3.5 upped to 4
A distopyc techno-thriller that talks about memories, AI impacts on our life and a lot of twists.
My main issue was with the AI as I work in high tech and some parts seemed a bit fantasy to me.
As for the story is a bit slow and confusing at times but it kept me reading and the solution surprised me
There's potential and the author is a good storyteller
Many thanks to the publisher for this ARC, all opinions are mine

If you're someone who needs every technical detail to really buy into the concept, this won't be for you. Alice McIllroy keeps everything pretty high-level, probably to make this more readable for the general public. There isn't much explanation into AI, machine learning, or how the AI brain chip even works. It's just a lot of vibes of the spooky variety.

If you are looking to start the new year with a thought provoking read, you need to add this to your TBR.

💉 𝗔𝗥𝗖 𝗥𝗘𝗩𝗜𝗘𝗪 💉

The Glass Woman
Thriller
Alice Mcllroy
⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

• Grief • Death • AI •

I liked how this book was set in the UK and included references to places I'm familiar with.

I found the descriptions to be very monotonous at times but I got the impression that it was done to reflect how detached Iris felt.

I felt scared for Iris as she was being controlled and she was desperate to find out what was really happening, who she could trust, etc.

I didn't see the plot twists coming and they definitely surprised me. I could always tell something was wrong but I couldn’t put my finger on it.

The pacing itself was good but I would've liked a POV from someone else.

The ending was good and quite satisfying.

*Thank you to @Netgalley, the author, and the publishers for providing this ARC. This is my own opinion and an honest review, which I am leaving voluntarily*

I enjoyed the concept and some of the writing in this novel, especially the repeated text as Iris describes what she knows about her life story, which builds as the novel develops, which I thought was a nice feature. There was good tension in the first half of the novel, where Iris is at her least aware and most vulnerable, and good set-up of a mystery. However, the way that the mystery unfolded — who had left her the notes, what her husband knows, who is Dorian, who is Teo — was relatively predictable. I wasn't surprised to find that Iris was, herself, a 'baddie', or that the secret behind the forbidden wall related to a lost child. I found the central concept — that, when they are given the chance to start again with different information, people make different choices — interesting, but the techno-pessimism fairly predictable, especially given the menace of Ariel early on.

It feels like this novel runs on fairly well-worn tracks set by previous novels and films that cover AI intelligence, people with lost memories, etc.

On StoryGraph, I've given this 3.5 stars.

So I must admit I nearly gave up on this one as I felt it was slow to pick up pace and repetitive in parts also I struggled with the genre as it entered the realms of sci-fi which is not my usual genre so I didn't connect like I usually do having said that I feel it's important to pick out that the author wrote with detail and description and if AI floats your boat then I'd give it a go.

A slow, sinister psychological thriller with a strong science fiction element. The pace of the narrative forced me to give up at 38 % although the writing quality is very good.

The glass woman by Alice Mcllroy.
When you wake up without your memories, who can you really trust?
Pioneering scientist Iris Henderson chose to be her own first test-subject for an experimental therapy, placing a piece of technology into her brain. At least, this is what everyone tells her. Trouble is, Iris is now without her memories so she doesn't know what the therapy is or why she would ever decide to volunteer for it. Everyone warns her to leave it alone, but Iris doesn't know who to trust. As she scratches beneath the surface of her seemingly happy marriage and successful career, a catastrophic chain of events is set in motion. Secrets will be revealed that have the capacity to destroy her whole life, but Iris can't stop digging.
This was a good read. I found it creepy and twisty. I did like the story. I did find I had to keep putting it down but then when I picked it up I could read it again. It was slow to begin with but picked up a little way in. I did like Iris as she wouldn't stop when told to. This was a good debut though and I liked the cover. 4*.

Iris Henderson wakes up with no memory of why she is in hospital. Her husband, Marcus, helps her doctor to explain to Iris that she volunteered to have an AI chip implanted in her brain which has removed some memories of hers which were distressing. The treatment is ground-breaking but Iris doesn't believe that she would have volunteered for this. Is Marcus telling the truth? What memories did she want to hide?

