Willful Machines
by Tim Floreen
Pages: 370
Published on October 20th 2015
by Simon Pulse
Genres: LGBT, Romance, Science Fiction, Young Adult
Format: eARC
Source: Edelweiss
Goodreads
In the near future, scientists create what may be a new form of life: an artificial human named Charlotte. All goes well until Charlotte escapes, transfers her consciousness to the Internet, and begins terrorizing the American public.
Charlotte's attacks have everyone on high alert—everyone except Lee Fisher, the closeted son of the US president. Lee has other things to worry about, like keeping his Secret Service detail from finding out about his crush on Nico, the eccentric, Shakespeare-obsessed new boy at school. And keeping Nico from finding out about his recent suicide attempt. And keeping himself from freaking out about all his secrets.
But when the attacks start happening at his school, Lee realizes he's Charlotte’s next target. Even worse, Nico may be part of Charlotte’s plan too.
As Lee races to save himself, uncover Charlotte’s plan, and figure out if he can trust Nico, he comes to a whole new understanding of what it means to be alive ... and what makes life worth living.
I received this book for free from the publisher or author in exchange for an honest review.
This does not affect my opinion of the book or the content of my review.
Well geesh… What is with that ending? Seriously… I was feeling all the feels and loving it a lot and then it ends and it doesn’t feel complete yet. There better be more. A sequel, follow-up,… anything. Because the story isn’t over yet. But I did love this.
In the near future an Artificial Intelligence named Charlotte has gone rogue, terrorizing the country. Everyone’s on high alert, except President’s son Lee Fisher. He has other things to worry about, like keeping his Security, dad and the rest of the world from knowing he’s gay. His crush on the new boy in school, Nico, isn’t helping with that. But then the attacks start happening at school and Lee seems to be the next target.
This book has something very few non-contemporary books have. An LGBT romance. Honestly, I haven’t seen that before. Not for the main character anyway. It’s quite refreshing and it’s what drew me to the book when I first came across it on Edelweiss. Next to that, the story itself was very good too. I was hooked the whole time, read it in one sitting, nail-biting throughout the last 100 or so pages. I flew through the pages way too fast.
But then it ended and the story doesn’t feel complete yet. Which is why this book isn’t rated higher, that and something else I’ll tell in a bit. BUT, and I’ve never said this before, should a sequel of some kind be confirmed, so I know the story will be continued, I have no problem making the rating 4.5 stars. I’m writing this review in May, so it may have changed by the time you read this. If so, feel free to let me know in the comments! Next to that I feel like I could’ve used a bit more info on what the different tech-y things were. Like the Spiders and stuff.
I really loved the characters in this book. All of them. Dr. Singh, Ray, Trumbull, Lee’s dad, … They were all great. I loved Bex, Lee’s best friend. She’s such a great friend and she’s feisty. I want to see more of her! But of course I love Lee and Nico the most. I can’t say too much about Nico because that would be spoiler territory, but he was great and I loved him. Lee was such a sweet main character. I felt so much for him, my heart ached for him. Their romance is super sweet and works very well with the story. So good, you guys!
Willful Machines is a very entertaining, nail-biting and surprisingly original book with a very sweet LGBT romance that blends perfectly with the overall story. Recommended to fans of Sci-Fi or Dystopian and want something new in the genre.
- {Bee Mini-Reviews} THE BOY WHO STEALS HOUSES by C.G. Drews - April 8, 2019
- FairyLoot February UnBoxing – All The BATB Things - March 22, 2019
- The Return of Bee (part 2) ~ What I’ve Been Reading - March 15, 2019
[…] Page to Screen: Book to Movie Adaptions ~ Why You Shouldn’t HAVE to Read the Book [Oct 20] Bieke Reviews: Willful Machines by Tim Floreen [Oct 21] The Harry Potter Spells Book Tag [Oct 22] Rachel Reviews: How We Fall by Kate Brauning […]
Oh – this sounds like it had so many great elements that you enjoyed, Bieke!! Too bad about that open ending – those are so hard to not get frustrated with. Hopefully, there’s a book two for you.
Lovely review, Bieke 🙂
Twitter: Bieke Paesen
Hope so too! 😀 Thanks Kim!
Well this sounds pretty interesting, though I prefer a book that feels complete.
Twitter: Bieke Paesen
Me too! You could wait until a sequel is announced? 🙂
Twitter: The Infinite Limits of Love
Ooh an LGBT YA sci fi book! It sounds amazing, but uh oh, that ending scares me.
Twitter: Bieke Paesen
Yeah, but it’s still worth the read! 🙂
Wow, this book sounds so fantastic Bieke! LGBT or any kind of diversity is rare to find in SF – so to have it represented in a book, especially one that seems so excellent, makes me dance a little! I will definitely have to check this out!
Twitter: Bieke Paesen
Yes you do! 😀