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This is Me #1
This is Me.
This is an alternate cover edition for: B01HOW0KO2.
Can his love be real when he isn’t?
As Chloe works toward her big break as a singer, Rogan, a personalized robot, provides protection, assistance, and companionship. But as she begins to rely on him a little too much, those around her become worried, especially Niven, the handsome new man in Chloe’s life. And while Niven grows closer to Chloe, Rogan grows more human, setting up for a man against machine battle for Chloe’s heart. Choosing Rogan, though, could be more dangerous than she imagined.
Can his love be real when he isn’t?
As Chloe works toward her big break as a singer, Rogan, a personalized robot, provides protection, assistance, and companionship. But as she begins to rely on him a little too much, those around her become worried, especially Niven, the handsome new man in Chloe’s life. And while Niven grows closer to Chloe, Rogan grows more human, setting up for a man against machine battle for Chloe’s heart. Choosing Rogan, though, could be more dangerous than she imagined.
310 pages, Paperback
Published August 11, 2016
About the author
C.E. Wilson
21 books578 followersC.E. Wilson was born in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, grew up in Millersville, Pennsylvania, and has been living in Pittsburgh since 2009. For the first few years living in Pittsburgh, she was an English teacher. Her first book, "Oath of Servitude," was published in 2012. In 2013, she quit teaching to be a full time author and hasn't looked back since. She loves spending time with her daughter and husband.
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 86 reviews
September 25, 2016
4 stars!!!
This is the first novel that I've read by C.E. Wilson and I must say that I'm really impressed. The story is so complex with raw emotions abound. The story centers around a girl named Chloe who lives in the city with her ASIST (Anthropomorphic Sentient Individualized Servile uniT) named Rogan. Rogan is a robot and provides Chloe with companionship. However, one day Rogan disobeys a command in order to please her. Suddenly, Chloe feels that something has changed about him. The story is focused on how Chloe battles with her feelings for Rogan even when she meets the charming and handsome Niven Adams.
With regards to the characters, I found Chloe to be a really likeable MC. She is quirky and independent. Throughout the story, it was easy to understand her conflicting emotions regarding Rogan. I liked how she dealt with her struggles and emotions. Yes, she does cave in at times but that's what makes her human. She has flaws. I also liked how she related with her family. Rogan, on the other hand, was the perfect book boyfriend. I guess this made it easy to hate Niven. The interactions between Chloe and him were just heartbreaking. I even cried at times. It was just so emotional. His parts were the best - how he tried to deal with his feelings for Chloe and feeling left out. I can't even begin how to frame it - you just need to read the book to understand it. I can honestly say this is the first time I didn't mind a love triangle. The minor characters were equally captivating. I liked how the author gave a backstory for each one of them. This helped them to play their parts well and added dimension to the story.
The pacing for the story was good. But I have removed a star mainly due to the fact that there were POV changes within a chapter that at times, got very confusing. But I guess that can be overlooked considering the content made up for it. I also liked that although, this book is New Adult, there were no gratuitous sex scenes. There is sex mentioned in the book, but it done in a tasteful way and is not front and center of the story.
The plot of the story was more focused on acceptance - about embracing diversity. The book delves into issues like racism and hate crimes which I thought was a powerful message for a sci-fi book. I guess that's the main reason why I liked this story a lot. It brings to light some major issues but it is done in a fictional setting with futuristic elements. At the end of the day, I would recommend this book to anyone who is looking for a sci-fi novel with a deep and meaningful story. This one is definitely worth a read. :)
This is the first novel that I've read by C.E. Wilson and I must say that I'm really impressed. The story is so complex with raw emotions abound. The story centers around a girl named Chloe who lives in the city with her ASIST (Anthropomorphic Sentient Individualized Servile uniT) named Rogan. Rogan is a robot and provides Chloe with companionship. However, one day Rogan disobeys a command in order to please her. Suddenly, Chloe feels that something has changed about him. The story is focused on how Chloe battles with her feelings for Rogan even when she meets the charming and handsome Niven Adams.
With regards to the characters, I found Chloe to be a really likeable MC. She is quirky and independent. Throughout the story, it was easy to understand her conflicting emotions regarding Rogan. I liked how she dealt with her struggles and emotions. Yes, she does cave in at times but that's what makes her human. She has flaws. I also liked how she related with her family. Rogan, on the other hand, was the perfect book boyfriend. I guess this made it easy to hate Niven. The interactions between Chloe and him were just heartbreaking. I even cried at times. It was just so emotional. His parts were the best - how he tried to deal with his feelings for Chloe and feeling left out. I can't even begin how to frame it - you just need to read the book to understand it. I can honestly say this is the first time I didn't mind a love triangle. The minor characters were equally captivating. I liked how the author gave a backstory for each one of them. This helped them to play their parts well and added dimension to the story.
The pacing for the story was good. But I have removed a star mainly due to the fact that there were POV changes within a chapter that at times, got very confusing. But I guess that can be overlooked considering the content made up for it. I also liked that although, this book is New Adult, there were no gratuitous sex scenes. There is sex mentioned in the book, but it done in a tasteful way and is not front and center of the story.
The plot of the story was more focused on acceptance - about embracing diversity. The book delves into issues like racism and hate crimes which I thought was a powerful message for a sci-fi book. I guess that's the main reason why I liked this story a lot. It brings to light some major issues but it is done in a fictional setting with futuristic elements. At the end of the day, I would recommend this book to anyone who is looking for a sci-fi novel with a deep and meaningful story. This one is definitely worth a read. :)
August 9, 2016
I received a copy from the author, In exchange for an honest review.
I'm pleased and very happy to have decided to review this book, I found one of the most original, sweet and deep history that I've read. I loved!
This story is about a young woman,Chole , to which her parents gave her a companion robot, called Rogan to serve her in everything she need , called an Asist. And then the romance jumps to the scene and it was amazing.
What I most loved about this book is the question that C. E formula, "What really Makes a person a person?", That opens up many possibilities and invites you to think about it, and how it applies in Rogan under the point of view of Chole. Can this robot have real feelings?. Can he learn to love?
It is very exciting to read and to discover how the plot unfolds. It's fun, attractive, easy story to read, but also plays with profound themes and without doubt gonna touch something in you, as it did in me :)
Highly recommended !
August 9, 2016
I received a free copy of this eARC from the author in exchange for an honest review.
An A-SIST is an Anthropomorphic Sentient Individualized Servile uniT - in other words, they are customizable humanoid robotic servants that can act as bodyguards, assistants, and companions to their human owners. Rogan is one such Asist providing companionship to Chloe, a lonely young substitute teacher in the city who's hoping to get a big break as a singer. Since her parents purchased Rogan for her before her move to the city, he's been perfectly responsible if a little dead-eyed. One day, she's surprised to see that he disobeys a direct order in order to please her, and there seems to be a spark of something new in his artificial eyes. As Chloe begins to fall for the handsome Niven, who unfortunately doesn't approve of Asists, let alone any kind of personal relationship with one, Rogan tries to prove to Chloe that he's more than just a mass-produced robot. Chloe will have to decide what really makes a person real - a heart or something else.
C. E. Wilson's novels just keep getting better and better, and so far This is Me. is my favorite of her work. It's New Adult fiction tinged with sci-fi and set ten minutes into the future. In this very near future people can purchase and personalize Asists which are very human-like robots to accompany them. Chloe's Asist, Rogan, appears to be changing and learning more than should be possible. Chloe believes she is beginning to fall in love with him, although she knows that he shouldn't be able to reciprocate her feelings since he's just an ASIST, but after all of the progress that Rogan has made she isn't so sure of that what she's seeing from him is just programming. Relationships, of any sort, with Asists aren't exactly socially approved of as she's learning from her potential human boyfriend, but she knows she has something special with Rogan that she doesn't want to let go. The characters are particularly well written, with Rogan being the shining star of the piece. I loved following his journey throughout the novel as he grows. As for secondary characters, I particularly enjoyed Fitz, a student teacher who resembles Sam Winchester from Supernatural, along with his Asist Mini. Usually, romance isn't my go-to genre, but it's handled in a great way that also makes you think.
Overall, This is Me. is definitely worth trying. If you enjoyed C.E. Wilson's previous series, The Boy with the Words, you will certainly enjoy her newest release. I'm looking forward to more from this author, and perhaps more from Chloe and Rogan's world.
An A-SIST is an Anthropomorphic Sentient Individualized Servile uniT - in other words, they are customizable humanoid robotic servants that can act as bodyguards, assistants, and companions to their human owners. Rogan is one such Asist providing companionship to Chloe, a lonely young substitute teacher in the city who's hoping to get a big break as a singer. Since her parents purchased Rogan for her before her move to the city, he's been perfectly responsible if a little dead-eyed. One day, she's surprised to see that he disobeys a direct order in order to please her, and there seems to be a spark of something new in his artificial eyes. As Chloe begins to fall for the handsome Niven, who unfortunately doesn't approve of Asists, let alone any kind of personal relationship with one, Rogan tries to prove to Chloe that he's more than just a mass-produced robot. Chloe will have to decide what really makes a person real - a heart or something else.
C. E. Wilson's novels just keep getting better and better, and so far This is Me. is my favorite of her work. It's New Adult fiction tinged with sci-fi and set ten minutes into the future. In this very near future people can purchase and personalize Asists which are very human-like robots to accompany them. Chloe's Asist, Rogan, appears to be changing and learning more than should be possible. Chloe believes she is beginning to fall in love with him, although she knows that he shouldn't be able to reciprocate her feelings since he's just an ASIST, but after all of the progress that Rogan has made she isn't so sure of that what she's seeing from him is just programming. Relationships, of any sort, with Asists aren't exactly socially approved of as she's learning from her potential human boyfriend, but she knows she has something special with Rogan that she doesn't want to let go. The characters are particularly well written, with Rogan being the shining star of the piece. I loved following his journey throughout the novel as he grows. As for secondary characters, I particularly enjoyed Fitz, a student teacher who resembles Sam Winchester from Supernatural, along with his Asist Mini. Usually, romance isn't my go-to genre, but it's handled in a great way that also makes you think.
Overall, This is Me. is definitely worth trying. If you enjoyed C.E. Wilson's previous series, The Boy with the Words, you will certainly enjoy her newest release. I'm looking forward to more from this author, and perhaps more from Chloe and Rogan's world.
August 9, 2016
2.5 “Killer Concept” Stars
This is actually one of those books that makes me want to cry out of frustration. Look at that damn blurb and tell me if this doesn’t sound amazing?
I was dying to read this from the moment I heard of it (during a cover reveal blog tour), and I was more than happy to request an e-ARC.
The frustrating part? I didn’t like it half as much as I wanted to.
And I tried. I truly tried because I wanted to experience all the possibilities this concept could’ve brought to light. I wanted to watch a human fall in love with her A-SIST – her robot. I wanted to watch her fight those feelings because that couldn’t be good for her or real. I wanted to watch the robot develop feelings and go beyond what he was programmed to do. I wanted this epic love.
But that’s not what I got here.
In my opinion, the book started in the wrong place. When we meet Chloe and Rogan, they’re already involved in some sort of romantic relationship. Or at least a sexual one, and I felt robbed of the moment these two decided to take what should’ve been a A-SIST-companion relationship to the next level. Why wouldn’t I get to see it?
Why didn’t I get to watch Chloe’s decision to look at her A-SIST, Rogan, and go “hmmm, maybe he’s good for other things, too?” Or something a lot less cheesy.
