<i> "Doesn't it scare you, what you could have lost? What could be damaged?" Sterling said, and Zev shook his head, and the military bot, in all of his static face plate pieces, actually smiled. Sterling asked: “Why not?"

"To be loved is to be changed," Zev answered, quiet but certain, even, still. "And we are both changed." </i>

Presenting a unique foray into the mind of a labour bot, the Warm Machine asks not only the age-old question of can artificial intelligence truly experience life, but also, can it experience love?

I loved this book. I loved it so much, I was low key devastated to reach the end, because I wanted to stay longer in the world of Zev and Sterling as they discovered all the possibilities open to them as two anomalous bots.

As a fellow writer — and a lover of science fiction — this story both soothed and rankled every urge I’ve ever had to write a queer robot-focused story. Soothed, because this was utter perfection, and so, so easy to fall into and lose myself in a rich tale. And rankled, because, wow, I will never write anything as amazing as this story.

My only tiny note is that I’d love to learn more about the world within this story. I eagerly hope there will be more in this world, and, if not, I’ll carry this story close as one of my new favourite books.

Thank you to the publishers for granting me access to this ARC via NetGalley.

Thank you to the author and NetGalley for giving me an ARC.

The Warm Machine follows Sterling, a construction bot, who starts having feelings and thoughts that are outside of his programming. Zev, a military bot, tells Sterling he's anomalous, and saves him from decomission. Together, they set off to find Root, a robot utopia with no humans.

This was a really sweet and unique read. I really liked Sterling, his anxiety around Zev putting himself in dangerous situations was so relatable, and his journey to put names to what he was thinking and feeling was so lovely to see. His dynamic with Zev was great. I really liked Zev's insistance on upgrading Sterling and when he finally admitted that he liked Sterling it was such a fantastic moment. Although not explicitly a love story, in that no one says I love you, the care and gentleness that Sterling and Zev treat one another with is so heartwarming. As Zav says to be loved is to be changed, and both Zev and Sterling go through some pretty huge changes throughout the novel.

I wouldn't necessarily call this a cozy read, as there are some pretty intense action scenes, but it was certainly wholesome.