What starts out as a love story between two 60-something divorcées takes an interesting turn to science fiction in What Love Feels Like: The Dawn of Human 2.0, a novel that will likely tug on your heart strings. It certainly tugged on mine.
Luke, a writer, and Dawn, a high school counselor, met on Match.com and started chatting with one another online. Writing every day allowed them to get to know each other rather quickly. They both were looking for someone to spend their Golden Years with. Their online witty repartee was flirtatious, even romantic, and they eventually fell in love. I smiled reading their emails to one another. Finding love online is certainly relatable, especially these days.
Just as we’re getting to know Luke and Dawn’s love story through these emails, readers are also introduced to another plot within the novel. We see a software engineer working on a computer software program named Little Luke that he helped to create. Apparently, the Little Luke Project was designed to combine human consciousness and the power of a computer. Later, we see the engineer and his boss debating if human to human love can actually be replicated with computer software. I certainly wasn’t expecting this twist, but I definitely wanted to read further.
Sadly, Dawn and Luke’s romance ends because Luke passes away from brain cancer. But suddenly, Dawn faces another twist of fate. Through an experiment he participated in, Luke’s consciousness was uploaded in an artificial intelligent program, but Dawn never knew. So after she arrives home from the funeral, she is met with Luke on her computer screen.
The dual-plot may seem confusing at first, but it adds depth to this romance novel. The story is thought-provoking and raises more questions than it answers. But maybe that’s what a good story does. Authors Dave Cunningham and C.K. Tyler really brought this story to life. Not surprising — both have stellar professional backgrounds. Dave Cunningham has written, edited, ghost-written or contributed to ten books. Though this is C.K.’s first novel, she was an educator and school counselor. In partnership with a former student and now colleague, she is developing a children’s book series about dealing with anxiety and fear. You can pick up What Love Feels Like on Amazon.