I can’t say we didn’t get pages of Chloe trying to convince herself that Rogan was just a robot and he couldn’t possibly feel something genuine for her, and more pages of her doubting her decisions of being intimate with her. They were there, but they weren’t executed in a way that made me feel anything. And I blame it in my lack of connection with Chloe.
I didn’t like her that much.
Rogan? Yeah. He was an interesting character, though he could’ve been a lot more. But Chloe simply didn’t do it for me. When she wasn’t irritating the crap out of me (which was often), she was just… not very interesting.
The big conflict in the story revolves around Chloe’s relationship with Rogan and Niven. The first is her A-SIST and the robot she’s trying not to fall for. The second is a human who hates A-SIST (although I still don’t understand why) and the guy Chloe is trying to fall for.
My biggest problem with this love triangle is that it can’t possibly be consider one, no matter how hard the story tries. No one will root for Niven because he’s creepy and a jerk half the time. But Chloe, for reasons I can’t understand either, doesn’t seem to see it. She refuses to see what’s right in front of her face when Niven does something horrible to Rogan, and that just pissed me off.
The fact that Niven kept giving her ideas on how to get rid of Rogan and she caught herself contemplating them, when five minutes earlier she had just thought about how she’d never do that? Also not a good thing. At all.
To me, Chloe lacked personality, which explains why I couldn’t care about her in any level.
Like I said, Rogan was a much more interesting character, and although we got a few chapters here and then in his POV, I think the story could’ve benefited a lot from developing him further and giving him more space to shine. I would’ve taken a lot less Niven&Chloe for a lot more Rogan, and even Rogan&Chloe, because she was a little better when he was around.
There were other interesting elements to the story, like the relationship between Fitz and his mini A-SIST, that came as a way to show that you don’t have to have a physical relationship with someone to fall for them. It was a bit creepy (I have to admit), but I understood what the writer was trying to say. Not a bad message.
The world building needed a lot of work. I have no sense of when this story is supposed to be happening. I’m guessing the present from the pop references (Mary J. Blige, True Blood and stuff like that), but that would make no sense because we’re nowhere near having robots like the A-SISTS. Either make it sometime in the future or give me something to explain how our current word got the point that A-SISTS can be a thing. I didn’t get any of that.
The writing also didn’t pull me in, because I spent a lot of time thinking the dialogue was juvenile or getting distracted by the POV violation. Those were bad. Really bad.
I’m sorry I sound cranky, but it’s hard to contain my disappointment. I really, really wanted to love this book, but the problems I had with it were too big to ignore. Sad. Really sad. To be perfectly honest, those 2.5 stars are only there because I loved the concept and I wanted to like this.
This is actually one of those books that makes me want to cry out of frustration. Look at that damn blurb and tell me if this doesn’t sound amazing?
I was dying to read this from the moment I heard of it (during a cover reveal blog tour), and I was more than happy to request an e-ARC.
The frustrating part? I didn’t like it half as much as I wanted to.
And I tried. I truly tried because I wanted to experience all the possibilities this concept could’ve brought to light. I wanted to watch a human fall in love with her A-SIST – her robot. I wanted to watch her fight those feelings because that couldn’t be good for her or real. I wanted to watch the robot develop feelings and go beyond what he was programmed to do. I wanted this epic love.
But that’s not what I got here.
In my opinion, the book started in the wrong place. When we meet Chloe and Rogan, they’re already involved in some sort of romantic relationship. Or at least a sexual one, and I felt robbed of the moment these two decided to take what should’ve been a A-SIST-companion relationship to the next level. Why wouldn’t I get to see it?
Why didn’t I get to watch Chloe’s decision to look at her A-SIST, Rogan, and go “hmmm, maybe he’s good for other things, too?” Or something a lot less cheesy.
I can’t say we didn’t get pages of Chloe trying to convince herself that Rogan was just a robot and he couldn’t possibly feel something genuine for her, and more pages of her doubting her decisions of being intimate with her. They were there, but they weren’t executed in a way that made me feel anything. And I blame it in my lack of connection with Chloe.
I didn’t like her that much.
Rogan? Yeah. He was an interesting character, though he could’ve been a lot more. But Chloe simply didn’t do it for me. When she wasn’t irritating the crap out of me (which was often), she was just… not very interesting.
The big conflict in the story revolves around Chloe’s relationship with Rogan and Niven. The first is her A-SIST and the robot she’s trying not to fall for. The second is a human who hates A-SIST (although I still don’t understand why) and the guy Chloe is trying to fall for.
My biggest problem with this love triangle is that it can’t possibly be consider one, no matter how hard the story tries. No one will root for Niven because he’s creepy and a jerk half the time. But Chloe, for reasons I can’t understand either, doesn’t seem to see it. She refuses to see what’s right in front of her face when Niven does something horrible to Rogan, and that just pissed me off.
The fact that Niven kept giving her ideas on how to get rid of Rogan and she caught herself contemplating them, when five minutes earlier she had just thought about how she’d never do that? Also not a good thing. At all.
To me, Chloe lacked personality, which explains why I couldn’t care about her in any level.
Like I said, Rogan was a much more interesting character, and although we got a few chapters here and then in his POV, I think the story could’ve benefited a lot from developing him further and giving him more space to shine. I would’ve taken a lot less Niven&Chloe for a lot more Rogan, and even Rogan&Chloe, because she was a little better when he was around.
There were other interesting elements to the story, like the relationship between Fitz and his mini A-SIST, that came as a way to show that you don’t have to have a physical relationship with someone to fall for them. It was a bit creepy (I have to admit), but I understood what the writer was trying to say. Not a bad message.
The world building needed a lot of work. I have no sense of when this story is supposed to be happening. I’m guessing the present from the pop references (Mary J. Blige, True Blood and stuff like that), but that would make no sense because we’re nowhere near having robots like the A-SISTS. Either make it sometime in the future or give me something to explain how our current word got the point that A-SISTS can be a thing. I didn’t get any of that.
The writing also didn’t pull me in, because I spent a lot of time thinking the dialogue was juvenile or getting distracted by the POV violation. Those were bad. Really bad.
I’m sorry I sound cranky, but it’s hard to contain my disappointment. I really, really wanted to love this book, but the problems I had with it were too big to ignore. Sad. Really sad. To be perfectly honest, those 2.5 stars are only there because I loved the concept and I wanted to like this.
July 30, 2016
The author provided me with an early copy of the book in exchange for an honest review.
I have worked with this author before when I read “The Boy with Words” and I have to say I really enjoyed this book so much more. The cover doesn’t do it justice. I would suggest changing it. The story made you think about the very real possibility of artificial intelligence being used in the far future to care for our needs and what would it mean then. Would they have rights? Would their artificial intelligence evolve on its own? It really got me thinking. The story was well paced and while it did have a filler scene here and there, it wasn’t boring. It made me want to keep reading to see how the relationship between Rogan and Chloe’s relationship. It was also nice to see the story focus on the journeys of the other characters. It made it feel more fleshed out. Also, being a teacher myself, I enjoy the whole teacher problems all of us face and highly related to that.
When it comes to the writing, the writing was easy to follow, not chunked together. Plus, the wording has improved a lot from the previous book. The story was narrated in third person, however, there was a problem with the POV. It kept changing sometimes sentence to sentence. I understand that it’s told in third person but even if it is, it needs to be told from a character’s point of view and when the POV changes, it normally is in another chapter. (Take Throne of Glass as an example) Either way, once I got over it, the story still remained enjoyable.
Now, the characters. I will be honest when I say that Chloe annoyed me. This hopping back and forth between guys and indecision exasperated me. I was ready to shake that girl. UGH! I did enjoy Rogan’s cuteness and attentiveness. I even enjoyed Nivern. He made me crack up so many times. OH and Bree! HA! I loved that girl! It was enjoyable to see some of the themes from “The Boy with Words” being incorporated to this story. The characters mixed well together, even though Nivern’s ‘friends’ felt out of place, the cast was constructed well and complemented each other’s personality and personal journeys.
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All in all, it was an enjoyable read. I feel that this author will continue to improve and her stories will show that just as they have so far.
I have worked with this author before when I read “The Boy with Words” and I have to say I really enjoyed this book so much more. The cover doesn’t do it justice. I would suggest changing it. The story made you think about the very real possibility of artificial intelligence being used in the far future to care for our needs and what would it mean then. Would they have rights? Would their artificial intelligence evolve on its own? It really got me thinking. The story was well paced and while it did have a filler scene here and there, it wasn’t boring. It made me want to keep reading to see how the relationship between Rogan and Chloe’s relationship. It was also nice to see the story focus on the journeys of the other characters. It made it feel more fleshed out. Also, being a teacher myself, I enjoy the whole teacher problems all of us face and highly related to that.
When it comes to the writing, the writing was easy to follow, not chunked together. Plus, the wording has improved a lot from the previous book. The story was narrated in third person, however, there was a problem with the POV. It kept changing sometimes sentence to sentence. I understand that it’s told in third person but even if it is, it needs to be told from a character’s point of view and when the POV changes, it normally is in another chapter. (Take Throne of Glass as an example) Either way, once I got over it, the story still remained enjoyable.
Now, the characters. I will be honest when I say that Chloe annoyed me. This hopping back and forth between guys and indecision exasperated me. I was ready to shake that girl. UGH! I did enjoy Rogan’s cuteness and attentiveness. I even enjoyed Nivern. He made me crack up so many times. OH and Bree! HA! I loved that girl! It was enjoyable to see some of the themes from “The Boy with Words” being incorporated to this story. The characters mixed well together, even though Nivern’s ‘friends’ felt out of place, the cast was constructed well and complemented each other’s personality and personal journeys.
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All in all, it was an enjoyable read. I feel that this author will continue to improve and her stories will show that just as they have so far.
June 26, 2016
The author provided a copy of the ARC in exchange for an honest review.
How is one defined—personally, emotionally, physically and intellectually? C. E. Wilson brilliantly explores humanity or lack thereof in this truly original read, This Is Me.
Chloe has finished college and she is beginning her journey away from home. She loves to sing and works as a substitute teacher. Her graduation gift from her parents is Rogan—a robot or personalized humanoid companion—also known as an Asist. Rogan is learning how to be perfect for Chloe and attend to her daily needs. Rogan is pure in the truest sense of the word. Rogan’s loyalty is unwavering. Rogan is all this is good.
Chloe meets Niven Adams and begins spending time with this man. Niven’s feelings and behavior are questionable but Chloe is blinded by this smooth talker. Niven is not a fan of Asists.
This Is Me is a fascinating look at human behavior and needs. C. E. Wilson explores many topics including but not limited to the ability to love and to be loved, friendship, equality, racism, prejudice, hate crimes and bullying to name a few. Society continues to struggle with these issues. Why? The many twists and turns make This Is Me a page-turner. As secrets are revealed the reality of their world is exposed and challenged in this well-written novel.
This touching love story will not disappoint.
How is one defined—personally, emotionally, physically and intellectually? C. E. Wilson brilliantly explores humanity or lack thereof in this truly original read, This Is Me.
Chloe has finished college and she is beginning her journey away from home. She loves to sing and works as a substitute teacher. Her graduation gift from her parents is Rogan—a robot or personalized humanoid companion—also known as an Asist. Rogan is learning how to be perfect for Chloe and attend to her daily needs. Rogan is pure in the truest sense of the word. Rogan’s loyalty is unwavering. Rogan is all this is good.
Chloe meets Niven Adams and begins spending time with this man. Niven’s feelings and behavior are questionable but Chloe is blinded by this smooth talker. Niven is not a fan of Asists.
