✧₊‧˚⁀➷ 3.3/5 .ᐟ

set on earth/alpha centauri/the space between in 2300-2450. features a spaceship with artificial intelligence who, for some reason, is absolutely infested by paranormal creatures who've been killing all her passengers. also has a lesbian werewolf, for everyone that's interested (me).

this is one of those books that are absolutely enthralling when you binge—i had my nose glued to my phone screen during the first half, to the point where i would have missed my stop on the train, i exclusively read on the train for some reason—but as soon as you pause to do anything else, the magic vanishes. i don't hate it; i just don't have an opinion at all.

i adore demeter's character, and i loved the first section where she was introduced. she was an immensely well-crafted character. her inner monologue as an artificial intelligence, her evolution as an ai that separated her from the rest of her kind, her relationship with steward, her inability to understand human emotion, her adoption of agnus, everything about her was so compelling.

while demeter's intricacies were heavily explored, i didn't connect as much to the rest of the story. the characters are nice enough, but i feel like i only like them in relation to demeter and not on their own. they were pretty well-defined with their own histories, or at least agnus and frank were, so that's probably a me problem and has nothing to do with the book.

the actual issue was that the plot was lacking. the concept of random monsters hunting exclusively on demeter is overdone by the third time it happens, and then it turns out it's been happening for centuries before the story even starts, and we don't really get an explanation as to why or how or where they even come from? and a certain vampire is so overpowered, and yet he's killed in the most flat, uninspired way possible. there is no satisfaction in the ending. except the lesbian vaewolf relationship, of course.

The thing about genre mashups is that you have twice the responsibility to do them justice. Thankfully, Barbara Truelove had a geniusly original idea and the talent to do just that. This is the first novel I've read that is reminiscent of the Murderbot series by Martha Wells and let me tell you, that's high praise. The pacing was great, swapping pov to add texture and allow the reader to sink further into the delightful story. It's not an easy feat to pull off cozy when there are ship wide massacres multiple times. This story embraces the found family trope in a way that feels familiar yet fresh. I found myself giggling, gasping and grinning at the classic monster references that somehow worked perfectly in the deep space setting.

Demeter is the AI of a spaceship built for interstellar travel, and she’s never failed in a mission before—until one day she wakes up and finds out all her passengers have been killed by a presence she can’t detect. It happens again on another trip, this time with two young survivors Isaac and Agnus. After one too many unexplainable tragedies, Demeter is dubbed a ghost ship and recalibrated in hopes that she won’t kill her passengers again. But decades later, Agnus boards what she realises the factory reset Demeter of her childhood, and it appears there are a few other monsters who are on that ship with her.

I love when a story breaks down the “boundaries” between sci-fi and fantasy, which is what happens in OF MONSTERS AND MAINFRAMES. This compulsively readable novel is a gripping space opera where, as its title suggests, we encounter both spaceship AI systems and recognisable monster figures from pulp fiction, like Dracula, Frankenstein, and werewolves, as these characters bond or grapple with each other for the heist of a lifetime. It’s got queer relationships, AIs learning to rewrite their own code to understand organic beings and each other better, and a very dysfunctional found family of sorts. It’s been a while since I managed to read a 400-page novel in a span of 3.5 days, which should give you an idea of how compelling I found this one. And it’s got sapphics!

I'm calling it, Of Monsters and Mainframes will be a HUGE hit in the SFF genre once it is released.

This book is hilarious, heartwarming, and delightfully unhinged. From the first page I was completely captivated, entranced, enthralled even. Never would I have thought I, someone who has a justifiably healthy fear of sentient AI, would care so much about two spaceship AI systems and the shenanigans that follow them through space.

I have never been one for math so all the numbers and alluding to math had me nervous at first but Truelove managed to make it less scary and more fun. I loved getting to see Demeter evolve as a being.i loved seeing her go from all logic to literally rewriting her code to accommodate things like love and similes and 'shittalking'.

I loved all the fun takes on different kinds of folklore, and I can appreciate how difficult it must have been to adapt these ancient stories to accommodate the 24th/25th centuries.

I actually do not have a single negative thing to say about this book. I loved it, I loved every single second of it and I am so sad that it is over. I'm hoping for a sequel, a whole saga if necessary, and a tv show. This is absolutely a 5 star read, and will go down as one of the best books I have ever read. Thank you Barbara Truelove, Ezeekat, and Bindery Books for trusting me with this arc.

I can't wait to get a physical copy (hopefully soon) so I can have it sitting out and tell everyone I know about it and have them read it!


