What a goofy little book. I finished SIKE over a month ago, but still haven’t gotten around to writing a review. I’ve been in a terrible reading slump, and I don’t want to say it’s SIKE’s fault, but you know what?? Maybe it is.

It should’ve been right up my alley. I love books about morose pretentious people (SIKE is definitely that) and creepy technology (SIKE tries to be that) and it was compared to KLARA AND THE SUN, which I loved (SIKE is not that at all).

First of all, as many other reviewers have pointed out, the tech aspect is minor and has zero impact on the plot. (And please take the word “plot” with a huge grain of salt, because very little happens in this book.) Second of all, the main character is awful, but something about the writing made me feel like the author didn’t realize or intend for the character to be awful. It kinda felt like I was supposed to like him. Which is absurd. This is a book about a white dude inflicting near constant microaggressions on his Japanese girlfriend while he walks around feeling superior because he’s the only one in the friend group who can afford a prohibitively expensive AI therapist that talks to him through his glasses. Oh and his job is ghostwriting rap lyrics for famous rappers. This was the most bizarre part for me, because when this became a major plot point, I thought oh, okay, this is a book about a mediocre rich asshole who thinks he’s doing all the POC in his life a great service just by existing. You know, a white guy who thinks he can write rap lyrics on par with Tupac (I’m serious). But nah, there is zero commentary on any of that. Instead, his major struggle is that he’s this unappreciated genius who is just quietly responsible for the work of POC, who then get all the credit. As a result, there is a strange, and completely unchecked, implication in this book that rap artists are not responsible for their own work.

I completely forget this guy’s name, by the way. He acts like a Gabe but it’s an A name. Andrew? Idk. Anyway, Andrew/Gabe sucks and his weird problems (none of which are actually problems) are written with such a bizarre sincerity. It’s been a month and I still have the ick from reading this.

You know what it did remind me of? GOOD MATERIAL by Dolly Alderton. Where you start reading and it’s fine for a bit but then you realize you’re trapped in the POV of someone you do not respect in the slightest. Except, of course, in Dolly’s book it’s intentional.

Okay, let me give SIKE the benefit of the doubt for a minute and say the author did intend for Andrew/Gabe to be unlikeable. That that was, in fact, the point. That would make me feel better about the author’s intent for this character, but it wouldn’t actually make it a better book. If it was intentional, it didn’t do enough for the message to land. If it wasn’t intentional… yikes 💀

Thank you to NetGalley and Celadon Books for the opportunity to read this book in exchange for an honest review. All opinions are my own.

PS I just checked and his name is ADRIAN.

I was really excited by the premise of this book, especially with the way AI is rapidly evolving and becoming normalized. It is such a great concept and something that probably is not that far off in some capacity. I really enjoyed how I could kind of justify (most of) each character's actions, even if I didn't particularly like them. Unfortunately, overall the story just fell flat to me. The novel really just scratches the surface of these themes, the characters (who end up feeling much more one-dimensional than I think they are meant to), and even the technology and musicality. The main characters have interesting qualities and backgrounds - Adrian and Maquie are both clearly brilliant in different ways - but it's not really explored. The book is painfully in the present and the moods change as the moments change, without much reflection and any reflection that may happen is just told rather than shown. I wish it had just gone a little deeper, especially given how prevalent the subject matter is.

This book started off pretty interesting to me, but I found the story incredibly hard to follow. The main character was awful, too, which made it hard to want to continue.

After a lot of consideration I’ve decided to DNF this book. I really liked the idea of it. I’m all into the AI kind of things but I did think there would be more. The start was really strong but became dry as they started talking more about the app. I’ve tried a couple of times to pick the book up again but haven’t been able to.

Thank you to NetGalley, Celedon Books and the author for giving me an eARC for a honest review of the book.

I think it tried to do a lot of things, but wasn't quite successful in the things it tried to do. I think the author spent a lot of time trying to clever and it was quite obvious it that Maquie was a women written by a man.

I see what the author was trying to do at points, but he's too busy trying to prove that he's socially aware that it comes across pretentious and the deep discussions he could be having about AI, about male lonliness, about relationships, about privilege, about racism, about classism, and having AI psychology basically in your face the whole time, and how that would affect the social fabric of the country he lives in are totally lost in the garble of him trying to prove to us the reader that he knows the system is broken.

I guess I just don't get what the point in the end was?

Thank you to Caledon Books and Macmillan Audio and Netgalley for an early copy.

