Neurovance by Alexandra St Pierre is a MM dark romance and sci-fi thriller about the fragility of memory, and how corporations would strip us of everything if given the chance. Awkward but sexy, this breakneck adventure offers up masked men, control and surrender kinks, and angsty star-crossed love.
Writing: 3/5
Story: 4/5
Darkness: 2/5
Spice: 5/5
Editing: 5/5
Trigger warnings: Manipulation, PTSD, control kink, light BDSM, threats & violence, capitalism hellscape.
Milo Murphy has a stalker. The kind of stalker that leaves flowers on the nightstand after breaking in and texts threatening notes telling him what outfit to wear. His best friend Melanie offers to help…but that point is moot after she gets her head blown off by a masked man with a voice-changer.
Kidnapped and scared, Milo has to work with his stalker—and Melanie’s killer—to infiltrate Neurovance Laboratories (a memory extraction and manipulation tech company) and, well, blow it up. This is not your typical enemies-to-lovers dark romance. Neurovance cranks the angst to Max level, and author Alexandra St. James uniquely positions herself to do so by making “memory” a plaything in her futuristic version of Earth.
It’s incredibly hard to talk about this delightfully queer dark romance book without accidentally stumbling into spoiler territory. Be warned before you keep reading that it may be better to go in blind.
Neurovance is a thriller above all else. There is a corrupt corporation, “can’t trust your own mind” memory manipulation, shady deals with the American military, hidden identities, and dangerous technology. It’s like Borne Identity with gay sex. I guess. Sorta.
Like many-a dark romance novel, the POV is dual first-person. Chapters will flip-flop between Milo and his masked assailant-slash-lover. Milo is near insufferable, with his constant tripping/falling, awkward sayings (Jebus Christ!), and self-depricating inner voice. His partner is more stable, cunning, and compelling. I’m not usually a fan of two-point first person (please, pick a lane and stick to it), but if it weren’t for the switch up here I would want to remove the book from my memory, Neurovance-style.
The author leans hard into the “nerdy guy” stereotype and his smart, handsome foil that inexplicably falls head-over-heels for him. Fine, whatever. Milo is literally a caricature of a nerd. Clumsy, awkward, bullied, virgin. If you want your tropes easy to digest, Neurovance is a three course meal. If you crave a bit more nuance, you will be left disappointed.
However, the plot itself deserves praise. It’s a bit predictable, sure, but it’s fun and punchy. The story doesn’t give you any room to breathe between gut-punches and surprise twists. It also serves up the perfect seasoning of angst.
I tend to prefer sci-fi and/or fantasy dark romance, because people puttering around in offices and cafes is not interesting to me. Give me explosions! Give me impossibilities! Give me imagination! Neurovance does all of this, and the world it builds is compelling—even when the characters are just ordering dinner at home or surviving orientation at work.
One of the main characters is even a disembodied voice AI called NOVA. Creepy but unique technology makes even the mundane interesting.
The romance is spicy and the sex scenes are painted with an enthusiastically consensual D/s relationship. Neurovance is the perfect dark romance book for readers who like it domineering and rough, but totally above board. Both characters are happy to take on their role and do so with gusto.
The biggest downfall of the book is that the dialogue is unbearably corny. None of the characters speak like real people would and they all say each others’ names a thousand times a day, even when there is no one else they could possibly be talking to. And what’s up with them all winking at one another every other scene?
For an erotica, the character voices just felt a bit half-baked and immature. I would expect this from a tween pulp fiction, but want something more polished and smart for an adult level book.
I’m notorious for saying that every book is about 25% too long. And I stand by it. Neurovance is probably closer to 40% too long. The author set up some interesting memory-based plot devices that allows for a whole third of the book to be flashbacks. But no one likes a long flashback, not when you already know where things end up and are anxiously awaiting what comes next.
By the end of the book (punctuated by another long flashback, by the way), I was satisfied with the character growth, story arc, and sickly sweet happy ending. Sure, I rolled my eyes some at all the winking and friggin’s, but at least I liked where I ended up. The sci-fi world is exciting, and the story is reliably action-packed. The chapters are short and compulsively readable. Despite its flaws, I was snapping my fingers by the end.
Neurovance Vibe Quotes
“Fuck…” I choked, going three for three on the ‘f’ bombs today. – Ch 70
I would have suffered another two years at the mercy of Luke and his mad doctor if it meant I would end up right here, with Milo wrapped around me like a second skin. – Ch 75
“If you die tonight, I’ll fucking kill you.” – Ch 84