Book Review: Love is an Algorithm
Love Is an Algorithm by Laura Brooke Robson will be published on March 31, 2026. 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.