This Is Me is a fascinating look at human behavior and needs. C. E. Wilson explores many topics including but not limited to the ability to love and to be loved, friendship, equality, racism, prejudice, hate crimes and bullying to name a few. Society continues to struggle with these issues. Why? The many twists and turns make This Is Me a page-turner. As secrets are revealed the reality of their world is exposed and challenged in this well-written novel.
This touching love story will not disappoint.
March 8, 2017
I was not a fan of this book. Not only did it have a ridiculous love triangle but the heroine was a repulsive disgrace. The story concept did have promise but the delivery was not well executed. I could not stand the heroine. Her character came across as continually selfish and inconsiderate. All of the characters in this book had a juvenile/immature feel to them. The story was overly predictable and quite cliché. At least it was offered as a kindleunlimited.
October 31, 2017
Wow! What a wonderful sci-fi romance! The question of what's real and what's not and what's alive and what isn't, is explored in this beautiful story about a woman, her robot companion, and her jealous love interest. Can a machine learn to love?
Even the secondary characters were interesting and lovable. I had a hard time putting this down!
Even the secondary characters were interesting and lovable. I had a hard time putting this down!
July 15, 2016
(I received a copy from the author, In exchange for an honest review.)
I didn't love any of the characters in this, but most of the were okay.
It took me a while to get into this one, and even after I did there were still times where I felt a bit bored. There were parts of it that dragged slightly because of it, but overall, it was an okay read.
I didn't love any of the characters in this, but most of the were okay.
It took me a while to get into this one, and even after I did there were still times where I felt a bit bored. There were parts of it that dragged slightly because of it, but overall, it was an okay read.
January 30, 2017
I received a free ebook from the author for an honest review.
I thought this book was really cute!
It kept my attention and I thought the plot was very interesting.
I did have a slight issue with the weird time jump that happened once in the book.
Other than that I really enjoyed this
I thought this book was really cute!
It kept my attention and I thought the plot was very interesting.
I did have a slight issue with the weird time jump that happened once in the book.
Other than that I really enjoyed this
August 8, 2016
You can read this review and more on my blog:
The plot:
I am a huge fan of old fashioned science fiction, but I have trouble finding newer books that use those classic formulas so this was a bit of a treat.
Chloe is a young woman who lives in a world filled with androids. These androids are called Assist and their entire purpose is to please their human owners. When Chloe gets a job in the city as a substitute teacher, her parents will only allow her to move under the condition that she take an Assist with her for protection.
When the story begins, Chloe has already been living with her Assist, Rogan, for a while, and she has become very attached to him. Not only does she depend on him for protection, but she also uses him for companionship.
Things are complicated when Chloe meets a cute fellow music lover and teacher named Niven. Niven is fun, they have a lot in common, and most importantly he is human. But no matter how great Niven is, Chloe can’t shake the connection she feels with Rogan.
The characters:
I am going to preface this section by saying I didn’t really like any of the characters in this book. While they were all interesting, none of them were all that likable, but I still enjoyed reading about them. They were complicated and messy, and sometimes that is enough to hold my interest.
Niven was very well written. I think he kind of got a bum rap in this book because he had some hateful feelings towards Assist. Prejudice was a major theme in story. And because he hated Assist, Niven was treated like a bigot by some. I however don’t know how I feel about that. Even the people who claimed to view Assist as humans still treated them like property. Niven just didn’t like the fact that Assist were basically perfect human beings who could take everything from him.
It’s one thing to be born different and treated cruelly for that fact, but Assist were built and programmed not born. Niven was faced with the very real reality of his girlfriend having sexual and romantic feelings for a robot who had been programmed to fulfill her every wish. That is not an easy thing to compete with, and I just don’t think the dude was out of line for wanting her to get rid of Rogan.
Chloe was a very confusing character who came across as unreasonable when it came to both Rogan and Niven. On one hand she got angry with Niven when he kept secrets from her, but she kept her sexual relationship with Rogan from Niven for a very long time and even lied to him about it. She also wasn’t fair to Rogan because it was obvious that her relationship with Niven was hurting Rogan and she ignored his pain.
One minute she would yell at Niven for treating Rogan like a thing instead of a person, and then the next minute she would tell herself that Rogan couldn’t possibly be hurt by her because he was just a machine. She just never made much sense to me.
Rogan was a very interesting character. I always enjoy reading about machines becoming self aware, and this time was no different. However, since most of his personality was defined by his feelings for Chloe, I will discuss him more in the next part of the review.
The romance:
This book was much more mature that any other I have read by this author, and there's no doubt that this book is intended for adults. Chloe and Rogan have a sexual relationship and the author makes it clear how much Chloe enjoys it. But the author makes that clear without any explicit details. Sex is used to drive the plot as opposed to becoming the plot.
At first, their physical relationship is more clinical than romantic. The romance involved the things Rogan would say to her more than the things they did behind closed doors.
I have to admit, I was very interested in who Chloe was going to end up with, but I had absolutely no dog in the fight. Niven had some great moments, but he was human and therefore imperfect. And Rogan was perfect in every way, but he had also been programmed that way.
So basically she could have a perfect man who had no choice but to love her, or a flawed man who loved her because he wanted to not because he had to.
Major spoiler. Do not click unless you want to ruin the book. I just need to get this off my chest.
Final thoughts:
As you can see, I had a lot of thoughts on this book. So even though I didn’t love the characters or the romance, I enjoyed the process of reading it. This book was messy and complicated, and sometimes that's more fun to read.
If you are in the mood for something different, and enjoy Sci-fi, I highly recommend you give this a read.
Because of sexual content and language, I would recommend this book for ages 17 and up. There were no detailed sex scenes.
This review was originally posted on Kookie Krysp Reads
I am a huge fan of old fashioned science fiction, but I have trouble finding newer books that use those classic formulas so this was a bit of a treat.
Chloe is a young woman who lives in a world filled with androids. These androids are called Assist and their entire purpose is to please their human owners. When Chloe gets a job in the city as a substitute teacher, her parents will only allow her to move under the condition that she take an Assist with her for protection.
When the story begins, Chloe has already been living with her Assist, Rogan, for a while, and she has become very attached to him. Not only does she depend on him for protection, but she also uses him for companionship.
Things are complicated when Chloe meets a cute fellow music lover and teacher named Niven. Niven is fun, they have a lot in common, and most importantly he is human. But no matter how great Niven is, Chloe can’t shake the connection she feels with Rogan.
The characters:
I am going to preface this section by saying I didn’t really like any of the characters in this book. While they were all interesting, none of them were all that likable, but I still enjoyed reading about them. They were complicated and messy, and sometimes that is enough to hold my interest.
Niven was very well written. I think he kind of got a bum rap in this book because he had some hateful feelings towards Assist. Prejudice was a major theme in story. And because he hated Assist, Niven was treated like a bigot by some. I however don’t know how I feel about that. Even the people who claimed to view Assist as humans still treated them like property. Niven just didn’t like the fact that Assist were basically perfect human beings who could take everything from him.
It’s one thing to be born different and treated cruelly for that fact, but Assist were built and programmed not born. Niven was faced with the very real reality of his girlfriend having sexual and romantic feelings for a robot who had been programmed to fulfill her every wish. That is not an easy thing to compete with, and I just don’t think the dude was out of line for wanting her to get rid of Rogan.
Chloe was a very confusing character who came across as unreasonable when it came to both Rogan and Niven. On one hand she got angry with Niven when he kept secrets from her, but she kept her sexual relationship with Rogan from Niven for a very long time and even lied to him about it. She also wasn’t fair to Rogan because it was obvious that her relationship with Niven was hurting Rogan and she ignored his pain.
One minute she would yell at Niven for treating Rogan like a thing instead of a person, and then the next minute she would tell herself that Rogan couldn’t possibly be hurt by her because he was just a machine. She just never made much sense to me.
Rogan was a very interesting character. I always enjoy reading about machines becoming self aware, and this time was no different. However, since most of his personality was defined by his feelings for Chloe, I will discuss him more in the next part of the review.
The romance:
This book was much more mature that any other I have read by this author, and there's no doubt that this book is intended for adults. Chloe and Rogan have a sexual relationship and the author makes it clear how much Chloe enjoys it. But the author makes that clear without any explicit details. Sex is used to drive the plot as opposed to becoming the plot.
At first, their physical relationship is more clinical than romantic. The romance involved the things Rogan would say to her more than the things they did behind closed doors.
I have to admit, I was very interested in who Chloe was going to end up with, but I had absolutely no dog in the fight. Niven had some great moments, but he was human and therefore imperfect. And Rogan was perfect in every way, but he had also been programmed that way.
So basically she could have a perfect man who had no choice but to love her, or a flawed man who loved her because he wanted to not because he had to.
Major spoiler. Do not click unless you want to ruin the book. I just need to get this off my chest.
Final thoughts:
As you can see, I had a lot of thoughts on this book. So even though I didn’t love the characters or the romance, I enjoyed the process of reading it. This book was messy and complicated, and sometimes that's more fun to read.
If you are in the mood for something different, and enjoy Sci-fi, I highly recommend you give this a read.
Because of sexual content and language, I would recommend this book for ages 17 and up. There were no detailed sex scenes.
This review was originally posted on Kookie Krysp Reads
August 11, 2016
I recived this book in exchange for an honest review and it in no way affects my thoughts.
This author keeps getting better and better with her works! I also love how all of her works are so strange. I know that's a weird way to phase it but it's actually a good thing! I've never seen some of the things she comes up with in books before and in a world where hardly anything is original anymore... this is refeshing! This is a good strange ha ha.
Now to the actual review. Does anyone else love Rogan? Because I thought he was such a well developed character and his romance with Chole is just so cute! I will say that the biggest thing this book had going for it was the sex. This is a new adult book so there is some sex but unlike most other new adult or even adult books, it's not the plot. It actually helps further the plot along which is such a breath of fresh air. Too many books have too much sex and no plot and those books drive me utterly insane. Sex is not a plot!
As for Chole, I really like her as the main character, she's smart and really trying hard to make her dream. She and Rogan are the best characters in this story to me. They really make it shine and the author has done a great job of making them feel real of making this whole world feel real and that can sometimes be hard to do with science fiction but somehow she makes it work.
Overall, if you like science fiction, romance, and new adult with a good plot and great characters, than this is for you. It's my favorite work from C.E. Wilson. If you have read any of her work and enjoyed it than you'll love this too! If you haven't, this would be a great place to start!
This author keeps getting better and better with her works! I also love how all of her works are so strange. I know that's a weird way to phase it but it's actually a good thing! I've never seen some of the things she comes up with in books before and in a world where hardly anything is original anymore... this is refeshing! This is a good strange ha ha.
Now to the actual review. Does anyone else love Rogan? Because I thought he was such a well developed character and his romance with Chole is just so cute! I will say that the biggest thing this book had going for it was the sex. This is a new adult book so there is some sex but unlike most other new adult or even adult books, it's not the plot. It actually helps further the plot along which is such a breath of fresh air. Too many books have too much sex and no plot and those books drive me utterly insane. Sex is not a plot!
As for Chole, I really like her as the main character, she's smart and really trying hard to make her dream. She and Rogan are the best characters in this story to me. They really make it shine and the author has done a great job of making them feel real of making this whole world feel real and that can sometimes be hard to do with science fiction but somehow she makes it work.
Overall, if you like science fiction, romance, and new adult with a good plot and great characters, than this is for you. It's my favorite work from C.E. Wilson. If you have read any of her work and enjoyed it than you'll love this too! If you haven't, this would be a great place to start!
