Love You Like That by Scarlett Cole

My rating: 5 of 5 stars



Scarlett Cole is the unsung hero of the romance genre. With unique heroines, larger than life heroes and irresistible romance, she quickly seduces the heart. Love You Like That is the equivalent of what makes her stories addictive. From sweet to sultry to funny, Zoe and Alex slowly leave their mark on the senses. He's broody. She's inspiring. Together they are captivating.



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Cole has moved back to his hometown with the best friends of a lifetime.  Now that he is here, however, finding someone to appreciate him as he is may prove difficult.  Until he gets the surprise he never saw coming.

Aiden has grown up with Cole, though he has family problems of his own.  Making a name for himself by going out on his own with his bar - he takes chances others won't.  Then one night he takes the riskiest change yet.

These men are so good together it is almost too sweet for words.  I love the comraderies and friendships that bring humor, love, and joy in this story.  The heat is also turned all the way up as the unexpected sparks and keeps the fire burning bright.  Could not finish this one fast enough.  I give this a 5/5 Kitty's Paws UP!

Title: The A.I. Who Loved Me

Author: Alyssa Cole

Published Date: June 3, 2020

Publisher: Self-Published

Format: E-Book

Page Count: 143 pages

Source: Own copy

Date Read: June 27-28, 2020

Review

This story was in originally published as an Audible Original.

Trinity Jordan is a data analyst on temporary hiatus from her job and is working at another job within the company (The Hive) as a driver for self-driving cars (Uber but through the computer simulation). She is also living in the company's apartment complex, complete with home A.I. named Penny (think of an apartment complex version of an Echo or Alexis). There are her two best friends, Ru and Yana who also work at The Hive and her neighbor, Dr. Zheng and her nephew Li Wei (who is our hero). It is six months since the terrorist attack that injured Trinity and left her too shaken up to work her job. When Li Wei meets Trinity, it starts the re-downloading of memories of the attack and the few weeks prior to the attack - yep, Li Wei is the A.I. Trinity and Li Wei spend time together in the hopes of getting Li Wei well versed in humans. Meanwhile Trinity's memory is starting to falter and some memories are coming back while others are fading. Li Wei remembers enough to realize that The Hive is trying to 1) keep them apart and 2) doing experiments on them. So they remember enough to escape with the help of Ru, Penny, and Yana (oh, and TIM). 

Once again Alyssa Cole put together a fun and inventive romance that just is different from the rest of the genre. There is talk of racism, capitalism, sexism, etc that make this sci-fi romance feel very contemporary and now. The science fiction part is very relatable and not so far out for those of us not so versed in high concept sci-fi. Perfect poolside reading.

Sofronia and Ivan knew each other growing up as kids. Her mom worked for his mom. After her mom's death, they lost contact. They reconnect as adults at a meeting for civil rights and how to conduct non-violent sit-ins.
This was amazing. I loved this book. I adored Sofie and Ivan. This highlights the struggle for freedom, the basis human right to be treated as a person. To sit where you like. To be treated with respect. To be treated with dignity. The violence and hate.
The strength of this book (IMO) is it highlights we ALL have prejudices. We need to acknowledge them and learn from them to be better. Do better.
(Sofie is Black. Ivan is Jewish. Ivan's family escaped the Holocaust, but his father doesn't sympathize with the Civil Rights Movement. Sofie's father doesn't like Ivan because he is Jewish.)
The ending hints at an acceptance, a reconciliation. The ending is also realistic.