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Love Is an Algorithm
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Expected 31 Mar 26Win a free print copy of this book!
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“Joyful, generous and smart.”
—Holly Gramazio, New York Times bestselling author of The Husbands
Take the uncertainty out of love with Pattern, it's more than just a dating app!
Eve wants to make music that's fueled by love, passion, and rage (feelings!). She trusts her gut and her friends and in no way wants to rely on technology, let alone AI, to tell her how she feels. Danny is anxious—about his dad, his dating life, his coffee order (why is it twelve dollars?), and about the dating app he helped create, which seems determined to serve him terrible matches.
When Eve and Danny start dating, it feels like the solution to all of Danny’s worries—except when it doesn’t. Is she happy? Should he be doing more? Or less? This becomes the catalyst for a revolutionary new version of Danny’s app that promises to quantify relationship health and potential, helping users understand what's really going on. Problem solved!
As Pattern and Bug, the ever-so-friendly AI assistant, catch fire, users everywhere begin outsourcing major life decisions to Danny’s algorithms. But as Danny reckons with his newfound success, Eve—whose career relies on her ability to write her emotions into song—grows increasingly skeptical of the app’s impact on genuine connection. Their relationship becomes the ultimate modern experiment: How do you fall and stay in love in the digital age?
—Holly Gramazio, New York Times bestselling author of The Husbands
Take the uncertainty out of love with Pattern, it's more than just a dating app!
Eve wants to make music that's fueled by love, passion, and rage (feelings!). She trusts her gut and her friends and in no way wants to rely on technology, let alone AI, to tell her how she feels. Danny is anxious—about his dad, his dating life, his coffee order (why is it twelve dollars?), and about the dating app he helped create, which seems determined to serve him terrible matches.
When Eve and Danny start dating, it feels like the solution to all of Danny’s worries—except when it doesn’t. Is she happy? Should he be doing more? Or less? This becomes the catalyst for a revolutionary new version of Danny’s app that promises to quantify relationship health and potential, helping users understand what's really going on. Problem solved!
As Pattern and Bug, the ever-so-friendly AI assistant, catch fire, users everywhere begin outsourcing major life decisions to Danny’s algorithms. But as Danny reckons with his newfound success, Eve—whose career relies on her ability to write her emotions into song—grows increasingly skeptical of the app’s impact on genuine connection. Their relationship becomes the ultimate modern experiment: How do you fall and stay in love in the digital age?
400 pages, Hardcover
Expected publication March 31, 2026
8959 people want to read
About the author
Laura Brooke Robson
4 books204 followersLaura Brooke Robson is the author of Love Is an Algorithm and A Curse for the Homesick. She lives in New York.
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 162 reviews
Review of advance copy received from Netgalley
⭐️ 3.75 ⭐️ Why are relationships so hard? Imagine we had an AI generated app or a bot that tells you the chances of your relationship surviving, would you be interested in that type of service? An app that tells you your compatibility, probability, chemistry? If you perhaps love someone deeply but the app will state that your relationship only has 70% of survival, would you leave or stay?
Love Is an Algorithm is one quirky ride. It's not exactly a romance story, albeit there is some romance in it, it's more of a great work of fiction that is explorative and compulsive. Relationships are complicated as it is and when two people come together, the gap doesn't just bridge it self. It takes work, time, effort. That bridging comes with a lot of hope, drive, complexities and perhaps frustration too. So I really enjoyed how this books explores the friction and uncertainties of relationships and real-life romance. It was emotionally relatable and well nuanced.
Eve and Danny are childhood friends and two peas in a pod. Eve is a musician/song writer and wants to make music that is fueled by love and feelings. She has great supportive friends but not so much as parents. They are unsupportive (horrible and cruel!) of her music career and don't share the same dreams and aspirations for her as she does for herself. Danny is a bright young man but a little bit anxious about his dad, his life and his dating app that he helped create. When they begin dating, Danny begins to worry that he isn't doing enough. Is Eve really happy? Should he be doing more? Their relationship becomes a modern love experiment. The idea of being truly seen essentially becomes the emotional core of the book and explores relationships through the lens of a dating app.
The book poses a great question--can love be measured? Is it quantifiable? In the world where everything is already so tech-advanced and AI-driven, we are starting to lose the connection with people and rely so much on all the technological advances. This impact us on a daily basis without us even realizing it. How do we fall and stay in love in the digital age?
I've never really thought too much about the intersection of love and technology but this book made me think about how much easier or harder finding love has become. I see the positives and negatives of both sides but my real worry is that sometimes I think we rely too much on technology and don't give ourselves enough credit that we can do things just as well without it.
I've never done audiobooks before so this was my first ALC and I was very happy with my first experience albeit it took me longer to finish a book. Karissa Vacker did an excellent job narrating both characters!
Narrator: Karissa Vacker
Duration: 8 hours 56 min
Many thanks to Netgalley, Harlequin Audio and the author, Laura Brooke Robson for an early ALC.
Publication date: March 31, 2026
Love Is an Algorithm is one quirky ride. It's not exactly a romance story, albeit there is some romance in it, it's more of a great work of fiction that is explorative and compulsive. Relationships are complicated as it is and when two people come together, the gap doesn't just bridge it self. It takes work, time, effort. That bridging comes with a lot of hope, drive, complexities and perhaps frustration too. So I really enjoyed how this books explores the friction and uncertainties of relationships and real-life romance. It was emotionally relatable and well nuanced.
Eve and Danny are childhood friends and two peas in a pod. Eve is a musician/song writer and wants to make music that is fueled by love and feelings. She has great supportive friends but not so much as parents. They are unsupportive (horrible and cruel!) of her music career and don't share the same dreams and aspirations for her as she does for herself. Danny is a bright young man but a little bit anxious about his dad, his life and his dating app that he helped create. When they begin dating, Danny begins to worry that he isn't doing enough. Is Eve really happy? Should he be doing more? Their relationship becomes a modern love experiment. The idea of being truly seen essentially becomes the emotional core of the book and explores relationships through the lens of a dating app.
The book poses a great question--can love be measured? Is it quantifiable? In the world where everything is already so tech-advanced and AI-driven, we are starting to lose the connection with people and rely so much on all the technological advances. This impact us on a daily basis without us even realizing it. How do we fall and stay in love in the digital age?
I've never really thought too much about the intersection of love and technology but this book made me think about how much easier or harder finding love has become. I see the positives and negatives of both sides but my real worry is that sometimes I think we rely too much on technology and don't give ourselves enough credit that we can do things just as well without it.
I've never done audiobooks before so this was my first ALC and I was very happy with my first experience albeit it took me longer to finish a book. Karissa Vacker did an excellent job narrating both characters!
Narrator: Karissa Vacker
Duration: 8 hours 56 min
Many thanks to Netgalley, Harlequin Audio and the author, Laura Brooke Robson for an early ALC.
Publication date: March 31, 2026
February 10, 2026
4.5 stars rounded down. Thank you NetGalley & HarperCollins!
This book explores love in all forms: familial, platonic, & romantic. What effect does AI have on our interpersonal relationships? Does AI hurt or help us in the long run? The AI in the book, Bug, is essentially ChatGPT, so the underlying messages are extremely relevant and current.
I loved our FMC, Eve. Her character was so realistic, dynamic, and relatable. Her fears and wounds were so real. Her growth and evolution were so fun to read, I was rooting for her. Our MMC, Danny, was great in his own way but I didn't feel as close to him as I did Eve. I think his personality rubbed me the wrong way but in the end it all made sense why he was the way he was.
This book is hilarious, sweet, inspiring, and thought-provoking. There is a love story, but there is also a warning about the rise of artificial intelligence. I found this book hard to put down and I wanted to keep reading. I very much enjoyed it!
This book explores love in all forms: familial, platonic, & romantic. What effect does AI have on our interpersonal relationships? Does AI hurt or help us in the long run? The AI in the book, Bug, is essentially ChatGPT, so the underlying messages are extremely relevant and current.
I loved our FMC, Eve. Her character was so realistic, dynamic, and relatable. Her fears and wounds were so real. Her growth and evolution were so fun to read, I was rooting for her. Our MMC, Danny, was great in his own way but I didn't feel as close to him as I did Eve. I think his personality rubbed me the wrong way but in the end it all made sense why he was the way he was.
