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Love Is an Algorithm: A Novel
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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, Kindle Edition
Expected publication March 31, 2026
133 people are currently reading
8377 people want to read
About the author
Laura Brooke Robson
4 books201 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 87 reviews
Review of advance copy received from Netgalley
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.
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?
FULL REVIEW TO FOLLOW TONIGHT! :)
I've never done audiobooks before so this is my first ALC. A little unfamiliar in that territory but hope to enjoy it.
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.
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?
FULL REVIEW TO FOLLOW TONIGHT! :)
I've never done audiobooks before so this is my first ALC. A little unfamiliar in that territory but hope to enjoy it.
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!
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 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
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.
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.
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
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!
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 5, 2026
4.25 ⭐️
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!
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
What a unique story and a fresh new voice in fiction. Danny is a tech start up bro, he is the coding half of the duo that started Pattern, a dating app that measures compatibility. Eve is a musician who comes from a Manhattan elite family, her brother co-founded the company with Danny. He is marrying a beautiful "influencer" and says things like "crushing it." Danny is approaching the app and the compatibility score with a lot of thoughtfulness, and it is being used in very human, messy ways.
This is a really unique writing style that I will admit, it took me awhile to get used to. With razor sharp references, this seems to skip prose and descriptions in favor of rapid jumps to snippets of conversations. The narrative skips around in character and time frame rather abruptly, but once I got used to the style, I realized that I knew the characters in their complexity and relationships much more so than I would have expected in just a few hundred pages. This is one that grew on me over the course of me reading it. By the ending, you realize the commentary it is making on relationships, how they work, and how they are influenced by the modern age.
The best thing about this book is the rather complex conversation that it is having around AI, Algorithms, how we are relying upon our devices and some AI that has been programmed by some very very human and imperfect people.
I was lucky to approach this as an immersive read as I received both the ARC from Harlequin Trade as well as the ALC from Harlequin Audio. The audiobook performance was excellent, but audio-only could be a challenge to some readers due to the writing style. I personally did very much need the "eyeball" reading to keep track of where I was in the book.
Book to be published March 31, 2026. Thank you to NetGalley, Harlequin, and the author.
This is a really unique writing style that I will admit, it took me awhile to get used to. With razor sharp references, this seems to skip prose and descriptions in favor of rapid jumps to snippets of conversations. The narrative skips around in character and time frame rather abruptly, but once I got used to the style, I realized that I knew the characters in their complexity and relationships much more so than I would have expected in just a few hundred pages. This is one that grew on me over the course of me reading it. By the ending, you realize the commentary it is making on relationships, how they work, and how they are influenced by the modern age.
The best thing about this book is the rather complex conversation that it is having around AI, Algorithms, how we are relying upon our devices and some AI that has been programmed by some very very human and imperfect people.
I was lucky to approach this as an immersive read as I received both the ARC from Harlequin Trade as well as the ALC from Harlequin Audio. The audiobook performance was excellent, but audio-only could be a challenge to some readers due to the writing style. I personally did very much need the "eyeball" reading to keep track of where I was in the book.
Book to be published March 31, 2026. Thank you to NetGalley, Harlequin, and the author.
Review of advance copy received from Netgalley
Thank you to NetGalley and HarperCollins for this free ARC audiobook (written by Laura Brook Robson and narrated by Karissa Vacker) in exchange for an honest review ❤️
Wow! This one was so engaging and funny, I was hooked right from the first chapter. The story is so relevant in today's technology filled world. My favorite quote from the novel: "Everything is a performance, even if there isn't an audience."
The characters are flawed in such loveable ways. Eve is a songwriter, despite the disapproval of her parents. She constantly wonders what her life would be like if she had made different decisions along the way. Danny is best friends and business partners with Eve's brother; they created a dating app that goes the extra step by using AI to evaluate and optimize your relationship. Danny's anxiety and insecurities lead him to depend more and more on the data as the AI expands, which only serves to create more anxiety and insecurity.
Together, Eve and Danny navigate the complications of nurturing meaningful relationships in a technology driven world. It's so much easier to chat with AI than with real people since then we don't have to make ourselves vulnerable. Do we stifle our own creativity by using AI? How addicted have we become to technology? Would you want to know what percentage your relationship's success rating is? How do you know when you can or can't trust what you see as AI becomes more and more realistic? Where do you draw the line?
