Ian's parents were murdered. The culprit isn't human—he's a robot.
Androids used to be Ian’s passion. Now, he sees them as mindless killing machines to be feared.
After Ian's adoptive family kick him out for being transgender, Ian finds himself homeless without a soul to turn to for help—which is when he meets Gilbert: a mysterious detective who treats Ian to breakfast one fateful day.
Gilbert tells Ian about a case close to his heart. He drags Ian into adventures far beyond Ian's wildest dreams. And then, Ian falls in love. But it is wrong. So wrong. Because Gilbert is an android, and Ian swore he'd never trust another machine again.
Beau Van Dalen is a best-selling author of adult speculative fiction. Wattpad Stars Alumnus and Winner of Tapas Media’s 2018 Summer Writing Competition—Beau’s stories have amassed over two million reads online. Whether it be through books, poetry, comics or games, Beau is always enchanting words and creating worlds; he is currently on a journey to write one-hundred novels.
This is one of those books that feels way longer than the page count. In 40%, I was still having trouble figuring out what was going on. The main character, Ian, is a poor man's Batman who hates androids because, you guessed it: they killed his parents. He spends the majority of the story getting hurt, passing out, and constantly distrusting the kind android who's trying to enlist his aide in investigating why androids became murderous. The premise seemed promising, but with its poor world building and Ian's repetitive internal dialogue made it an exercise in endurance to get this far in the story. Ultimately, I decided to DNF. There are way better books waiting for me out there.
rating: 3.75 stars rounded up this was really cute and funny i am a tiny bit confused about the story BUTT that is probs bc it’s only the first book so i will definitely be checking out the rest!
Ian has severe PTSD when it comes to Assistants (androidS who were made to protect and serve families) ever since his family was murdered by Assistants whose codes were hacked.
When he meets Gilbert, an Assisant, he's terrified and immediately hates him, but their goals align, and their forced to work together.
It literally takes the whole book (through the last 2O pages or so) for Ian to open up and trust Gilbert. This is also around the same time that he has to admit to himself that he's starting to catch feelings for the android.
It was hard for me to get into this book. Thereise a lot of repetitiveness with Ian's inner monologue and whining going on without any real character improvement. It kind of happens out of nowhere.
I didn't really start to enjoy the book until the very end, and then the book ends on a flashback with no real ending to the story, which really sucked. I don't really see the plot or the point in this story since this book brings no closure at the end except for more questions. It didn't even end on a cliffhanger!
If you're seeking for a cyberpunk romance with mystery, give this book a chance.
There was so much going on with the plot - a missing friend of Ian, Gilbert's investigation, and lan's secret identity as a vigilante and then the sudden switch in the POV as Saki toward the end which drives the plot forward with bigger things in store yet to come for Ian, Gilbert and Saki. I'm quite excited to see how all of these three characters' paths ties together in the next book.
However, I slightly wish Saki's POV gets introduced in the second book instead of the last chapter in the first book so we can get more moments between Ian and Gilbert to build up more level of trust between them.
I absolutely loved the grumpy and somewhat naive sunshine dynamic going on between Ian and Gilbert. Can't wait to eat up more of their dynamic in the book!
“And you. I have found, that after spending a multitude of hours together, I wish… to protect you.”
As a child Ian was orphaned due to a brutal murder from an android Assistant now he needs to work together with Gilbert, an Assistant slowly gaining sentience. Ian is realizing his world is not as it seems while Gilbert is struggling to comprehend human emotions. Together they embark on a journey to find Ian’s missing friend and defeat an organization hell bent on causing havoc and murdering innocent civilians.
Ian and Gilbert have my whole heart, these two idiots make the perfect enemies to lovers pairing. The slow burn is real with these two, but’s it’s so enjoyable to see them come to terms with how they feel and realize there is more to the world than what they previously knew.
For fans of - Enemies to lovers 💜 - Trans representation 🏳️⚧️ - Robinhood esque MC 🏹 - Ethical quandaries 💭 - Cyberpunk 2077 🤖 - Found family 💝 - Gay Robots
It was a cute read. I loved the atmosphere it's set it, and Gilbert is my baby doll. I love him so much. The end was incredibly abrupt tho and I'm not entirely too happy with how it ended. There was no cliffhanger or any sort of closure. I know there will be a sequel to this book that will continue the story, but MAN.
Saki was an interesting add to the story, but it felt very out of place to suddenly have the story switch to her pov the way it did.
Either way, I liked the book. It was cute, and I will absolutely read the second book!
My fave by this author. This series is so gripping and involved, packed with action and suspense, heartfelt and relatable characters in a story that just keeps coming. I can't wait to read the second part. If this was a movie, I'd watch it, a manga/anime/graphic novel I'd be all over that too. This one is so good. A lot of stories with robots/androids are lacking soul, this one isn't, this story is where its at. 10/10
Started reading it , couldn't put it down , that's how good this book is ! Thank you Beau Van Dalen for this ! Can't wait to dive into the rest of the series !!
Android Affliction by Beau Van Dalen is a dystopian science fiction romance about Ian, a vigilante human with a vendetta against androids, and Gilbert, a seemingly unique android who is investigating all the evil androids that are murdering humans. The novel begins with Gilbert saving Ian’s life and offering Ian a chance to help him with Gilbert’s investigation. Ian is hesitant at first until his own friend goes missing. The unlikely duo will set out on a hunt to solve the mystery of the city while also, maybe, falling in love…?
I enjoyed the central relationship in this novel between Ian and Gilbert. I thought they were both well created characters who mixed really well together. Their relationship was cute and had the grumpy/sunshine pairing vibe. I thought the overall worldbuilding in this novel was lacking though, I wasn’t sure where the mystery part was going and Ian’s vigilante role wasn’t utilized. There was also a random POV dropped in towards the end that threw me off too. I think this novel and its series has a lot of potential and room to grow.
i picked this book up after reading the sample, and not being able to get it out of my head, and i’m so glad that i did! the book doesn’t have much of a preamble, and just drops you in with ian, but i enjoyed the way that the story builds on itself the more you read. you learn about the problems that ian is going through, and the problems with the world at large at a pace that doesn’t feel rushed. while their partnership starts off rocky, it’s fun to read ian and gilbert interact with each other. overall, i feel like this had the perfect mix of sci-fi, action, and humor; it kept my attention the whole time. i will be picking up the next one!