I was delighted with this story. There were giggles, tears and mild peril but it left me with a smile and feeling hopeful.

Chaos Theory is a light story which beautifully entwines threads of the very modern issues of artificial intelligence and ethics, with the timeless quest for meaning and love. All in a package which is easy to read and enjoy.


I received an advanced copy of this book via NetGalley. They had no input into this review.

What could go wrong if you babysat a robot who took everything it heard literally? This wasn’t a question Maeve ever thought she’d have to answer until she was tasked by her boss to help train a robot assistant named Kobi. On top of that, she is caught between her easygoing co-worker-with-benefits and the super handsome programmer. Some of the humor in this book is laugh-out-loud absurd but don’t feel juvenile. While Leatham’s characters were flawed, they were also mature and endearing. The layered nuances of all of the characters made the humor light, heartwarming, entertaining.

Thank you so much to Storm Publishing and Sylvia Leatham for this ARC!

⭐️ 3.5 stars ⭐️
"Chaos Theory" was a surprising novel. The story about listless Maeve, going through the motions in work and life, suddenly entrusted with a robot employee sounded simple enough. For about 40% of the book this proceeded to be the case, then unexpected conversations about AI, ethics, community, prejudice and even a tiny bit of Irish history crept in to the drama. I wasn't necessarily any more propelled along in the storytelling by this, but I did appreciate what it was exploring. In this way, Sylvia Leatham's novel reminded me of "Remarkably Bright Creatures" by Shelby Van Pelt and I'm interested to see what she writes next.
I found the central love plot to be fairly muted, but worked its magic in the end (although I did want a tiny bit more of togetherness- I'm greedy like that!).

Chaos Theory was charming and witty. The first half made me laugh out loud many times - and in public too. There is a slightly ominous tone, which makes sense as the story progresses. Although the novel has comedic moments, I wouldn't call it a comedy.

The story is told from Maeve and sometimes Kobi's perspective. Given the cover, I thought there would be more romantic elements. However, most of the romance occurs off the page and is referenced later. The novel also explores themes around AI and it's ethics as it advances.

Chaos Theory has a lot of good elements: laughter, touching moments, self discovery, deception and intrigue. It definitely seems a bit confused about it's identity.

The ending almost lost me, but then it reminded me of the lightheared humor at the beginning of the book, and won me over again.

I would definitely read Sylvia Leatham's next novel!

If this is a debuting author, then I can't wait to see what they have in store for us next. Such a fun read, with what I think is such a relevant topic. With advancements of modern technology as it is currently, it's not actually hard to believe that we will see this come to fruition within our lifetime. While this is promoted as a romantic comedy, I feel that the romance is more something that plays alongside the actual plot, and the focal point is more the building of the relationship between Maeve and Kobi. It definitely had me laughing, though, so the comedy side holds true.

In this book, we have Maeve, a woman who struggles to lay down roots in any aspect of her life due to an unsettled childhood. Shane is her workplace hook up that definitely isn't or ever will be serious because she needs to be professional, obviously!
Then in comes Josh, who brings about a world of potential possibilities when he introduces her to Kobi, an AI 'Cobot' designed in mind to work alongside humans to better the production and efficiency in the workplace. She is left in charge of helping Kobi's integration at her workplace and encouraging interaction to help him learn.

***Thank you to netgalley and Storm publishing for the privilege of getting an ARC, the above review is my own opinion and has not been influenced in any way.

This book is a short, easy read & although I did laugh out loud numerous times I wouldn’t say it was a rom-com. The romance part is definitely secondary to the main themes. It’s definitely more centred around the contemporary topic of AI/robotic technology. Although this isn’t a topic I have an interest in, the way it was written did actually make me more interested, so if new technology is your thing then I highly recommend giving this book a read. It’s super unique!

Chaos Theory by Sylvia Leatham was interesting in that it featured a robot (Kobi) that was being trained to have more emotional intelligence by exposing him to people and settings. I think readers will enjoy the robot aspect of the book.

The story revolves around Maeve McGettigan and her coworkers at Go Ireland. She has a casual relationship with one of her coworkers, Shane Fitzgerald, that everyone appears to know about. However, when she meets Kobi’s programmer, Josh Hunter, she becomes interested in him and so a love triangle is born. There are comments throughout by the coworkers about “poor Shane” because Maeve is spending time with Josh.

It is a cute story, but I felt the story moved slowly until about halfway through when she took Kobi on a road trip and Kobi got damaged. Things come to a head at that point in time, and she discovers Josh has not been honest with her, and this changes the direction of the story. I had a tough time warming up to the main characters, but found the coworkers interesting. I did like how the people who interacted with Kobi humanized him and had a relationship with him.