August 8, 2016
This book was full of pleasant (and not so pleasant sometimes) surprises, and did a great job of addressing one of the world's biggest issues today in a great way. I loved Rogan and how the author really gave him a personality beyond his programming, clearly illustrating his emerging consciousness. The love story had realistic challenges and a great ending. I would definitely recommend for people who loved the movies "AI", or "I, Robot".
August 11, 2016
A-SIST
Anthropomorphic Sentient Individualized Servile uniT
Rogan is a robot. More specifically, he is an Asist – a personalized humanoid servant that provides protection, assistance, and companionship for a lonely young woman living on her own in the city. Chloe is trying to get her big break, singing at bars and clubs all over the city at night while she pays the bills as a substitute teacher during the day. Ever since she activated him many months ago, Rogan has been her beautiful, dependable, obedient, dead-eyed security blanket.
One morning she is shocked when he disobeys a direct command in an attempt to please her and his dull artificial eyes flash a hint of something new. Is this the result of the adaptive Asist servility programming or is Rogan actually thinking? Can a robot think? Can a robot feel?
As Chloe struggles with these thoughts she is blindsided by the singular Niven Adams, a handsome, confident man with the voice of an angel who is everything she’s ever wanted in a boyfriend. He’s the perfect guy for her, except for one problem. Niven doesn’t approve of Asists and takes an immediate dislike to Rogan. As Niven charms his way deeper and deeper into Chloe’s heart, Rogan tries to convince her that he is more than a mass-produced disposable servant.
With Rogan doing everything in his power to prove that his thoughts and feelings are real and Niven trying to persuade her to abandon her robot and have a normal human relationship, Chloe is trapped between the two things that mean the most to her. Does she embrace her relationship with the blond newcomer, or face that her Asist’s feelings may be more than features of his programming?
What really makes a person a person?
Is it a ticking muscle inside their chest, or is it something more?
Rating: 3.5/5 Penguins
Quick Reasons: creative idea; well-considered closing morals; REALLY annoying love triangle; some unexplained world-building; fair-weather friendships?; an interesting, thought-provoking look at prejudice/the "us against them" argument
A huge thank you to C.E. Wilson for sending me a copy of this title in exchange for an honest review! This in no way altered my read of or opinions on this book.
"It's weird, isn't it? Me and her? It doesn't make sense, but you know what? It doesn't have to. I like her and she likes me. Labels don't matter with the right person, Rogan."
So, I have to preface this review with just one thing: C.E. Wilson is one of the most creative, imaginative writers I've so far had the privilege to work with. Seriously, penguins--her ideas are fresh and unique. Her stories, on top of that, also always leave me reconsidering the world--and my own opinions on certain heavy topics.
This book? Definitely didn't disappoint me. The moral-scope was hard-hitting and thought-provoking while maintaining enough distance from "reality" to keep it unique. There is a poignant, well-considered perspective on prejudice--and the ways prejudice touches/effects everybody--woven into every page of this read. The characters are written in such dynamic ways, and with such vastly differing opinions on the happenings of this world, that readers are given a complex and insightful glimpse into not only this book, but themselves. Yes, the subject of the plot is robots...but this read reaches much further than that, and is SO important in my opinion.
"If flattery embarrasses you," he said, reaching over and gently turning her head to face him, "then you deserve to be embarrassed every moment of your life."
She smiled softly, forgetting the chat group for a moment, even with two messages already flashing on the screen. "Rogan," she whispered. "Sometimes I really do forget you're not real."
"I am not human. I am not technically alive. I am real though. I am as real as anything in this world."
I was not, however, real impressed by the love triangle. I understand why it exists--I know the purpose behind including it, and wouldn't, therefore, go so far as to say it's unnecessary. In terms of the plot, it is actually very crucial. But. BUT. I might suggest it needs a bit of reworking. I think it boils down to execution for me--there were two men of completely opposing opinions vying for the same woman's affections... but it was super obvious, from the get-go, who SHE preferred. The reason she didn't just go for the one she actually wanted? Society. Society's opinions, beliefs, pressure... Which, don't get me wrong, I totally understand. I just think the love triangle may have been more satisfying for me if there actually WAS a competition there, and not just the woman giving in to what the "world" thought right.
The character interactions and growths were believable, though several seemed to stagnate about halfway through. Monica, for instance-- Chloe's supposed "friend" at the beginning of this book--drops off entirely in the last 40% or so. While a fairly minor character, she plays a HUGE role in the development of certain situations/relationships, and seemed (at first?) to be a pretty large influence on Chloe's decision-making. So for her to just up and disappear made this feel a bit...incomplete? Maybe this was the point, though--sometimes, people just drop out of our lives. Sometimes there IS no real resolution.
"What? What do you mean? I have many observational instruments, Chloe, but I am not a mind reader. You are going to have to tell me what you want."
"You couldn't possibly want to be with me forever...could you?"
"Now, you are the one who is kidding," Rogan said. "I want to be with you if there is a time past forever."
Overall, this was a complex, hard-hitting read--with just enough distance from "reality" to both make a statement and keep it unique. I cannot WAIT to see what lies ahead for C.E. Wilson; her novels are always so creative and fun, I'm sure it's bound to be just as awesome! If you enjoy robots, complicated love triangles, and a major dose of roMESS, I definitely recommend this read! Trust me--this book makes a statement. You should give it a chance!
August 11, 2016
I’ve recieved this eARC from the author in exchange of an honest review.
4.5 Stars
I want to start of by saying that this book was absolutely amazing! I loved it I loved it I loved it! I dont know what else to say except for the fact that it was beautiful, creative and nothing like I’ve ever read before. I also loved the characters. They were epic and amazing and I feel like they really added to the book. So basically, the character Chloe is an aspiring singer who sings in bars and stuff and she is trying to make a career off of her singing. She has an Asist who is a personalized humanoid servant, sorta like an android but more humanlike. His name is Rogan. One day, when Chloe gives an order to Rogan, but he refuses…which makes Chloe think… Are Asists really more humanlike than they seem? On the other hand, Chloe seems to be falling for a hotshot singer names Niven who doesnt like the whole humanoid servant idea…while a particular humanoid servent disapproves of the hotshot singer…its all a mess. Rogan desperately wants to prove to Chloe that he is more than a robot…he is so much more…and Chloe has to decide…what makes a human, human?
I absolutely loved this book. It was so much more than what I thought it would be. C.E is starting to become an author that I love. First with her Five Seven Five book and now with this book. She never let me down with her books, writing, an ideas. Wilson just has an amazing imagination in which she created worlds with robots and many other different worlds you would never even think of. I’m in love with Wilson’s writing. It is beautiful and I just…I dont know what else to say. This is a must read for all those readers out there. If you love a Romance with a splash of Sci-Fi, then this is a book for you. I highly recommend this book but to the right audience…because this book is sort of New Adult..so yeah… maybe 18ish and above…or whoever is comfortable with New Adult…whatever floats your boat:).
All in all, I loved this book very much and do recommend this. This is absolutely a must read! So go on and get this book and start reading people! What are you waiting for?
Score:
Characters: 9/10
Plot/Story line: 9/10
Pace: 8/10
Romance: 9/10
Writing style: 9/10
Entertainment value: 9/10
Overall Score: 53/60 (88%)
Thank you so much for reading my review! I hope it helped you alot and I do hope that you start reading this book and love it as much as I do. Thank you once again and please read my other reviews:).
Toodles!
~Sam
4.5 Stars
I want to start of by saying that this book was absolutely amazing! I loved it I loved it I loved it! I dont know what else to say except for the fact that it was beautiful, creative and nothing like I’ve ever read before. I also loved the characters. They were epic and amazing and I feel like they really added to the book. So basically, the character Chloe is an aspiring singer who sings in bars and stuff and she is trying to make a career off of her singing. She has an Asist who is a personalized humanoid servant, sorta like an android but more humanlike. His name is Rogan. One day, when Chloe gives an order to Rogan, but he refuses…which makes Chloe think… Are Asists really more humanlike than they seem? On the other hand, Chloe seems to be falling for a hotshot singer names Niven who doesnt like the whole humanoid servant idea…while a particular humanoid servent disapproves of the hotshot singer…its all a mess. Rogan desperately wants to prove to Chloe that he is more than a robot…he is so much more…and Chloe has to decide…what makes a human, human?
I absolutely loved this book. It was so much more than what I thought it would be. C.E is starting to become an author that I love. First with her Five Seven Five book and now with this book. She never let me down with her books, writing, an ideas. Wilson just has an amazing imagination in which she created worlds with robots and many other different worlds you would never even think of. I’m in love with Wilson’s writing. It is beautiful and I just…I dont know what else to say. This is a must read for all those readers out there. If you love a Romance with a splash of Sci-Fi, then this is a book for you. I highly recommend this book but to the right audience…because this book is sort of New Adult..so yeah… maybe 18ish and above…or whoever is comfortable with New Adult…whatever floats your boat:).
All in all, I loved this book very much and do recommend this. This is absolutely a must read! So go on and get this book and start reading people! What are you waiting for?
Score:
Characters: 9/10
Plot/Story line: 9/10
Pace: 8/10
Romance: 9/10
Writing style: 9/10
Entertainment value: 9/10
Overall Score: 53/60 (88%)
Thank you so much for reading my review! I hope it helped you alot and I do hope that you start reading this book and love it as much as I do. Thank you once again and please read my other reviews:).
Toodles!
~Sam
July 25, 2016
C.E. Wilson has penned a quirky, oddly touching, relationship sci-fi bonafide book for grown ups! And on that line, I READ A WHOLE BOOK WRITTEN FOR GROWN UPS!
Sorry, I'm a Young Adult lit reader. I don't read grown up books very often. It's a big deal for me. I was fortunate enough to have a lot of down time after having a procedure done, and I spent my time wisely in Chloe's world.
What originally struck me was the tone of the novel. Witty and with actual banter I could hear in my head. Some of the best dialogue I have had the privilege to read. If you are sensitive to cursing, you will find yourself on the edge. The level of growth from her (fantastic) The Boy With Words is phenomenal! I am hanging on to see what she comes out with next.
"Naughtiness" is very tastefully portrayed while being realistic. (You may notice a recurring 'realistic' theme in my review. It's something C.E. Wilson does very well.) Relationships have their ups and downs, blessings and complications. There are many relationships in the novel to consider. For example, we never meet Chloe's parents but there are references to them. Yet we accompany two seemingly minor characters (they aren't) for their private discussions.
Chloe is a relatable character. She is a high school substitute teacher, looking for a job as a full time music teacher and success as a singer. Although the product of a wealthy family, she is down-to-earth and endearing. Her habit of putting her hair in her mouth is adorable. I did find myself wanting to smack her (Beware the violence against fictional characters!!!) for the majority of the novel, but that is largely because I am so gung ho Team Rogan from page 1.
Rogan. The nicest guy you will read about ever! He is destined to be the book boyfriend that battles Four/Tobias for your heart. That's probably why I hated Niven on sight. You may like him, but I was wishing that Rogan had laser eyes. If I write much more, I will spoil it all!
I am impressed with the pacing of the story, originality, and the Easter egg feeling of meeting Bree. The fact that it is a standalone novel just left me feeling satisfied as a reader. I was able to close the book and sigh with a smile. If it had been a paperback, I would have hugged it to my chest.
Sorry, I'm a Young Adult lit reader. I don't read grown up books very often. It's a big deal for me. I was fortunate enough to have a lot of down time after having a procedure done, and I spent my time wisely in Chloe's world.
What originally struck me was the tone of the novel. Witty and with actual banter I could hear in my head. Some of the best dialogue I have had the privilege to read. If you are sensitive to cursing, you will find yourself on the edge. The level of growth from her (fantastic) The Boy With Words is phenomenal! I am hanging on to see what she comes out with next.