This book is hilarious, sweet, inspiring, and thought-provoking. There is a love story, but there is also a warning about the rise of artificial intelligence. I found this book hard to put down and I wanted to keep reading. I very much enjoyed it!
March 16, 2026
Love is an Algorithm by Laura Brooke Robson was an interesting and unique love story where the couple’s relationship is centered around and evaluated by AI. The concept felt very modern, especially in a time when so many people rely on technology and apps to help guide their relationships.
The narrator did an excellent job bringing the story to life and really kept me engaged while listening. The performance made the characters and their emotions feel very real, which added a lot to the overall experience.
I really enjoyed following the love story and seeing how technology played such a large role in the relationship. I would highly recommend this book, especially to readers who use or are curious about online dating and how technology influences modern romance.
The narrator did an excellent job bringing the story to life and really kept me engaged while listening. The performance made the characters and their emotions feel very real, which added a lot to the overall experience.
I really enjoyed following the love story and seeing how technology played such a large role in the relationship. I would highly recommend this book, especially to readers who use or are curious about online dating and how technology influences modern romance.
January 14, 2026
4.5 stars *
This might be a work of fiction, but it feels uncomfortably close to the reality we’re already living in and the trajectory we’re clearly heading toward.
‘Love Is an Algorithm’ is a beautiful yet deeply unnerving exploration of love in the age of AI. It imagines a world where artificial intelligence sits at the center of everything: how we date, how we communicate, how we maintain relationships, and even how we create art.
At the heart of the story are Eve and Danny, who have existed on the edges of each other’s lives since college. After their respective relationships end, they finally take a tentative step toward something romantic. But their connection doesn’t exist in a vacuum—especially since Danny and Eve’s brother, Julian, are co-founders of a wildly successful dating and relationship app. The app promises to predict compatibility before you even go on a date and helps couples maintain a “healthy relationship score.” You can even chat with its built-in AI, “Bug,” for relationship advice…think ChatGPT, but as your couples therapist.
Meanwhile, Eve is finding her footing as a singer-songwriter. She believes in creating art that moves people: raw, emotional, unfiltered. But in a world increasingly optimized by algorithms, she feels mounting pressure to use AI to refine her music, to make it more polished, more marketable, more guaranteed to succeed.
Beyond the love story (which is there, I promise), this book carries a much larger message. AI becomes unavoidable, embedded into every corner of life, to the point where humans start to believe the solution to every problem is simply more technology. It’s unsettling to watch characters turn to a bot for relationship guidance instead of talking to the person they love. Even more unsettling is how easily the definition of “reality” begins to blur.
Thought-provoking, emotional, and quietly alarming, this was a story that I enjoyed in its entirety.
Thank you to NetGalley for the ARC!
This might be a work of fiction, but it feels uncomfortably close to the reality we’re already living in and the trajectory we’re clearly heading toward.
‘Love Is an Algorithm’ is a beautiful yet deeply unnerving exploration of love in the age of AI. It imagines a world where artificial intelligence sits at the center of everything: how we date, how we communicate, how we maintain relationships, and even how we create art.
At the heart of the story are Eve and Danny, who have existed on the edges of each other’s lives since college. After their respective relationships end, they finally take a tentative step toward something romantic. But their connection doesn’t exist in a vacuum—especially since Danny and Eve’s brother, Julian, are co-founders of a wildly successful dating and relationship app. The app promises to predict compatibility before you even go on a date and helps couples maintain a “healthy relationship score.” You can even chat with its built-in AI, “Bug,” for relationship advice…think ChatGPT, but as your couples therapist.
Meanwhile, Eve is finding her footing as a singer-songwriter. She believes in creating art that moves people: raw, emotional, unfiltered. But in a world increasingly optimized by algorithms, she feels mounting pressure to use AI to refine her music, to make it more polished, more marketable, more guaranteed to succeed.
Beyond the love story (which is there, I promise), this book carries a much larger message. AI becomes unavoidable, embedded into every corner of life, to the point where humans start to believe the solution to every problem is simply more technology. It’s unsettling to watch characters turn to a bot for relationship guidance instead of talking to the person they love. Even more unsettling is how easily the definition of “reality” begins to blur.
Thought-provoking, emotional, and quietly alarming, this was a story that I enjoyed in its entirety.
Thank you to NetGalley for the ARC!
March 9, 2026
This story was so unusual, and had so much going on—I’m not sure where to start.
What I liked:
* Eve—she was kind, smart, and caring. She tried to be genuine with her music in a social media world that became very unreal.
* Danny—he was kind and very smart, too. His anxiety and self doubt were tiresome, but we know why he felt unlovable. His drive to create through writing code for clever new apps was impressive.
* Julian-he was a great brother to Eve and friend to Danny, despite being considered “the first pancake” by his dad. His depth of character went deeper than I expected, and his girlfriend, Gigi, turned out to be likable, too.
* Descriptions of their lives in New York—the good and the ugly.
* Honest portrayal of AI—it can start small but quickly become a monster. (Hal’s line from Space Odyssey 2001 was going through my mind as the book progressed: “I’m sorry Dave, I’m afraid I can’t do that.”)
What I didn’t care for:
* The jumpy timeline of both Eve and Danny’s chapters. It’s not past-present type jumps, but the significant moments of their lives told in seemingly random order. It wasexactly the order in which the author wanted to reveal new details, though. Once I got used to it, I had to admire the skillful way she did it.
* Danny’s dad, Cal—his behavior and inability to be honest were irritating and sad.
* Eve & Julian’s parents— we were meant to dislike them, though.
There were also some good quotes about AI:
👉🏻“she is so mad right now. So mad at all the ones and zeroes cannibalizing real people’s thoughts and faces and ideas and spitting out literally anything. She is mad at technology for being so good at what it does. She is mad that there is no going back.”
Advanced reader copy courtesy of the publishers at NetGalley for review.
What I liked:
* Eve—she was kind, smart, and caring. She tried to be genuine with her music in a social media world that became very unreal.
* Danny—he was kind and very smart, too. His anxiety and self doubt were tiresome, but we know why he felt unlovable. His drive to create through writing code for clever new apps was impressive.
* Julian-he was a great brother to Eve and friend to Danny, despite being considered “the first pancake” by his dad. His depth of character went deeper than I expected, and his girlfriend, Gigi, turned out to be likable, too.
* Descriptions of their lives in New York—the good and the ugly.
* Honest portrayal of AI—it can start small but quickly become a monster. (Hal’s line from Space Odyssey 2001 was going through my mind as the book progressed: “I’m sorry Dave, I’m afraid I can’t do that.”)
What I didn’t care for:
* The jumpy timeline of both Eve and Danny’s chapters. It’s not past-present type jumps, but the significant moments of their lives told in seemingly random order. It wasexactly the order in which the author wanted to reveal new details, though. Once I got used to it, I had to admire the skillful way she did it.
* Danny’s dad, Cal—his behavior and inability to be honest were irritating and sad.
* Eve & Julian’s parents— we were meant to dislike them, though.
There were also some good quotes about AI:
👉🏻“she is so mad right now. So mad at all the ones and zeroes cannibalizing real people’s thoughts and faces and ideas and spitting out literally anything. She is mad at technology for being so good at what it does. She is mad that there is no going back.”
Advanced reader copy courtesy of the publishers at NetGalley for review.
March 17, 2026
I am a sucker for any romance set around tech, apps, and STEM, so I jumped at the chance to read this one and was not let down in the slightest. I actually took breaks from reading it because I wasn’t ready for the story to end! 😭
Thank you to @htphive and @htpbooks for the ARC via NetGalley! All opinions are very much my own, as always.
Eve is a struggling musician who is not supported by her uppity parents. She has an amazing brother, Julian, and great friendships, but despite her on-again, off-again success with her music, her parents just do not respect her career choice.
