This was a bit on the weird side for me, unfortunately. I love Crossan’s writing style but the topic and plot line left me cold. With thanks to the publisher anyway for access to this review copy in exchange for an honest review.

This was such a pleasant surprise. I went in with no expectations and found myself really enjoying the journey. Thank you to the writer, publisher, and NetGalley for letting me read this book.

Dolores has her marriage shattered when she discovers her husband's female robot in the garage. She learns that the doll is named Zoey, and after her husband leaves, she decides to plug the doll in and spend time with it.

This story is written as a stream of consciousness as Dolores works through things that happened in her childhood, and through to meeting and marrying her husband. It jumps around a lot and so I felt a little bit lost in the beginning, but then got used to it, and then got engrossed seeing how it would all end.

This deals with heavy topics. I couldn't put it down, but I do wish that the ending had a bit more of a solid feel to it.

Thank you to Bloomsbury and Netgalley for the e-Arc of this book.

A really surprising read, I didn't expect the secret to be what it was.

The book had dual timelines, which I love, and was so well written. Very powerful and emotional I really enjoyed this.

Triggers and difficult subjects covered. The book is in short paragraphs that flip between now and childhood, making it an easy read.After discovering her husbands secret, their marriage breaks down, and what is left is love, loss, trauma, and loneliness. I am struggling with this one. Do you ever read a book and think what did I just read or think eh what exactly happened?" It's one of those. It ended abruptly, which I never liked, but it has left me thinking, what !

Thank you netgalley for allowing me to read for a review.

Emotional
The story of Dolores, who discovers her husband has been keeping an AI robot in the garage as his sex toy.

This book is told in two timelines. The time after Dolores discovered Zoey and then all of the key incidents that happened before Zoey.

This is a fascinating story. An apparent stream of consciousness, with seemingly disparate chunks of Dolores’s life laid out in front of us.

Her hurt and confusion at her husband’s behaviour is palpable but as we read more, we discover how we arrived at the space where Zoey was necessary for Dolores’s husband.

There is warmth, wit and humour here but there is also raw, biting, painful emotion and I absolutely could not stop reading.

This book also appears to have been published under another title - one which eventually made much more sense to me, and horrified me.

I also read the synopsis of the book under the other title, and it described a book much closer, in my opinion, than the synopsis used for ‘Hey Zoey’.

Unputdownable.

Wow! An incredible and sometimes disturbing portrait of the mind of a woman I couldn't like, but was utterly compelled by. Close to a horror story at times (this book has a lot of themes that some may find troubling and upsetting). There were several moments I felt like the story was going to tip us into the obscene, but it always held back, giving us just enough to be stressed, but not enough to be truly horrific. To walk such a fine line is true genius, because I never knew what might happen next, and was holding my breath in places too.

I did laugh when there was mention of a music gig in Edgware. After living there for 40 years, can someone tell me where the music venue is, because I was never aware of it (besides a church hall)?!

A great, short, easy read. It was very much not what I was expecting, and I flew through it!

Thank you to the author, publisher and netgalley for an e-arc in exchange for an honest review.

I didn't know what to expect from this when I started but I absolutely loved it.

It was a quick read but with heavy topics. A story about loss and friendships.

This is one of those quiet, powerful novels that sneaks up on you and stays with you long after you’ve finished. It asks big questions in subtle ways, and the writing is just so beautifully raw. If you like introspective, character-driven stories about messy people trying to figure themselves out, definitely give this one a read.

This book wasn't as what I was expecting. Initially I was confused as the book also goes under the title of Hey Zoey which is how it downloaded on my Kindle. Certainly unexpected which held my attention, humorous superficially but quite dark beneath. The book jumps about a bit but still seems to flow. Different but worth a read with surprises along the way.

A popular YA author in the library I work in, I am frequently talking to the pupils about this author. On seeing that NetGalley was offering her novel to read, I was keen to do so.

I enjoyed the book quite. I did find the main character difficult to like. She had often occurring violent thoughts, knew she would not act on them but it was a bit off putting.

It was easy reading and just flowed, her writing had an ease to it and it meant it was difficult to put down. No chapters nor paragraphs.