This is a humorous novel about serious topics for thought. It explores a multitude of relationships from dating, friendships, and family dynamics. It does jump around quite a bit with flashbacks, but it was still easy enough to follow. The combination of humor, romance, and food for thought was right up my alley. I round up to 5 stars ⭐ ⭐ ⭐ ⭐ ⭐ @htpbooks
Wow! This one was so engaging and funny, I was hooked right from the first chapter. The story is so relevant in today's technology filled world. My favorite quote from the novel: "Everything is a performance, even if there isn't an audience."
The characters are flawed in such loveable ways. Eve is a songwriter, despite the disapproval of her parents. She constantly wonders what her life would be like if she had made different decisions along the way. Danny is best friends and business partners with Eve's brother; they created a dating app that goes the extra step by using AI to evaluate and optimize your relationship. Danny's anxiety and insecurities lead him to depend more and more on the data as the AI expands, which only serves to create more anxiety and insecurity.
Together, Eve and Danny navigate the complications of nurturing meaningful relationships in a technology driven world. It's so much easier to chat with AI than with real people since then we don't have to make ourselves vulnerable. Do we stifle our own creativity by using AI? How addicted have we become to technology? Would you want to know what percentage your relationship's success rating is? How do you know when you can or can't trust what you see as AI becomes more and more realistic? Where do you draw the line?
This is a humorous novel about serious topics for thought. It explores a multitude of relationships from dating, friendships, and family dynamics. It does jump around quite a bit with flashbacks, but it was still easy enough to follow. The combination of humor, romance, and food for thought was right up my alley. I round up to 5 stars ⭐ ⭐ ⭐ ⭐ ⭐ @htpbooks
December 3, 2025
Thank you to NetGalley and HarperCollins for this ARC.
3.75/5
Is it possible to find real love in a time of AI, algorithms, and apps?
Yes, but it does make everything terribly complicated.
Dating is hard, especially with all of the access we have to technology today. “Love is an Algorithm” lets us in on all of the ups and downs that come with trying to find something real when we’re inundated with the never ending change of ever adapting technologies.
This is certainly an important novel for modern romances. It reflects the messiness of real life when we’re inundated with so many different apps and websites that help us live our lives. But I never truly found myself falling in love with the story.
Eve and Danny do share a sweet yet very realistic sort of love. They’re imperfect humans who make both good and bad decisions and feel the consequences of their choices. The characters’ dynamics all feel extremely real: complicated, messy, and interesting. They feel like friend groups we’d see in real life.
While I enjoyed the characters, something in the style held me back. It’s told slightly non-linear—we see moments from both Eve and Danny’s past—while also watching the relationship play out in real time. It works for the novel, but I didn’t find myself falling in love with it. The chapters are all different lengths: some are as short as a paragraph and others will be multiple pages. It sets an interesting pace, being both a quick and relatively slow read. I do wish we saw more of Danny’s dates from the app. They felt entirely too realistic for those of us stuck searching through IRL dating apps.
Although this wasn’t the one for me, it serves as a fascinating commentary on modern dating in an age of rapidly updating technology.
3.75/5
Is it possible to find real love in a time of AI, algorithms, and apps?
Yes, but it does make everything terribly complicated.
Dating is hard, especially with all of the access we have to technology today. “Love is an Algorithm” lets us in on all of the ups and downs that come with trying to find something real when we’re inundated with the never ending change of ever adapting technologies.
This is certainly an important novel for modern romances. It reflects the messiness of real life when we’re inundated with so many different apps and websites that help us live our lives. But I never truly found myself falling in love with the story.
Eve and Danny do share a sweet yet very realistic sort of love. They’re imperfect humans who make both good and bad decisions and feel the consequences of their choices. The characters’ dynamics all feel extremely real: complicated, messy, and interesting. They feel like friend groups we’d see in real life.
While I enjoyed the characters, something in the style held me back. It’s told slightly non-linear—we see moments from both Eve and Danny’s past—while also watching the relationship play out in real time. It works for the novel, but I didn’t find myself falling in love with it. The chapters are all different lengths: some are as short as a paragraph and others will be multiple pages. It sets an interesting pace, being both a quick and relatively slow read. I do wish we saw more of Danny’s dates from the app. They felt entirely too realistic for those of us stuck searching through IRL dating apps.
Although this wasn’t the one for me, it serves as a fascinating commentary on modern dating in an age of rapidly updating technology.
Review of advance copy received from Netgalley
I actually picked this up for my March Book of the Month, but I was so impatient to start that I jumped into this ALC from NetGalley and Harper Collins the second it hit my inbox. Thank you so much for the ALC, it was so much fun to listen!