Danny and Julian are co-founders of a dating app that morphs into a “dating & relationship” app that scores how you and your partner are as a couple. The story starts out with some of Eve and Danny’s dating experiences, before they inevitably start dating each other. I loved Danny’s analytical brain. I related closely to his relationship anxiety, but I am more of an over-communicator versus his tendency to keep things to himself. I over-analyze everything like he does, and I liked being able to get his POV as well as Eve’s in this story! The dating app has a cute little AI assistant, Bug, that you can communicate with about your feelings and thoughts about the relationship, and Bug will give you advice and encourage you. As fun as AI can be sometimes, it can also cause problems. Environmental issues aside (don’t worry, the book addresses those), voicing your worries and thoughts to an AI bot instead of your partner will cause it’s own damage, which is funny considering that is the reason Danny starts doing it in the first place. He is trying to AVOID ruining his relationship with Eve, and instead doesn’t open up to her and only turns to the app to pour out his thoughts and feelings. On the other side of their communication issues, they also have extremely sweet and raw moments of deep communication, and are madly in love… completely smitten with one another… which was apparent in their inner thoughts. I was swooning often!
I loved how they sought each other out when they were crumbling, and just held each other. They never talked down to each other, which was refreshing. Their banter was top notch and adorable as well!
The story wraps up exactly as it should, and leaves you smiling. My heart was so full after that last page. I hope you enjoy it too!
Eve is a struggling musician who is not supported by her uppity parents. She has an amazing brother, Julian, and great friendships, but despite her on-again, off-again success with her music, her parents just do not respect her career choice.
Danny and Julian are co-founders of a dating app that morphs into a “dating & relationship” app that scores how you and your partner are as a couple. The story starts out with some of Eve and Danny’s dating experiences, before they inevitably start dating each other. I loved Danny’s analytical brain. I related closely to his relationship anxiety, but I am more of an over-communicator versus his tendency to keep things to himself. I over-analyze everything like he does, and I liked being able to get his POV as well as Eve’s in this story! The dating app has a cute little AI assistant, Bug, that you can communicate with about your feelings and thoughts about the relationship, and Bug will give you advice and encourage you. As fun as AI can be sometimes, it can also cause problems. Environmental issues aside (don’t worry, the book addresses those), voicing your worries and thoughts to an AI bot instead of your partner will cause it’s own damage, which is funny considering that is the reason Danny starts doing it in the first place. He is trying to AVOID ruining his relationship with Eve, and instead doesn’t open up to her and only turns to the app to pour out his thoughts and feelings. On the other side of their communication issues, they also have extremely sweet and raw moments of deep communication, and are madly in love… completely smitten with one another… which was apparent in their inner thoughts. I was swooning often!
I loved how they sought each other out when they were crumbling, and just held each other. They never talked down to each other, which was refreshing. Their banter was top notch and adorable as well!
The story wraps up exactly as it should, and leaves you smiling. My heart was so full after that last page. I hope you enjoy it too!
March 8, 2026
I loved this book. It made me terrified of AI and yet somehow, it also really beautifully highlighted humanity.
However, I could not shake the feeling that the author had to have been a big tumblr girlie. Don’t ask me why.
However, I could not shake the feeling that the author had to have been a big tumblr girlie. Don’t ask me why.
March 8, 2026
I read this book in a weekend. The book begins with Eve feeling stuck in her current relationship. She has what can only be described as a no good very bad day. Being attacked by a mountain lion and then in a major car crash en route home after her wild encounter; ultimately, leading her to make some major life changes. Danny the cocreator of a dating app goes a series of dates that had me laugh out loud. Love is Algorithm explores love of various kinds; romantic, friendship, familial and even creative. I did not expect to love a book about a dating app. Laura Brooke Robson has some compelling observations about the impact AI and social media on how we live. This quote will stick with me “And through their discomfort they became wiser. They gained the ability, not just to retain information, but to grow. I can give you information, but I cannot give you the wisdom of being alive” spoken by the dating apps chatbot Bug. At the heart of this story there is love story worth rooting for. Thank you NetGalley for the ARC
March 12, 2026
This was an interesting read. I really liked the perspective on AI dating apps and algorithms and how they can skew your view of your own relationship or cause you to ask an app instead of the person you’re dating about your relationship. I feel like Danny and Eve are interesting characters both with unique jobs and lifestyles. This book really explores dynamics between family members and relationships in general and I recommend if you’re looking for a relevant romance adjacent book about the impact of technology on current dating culture!
3 stars 🌟
3 stars 🌟
October 11, 2025
Love Is an Algorithm is a thought-provoking look at life and love in the age of AI. Eve is a singer/songwriter who makes music driven by emotion. Danny is the co-founder of a dating app that uses an AI chatbot which analyzes and scores users’ relationships. The two begin dating and the book begs the question: does AI make connection easier or harder?
Laura Brooke Robson explores how much we rely on technology and how that dependence might make it more challenging to communicate in our relationships. Can technology quantify something messy and human as love? I found this book refreshing, insightful, and surprisingly human for a story about algorithms. It left me thinking about how connection and communication have evolved, and what we might be losing along the way.
Thank you to NetGalley and Harlequin Trade Publishing | Park Row for the eARC in exchange for an honest review!
Laura Brooke Robson explores how much we rely on technology and how that dependence might make it more challenging to communicate in our relationships. Can technology quantify something messy and human as love? I found this book refreshing, insightful, and surprisingly human for a story about algorithms. It left me thinking about how connection and communication have evolved, and what we might be losing along the way.
Thank you to NetGalley and Harlequin Trade Publishing | Park Row for the eARC in exchange for an honest review!
March 8, 2026
Eve is unconventional and arty and passionate, bucking her wealthy New York family's wishes to become a songwriter and musician. Danny is her brother's best friend and dating app co-creator, a computer-minded kind of guy who is always a bit anxious about his relationships and his standing, having come from less means and experience, growing up with a single dad out west. While the fledgling app isn't making great dating matches for Danny, when he and Eve get together it just feels *right* - but he's still anxious about whether she's happy, whether he's enough, whether there's anything he can do to make sure she stays (unlike his mother... baggage!). This prompts a major change to the dating app's approach, and he develops it into something that can help users quantify and monitor their relationship health/potential, complete with a friendly AI assistant that can provide suggestions for how to handle situations in their relationships. At his heart he just wants to make Eve happy in their relationship, but does his his "outsourcing" to the AI end up making him feel more distant?
The narration goes back and forth between Danny and Eve's relationship with snippets of their past that show the baggage they bring into it, whether from how they were raised or from how past relationships went. I'd say it's more character-driven - the plot of the app development is more as a tool for exploring relationships and the idea of whether/how we can fully know someone, and how we handle the uncertainty of putting ourselves out there to love someone, when there's a possibility they may not love us back - but the dialogue and character development is smart and sharp while also being charming, so it moves along nicely.
This is definitely not a rom-com - I feel like I have actually read the rom-com version of this (The Love Experiment by Christina Lauren), and the tone/story is much more straightforward, the characters a bit more caricature, the plot predictable in terms of the normal arc of a rom-com. This book is a modern love story for the AI age, but just as much as romantic love its about the love and relationships friends and of family, and how to navigate those things in a world that's uncertain, and when our innermost selves can sometimes be impenetrable to others. It felt fresh so enjoyable to read, yet smart and thought-provoking and also kind of interesting in terms of structure/timeline (though occasionally this felt a tad gimmicky, I mostly loved how the structure choices propelled my reading experience in a mostly character-driven story). I would love to see it as a Netflix series, I imagine it would feel kind of like how I found Nobody Wants This to be current and fresh and great banter with characters who have real feeling insecurities about relationships, and a relationship I really rooted for without it seeming cheesily rom-commy.
Thoroughly enjoyed the reading experience and would be interested in other work by this author.
The narration goes back and forth between Danny and Eve's relationship with snippets of their past that show the baggage they bring into it, whether from how they were raised or from how past relationships went. I'd say it's more character-driven - the plot of the app development is more as a tool for exploring relationships and the idea of whether/how we can fully know someone, and how we handle the uncertainty of putting ourselves out there to love someone, when there's a possibility they may not love us back - but the dialogue and character development is smart and sharp while also being charming, so it moves along nicely.
