Review by Booklist Review
Julia Walden was created for just one purpose: to love Josh LaSalla. One of only three organic-tech hybrid synths in the world, she is planted on reality TV's hottest show, The Proposal, to fight for his affections against real women. Their romance is a whirlwind, and when Julia finally wins the coveted proposal on the last episode, the whole world expects a happily ever after . . . except a year and a half later, Josh has gone missing, her nerdy creator Andy may or may not be in love with her, and authorities suspect Julia of murder. With her baby daughter in tow, Julia sets out to unravel the mystery of what really happened to her loving husband and get back her perfect life. Two alternating time lines push forward a tense, thrilling narrative that highlights some very important questions about free will, abuse, AI, and the horrors of playing God. Satterthwaite does a remarkable job of making her synth protagonist someone you want to root for against all odds. She's unfailingly kind, loyal, and moral--oftentimes in marked juxtaposition to the very real people who surround her.
From Booklist, Copyright (c) American Library Association. Used with permission.
Review by Publisher's Weekly Review
Reality TV and AI collide in Satterthwaite's imaginative debut about a synthetic woman (or "synth") suspected of murdering her husband. WekTech industries created Julia Walden to compete on a popular dating series, The Proposal, for the heart of Joshua LaSala. Charmed by Julia's beauty and kindness, Josh chooses her, and they marry. Fourteen months later, the couple's romance has soured: they're struggling to raise an infant daughter and their rural home in Indiana is regularly vandalized by Proposal viewers. Overwhelmed, Josh heads out on a camping trip to clear his head. When he fails to return home, Sheriff Hank Mitchell informs Julia that his empty car was found in the woods near a highway. Hank, who has a strong aversion to synths, is convinced that Julia has something to do with Josh's disappearance. Desperate, Julia turns to her creator, Andy Wekstein, and her daughter's babysitter, Eden Jeliazkova, for help clearing her name. Satterthwaite alternates the trio's investigation of Josh's disappearance with flashbacks that flesh out Julia's backstory, building to an eerie and satisfying conclusion the implications of which will linger in readers' minds long after the story ends. This provocative blend of domestic thriller and speculative fiction will leave suspense fans hungry for Satterthwaite's sophomore effort. Agent: Lauren Bieker, Fineprint Literary. (July)
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