Being a Lead Product Designer for a tech company, I’m constantly surrounded by the "AI everything" push, so this premise felt incredibly relevant. We're living in this weird moment where everyone is side-eyeing artists to see if they’re using AI, and companies are shoving algorithms into every user experience possible. Seeing that play out through Eve (the singer artist) and Danny (the tech co-founder) was fascinating.
What I loved most was that the author kept things grounded. Instead of going for a wild, over-the-top "killer robot" dystopia like you see in the movies, it felt like a mirror to our actual lives. It’s honestly a bit jarring to see how easily the characters start relying on "Bug" for the most intimate parts of their lives. I use AI at work all the time, but the idea of letting an algorithm decide the fate of my marriage or breaking up just because a data point told me to is wild.
Beyond the tech stuff, the book is just plain fun. There were some great comedic moments, and I have to give a shout-out to the occasional dad jokes plugged in there. They were the perfect kind of cringey that makes you roll your eyes and laugh at the same time. "Why did the shoe join a dating app? To find it's sole-mate." Badum tsssssss...
If you want a look at the "near future" of tech and romance that feels terrifyingly possible (and funny), this is a must-read. It's smart, witty, and definitely makes you want to put your phone in a drawer for a few hours.
Being a Lead Product Designer for a tech company, I’m constantly surrounded by the "AI everything" push, so this premise felt incredibly relevant. We're living in this weird moment where everyone is side-eyeing artists to see if they’re using AI, and companies are shoving algorithms into every user experience possible. Seeing that play out through Eve (the singer artist) and Danny (the tech co-founder) was fascinating.
What I loved most was that the author kept things grounded. Instead of going for a wild, over-the-top "killer robot" dystopia like you see in the movies, it felt like a mirror to our actual lives. It’s honestly a bit jarring to see how easily the characters start relying on "Bug" for the most intimate parts of their lives. I use AI at work all the time, but the idea of letting an algorithm decide the fate of my marriage or breaking up just because a data point told me to is wild.
Beyond the tech stuff, the book is just plain fun. There were some great comedic moments, and I have to give a shout-out to the occasional dad jokes plugged in there. They were the perfect kind of cringey that makes you roll your eyes and laugh at the same time. "Why did the shoe join a dating app? To find it's sole-mate." Badum tsssssss...
If you want a look at the "near future" of tech and romance that feels terrifyingly possible (and funny), this is a must-read. It's smart, witty, and definitely makes you want to put your phone in a drawer for a few hours.
Review of advance copy received from Netgalley
Love Is an Algorithm is exactly the kind of romance I gravitate toward—one rooted in complex ideas, emotionally dynamic characters, and a relationship that feels earned rather than trope-driven. There's no heavy-handed plotting or gratuitous fights based on simple misunderstandings that exist solely to temporarily separate the main characters, and it never tips into saccharine territory. Instead, the tone stays bittersweet, occasionally even unsettling. The “happily ever after” is never guaranteed—which, for me, makes it far more satisfying.
Lightly science fiction and strikingly timely, the novel explores the impact of AI on romance, friendship, career, art, commerce—even our sense of self. Robson examines how artificial intelligence can function as both tool and crutch, something that supports us while simultaneously weakening our emotional muscles. As we outsource more and more—research, therapy, validation, companionship—what do we lose? Can an algorithm actually solve loneliness? And where are its limits?
The writing is elegant but accessible, thoughtful without becoming didactic. Robson also excels at crafting characters who are undeniably privileged yet still deeply human and relatable. Their flaws feel real; their longings feel familiar.
My only real criticism is that the pacing drags slightly in the second half, with certain thematic beats becoming repetitive. The final chapters attempting to tie Danny’s family more directly to Eve’s storyline also felt somewhat unnecessary, almost as though the novel didn’t fully trust its central relationship to stand on its own.
Still, this is smart, contemporary romance at its best: emotionally grounded, intellectually curious, and quietly provocative. Exactly my lane.
Lightly science fiction and strikingly timely, the novel explores the impact of AI on romance, friendship, career, art, commerce—even our sense of self. Robson examines how artificial intelligence can function as both tool and crutch, something that supports us while simultaneously weakening our emotional muscles. As we outsource more and more—research, therapy, validation, companionship—what do we lose? Can an algorithm actually solve loneliness? And where are its limits?