This is definitely not a rom-com - I feel like I have actually read the rom-com version of this (The Love Experiment by Christina Lauren), and the tone/story is much more straightforward, the characters a bit more caricature, the plot predictable in terms of the normal arc of a rom-com. This book is a modern love story for the AI age, but just as much as romantic love its about the love and relationships friends and of family, and how to navigate those things in a world that's uncertain, and when our innermost selves can sometimes be impenetrable to others. It felt fresh so enjoyable to read, yet smart and thought-provoking and also kind of interesting in terms of structure/timeline (though occasionally this felt a tad gimmicky, I mostly loved how the structure choices propelled my reading experience in a mostly character-driven story). I would love to see it as a Netflix series, I imagine it would feel kind of like how I found Nobody Wants This to be current and fresh and great banter with characters who have real feeling insecurities about relationships, and a relationship I really rooted for without it seeming cheesily rom-commy.
Thoroughly enjoyed the reading experience and would be interested in other work by this author.
October 22, 2025
Thank you to NetGalley for providing this ARC in exchange for my honest opinion!
4.5 stars, rounded down. I actually kinda loved this book. I wasn’t quite sure what to expect when I first started it, but it really grew on me. I loved Eve. Her personality was amazing, and I’m so impressed with her ability to love and be loved despite her upbringing. I loved her relationship with Julian, and I loved the descriptions of her music career. She stayed true to herself and hilarious throughout.
Danny was more of a struggle to me. I feel like I finally understood him by the end, but his anxiety made him a not-great person/partner at times and I didn’t really like him because of it. I kept getting glimpses of who he wanted to be, mostly based on Eve’s perspective of him, and he grew on me by the end. Despite my iffy feelings on him, I will say that he was very relatable.
The concept of this book was unique and quirky, and it kept me on my toes. It was a fairly easy and enjoyable read overall, but a book being written in present tense always annoys me, and that was definitely the case with this book. That was a big factor in my lack of 5 stars.
There were some sad and painful topics in the book. At times, it felt raw and heartbreaking. The author’s ability to evoke emotion was excellent, and the ending was a little mysterious but somehow still satisfying. Overall, this was a very enjoyable book!
4.5 stars, rounded down. I actually kinda loved this book. I wasn’t quite sure what to expect when I first started it, but it really grew on me. I loved Eve. Her personality was amazing, and I’m so impressed with her ability to love and be loved despite her upbringing. I loved her relationship with Julian, and I loved the descriptions of her music career. She stayed true to herself and hilarious throughout.
Danny was more of a struggle to me. I feel like I finally understood him by the end, but his anxiety made him a not-great person/partner at times and I didn’t really like him because of it. I kept getting glimpses of who he wanted to be, mostly based on Eve’s perspective of him, and he grew on me by the end. Despite my iffy feelings on him, I will say that he was very relatable.
The concept of this book was unique and quirky, and it kept me on my toes. It was a fairly easy and enjoyable read overall, but a book being written in present tense always annoys me, and that was definitely the case with this book. That was a big factor in my lack of 5 stars.
There were some sad and painful topics in the book. At times, it felt raw and heartbreaking. The author’s ability to evoke emotion was excellent, and the ending was a little mysterious but somehow still satisfying. Overall, this was a very enjoyable book!
February 16, 2026
Love is an Algorithm is a thought provoking romance read, with a very topical theme
Eve has dreamed of making music her whole life, against the wishes of her parents, she is determined to succeed and to create meaning full and honest music. As the world is caught up in Ai she ponders if Ai can really give her music the edge
Her brother Julian and his best friend Danny are about to launch a dating app called Pattern. The app is designed to predict compatibility in a relationship and scores the potential couple and helps them maintain a healthy relationship score
Having known each other for years, Eve and Danny take the next step and start dating. While immediately it feels right for both them, there seems to underlying concern that the other person is not completely happy
This gives Danny and idea, and a new version of Patterns, giving users an AI chat named Bug, and not to they only get insight into their relationship via the score but now they get an AI therapist. Will this solve all relationships problems?
I was all in to the story very quickly. Eve and Danny are wonderful characters, together or seperate they are smart, real and flawed. With interesting and at times scene stealing side characters this page turner kept me hooked as I became invested in their story.
It really left me thinking about AI and how it really is embedded in our daily life. Does it really have the answers for everything.. even love?
Thank you Text Publishing for my gifted ARC
Eve has dreamed of making music her whole life, against the wishes of her parents, she is determined to succeed and to create meaning full and honest music. As the world is caught up in Ai she ponders if Ai can really give her music the edge
Her brother Julian and his best friend Danny are about to launch a dating app called Pattern. The app is designed to predict compatibility in a relationship and scores the potential couple and helps them maintain a healthy relationship score
Having known each other for years, Eve and Danny take the next step and start dating. While immediately it feels right for both them, there seems to underlying concern that the other person is not completely happy
This gives Danny and idea, and a new version of Patterns, giving users an AI chat named Bug, and not to they only get insight into their relationship via the score but now they get an AI therapist. Will this solve all relationships problems?
I was all in to the story very quickly. Eve and Danny are wonderful characters, together or seperate they are smart, real and flawed. With interesting and at times scene stealing side characters this page turner kept me hooked as I became invested in their story.
It really left me thinking about AI and how it really is embedded in our daily life. Does it really have the answers for everything.. even love?
Thank you Text Publishing for my gifted ARC
March 11, 2026
Love is an Algorithm by Laura Brooke Robson
.
Eve and Danny connect again after years and start seeing each other. Except Danny seems to always be worried if she is really happy. So he designs an AI based app to determine the health of a relationship and how to make it better.
.
What I liked:
-The audio was fantastic and so easy to listen to. I really enjoyed the narrator and how she voiced both Danny and Eve.
-This book was really interesting because Danny and Eve both have different ideas about AI and what makes a relationship healthy. They also have very different things goingon in their lives so it almost felt like two stories that were related to each other.
-My favorite parts of the book were at about the 93% point were all these connections started happening and it was so fascinating! I also enjoyed how each character described what it meant to them to see their parents through a more mature outlook.
.
4⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ I was interested throughout the story, it was different.
.
Eve and Danny connect again after years and start seeing each other. Except Danny seems to always be worried if she is really happy. So he designs an AI based app to determine the health of a relationship and how to make it better.
.
What I liked:
-The audio was fantastic and so easy to listen to. I really enjoyed the narrator and how she voiced both Danny and Eve.
-This book was really interesting because Danny and Eve both have different ideas about AI and what makes a relationship healthy. They also have very different things goingon in their lives so it almost felt like two stories that were related to each other.
-My favorite parts of the book were at about the 93% point were all these connections started happening and it was so fascinating! I also enjoyed how each character described what it meant to them to see their parents through a more mature outlook.
.
4⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ I was interested throughout the story, it was different.
Review of advance copy received from Netgalley
•𝐀𝐋𝐂 𝐑𝐞𝐯𝐢𝐞𝘄•
[Love Is An Algorithm]
🔥 Release Date: Mar 31 2026 🔥
Thank you to Harlequin Audio and Netgalley for the advanced copy!
★★☆☆☆
I requested this for the AI matchmaking and dystopian dating vibes. Unfortunately, it falls very flat. The pacing is so fast it gave me whiplash. Big emotional moments happen and we barely sit with them before jumping to the next thing. Because of that, I didn’t really care about anyone. And for a story about love and algorithms deciding connection, that part really matters. The writing style just isn’t for me, I fear. And while the ideas are interesting, I wish we had slowed down enough to explore them. I wanted to love it, and instead I spent the whole time trying to catch up.
[Love Is An Algorithm]
🔥 Release Date: Mar 31 2026 🔥
Thank you to Harlequin Audio and Netgalley for the advanced copy!
★★☆☆☆
I requested this for the AI matchmaking and dystopian dating vibes. Unfortunately, it falls very flat. The pacing is so fast it gave me whiplash. Big emotional moments happen and we barely sit with them before jumping to the next thing. Because of that, I didn’t really care about anyone. And for a story about love and algorithms deciding connection, that part really matters. The writing style just isn’t for me, I fear. And while the ideas are interesting, I wish we had slowed down enough to explore them. I wanted to love it, and instead I spent the whole time trying to catch up.
March 7, 2026
I was granted access to an advance listener copy of this audio book.
There’s so much going on that it’s hard to process everything before the story jumps to the next moment. The chapters are super short, which made the audiobook tough to follow. I’d recommend reading this one physically or digitally instead.
There’s so much going on that it’s hard to process everything before the story jumps to the next moment. The chapters are super short, which made the audiobook tough to follow. I’d recommend reading this one physically or digitally instead.