"Naughtiness" is very tastefully portrayed while being realistic. (You may notice a recurring 'realistic' theme in my review. It's something C.E. Wilson does very well.) Relationships have their ups and downs, blessings and complications. There are many relationships in the novel to consider. For example, we never meet Chloe's parents but there are references to them. Yet we accompany two seemingly minor characters (they aren't) for their private discussions.
Chloe is a relatable character. She is a high school substitute teacher, looking for a job as a full time music teacher and success as a singer. Although the product of a wealthy family, she is down-to-earth and endearing. Her habit of putting her hair in her mouth is adorable. I did find myself wanting to smack her (Beware the violence against fictional characters!!!) for the majority of the novel, but that is largely because I am so gung ho Team Rogan from page 1.
Rogan. The nicest guy you will read about ever! He is destined to be the book boyfriend that battles Four/Tobias for your heart. That's probably why I hated Niven on sight. You may like him, but I was wishing that Rogan had laser eyes. If I write much more, I will spoil it all!
I am impressed with the pacing of the story, originality, and the Easter egg feeling of meeting Bree. The fact that it is a standalone novel just left me feeling satisfied as a reader. I was able to close the book and sigh with a smile. If it had been a paperback, I would have hugged it to my chest.
July 10, 2016
I loved this book so much! It had everything from great romance to suspense to an amazing and powerful message. I loved how many movie/TV show references there were - from Saved by the Bell to Supernatural to Pretty in Pink. This book is so relevant too with how much hate is in the world. I absolutely love this line and need to share: "Hate is never a good feeling to keep in your heart, no matter your reason." AMAZING and so true!
There were times where I felt so sad and angry reading this book, but the ending just made it so worth it. I absolutely loved pretty much every character... sure there were ones that I didn't like but I'm not going to tell you why because I don't want to give away anything, so you'll just have to read it yourselves - which I HIGHLY recommend you do! :-)
I can't wait to read more from this author, and maybe more about this world, too because I still have a few unanswered questions and I can't wait to see what will happen next. Just go get this book, and if you haven't read anything by C.E. Wilson, I highly suggest you start because I really enjoy this author's work - the author makes you think about the world around you in a different way, which I absolutely love in any author.
There were times where I felt so sad and angry reading this book, but the ending just made it so worth it. I absolutely loved pretty much every character... sure there were ones that I didn't like but I'm not going to tell you why because I don't want to give away anything, so you'll just have to read it yourselves - which I HIGHLY recommend you do! :-)
I can't wait to read more from this author, and maybe more about this world, too because I still have a few unanswered questions and I can't wait to see what will happen next. Just go get this book, and if you haven't read anything by C.E. Wilson, I highly suggest you start because I really enjoy this author's work - the author makes you think about the world around you in a different way, which I absolutely love in any author.
July 27, 2017
I received an ARC of this story from Ms. Wilson, and I have to say, it was a real pleasure to read.
The premise of This Is Me. was so fun and intriguing. I was sucked in immediately by the idea of Asists and Ms. Wilson did a great job of bringing it to life. From the descriptions of the Asists themselves to the way different people in society treated them, I felt like she left no stone unturned - and yet I still wanted to read more! I still feel interested in the whole thing.
While I wanted to punch Chloe for giving Niven the time of day (I didn't feel their connection at all, although that was probably intentional), I believed her relationship with Rogan. I loved them together and wondering where it would all end up kept me reading. I loved Fitz and Bree, too! I'd definitely read a story more focused on the two of them.
A great read! I highly recommend it!
The premise of This Is Me. was so fun and intriguing. I was sucked in immediately by the idea of Asists and Ms. Wilson did a great job of bringing it to life. From the descriptions of the Asists themselves to the way different people in society treated them, I felt like she left no stone unturned - and yet I still wanted to read more! I still feel interested in the whole thing.
While I wanted to punch Chloe for giving Niven the time of day (I didn't feel their connection at all, although that was probably intentional), I believed her relationship with Rogan. I loved them together and wondering where it would all end up kept me reading. I loved Fitz and Bree, too! I'd definitely read a story more focused on the two of them.
A great read! I highly recommend it!
October 13, 2016
I walked into this book completely blind and I'm so thrilled that I did. I have never read a romance about artificial life and I must say I truly fell head over heels for this story. The author painted such a beautiful picture and takes you into the world created for us. Rogan is so much more than just Chloe's robot. You must read this book and truly see how much can change and develop over time. Not everything is as simple as black and white. Not everyone is who they say they are. In a world that is growing and progressing you need to make sure you always listen to your instincts and go with your gut. I can't wait to read more from this author and I can officially say I have found a new side to romance that I truly love and want to see more of. *Reviewed for Sweet Spot Sisterhood*
July 25, 2016
I wasn't sure at first, but....I absolutely loved this book! It is based in a world where "robots" are the normal as companions (helpers, friends, etc.) for humans. This book covers all the bases - romance, suspense, desire, and human nature.
Chloe is a human girl and struggling to just be normal and her A-SIST is Rogan. I absolutely adore Rogan and think he is an amazing character. I won't say more, because I don't want to spoil the book for anyone reading this review. I highly suggest this read - you won't regret it!!!
***I was given an ARC in exchange for an honest review.***
Chloe is a human girl and struggling to just be normal and her A-SIST is Rogan. I absolutely adore Rogan and think he is an amazing character. I won't say more, because I don't want to spoil the book for anyone reading this review. I highly suggest this read - you won't regret it!!!
***I was given an ARC in exchange for an honest review.***
June 27, 2016
This book packs quite the punch! Woven throughout this emotional drama, are things everyone goes through at some point in their life. It helped me re-establish that not everyone has to be "normal" to be happy. Kudos to the author for another great work!
July 26, 2017
With all of the technological advances in this world, the Asist robot is second to none when it comes to companionship and servitude. Private school substitute teacher Chloe received one named Rogan for her graduation present. The two are inseparable best friends and sometimes lovers, which angers many of Chloe’s friends to the point of bigotry against these robots. Chloe’s human boyfriend Niven is especially enraged and makes any attempt he can to drive a wedge between her and the “fake” Rogan. Sooner or later, Chloe will have to make a decision between her perfect robot and the “real” Niven.
The major themes in this book are humankind’s relationship with technology and ignorant bigotry against anything they don’t understand. These themes are so perfectly interwoven that the novel could spark a debate in today’s real world, especially with such a divided racial structure as we have now. Asists are considered second class citizens because of their technological makeup, but others, like Chloe, argue that they have feelings too. Over a hundred years ago, white slave owners saw black people as less than dirt while abolitionists argued that the slaves were just as real as any other human being. There are also themes of ageism when it comes to young people being so obsessed with technology that they’ll limit human contact on purpose. There are all sorts of civil rights issues being dealt with in this novel. Maybe Chloe should have double majored in music AND political science.
But never forget that this is a romance novel above all else. In the case of Chloe, one of her main love interests is Niven Adams, a rival substitute teacher who wants the same job she’s applying for. If Ms. Wilson wanted to create a hate-worthy villain, she did an A+ job of it with Niven. He’s bigoted against Asists, he’s arrogant, he’s obnoxious, his friends are even more annoying, but his only redeeming quality seems to be that he’s a good singer. Ted Nugent is probably a good singer too, but that doesn’t mean I want to hang around him 24/7, especially after Mr. Nugent told Barack Obama to “suck on [his] machinegun”. With all of these things working against Niven, it makes me wonder why Chloe would ever be attracted to him in the first place. I cringe every time she pushes Rogan away in favor of Niven. Rogan may be a robot, but at least he’s sweeter than a pint of Ben & Jerry’s, which is more than I’ll ever say about Niven. This is comparable to the movie Clerks where Dante chooses the smoking hot cheater Caitlin over the loyal and low-maintenance Veronica.
The final thing I want to touch on is the argument structure between these characters. It seems to me that every time two characters want to go back and forth with each other, they’re hesitant to get to the point and they kill time with negative answers. Rogan is especially guilty of doing this when he argues with Chloe. He’s overly apologetic and always at war with himself, which I guess is appropriate for a robot whose sole purpose is to make Chloe happy, but after a while, it wears on the reader. While Rogan is the worst offender when it comes to filler dialogue, he’s hardly the only one who does this. Niven, Monica, and Fitz also tiptoe around their respective subjects.
The senseless arguments and Niven’s disgusting behavior both make me want to give this book a mixed grade. But C.E. Wilson shouldn’t feel too badly about it, because for every fault, there is a redeeming quality that will convince you to buy this book. The romance is hot, Chloe is likeable, the interactions between Fitz and his mini-Asist Bree are cute and cuddly, and of course, my favorite part of the book has to be the civics debate going on as it relates to racism and technophobia. Ms. Wilson has every right in the world to be proud of her work. If she spends more time crafting her dialogue and sorting out her characters’ priorities, then she can do great things in her next few novels. A mixed grade is nothing to sneeze at.
The major themes in this book are humankind’s relationship with technology and ignorant bigotry against anything they don’t understand. These themes are so perfectly interwoven that the novel could spark a debate in today’s real world, especially with such a divided racial structure as we have now. Asists are considered second class citizens because of their technological makeup, but others, like Chloe, argue that they have feelings too. Over a hundred years ago, white slave owners saw black people as less than dirt while abolitionists argued that the slaves were just as real as any other human being. There are also themes of ageism when it comes to young people being so obsessed with technology that they’ll limit human contact on purpose. There are all sorts of civil rights issues being dealt with in this novel. Maybe Chloe should have double majored in music AND political science.
But never forget that this is a romance novel above all else. In the case of Chloe, one of her main love interests is Niven Adams, a rival substitute teacher who wants the same job she’s applying for. If Ms. Wilson wanted to create a hate-worthy villain, she did an A+ job of it with Niven. He’s bigoted against Asists, he’s arrogant, he’s obnoxious, his friends are even more annoying, but his only redeeming quality seems to be that he’s a good singer. Ted Nugent is probably a good singer too, but that doesn’t mean I want to hang around him 24/7, especially after Mr. Nugent told Barack Obama to “suck on [his] machinegun”. With all of these things working against Niven, it makes me wonder why Chloe would ever be attracted to him in the first place. I cringe every time she pushes Rogan away in favor of Niven. Rogan may be a robot, but at least he’s sweeter than a pint of Ben & Jerry’s, which is more than I’ll ever say about Niven. This is comparable to the movie Clerks where Dante chooses the smoking hot cheater Caitlin over the loyal and low-maintenance Veronica.
The final thing I want to touch on is the argument structure between these characters. It seems to me that every time two characters want to go back and forth with each other, they’re hesitant to get to the point and they kill time with negative answers. Rogan is especially guilty of doing this when he argues with Chloe. He’s overly apologetic and always at war with himself, which I guess is appropriate for a robot whose sole purpose is to make Chloe happy, but after a while, it wears on the reader. While Rogan is the worst offender when it comes to filler dialogue, he’s hardly the only one who does this. Niven, Monica, and Fitz also tiptoe around their respective subjects.
The senseless arguments and Niven’s disgusting behavior both make me want to give this book a mixed grade. But C.E. Wilson shouldn’t feel too badly about it, because for every fault, there is a redeeming quality that will convince you to buy this book. The romance is hot, Chloe is likeable, the interactions between Fitz and his mini-Asist Bree are cute and cuddly, and of course, my favorite part of the book has to be the civics debate going on as it relates to racism and technophobia. Ms. Wilson has every right in the world to be proud of her work. If she spends more time crafting her dialogue and sorting out her characters’ priorities, then she can do great things in her next few novels. A mixed grade is nothing to sneeze at.