The writing is elegant but accessible, thoughtful without becoming didactic. Robson also excels at crafting characters who are undeniably privileged yet still deeply human and relatable. Their flaws feel real; their longings feel familiar.
My only real criticism is that the pacing drags slightly in the second half, with certain thematic beats becoming repetitive. The final chapters attempting to tie Danny’s family more directly to Eve’s storyline also felt somewhat unnecessary, almost as though the novel didn’t fully trust its central relationship to stand on its own.
Still, this is smart, contemporary romance at its best: emotionally grounded, intellectually curious, and quietly provocative. Exactly my lane.
Review of advance copy received from Netgalley
I went into this book fully expecting a romance, and while there is romance, what I got was something so much deeper and more meaningful. The story blends humor with heavy, emotional moments in a way that feels natural and honest. The writing is strong and easy to get lost in, but it never shies away from important topics. Eve and Danny first meet ten years earlier through Julian (Eve’s brother) who was Danny’s best friend and college roommate before eventually becoming his business partner.All of the characters are connected in one way or another, and those overlapping relationships add so much depth to the story. The author unpacks what happened over those ten years in a smart, engaging way that shows how tightly the past and present are woven together and keeps you fully invested.
What really makes this book stand out is how deeply it explores Eve and Danny’s “mommy” and “daddy” issues and how central those experiences are to who they’ve become. Their family histories directly affect how they communicate, how they handle relationships, and how they show up for each other and for everyone around them. Danny, in particular, was incredibly likable, and I genuinely connected with the way he thinks and processes the world. On top of all of that, the book quietly pushes you to reflect on the role of AI in our lives and how it influences the way we think and how it may eventually start shaping our decisions in ways we don’t even notice. This book surprised me in the best way and I'm so thankful I was able to get an early copy.
What really makes this book stand out is how deeply it explores Eve and Danny’s “mommy” and “daddy” issues and how central those experiences are to who they’ve become. Their family histories directly affect how they communicate, how they handle relationships, and how they show up for each other and for everyone around them. Danny, in particular, was incredibly likable, and I genuinely connected with the way he thinks and processes the world. On top of all of that, the book quietly pushes you to reflect on the role of AI in our lives and how it influences the way we think and how it may eventually start shaping our decisions in ways we don’t even notice. This book surprised me in the best way and I'm so thankful I was able to get an early copy.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
Review of advance copy
Would you ever trust an AI bot for relationship advice? Because that’s exactly what happens in this book…
⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ - 4 stars
I received an early copy of Love Is an Algorithm by Laura Brooke Robson from Book of the Month Club, and this was my first book by this author. I really enjoyed it.
The story explores love and relationships through the lens of a dating app and “Bug,” a ChatGPT-style bot designed to help people navigate relationship troubles. It’s quirky, a little offbeat,and the writing style felt different from most books I’ve read recently. It kept me curious and wanting to know what would happen next.
One line that really stuck with me was:
“Danny always got to see Julian’s walls going up and coming down again. Danny is wall-exempt. It has led him to believe that the greatest gift someone can give is the ability to see them clearly.”
That idea of being truly seen felt like the emotional core of the book.
I also really loved Eve’s character and found myself rooting for her throughout. On the flip side, I absolutely hated her parents. Their behavior was terrible and, for me, they were never redeemed in any meaningful way.
I loved how everything started connecting toward the end, although if I’m being honest, I wished there had been just a little bit more there.
I’m always drawn to books that explore society’s growing reliance on AI and technology and ask questions about where that might lead us. That theme made this one especially interesting.
⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ - 4 stars
I received an early copy of Love Is an Algorithm by Laura Brooke Robson from Book of the Month Club, and this was my first book by this author. I really enjoyed it.
The story explores love and relationships through the lens of a dating app and “Bug,” a ChatGPT-style bot designed to help people navigate relationship troubles. It’s quirky, a little offbeat,and the writing style felt different from most books I’ve read recently. It kept me curious and wanting to know what would happen next.
One line that really stuck with me was:
“Danny always got to see Julian’s walls going up and coming down again. Danny is wall-exempt. It has led him to believe that the greatest gift someone can give is the ability to see them clearly.”
That idea of being truly seen felt like the emotional core of the book.
I also really loved Eve’s character and found myself rooting for her throughout. On the flip side, I absolutely hated her parents. Their behavior was terrible and, for me, they were never redeemed in any meaningful way.
I loved how everything started connecting toward the end, although if I’m being honest, I wished there had been just a little bit more there.
