This book surprised me in the best way. The Second Life of Jameson Duggins is emotional, heartbreaking, and completely fascinating. The idea of Theo bringing Jamie back after losing him right before he could confess his feelings already had me hooked, but the story becomes so much more than a sci-fi concept. It’s about grief, love, friendship, identity, and just how far we might go to get someone back when we aren’t ready to let them go.

I really loved the relationship between Theo and Jamie, and the combination of LGBTQ+ romance with the science-fiction elements worked beautifully for me. There’s plenty here to make you think, but it still feels like a very human story at its heart.

Thank you to NetGalley and SD Press for the advanced copy. All thoughts are my own.

Thank you Netgalley for this eARC, these opinions are my own. A beautiful story of grief and love! Theo’s world is turned upside down when his best friend Jamie dies. Especially as Theo was with him when it happened and had been planning on professing his love. He can’t bare being without Jamie so he does something he shouldn’t. Using his late father’s lab he brings Jamie back to life piece by piece. This Jamie might have synthetic skin but he looks and thinks like actual Jamie did. And shouldn’t that be enough? Theo falls deeper in love with Jamie but then the military comes asking questions about Theo’s fathers work and they seem to have an interest in Jamie as well. And what’s worse, Theo feels like there is something going on with his mother, something he can’t quite trust. He’s lost Jamie once, he refuses to lose him again. But in his determination to keep him what else might he lose? I enjoyed the sci-fi romance aspects of this one! I enjoyed how Simon Doyle used tech to help Theo keep Jamie alive! I liked the action, the heartbreak, the heartwarming moments, and the connection between Jamie and Theo! Highly recommend!