There are some intriguing aspects to the device of an AI actually implanted in someone's brain. Whenever Iris tries to do something that the AI doesn't want her to do, Iris suffers physical symptoms such as siren noises in her head & she is even pushed to the point of passing out. It would be akin to having a particularly pushy version of Alexa in your head, but one who can control your bodily functions such as heart rate etc. Scary. It could have been a first rate thriller, but I found the storyline to be very slow paced & repetitive in some areas. I also think the plot twist payoff is not enough for having to trudge through it. A missed opportunity for me.

My thanks to NetGalley & publishers, Datura Books, for the opportunity to read an ARC.

This wasn’t for me as the subject matter wasn’t the thriller I was expecting but much more a sort of sci-if genre than I like.

My Rating: 3⭐️⭐️⭐️ it was good… but not great!

When you wake up without your memories, who can you really trust?

Scientist Iris Henderson chose to be her own first test-subject in a ground breaking experimental therapy. A piece of technology is placed into her brain to assist with trauma, helping heal from the emotional damage it was doing to her and bring her peace.

The trouble is Iris has lost her memories altogether and she cannot fathom whys he would sign away her consent to this type of experimental treatment and everyone around her cannot be trusted… or so she thinks.

Ok, so I liked it but I didn’t love it. It was a bit confusing and I am fine with that but some of it to me was pointless misdirection and some of it was so so so repetitive. We got to hear about Iris nearly blacking out or actually blacking out from disobeying the implant for what felt like a hundred times… I was getting a bit irritated with that.

I did like the writing and I did like the premise but overall this one was a meh for me. I think that it was a bit of a cop out with the twist and the reason for the implant. And there was a real ominous feel to it that fell really flat for me… and then kind of when nowhere. Some really creepy shit could have happened but I think they really missed the mark on it.

Some storyline’s were introduced and not fully discovered and others were too drawn out. Like I said it was super repetitive in places and we read all about their house and how suffocating it was but there was little to no explanation to why… now I get the nuance of what she was talking about but why keep mentioning over and over and over again if you aren’t going to give it a little more substance. I felt like there were a lot of things like this in the book that had a half measure applied to them only to really go nowhere.

I don’t really have much more to add as I don’t want to spoil the book for people. The sci-fi type AI angle was good… it could have been better as well because there was a lot of ambiguity and while I normally really like that it was just a bit confusing and ended up being a non event. I did keep drifting off which is never a good sign… initially I put it down to me being tired but honestly I think I was a little bored.

Overall, I don’t really have anyone to recommend this too… not with all my heart. If you like the sound of the premise then give it a go its not super long and like I said its not a bad book…just not a great book.

Thank you to the author, NetGalley and Datura Books for an ARC in exchange for an honest review.

A woman wakes up with no memories and is told she volunteered to get technology she invented implanted in her brain. However, as she tried to investigate what the technology is, she finds continuous pushback which prompts her to be even more curious.

I struggled to get into this one. I think maybe if we had flashbacks to before it could’ve helped build the suspense more.

This review is up on Goodreads now and will go live on my blog on 8 December:

To be honest, they had me at Black Mirror. As regular readers of my blog may know: compare a book to that show and I’m there for it with bells on. Truth be told, that doesn’t always work out, it’s an easy reference to make but the Black Mirror vibe I crave is not always as present as I’d like. Fortunately, that wasn’t the case with The Glass Woman. As a matter of fact, I think this would make a great episode!

The Glass Woman follows Iris who wakes up in a hospital room after some sort of AI device has been implanted into her brain to make her forget traumatic memories. The thing is, when she wakes up, she suffers from retrograde amnesia, so she can remember very little at all. Who even is she? Who is the man claiming to be her husband? Why on earth would she sign up for this type of treatment? She has a limited timeframe to recover her unwittingly lost memories, before the AI in her mind is fully integrated and they’ll be lost forever. And obviously, if you can’t remember what was so traumatising that you wanted it out of your head forever, all you can think about is what it might have been.