This book was described as similar to Her, which I've never seen. I don't know if that's a disservice to Her because I didn't enjoy this book, but who knows. In the near-future, technology is even more ubiquitous than it is now, and a new AI psychologist, Sike, has become extremely popular. Adrian is a floundering man who ghostwrites for rappers and has been using Sike for a while. Macquie is a brilliant venture capitalist who has a complicated family history and is wary of Sike. They fall in love, and this book follows the tumultuous first year of their relationship.

Unfortunately, I found Adrian almost unbearably whiny and self-centered, and it made it hard to enjoy this book. His navel-gazing and insistence that he was the most evolved person in their friend group really grated on me, and I felt like he saw Maquie through the lens of who she was to him and what she was doing for him, as opposed to as a full human with agency and autonomy. He did some truly horrible things for no reason and absolved himself way too quickly through Sike, and he also just came off as completely cringe and un-self-aware, especially in the scenes when he is in Japan ghostwriting for a rapper there. I don't mind a complex or dislikable male character, but it didn't really feel like the narrative or Maquie or the author were critical of him - it really just gave him a pass for being a dick.

Maquie's perspective is a lot more interesting, and her inner turmoil about her job and her family was really touching. Lunzer approached her mental health with incredible care and delicacy, and I was moved by the way she described how she was feeling. She also just fundamentally was a good person (despite some questionable choices at times). Her chapters almost overcame Adrian's chapters, but they didn't, and I left this book really unsatisfied. There were definitely some interesting insights about people's reliance on technology to save everything and the weaponization of therapy talk, but for me it was overshadowed by my annoyance.
 
Thank you to NetGalley and Celadon Books for an advanced reader's copy in exchange for an honest review!

My Selling Pitch:
Glorified SoundCloud sad boy meets burnt-out tech prodigy and thinks he can use an AI psychology app to get the girl, but instead of dating shenanigans, it’s mostly cross-faded half-baked philosophy musings. Still weirdly enjoyed my time, but don’t particularly like the book.

Pre-reading:
This book’s cover scratches my brain in an almost biblical way.

(obviously potential spoilers from here on)
Thick of it:
Oh cool, so he’s insufferable lmao.

I feel like the Diary of an Oxygen Thief comparisons are inescapable.

It’s projection, sir.

Because it is sexist.

Gifted and Talentedy with the tech prodigy.

I feel threatened by this woman so I’m gonna write her off completely. Yeah, that’s fuckin’ healthy.

Can you remember any of the rap that you did? 🎶

I also thought the plum line was the best one.

Fuck Kanye.

I’ve never liked rap for exactly that reason.

Ayyy a me.

Shameless? Homeboy is literally all shame.

Describing a character’s serration to mean they’re trying to pick a fight is pretty gorg.

It’s a very incisive book so far.

This pub conversation with the scorned Max really made me sit up.

It’s very dude picks up red pill podcast. I’m so intrigued.

I always love a dressing down in a book.

Where did Betty Boop come from?

Get in, get going, and get out before the laws come down 💀

I feel like Guinness and shrimp do not pair.

Lit fic loves to tell you about piss.

Casuistry

Peripatetic

I’m assuming Maquie is the product of rape. (Wrong.)

I’m so confused why this has such bad reviews. I’m enjoying it so much.

There’s a lot of Disney in this book. I would not have expected that.

Comparing women you’re not “keeping” to exterminating Jews is a choice. Every time I’m like oh, maybe he’s a sympathetic character, we get something else that’s just so yucky.

Dislike the whole Adam was tempted away from god by women narrative. Religion is a cancer and fundamentally misogynistic and you will never convince me otherwise.

Why do men in the arts always have to think they’re underutilized geniuses?

Oh, the frown on my face with the AI trying to convince him he’s a victim of being hit on.

I know you can’t control people’s fantasies but it icks me out to think of being in a relationship with someone and they’re fantasizing about cheating with me present or subjecting my imaginary body to acts I didn’t consent.

I disagree with that so much. I think you can absolutely live in a self-aware dystopia. Cognitive dissonance is a wild drug.

Kenning

I don’t know where this author stands on rap because his male character loves the art but his female character is able to see it and rightly criticize it and call out its defenders as hypocrites.

Imagine being on a flight with this dude.

Dross

Why does he say apple pie happiness if he’s not American?

Anyway, here’s Wonderwall.

Take a shot every time this book brings up Disney.

He did not just tell his grandmother to get over it. Like he’ll dress down Max, but then he’s being Max.

I find Adrian so insufferable, and I know that’s the point but also like-

How is the advice don’t feel your feelings?

The universe is so eerie sometimes. A Facebook reel came on of a comedy, duo, called Flo and Joan singing a song I actually really liked, but that sampled Joseph’s Technicolor Dreamcoat, a musical I’ve never fucking seen nor will, but have weirdly read about in multiple books now, including this one.