December 10, 2016
It doesn’t take too much effort to look through the review list on this blog to see that I’m a fan of author C.E. Wilson. What I like most about her work is the lens she uses to present deep or important themes. The situations in her stories fall into the speculative fiction genre, but they’re always grounded in the real world.
This Is Me is no exception. We have a story that is set in the real world—or at least a parallel real world or not-to-distant future of our world—where there are sentient humanoid androids existing among the humans. Some people believe the androids should have equal rights, including the right to have romantic relationships with humans; others do not feel this way. It’s an intriguing way to tackle difficult subjects of prejudice and racism.
Also, there’s a love triangle in the story. The main character, Chloe, has to choose between two romantic partners: Niven, who is competing for the same music teacher job she is; and Rogan, the Asist (Anthropomorphic Sentient Individualized Servile uniT) her parents paid for to watch over and protect her while she lived and taught in the city.
Going into this book, I was really curious about which one of them—if either—Chloe would choose in the end. Wilson often ends her stories in unexpected yet provocative ways (see the ending of her excellent New Adult urban fantasy romance The Promise), so I envisioned multiple possibilities that could punctuate her theme.
Despite such strong ideas, a few things in the book didn’t quite work for me. Some of them are minor, such as the overall length of the book and the uncertainty of when the book takes place. There are a few pop culture references to the modern world, but then it would have to be an alternate timeline where robotics has progressed to the point of extremely lifelike androids. Neither of these are too problematic on their own, but there are some other issues.
The book is narrated in third-person omniscient, which isn’t necessarily a bad choice as there are some plot elements that dictate it be told this way instead of in first-person (like most of Wilson’s other books). However, in doing so, there’s a little too much head-hopping, and some of the shifts are so abrupt, I had to stop to figure out who’s head the narration was in. Additionally, I feel a little too much time was spent in the primary antagonist’s head. I won’t name the character, but I didn’t want to know as much of the character’s thoughts, almost as if the reader was supposed to receive justification for some of the character’s unsavory actions. I didn’t want to attempt feeling any sympathy for this character, and based on the character’s actions by the end of the book, no sympathy is deserved. Also, since this character’s behavior is no surprise to the reader, the impact of it being a surprise to Chloe is diminished.
Then there’s the love triangle. I have nothing wrong with love triangles in books if done well. And I was hoping to see Chloe’s half of the triangle with Rogan develop differently. Since human-Asist relations are frowned upon by some, I really would have liked to see her wrestle with emerging feelings for Rogan instead of their relationship starting with a kind of friends-with-benefits status. By starting there, the introduction of Niven makes Chloe somewhat selfish.
Rogan is an exceptionally well-conceived character. For a fictional robotic character, he’s perhaps one of the most real characters in the book. When the narration hops to his head, it provides great insight into his character. It’s very easy to cheer for him when he’s up and gasp when bad things happen to him—his emotions and actions are clear.
Another stand-out set of characters include Chloe’s colleague at work Fitz and his mini-Asist Bree. First off, Bree is a nice shout-out to technology’s desire to make devices smaller, as she stands less than a foot tall. Secondly, she and Fitz are openly in a romantic relationship, and it serves as a strong counterpoint to the more prejudiced characters in the book. Forget the perception of a human-Asist relationship, but one with a mini-Asist would be more taboo. They perfectly demonstrate that we as people have and deserve the right to love however we want.
And that’s my biggest takeaway from the book. Love is love, and if two people love each other, then their size, gender, ethnicity, and/or programming don’t matter. Let people love who they want and stop judging. I admire the message and concept here, but the book dragged in places through some unnecessary head-hopping, so I’m giving the book THREE AND A HALF STARS.
This Is Me is no exception. We have a story that is set in the real world—or at least a parallel real world or not-to-distant future of our world—where there are sentient humanoid androids existing among the humans. Some people believe the androids should have equal rights, including the right to have romantic relationships with humans; others do not feel this way. It’s an intriguing way to tackle difficult subjects of prejudice and racism.
Also, there’s a love triangle in the story. The main character, Chloe, has to choose between two romantic partners: Niven, who is competing for the same music teacher job she is; and Rogan, the Asist (Anthropomorphic Sentient Individualized Servile uniT) her parents paid for to watch over and protect her while she lived and taught in the city.
Going into this book, I was really curious about which one of them—if either—Chloe would choose in the end. Wilson often ends her stories in unexpected yet provocative ways (see the ending of her excellent New Adult urban fantasy romance The Promise), so I envisioned multiple possibilities that could punctuate her theme.
Despite such strong ideas, a few things in the book didn’t quite work for me. Some of them are minor, such as the overall length of the book and the uncertainty of when the book takes place. There are a few pop culture references to the modern world, but then it would have to be an alternate timeline where robotics has progressed to the point of extremely lifelike androids. Neither of these are too problematic on their own, but there are some other issues.
The book is narrated in third-person omniscient, which isn’t necessarily a bad choice as there are some plot elements that dictate it be told this way instead of in first-person (like most of Wilson’s other books). However, in doing so, there’s a little too much head-hopping, and some of the shifts are so abrupt, I had to stop to figure out who’s head the narration was in. Additionally, I feel a little too much time was spent in the primary antagonist’s head. I won’t name the character, but I didn’t want to know as much of the character’s thoughts, almost as if the reader was supposed to receive justification for some of the character’s unsavory actions. I didn’t want to attempt feeling any sympathy for this character, and based on the character’s actions by the end of the book, no sympathy is deserved. Also, since this character’s behavior is no surprise to the reader, the impact of it being a surprise to Chloe is diminished.
Then there’s the love triangle. I have nothing wrong with love triangles in books if done well. And I was hoping to see Chloe’s half of the triangle with Rogan develop differently. Since human-Asist relations are frowned upon by some, I really would have liked to see her wrestle with emerging feelings for Rogan instead of their relationship starting with a kind of friends-with-benefits status. By starting there, the introduction of Niven makes Chloe somewhat selfish.
Rogan is an exceptionally well-conceived character. For a fictional robotic character, he’s perhaps one of the most real characters in the book. When the narration hops to his head, it provides great insight into his character. It’s very easy to cheer for him when he’s up and gasp when bad things happen to him—his emotions and actions are clear.
Another stand-out set of characters include Chloe’s colleague at work Fitz and his mini-Asist Bree. First off, Bree is a nice shout-out to technology’s desire to make devices smaller, as she stands less than a foot tall. Secondly, she and Fitz are openly in a romantic relationship, and it serves as a strong counterpoint to the more prejudiced characters in the book. Forget the perception of a human-Asist relationship, but one with a mini-Asist would be more taboo. They perfectly demonstrate that we as people have and deserve the right to love however we want.
And that’s my biggest takeaway from the book. Love is love, and if two people love each other, then their size, gender, ethnicity, and/or programming don’t matter. Let people love who they want and stop judging. I admire the message and concept here, but the book dragged in places through some unnecessary head-hopping, so I’m giving the book THREE AND A HALF STARS.
August 11, 2016
We’ve all eaten apples before. At least, once, right? There’s nothing new about an apple. But imagine if you’ve lived your entire life and you’ve never seen or heard of an apple. Instead, you grew up eating pears. Biologically, they are similar, but the taste is very different. If what I just described was my experience, This is Me was kind of like an apple for me. Before I read This is Me, I had read The Boy with Words (Review) and I had loved it and Wilson’s writing. So, despite how out-of-the-ordinary This is Me was, the synopsis (which was shiny and red) and my past enjoyment with Wilson’s writing (my experience with pears) spurred me to give this apple a try.
The characters were great. Rogan, Chloe, Niven, and the rest. They were all well rounded and developed well, especially Rogan.
Rogan is actually my favorite character in This is Me. I liked reading his thoughts and how he interacted with other people. He has the voice and thought process of a grown man, but also the innocent kind of perspective that an AI would have. He was sweet, patient, and kind, truly the perfect boyfriend, really (which is how he was created). My cold dead heart felt tiny twinges whenever Rogan was sad or upset. Wilson made him become real for me and I appreciated that.
I didn’t dislike Chloe, but she’s not my favorite either. I don’t truly have an issue with her, I suppose I just didn’t click with her as a character. If anything, I just wish she had communicated with Rogan more, rather than treating him less-than-kindly just because she was frustrated. But, she’s human, so I get it. Besides her humanity, I couldn’t really relate to her. Although, how many people can really relate to a book like this?
I really enjoyed the plot. That’s kind of what I wanted to talk about anyway. I was kept guessing with This is Me. Not in a whodunnit way, but in a, How will s/he react to this situation? Where will that take them, as characters, and me, as a reader? kind of way. There was conflict, that wasn’t just petty drama, romance that wasn’t just people staring at each other with “hunger/desire in his/her eyes,” and meaningful relationships that were in a platonic boundary. Wilson took the wonderful route of giving Chloe a complex life. The book wasn’t simply focused on her choice between Rogan and Niven, but on her family and familial issues, her friends, the pressures and responsibilities of being an adult, her job, her personal goals, and herself as a person.
The only thing that bothered me was the comparison between people of color and robots/Asist/AI. The comparison was, to quote it, once It was mentioned around three times, as one of the arguments on why it shouldn’t be taboo for humans to date Asists, but I just don’t see it as a proper comparison. Someone I know personally presented this as an argument (although, not in support of AI-human dating) and I only found it offensive. People of color were always human, always. They were and are created/born just as any other non-POC was and is created/born. Robots, however, are created in a factory (and usually mass produced). They aren't sentient beings as we are. No matter how human-like they are, they will always be human-like. Even though I understand the point being made, I don't agree with the implication that the struggles people of color had with being recognized as human is exactly similar to a robot’s.
Would I Recommend This is Me? Honestly? If This is Me has the kind of content you would enjoy, then most definitely. Even though I later realized that human and robot love isn’t quite my cup of tea, I wouldn’t say that This is Me is a bad book because it’s quite the opposite. Wilson wrote This is Me well and I didn’t find any flaws that would ruin a reader’s experience.
Read more reviews here: Between Reality
The characters were great. Rogan, Chloe, Niven, and the rest. They were all well rounded and developed well, especially Rogan.
Rogan is actually my favorite character in This is Me. I liked reading his thoughts and how he interacted with other people. He has the voice and thought process of a grown man, but also the innocent kind of perspective that an AI would have. He was sweet, patient, and kind, truly the perfect boyfriend, really (which is how he was created). My cold dead heart felt tiny twinges whenever Rogan was sad or upset. Wilson made him become real for me and I appreciated that.
I didn’t dislike Chloe, but she’s not my favorite either. I don’t truly have an issue with her, I suppose I just didn’t click with her as a character. If anything, I just wish she had communicated with Rogan more, rather than treating him less-than-kindly just because she was frustrated. But, she’s human, so I get it. Besides her humanity, I couldn’t really relate to her. Although, how many people can really relate to a book like this?
I really enjoyed the plot. That’s kind of what I wanted to talk about anyway. I was kept guessing with This is Me. Not in a whodunnit way, but in a, How will s/he react to this situation? Where will that take them, as characters, and me, as a reader? kind of way. There was conflict, that wasn’t just petty drama, romance that wasn’t just people staring at each other with “hunger/desire in his/her eyes,” and meaningful relationships that were in a platonic boundary. Wilson took the wonderful route of giving Chloe a complex life. The book wasn’t simply focused on her choice between Rogan and Niven, but on her family and familial issues, her friends, the pressures and responsibilities of being an adult, her job, her personal goals, and herself as a person.
