas, consciences, thoughts, imaginations, and worst of all- their own power. This brought it to a wholeeeee new level.

There was a phenomenal twist in the last 10% of the book that instantly changes your perspective on literally EVERY page you’ve read prior. All of the stray pieces came together in the end to complete the full puzzle.

The CREEP factor of this was 15/10 no lie..This book had me PARANOID. It had me gasping. It had my jaw on the floor. I felt on edge and as if I was being watched through its entirety. I don’t recall reading many other books that made me feel THIS unsettled, so to say I’m impressed would be an understatement. There was suspense and mystery in every page.

Also the scene where Paige is in the shower DEFINITELY caused irreparable damage to my mental😅😂. Mark my words- I will NEVER step foot in another shower with frosted / closing doors. Ever. Again. 🙂

Thank you NetGalley and Penguin Group Putnam Publishing for the ARC edition of this book. I will be keeping this book and rereading it in the future without a doubt 👏🏼👏🏼

This novel should have been half of what it was. A lot of it dragged, points of view were switched in too quick of succession and none of the characters were likable enough for me to care. I was actually rooting for William to win tbh.

First of all thank you to NetGalley for my ARC of this book! Very stoked and honored to be able to read and review this book before it came out 😊

At first I was kinda meh on the character development- it felt surface level and detached… but the last 20 minutes of the book explain that perfectly haha.

This was a short and fast read, about a very scary look into the sketchy parts of AI and technology. Cue existential dread. *throws out my Alexa Echo Dot*

Would absolutely recommend!

AI and horror mixed is such a fun concept! William is a story of Henry and Lily and what happens when a few of Lily’s coworkers visit and see what Henry has been working on in his home laboratory. Hint… its name is William.

I will start by saying that I enjoyed this book a lot, but I did not like the characters!! Henry has agoraphobia with panic disorder, which leaves him house bound. Both he and his wife are engineers and are just odd people. I could not relate to them, but I did enjoy learning about their absolutely bizarre dynamic. Lily felt so cold to me, especially as she is an expectant mother. Very career driven. Also, I kept imagining Henry’s bicycle magician man creation as the puppet from Saw. It was hard not to mix the two in my head.

William is a quick read with short chapters - always a bonus! This is a book worthy of your time due to its originality as well as the killer ending. I did not see it coming and I loved it!

Thank you to NetGalley, Penguin Group Putnam, G.P. Putnam's Sons, and the author Mason Coile for the ARC of this unsettling book!

This was a weird, scary ride and I was absolutely not expecting the ending. This short book packs a big punch with scares, and has some fun sci-fi elements to it as well.

I liked the concept of this book when I read it, but it turned out not to be for me. The idea of AI is very relevant in today's world, but I did not enjoy the story.

This was crazy in the best way possible. I would say my only issue was that the climax was a little too long and dragged, this could have been cut a little bit more or make it a little diverse in the climax. I loved how spooky this was PLUS the plot twist. THE ENDING was amazing! I liked how we go over what makes us human and how AI could possibly go rouge or make catastrophic errors. I am excited that this is coming out in September which is when spooky season officially starts. This would be a recommendation for Halloween night read.

This book read as a novella. I read it in one sitting.
If you like horror, think M3gan, you will really enjoy this.
Henry is an engineer and has created W1ll1am, a robot that has only the top half of him completed.
No one knows about W1ll1am, not even his wife, Lily. However, W1ll1am knows more than Henry is aware of.
When Lily invites coworkers over one evening, Henry is not interested. He has agoraphobic and no interest in meeting others.
He introduces himself to the coworkers then flees upstairs.
That is when the real horror begins. I did not expect the ending at all.
I would recommend.
I received an ARC from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

Well I read through this book really quickly it definitely grabbed my attention and the creeps and scare definitely there! I thought it was good. I look forward to other titles coming out from Mason Coile!