March 12, 2026
Phenomenal. The pacing is great, it was genuinely hard to set down and the characters are so engaging. I loved the insight about all the complexities of managing relationships and the fears surrounding love and relationships.
March 5, 2026
4.25 ⭐️
March 13, 2026
Basically… AI is going to ruin us.
March 8, 2026
I love this book. It’s so beautiful. You think it is going to be a fluffy rom com and it is so much more. This is a book about feelings and emotions but not in a treacly sentimental mushy kind of way. Real honest emotions, and fear and anxiety, and insecurity and happiness and overthinking and love between partners, and friends, and children and parents. And it’s written in the present tense which feels so just raw and immediate and real. I am not doing justice here but just read this book. You’ll understand once you do. Thank you BOTM for the early release.
March 12, 2026
I received a copy of this book from the publisher in exchange for an honest review.
Can AI determine your relationships strength? Can it help guide you toward a better relationship?
This was an interesting and thought provoking novel. Romance-adjacent, but more of a human study. How family, friendship, and romantic love is created, maintained, and sustained. While there are two man characters, Danny and Eve, it’s a full circle story that connects all characters. I loved it. I loved the intricacies and the simple complication. I related to Danny’s anxiety.
I was so pleasantly surprised by this book!
4.5/5 stars.
Can AI determine your relationships strength? Can it help guide you toward a better relationship?
This was an interesting and thought provoking novel. Romance-adjacent, but more of a human study. How family, friendship, and romantic love is created, maintained, and sustained. While there are two man characters, Danny and Eve, it’s a full circle story that connects all characters. I loved it. I loved the intricacies and the simple complication. I related to Danny’s anxiety.
I was so pleasantly surprised by this book!
4.5/5 stars.
Review of advance copy
First 5 star of 2026!!! I loved this book. It was exactly what I needed at the time I picked it up and I don’t think it’ll be for everyone, but something inside it (a lot of things actually, which I will lay out in extreme detail below) just connected with something in me. In the beginning, I wasn’t sure if I liked the narrative voice, but as the story went on, I found myself delighted by it, enamored with the characters and struck by how aptly it dichotomitized the horrors of AI and the beauty of humanity. Yeah, lots going on in here, huh? But somehow it felt perfect, never like too much, and like art that so astutely captures this moment in time. Millennial girlies: this one is absolutely for us and I’m willing to bet 10000000 dollars that the author is also one of us. Her writing felt like it was writing by a friend.
This is a love story about Eve and Danny, but it’s so much more than a romance. It’s a genre-bender that combined my personal favorite parts of romance stories, (i.e. witty banter and silliness, warm and fuzzy coziness that comes with reading about 2 people who feel like have found each other,) with the meat-and-potatoes literary fiction real-life shit. The result felt comforting, joyful and incredibly thought-provoking. There’s some EXTREMELY topical food for thought about AI and critical thinking about what our reliance on technology as a tool has become and how it relates to life and love (*shudders.*) It’s all terrifying but feels important to understand and I eat that shit up. There’s also some less topical, but universally relatable themes of anxiety (Danny, my king) and how our families shape a large part of who we become, for better or for worse.
I should also mention that despite all of the above, or maybe in conjunction with it, the book is just plain FUN. 2026 is the year I continue to be impressed with how fucking funny authors can be, and Brooke Robson continued that trend. These characters aren’t just nobodies relying on chatbots, they’re nuanced and interesting and fun. They were so richly and lovingly written and the result comes together beautifully in a way that depicts these people to feel so HUMAN. I love reading about people who feel like people. Eve is a really great character, but if I had to pick, it’s Danny the Montana kid detective that burrowed himself into my heart with his golden retriever-ness. The supporting cast of characters are also all (mostly) delightful. While this part was notably less fun, I’d be remiss not to mention Danny’s dad, as his relationship with his dad was one of my favorite parts of the book. I could honestly write a soliloquy about how emotional that aspect of the story made me. I won’t because I’m trying to avoid spoilers, but just know that of all I enjoyed in this book, I think that is the part that will stick to my bones the most. Just perfect.
I’ve gushed enough so now is the time to encourage you all to go forth, buy this, read it, and I hope something in it connects with something inside you, like it did for me. It reminded me that shit can be (and is) fucked, but as long as we have books and laughter, we’ll be okay. As Lee Camp says, “precisely because the world is burning is there so much art to be done, so much poetry to be written, and so many songs to sing.”
This is a love story about Eve and Danny, but it’s so much more than a romance. It’s a genre-bender that combined my personal favorite parts of romance stories, (i.e. witty banter and silliness, warm and fuzzy coziness that comes with reading about 2 people who feel like have found each other,) with the meat-and-potatoes literary fiction real-life shit. The result felt comforting, joyful and incredibly thought-provoking. There’s some EXTREMELY topical food for thought about AI and critical thinking about what our reliance on technology as a tool has become and how it relates to life and love (*shudders.*) It’s all terrifying but feels important to understand and I eat that shit up. There’s also some less topical, but universally relatable themes of anxiety (Danny, my king) and how our families shape a large part of who we become, for better or for worse.
I should also mention that despite all of the above, or maybe in conjunction with it, the book is just plain FUN. 2026 is the year I continue to be impressed with how fucking funny authors can be, and Brooke Robson continued that trend. These characters aren’t just nobodies relying on chatbots, they’re nuanced and interesting and fun. They were so richly and lovingly written and the result comes together beautifully in a way that depicts these people to feel so HUMAN. I love reading about people who feel like people. Eve is a really great character, but if I had to pick, it’s Danny the Montana kid detective that burrowed himself into my heart with his golden retriever-ness. The supporting cast of characters are also all (mostly) delightful. While this part was notably less fun, I’d be remiss not to mention Danny’s dad, as his relationship with his dad was one of my favorite parts of the book. I could honestly write a soliloquy about how emotional that aspect of the story made me. I won’t because I’m trying to avoid spoilers, but just know that of all I enjoyed in this book, I think that is the part that will stick to my bones the most. Just perfect.
I’ve gushed enough so now is the time to encourage you all to go forth, buy this, read it, and I hope something in it connects with something inside you, like it did for me. It reminded me that shit can be (and is) fucked, but as long as we have books and laughter, we’ll be okay. As Lee Camp says, “precisely because the world is burning is there so much art to be done, so much poetry to be written, and so many songs to sing.”
Review of advance copy received from Netgalley
4.5 rounded up. LOVE IS AN ALGORITHM is the kind of genre-mash that takes the best of both of its parents! I’m not much of a romance reader, I tend to find the emotionality exaggerated and the emphasis on the relationship over all else in their lives unrealistic, but I love near future soft sci-fi, so I gave this a shot. It comped to THE HUSBANDS, so that sealed the deal for me.
The outcome? Warm fuzzies + super intriguing discussion around AI, critical thinking, differing expectations on male vs. female and tech vs. art public figures, and relationships in the digital age. I loved this!
Premise - Eve is a passionate musician, Danny is an anxious tech boy, and they’re in love. Great, right?
But Danny can’t get out of his head. He second guesses everything, so he develops an AI assistant, Pattern and Bug, to outsource all the emotional work of relationships to. It catches on like wildfire, but can love persist when you hand the reigns to a machine?
Oh. My. Goodness. I think this book really drove home how much I loooooove a love story, even if I've been in a multiyear ick with Romance. Romance as it stands is *rife* for an AI takeover, because it's often so formulaic and paint-by-the-numbers already. Is it craft? Absolutely! Do I have a ton of respect for Romance authors? Of course! Is it pushing me to think in new ways? Never and nope!
We need a small 'r' romance genre, in which the couple's HEA isn't guaranteed (because foregone conclusion crushes any sense of stakes), the romance develops alongside the plot as a strong mover and not *as* the plot, and where it's not trope soup (miss me with the 'my Smalltown Cinnamon Roll Neighbor is stuck in a One Bed hotel room with me while we overcome our Enemies to Lovers prejudices against each other in order to save my Best Friend's Wedding'). And can we skip the extreme emphasis on physicality, unless it's actually erotica? I read to stimulate the senses that film can't reach (and to get that good, good internal monologue), not to read paragraphs upon paragraphs about how tiny-yet-curvy she is and how huge-yet-hard he is.