The only thing that bothered me was the comparison between people of color and robots/Asist/AI. The comparison was, to quote it, once It was mentioned around three times, as one of the arguments on why it shouldn’t be taboo for humans to date Asists, but I just don’t see it as a proper comparison. Someone I know personally presented this as an argument (although, not in support of AI-human dating) and I only found it offensive. People of color were always human, always. They were and are created/born just as any other non-POC was and is created/born. Robots, however, are created in a factory (and usually mass produced). They aren't sentient beings as we are. No matter how human-like they are, they will always be human-like. Even though I understand the point being made, I don't agree with the implication that the struggles people of color had with being recognized as human is exactly similar to a robot’s.
Would I Recommend This is Me? Honestly? If This is Me has the kind of content you would enjoy, then most definitely. Even though I later realized that human and robot love isn’t quite my cup of tea, I wouldn’t say that This is Me is a bad book because it’s quite the opposite. Wilson wrote This is Me well and I didn’t find any flaws that would ruin a reader’s experience.
Read more reviews here: Between Reality
August 7, 2016
Find more of my reviews at Books and Stars
**A copy was given to me by the author. This does not affect my review in any way**
Chloe is a young woman, who, ever since graduating, has been gifted by her parents with an Assist named Rogan to protect and keep Chloe company when she moved away to live on her own. She's trying to catch her big break, hoping to rise from substitute teacher to a full-time teacher. But at the same time, her relationship with Rogan is changing, and Niven comes into her life to complicate things...
The concept of an Assist was both easy, yet difficult to wrap my head around in the beginning. The idea of a robot helping someone came naturally, but pursuing a romantic relationship was an new concept for me. However, it was so easy to see from the beginning that Rogan really cared for Chloe, not just as his Companion, but in general. He wanted the very best for her, in a sincere and genuine way, not because he was programmed to please her.
What I really liked about this novel was how it explored both sides of pro-Assist and con-Assist, and what it meant for them to be alive. The story wasn't completely one-sided; it had moments where logic spoke up for both sides, leading the reader to make their own conclusions. But you really got to see what what defines something as being alive, and what defines having a real relationship with others.
Chloe's constant search for a job and the competition that came with it made this novel so very realistic. Job hunting and competition is something everyone relates to, whether they've been through it themselves, or is dreading the day when it begins. I sympathized with Chloe, and really felt the frustration. Add Chloe's relationship with Niven, and that created a very unique relationship, since they were both gunning for the same job. Can you imagine being in a romantic relationship with someone who was competing for the same job as you? There's going to be a very distinct winner, and a distinct loser. It's a relationship I've never considered, which was so very interesting to read about.
I didn't trust Niven from the moment he appeared on page. I was already shipping Chloe and Rogan, and as a result, kept looking to find fault with Niven's actions, much like Chloe's cousin, Alex. But there was no short of reason for me to mistrust him, from some of his actions to numerous rude Assist comments. He hid his true nature--and past--perfectly.
I think the story would have had a bit more depth if we got to explore not just Chloe's relationship with aunt and uncle and cousins, but also her relationship with her ever-absent parents. What are their thoughts on Rogan? It would have been an interesting way to bridge over Chloe's childhood opinions of Assists, and whether or both they've changed with Rogan, as well as get a solid foothold on her background. I also would have liked a bit more resolution regarding Monica, just because I felt she was on the way to becoming pro-Assist, or at least should have had a bigger chance to.
All in all, this book wasn't what I was expecting it to be, in a good way. I really enjoyed the relationships between characters and the plot, but I just felt like there needed to be a bit more sustenance on everyone's backgrounds other than Niven. But it's definitely a good read, and leaves you with a great question to ponder: are only humans capable of love?
**A copy was given to me by the author. This does not affect my review in any way**
Chloe is a young woman, who, ever since graduating, has been gifted by her parents with an Assist named Rogan to protect and keep Chloe company when she moved away to live on her own. She's trying to catch her big break, hoping to rise from substitute teacher to a full-time teacher. But at the same time, her relationship with Rogan is changing, and Niven comes into her life to complicate things...
The concept of an Assist was both easy, yet difficult to wrap my head around in the beginning. The idea of a robot helping someone came naturally, but pursuing a romantic relationship was an new concept for me. However, it was so easy to see from the beginning that Rogan really cared for Chloe, not just as his Companion, but in general. He wanted the very best for her, in a sincere and genuine way, not because he was programmed to please her.
What I really liked about this novel was how it explored both sides of pro-Assist and con-Assist, and what it meant for them to be alive. The story wasn't completely one-sided; it had moments where logic spoke up for both sides, leading the reader to make their own conclusions. But you really got to see what what defines something as being alive, and what defines having a real relationship with others.
Chloe's constant search for a job and the competition that came with it made this novel so very realistic. Job hunting and competition is something everyone relates to, whether they've been through it themselves, or is dreading the day when it begins. I sympathized with Chloe, and really felt the frustration. Add Chloe's relationship with Niven, and that created a very unique relationship, since they were both gunning for the same job. Can you imagine being in a romantic relationship with someone who was competing for the same job as you? There's going to be a very distinct winner, and a distinct loser. It's a relationship I've never considered, which was so very interesting to read about.
I didn't trust Niven from the moment he appeared on page. I was already shipping Chloe and Rogan, and as a result, kept looking to find fault with Niven's actions, much like Chloe's cousin, Alex. But there was no short of reason for me to mistrust him, from some of his actions to numerous rude Assist comments. He hid his true nature--and past--perfectly.
I think the story would have had a bit more depth if we got to explore not just Chloe's relationship with aunt and uncle and cousins, but also her relationship with her ever-absent parents. What are their thoughts on Rogan? It would have been an interesting way to bridge over Chloe's childhood opinions of Assists, and whether or both they've changed with Rogan, as well as get a solid foothold on her background. I also would have liked a bit more resolution regarding Monica, just because I felt she was on the way to becoming pro-Assist, or at least should have had a bigger chance to.
All in all, this book wasn't what I was expecting it to be, in a good way. I really enjoyed the relationships between characters and the plot, but I just felt like there needed to be a bit more sustenance on everyone's backgrounds other than Niven. But it's definitely a good read, and leaves you with a great question to ponder: are only humans capable of love?
August 12, 2016
This is Me focuses on Chloe and her A-SIST (Anthropomorphic Sentient Individualized Servile uniT) Rogan. Rogan is a very human-like robot, so much so that most wouldn’t know he wasn’t flesh and blood if it weren’t for his stiff demeanor and formal speech. Many people at this time are not supportive of human and A-SIST romantic relationships, and this causes Chloe to be very private about her sexual relationship with Rogan. However, their closeness does not go unnoticed and it begins to cause trouble in Chloe’s personal and professional life.
I gave this 3 out of 5 stars and I must say that I didn’t like it quite as much as The Boy with Words. Chloe and Rogan already have a semi-platonic sexual relationship at the beginning of the story, so the reader doesn’t get to experience how that relationship came to be and progressed to where it is now. I felt like I wasn’t able to develop my own feelings and opinions about their relationship through interactions. From the very beginning we are told exactly what is happening and how Chloe is feeling about Rogan. I personally found this to be frustrating as there was no subtlety to the relationship dynamic and I prefer for things to not be so spelled out for me. Chloe’s confliction about her relationship with Rogan was the subject of every paragraph of every page, while this book is only 310 pages these same conversations and thoughts got very old very fast.
I will say that I enjoyed the last bit of the book much more. I found Chloe’s extended family to be delightful characters and I wish we had seen more of them. A major commentary of this book is the racism towards A-SISTs and people who are ‘other’. I did quite enjoy how this played out with different characters, but the reveal towards the end was pretty predictable.
If you like a good romance book with a sci-fi twist I would recommend this. Since so much of this story focused heavily on romance it was not my favorite. I tend not to be a big romance novel person, especially if that is pretty much the only subject matter.
Find more reviews at www.BookishBeauty.com
I gave this 3 out of 5 stars and I must say that I didn’t like it quite as much as The Boy with Words. Chloe and Rogan already have a semi-platonic sexual relationship at the beginning of the story, so the reader doesn’t get to experience how that relationship came to be and progressed to where it is now. I felt like I wasn’t able to develop my own feelings and opinions about their relationship through interactions. From the very beginning we are told exactly what is happening and how Chloe is feeling about Rogan. I personally found this to be frustrating as there was no subtlety to the relationship dynamic and I prefer for things to not be so spelled out for me. Chloe’s confliction about her relationship with Rogan was the subject of every paragraph of every page, while this book is only 310 pages these same conversations and thoughts got very old very fast.
I will say that I enjoyed the last bit of the book much more. I found Chloe’s extended family to be delightful characters and I wish we had seen more of them. A major commentary of this book is the racism towards A-SISTs and people who are ‘other’. I did quite enjoy how this played out with different characters, but the reveal towards the end was pretty predictable.
If you like a good romance book with a sci-fi twist I would recommend this. Since so much of this story focused heavily on romance it was not my favorite. I tend not to be a big romance novel person, especially if that is pretty much the only subject matter.
Find more reviews at www.BookishBeauty.com
June 4, 2023
To be honest, the reason I'm not rating this lower is because I thought it was marginally better than High Stakes, a book I gave 2.5 stars.
The premise seemed promising: a love triangle where a woman has to choose between a robot and a man. I have yet to be won over by a love triangle, but I am determined to find one well executed. It must be possible! This one did not win me over.
Usually, the problem with love triangles is that it's a huge missed opportunity. I briefly touched on this in my A Court of Thorns and Roses review, but love triangles, in theory, it should create the conflict within the reader of being torn between two equally compatible yet different choices. This is, of course, difficult to do without resorting to infidelity and completely shattering the reader's bond with the conflicted MC. So instead, the author makes it blatantly clear who we're supposed to root for and as soon as the "wrong" choice becomes too likable, he must be revealed to be secretly awful. I am not a fan of this trope. Give me some moral grayness, give me some shaky ground!
The problem here is that I love the idea of mixing in this trope with an ultra existentialist sci fi conflict such as the possibility of humans becoming romantically entwined with advanced AI humanoids. It's not a new concept. The movie Her did it a few years ago pretty successfully (See also: the first season of Westworld). But it's a great dilemma that personally interests me as a hypothetical scenario.
It was disappointing to see such a promising setup be executed as such a generic love triangle romance. The female MC, Chloe, was a thorn on my side throughout the majority of the book. She was so entitled and self-centered throughout the majority of this. I kept reading because I hoped that, being a rich kid, her arc would include learning about her behavior and improving as a person, but this doesn't happen. She was also such a dummy for most of the book! It drove me crazy!
The robot love interest, Rogan, was by far the most bearable character in the novel because he was the most levelheaded. However, he, and the rest of his robotic kin, was programmed to be devoted to their "Companion" and to make their lives easy. So he spends, I'm not kidding, every single second worrying about Chloe and obsessed over every detail of her life. He literally had no inner world. Not to mention that when he was activated, Chloe took it upon her to dress him like a doll and "decorate" his body with tattoos Rogan did not get to choose. I just hate this setup for a relationship. Rogan has no autonomy and no free will. I hoped he would gain a life outside of Chloe as the events of the novel went on, but aside from standing up to her (way too briefly), he gains no agency of his own. I just find Rogan and Chloe's relationship as the most late-stage Capitalist individualistic thing I've ever heard of. Chloe basically falls in love with someone whose only interest in life is her. Rogan has no inner life, no interests (outside of drawing, which he only does when he's not slaving to make Chloe's life ideal), no history, and no outer life outside of this woman. It's a completely narcissistic relationship on Chloe's part!