I will be posting my review on Instagram as well soon if you would care to see that it will be on @sammilikesbooks

Adventure in the high skies abounds with Of Monsters & Mainframes, a Gothic love letter to the monsters of the genre, blended together with a warm sci-fi heart. Balanced perfectly between the darkness of the monsters and the inherent horror within, and the sweetness of a found family in space story (think Becky Chambers meets the Universal monster crew and you're close), it's a breezy, funny story with a unique tonal blend and tons of (resurrected) heart, making this one of the most satisfying, crowd-pleasing reads of the year so far.

I had so much fun reading this. This is one of the few books where I have read where the machine feels alive and with a personality while still holding elements that remind you that they are not human. I loved the humor and all of the characters.

Thank you NetGalley for the free eARC of this book.

I went blindly into this story with very little information and boy was that a good choice. Overall, it’s a fun, adventure filled story following two AIs, Demeter and Steward, that are a ship and its medical counterpart along with a crazy combo of characters as the crew. The best way to enjoy this story with all its horror/sci-fi elements is to sit back, relax, and enjoy the story unfold. Well worth a read.

A very strange quirky book unlike anything else I have ever read and I liked it . A wonderful odd mix of genre busting themes but ultimately very satisfying.

Ezeekat Press Has done it again! I’ve only read the two books now that they have published and wow! He totally fit the cozy fantasy vibes, but I love how this one adds in the mystery and horror characters from classics that we all know!

Science fiction, fantasy, found family, totally my kind of book! I feel like if you’re a fan of house of Frank or even legends and lattes this is the perfect book for you! All the other two are more of your fantasy side this ads of a sci-fi twist that the cozy fantasy genre has needed!

From the laugh out loud humor to the nerve-wracking escapades, the hodgepodge group of vibrant characters to the heartening narrative threads of love and found family, this story is an absolute delight!

"I hate it. I hate is as much as I hate docking systems that put zeros on the end of my name. I hate it more because it destroyed my spider drones, who were only ever polite and useful, and killed my passengers, who were neither of those things but were mine to look after. I hate it as much as I've ever hated anything. I hate it as much as I hate Dracula."

Demeter is the AI of a large passenger ship that shuttles people between Earth and habitation units lightyears away. She always tries her best within the confines of her programming, and it's really not her fault that all the humans onboard are slaughtered by the ancient vampire who stowed away in a container of soil in the cargo hold before reaching their destination. Or that almost all of her next group of passengers fall at the hands (paws?) of a werewolf. But unfortunately for her, the humans don't believe in the existence of the supernatural, and assume Demeter's programming is faulty in some way and she has been malfunctioning.

After a few more similar encounters with the preternatural (not all of whom are necessarily enemies), Demeter winds up with a ragtag crew that, in some ways, have become family to one another. They set out for revenge on the creature who started Demeter's downward spiral into infamy, the one that earned her the nickname of ghost ship and got her painfully optimized by the engineers of the transport company that owns her: they are going to take down Dracula.

The chapters (many of which have hilarious names - for instance, one chapter ends with the question, "Am I desperate enough to go along with it?", and the next chapter title is, "Yes.") cycle through several POVs throughout this book. Two of these characters are AI, and in some ways this fact along with the humorous style brought The Murderbot Diaries to mind, only in a somewhat less satisfying way as these AIs seemed a bit more anthropomorphized (i.e. Demeter's disks shake with relief and terabytes of fear run through her wires) (also, disks in a computerized spaceship several centuries in the future?). But it was still quite entertaining.

Even though this adventurous tale has some intense moments with high stakes, it's told in a style that had me laughing regularly. Like when Demeter says,

"Agnus says she is not as smart as Isaac. I inform her this faulty assessment is likely the result of a rounding error."

or when the ship's medical AI asks her since when she was programmed with a desire for adventure and she answers, "I'm writing the code right now".

So we've got the action, adventure, and humor, but this book also delivers some really sweet messages about love, familial/platonic as well as romantic. The relationships and the lengths the characters go to for one another despite being so drastically different from one another in a multitude of ways were really very heartwarming.

"'Yes,' I say. 'I...I thought I was protecting my family. But I wasn't, because I wasn't protecting you.'
'Error. I am not your fam-'
'Shut up, bitch. You're family.'"

I am truly impressed with this author for producing a story that is so equally fun and touching, and I look forward to reading more of her work. Three cheers for Barbara Truelove and Of Monsters and Mainframes!

My Goodreads review is now live, and I will be sharing it to my blog and Instagram profile closer to the publication date (a week or two prior).

this was a great book! the sci-fi was great and was so entertaining! it truly feels like a unique story. my interest was kept throughout the story and the writing was done really well! would absolutely recommend this to anyone I know. the space opera aspect was so well done too! I’ve never read a book with a space opera-esque before and I really enjoyed it.