The Glass Woman is rather light on the technical details, and to be honest, that’s usually the way I prefer my technological / sci-fi thrillers. I don’t need to be bombarded with loads of scientific details, I am not science-minded at all. Moreover, bar a few exceptions such as Blake Crouch, when things get too technical, I feel it’s often to the detriment of the story.

The Glass Woman was a rather claustrophobic read for me, because you spend so much time in Iris’s mind, there are few other characters and you never know what’s going on with any of them, only Iris. You don’t know if she’s paranoid or absolutely right to be afraid, but her scared and confused thoughts and snippets of memories add to the feeling of claustrophobia.

Then again, who wouldn’t be scared or paranoid? I read lots of horror novels, none of them are even remotely as scary as what happens to Iris. The only voice I want in my head is my own, thank you very much. (It’s hard enough to make that one shut up 😬😂) So who wouldn’t flip out when there’s suddenly a presence in your head that wasn’t there before. Telling you what to remember, what to forget, what to do and what not to. While the person who should have your back, your other half, is being evasive at best and secretive at worst. And who the hell is Dorian?! Omnipresent, yet never seen. It drove me crazy!

When I’m caught up in a book, I usually have at least one working theory, often I have multiple. The Glass Woman? None. I had no idea what was going on and it annoyed me to no end. I did not have the faintest idea where this story might end up. I had no choice but to follow where it led, and man, it was down one hell of a dark and twisty little backstreet.

I had a really good time with The Glass Woman, even if it did get on my nerves that I couldn’t make sense of things. The Glass Woman is a thought-provoking and entertaining psychological / technological thriller and an impressive debut. I can’t wait to find out what this author will do next.

The Glass Woman is out in digital formats on 2 January 2024 and in paperback on the 9th.

Massive thanks to Datura Books and NetGalley for the eARC. All opinions are my own.

Loved this thought provoking AI thriller from an unusual perspective of AI control. Alice McIlroy has given the reader a writing style that plunges you deep into an enclosed space, trapped inside the brain. Iris wakes to find she has an implanted AI. Supposedly helping her recover. But from what? What can she trust is actually true of herself, her past and those around her?So begins a race against time to escape. But how do you escape when every thought is being monitored, every action is observed and controlled, and every memory is questionable? Thank you to Datura and NetGalley for the ARC. The views expressed are all mine, freely given.

I loved the synopsis of this book and couldn't wait to read it. I absolutely loved it. It was gripping and terrifying in equal measure.

Every now and then you read a book that you know you won’t forget and well this was most certainly one of those I loved it.
The story had so much to give and give it did over and over again with style, empathy and some wonderful writing.
The story line is completely absorbing as the main character Iris wakes to find all her memories have been erased and a AI device planted in her brain, who did this and why, will she get her memories back this is the question and oh boy it’s a big question and a fantastic story that I read in just over a day mainly as I just couldn’t put the book down ! The whole read is a thought provoking one they really set my mind reeling and a very topical one also. The conclusion was deeply satisfying and as I have said this is a book I won’t forget and at some point I will read it again.
So a book I would highly recommend and many, many thanks to Alice McIlroy for a superb 5 star read.
My thanks also to NetGalley and Datura Books for giving me the opportunity to read the ARC in exchange for my honest opinion.

Thank you Datura for the ARC. IYKYK, my reviews are ALWAYS honest.

SYNOPSIS

Iris wakes up from an experimental AI-implant procedure with no memories. But maybe those memories aren't worth rediscovering...

MY OPINION

Disclaimer: I'm not a regular sci-fi reader so if you're a vet of this genre, you may feel very differently from me and should take my review with a grain of salt. Disclaimer #2: I didn't really know what was happening at some points but I still liked it LOL.

