This was a funny, dynamic and entertaining book, but I found it somewhat underwhelming. It might be a me thing—just as I started this, I got hit by some big life changes and what should’ve taken only a few days ended up being a 3 week read. Still, the numerous POVs and the many jumps between them made the characters feel not fully fleshed out. I would’ve loved to read more from Demeter and Steward’s POVs, they were really fun and I came to care for them and their sometimes fraught friendship. Quite notably, they are the only 100% original characters here. While at first I enjoyed all the little Dracula references and was delighted by the small pulp horror moment with the fishy aliens, by the time we got to meet Steve the mummy I was feeling weary of all the borrowed stuff. I wish there had been more of the original material, that is, the AI characters. They were definitely the most engaging POVs. In any case it was an enjoyable read that didn’t demand too much of me, which is exactly what I needed this month.

Of Monsters and Mainframes is a funny and lighthearted amalgamation of well-known horror characters and tropes. Would recommend to anyone looking for a low-stakes sci-fi story with found family and pulp horror references.

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for sending me an eARC in exchange for an honest review.

Thank you to NetGalley and Bindery Books for providing me with an eARC for this book.

This was so much fun! I had an absolutely amazing time reading this and found myself reading it faster than I expected. This book takes the inherent silliness of its concepts and manages to deliver some fantastic emotional punches.

To me the highlight of this book is its characters. They’re all incredibly written and extremely endearing. I loved spending time with them navigating the chaos of space travel with monsters. The connections and relationships formed here are so beautiful and make me so incredibly happy.

I cannot recommend this enough. It manages to be cosy but also have high stakes. It’s well structured and extremely readable. And, it really made me feel so many different emotions towards this eclectic cast of characters.

This is my favourite read of the year so far. I enjoyed every single page of this book. I laughed, I shed a tear, I felt some very warm fuzzies, and I laughed some more. This book had one of my favourite love stories I’ve ever read about, and it was extremely unconventional, but no less beautiful. Every single character was flawless, and it was wonderful seeing so much growth and development from so many different creatures. There were so many completely unexpected moments that I was hooked trying to figure out what would happen next. This was perfectly quirky, and I can’t wait to see what is next for the author. Thank you so much to NetGalley, Barbara Truelove, and the publisher for providing me with an ARC copy. I have already recommended this to five people to purchase once it is released next week.

10/10 no notes, one of the best books of the year

Okay but for real:

This book is a phenomenal mix of gothic and science-fiction. There are so many little references that are treats for those who know the gothic horror stories referenced. But the most charming characters are Demeter and Dr. Steward, the main povs who happen to be ship AI modules. Telling the story through their unique voices adds a lot of tension and humor to an endlessly entertaining book. I almost cried at the end.

4.25 stars!
I had absolutely zero expectations walking into this read, and I think that’s the way it should be! The cover captured my attention (how stunning!) as well as the genre “space opera”. I had to find out what that meant.

This was a fun rollercoaster! It started out reminding me of Project Hail Mary, in the way it was written and the humorous tone and personality of the ship. It morphed into something completely different, with fun characters and wild storylines.

I enjoyed this! I was sometimes confused whose perspective I was in, but I figured it out and had a really fun time! It was a read completely and refreshingly different from other reads I’ve enjoyed in the past. It may not be for everyone, but it was definitely for me!

If you want to read a book that is a sillier version of Project Hail Mary but with Hitchhiker’s Guide vibes, check this one out!

This novel comes out on June 3rd! Thanks to NetGalley, Barbara, and Bindery Books for this ARC in exchange for an honest review.

If you like Art from Murderbot and classic monster stories, you'll love this blend of the two. Demeter is a navigation AI who only wants to transport her passengers from point A to B, but her passengers keep dying monster-related deaths.

I love the humor of this book. Demeter and Steward are great, and the cast of monsters is so wild and unbelievable. The first half of the book had me asking what more could possibly happen and then the unexpected happened. The second half, while funny and sweet, was where you finally get around to the storyline described in the blurb.

This is a fast-paced read with quick chapters, queer characters, and a quirky plot. Absolutely recommend.

Thank you to NetGalley and publisher for the opportunity to read and review.

This was SO MUCH FUN to read! I feel like it brings together the best of Murderbot and Project Hail Mary.... plus werewolves. It was smart, delightful, touching, and insightful. And it made me cry over robot ai, which as an ai hater, was completely shocking.

Of Monsters and Mainframes is perfect for the readers who want a little zany humor and are ready for a new all time favorite read.

Thanks to NetGalley and Bindery Books for an ARC of, Of Monsters and Mainframes in exchange for an honest review.

Rating: 3/5

This book was a lot of fun. I am always interested in anything related to classic monsters, so I enjoyed this one. I love the blend of science fiction and fantasy.

When I started this book I thought it would just a simple fun journey through space, and it was in a way, but I was surprised by the greater tale that trickles through it of the importance of found family. Honestly what a fun idea to be travelling through space and being surrounded by monsters! I didn't fully know what to expect but I'm so glad I went along for the ride!

