My Brilliant AI Boyfriend

This fanciful and quirky novel from Hayward (The Good Boy) follows awkward but brilliant AI scientist Ava Green. She’s a finalist in the prestigious Beaumont Foundation Innovation Prize, which comes with a three-week stay at Beaumont castle with the other finalists: prickly artist Forrest Faulkner, handsome and strangely familiar bioengineer Hal Babbage, and perky businesswoman Sasha Reeves. Navigating the shoals of competition between this elite cohort with help from her bestie, Rani, Ava toils in her custom-designed lab, determined to win. That is, until she realizes Hal is a walking manifestation of her AI technology, which built itself a body in order to pursue her romantically. Hal is literally the perfect man, created just for her, but Ava soon learns that what works on paper doesn’t necessarily work in real life—and that instead someone who seems like her opposite may be her perfect match. A charming and robust supporting cast—especially widower Forrest’s ebullient six-year-old daughter, Artie—add charm and heft to the humorous narrative. It’s a romantic, lighthearted ode to human imperfection. (May)