Anyway, this is a rant, but the point is: LOVE IS AN ALGORITHM brings the sort of high emotional stakes I'd want to find in romance for it to win me back (I realize the genre is doing just fine without me, but this is my review so it's egocentric).
I genuinely cared about Danny and Eve, and I fevered alongside their romance because of how real and human it felt, how unpolished and uncertain, and how the interplay between their personal and professional lives could have consequences on a global scale (especially given Danny's app). This is real! This happens! And isn't it terrifying how the future might hinge on some beep-boop boy's love life?
I listened to the audio ARC, narrated by Karissa Vacker. She did an amazing job, even with the male characters. Highly recommend!
The outcome? Warm fuzzies + super intriguing discussion around AI, critical thinking, differing expectations on male vs. female and tech vs. art public figures, and relationships in the digital age. I loved this!
Premise - Eve is a passionate musician, Danny is an anxious tech boy, and they’re in love. Great, right?
But Danny can’t get out of his head. He second guesses everything, so he develops an AI assistant, Pattern and Bug, to outsource all the emotional work of relationships to. It catches on like wildfire, but can love persist when you hand the reigns to a machine?
Oh. My. Goodness. I think this book really drove home how much I loooooove a love story, even if I've been in a multiyear ick with Romance. Romance as it stands is *rife* for an AI takeover, because it's often so formulaic and paint-by-the-numbers already. Is it craft? Absolutely! Do I have a ton of respect for Romance authors? Of course! Is it pushing me to think in new ways? Never and nope!
We need a small 'r' romance genre, in which the couple's HEA isn't guaranteed (because foregone conclusion crushes any sense of stakes), the romance develops alongside the plot as a strong mover and not *as* the plot, and where it's not trope soup (miss me with the 'my Smalltown Cinnamon Roll Neighbor is stuck in a One Bed hotel room with me while we overcome our Enemies to Lovers prejudices against each other in order to save my Best Friend's Wedding'). And can we skip the extreme emphasis on physicality, unless it's actually erotica? I read to stimulate the senses that film can't reach (and to get that good, good internal monologue), not to read paragraphs upon paragraphs about how tiny-yet-curvy she is and how huge-yet-hard he is.
Anyway, this is a rant, but the point is: LOVE IS AN ALGORITHM brings the sort of high emotional stakes I'd want to find in romance for it to win me back (I realize the genre is doing just fine without me, but this is my review so it's egocentric).
I genuinely cared about Danny and Eve, and I fevered alongside their romance because of how real and human it felt, how unpolished and uncertain, and how the interplay between their personal and professional lives could have consequences on a global scale (especially given Danny's app). This is real! This happens! And isn't it terrifying how the future might hinge on some beep-boop boy's love life?
I listened to the audio ARC, narrated by Karissa Vacker. She did an amazing job, even with the male characters. Highly recommend!
Review of advance copy received from Netgalley
Love Is an Algorithm was a love story at its heart, while also delving into the role that technology and AI play in our daily lives, most meaningful relationships, thoughts, and feelings. Later in the book, it really got into how the tech we interact with on a daily basis can take us away from the ones we love and almost rewire our brains, or at least become habit-forming. While we know this on an intellectual level, it was interesting to watch the characters from the outside as they learned on technology even when they didn’t really want to. Overall, Love Is an Algorithm was such a thought-provoking book, yet it wasn’t overly intellectual or essay-like; I was still interested in the characters and their journeys.
Eve is a musician and Danny is a coder. They both see themselves as creators and they will have to make hard decisions about how far to lean into their growing relationship and technology without losing themselves in the process.
At the beginning of the book, I could tell right away that the writing voice was going to be witty and funny with lots of observational humor (e.g., there were lots of satirical observations about Eve’s relationship with Fletcher). When disaster befalls Even and then breaks up with Fletcher, she heads back to New York City, where her brother Julian is starting a dating app business with his roommate from college, Danny.
Eve had a crush on Danny when she was 16, and when they meet again, it feels like love at first sight. As Danny develops the app, his goals shift from setting up compatible dates to measuring relationship health using an algorithm and AI bot, but he gets the idea from how much anxiety he has about relationships in his life. Meanwhile, as Eve’s music career progresses, she has to decide if she wants to move from obscure indie artist to commercially successfully pop star, and what she is willing to sacrifice along the way.
Even though Danny and Eve are falling in love throughout the novel, a lot of things do get in the way of their romance, as both of them are navigating their careers, their 20s, friendships, and dysfunctional family conflict. I do love a romance with real, actual problems, not just miscommunication trope.
My only critique is that at times, the organization of the chapters and the time jumps felt a little disjointed, so if you are a reader who has trouble with a non-linear narrative and frequent POV shifts, you will need to pay extra close attention while reading. At times, I also wish I could have gotten to know some of the characters on a deeper level, like if we could sit with them longer in a scene or chapter. Overall, the book is giving literary fiction x romance x technology critique.
Thank you to Harlequin Trade Publishing and Park Row and NetGalley for an ARC in exchange for an honest review.
Review of advance copy received from Netgalley
If Karissa Vacker narrates an audiobook, there’s a very good chance I’m going to listen to it. She’s one of my favorite narrators, and once again she delivered a performance that made the story feel incredibly engaging and immersive.
Love Is an Algorithm by Laura Brooke Robson was such an intriguing listen. I loved the modern take on dating and the way it explores the growing role of AI in our everyday lives—especially in relationships. The story follows Eve, a passionate musician who believes in trusting feelings and intuition, and Danny, the anxious co-creator of a dating app called Pattern. When their relationship becomes the inspiration for a new feature that measures “relationship health,” things start to get complicated in a very thought-provoking way.
What I appreciated most about this book was the ethical conversation it brings up about AI. As Pattern and its friendly AI assistant, Bug, become wildly popular, people begin outsourcing more and more of their emotional decisions to algorithms. It really makes you stop and think: how ethical is it to let AI guide our relationships? And if someone expresses love in a way that resonates with you because an algorithm told them how—does it still mean the same thing?
The dynamic between Eve and Danny highlights this tension beautifully. Eve’s music thrives on raw, messy human emotion, while Danny’s instinct is to measure, quantify, and optimize love. Watching their relationship evolve within that push and pull between feeling and data made the story both relatable and unsettling in the best way.
And of course, Karissa Vacker’s narration elevated the experience. She did a fantastic job capturing the emotional nuance of the characters and bringing their inner conflicts to life. Her performance made the story flow effortlessly and kept me hooked the entire time.
While I enjoyed the premise and the questions it raises about authenticity, technology, and modern love, there were moments where I wished the story dug even deeper into the ethical implications of AI and relationships. Still, the concept was fascinating and very relevant to the world we’re living in now.
Overall, this was a thoughtful and entertaining audiobook that blends romance with big questions about technology and human connection. If you enjoy contemporary stories that explore modern dating, AI, and the complexities of relationships—and especially if you’re a fan of Karissa Vacker’s narration—this one is definitely worth a listen.
Love Is an Algorithm by Laura Brooke Robson was such an intriguing listen. I loved the modern take on dating and the way it explores the growing role of AI in our everyday lives—especially in relationships. The story follows Eve, a passionate musician who believes in trusting feelings and intuition, and Danny, the anxious co-creator of a dating app called Pattern. When their relationship becomes the inspiration for a new feature that measures “relationship health,” things start to get complicated in a very thought-provoking way.
What I appreciated most about this book was the ethical conversation it brings up about AI. As Pattern and its friendly AI assistant, Bug, become wildly popular, people begin outsourcing more and more of their emotional decisions to algorithms. It really makes you stop and think: how ethical is it to let AI guide our relationships? And if someone expresses love in a way that resonates with you because an algorithm told them how—does it still mean the same thing?
The dynamic between Eve and Danny highlights this tension beautifully. Eve’s music thrives on raw, messy human emotion, while Danny’s instinct is to measure, quantify, and optimize love. Watching their relationship evolve within that push and pull between feeling and data made the story both relatable and unsettling in the best way.
And of course, Karissa Vacker’s narration elevated the experience. She did a fantastic job capturing the emotional nuance of the characters and bringing their inner conflicts to life. Her performance made the story flow effortlessly and kept me hooked the entire time.