This is described as Black Mirror meets Before I Go To Sleep, and from the two Black Mirror episodes I have watched, I would agree... I think? It definitely does give Before I Go To Sleep vibes, but the sci-fi version. If you're someone who needs every technical detail to really buy into the concept, this won't be for you. Alice McIllroy keeps everything pretty high-level, probably to make this more readable for the general public. There isn't much explanation into AI, machine learning, or how the AI brain chip even works. It's just a lot of vibes of the spooky variety.

Regardless, it is an interesting concept. And if Elon Musk's Disney villain ass had his way, it would be a reality tomorrow. Again, if you're a computer science nerd, this will probably be a very lame read for you. But for the average person, it is scary to think about how AI could control our minds. Definitely a great buddy read or bookclub pick; there's plenty to discuss here. I refuse to use ChatGPT so the AI brain chip is a no for me dawg. I don't need my memories extracted... it's called dissociation thank you very much!!!!!!!

The prose is akin to Iain Reid and trends more literary. It's set somewhere in the future but no specific year is given. The world-building is sparse. The author does a good job of putting you inside the mind of Iris. I was as confused and a lil scurred as she was at times. I know a lot of people hate the amnesia trope, but to me, it's a better type of unreliable narrator than a drunk/high one. And no, this isn't predictable... at least not to me? Either way, I think it's fun to watch a amnesia-ed out hoe start to put the pieces together, regardless if you can see the entire puzzle already. The ending felt a bit rushed, but for a debut, this was an ambitious premise that was fairly well-executed. I'm definitely keen to read whatever this author puts out next.

I know I'm repeating myself, but I want to make this very clear: I am not a regular sci-fi reader or a computer nerd so how I feel about this book will most certainly be wildly different than someone who is more well-versed on the genre and topics at hand.

PROS AND CONS

Pros: cool concept (for someone who doesn't read the genre regularly / isn't a computer/tech geek), unique writing style, spooky, ominous vibes, interesting 'twist'

Cons: doesn't get into the nitty gritty of how the tech works which is fine by me, I'm here for the speculation and vibes only but I know others will be pressed about this, ending is a bit rushed and there it is a bit repetitive at times

This book definitely stayed with me after reading. This added to the tension for me and did creep me out as it really made me think of potential scientific and technological advances.

I couldn’t really get into this book. I struggled with the writing style.- Despite the plot being interesting. I am sure many will love it but it just wasn’t right for me.

In "Unraveling Echoes," author Rob Kaufman takes readers on an enthralling journey through the enigmatic realms of memory, identity, and the chilling consequences of tampering with one's past.

Iris Henderson's life takes a bewildering turn when she awakens in a hospital bed, disconnected from her memories and her own husband, Marcus. Kaufman skillfully weaves a tapestry of mystery and intrigue that keeps readers captivated from the first page to the last.

The premise of an AI-driven therapy is a contemporary and thought-provoking concept that immediately draws the reader in. Kaufman's portrayal of Iris's emotional turmoil and confusion is both poignant and relatable, making her character all the more engaging.

As Iris delves deeper into her past, the narrative expertly balances suspense and a growing sense of unease. The story becomes an unrelenting exploration of the intricate connections between memory, identity, and the consequences of uncovering buried secrets. Kaufman's storytelling prowess shines through as he masterfully builds tension and suspense throughout the book.

"Unraveling Echoes" is a gripping tale that will keep readers on the edge of their seats. It is an exceptional blend of psychological thriller and contemporary fiction, providing readers with a fresh perspective on memory and identity. Rob Kaufman's storytelling is as profound as it is enthralling, and this novel is a must-read for anyone who enjoys a complex, thought-provoking mystery.

What a fantastic read! Devoured in a day. Would have finished it in 1 sitting but at 1am and with work in the morning, it was time to get some sleep.

A book about a woman who was an AI implanted into her brain to suppress a previous traumatic experience - what could go wrong?

Unsettling, creepy and filled with suspense. You have no idea if anyone can be trusted, even the protagonist! A timely book that delves deep into the ethics of artificial intelligence and the potential consequences of using them. Loved it!