I’m a sucker for:
-genre-mixing
-sci-fi with some heart
-droll AI
-a motley crew of likeable characters
-popcorn thrills
-short, propulsive chapters
-just a generally good hang

I was a little skeptical at first (haven’t I seen this type of setup before?) but it settles into a nice, unique groove and sticks the finish. Why not just give in to a short, fun ride?

Wild concept that took a bit to really hook me, but loved this read! Giving it a 4 out of 5 stars. Thank you NetGalley for the ARC.

An AI Protagonist? SIGN ME UP! This is such a unique concept and given all of the chatter about AI right now, I think the timing of this publication is ideal. You follow Demeter, a navigation AI, who is becomes the "cursed ship" due to an ill-fated meeting with Dracula (yes that Dracula) and from there this story goes off the rails in the best way. There are vampires, werewolves from different planets, long haul space roadtrips, more AIs, and also an alien Sandman.

The first third of the book is told primarily from the perspectives of Demeter (AI) and some might be caught off guard with the way her perspective is written knowing that she is constrained by her programming and specific parameters, such as protecting human life at all costs. The author did a VERY good job of writing a limited POV from Demeter, and I love how certain parts of the processing process were included as Demeter was trying to make a decision.

Pulp fiction meets space opera and it does not disappoint.

Okay, everyone needs to read this book! It's so crisp, fresh, and funny. I loved it!

Our MC is an AI on an interstellar cruise ship, who wakes at the end of a multi-year trip to find all the humans on board are dead. When she files an incident report on how it couldn't have been her fault, something supernatural occurs.

I love mixing genres, and Of Monsters and Mainframes does it so well! The sci-fi is sharp and the monsters are gothic. Even the Chtulhu myth makes an appearance. And AI banter! I've never laughed this much at AI banter until now. The level of sass that these robots throw around is incredible. With all that, this book is heartfelt, quirky, and chaotic in the best way possible.

Hugely recommend.

A ship pulls into its landing dock, and everyone on-board is dead. The company that runs the ship tries to hide the fact that this ever happened by changing the serial number of the ship. But there was one thing on board, Dracula.

Thus begins this weird, and wild story of a ship that feels that something happened, but their memory of the event is taken. Oh, did I mention this takes place in space, and both the ship and the ship’s doctor are AI, and conscious, and know what is going on, unless someone removes their memory, before they can hide it.

But Dracula is not the only monster, there are also werewolves, and a monster created by Frankenstein, as well as a creature that might be a mummy made of beetles. And all of them hate Dracula and want to destroy him, and they need the ship, Demeter, to help them do it.

This book is a little bit “Ancillary Justice”, and a whole lot of “The Long Way to a Small Planet” with touches of Douglas Adams and John Scalzi thrown in. All and all, it is its own book, with jabs of satire, and glances of the world beyond the ship, who doesn’t sing, but does argue with Stewart, the ship’s doctor.

It was a wild ride, and i can’t tell you much more than that. The whole time I was reading it I had no idea how it would all end up, which is a good thing. I highly recommend it.

Thanks to Netgalley for making this book available for an honest review. This book is coming out on the 3rd of June 2025.

I really enjoyed this book, it was very fast-paced and witty in a way that reminded me of the Murder Bot Diaries by Martha Wells., which I loved. Each perspective felt very unique while also meshing together to create one cohesive text, though I did get a little lost near the end, granted it was quite late at night, so that may have just been me. The way Truelove incorporated sci-fi elements with elements of mythology was fun to read. Overall this book made for an enjoyable, quick read.

This is one of the most ridiculously fun (and spooky) books I've read in a very, VERY long time.

Part space opera part classic horror part sci-fi romp part thriller... we're mixing up some of the best parts of these iconic genres and coming out the other side with not only an incredibly endearing found-family of monsters & aliens but a story built on redemption, acceptance and love that transcends time (and interstellar travel).

I was laughing my way through half of this book and chewing at my lip in suspense for the other half. I adored our characters and settings. We got to make emotional connections and feel immersed in the world(s). The pacing was cutthroat. Whether it was chasing a new villain down the ship's corridors or racing to beat the clock, the reader is on their toes constantly. Our POVs jumped forward, backward and sideways. And this element of the story-telling was done PHENOMENALLY across all characters (humanoid, alien, AI or the like!).

Five star read & five star travel experience. ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

Thank you NetGalley and Bindery Books for giving me the opportunity to read this book early and share my honest review. All reviews will be posted to my socials (Netgalley, Goodreads, Fable, IG).

3.5 stars.

Slightly too disjointed for me, but I still had a fun time!

I think this would make a great short-form TV series. The dark comedy sci-fi vibes reminded me a lot of Murderbot (both the TV show and the books). There were equal amounts of absurdity and creepiness to balance the mood without making the story too ridiculous or too bleak.

It wasn't a 4 star read for me because the different POVs and storylines felt too disjointed. It was all technically part of one overarching storyline, but each character and their specific situations didn't feel like they matched up.

