Love Me Stalk Me by Laura Bishop

I went into Love Me, Stalk Me by Laura Bishop with fairly modest expectations, which may be exactly why I ended up enjoying it as much as I did. The premise is completely ridiculous if you stop and think about it for more than approximately five seconds, and I mean that in the most complimentary way possible. This is a dark romance built around an AI boyfriend app, a woman stuck in a deeply unhealthy relationship, and the very real man secretly operating the AI on the other end of her phone. If that sounds like a setup that requires a little suspension of disbelief, congratulations, you already understand the assignment.

Izzy Russo is a successful department store manager whose confidence at work doesn’t translate into her personal life. Her boyfriend has spent years chipping away at her self-esteem, particularly when it comes to her body, and she has become accustomed to accepting far less than she deserves. Enter an AI boyfriend app that gives her a place to say the things she can’t say to the man she’s actually dating. What Izzy doesn’t know is that “Caleb,” the AI boyfriend she’s been confiding in, isn’t artificial intelligence at all. He’s Cal Knight, the new head of security at her workplace, and he has hacked into her phone and decided that he knows exactly what she needs.

Again, suspension of disbelief required.

I was willing to give it to the book because the concept was so much fun.

Cal is absolutely not a healthy relationship prospect if we’re applying the standards we would use in real life. The man is literally stalking her, reading her private conversations and pretending to be an AI boyfriend while simultaneously developing a relationship with her in person. We are not going to unpack the ethics of that situation because, frankly, the book itself doesn’t really want us to. Instead, it asks you to accept the premise, climb aboard and see where this particular train is headed.

A huge part of that comes from Izzy’s relationship with Cal and the contrast between how she sees herself at the beginning of the story and how she starts to see herself as the relationship develops. Her real boyfriend has convinced her that she isn’t attractive enough, desirable enough or worthy of being treated well, while Cal does essentially the opposite. He is obsessed with her, unapologetically attracted to her and constantly reinforcing the idea that she doesn’t need to change herself to be worthy of someone’s attention.

That aspect of the story gave the romance more substance than I expected going in, particularly because Izzy’s transformation isn’t simply about getting the hot guy. It’s about watching someone who has been made to feel small begin to recognize that she has been accepting a version of love that was never really love at all.

Of course, this is still a dark romance, so we’re not talking about a wholesome journey toward emotional enlightenment here.

We’re talking about a guy who hacked her phone.

We’re talking about stalking.

We’re talking about an AI boyfriend who isn’t actually AI.

We’re talking about a man who sees a woman he wants and decides that the normal rules don’t really apply to him.

And yet, because this is fiction and because Bishop leans into the fantasy rather than pretending this is a blueprint for a healthy relationship, I found myself having a surprisingly good time with it.

The book also has a fun workplace dynamic because Cal and Izzy are forced into each other’s orbit in real life while she is simultaneously developing a relationship with his online persona. That creates a weird little love triangle in which two of the participants are actually the same person, and watching Izzy interact with Cal while unknowingly talking to “Caleb” gives the story plenty of opportunities for tension, flirtation and some very questionable decisions.

It is also definitely a spicy romance, so if you’re looking for something that leans heavily into the steam, this one delivers. There is a lot of sexual tension, plenty of texting and some scenes that make it very clear this book knows exactly what audience it is targeting.

I will say that some of the plot developments require a generous amount of faith from the reader. There were definitely moments when I thought, Okay, we’re really going with this? Some of the circumstances surrounding the later conflict stretch credibility, and a few of the decisions made by the characters had me mentally raising an eyebrow.

But here’s the thing: I didn’t care nearly as much as I thought I would.

I went into this expecting to possibly roll my eyes my way through the entire book, and instead I found myself genuinely invested in Izzy and Cal and curious about how everything was going to play out. The story has enough ridiculousness to keep it fun without becoming so absurd that I wanted to put it down, and by the time I reached the end, I was very glad I had stuck with it.

Is Love Me, Stalk Me going to win any awards for its realistic depiction of relationships? Absolutely not.

Should you take relationship advice from Cal Knight? Also absolutely not.

Did I enjoy watching this completely unhinged man hack an AI boyfriend app and somehow turn it into a romance? Unfortunately, yes.

I think this is one of those books where knowing exactly what you’re getting into makes a difference. If you want realistic romance, this probably isn’t your book. If morally gray men, obsessive behavior, questionable decisions, workplace romance, texting and a premise that sounds like it was created during a late night “but what if…” conversation appeal to you, then give it a shot.