I struggled with what to rate this, but I’m going to land at a 3.5 rounded down. For me it was too long and would’ve definitely gotten a better rating if the story were trimmed or sped up a bit.

This is a story narrated by a bot, Moku, that is increasingly finding itself involved in the lives of Bador and Lina, a bot and human respectively. Bador and Lina are siblings that have different goals but love each other. Bador and Moku in particular have a lot of growth over the course of the story.

The characters and the relationships worked really well for me. I found them compelling, and they dealt with hurt and pain in ways that felt authentic.

It takes a turn at the halfway point that didn’t work as well for me. Things get more wild and crazy and chaotic. I had less of a handle on what was happening. It went on for too long. A lot of the character moments I was enjoying from the first half were not the focus of the second half. It kind of felt like two very different books smooshed into one. I got bored at multiple points in the second half but plowed through. Having said that, I think as a film experience it would’ve been a lot of fun. A lot of it felt written as an adventure film that just didn’t work well in book form.

Bador and Moku’s journey is definitely the best part. Moku’s voice as narrator is also endearing - I was charmed in a way that Murderbot never charmed me.

Thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for the ARC.