The novel follows schoolteacher Dolores whose marriage has gone stale, her husband David is an anaesthetist. She discovers he has a sex doll which utterly shocks her and their marriage ends as a result. She ends up befriending the doll. It is all very strange!

Certainly a very light hearted and humorous book. I will certainly read more by this author in the future.

3.5 Stars!!!

I loved the concept of this book, the way it makes you take a deep thought into the affect of previous relationships but also the inevitable of life events. I did find it hard to follow at some points, and was left a little confused of what timeline we were in but overall the book was really interesting!

Okay so… I’m still not totally sure where to start with this one, it’s definitely not quite like anything else that I’ve picked up recently. Dolores’ life slowly unravels, her husband takes a very 𝘶𝘯𝘦𝘹𝘱𝘦𝘤𝘵𝘦𝘥 turn (to say the least), and when Zoey shows up and I was just sitting there like ‘𝒘𝒂𝒊𝒕, 𝒘𝒉𝒂𝒕?!’

I was shocked and confused, but also curious enough to keep going. Don’t get me wrong, it is a super easy read and I finished it in less than a day, but it kind of felt like I was watching everything from a distance… Like I couldn’t fully connect with the characters, and a lot of their choices had me raising my eyebrows.

Dolores is a teacher, and there are quite a few scenes at school with her and the students. Those parts didn’t grab me quite as much as the weirder, more emotional moments in the book, but they did add some additional depth to her character.

The story does touch on some big themes and topics; 𝘭𝘰𝘯𝘦𝘭𝘪𝘯𝘦𝘴𝘴, 𝘪𝘥𝘦𝘯𝘵𝘪𝘵𝘺, 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘪𝘯𝘷𝘪𝘴𝘪𝘣𝘪𝘭𝘪𝘵𝘺. However, I’m just not sure that they landed as hard as they could have (for me, at least). That said, I can totally see this one being a hit with a very specific kind of reader.

A big thanks to @rachelquinmarketing, @NetGalley and @bloomsburypublishing for the early copy of 𝘼𝙧𝙚 𝙔𝙤𝙪 𝘼𝙬𝙖𝙠𝙚 by 𝙎𝙖𝙧𝙖𝙝 𝘾𝙧𝙤𝙨𝙨𝙖𝙣

Thank you to Netgalley for allowing me to read this book in return for an honest review. I really enjoyed reading this book which definitely made me think. The story is rather deep and discusses many hard topics including abuse and loneliness. I really liked the characters and the way the author managed to include some humour around difficult topics. Overall an enjoyable read that I definitely recommend.

I wasn’t sure where this was going in the beginning, and I was getting a little bored, but it redeemed itself.

I found the story sad—especially towards the very end, but I think the author did a good job with it. I didn’t expect the reveal of Gavin’s character, especially with how much Dolores depended on him. Things made a bit of sense after that; they also didn’t.

I saw in some reviews that people found some parts funny; I didn’t.

I love Sarah Crossan books but I struggled with this one - maybe because it wasn’t what I was expecting and found the main character difficult to relate to.

I really struggled with this book. I found the layout and the way it kept jumping from one timeline to another much too confusing.
I might go back to it when I've more time to settle into it.

This book started with a bang. Dolores makes a discovery in the garage and wonders if she even knows her husband at all. On trying to find out why her marriage has exploded she ends up delving through her past as a sister, a daughter, then a teacher and wife. Can she forgive and forget and most of all can she determine what are women and their roles for?

This was definitely interesting but in parts it gave me whiplash as it jumped between past and present quite abruptly but it works funnily enough. I liked and loathed Delores in parts but as the book continues it makes sense as to why she is the way she is. This book intrigued me when I saw the premise and I did enjoy reading it. Also I found Delores’s mom hilarious and I’m not sure if she was meant to come across as funny but she was my favourite character. 4 star read for me

Written in an idiosyncratic style - not quite fragments but paragraphs that can often go off on one - this is a fascinating novel that, in the reading of it, keeps you on your toes. It's such a great concept because it tackles relationships between couples and friends and family, and the weirdest arrangement with 'Zoey'. Fortunately, I love a weird story and I love the structure of this one, too. Well worth a read, but for some, it might be just a bit too off kilter... Huge thanks to the publisher and to Netgalley for the early read.