Review of "Beta Bots: The Womanoid Diaries II" by Ava Lock

This is the second book in the 'Womanoid Diaries' trilogy. I'd advise interested readers to begin with book one.

The first novel in the trilogy, Alpha Bots, takes place in New Stepford, a town where all the women are AI androids, purchased by men to fulfill their needs. Cookie Rifkin is unhappy in her role as a submissive wife.....



.....and becomes part of a militant group of AIs who want to be independent.

As Beta Bots opens, Cookie has gained her freedom,



and sets out on a mission with two AI companions: her boyfriend Wayne.....



.....and her non-binary metallic shapeshifting friend ANA (pronounced A-N-A).



The threesome plan to rob the Central Bank of Russia of thousands of tons of gold as well as a stash of palladium coins - which the AIs eat for energy. The heist doesn't go smoothly and Wayne is captured by a Stepford Corporation bounty hunter, who's paid to retrieve escaped androids.



Cookie and ANA get away, and set out to free Wayne, who's been spirited onto a private plane headed for England. Cookie knows what's happening to Wayne because AIs have Wi-Fi, which permits them to communicate with each other and share data. AIs can also upload any information they need from the internet, like martial arts moves, weapons specs, dance routines, recipes, location coordinates, and so on.

As Cookie is trying to work out how to help Wayne, she hears the clicking of Giuseppe Zanotti platform pumps - which retail for almost $1500 - and meets gorgeous AI Tabitha Kirsh.



Sparks fly between the bisexual gals, Cookie explains her plight, and Tabby offers her luxury yacht - named Wonder Woman - for a rescue mission. Tabby also introduces Cookie to a number of AI friends who'll help with the rescue: Richie (a handsome trans man);



Richie's girlfriend Peaches (a gorgeous drag queen);



and Uno (a non-binary white Bengal tiger).



There's time to spare before the fivesome need to head for England, because Tabby can teleport the Wonder Woman anywhere she wants. So the friends take a pause to party in Richie's gay nightclub, called Dorothy's, where there's dancing, drinking, drugs, and sex.



As it happens there's also danger, because the Stepford Corporation advertises a HUGE bounty for Cookie's capture, and almost everyone is now after Cookie. Moreover, an old nemesis of Cookie's shows up.....and the war is on.

With cops showing up, and AIs fighting each other, there's plenty of action in the book. This includes fights with knives, guns, rifles, rocket launchers, high-pitched sounds, karate, etc.



Battles involving AIs are especially tricky because AIs contain internal recyclones (sort of like Star Trek replicators) that they can use to heal themselves, rebuild lost body parts, and basically make anything they want....weapons, clothes, whatever.

AIs can eat and drink like humans, and they're especially good at preparing desserts. To celebrate a victory. Cookie and her friends prepare a buffet that features crème brûlée;



Moskva cake;



black-and-white cookies;



rainbow fudge;



devil food's cake;



and banana pudding (all of which sound good to me).



After an exciting climax, the book's finale leads into book three, called Gamma Bots - which is another exciting LGBTQ+, sci-fi adventure story.

Thanks to Netgalley, Ava Lock, and Semiscope IBPA for a copy of the book.

Rating: 3.5 stars