This was my first step into the AI world and wasn't totally against it, given this is probably going to be a reality sooner rather than later.

Maeve works for an Irish tourism centre and AI robot Kobi is introduced to the centre to work in different environments and its Maeve's job to train him. Along with the rest of the staff, there are a few incidents but this was a pleasant read, with a few laugh out loud moments.

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

Sylvia Leatham does an amazing job in writing this book, it had that feel that I was looking for from the description and enjoyed the overall feel of this. The concept worked so well in the genre and was invested in the feel of this world. The characters were so interesting and worked in this universe. I was glad I got to read this and am excited for more from Sylvia Leatham.

What a jaunt! When Maeve gets put in charge of integrating a robot (Kobi) at her work, how can things go wrong? This is a fabulous romp full of fun involving robots, technology, tourism, and love. Get on board and go for a ride. You won't regret it.

Review: Chaos Theory

So, imagine being told your new work assignment is… training a robot. Not just any robot, but Kobi, an AI who’s supposed to “learn” how to fit in at an Irish tourism office. Poor Maeve is the unlucky employee handed this project, and let’s just say her life gets complicated fast. Between wrangling Kobi, navigating a love triangle between a coworker and Kobi's engineer, and realizing people around her may not be telling the whole truth, Maeve has her hands more than full.

The concept is clever and unique. With AI creeping into every corner of our real lives, this felt super current but still manages to be light and funny instead of overly tech-heavy. And the setting? Gorgeous. Books set in Ireland are dangerous for me, I always finish them googling flights I can’t afford.

Maeve herself was great to follow. She’s relatable, funny, and actually grows as a character instead of just tripping through chaos. I even laughed out loud in a couple of places, which I wasn’t expecting. The writing flows easily, too, and I read this faster than I meant to.

On the flip side, sometimes the way everyone treated Kobi like he was 100% human veered into uncanny valley territory. Like, yes, he’s polite and charming, but let’s not forget he’s made of wires, not feelings. And while this is being marketed as a rom-com, I’d call it more of a “rom-sometimes.” The romance is definitely there, but it’s not really the driving force of the book.

Overall, Chaos Theory is a quirky, entertaining read that mixes robotics, secrets, and just enough romance to keep things interesting. It didn’t blow my mind, but I think readers who want something fun, modern, and a little different will really enjoy it.

Big thanks to NetGalley, Storm Publishing, and Sylvia Leatham for the ARC! Pub date: September 6, 2025.

For the first 25%, I wasn't really enjoying this, but it picks up after that until the last 20% which has an odd change in direction. Maeve is meandering through life, flitting from job to job. In her current job as a marketing assistant, she's asked to babysit a robot named Kobi. Kobi is a collaborative robot designed to assist in the workplace and is fun character! I didn't think much of Maeve to start with, but she does well with Kobi, coming up with some great ideas to help him fit in. The chapters from Kobi's POV are sometimes hilarious. Slowly but surely Maeve comes into her own and finds her passion working with Kobi. Some interesting twists along the way. This is more a 'slice of life' story than a a romcom. Not a brilliant read for me unfortunately.
Thanks to Netgalley, Storm Publishing, and Sylvia Leatham for the free ARC. All opinions are my own.

This was more comedy than romance, and I found it to be just OK.
Thank you NetGalley and the publisher for access to this eARC.

Okay, so imagine showing up to your already not so great job one morning and being told you now have to babysit a robot. That’s basically Maeve’s life in this book, and let’s just say… things don’t exactly go smoothly. Kobi, the robot in question, is equal parts hilarious, awkward, and surprisingly endearing. He’s the true star of this book and honestly the one who kept me turning the pages.

This book is marketed as a rom com, but I’d say it leans heavier on the comedy aspect of that (thanks to Kobi’s antics) and lighter on the romance. The romance is there, but it’s more of a subplot than the center of the book. Personally, I was expecting more sparks between Maeve and her love interest, but instead, the book really shines when it’s exploring Maeve’s bond with Kobi and asking bigger questions about what it means to connect, with humans or otherwise. It is possible that this would have been more in line with sci fi or fiction, and not romance.

It’s quirky, light, and fast paced, with some really funny moments and a few deeper conversations about AI and ethics tucked in. While it wasn’t totally my vibe romance wise, I can see a lot of people loving this book.

Thank you to NetGalley, Sylvia Leatham, and Storm Publishing for the eARC of this book.

Thank you to NetGalley, Sylvia Leatham, and Storm Publishing for providing an advanced ARC copy of “Chaos Therapy.” In this novel, we meet Maeve, who just gets by in her job and life. When her boss asks her to “babysit” Kobi, a personal robot assistant, around the office, her life spirals into chaos. Maeve finds that maybe Kobi is not what they saw, and soon finds that sometimes friends come in all sorts of packages. The book explores how interactions between humans and robots shape Kobi’s personality. It’s a delightful, quick read, and if you're interested in AI, this book is definitely for you.

I can't say I particularly enjoyed this book, which, as a romance, is rather lacking in terms of the relationship between the two characters, and as for the part of the story with Kobi, it's not particularly entertaining either. It's not my kind of book, but I'm sure there will be someone else who will appreciate it much more.

Non posso dire di aver apprezzato particolarmente questo libro che come romance é piuttosto scarso dal punto di vista della relazione tra i due personaggi e per quanto riguarda la parte della storia con Kobi, neanche particolarmente divertente. Non il mio genere di libro, ma sicuramente ci sará qualcun altro che lo apprezzerá molto di piú.

I received from the Publisher a complimentary digital advanced review copy of the book in exchange for a honest review.

This book was certainly refreshing! It was light-hearted, comedic, and easy to follow along with. I thoroughly enjoyed the snippets of Kobi's character throughout the book. I think his contribution as well with Maeves is what sold the book for me. The books' chapters were set in time frames, which made the book go by fast. This book is classified as a romantic comedy, but I felt as if the romantic aspect was not as prominent. I would considerate it more general fiction, with a subplot of romance as I didn't feel the characters were primarily concerned with forming romantic relationships for a majority of the book.

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.