I am reviewing the audio version of this which was excellently narrated by Em Grosland.

In the not-so-distant future, a group of recently re-awakened, and abandoned food service bots decide to re-open the restaurant where they previously worked. They have a vision for their futures and want to bring the joy of food to their community.

This was completely cute. It skims across the surface of some of the issues we're facing today, with "robophobes" who are mad that the robots are "stealing the jobs" of people. It also briefly touches on civil rights and what that means to the communities where it's threatened.

It also embraces the vivid variation available in a mixed community, where people from all over are welcomed and the lives they can build together.

I've been entering the giveaways for this book because it looked SO good, and I'm glad I got the chance to review it. Now I just need a physical copy for a nice, slow, re-read.

Overall this was a great read! Fun, semi fast pace, cozy, some suspense, endearing characters, robots, and more. I love stories about robots and knew I needed to read this one immediately. If you like MurderBot but want less action and more cozy with food, this book is for you. I loved the found family and how it really did feel and draw the found family throughout the novella. I hope we get another novella in this universe to explore more what happens with these characters.

As much as I did enjoy this story, there were a couple things I felt could have been expanded on. Specifically the war & more of the world this story is set in. It's made note that the US had a war and California is now independent from the US and the US is a place you don't want to be. Due to the war not really being explained or expanded on it almost felt more like social / political comentary on the current state of the world rather than part of this story. Not to say you can't have comentary in stories - almost all do - more to say I think if it was expanded on and we were given a little more context, it would have felt more part of the story.

I also wish we saw more of the world outside the immediate group of robots/humans inside the restaurant. Which is why I am really hopeful for a book 2. There is still so much story to tell and I will be waiting to read/listen to it.

Thank you to the publisher & NetGalley for sending me the ALC. I very much enjoyed the narration of this story.

Automatic Noodle is a clever, heartfelt story about four robots who just want to vibe—but the system won’t let them.
Our ragtag group of robots—Staybehind, Sweetie, Hands, and Cayenne—aren’t just serving soup; they’re surviving the harsh realities of late-stage capitalism in a post-apocalyptic San Francisco. That includes dealing with anonymous Robophobes review-bombing their restaurant just for existing.
What begins as a cozy sci-fi romp quickly reveals itself to be a sharp allegory for modern society, tackling themes of prejudice, labor rights, and inequality. It’s thoughtful without being heavy, with a cast of memorable characters who bring plenty of personality to the table.
10/10 would slurp again.
#goodsoup

I listened to this one really quickly, however I think it was too sci-fi for me. I don't know what I expected for a book about robots, however I was maybe thinking it was going to be more about the noodle shop and not overly descriptive about the robots and the dystopian world.

The narrator was great, however when speaking for one robot, the voice sounded very nasally and maybe I missed the fact that he was sick, but it was distracting and made it sound like he was definitely ill.

Still giving this a 4 star rating because it was written well and the issues surrounding why I didn't like it were a me-thing.

This was a short cozy read. We follow a group of robots after a war in near future California, that decided to open a noodle shop. For such a short story the author really got me to care about this group of robots who all have their own backstories and issues they are dealing with during the story. If you're a fan of cozy books, I think this would be great on to pick up! The audiobook was also done very well, the narrator was really able to bring each character to life and give them their own distinct voice.

Automatic Noodle is exactly what the synopsis promises it to be. Never did I expect to find a cozy post war independence San Francisco robot novella to be something on my TBR but when I heard that it was announced I was eagerly awaiting it’s arrival.
When all these Robots want to do is survive make handmade pulled noodles and build their community a wrench is tossed in when they are review bombed. I am also a sucker for when the title of the book is thrown in to the book and not only did that happen but how it came to be and evolved was put into the novella and it had me smiling the entire time. Throw in that I could see in my head the imagery from the cover art while the narrator, Em Grosland, described it to me it just came full circle.
Speaking of Em Grosland…what a performance. I loved the different voices Em did! In the beginning of the audio book you clearly got a robot sounding boot up voice and it just threw me right into the story and I knew from that very beginning of the first chapter that this was going to be not only amazingly narrated, but also amazingly produced.
I really hope that Annalee Newitz does more novellas like these becuase it was a hit with me and very much needed.

Thank you to Macmillan Audio for the complimentary audio book. All thoughts and opinions are my own.