Thank you NetGalley and Storm Publishing for the ARC in exchange for an honest review.

I got this ARC from Storm Publishing in NetGalley. This book is really cute. At first I was like uhhhh ok one night stand with a coworker this book is gonna be sooo bad. But it wasn’t. It was more about the Robot, Kobi. I loved the interaction with him and his handler Maeve. Which I don’t think had any skill set as far as a could tell. Secret genius maybe. All the moving around made her street smart…not sure but anyway she helps take care of a robot. The bond between them grows and she puts Kobi in different situations. Josh the actual creator seems legit but is he???? You will jut have to read it to find out. A good storyline with sweet characters. Has a good sense of humor throughout. Would for sure recommend.

This for me was a quick read, however I would like to make some things clear first! If you thought this would be a romance heavy book (based on the cover and whatnot), this book isn’t that. This book makes romance more of a micro-plot, with the robot Kobi our main plot line. Now there is nothing wrong with that, just it is a different direction than what I think you would be led to believe. In my opinion there was some loose odds and ends I would’ve loved to have seen wrapped up more, but that’s okay.

I have to admit, when I started this book it wasn’t written in a style that I would usually enjoy. And to begin with I found myself taking note of some strained language here, or some repeated stereotypes there.

But when I really got into the story, and more specifically when I got to know Kobi, none of those things seemed that important anymore!

I absolutely fell in love with Kobi, his developing personality, his awkward first social attempts, his funny little quirks, his relationship with Maeve. He was just a delight! I obviously have a weakness for anthropomorphised characters because I could not get enough of him. And the fact that we get some chapters from his POV was absolutely brilliant!

And seeing how the human relationships around him changed and grew over the course of the book was enjoyable as well.

By the end I could not have cared more for these characters, and although there are some twists and turns towards the end (which I can’t decide if I feel were a step too far as pertains to how realistic/unrealistic it all got) I can’t deny that my emotions were fully engaged!

So while I can recognise that the writing wasn’t always quite on point, I had such a fun time reading this and would definitely read future books by this author.

Thank you to NetGalley, the publishers and the author for the opportunity to read this eARC.

Dnf’ed at 25%

I am not a person who dnf’s books often and I really didn’t connect with this one, but I know that some people definitely will.
I think my main issue is that this book is described as a “quirky romantic comedy,” and I don’t think that is accurate at all. I can tell that this book focuses more on the robot/ai aspect than anything else, and while I know that some people will really enjoy that, it just wasn’t for me. I also didn’t really connect with the characters. I did like the wiring and the dialogue, which is always very important to me when reading and I can tell that the author is a very good writer, even if the story didn’t click with me. I would recommend this book to anyone who is interested in reading about robots/ai entering workplaces, and the way that people have to adapt to that 😊

Thank you to netgalley, the publisher, and the author for the arc in exchange for an honest review :)

Humorous, thought provoking, interesting exploration of human/robot interactions, ethics and digital rights. That sounds dry but I assure you it is not. Can robots evolve their personality? Having read all of Asimiv's robot books, this one is in the same vein but the author is writing from the perspective of our time which is years down the track of our development of artificial intelligence. I received a complimentary copy of this book. Opinions expressed in this review are completely my own.

Chaos Theory is a cute, lighthearted office romance with an interesting twist, and not lot of spice. The story’s real scene-stealer is Kobi, the robot, who adds charm and humor throughout. It’s the kind of book that makes for a fun, easy escape, perfect when you’re in the mood for something sweet and entertaining without heavy drama. A delightful pick for fans of light office romance with a quirky edge. #chaostheory. #netgalley

This novel is timely in the age of trying to figure out how AI and robots factor into our future. The story introduces us to the concept of personalizing the humanity of a robot. We think of robots as computers built to perform tasks or store information. We are introduced to the idea that a robot could take on human qualities like compassion and empathy. I enjoyed how the story gave us a love triangle in the background but the focus is more on Maeve and her dedication to Kobi the robot. The chapters that we get insight into Kobi’s thinking add an interesting touch to this story. It made me feel that he was more than a robot but an actual character with feelings.

This was a pretty cute read. I really liked the main character, Maeve and enjoyed her character growth throughout this novel. I did laugh out loud a few times and there were definitely some cheesy moments. This is marketed as a laugh out loud rom com and while I did laugh a bit I wouldn’t necessarily call this one a rom com. There is romance for sure but it’s not the main focus.

I liked seeing how Kobi was integrated into different setting as seeing how everyone reacted to him. It’s not far fetched to think that this may become a reality sooner rather than later.

Thank you NetGalley and Storm Publishing for access to the ARC in exchange for an honest review.