I’m always drawn to books that explore society’s growing reliance on AI and technology and ask questions about where that might lead us. That theme made this one especially interesting.
Review of advance copy received from Netgalley
Thank you to NetGalley and more specifically to Justine from HarperCollins for emailing me a widget when I requested an arc.
If you know me, A Curse for the Homesick became my all-time-favorite book last year. I felt incredibly connected, and I adore the story. I hoped this would at least be similar. I find the topic of AI to be so poignant, and I adore books that bring up dystopian dating themes (it has been a hyper-focus of mine at the moment), but unfortunately, even this didn't quite scratch that itch. I felt as if this book truly gives nothing beyond the bare minimum for me, but I also believe that is my personal opinion.
I didn't feel connected to any of the characters. I don't believe they are written to be likable, but I also don't think they're hate fodder. While this is realistic, I just didn't find any sympathy for them as someone who is strongly anti-AI. I found Eve to be annoying. Danny is fine, but his character points out the flaw in AI reliance, which is another one of my pet peeves. I did find the ending really interesting, but I also feel as if it undoes a lot of the work the author does to show us how harmful AI can be.
The thing I struggle with the most about this story is the fact that this has all the puzzle pieces of making a great story, yet it seems like we have three different puzzle's pieces at once, and we're also missing at least 20.
If you know me, A Curse for the Homesick became my all-time-favorite book last year. I felt incredibly connected, and I adore the story. I hoped this would at least be similar. I find the topic of AI to be so poignant, and I adore books that bring up dystopian dating themes (it has been a hyper-focus of mine at the moment), but unfortunately, even this didn't quite scratch that itch. I felt as if this book truly gives nothing beyond the bare minimum for me, but I also believe that is my personal opinion.
I didn't feel connected to any of the characters. I don't believe they are written to be likable, but I also don't think they're hate fodder. While this is realistic, I just didn't find any sympathy for them as someone who is strongly anti-AI. I found Eve to be annoying. Danny is fine, but his character points out the flaw in AI reliance, which is another one of my pet peeves. I did find the ending really interesting, but I also feel as if it undoes a lot of the work the author does to show us how harmful AI can be.
The thing I struggle with the most about this story is the fact that this has all the puzzle pieces of making a great story, yet it seems like we have three different puzzle's pieces at once, and we're also missing at least 20.
Review of advance copy received from Netgalley
I had the chance to both read the digital copy and listen to the audiobook of Love is an Algorithm, and I’m glad I did. This isn't a "banal" romance; I really appreciated how the author dug into the ways AI is bleeding into our personal and professional lives. I especially liked the subtle environmental nod, the question of whether we’re burning through resources for menial tasks we shouldn’t even need AI for is a big one. We all know the answer to that, but the book handles the topic well, without feeling like a lecture.
The core story is very cute: we follow Eve, a musician, and Danny, a dating app creator who start dating. Watching them start to rely on their AI agents for life’s decisions was fascinating and, honestly, a little relatable. The writing style is very accessible, and I loved how the author tied all the threads back together at the end. Is it 100% believable? Maybe not, but for a story like this, it doesn't need to be. It’s a great, entertaining read that is also thought-provoking.
Book Rating: 3.5 stars, rounded up to 4.
The Audiobook: This was a 5-star experience for me. Karissa Vacker is a fantastic narrator: her voice is clear and pleasant, and she did a remarkable job conveying the characters' emotions.
Thanks to NetGalley, Laura Brooke Robson, and Harlequin Audio, and Harlequin Trade Publishing for both the ARCs.
The core story is very cute: we follow Eve, a musician, and Danny, a dating app creator who start dating. Watching them start to rely on their AI agents for life’s decisions was fascinating and, honestly, a little relatable. The writing style is very accessible, and I loved how the author tied all the threads back together at the end. Is it 100% believable? Maybe not, but for a story like this, it doesn't need to be. It’s a great, entertaining read that is also thought-provoking.
Book Rating: 3.5 stars, rounded up to 4.
The Audiobook: This was a 5-star experience for me. Karissa Vacker is a fantastic narrator: her voice is clear and pleasant, and she did a remarkable job conveying the characters' emotions.
Thanks to NetGalley, Laura Brooke Robson, and Harlequin Audio, and Harlequin Trade Publishing for both the ARCs.
Review of advance copy received from Netgalley
This story has such an amazing, frenetic energy. It’s like listening to a story from your funniest, most charming, most unmedicated friend with ADHD. As soon as I finished, I found myself going back to revisit specific scenes. Partly because they were so good, and partly because the added context made me appreciate them even more the second time around.
