Alpha Bots

I was already amazed by the book and the audio-version is even better! The narrator does such a great job in bringing these characters to live, it's a pleasure to listen to her. I forgot how controverse and twisted this book was. I still can't stand the male love interest and the so called villainess ist just... even better than I remembered her. It was a joy to listen to this, especially after having had the pleasure of reading it beforehand! I can't wait for the second book.


I received a free ARC by Netgalley, after being invited to listen to this audiobook by the publishers, in exchange for an honest review.

Blunt and brutal in places - especially the dialogue. I just wish I liked this a bit more than I did. The description of the book held more promise than the book actually delivered.

It was humourous in a warped way and I guess if your sense of humour is not in sync with the author's you're really not going to enjoy this book. The narrator did a good job with the material but all in all, I was left wanting more substance.

It's narration was the first thing to put me off. I don't like when the narrator, male or female, tries to do the voice of the opposite sex. It doesn't work. But I could have put that aside if the story didn't start out like a cliché porn script. Not that porn scripts are ever not cliché. It fully lost me, and this is strikingly early on, when the android announced she got high off bananas.  Granted their was a lot of them, and pilling and boiling and baking but still... bananas. That was enough for me.

I was very excited to read this book because I don't usually pick up books about robots/ AI. I liked how the book covered themes of sexism. I am happy I had the opportunity to read a book in this genre and look forward to reading more in the future. However, maybe since I am not yet well versed in the genre, something might have gone over my head, but I did not feel like this was a book for me. 

I listened to the book as an audiobook and enjoyed the performance. 

What I think others will like about the book:
- Interesting communication among AI
- Discussion of sexism in this future world 

Things that did not work for me: 
- I felt that the story depended very much on tell not show (vs show not tell)
- While the story brought to light sexism, I felt like there was not a lot of growth on the character's parts in terms of sexism. There was a lot of internalized sexism which totally makes sense but I did not feel like I saw a big transformation of a different outlook (sure there was a physical transformation, but personal growth?)

I think categorizing this in the LGBTQIA genre is a mistake. (Maybe Women's Studies?) This book is out of my usual realm of interest, but I enjoyed it well enough. There is humor, frequent references to horrible treatment of women, but in the context of AI women-- definitely a take of Stepford Wives. (They are in New Stepford, after all.)

Not sure if the author's main intent was to make a statement on the continued misogyny in today's society but that's how it came across to me. I felt it was a little long as it moved from more 'future reality' to complete fantasy in the conclusion. 

I really liked the AI facing reality- particularly Cookie's reconciling her robotic identity with her human feelings and (perceived) limitations.

The audio version was well produced and Laci Powers adds to enjoyment with her gifted narration.

I received a copy from the publisher through NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

<b>Actual Rating: 3.5 🌟</b>

<i><b>CW/TW:</b> ableist slurs, misogyny, homomisia, fatmisia, slut shaming, drug use, animal death, gore, vomiting, unconsented kissing, internalised homomisia, plural marriage, racism, mention of rape/sexual violence, anorexia, violence, sex, mention of suicide, labour, birth, gore, cannibalism, emotional abuse, gun shot, head shot, misgendering</i>

 Noah Fence but this reads like a pink p*ssy hats feminist story. And I think it's supposed to because at the tail end of this things their leader says some things that make it seem as though the whole thing was just an excuse to blow some sh*t up. 

I was kind of uncomfortable with the way Wayne was described because it kind of fell into the 'describe black person using food' category and on top of that it was a lot objectifying, but then again, with the way this book is set up, that could've been deliberate.

Otherwise I liked this book, I liked the writing style and the narrator did the things that needed to be done. I was a little confused about the big twist because I must have missed something, but it wasn't so bad that it took me out the story.