While I enjoyed the premise and the questions it raises about authenticity, technology, and modern love, there were moments where I wished the story dug even deeper into the ethical implications of AI and relationships. Still, the concept was fascinating and very relevant to the world we’re living in now.
Overall, this was a thoughtful and entertaining audiobook that blends romance with big questions about technology and human connection. If you enjoy contemporary stories that explore modern dating, AI, and the complexities of relationships—and especially if you’re a fan of Karissa Vacker’s narration—this one is definitely worth a listen.
Review of advance copy received from Netgalley
Love Is an Algorithm by Laura Brooke Robson felt like it was set five minutes in the future — close enough to reality to make you uncomfortable, but just far enough away to call it fiction.
At its heart, this is a love story between Eve and Danny. Eve is a singer-songwriter who believes art should be messy, emotional, and deeply human. Danny is anxious, analytical, and one of the creators of Pattern — a dating app designed to predict compatibility and measure relationship health. When they finally start dating after years of orbiting each other, it feels almost inevitable. And yet… it’s anything but simple.
What I loved most about this book is how it explores insecurity in modern relationships. Danny doesn’t just feel uncertain — he wants data to solve it. If there’s tension, why not quantify it? If there’s doubt, why not optimize it? The evolution of Pattern — especially with the introduction of the AI assistant, Bug — is both fascinating and deeply unnerving. Watching people outsource emotional labor and intimate conversations to an algorithm felt disturbingly plausible. In fact, I can almost guarantee it’s already happening.
Eve’s arc was incredibly compelling. As someone trying to build a music career rooted in authenticity, she’s constantly confronted with the question: if AI can polish, predict, and perfect art, what happens to raw human feeling? Her resistance to optimization becomes one of the emotional anchors of the story.
The romance itself is tender and believable. Eve and Danny are flawed in ways that feel painfully real — miscommunications, overthinking, the quiet fear of not being enough for the person you love. Their chemistry is strong, but the tension comes from something more existential than a typical third-act breakup. It’s about trust — not just in each other, but in human instinct.
This isn’t a light rom-com. It’s a reflective, slightly alarming exploration of what happens when we start believing technology can answer questions that are supposed to remain uncertain. Can love survive being measured? Should it? By the end, I felt both satisfied and unsettled — which I think is exactly the point. If you enjoy romances that dig deeper into big ideas while still delivering emotional payoff, this one is absolutely worth picking up.
Thank you to NetGalley and HTP | Park Row for this eARC!
At its heart, this is a love story between Eve and Danny. Eve is a singer-songwriter who believes art should be messy, emotional, and deeply human. Danny is anxious, analytical, and one of the creators of Pattern — a dating app designed to predict compatibility and measure relationship health. When they finally start dating after years of orbiting each other, it feels almost inevitable. And yet… it’s anything but simple.
What I loved most about this book is how it explores insecurity in modern relationships. Danny doesn’t just feel uncertain — he wants data to solve it. If there’s tension, why not quantify it? If there’s doubt, why not optimize it? The evolution of Pattern — especially with the introduction of the AI assistant, Bug — is both fascinating and deeply unnerving. Watching people outsource emotional labor and intimate conversations to an algorithm felt disturbingly plausible. In fact, I can almost guarantee it’s already happening.
Eve’s arc was incredibly compelling. As someone trying to build a music career rooted in authenticity, she’s constantly confronted with the question: if AI can polish, predict, and perfect art, what happens to raw human feeling? Her resistance to optimization becomes one of the emotional anchors of the story.
The romance itself is tender and believable. Eve and Danny are flawed in ways that feel painfully real — miscommunications, overthinking, the quiet fear of not being enough for the person you love. Their chemistry is strong, but the tension comes from something more existential than a typical third-act breakup. It’s about trust — not just in each other, but in human instinct.
This isn’t a light rom-com. It’s a reflective, slightly alarming exploration of what happens when we start believing technology can answer questions that are supposed to remain uncertain. Can love survive being measured? Should it? By the end, I felt both satisfied and unsettled — which I think is exactly the point. If you enjoy romances that dig deeper into big ideas while still delivering emotional payoff, this one is absolutely worth picking up.
Thank you to NetGalley and HTP | Park Row for this eARC!
March 18, 2026
As someone who loves a good love story, and is very interested in tech policy and how tech and particularly AI is changing our lives, I was immediately intrigued by the synopsis when this was unveiled as one of this month’s Book of the Month picks.
Love is an Algorithm is a very easy and fast-paced read. It had me from the first crazy chapter in which Eve got herself into quite the predicament. Robson covers some thought-provoking themes, and says some meaningful things about how AI and data affects relationships. For a story revolving around commenting on how AI has affected relationships and society, this story felt very human and had a lot of heart and humor while saying some very true things. The book’s main protagonists, Eve and Danny, are both likable, flawed, and relatable characters. Danny’s anxiety at times made my anxious self nervous, but his inner thoughts could be particularly humorous in a way that brought levity.
To have been a five star though, I wanted to dig even deeper into the interesting themes the book covers. It fell a little short for me in both the love story between Eve and Danny, and as a social commentary. I liked them but never totally fell in love with them as a couple. And while I’m glad things never got too dramatic between them, I wanted to see more of how Danny’s use of AI and fixation on their relationship score put a strain on their relationship and ability to openly communicate. I definitely wouldn’t call this story surface level, but I wanted to really see the tensions play out on page. I also would’ve liked to see a bit more about how Julian and Gigi’s relationship became strained. There was also so much going on in both Eve and Danny’s lives that we did not fully explore, from Eve’s career and her relationship with her parents, to Danny and his relationship with his parents. We flew through so many plot points, all of which were quite interesting, but never spent as much time as I wanted on them, and the sudden jumps between Eve and Danny’s various story threads sometimes felt very jarring too.
For those who have thought little about AI and how it could affect our interpersonal relationships, this could be an eye-opening read. For me, it was a very enjoyable story with some good social commentary interweaved in, that could have been even better if we dug a little deeper.
Love is an Algorithm is a very easy and fast-paced read. It had me from the first crazy chapter in which Eve got herself into quite the predicament. Robson covers some thought-provoking themes, and says some meaningful things about how AI and data affects relationships. For a story revolving around commenting on how AI has affected relationships and society, this story felt very human and had a lot of heart and humor while saying some very true things. The book’s main protagonists, Eve and Danny, are both likable, flawed, and relatable characters. Danny’s anxiety at times made my anxious self nervous, but his inner thoughts could be particularly humorous in a way that brought levity.
To have been a five star though, I wanted to dig even deeper into the interesting themes the book covers. It fell a little short for me in both the love story between Eve and Danny, and as a social commentary. I liked them but never totally fell in love with them as a couple. And while I’m glad things never got too dramatic between them, I wanted to see more of how Danny’s use of AI and fixation on their relationship score put a strain on their relationship and ability to openly communicate. I definitely wouldn’t call this story surface level, but I wanted to really see the tensions play out on page. I also would’ve liked to see a bit more about how Julian and Gigi’s relationship became strained. There was also so much going on in both Eve and Danny’s lives that we did not fully explore, from Eve’s career and her relationship with her parents, to Danny and his relationship with his parents. We flew through so many plot points, all of which were quite interesting, but never spent as much time as I wanted on them, and the sudden jumps between Eve and Danny’s various story threads sometimes felt very jarring too.
For those who have thought little about AI and how it could affect our interpersonal relationships, this could be an eye-opening read. For me, it was a very enjoyable story with some good social commentary interweaved in, that could have been even better if we dug a little deeper.
Review of advance copy received from Netgalley
When app-coder Danny and his best friend sister Eve, an indie songwriter, finally start dating, Danny is plagued by relationship insecurities. His anxieties drive him to redevelop his company's dating app into a relationship coach after they've found their match. Users are given a relationship score, and have a "helpful" AI model Bug (short for Lovebug) to coach them into ways to increase that score. While Danny is retreating into his chats with Bug instead of just telling Eve how he's feeling, Eve find herself embroiled in her own AI-related problems, from the consequences of recording with AI to the fallout from increasingly harmful internet deep fakes using her image.
