Book Reviews

Book Blurb

London bartender Fane thinks he’s hit the jackpot when he finds a rare and expensive service Bot discarded in a dumpster, and he takes it home to get it working again. The Jo-E brings some much-needed companionship to Fane’s lonely life, but there’s something different about this Bot, as indicated by its odd behavior. Fane’s developing feelings toward Jo-E trouble him, and things go from bad to worse when a robotics engineer arrives on Fane’s doorstep, demanding the return of his property. Fane is forced to choose between a hefty reward and following his heart. Giving in to his forbidden desires might get him killed—or change his life forever.

Book Review

Set in London of 2045, this is a fascinating story about two men who face fundamental decisions about the direction their lives will take. One is a financially struggling, lonely bartender named Fane, who needs to decide if money or love is more important. The other is a service Bot named Jo-E who becomes sentient and is faced with a choice of following his original programming versus using free will to do what he wants. The development of the relationship between Fane and Jo-E is interesting, the realization of what is going on with Jo-E had me spellbound, and the final solution is not just ingenious, but made my inner romantic very happy.
 
Fane has no idea what he is in for when he finds Jo-E in a dumpster. He knows he’d never be able to afford such a recent model on the little money he is making as a bartender in a gay bar, so the temptation to take the Jo-E model home is huge. Fane also has just enough understanding of robotics to think he can fix the only fault he discovers in a quick examination. So, of course, he takes the Bot home. Much to his surprise – he has not been the luckiest man on the planet so far – he not only manages to repair the Bot, but also discovers he likes Jo-E’s company a lot more than expected. But then, Jo-E doesn’t seem to be quite what Fane expected.

Jo-E is a very advanced model housing an AI that comes close to human in terms of intelligence. But there is more to him than his original programming from the moment Fane switches him back on. It was fascinating to watch him explore his new home and determine that he wants to serve Fane as best he can – but underlying that was not some directive embedded in his software, but the fact that he “likes” Fane. None of the self-diagnostics he runs can explain it, and he sets out to convince Fane to keep him rather than send him back to the cold, power-hungry robotics engineer who experimented on him before discarding him due to a minor short-circuit.

This is one of the more unconventional relationships that appear in romance novels, but it was very touching. Both Fane and Jo-E discover new things about themselves and each other, have to face obstacles, and end up fighting for their right to stay together. There is lots of humor, a touch of suspense provided by the evil robotics engineer, and some very hot physical explorations.

If you like stories about robots coming to life and all the consequences that can entail, if you believe that all sentient beings - no matter their origin - have a right to freedom and love, and if you’re looking for a read that manages to entertain while delivering a serious message about equal rights of the unusual kind, then you will probably like this story as much as I did.

 

 

 

 

DISCLAIMER: Books reviewed on this site were usually provided at no cost by the publisher or author. This book has been provided by Dreamspinner Press for the purpose of a review.

Additional Information

Format	ebook
Length	Novella, 67 pages/23252 words
Heat Level
Publication Date	25-May-2016
Price	$3.99 ebook
Buy Link	https://www.dreamspinnerpress.com/books/fire-up-my-heart-by-asta-idonea-7012-b