I really enjoyed Chaos Theory because of the solid writing, the workplace setting of a tourism office in Dublin, and the many likeable characters, especially the FMC, Maeve.

Maeve is sort of drifting along in both her professional and personal life and has a pattern of pushing people away. Enter Kobi, a robot that she is put in charge of only because everyone else does not have enough time. What follows is personal growth for Maeve, and an interesting plot that sometimes resembles that of a thriller, although written with a light touch.

This was definitely a fun book with some humor and romance. However, it is marketed as a laugh aloud romcom, and I don’t believe that is an apt description. I see it as a lighthearted look at artificial intelligence with a strong emotional pull and interesting characters.

3.5 stars!
This is a fun science/engineering themed rom-rom, with a very unique and new-age plot.

In this story we meet Maeve- a woman working for an Irish tourism company, who has recently been assigned to work alongside an AI robot, Kobi.
Maeve’s task is to intergrade Kobi into the work into her workplace and give him real experiences and human interaction.
In the process, she finds herself caught in a love triangle with Kobi’s creator, and her coworker who has been aiding her in this new and difficult task.
She will soon discover that there are a lot of secrets surrounding Kobi, and someone has been lying to her the whole time.

I thought this was a fun read overall.
There were several things I really liked about it, but several things that just made it fall a little bit short for me.

I will start with the positives!
I can really appreciate a story that discusses very modern/recent concepts. It is always nice to see relevant topics in books, and this certainly has that. In our current environment, we are seeing technology reimaged and elevated to a level beyond what we have had in the past. Given all of the new developments in AI- I am not surprised to see authors beginning to include that in their newer stories.
I think this is a cool introduction into the world of robotics and would probably be of interest to a lot of readers who are interested in recent tech advancements- but also want to read something fun and lighthearted!

I love the setting here! The more books I read set in Ireland, the more I want to book a plane ticket.
I am always excited to support more Irish authors!

Also, the writing is quite nice in this. It reads very easily, and it kept me very engaged throughout. Many of the characters are likeable, and I did find myself hoping things would work out for them.

Now for the things that I didn’t like as much.
There was a point at which I started to feel a tad bit strange. Perhaps I am just somewhat of a skeptic, I am not sure. The level to which Maeve and the other characters began to see Kobi as a human- started to surpass comfortability for me. At the end of the day, we are still discussing a robot, so to see them personify him so much just got odd and made me enjoy the story a little less.

This really isn’t a huge deal for me, but I think it is worth mentioning. This story is marketed as a romance, but I wouldn’t necessarily call it one. While it does have romantic elements, and a relationship does bloom at the end- it is not really the main focus. It is sort of on the back burner. I was just expecting a bit more, given the genre listing and the cover.
Again, not really that big of a deal, but an important thing to note if you are a heavy romance reader.

Overall, I thought this was decent! While I didn’t find it unenjoyable- I do think there are many readers that would take more enjoyment from this than I was able to!

A huge thank you to Netgalley, Storm Publishing and author Sylvia Leatham for providing me with the eARC of “Chaos Theory”, in exchange for my honest review!
Publication date: September 6th, 2025
Reviewed on Goodreads: August 12th, 2025

this was pretty cute! it was a very fun and enjoyable read, and i’d definitely check out more by the author

3.5⭐️


Maeve McGettigan trabaja en Go Ireland, una oficina de turismo en Dublín, donde su mayor reto hasta ahora ha sido evitar que su relación esporádica con su compañero Shane se convierta en algo serio. Pero todo cambia cuando su jefe le asigna una tarea inesperada: supervisar a Kobi, un cobot (robot colaborativo) altamente avanzado, enviado por una empresa tecnológica para mejorar sus habilidades de interacción humana en un entorno de oficina. Lo que parecía una misión sencilla pronto se convierte en un caos absoluto: Kobi arruina la página web de la empresa, incomoda a sus compañeros con comentarios inoportunos y, lejos de integrarse, parece generar más problemas de los que resuelve. Entre malentendidos, tensiones laborales y la creciente presión, Maeve tendrá que decidir si logra encontrarle un lugar a Kobi… o si lo mejor sería encontrar la forma de que desaparezca.

___

No fue un mal libro, pero tampoco fue para mí.


Thanks to NetGalley, the publisher and the author for the ARC in exchange for an honest opinion.

This was such a cute read. I was hooked from the very first page and I kept reading until the first as I wanted to know what happened. The story was cute and easy to follow with a great cast of characters. plus I loved the place settings in the book. I highly recommend it and I look forward to reading more by the author.
💝 Thank you to Netgalley, Storm publishing and the author Sylvia Leatham for my arc ebook copy of the book in exchange for an honest review