This is a tough book for me to rate because I think the writing was heartfelt and tender, and I agree with the ultimate themes of the story - robots and algorithms are mere facsimiles of the human experience, can't compare, and are in many ways, making our society worse - but I don't know that it said anything necessarily new or different, or really contributed to the conversation in anyway. It's a lot of words to basically boil down to "yeah, AI isn't human". I also felt there was just a bit too much going on, and it was difficult to connect with every problem the main characters faced (Eve's a charting popstar whose parents have abandoned her and also someone in her life is cheating while she's trying to convince the internet she didn't die because of a deep fake, and connect with her boyfriend who is pulling away because of his own perceived inadequacies and parental issues, including a dying father - just maybe one or two things too much).
The writing here is really strong and at times, beautiful. And I did tear through the ALC in genuinely a single day! I think this may hit hard for a lot of readers, and I'm not surprised to see it's a Book of the Month March 2026 pick. I think I do recommend it, but be wary if you, like me, are feeling a little "AI Conversation Fatigued."
Thank you to the Publisher and NetGalley for the advanced listening copy in exchange for an honest review!!
This is a tough book for me to rate because I think the writing was heartfelt and tender, and I agree with the ultimate themes of the story - robots and algorithms are mere facsimiles of the human experience, can't compare, and are in many ways, making our society worse - but I don't know that it said anything necessarily new or different, or really contributed to the conversation in anyway. It's a lot of words to basically boil down to "yeah, AI isn't human". I also felt there was just a bit too much going on, and it was difficult to connect with every problem the main characters faced (Eve's a charting popstar whose parents have abandoned her and also someone in her life is cheating while she's trying to convince the internet she didn't die because of a deep fake, and connect with her boyfriend who is pulling away because of his own perceived inadequacies and parental issues, including a dying father - just maybe one or two things too much).
The writing here is really strong and at times, beautiful. And I did tear through the ALC in genuinely a single day! I think this may hit hard for a lot of readers, and I'm not surprised to see it's a Book of the Month March 2026 pick. I think I do recommend it, but be wary if you, like me, are feeling a little "AI Conversation Fatigued."
Thank you to the Publisher and NetGalley for the advanced listening copy in exchange for an honest review!!
March 8, 2026
Thank you Net Galley and HarperCollins for giving me an arc. This explores what happens when technology starts interfering with love. The story follows Eve, a musician who believes in emotions and gut instincts, and Danny, an anxious tech developer who helped create a dating app designed to optimize relationships. When Danny begins building an AI-driven feature that analyzes and scores relationships, their own romance becomes a real-life experiment in whether love can or should be quantified.
What starts as a quirky, modern love story gradually turns into a thought-provoking look at how much of our lives we’re willing to hand over to algorithms.
Things I enjoyed:
* Unique premise – The idea of an AI that evaluates relationships feels current and unique.
* Thought-provoking themes – It raises interesting questions about technology, emotional authenticity, and whether data can replace real communication.
* Narration– I listened to the audiobook and it is narrated by Karissa Vacker. She does a great job and I enjoyed it.
* Relatable anxieties – Danny’s overthinking and Eve’s struggle to protect genuine emotion feel very realistic for modern dating.
* Family Conflict- It dives into the issues that happen within families and how they impact individuals involved on a deeper lifelong level.
Things that could be better:
* Less romance-heavy than expected – If you’re looking for a traditional swoony love story you might find the tech and social commentary taking center stage.
* Characters can feel frustrating – Danny’s constant analysis and reliance on data may test your patience.
* Pacing can feel uneven – The story sometimes slows when focusing heavily on the app and its impact on society. It also jumps around quite a bit which can be confusing.
Overall:
A romance that blends tech satire with a heartfelt relationship story. If you like books that explore how technology shapes human connection and enjoy a romance that’s a little more introspective this one will likely hit the spot. It was a good 3.5 star read.
What starts as a quirky, modern love story gradually turns into a thought-provoking look at how much of our lives we’re willing to hand over to algorithms.
Things I enjoyed:
* Unique premise – The idea of an AI that evaluates relationships feels current and unique.
* Thought-provoking themes – It raises interesting questions about technology, emotional authenticity, and whether data can replace real communication.
* Narration– I listened to the audiobook and it is narrated by Karissa Vacker. She does a great job and I enjoyed it.
* Relatable anxieties – Danny’s overthinking and Eve’s struggle to protect genuine emotion feel very realistic for modern dating.
* Family Conflict- It dives into the issues that happen within families and how they impact individuals involved on a deeper lifelong level.
Things that could be better:
* Less romance-heavy than expected – If you’re looking for a traditional swoony love story you might find the tech and social commentary taking center stage.
* Characters can feel frustrating – Danny’s constant analysis and reliance on data may test your patience.
* Pacing can feel uneven – The story sometimes slows when focusing heavily on the app and its impact on society. It also jumps around quite a bit which can be confusing.
Overall:
A romance that blends tech satire with a heartfelt relationship story. If you like books that explore how technology shapes human connection and enjoy a romance that’s a little more introspective this one will likely hit the spot. It was a good 3.5 star read.
Review of advance copy received from Netgalley
Audiobook Review: Love Is an Algorithm by Laura Brooke Robson
Eve is a musician who trusts her heart. Danny is a tech developer who trusts data. Their relationship starts hopeful, but Danny’s relationship app Pattern grows into something bigger. Originally built as a matchmaking platform, it evolves into a system that predicts, measures, and even gives advice on love itself through an AI assistant called Bug. Danny’s own anxiety about whether he is doing relationships “correctly” pushes him to expand the technology, while Eve becomes increasingly uneasy with the idea that something as unpredictable as love could be reduced to data points.
Their differences sharpen as Pattern becomes more popular and people begin relying on the app to guide real relationship decisions. For Eve, who believes genuine emotion is essential both to love and the music she writes, outsourcing emotional choices to an algorithm feels fundamentally wrong. Danny, meanwhile, struggles to reconcile his faith in the system with the complicated reality of his own relationship.
The story introduces a few twists that deepen that tension. A deepfake claiming Eve is dead spreads online, forcing her to confront how easily technology can distort identity and reality. At the same time, Danny’s estranged father begins confiding in the AI assistant instead of Danny himself, highlighting the strange irony that technology designed to help people connect can sometimes create more distance.
The audiobook works well because so much of the story is internal. Listening to Eve and Danny wrestle with doubt, control, and unpredictability makes the emotional stakes feel immediate, and the AI conversations translate particularly well in audio. Love Is an Algorithm is quieter than typical YA romance and thoughtful about love, choice, and whether certainty is worth the cost. The restraint mostly serves that purpose, though I found myself wanting the romance to crack open more than it does. 3.5 stars.
Thank you to the publisher and NetGalley for the ALC. This is my honest and voluntary review.
Eve is a musician who trusts her heart. Danny is a tech developer who trusts data. Their relationship starts hopeful, but Danny’s relationship app Pattern grows into something bigger. Originally built as a matchmaking platform, it evolves into a system that predicts, measures, and even gives advice on love itself through an AI assistant called Bug. Danny’s own anxiety about whether he is doing relationships “correctly” pushes him to expand the technology, while Eve becomes increasingly uneasy with the idea that something as unpredictable as love could be reduced to data points.
Their differences sharpen as Pattern becomes more popular and people begin relying on the app to guide real relationship decisions. For Eve, who believes genuine emotion is essential both to love and the music she writes, outsourcing emotional choices to an algorithm feels fundamentally wrong. Danny, meanwhile, struggles to reconcile his faith in the system with the complicated reality of his own relationship.
The story introduces a few twists that deepen that tension. A deepfake claiming Eve is dead spreads online, forcing her to confront how easily technology can distort identity and reality. At the same time, Danny’s estranged father begins confiding in the AI assistant instead of Danny himself, highlighting the strange irony that technology designed to help people connect can sometimes create more distance.
The audiobook works well because so much of the story is internal. Listening to Eve and Danny wrestle with doubt, control, and unpredictability makes the emotional stakes feel immediate, and the AI conversations translate particularly well in audio. Love Is an Algorithm is quieter than typical YA romance and thoughtful about love, choice, and whether certainty is worth the cost. The restraint mostly serves that purpose, though I found myself wanting the romance to crack open more than it does. 3.5 stars.
Thank you to the publisher and NetGalley for the ALC. This is my honest and voluntary review.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
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