The human love interest, Niven, starts off OK. I can forgive his douchey introduction because he actually had stuff in common with Chloe. But soon we learn that he is an "Asist Racist," which is a laughable phrase. We never really learn why he's so against Asists (robots in this universe) and we don't really learn what he did to all those Asists he assaulted years before. Aside from his bigotry, Niven showed some horrifically abusive tendencies towards Chloe, which mostly go unchecked throughout the majority of the book, but was a major yikes for me.
Aside from these principal characters, my biggest gripe is that this book had some major continuity errors. For example, Niven's friends beat up Rogan at a Halloween party, which was originally set on a Saturday evening. After Rogan is discovered and taken to be fixed, two days are said to transpire, but suddenly it's Sunday. OK... Chloe is planning on taking Monday off work to be with Rogan while he recoups. She gets a call from the school that informs her she is expected on Monday so she can have her interview for a full-time position. She makes a big deal about not being able to stay home. We don't see anything that happens on that Monday (why make a big deal out of it, then?) Fast forward to Thursday, Chloe and Rogan are watching TV together and she's planning on spending the weekend with Niven, blah blah blah. But she's coming back Sunday morning so she has time to prepare for her interview on Monday. What????
This wasn't the only time it happened, but it was, by far, the most egregious. It was so distracting. I actually had to go back a few pages to make sure I hadn't misread.
This was a clean romance, which I didn't have a problem with. Maybe some spice would've livened up the book some, but, to be honest, I found the writing and the MC Chloe to be so childish, it felt like something I would've enjoyed when I was 14 years old. Actually, I think if I had read this at that age I would've been obsessed with Rogan and the idea of having a Build-A-Boyfriend Workshop. It felt YA-ish, except the character where in their early twenties instead.
And, OK, this one wasn't the absolute worst. The side characters where pretty enjoyable. I liked Bree, Fitz, Charli, and Monica. Despite her prejudice against robots, Monica was actually a very good friend to Chloe and acted with her friend's best interests at heart. The Asists who where side characters, such as Bree and Charlie, felt more like autonomous beings with their own agency than Rogan, so I liked them.
I also liked that Chloe and Monica where teachers. It's not often I read about characters who happen to be teachers, so it was an interesting perspective. I almost wish we had more scenes of Chloe actually doing her job. Apparently the author used to be a teacher, so I like the insight into this profession. Out of everything in this book, this felt the most personal. On the other hand, I didn't understand why the school administration called Chloe during the weekend. They seemed to have secretaries in every day of the week. Was it a boarding school? I would assume that even boarding schools wouldn't need weekend secretaries, but what do I know?
The premise seemed promising: a love triangle where a woman has to choose between a robot and a man. I have yet to be won over by a love triangle, but I am determined to find one well executed. It must be possible! This one did not win me over.
Usually, the problem with love triangles is that it's a huge missed opportunity. I briefly touched on this in my A Court of Thorns and Roses review, but love triangles, in theory, it should create the conflict within the reader of being torn between two equally compatible yet different choices. This is, of course, difficult to do without resorting to infidelity and completely shattering the reader's bond with the conflicted MC. So instead, the author makes it blatantly clear who we're supposed to root for and as soon as the "wrong" choice becomes too likable, he must be revealed to be secretly awful. I am not a fan of this trope. Give me some moral grayness, give me some shaky ground!
The problem here is that I love the idea of mixing in this trope with an ultra existentialist sci fi conflict such as the possibility of humans becoming romantically entwined with advanced AI humanoids. It's not a new concept. The movie Her did it a few years ago pretty successfully (See also: the first season of Westworld). But it's a great dilemma that personally interests me as a hypothetical scenario.
It was disappointing to see such a promising setup be executed as such a generic love triangle romance. The female MC, Chloe, was a thorn on my side throughout the majority of the book. She was so entitled and self-centered throughout the majority of this. I kept reading because I hoped that, being a rich kid, her arc would include learning about her behavior and improving as a person, but this doesn't happen. She was also such a dummy for most of the book! It drove me crazy!
The robot love interest, Rogan, was by far the most bearable character in the novel because he was the most levelheaded. However, he, and the rest of his robotic kin, was programmed to be devoted to their "Companion" and to make their lives easy. So he spends, I'm not kidding, every single second worrying about Chloe and obsessed over every detail of her life. He literally had no inner world. Not to mention that when he was activated, Chloe took it upon her to dress him like a doll and "decorate" his body with tattoos Rogan did not get to choose. I just hate this setup for a relationship. Rogan has no autonomy and no free will. I hoped he would gain a life outside of Chloe as the events of the novel went on, but aside from standing up to her (way too briefly), he gains no agency of his own. I just find Rogan and Chloe's relationship as the most late-stage Capitalist individualistic thing I've ever heard of. Chloe basically falls in love with someone whose only interest in life is her. Rogan has no inner life, no interests (outside of drawing, which he only does when he's not slaving to make Chloe's life ideal), no history, and no outer life outside of this woman. It's a completely narcissistic relationship on Chloe's part!
The human love interest, Niven, starts off OK. I can forgive his douchey introduction because he actually had stuff in common with Chloe. But soon we learn that he is an "Asist Racist," which is a laughable phrase. We never really learn why he's so against Asists (robots in this universe) and we don't really learn what he did to all those Asists he assaulted years before. Aside from his bigotry, Niven showed some horrifically abusive tendencies towards Chloe, which mostly go unchecked throughout the majority of the book, but was a major yikes for me.
Aside from these principal characters, my biggest gripe is that this book had some major continuity errors. For example, Niven's friends beat up Rogan at a Halloween party, which was originally set on a Saturday evening. After Rogan is discovered and taken to be fixed, two days are said to transpire, but suddenly it's Sunday. OK... Chloe is planning on taking Monday off work to be with Rogan while he recoups. She gets a call from the school that informs her she is expected on Monday so she can have her interview for a full-time position. She makes a big deal about not being able to stay home. We don't see anything that happens on that Monday (why make a big deal out of it, then?) Fast forward to Thursday, Chloe and Rogan are watching TV together and she's planning on spending the weekend with Niven, blah blah blah. But she's coming back Sunday morning so she has time to prepare for her interview on Monday. What????
This wasn't the only time it happened, but it was, by far, the most egregious. It was so distracting. I actually had to go back a few pages to make sure I hadn't misread.
This was a clean romance, which I didn't have a problem with. Maybe some spice would've livened up the book some, but, to be honest, I found the writing and the MC Chloe to be so childish, it felt like something I would've enjoyed when I was 14 years old. Actually, I think if I had read this at that age I would've been obsessed with Rogan and the idea of having a Build-A-Boyfriend Workshop. It felt YA-ish, except the character where in their early twenties instead.
And, OK, this one wasn't the absolute worst. The side characters where pretty enjoyable. I liked Bree, Fitz, Charli, and Monica. Despite her prejudice against robots, Monica was actually a very good friend to Chloe and acted with her friend's best interests at heart. The Asists who where side characters, such as Bree and Charlie, felt more like autonomous beings with their own agency than Rogan, so I liked them.
I also liked that Chloe and Monica where teachers. It's not often I read about characters who happen to be teachers, so it was an interesting perspective. I almost wish we had more scenes of Chloe actually doing her job. Apparently the author used to be a teacher, so I like the insight into this profession. Out of everything in this book, this felt the most personal. On the other hand, I didn't understand why the school administration called Chloe during the weekend. They seemed to have secretaries in every day of the week. Was it a boarding school? I would assume that even boarding schools wouldn't need weekend secretaries, but what do I know?
August 11, 2016
Title: This Is Me
Author: CE Wilson
Genre: Sci-Fi Romance
Format: Ebook
Pages: 454
Rating: 5
Heat: 2
Thoughts: Well, I stayed up past my bedtime and had to force myself to put it down and go to bed. This story was so good! Not your typical love story which was a nice change. Granted it was obvious that Chloe and Rogan were going to end up together but how they were going to end up there was a complete mystery. This also pointed out prejudices that were really no different from the real world other than we don’t have A-SISTs. The hate towards the Asists and Asist-minis was much like the hatred spewed between classes, religions, color, ethnicity, and even political alliances of today. It will truly make you think about how you treat or think of other people.
I loved the characters, they seemed real to me. I’m going to miss spending time with them. I really enjoyed not knowing what was going to happen, I would think Chloe was going to figure it out but then she doesn’t, I assumed Rogan was going to do something but then he didn’t. It was awesome; I love it when an author can do that. This is definitely a book that I will have to get a copy for my bookshelf and reread again and again.
Please note that I received a complimentary copy of this work in exchange for an honest review.
Author: CE Wilson
Genre: Sci-Fi Romance
Format: Ebook
Pages: 454
Rating: 5
Heat: 2
Thoughts: Well, I stayed up past my bedtime and had to force myself to put it down and go to bed. This story was so good! Not your typical love story which was a nice change. Granted it was obvious that Chloe and Rogan were going to end up together but how they were going to end up there was a complete mystery. This also pointed out prejudices that were really no different from the real world other than we don’t have A-SISTs. The hate towards the Asists and Asist-minis was much like the hatred spewed between classes, religions, color, ethnicity, and even political alliances of today. It will truly make you think about how you treat or think of other people.
I loved the characters, they seemed real to me. I’m going to miss spending time with them. I really enjoyed not knowing what was going to happen, I would think Chloe was going to figure it out but then she doesn’t, I assumed Rogan was going to do something but then he didn’t. It was awesome; I love it when an author can do that. This is definitely a book that I will have to get a copy for my bookshelf and reread again and again.
Please note that I received a complimentary copy of this work in exchange for an honest review.
July 3, 2016
I really enjoyed this book. C. E Wilson is good at thinking outside the box and this is always reflected in her books. This book reminded me of the channel 4 TV show humans. The principal is similar however the story is completely its own.
Rogan is a robot. He is a companion to Chloe. He was a graduation present from her parents to allow her to move away from home to the city. Rogan helps Chloe with everyday task such as walking her to work and bringing coffee but the more time that passes the more he becomes special to her. This is a controversial romance about living life the way that makes you happy rather than worrying about what others may think.
4.5 stars out of 5. I would recommend to fans of sci fi romances and people who like the tv show Humans.
*ARC*
Rogan is a robot. He is a companion to Chloe. He was a graduation present from her parents to allow her to move away from home to the city. Rogan helps Chloe with everyday task such as walking her to work and bringing coffee but the more time that passes the more he becomes special to her. This is a controversial romance about living life the way that makes you happy rather than worrying about what others may think.
4.5 stars out of 5. I would recommend to fans of sci fi romances and people who like the tv show Humans.
*ARC*
June 5, 2017
Uggh... I wanted more than anything to like this book but it was impossible. The concept was awesome and I hope to stumble upon a well written novel that is able to make me feel what I hoped this book would.
I do not understand all of the high ratings, and because of them I feel bad for not enjoying this novel. The writing, descriptions, the pov's switching back and forth between paragraphs nearly drove me insane!!!!
The characters, holy crow!! The only one I liked was the non human!!! The female mc felt like she had multiple personality disorder at times. She contradicted herself in her thoughts, actions and even her feelings.
Such a waste of so much potential, it makes me sad.
I do not understand all of the high ratings, and because of them I feel bad for not enjoying this novel. The writing, descriptions, the pov's switching back and forth between paragraphs nearly drove me insane!!!!
The characters, holy crow!! The only one I liked was the non human!!! The female mc felt like she had multiple personality disorder at times. She contradicted herself in her thoughts, actions and even her feelings.
Such a waste of so much potential, it makes me sad.
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