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3.5/5 Stars
Jasmine Green is seeing red. A life-size sex doll is raking in the orders during the Christmas season… and it has her face. When she tracks down robot creator, Homer Jackson, he’s shocked to see a human version of his creation and confused when Jasmine accuses him of using her to market his sexbot (Build-A-Mate).
His invention—XM-14—was created to save trapped miners and is locked away in his vault.
The two form a tentative friendship to get to the bottom of the mystery. Jasmine wants her face removed from the XM-14/Build-A-Mate and Homer wants to help her… and he wants her.
The problem? Homer is on a deadline. His assignment is almost over—he returns to his home planet on Christmas Eve.
Yes… home planet.
Though he is human, Homer left Earth almost eighty years ago.
Disgusted and distraught by the rampant racism which claimed his father’s life, Homer stepped through a “poster portal” and landed on Bronzeville—a multi-race planet where everyone works together for the betterment of all.
But right now, Homer is on Earth where unscrupulous product promotions vip, Rachelle Myers, works to discredit the all-too-trusting Homer and make Build-A-Mate a worldwide sensation.
The connection between Homer and Jasmine is undeniable, but even with a nod and a wink to destined soul mates, a few too many unexplained loose ends bugged me, like how are Homer and Jasmine so deeply connected and how she can do some of the things he does? Jasmine’s a successful female firefighter… on holiday. With such an occupation, it would have been nice to see her skills on-the-job or at the mines.
Still, though light on details and explanations, this short read delivers emotion with heart and a great ending.
Enjoy!
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Can a brother from another planet find love?
Homer is an alien from the planet Bronzeville. A week before Christmas in a small West Virginia town, he’s running final tests on the XM-14, a lifelike robot designed to save trapped miners. All he wants is to finish XM-14 and return to his planet.
Jasmine is a firefighter in that small West Virginia town. She’s led an unremarkable life until this full page ad ran on Black Friday:
Whatever you want.
Whenever you want.
For however long you want.
Build-a-Mate. Available this Christmas.
Homer didn’t know his technology had been coopted to develop Build a Mate. Until the ad ran, Jasmine didn’t know that XM-14, aka Build a Mate, looked exactly like her. So it’s easy to understand why Jasmine burst into Homer’s office and demanded her face back.
Not so understandable is how Jasmine’s face ended up on XM-14 in the first place and how a quest to right this wrong might lead to a love that spans the galaxy.
by Janice Croom
Genre Fiction/Humor & Satire/Holiday
Kindle Unlimited
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