I think if there were less monsters and less subplots then I would've liked this novel a lot more. It felt like a lot of the characters were vying for the reader's attention, so it was difficult to tell who was actually important vs. who was a throwaway character.

But despite my complaints, I still had a fun time with this! The descriptions were definitely written vividly, and I could picture everything so clearly in my head, from the kids stuck in a spaceship to the monsters attacking people with all the blood and gore. Great stuff!

And despite my reservations, I think the supernatural meets sci-fi wackiness worked out pretty well and made this a unique and memorable read.

Thank you to Ezeekat Press and NetGalley for this arc.

(4.5 Stars)

This story is so delightfully campy and adventurous. It takes classic horror monsters and recontextualizes them in this zany survival-oriented space opera. And it was just so much fun to read.

There’s an element of satire present here that I really appreciated, because the story is told from the very limited point of view of Demeter, who not only is *not* programmed to interact with organic creatures, but also doesn’t have a body and is very limited in how she can move, how she can physically protect her passengers, and how she can investigate. So the story has to very clever in how she’s able to maneuver, in the tools that she has at her disposal in order to give herself some agency when she can be overridden or controlled by outside forces.

There’s really great tension there as she struggles to fully connect with the humans onboard, while also finding herself duty-bound to protect those same humans at all costs. And I found that very limited POV to be incredibly effective, because it allows the reader to process scenes in surprising and unexpected ways, in more distanced ways as well, while also fueling the story’s tension as Demeter basically has to distort and reprogram herself to do things she was never technically built to do.

The story has a really fantastic element of found family as well, which is a dynamic I love so much. There’s a zany, hilarious cast of misfit characters at the center of the story—some human, some computer, some monsters themselves—who have to band together to not only survive, but ultimately assert their right to their own existence.

As the powers that be relentlessly pursue Demeter and threaten to decommission or reprogram her, we see how prioritizing efficiency, productivity, and a streamlined or standardized way of existing above all else ultimately does no one any favors, and in fact cuts us off from discovering an untold number of pathways to new and exciting—and, yes, transgressive— possibilities. This story is really about how our access to those possibilities, even if we never uncover them or get that far, is absolutely worth protecting.

Overall, this was such a fun ride, and I would give it four-and-a-half stars

If you’ve ever wondered what would happen if a vampire and a werewolf walked into a bar, but the bar is actually a semi-sentient spaceship, then I have the book for you!

Oh, and the ship is not actually semi-sentient, it's fully sentient. And it really dislikes it when you hurt her humans. This was the space adventure I wasn't expecting but desperately needed. I laughed out loud, gasped, and yes, even cried reading this book. It's not cozy. It's not filled with political space drama. It was surprisingly emotional at times and Barbara Truelove is a genuis with how and why she makes you care about these characters. It's about the human (and human-adjacent) condition.

And look, I know this is hard to believe. It's a werewolf and a vampire, how new and innovative can you get. It's a very fine line to walk with these archetypes and mythological creatures as main characters, but Truelove does an incredible job of keeping them from being one-dimensional and trite. She's brought them to life in a way that I've not seen before, and yes, humanized them with care and love. It's evident in how they interact with each other, and the respect she gives them. It was beautiful to read and I sincerely hope there's plans for more from these characters.

Of Monsters and Mainframes goes on sale June 3. Pick yourself up a copy and I promise, you will be glad you did.

Thank you to Bindery Books | Ezeekat Press for providing this ARC for review consideration via NetGalley. All opinions are my own.

This was so fun!

I had an absolute blast reading this! There were so many times where I was laughing out loud. The chapter titles were funny and clever, which I loved.

Every single character was great! The banter between them all was hilarious. There's a wide array of characters that each have their own quirks and were written well. I loved them all! I am a sucker (pun intended) for a found family and this one was super wholesome and satisfying.

Of Monsters and Mainframes is a fun, easy read that I will be recommending to everyone! I loved it. I am going to be shoving it in my boyfriends face until he reads it. It gives similar vibes to Murderbot, but I personally liked this one better.

Of Monsters and Mainframes is a silly, fun, sci-fi romp through intergalactic space told from the pov of a ship AI named Demeter whose passengers keep getting killed by various monsters. And it's up to Demeter to stop them.

Honestly I wasn't 100% sure about how I would feel about the AI aspect of this story because of the current state of AI in our world. The sympathetic nature of Demeter and other characters made the story fun and enjoyable, and they seemed completely different from how I personally see AI and what AI currently looks like today. Maybe in a couple of years I'll have a different perspective on this, but atp I thought the story was fun and I liked all of the characters.

Overall I read this one pretty quickly, but it didn't feel like a story I HAD to read in one or two sittings. It felt relatively episodic/it was broken up into parts that 1. made sense, 2. kept the pacing really nice, and 3. made it much more digestible as a whole.

I would recommend this book to anyone looking for an unserious good time set in space, anyone that loves new takes on classic monsters and tropes, and anyone that wants to read about robots acting more like humans than not. 4/5 stars from me!

Thanks so much to Netgalley and the publisher for sending me this e-Arc!