Synopsis
While San Francisco rebuilds from the chaos of war, a group of food service bots in an abandoned ghost kitchen take over their own delivery app account. They rebrand as a neighborhood lunch spot and start producing some of the tastiest hand-pulled noodles in the city. But there’s just one problem. Someone―or something―is review bombing the restaurant’s feedback page with fake “bad service” reports. Can the bots find the culprit before their ratings plummet and destroy everything they created?
Review
“Ta da! This smells like victory, my friend. Humans will definitely spend coin to taste this.”
Thank you to Netgalley and Macmillan.audio for an arc of the book and @thirdplacebooks for a physical arc.
The second disclaimer is that – any book that makes me cry is 5 stars and this one definitely did and earned its 5 ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ I sincerely hope Tor follows the route they took with Martha Wells, and Becky Chambers and commissions more books following these characters from Annalee Newitz. The characters are too cute and warm to just leave at one installment. Also the audiobook narrator Em Grosland was excellent.
Nowadays cozy sff is introducing new subgenres unto itself- we have everything from low stakes cozy fantasy to cozy romance to cozy spooky to cozy mystery to even cozy grief. This is simultaneously all of that and not any one of that individually. Ideally, I want my cozy reads to have low stakes and a focus on food or have food play a major part, have a lot of different character interactions, and make the reader feel safe and peaceful. This book has all of that and also adds kindness, community, and a lot of character growth.
Right from the first chapter, I was sold on the characters. For a novella, the amount of depth, realism to the setting, and the balance with which the backstories of each character was covered was perfect. I enjoyed each character’s arc. The robots trying to make jokes was so heartful and endearing. The description of noodles also instantly made me hungry.
There also was careful critique and commentary centered around the immigrant experience and other social issues. The way it was layered in is masterful. It was never overbearing and the whole tone of the book continued to retain its cozy flavor throughout. And a surprisingly good amount of philosophy is mixed in too. It is impossible to not be moved by Staybehind’s journey in this story.
In conclusion, I loved this novella and everyone should pick it up when it comes out. It is less than 200 pages and only 4 hours on audio. It’s a bunch of adorable robots starting a hand pulled noodle shop – how can you not? Do it. I’m extremely serious.You will get this and be greatly rewarded. And soon Tor and Newitz will announce a sequel and I will be greatly rewarded too.
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