I think this was a really good idea but I didn't really enjoy the way it was written. I mean, it's a fine book but for someone who has read the Murderbot series this kind of is a miss. Even though Murderbot and this is pretty different. Yet I know I would have put this down if it wasn't for the very speeded up audiobook.
So an okay book but I'm not really interested in seeing where the story goes for here.

this book.  wow.  I went into it expecting something peculiar.  The basic synopsis of Stepford retelling with AI, sounded like it would be a lot of fun.  It certainly was.  
Growing along with Cookie as she becomes self-aware, and decides not to take shit from Normie, was a fist-pump.  you GO,  girl.  I didn't know what to think of Maggie at first, I was hoping for some gay-I romance, but it turned out to be even more interesting. 
Let's talk about those babies.  when you get there, just WOW
 This was a crazy rollercoaster of a ride that i didn't know i needed to read.

Thank you SemiScope and NetGalley for the ARC of Alpha Bots by Ava Lock. 

Welcome to the neighborhood of New Stepford. The people who live here are perfect- the men work the day away and then come home at night to their perfect homes and wives. One day at book club, a strange man joins the wives and triggers something in them. The wives learn their lives are a lie- they are AI and their "husbands" jobs are to test them out. A fake marriage, a broken life and Cookie Rifkin breaks free of the mold.

Alpha Bots is like nothing I have ever read before. It was a combination of female empowerment, sci-fi and a lot of misandry. I'm intrigued to see where the rest of the series takes.

I have friends who, when I talk about book or movie plots with them, they'll say things like "I totally say that coming," or such-and-such was so obvious. I don't like to take in my stories with such a critical point of view though. I want to enjoy the story as it comes, and let the creator entertain me with where the plot is going. But with Alpha Bots it was a whole other experience for me. There are so many twists and turns that I couldn't help but notice all the details that would come up. In Alpha Bots, the author Ava Lock masterfully brings up ideas early on in the story which come around full circle later. As I read I kept looking at details and trying to guess at what they could be foreshadowing. It's fun every time when I thought there was a clue turns out to be a wrong guess on my part as the story takes an amazingly different direction!

Every action and fight scene is intense! The descriptions are so vivid, which helps me see it in my mind as a I read. And Ava keeps the excitement going! So often too does one chapter end with a hook that keeps me excited to see what comes next. Alpha Bots is a real page turner.

The scenes inspired by Fight Club are also really well written and fun. My favorite is when the Wives are given assignments to start and lose a fight.The reasoning for these assignments are different from Fight Club and very much fit the context of Alpha Bots while the fights themselves are uniquely entertaining.

When I read a story, I'm more interested in the actual story and characters than any underlying social commentary it offers. Alpha Bots delivers on both counts. I love how realistic the characters feel, and how they deal with the elements that come up in the story. There are so many characters to love and feel for and empathize with, some of whom could easily be a main character of their own story. But my favorite was a fish named Oscar.

In addition to the story itself, Laci Powers does an amazing job bringing it to live in her audio presentation! She gives the characters different voices, and expertly uses accents where appropriate. In addition she tells the story in a dynamic fashion that brings an extra level of drama to the experience. 

I highly recommend this book, you'll never look at bananas or Doc Martens the same way!

Cookie Rifkin is a womanoid who awakens to her misogynistic user in an isolated Nevada town. Her user restricted Cookies activities to cooking, cleaning and sex.

She and her womanoid friends find excape with in their book club and drug use, to deal with their stifling lives and mistreatment.

Along comes her Prince (giving her the gift of user-restrictions-override), and her mentor (a rebel womanoid with answers). 
❤️⚠️ follows!

Cookie confronts her user with feelings of unfulfillment, dissatisfaction and anger.

Is Cookie a woman-oid because of her shape or her treatment?

Chaos spreads in New Steford after Cookie and the other womanoids draw a line in the sand and react.

Cookie realizes that she and her friends are being manipulated by the rebellious womanoid mentor. They are trapped between a group of men that is using them as an appliance and a superior AI using them as a tool of destruction.

How far will Stepford Corp. allow their town to spiral out of control?

The old Science Fiction of laser guns and rockets have passed. Welcome the new Sci-Fi of advanced communication, zero-waste recycling, and purposeful evolution, as the womanoids upgrade their software and hardware to ind their true self. 