I don’t like the idea of a partner censoring information from me.

Also, that read like a dig at Taylor Swift.

Using him to masturbate without his consent is really icky, and it reads so written by a dude.

What a fucking cuck.

A bloody Mary is my favorite cocktail ever, but I can’t imagine fitting six of them in my stomach.

God, he’s just the worst. He’s such a jealous, small, little man.

Can’t believe this is another book advocating for the use of AI in creating fiction.

Post-reading:
I’m so conflicted on this book. I enjoyed my time reading it, but I don’t think it’s very good.

I don’t think the central plot is sufficient to carry a whole novel. I think it needed to be developed more.

I think Maquie is a pretty compelling character, and, for the life of me, I cannot see what she sees in Adrian. I do think there’s points in the novel that read like the author is fetishizing her, which is interesting because he goes on to make comments that other characters are fetishizing her. But there’s that harmful stereotype that “exotic” women are sexually fixated, and we get a lot of mentions of her masturbating, or craving sex, or being unable to control her urges so much so that she kind of assaults her love interest, although the author doesn’t treat that act as assault. So-

It also leaves a really bad taste in my mouth that the only other high power woman in this book got there essentially by manipulating and sleeping her way to the top. And for all the men who think this is some type of shortcut, I need you to realize that what you’re actually admitting is that there were men in her professional field who would’ve withheld or granted promotions or career advancement due to sexual favors. That moral failing falls to them first, not to the women who found it.

For a book that’s fixated on rap, I don’t think it does a good job of arguing in favor of it. I think the counterarguments presented are so much stronger. I feel like every lyrical example used really just drove home the fact that the misogyny within it is not worth any political call to action it pretends to have. And it’s really giving privileged sad boy that Adrian goes to another country to share his genius that he doesn’t actually have and throws a tantrum that’s arguably, attempted murder just because he’s being sexually and creatively stymied. I think he’s a massive cuck. I think the only time I enjoyed his character was when he gave Max a dressing down, but it ended up reading hypocritical because he exhibits the same problematic behavior as Max only a few chapters later.

I wish we had seen more from Sam. He seemed quietly intelligent, and I think we missed out by not getting more of his story.

I don’t think this is a healthy romance at all. I don’t think the book is pitched correctly. I think “boy meets girl meets AI therapist” implies a level of camp or some sort of wacky robot commentary on dating shenanigans, and the book offers none of that.

It does pose some really interesting moral dilemmas and briefly discusses them, although I don’t think it comes to any meaningful conclusions about them. I think it’s more thought experiment ramblings than anything concrete, but it was interesting and thought-provoking to read.

I don’t know who the real audience is for this book. I think it wants to be Sally Rooney so badly, but it’s nowhere near the caliber. Ironically, I think the Sally Rooney readers are the best audience for this since they’re willing to sift through unlikable characters and social commentary. Like this is more lit fic than anything else. I don’t think it’s a successfully developed dystopian. I think it wants to be an episode of Black Mirror, but falls really short.

And usually, when I have this many complaints about a book, it’s easy to write off and say you shouldn’t read it. But I didn’t hate my time with this. I can see it being interesting to the right audience. I think it forces you to think. I just don’t think even the people who enjoy this are going to go on to rave about it.

I’d try the author again. I think he either needs to lean into satirizing sad white boys, or he needs to do some more work learning about sexism and equality. If you like chewing on social commentary and the premise interests you, pick this up, just know it’s probably not gonna make it on your favorites list.

Who should read this:
Sally Rooney lit fic fans not expecting much
Dystopian thought experiment fans

Ideal reading time:
Spring

Do I want to reread this:
No, but I’d try the author again.

Would I buy this:
If I can find it super cheap, I want that cover on my shelf.

Similar books:
* Mood Swings by Frankie Barnet-same book different font, dystopian philosophy musings and social commentary
* The Fetishist by Katherine Min-lit fic, racial fetishization commentary, music
* The Men Can’t Be Saved by Ben Purkert-insufferable male character, social commentary
* Intermezzo by Sally Rooney-lit fic character study, family drama, toxic masculinity and social commentary
* The Observable Universe by Heather McCalden-musey memoir, social commentary
* Annie Bot by Sierra Greer-dystopian, social commentary
* Diary of an Oxygen Thief by Anonymous-insufferable male character, lit fic, satire
* Ripe by Sarah Rose Etter-dystopian, satire, lit fic, character study, tech industry
* Gifted and Talented by Olivie Blake-burnt out prodigy, family drama, magical realism, camp af, tech industry
* Vanishing World by Sayaka Murata-dystopian, social commentary
* I Who Have Never Known Men by Jaqueline Harpmen-dystopian, social commentary

Thank you to Netgalley and the publisher for a copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.