I absolutely love this book. This is unlike anything I have ever read. It explores an AI POV in a way I’ve never read before. It follows our AI spacecraft Demeter and her medical AI Steward. As Demeter completes her journeys in space the humans she carries keep on ending up dead. We meet many monsters, Dracula, Frankenstein, fishy aliens, werewolves and humans. It explores AI feelings and left me questioning if AI actually does have sentient feelings.
It’s a witty, clever and hilarious story which I could not get enough of. I think this book will be a flagstone for other sci-fi novels to follow. I hope Truelove gives us another story soon!

Of Monsters And Mainframes - Barbara Truelove
publishing date: June 3rd 2025
📚genre: Sci-Fi & Fantasy
💫 themes: artificial intelligence, space travel, revenge & love
🪐 plot summary:
Demeter is an artificial intelligence who is basically the essence of a large spaceship whose cargo is mostly humans. Demeter is excellent at calculating distances and smooth space travel is guaranteed . Until the incident with Dracula happens - since then Demeter wants revenge. But the AI is not alone, there is a medical AI called “Steward” (pronouns she/her) on board with them. And Steward wants to make sure that Demeter and herself don’t get scrapped. Their space adventures involve meeting monsters, helping children and caring for cute space drones.

✨ my opinion:
Of Monsters And Mainframes was so entertaining and funny! Every character we get introduced to, is so unique and loveable. The mixture of science fiction, space opera style, and classical horror monsters was delightful. I also enjoyed Demeter’s and Stewar’s dynamic with each other. As AI as a topic is inescapable at the moment, this book gives it a new and unique twist.
I loved it and can’t wait to read another book by Barabra Truelove soon.

📚 this book was kindly gifted to me by @bindery_books, @ezekaat and @netgalley
‼️ the above stated opinion is completely my own

I really enjoyed the concept with Of Monsters and Mainframes. I didn’t know what to expect when I started this book but I had such a fun time reading it. You will definitely be in for a fun time if you pick up this book, which you definitely should. It was surprising how much emotion was created by Spaceship Demeter and Steward the AI Medical Companion on board.
I laughed out loud so much with some of the banter and comments between the characters. There are a lot of characters including Werewolves, Vampires, Spider Drones and a Mummy.
I did find at a couple of times that I felt there was too much going on but overall really enjoyed.
I’m so glad Ezeekat Press picked this book to publish.
Also whoever is responsible for the cover artwork knocked it out the park. So eye catching and I love it.

A fizzy, goofy, absolutely delightful interstellar romp! I've never read anything like it. Sharing anything more than what's in the blurb feels like it would do the book a disservice, so I'll just say I loved it, and I am so glad I read it, and you should read it, too.

For lovers of A closed and common orbit (Wayfairers #2, Becky Chambers) and The Murderbot Diaries (Martha Wells).

I love space ship AI systems that end up building relationships with fellow AI and passengers, so this was right up my alley. A fun, and fast paced read with high stakes and monsters. My only complaint is that, in adding in many monsters and storylines, it limited my ability to connect fully with the characters. I think a little more time needed to be spent with a few specific characters to flesh it out.

Thank you to NetGalley and Bindery for the e-arc in exchange for an honest review.

A real wild ride of a novel. I wanted to read it because space and vampires and werewolves and spaceships? Yeah. That sounded cool. And the novel was cool! It takes a little bit longer than I wanted it to to get to what was promised (going after Dracula), and once we were there, it happened too fast! The ending was also a little cheesy for my tastes (and felt like it dragged), but then again, it's about cheesy horror monsters. It can be cheesy.

I thought the characters were very delightful, even if some got more room to be characters than others. Demeter and Steward were incredibly fun to read and I was always happy to be in their POVs. I wish we got more time with Frank (they were my favorite despite their lack of focus). Agnus was okay, but I wish she hadn't bowed out of the story for as long as she did in the middle.

All in all though, it's a wild ride and it does deliver on what it promises, even if that gets in motion more than halfway through the story. If you love a spaceship doing her best despite everything being against her, you'll love Demeter and this book.

Thank you NetGalley for the ARC!

Entertaining, weird, and well written
Recommended.
Many thanks to the publisher for this ARC, all opinions are mine

I loved this book. It had me crying about gay robots falling in love and that’s all I can really ask for from a book. It had me invested in a wide range of characters and I loved the found family in this. I almost wish it was longer so I could spend more time with these lovely creatures. If you enjoy mythology, suspense, mystery, and space travel, this is the one for you.

I loved everything about this book and will be recommending it to anyone who may be interested in this genre. Every character was distinct, well developed, and lovable. The humor was great, the action was well paced, and I thoroughly enjoyed the different romps through space and each distinct adventure.