Wit and Sin

My review cross-posted from Joyfully Reviewed: http://www.joyfullyreviewed.com/new-reviews/one-night-steined-by-daisy-harris

Frank King has made it his life’s work to free steins. Though he’s a master at reprogramming steins to help them live a normal life, there’s one stein he can’t seem to fix, no matter how hard he tries. And it’s his bad luck that she’s the woman he’s been in love with for years.

Kuriko Mai is a stein built for sex — literally. Though Frank freed her, her flawed programming glitches when she’s emotional and she blacks out, only to find out she’s gone back to acting like the prostitute she was created to be during those forgotten hours. Kuri wants to have a relationship with Frank, but the tumultuous change in their relationship from friends to lovers has an unexpected side effect: Kuri starts to remember what happened to her when she glitches. The memories are almost too much for her to bear, and if Kuri ever hopes to recover, she needs to face her past. But will Kuri’s path to healing take her away from Frank?

One Night Steined is an emotional rollercoaster of a story. Frank, who’s been the leader of the Zombie Underground for much of the series, is almost a hermit. He’s one of the older steins, and his visible scars and patchwork appearance tend to put people off. I’ve adored Frank throughout the series, but watching him grow as a character made me like him more. Kuri’s personal development was also interesting. Even as everything falls apart for her, we see her become even stronger. Kuri and Frank’s relationship is filled with ups and downs and Kuri’s “glitch” is so horrible that it breaks your heart to see it happen. Daisy Harris did an amazing job wrecking havoc with my emotions in One Night Steined.

One Night Steined is the fourth Love-Bots story, but it can be read as a standalone. The previous six Love-Bots heroes and heroines have at least a cameo, and it was wonderful to revisit some of my favorite characters. I do wish there had been a bit more to the end of the story, as Ms. Harris changes Kuri and Frank’s roles in the ZU a bit, but even so, I enjoyed One Night Steined and I am really, really hoping Ms. Harris writes a story for Q-ter and Barb.