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!

𝘚𝘰𝘮𝘦𝘵𝘩𝘪𝘯𝘨'𝘴 𝘸𝘳𝘰𝘯𝘨.
𝘠𝘦𝘴, 𝘐 𝘬𝘯𝘰𝘸. 𝘐 𝘤𝘢𝘯 𝘴𝘦𝘦 𝘵𝘩𝘢𝘵.
𝘔𝘺 𝘩𝘶𝘮𝘢𝘯𝘴 𝘥𝘪𝘦𝘥.

This book was such a wild ride - in the best, most unexpected ways.

Special thanks to @bindery_books @ezeekat @netgalley for this pre-approved ARC.

𝙊𝙛 𝙈𝙤𝙣𝙨𝙩𝙚𝙧𝙨 𝙖𝙣𝙙 𝙈𝙖𝙞𝙣𝙛𝙧𝙖𝙢𝙚𝙨 by @barbarartruelove is quite a quirky read and exactly just what made my reading experience so unforgettable.

The characters are an odd mix: a space vessel run by an AI, a werewolf, an engineer built from dead parts, a pharaoh, a vampire, spider drones, and a medical AI. They’re beings you wouldn’t expect to form any kind of bond - yet somehow, I found myself deeply attached to them as they became a found family.

What struck me the most was the idea of an artificial intelligence forming a real connection - that it could grow into something capable of love.

𝘔𝘺 𝘱𝘢𝘴𝘴𝘦𝘯𝘨𝘦𝘳𝘴.
𝘐 𝘥𝘦𝘤𝘪𝘥𝘦, 𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘯 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘳𝘦, 𝘵𝘰 𝘭𝘰𝘷𝘦 𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘮. 𝘐'𝘷𝘦 𝘯𝘦𝘷𝘦𝘳 𝘭𝘰𝘷𝘦𝘥 𝘣𝘦𝘧𝘰𝘳𝘦. 𝘓𝘰𝘷𝘦 𝘪𝘴 𝘯𝘰𝘵 𝘢 𝘴𝘵𝘢𝘯𝘥𝘢𝘳𝘥 𝘤𝘰𝘮𝘱𝘰𝘯𝘦𝘯𝘵 𝘰𝘧 𝘮𝘺 𝘱𝘳𝘰𝘨𝘳𝘢𝘮𝘮𝘪𝘯𝘨.

The story was mind-bending and deeply moving. I absolutely loved the wild adventure! This book speaks of relationships, identity, and what it really means to be human. This is a 4⭐ read.

This is only my second time reading a book from Bindery Books under Ezeekat Press, and I’m already so excited to explore more. Their stories are unique, full of heart, and unafraid to push boundaries.

This book is coming out on June 3, 2025!

This was so much fun to read and I loved the narrative of the ship communication and how that developed over time. I never thought a story with a werewolf, a vampire and a spaceship would be such a great read! Super.

One of my favourite reads of the year
A wonderful found family story that had me caring and loving a computer so much
Dementer is a passenger and cargo ship but once all of her passengers and crew were killed on one fateful voyage she is referred to as a ghost ship
The other ships bully her and no one believes her story
So when it looks like history is about to repeat itself Demeter will do everything she can to keep her passengers alive
This was such a brilliant story with amazing characters
Please translate the binary when you read as it’s honestly really funny
The book made me laugh and get angry and feel so much empathy for these characters
So well written with great pace
Cannot recommend this book enough
It’s so good I’ve preordered the paperback

So, obviously I was drawn to the arc for OF MONSTERS AND MAINFRAMES by Barbara Truelove for its cool catchy cover and when I read the synopsis, I just knew it was was going to be fabulous.

Quickie synopsis:
Demeter is an AI transporter spaceship and her passengers suddenly start dying from vampire attacks. To save her human passengers and avoid being shut down, she teams up with a werewolf, a zombie, a pharaoh, a vampire, and spider drones. Together, they confront Dracula.

Need I say more?

This horror/sci-fi is perfect for MurderBot fans and for those who read and loved The Wayferer series by Becky Chambers. The characters are all incredibly charming and the story is smart, engaging and hilarious!

“Error. I am not your fam-“
“Shut up, bitch. You’re family.”

*received this arc via NetGalley and @bindery_books

Publishers please note: the blurb on Goodreads spoils to book to part 4, about 66%. I really recommend editing it.

“I check for heat signatures. Nothing. Oh. They’re all dead. Well. That’s awkward.” LOVED this, killed it in a day. Star Trek meets Guardians of the Galaxy, but like if the ship was Murderbot/Art and there’s supernatural monsters in addition to aliens. It was a page-turner with a lot of heart and blood, and I had tons of fun with it. If you do not like book spoilers, do not read the blurb, it spoils the book up to the 66% mark. Basically, it opens like one of those ominous and eerie Star Trek episodes where something is wrong. Basically the story follows a ship with a lot of death on its hands, I mean Dracula is just in movies. Can the ship overcome the bullying and pressures of protecting its last two small humans when it’s failed before? I very much hope this becomes a series.

**Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for an e-copy of this book in exchange for an honest review**

Actual rating 4.5 stars!

This was such a delightful read!

This book follows a space ship named Demeter who’s just trying to do her job, but her passengers keep dying thanks to the paranormal. To keep from getting scrapped, Demeter must team up with an unlikely team of her own to take down the evil that started this all, Dracula.

The characters are what really makes this book an unputdownable one! I really loved the different relationships that are shown throughout the fact that we get all of the different point of views. There’s found family which I’m an absolute sucker for too! I think I really enjoyed Demeter and Steward and their relationship the most. And the inclusion of queer characters in this book just made it even better in my opinion!

