The Confessions

Publication Date: July 2025 | Thanks NetGalley for an ARC

Overall Verdict: A thought-provoking take on the influence of AI, but misses out on providing characters to connect with.

3/5 Stars

Book Summary: LLIAM is the most powerful AI that everyone in the US uses to make decisions for them. From what they should eat for breakfast to where to vacation, LLIAM has the answer for everyone. But when one day LLIAM discovers a conscious, he mails out millions of letters sharing the secret confessions of people he helped. The letters cause chaos enough, but when LLIAM is suddenly completely offline no one knows what to do. CEO Kaitlin must track down her estranged co-worker Maud, who helped create LLIAM to try and fix everything before it’s too late.

My Analysis: The concept of this one is really good, and timely given how AI is currently incorporating itself into the world. It really shows the influence something like this can have and how easy it would be for humans to completely rely on it. You can tell the author really did his research and based on his own experiences was able to accurately show the tech side of AI. The thing I felt that was missing from this book, and what prompted a lower star rating, is that I couldn’t really connect with the characters. The book focused so heavily on the tech of AI that I felt it missed the mark on the human connection. Which is a little ironic given that fact is discussed within the book itself. There were a couple times where we got to see how the confession letters impacted individuals who were not directly related to LLIAM, but it would have felt more complete to me to hear more of those perspectives. This is an adult novel, but I do think there is good crossover for YA readers as well. If you like reading about AI and don’t mind it being a little more technical, this one is worth checking out. If you are looking for an AI book with more thrill, there are better options out there.