DNF at 33%. This book might be a little too esoteric for my current summer reading mood. I'm also really over books about bad communication in relationships.

Ooh today years old when I learned reviews could be hidden on NetGalley! That segment MIA led me to believe I wasn't the only one who wasn't a fan—I was correct!

In the wise words of Randy Jackson, "Yeaahhh...this one's gunna be a no for me dog"

I don't have much to add to the convo that hasn't already been said. The premise is brilliant; the follow-through is nonexistent.

Thank you bunches to Celadon Books, Fred Lunzer & NetGalley for the DRC in exchange for my honest review!

This isn’t really remotely the book promoted. Also the characters are unbearable. I wish the marketing was more honest.

This one was not for me but I implore others to give it a try. The writing style was difficult and I had a hard time staying in itt.

Unfortunately, this one was a DNF for me. I found it to be too stream of consciousness and had unnecessary level of detail for mundane points (how much of a brownie Macquie ate). Not what I was expecting but thank you to the publisher for the ARC!

Sike itself was interesting but not a significant enough part of the story.

Other than the psychologist glasses, most of the story is a friend group and an odd romance.

I mostly felt neutral about this. The main characters were fine and multidimensional, but I didn't look forward to continuing to read and wasn't very interested in their endings.

Thank you for the ARC, NetGalley & LibroFM.

The thought of an AI therapist really intrigues me. So reading about two people who suffer from anxiety and other struggles, one uses AI to help and the other uses other methods - I thought that was very interesting. I thought this book was very unique and I really liked the premise.

A book for therapy lovers! AI therapist is such an interesting premise and this really nailed it. I related to so many things it's almost embarassing.

A couple in London, Adrian and Maquie, experience the first year of their relationship. Adrian consults Sike, an AI psychotherapy program to help him navigate their relationship. Maquie is skeptical of Sike and doesn’t want to use it. The narrative alternates between their perspectives on their relationship.

I was really intrigued by the premise of the use of AI as therapy. I wish the book went into more detail about how Sike worked and its impact. There was a big focus on rap music since Adrian is a rap lyric ghostwriter. I thought the beginning of the book posed some interesting ideas about tech’s intimate effect on our lives and relationships. These ideas didn’t really come together in the second half and it felt disjointed.

I don’t know if I’d recommend this book unless you’re really into tech and rap music.

I was nervous coming into this book due to some reviews I saw on NetGalley, but the premise sounded too good to not give it a try and I’m so glad the publisher granted me my wish and I was able to read it. The story’s premise is fantastic and I do love dual point of views. At times, I was confused, but it almost made me feel like that confusion worked somehow with the anxiety and self awareness going on in the book. As someone who works in mental health, AI being used for therapy is such a strange concept to me and this book brought that aspect to life. Although I didn’t love this book, I definitely think it was worth reading and I’d read this author again because the plot and slice of life vibes were really good.

Fred Lunzer’s debut novel, *Sike*, is an intriguing psychological thriller with a unique premise. Adrian, a ghostwriter for rappers he never meets, signs up for Sike—an AI therapy app that tracks his every move through smart glasses. His relationship with venture capitalist Marquie, who is skeptical of Sike, unfolds over the course of a year.

Told through alternating perspectives—Adrian’s in first person and Marquie’s in third limited—the novel’s matter-of-fact prose and casual style contribute to a sense of unreliable narration. While the story raises interesting questions about connection, identity, and the limits of our technological obsession, the execution sometimes feels uneven. The narrative’s potential is there, but it doesn’t always fully deliver on its intriguing themes.

Ｅｂｏｏｋ Ｒｅｖｉｅｗ
🌟
Adrian earns his living writing lyrics for rappers he never meets and finds success with a hit song about his own fruitless search for love. After his last relationship ends in a spiral of angst, Adrian decides it's time to try Sike: the new, lauded, elite AI psychotherapy app that tracks your every move and emotion and guides you toward mental contentment.

The premise of this story caught my attention, but unfortunately, it wasn't for me. I couldn't get into it at all. DNF at 20%; the pacing was slow and honestly confusing. I don't have the drive to continue, sorry.

Thank you, Netgalley, and Celadon Book for the ebook in exchange for my honest review.

<i>Thank you to Netgalley and Celadon Books for the E-arc</i>
I did not vibe with this book. I was so excited about it when I read the description. I thought it was going to be like "The One" but AI and not a secret formula. Unfortunately the book felt disjointed to me. There were page breaks that didn't really make sense since they were talking about the same thing as the group of paragraphs before. It also took 20% to finally get a description of what Sike was. I think that some people will love this book I just wasn't one of them.