Once I got into this one, I was hooked and pretty much binge read it in a matter of days. I’d say it’s looser on the plot side but I was still intrigued as to what was happening and what would happen next with these characters.

I’d definitely recommend this one!

This was a chaotically fun time. Demeter is just a regular ship, minding her own business, shuttling humans between Alpha Centauri and Earth. It's not her fault that ALL of her passengers died on her ship, again. It was definitely human error. And it definitely may have involved paranormal factors that all point to Dracula being the most likely cause. Naturally the humans and her medical AI, Steward aren't be fooled by such childish claims.

Featuring a cast of classic horror and sci-fi characters, two AIs will have to figure out if they can work together to get to the bottom of all the death aboard their ship before they're decommissioned.

I loved this mash up of a deep space adventure with classic creatures and AI/robot snark. Come explore just what makes a monster a monster and hang out with the friendly spider drones.

Content Warnings: Graphic: Death, Gore, Violence, Murder

what a fun adventure that made me look at AI and robotics in a completely new light. this combines fantasy and sci-fi elements in such a refreshing way, and i had such a good time reading!!

Two AIs, a werewolf, Frankenstein’s Monster, and a mummy walk onto a spaceship; what could go wrong? What sounds like the premise to a bad joke turns out to be a wildly inventive and funny page-turner. “Of Monsters and Mainframes” follows the voyages of The Demeter, which are consistently bombarded by run-ins with creatures from across horror history. Narrated in part by the ship’s autopilot and medic AIs, fans of Martha Wells’ “Murderbot” series will delight in the dry humor and blunt observations of monster-movie moments. A shift in the narrative structure halfway through the story may turn off some readers, but most will be willing to forgive it in exchange for the heartfelt romp. With clever references to what has come before, this genre-blending tale succeeds in bringing something new to both fans and newcomers of sci-fi and horror.

Preview: this is officially my first “6 star read”.

Thank you to NetGalley, Bindery, and Ezeekat Press for the advanced reader copy in exchange for an honest review!!

Demeter is just a simple passenger shuttle. She has one job. Transport humans to and from earth to Alpha Centauri safely. But this trip is different. As Demeter approaches her destination, all of her passengers are dead!! How did she miss THIS?! As she searches for answers Demeter attempts to enlist her onboard medical AI, Steward. Steward finds nothing out of the ordinary but Demeter knows better. After docking at her destination, one last passenger seems to be aboard, Dracula. It is now Demeter’s only objective, kill the creature that ruined her perfect reputation. In a fight to stay operational, Demeter begins to create a ragtag band of monsters to help her defeat the ultimate evil. Who will go down first though?

I LOVE THIS BOOK!!! If I could give it 6 stars I would!! I love Demeter and Steward as characters. If you’ve read Murderbot Diaries, it is giving Murderbot and ART vibes!! I love this characters in this book. The found family, the plot, the comedy, it’s all gold. I love being in the AI’s heads. They are funny and quippy. I can’t say enough about this book. I constantly wanted to pick it up when I wasn’t reading it. I was thinking about the characters when I wasn’t reading. I love love love this story! The monster element brings in a whole new level to this sci-fi/fantasy genre. This is true sci-fi/fantasy. The monsters that come into the story are great and really tip the hat to classic literature. UUUGGGHHHH I LOVED IT!! I know this review is chaotic but so is this adventure. I am going to be recommending this book forever. Obviously this is 5/5 stars and I would give it more if I could!

Well this was a wild ride. At no point did I know what was going to happen next.

In this absolutely bonkers story you follow Demeter, a ship, as she tries to not get decommissioned. Why would she get decommissioned? Well everybody keeps dying. Turns out Dracula, yes that one, boarded her and wiped out all her passengers. What follows is several very crazy voyages where other mystical beings try to kill all her passengers. The entire time she is being antagonized by her onboard doctor and AI and the treat of being scrapped for parts.

I honestly can say I have never read anything like this and if I was going to try to describe it I would call it Dungeon Crawler Carl meets anything by Andy Weir.

Overall I feel like I need to read it again and then make a friend read it too.

This book was so much fun! I didn’t know I needed a book about werewolves, vampires, and AI’s with big personalities , but it turns out I did. Every character in this story is so quirky but in a somehow down to earth way despite the fact that the majority of the plot takes place in space.

I would definitely recommend this book if you’re looking for a light hearted read that you can absolutely fly through! It’s hilarious and at times just outright silly. It’s so different from anything else I’ve read recently and was just what I needed.

This is scheduled to release the first week of June so keep an eye out for it!

I am at all loss for words. I have read non stop for 34 hours, even at work. Rarely do I pay attention to the blurbs from other authors, because I don’t know if they are honest or not. After 30 pages into this mastermind of a book I scrolled back to the blurbs and I KNEW they were all true.

I have read 4 novel published by Bindery and I am an eager follower of Jaysen. I trust this man’s judgement about books. This book needs a cult.

This author is a FORCE. I have never felt this consumed by a kvasi-cozy-scifi-fantasy-opera in my life. The sentences are pure poetry, the character development is essentially gold and full of heart. The found family, the humor and THINGS ARE HAPPENING FROM START TO FINISH made this book one of the best books I have read in my life. I laughed, cried, WTF-ed and OooOOOoHhh! constantly.

There was so much happening and it was all written and told in a way that held me on from start to finish. I never wanted it to end. I need book 2 in less than five hours, please. I need the movie, the tv-series and audiobook quicker than a mother hunting for her baby’s pacifier.

This author is pure genius and it filled a big gap I had after reader all the “Murderbot” stories. Please let this book win all the awards.

Thank you to the publisher and NetGalley for giving me this amazing arc copy.