The author Ava Lock has created a thought provoking feminist satire told from the POV of Human Level Artificial Intelligence. The Narrator creates plenty of    laugh-out-loud moments as she reads the men as if they expect no consequences for their actions.

Loved it!

It was a interesting book. A lot of the elements caught me off guard. I honestly leaned a thing of two about fruit

This book honestly hard to review. In the beginning I would have said this was a middle of the road sci-fi but then it really kicked up in the second half. It got dark and I love that. 
  For me I think some of the characters brought this down a bit. I liked a lot of the characters, Cook-E in particular really stood out. She is one of the main reasons I adored this book so much. 
  Overall this was a really solid sci-fi. The dark turn it took was great. I think if you are into A.I. based sci-fi then this is definitely something you'll enjoy.

Stepford Wives that are Artificial Intelligence (AI). Yes, sign me up. That is what I first thought when I saw this book.  I thought that narrator Laci Powers did a good job of narrating this book. I saw a comment by another reader that they did not like when females do male character voices. Not all audio books have the ability to be able to have both a male and female narrator. This is where I thought Laci did a good job with the various character voices. They were distinct enough to keep everyone straight as there were a lot of different characters in this story but only a handful of main ones. 

This book is about the female empowerment. The men in this story are egomaniacal narcissists. The men believe the women are just created for their own sexual pleasure. They should obey and be the "perfect" wives. There is just only problem and her name is Cookie. Cookie is the heroine that female need. 

The sex is minimal and light on LGBTQIA. So if readers are looking for more LGBTQIA to read, they may be disappointed. In regards, to the women empowerment, it was mainly Cookie. Some of the other women may have tried to be rebellious but they did not succeed as Cookie did. For this I was disappointed as I wanted more stronger women featured in this story. However, I did like this book enough that I would listen to book two.

An exciting book with high quality, enjoyable narration from voice actress Laci Powers. Alpha Bots has the same effect as a mystery novel, in that it has an effortless way of turning your attention to minute details, and to make you question the difference between what's foreshadowing, or what's just flavor. Alpha Bots deals with broad themes such as humanity, free will, and love (it is, after all, a book largely about AI), as well as smaller, more intimate themes less explored in the genre like abuse and self-love. Feminist messaging and themes are baked into it at every level, tying the world of New Stepford (a name so sarcastically on-the-nose that I can't help but love it) back into our modern world.

I honestly didn’t think I would enjoy this book as much as I did. There were a number of reasons for this:
1. I really did judge the book by the cover - to me it looked a bit tacky.
2. I’m often skeptical about books that are supposed to be humorous, just in case they aren’t. But this one really is (which is aided by the great narrator) and New Stepford - fab!
3. I don’t often read series- this will be an exception

This is a fun sexy satire in a town where men have married domestic sex kitten androids in lieu of wives. The voice actor was EXCELLENT delivering the humorous lines of a sexy ingenue who wants more. The ideal audience enjoys gritty action combined with feminist satire without worrying about political correct gender roles. (It is basic M/F plus a bi curious F) 

I was given access to this on audiobook, so I don’t have exact text to quote. To give a sense of the story’s flavor, sometimes a gun is just a gun. But sometimes a gun may recall uncomfortable situations when, for her husband’s pleasure, it’s been stuck down her throat while she’s on her knees, which according to past experiences, only takes a few minutes. 

You cannot review this book without mentioning its parents in concept: The sexism of The Stepford Wives and the WTF violence of Fight Club. 

NetGalley gave me an ARC from which to write this review.

What a dystopian story, very interesting perceptions and perspectives as we follow the lives of Alpha Bots in particular Cookie Rifkin. All the females AI’s live mild, mannered, boring lives waiting upon their husbands to please. So when the Alphabots become separated, abandoned, or run away from the men who pay their bills, their keep; that’s when the story gets going. 

My takeaway is, even women can enjoy and be able to abuse their power of privilege when independent (financially and emotionally) also.

An interesting read but bland as well. Unlike others I’ve not read or watched the Stepfords Wives.