What’s particularly impressive is how easily this structure could have gone wrong. The non-linear timeline, the shifting verb tenses, the vignettes, and the constant genre-blending were all massive risks, but Robson totally pulled it off. She wrote a romance, but also spoke beautifully of music, family dynamics, grief and AI. I legit found myself wondering if this was a romance or weird girl lit or speculative fiction and it was kind of all of the above.
And Karissa Vacker! I laughed out loud several times, which is a testament to both the writing and Vacker’s impeccable line delivery. I keep replaying the way she handled the lines during the near-death experience and the "greatest love story ever told" and the MMC's food truck abandonment issues and the FMC's weirdly on point understanding of how things could go wrong in the relationship. I mean, really, the whole book was brilliantly written and performed.
Huge thanks to NetGalley and Harlequin Audio for the ALC! Love Is An Algorithm comes out March 31, 2026.
What’s particularly impressive is how easily this structure could have gone wrong. The non-linear timeline, the shifting verb tenses, the vignettes, and the constant genre-blending were all massive risks, but Robson totally pulled it off. She wrote a romance, but also spoke beautifully of music, family dynamics, grief and AI. I legit found myself wondering if this was a romance or weird girl lit or speculative fiction and it was kind of all of the above.
And Karissa Vacker! I laughed out loud several times, which is a testament to both the writing and Vacker’s impeccable line delivery. I keep replaying the way she handled the lines during the near-death experience and the "greatest love story ever told" and the MMC's food truck abandonment issues and the FMC's weirdly on point understanding of how things could go wrong in the relationship. I mean, really, the whole book was brilliantly written and performed.
Huge thanks to NetGalley and Harlequin Audio for the ALC! Love Is An Algorithm comes out March 31, 2026.
October 14, 2025
Love is an Algorithm feels like a concerningly real story of people of all ages turning towards AI to be the answer to all kinds of tough relationship moments. Danny and Julian start by making an AI dating app which quickly goes beyond helping you to meet your match to grading the relationship and guiding along. I think it would have been very easy to turn the story of Danny and Eve (Julian’s sister and Danny’s eventually girlfriend) into a ‘Black Mirror’-esque dystopian tale of AI making it so humans never have a real conversation again but I think that Laura Brooke Robson gives us insight into a more realistic (and therefore scarier) future.
Love is an Algorithm is hard to put down - the prose glides along nicely the pace is enjoyable and it’s easy to get sucked in. I enjoyed how the book is separated into little sections, sometimes only about a page in length, but still keeps a rhythm throughout. I have yet to be disappointed by Brooke Robson and although this is in a much more contemporary (and conventional) setting then previous works Love is an Algorithm still delivers with an engaging story told in a lovely way.
A big thank you to Harlequin Trade Publishing and NetGalley for this ARC in exchange for my honest review!
Love is an Algorithm is hard to put down - the prose glides along nicely the pace is enjoyable and it’s easy to get sucked in. I enjoyed how the book is separated into little sections, sometimes only about a page in length, but still keeps a rhythm throughout. I have yet to be disappointed by Brooke Robson and although this is in a much more contemporary (and conventional) setting then previous works Love is an Algorithm still delivers with an engaging story told in a lovely way.
A big thank you to Harlequin Trade Publishing and NetGalley for this ARC in exchange for my honest review!
November 7, 2025
The author of this book, Laura Robson, is doing some genuinely interesting work both in this novel and her newsletter grappling with the incursion of AI into creative pursuits and evaluating how AI "produces" creative work. I don't think that LOVE IS AN ALGORITHM sets out to, or answers, any of those questions, but it is a very interesting creative work addressing them. LOVE IS AN ALGORITHM is the story of Eve, a singer-songwriter and Danny (it's not short for Daniel), an app developer. They're connected through Danny's co-founder Julian who is Eve's brother. Danny and Julian develop a dating and relationship app with an AI chatbot, Bug, that is meant to answer questions, provide advice, and evaluate the strength of your connection. No matter what your opinion on the incursion of AI into daily life is, I thought that LOVE IS AN ALGORITHM accurately depicted how the ways AI can affect life, work, relationships, and does it in a way that, I believe, leaves the decision up to the individual reader whether utilizing AI was the right choice or not. There is a sorta-third act plot twist that both feels shoehorned in and also very fitting, given the unpredictability of life that makes us truly human.
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